Sports

LOS ANGELES — The Phoenix Suns erased a 12-point third-quarter deficit to beat San Antonio 115-110 and push their NBA winning streak to 10 games on a Sunday that saw Atlanta rally for a seventh straight win.

The lead changed hands nine times in the fourth quarter and the Suns trailed by two with 2:19 remaining when Devin Booker drained back-to-back three-pointers to put Phoenix ahead for good.

The Suns became the first team in the league to reach 40 wins, pushing their NBA-best record to 40-9.

Booker led the way with 28 points. Mikal Bridges added 26 and veteran point guard Chris Paul had 20 points and 19 assists.

Doug McDermott led the Spurs with 24 points and Lonnie Walker IV added 22 off the bench.

In Atlanta, Trae Young scored 36 points and handed out 12 assists as the high-flying Hawks won their seventh straight with a 129-121 come-from-behind win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Young scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and reserve Onyeka Okongwu, the US son of Nigerian immigrants, added 12 of his 16 points in the fourth to spark a rally from a 101-91 deficit after three quarters.

The Lakers were without four-time NBA champion LeBron James, who missed a third consecutive game with a sore left knee.

Malik Monk, who led the Lakers with 33 points and 10 rebounds, noted that the superstar playmaker is “missed tremendously” but, he added: “It’s our job to figure out how to play without him.”

Anthony Davis had 27 points and Russell Westbrook chipped in 20 and 12 assists for Los Angeles.

The Hawks opened the fourth with a 16-5 run to seize the lead.

The Lakers pulled level on a Monk three-pointer with 1:52 left, but Young answered with a 30-foot three-pointer and two free throws as the Hawks pulled away.

In Detroit, the Pistons played a dismal first half but rallied to beat the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers 115-105.

Detroit rookie guard Cade Cunningham’s game was emblematic of the Pistons’ night. Scoreless in the first half, Cunningham finished with a triple-double of 19 points 10 rebounds and 10 assists as the hosts seized the lead for the first time in the fourth quarter and held on for the win.

Saddiq Bey scored 31 points for the Pistons, who snapped a four-game skid and ended Cleveland’s four game winning streak.

The Chicago Bulls also shook off a slow start on the way to a 130-116 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Portland made seven of their first nine three-point attempts, but Chicago clamped down on defence and clawed back for the win.

Coming off a big defeat in San Antonio, the Bulls rebounded with at least 20 points from all three of their All-Stars.

Nikola Vucevic scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in his 26th double-double of the season. DeMar DeRozan added 23 points and 10 assists and Zach LaVine chipped in 20 points for the Bulls, who are a half-game behind the Miami Heat atop the Eastern Conference.

In Orlando, the Magic’s Franz Wagner drove for a go-ahead layup with less than a minute to play in a 110-108 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Orlando, who own the worst record in the league, withstood a triple-double by Mavs guard Luka Doncic of 34 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists — the 43rd of the Slovenian star’s career tying him for 10th on the all-time list.

There was little suspense in Milwaukee, where NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic scored 18 points with nine rebounds and 15 assists to lead the Denver Nuggets’ 136-100 rout of the reigning champion Bucks.

Jokic out-duelled former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who scored 22 of his 29 points in the first half. Despite Antetokounmpo’s early exploits, the Nuggets led by three after the first quarter and never trailed the rest of the way.

Utah’s 126-106 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves was made even more painful by a first-quarter knee injury suffered by Australian forward Joe Ingles.

YAOUNDÉ — Mohamed Salah inspired Egypt to a place in the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals on Sunday as the record seven-time champions came from behind to defeat Morocco 2-1 in extra time in Yaounde.

Sofiane Boufal’s early penalty put Morocco in front in the last-eight tie but skipper Salah equalised for Egypt early in the second half and then made the winner for Mahmoud Trezeguet 10 minutes into extra time.

Egypt will play host Cameroon in the semi-finals at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde on Thursday.

“Now it is time to focus on Cameroon and we go from there but the players gave everything today as in each game and hopefully we will carry on winning,” Salah said after collecting his award for man of the match.

