Sports

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James notched a 32-point triple-double on Tuesday to help the Los Angeles Lakers snap a five-game NBA skid with a 132-123 victory over the Houston Rockets.

The four-time NBA champion was listed as the starting centre for the first time in his 19-year career, as a Lakers team without injured star Anthony Davis grappled with coronavirus-related absences that included Rajon Rondo, Trevor Ariza and head coach Frank Vogel.

"I'm just trying to do whatever it takes for this team," said James, who added 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his third triple-double of the season.

"Tonight I was starting at centre for the first time in my career and, you know, we were able to get off that five-game losing streak," he added.

James became the third NBA player to reach 36,000 career points after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928).

Russell Westbrook also played a key role with a triple-double of his own of 24 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists — his seventh of the season.

Meanwhile, Malik Monk added 25 points and Carmelo Anthony scored 24 off the bench — his three-pointer with 2:25 remaining giving the Lakers a four-point cushion.

James followed with a pair of free-throws and a one-handed slam that made it 124-116 and the Rockets wouldn't get the deficit below five points from there.

"Coming off the tough loss in the Christmas Day game we got some big contributions," he said. "Melo was spectacular off the bench once again. Everybody gave us great minutes."

Nuggets hold off Warriors 

The league-leading Golden State Warriors shook off a dismal start in Denver, erasing a 24-point halftime deficit but coming up just short in an 89-86 loss to the Nuggets.

The Warriors, who lost Draymond Green to COVID-19 concerns on Monday, looked lost as the Nuggets raced to a 10-0 lead to start the game.

Denver, led by 22 points from reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, led 60-36 at halftime and held on in the face of a furious late rally from the Warriors that included 15 fourth-quarter points from star Stephen Curry.

Curry, who was held to two points in a first half in which he missed all five of his three-point attempts, finished with 23 points.

With five three-pointers on the night he became the first NBA player to make 3,000 shots from beyond the arc, but with just 1.2 seconds left the ball was in teammate's Andre Iguodala hands with Golden State needing a three-pointer to force overtime.

He missed, and the Nuggets held on for the win.

Jokic added 18 rebounds, five assists and a big block of Warriors rookie Jonathan Kuminga's potential game-tying layup with 3.7 seconds remaining. Will Barton added 21 points for Denver.

Elsewhere, NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks beat Orlando Magic 127-110 behind 28 points from two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Khris Middleton scored 21 points for the Bucks, who notched their fourth straight victory.

In New Orleans, Garrett Temple drained four three-pointers in less than four minutes in the fourth quarter as the Pelicans rallied for a 108-104 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who led by as many as 23 points early.

Jonas Valanciunus made four free throws in the final 28.7 seconds to seal the victory over Cleveland, after a knee injury saw Ricky Rubio carried off in the final three minutes.

In Toronto, Tobias Harris notched the first triple-double of his career, scoring 19 points with 12 rebounds and 10 assists to back up Joel Embiid's 36 points and 11 rebounds for the Philadelphia 76ers in a 114-109 victory over the Raptors.

CENTURION, South Africa — India’s bowlers struck back to regain the initiative for their team after a batting collapse on the third day of the first Test against South Africa at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Tuesday.

South Africa was 109 for five at tea after bowling out India for 327, still 218 runs behind.

South African fast bowlers Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada bowled the hosts back into the match as India lost seven wickets for 55 runs at the start of the day.

But India’s fast bowlers made outstanding use of the new ball on a pitch with variable bounce, reducing South Africa to 32 for four.

Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock put on 72 for the fifth wicket before De Kock was bowled off an inside edge by Shardul Thakur for 34 shortly before tea.

Jasprit Bumrah made the first breakthrough when he dismissed South African captain Dean Elgar in the first over of their reply.

But Bumrah was off the field for most of an extended afternoon session after landing awkwardly on his right ankle in following through in his sixth over. He returned to the field shortly before tea.

Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj both bowled superbly in Bumrah’s absence, with Shami bowling Keegan Petersen and Aiden Markram before Siraj had Rassie van der Dussen caught at gully.

Earlier, Ngidi and Rabada took three wickets apiece as India failed to capitalise on the strong position they built in scoring 272 for three on the first day before the second day was lost to rain.

Ngidi finished with six for 71 and Rabada took three for 72.

Rabada started the collapse in the fourth over of the day when KL Rahul gloved an attempted hook to wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock after adding only one run to the 122 he scored on the first day.