“Our goal is to make the people in Egypt happy.”

Morocco took a 3-2 lead with one match drawn into the seventh showdown between the north African giants in the marquee African tournament.

Coaches Vahid Halilhodzic of Morocco and Carlos Queiroz of Egypt made two changes each after last-16 victories over Malawi and the Ivory Coast respectively. 

Aymen Barkok was introduced on the right side of the Moroccan midfield in place of Imran Louza and forward Munir el Haddadi replaced injured Ayoub el Kaabi.

Star Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed Elshenawy failed to recover from an injury incurred against the Ivorians and Mohamed Abou Gabal took his place.

Midfielder Hamdy Fathy was also ruled out and Ayman Ashraf, normally a defender, came in with Queiroz conscious of the threat posed when Morocco right-back Achraf Hakimi drifts forward.

It took Hakimi just three minutes to make a major impact as Ashraf failed to connect with the ball and fouled the Paris Saint-Germain star, leading to a penalty after a VAR monitor check by the referee.

After fluffing a penalty against the Comoros, Morocco changed takers, and Boufal did not let the Atlas Lions down, slotting his kick into the right corner as Abou Gabal dived in the opposite direction.

The last time Egypt fell behind in the tournament, against Nigeria in their opening group match, they failed to equalise and had to settle for second place behind the Super Eagles in the final standings.

Desperate to atone

Desperate to atone for conceding the penalty, Ashraf brought a great two-hand parried save out of Morocco goalkeeper Yassine “Bono” Bounou midway through the opening half.

Egyptian defenders were not shy to shoot from long range and Ahmed Fatouh tested Bounou, with the Sevilla shot-stopper once again proving equal to the task of preventing an equaliser.

Hakimi, who scored a brilliant match-winning goal direct from a free-kick against Malawi at the same ground five days ago, got a set-piece opportunity not far from the box, but fired wide.

Queiroz, the former Real Madrid manager, was constantly agitated and both the referee and the fourth official spoke to him.

The first half ended with Morocco retaining their one-goal advantage, and not much seen of Egypt captain and talisman Salah, with the Liverpool star seeking his second goal of the tournament.

Egypt replaced injured defender Ahmed Hegazy with Trezeguet at half-time and the Aston Villa forward was narrowly wide with a snap shot just four minutes into the second half.

Morocco were under the cosh and assertive Egypt levelled on 53 minutes as Salah tapped in from close range after Bounou could only parry a Mohamed Abdelmonem header off a corner.

Tempers boiled over minutes from time after Hakimi objected to being fouled by Mostafa Mohamed, triggering pushing from the teams and both players were booked by the overworked referee.

As Morocco gradually regained the ascendancy, Abou Gabal rescued Egypt, pushing a Nayef Aguerd header on to the underside of the crossbar, and with no further goals the match went to extra time.

Egypt went ahead on 100 minutes when three Moroccan defenders failed to stop Salah, whose cross was turned in at the far post by Trezeguet.

MELBOURNE — Rafael Nadal roared back from two sets down to win a titanic five-set duel with Daniil Medvedev and claim a record 21st Grand Slam men’s title in the Australian Open final on Sunday.

The Spanish great looked dead and buried as the Russian World No. 2 carved out a two-set lead but Nadal surged home for one of his mightiest comeback wins 2-6, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in 5hr 24min on Rod Laver Arena.

Nadal came out on top in the physical war of attrition to move ahead of era rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer on the all-time list of men’s major winners.

Djokovic missed his chance to improve on his nine Australian Open wins when he was deported over vaccination issues on the eve of the tournament, while Federer is injured.

It was one of the 35-year-old Spanish warrior’s greatest title victories in his 29th Grand Slam final as he won his second Australian Open, 13 years after his first in 2009.

“This has been one of the most emotional matches of my tennis career,” Nadal said.

“It’s just amazing. I didn’t know a few months back if I would even be playing again on the tour and I am back on this court before you all today. You don’t know how much I fought to be here.

“The huge support I have received in the three weeks here is going to stay in my heart for the rest of my life.”

Nadal also became only the fourth man to win each of the four Grand Slams twice and the third oldest man in the Open Era (since 1970) to win a Grand Slam title, behind Ken Rosewall and Federer.

The final went down to the bitter end with Nadal being broken as he served for the championship only for the Spaniard to break back.

On his second attempt to serve it out, Nadal powered to three match points to win amid chaotic scenes in his player’s box and the frenzied crowd. 

It is the fourth time in his storied career that Nadal had clawed back to win from two sets down, but the first time in a Slam final. 

It was the second time Nadal had denied Medvedev in a Grand Slam final, winning a five-set epic at the 2019 US Open. Nadal holds a 4-1 lead over Medvedev in their five matches to date.

It crowned an extraordinary effort from Nadal at the year’s opening major, having to modify his game to compensate for a degenerative bone disease in his left foot that ended his 2021 season last August. 

He then caught COVID in December which, he said, made him “very sick”. 

Medvedev had wrecked Djokovic’s calendar Grand Slam push and bid for a 21st title in New York four months ago and was aiming to do the same to Nadal in Melbourne.

Medvedev lost his second consecutive Australian Open final after falling in straight sets to Djokovic in last year’s final. 

“It’s tough to talk after five hours 30 and losing but I want to congratulate Rafa because what you did today, I was amazed,” Medvedev said.

“You raised your level after two sets for the 21st Grand Slam. I thought you were going to get tired, and maybe you did a little, but you still won the match. You are an amazing champion.”

LOS ANGELES — Klay Thompson drained a three-pointer with 12.5 seconds remaining to lift the Golden State Warriors to a 110-106 NBA victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.

The Warriors’ victory in San Francisco was just one close shave on a night that saw the Toronto Raptors edge the Eastern Conference-leading Miami Heat 124-120 in a triple-overtime thriller and the Philadelphia 76ers rally for a 103-101 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

“Splash Brothers” Thompson and Stephen Curry struggled early, combining for just seven points in the first half. But they scored the last 17 for Golden State as the Warriors toughed out a victory over a Nets team led by Kyrie Irving but missing the other two of their “Big Three” Kevin Durant and James Harden.

Irving, who was needled by the San Francisco crowd over his refusal to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, scored 32 points and the Nets clawed back from a 19-point third-quarter deficit to cut the lead to one on two free throws from Patty Mills.

Golden State answered promptly as Thompson, left open as Curry drew the double-team, made his three-pointer for a 107-103 lead.

Irving responded with a three-pointer, but a free throw from Curry and two from Thompson sealed the Warriors’ win.

Thompson, still returning to form after an injury layoff of two-and-a-half years, finished with 16 points. Curry scored 19 and Andrew Wiggins led the Warriors with 24 points and eight rebounds.

Mills made six three-pointers on the way to 24 points for Brooklyn, who were without Durant as he continues to recover from a knee sprain and missed Harden, who was a late scratch with a right hand strain that “really flared up this morning” according to coach Steve Nash.

In Miami, Fred VanVleet made two three-pointers in the third overtime and the Raptors held on against the weary Heat, who were playing the second night of a back-to-back.

VanVleet’s shot from beyond the arc made it 117-117 with 3:35 to play. He came up with a steal and drained another three to put Toronto up 122-117 with 2:17 remaining.

VanVleet finished with 19 points for Toronto, who were led by Gary Trent’s 33.

Jimmy Butler had a triple-double of 37 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for the Heat.

In Dallas, Luka Doncic scored 30 points and handed out 12 assists to lead the Mavericks in a 132-105 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

It was a rude welcome back to Texas for Indiana coach Rick Carlisle, who coached the Mavericks the previous 13 seasons and led the team to a title in 2011.

The Mavs played a video tribute to Carlisle before the game that had fans on their feet and the coach in tears.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” Carlisle said. “It was a wonderful gesture.”

There were a lot of hugs exchanged after the game, too, but the Mavericks showed no sentiment in their wire-to-wire victory.

Reggie Bullock added 23 points, hitting six of his seven three-point attempts. Maxi Kleber celebrated his 30th birthday with 15 points and 14 rebounds for Dallas.

The only down note for the Mavericks was Kristaps Porzingis’s second-quarter departure with a sore right knee.

The Philadelphia 76ers, fuelled by 36 points from Cameroonian big man Joel Embiid, notched a fourth straight win, but it was a battle against the Kings.

Tyrese Haliburton scored a career-high 38 points for Sacramento, and the Kings led by 17 in the third quarter before dropping their sixth straight.

Led by an aggressive Embiid, the Sixers had taken a 10-point lead with less than three minutes to play. The Kings fought back, with Haliburton’s off-balance three-pointer cutting Philadelphia’s lead to two with 11.1 seconds left.

But Harrison Barnes’s last-gasp three-point attempt for the Kings bounced off the rim.

LOS ANGELES — Ja Morant lit a fire under Memphis’ offense delivering a triple-double as the red-hot Grizzlies rolled over the Utah Jazz 119-109 on Friday night.

Morant finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Grizzlies, who have won 15 of their last 18 contests. 

The third-year point guard is averaging 35.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists over his past five games.

“I think the win was more important, but I guess the triple-double was needed to get the win,” said Morant, who was named an all-star starter on Thursday. “All in all, it was a good night.”

He was coming off one of his best games of the season on Wednesday, when he scored a season-high 41 points in a win over San Antonio.

He shot just under 50 per cent from the field (10-of-22) after having shot 50 per cent or better six times this month.

Brandon Clarke finished with 22 points for the Grizzlies. Jaren Jackson Jr chipped in 18 points, and Desmond Bane added 17.

Stopping Morant proved to be an almost impossible task for the Jazz who were missing Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. 

Mitchell missed his sixth straight game because of a concussion. Gobert missed his third consecutive contest because of a calf strain.

Danuel House scored a season-high 21 points to lead the Jazz, who have lost four straight games. Mike Conley added 15 points and six assists, and Jordan Clarkson and Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 13 points apiece.

“We’re playing with a much more urgent mindset,” Conley said. “Playing harder. Guys are giving everything we’ve got with who we’ve got out there. At some point, we’re going to break through. Things are going to start falling our way.

“We feel like we are getting closer and closer to being back to who we are.”

In Arizona, Chris Paul collected 21 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds as the Phoenix Suns won their ninth straight game by holding on to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 134-124.

Devin Booker led all scorers with 29 points to go along with nine assists for the Suns. Cameron Johnson made five three-pointers en route to a 23-point performance.

Anthony Edwards scored 27 points and dished out 10 assists for the Timberwolves, who lost for the second time in as many nights. 

Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 23 points and nine rebounds, and Malik Beasley came off the bench to score 26 points.

Minnesota were behind by 12 points in the third quarter but cut the deficit to four points, 112-108, with just under seven minutes left in regulation.

Jokic shines

The Suns answered with a 14-5 run to go up by 13 with 4:11 left and never looked back.

Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic had a triple-double as the Denver Nuggets won their fourth game in a row by defeating the New Orleans Pelicans 116-105.

Jokic finished with 29 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists as the Nuggets improved to 3-0 on a six-game road trip.

Aaron Gordon scored 20 points, Bryn Forbes added 14, Monte Morris had 13, Austin Rivers 12 and Zeke Nnaji 11 for Denver, who have won nine of its last 12 games.

In Charlotte, Miles Bridges scored 26 points and Ish Smith had 22 points as the Charlotte Hornets held off the shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers 117-114.

The Lakers played without LeBron James, who missed a game for the second night in a row with a sore knee, and Anthony Davis.

PARIS — Six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez will take part in this week’s pre-season testing in Sepang after recovering from double vision, his Honda team announced.

The 28-year-old Spaniard had been suffering from diplopia since an off-road training crash at the end of October.  He then missed the final two rounds of the season and the Jerez test session in December.

He was given the green light for the Malaysia tests on February 5-6 after riding first on a motorcross track then at the MotoGP circuits in Portimao and Aragon. A medical check-up last week confirmed the treatment “a complete success” with Marquez “now in a suitable condition to ride a MotoGP bike”.

Marquez missed the entire 2020 season and the first few races of 2021 due to a serious injury to his right arm sustained in a race crash. Despite continued weakness in the arm, he won three races to finish seventh in the world championship last year.

After Sepang, Marquez will head to Indonesia for more testing before the 2022 season gets underway in Qatar on March 6.

MELBOURNE — Daniil Medvedev won a tempestuous Australian Open semifinal against Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday and will face Rafael Nadal, who is bidding to become the all-time men’s Grand Slam leader, in Sunday’s final.

World No. 2 Medvedev beat fourth-ranked Tsitsipas 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 to reach his second straight Australian Open final. 

Earlier the 35-year-old Spanish great powered past the Italian seventh seed Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. 

Nadal is level on 20 majors with his golden era rivals Novak Djokovic, who was deported on the eve of the tournament, and Roger Federer, who is absent with injury.

It gives the Spaniard an opportunity to go clear at the top in Sunday’s final and add to his lone 2009 Melbourne Park crown in his sixth Australian Open final.

Medvedev was in a fiery mood and given a code warning after raging at the chair umpire during his clash with fourth seed Tsitsipas, whose father Apostolos was also given a warning for coaching from the player’s box before inadvertently helping trigger his son’s collapse.

Medvedev is shooting for back-to-back major titles after upsetting Djokovic in last year’s US Open final.

Like in New York last September, when he stopped Djokovic from completing a calendar Grand Slam of titles, Medvedev will be trying to derail Nadal’s tilt at making men’s tennis history.

“I’m going to play against one of the greatest and someone going for the 21st Slam,” Medvedev said.

“I’m ready, I know that Rafa is a very strong player and I need to show my best to try and win this match.”

But Nadal said the Australian Open title meant more to him than a record 21 career Grand Slams. 

“For me at the end it’s about more than all these statistics, it’s about being in the final of the Australian Open one more time. That means a lot to me,” Nadal said.

“To me it’s more important to be in the final of the Australian Open and fight to win another Australian Open than the rest of the statistics for the history of the sport.

“I just feel happy to be part of this amazing era of tennis, sharing all these things with another two players.

“That’s it. In some ways it doesn’t matter if somebody achieve one more or one less.”

It has been an extraordinary effort from Nadal at the year’s opening major, having to modify his game to compensate for a degenerative bone disease in his left foot that ended his 2021 season last August. 

He then caught Covid in December which, he said, made him “very sick”. 

Yet, Nadal brushed aside Berrettini’s challenge with precision shot-making, while last year’s Wimbledon finalist could not overcome his sluggish start.

Later in a stormy night semifinal under a closed roof because of rain, Medvedev had a massive blow-up with the chair umpire during a changeover at 5-4 in the second set.

He was furious at the umpire over what he claimed was coaching from Tsitsipas’s coach and father Apostolos from the player’s box and the Russian received a code violation.

Medvedev raged at the umpire and later said he regretted doing it.

“His father can talk every point. Can you answer my question please?” he pleaded.

“Oh my God, you are so bad man. How can you be so bad in the semifinal of a Grand Slam? Look at me! I’m talking to you!”

Medvedev was contrite after. “I regret it all the time, because I don’t think it’s nice. I know that every referee is trying to do their best,” he said.

“I can get really emotional. I have been working on it. Helps me to win matches, I know. In the heat of the moment, I just lost it.”

The Russian World No. 2 on Saturday was handed two fines by Tennis Australia — $8,000 for a “visible obscenity” and $4,000 for “unsportsmanlike conduct”.

Tsitsipas levelled up taking the chaotic second set as tensions bubbled over and Medvedev went ahead by taking the third set to gain the edge in a titanic duel shortly after Apostolos Tsitsipas was warned for coaching.

Tsitsipas fell away after his father’s warning, losing five straight games as Medvedev surged to victory to take his place in the final.