Ajinkya Rahane, the other overnight batsman, played a loose backfoot drive against Ngidi and was caught behind for 48.

Four more wickets fell in quick succession before Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj added 19 for the last wicket, prompting a change of bowlers which enabled new cap Marco Jansen to claim a first Test wicket when Bumrah was caught at third slip for 14.

WASHINGTON — Memphis guard Ja Morant scored the last of his 33 points on a driving layup with a half-second remaining to lift the Grizzlies over host Phoenix 114-113 on Monday.

Desmond Bane added a career-high 32 points with six 3-pointers for the Grizzlies (21-14), who also got 13 points and 16 rebounds from New Zealand centre Steven Adams in preventing the Suns from matching Golden State for the overall NBA lead.

"I'm glad everybody is able to see what we're capable of and what we can do against some really good teams in this league," Morant said.

The Suns, trailing 60-48 at half-time and 89-75 entering the fourth quarter, fought back and seized a one-point lead on Devin Booker's 3-pointer with five seconds remaining, setting the stage for Morant's last-second heroics.

"I was supposed to fake the handoff and go get a bucket and that's what I did," Morant said.

It marked the first time in team history both Grizzlies starting guards scored 30 or more points in the same game.

"That last play Ja had, got that layup, that's something we've run a couple times but the execution was great," Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said.

"Credit our guys for playing the full 48 minutes. We just found a way to win a really good game against a really good team."

Phoenix, led by Booker's 30 points, fell to 26-7, sliding one game behind the Warriors (27-6) for the Western Conference lead.

Brooklyn's James Harden scored 39 points, added 15 assists and pulled down eight rebounds to spark the Eastern Conference-leading Nets to a 124-108 victory at the Los Angeles Clippers.

With star teammates Kevin Durant, the NBA scoring leader, and Kyrie Irving in the NBA COVID-19 safety protocols, Harden seized command to lift Brooklyn to 22-9 overall.

Australian guard Patty Mills and Nic Claxton each added 18 for the Nets. Marcus Morris scored 24 to lead the Clippers.

Bulls roll in Atlanta 

Chicago's DeMar DeRozan scored 35 points, going 14-of-20 from the floor, and passed off 10 assists while Zach LaVine added 30 points and nine assists to power the Bulls to a 130-118 victory in Atlanta.

The Hawks rallied within 116-112 before Chicago delivered a 14-4 run to seal a victory over an Atlanta squad that had 10 players in NBA COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

The Bulls won their fourth game in a row and eighth in 10 starts, improving to 21-10 and second in the Eastern Conference.

"It felt good," Bulls centre Nikola Vucevic said. "As soon as our defense picked up, our offense was able to stay solid. We all did a great job and picked up a big win."

The Montenegrin big man contributed 24 points, 17 rebounds, six assists, four blocked shots and a steal.

"Bring energy. Bring toughness. Follow the game plan," Vucevic said of his goals. "Just try and do the best I can."

Cam Reddish scored 33 points and Trae Young added 29 to lead the Hawks.

Minnesota reserve Jaylen Nowell scored 29 points and Nathan Knight added 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Timberwolves over the visiting Boston Celtics 108-103. Jaylen Brown led Boston with 26 points while Payton Pritchard added 23.

Charlotte's Terry Rozier scored 27 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 18 off the bench to lead six double-figure scorers for the Hornets in a 123-99 victory over Houston.

Jordan Clarkson came off Utah's bench to score 23 points, grab eight rebounds and pass out five assists, leading the Jazz to a 110-104 victory at San Antonio.

Croatian Bojan Bogdanovic added 19 points for the Jazz while Frenchman Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 13 rebounds for Utah, which improved to 24-9. Derrick White led the Spurs with 21 points.

Latvian centre Kristaps Porzingis scored 34 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Dallas Mavericks over the host Portland Trail Blazers 132-117.

LOS ANGELES — Denver and their NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic thwarted a furious Clippers rally to emerge with a 103-100 victory in Los Angeles on Sunday.

The Nuggets saw their 17-point third-quarter lead evaporate, falling behind by nine with 9:04 remaining only to rally for the narrow victory.

Jokic scored 26 points and pulled down 22 rebounds for the Nuggets. Will Barton added 17 and Austin Rivers and Monte Morris scored 12 points apiece as Denver avoided the kind of collapse that saw them waste a 19-point lead in a loss to Charlotte on Thursday.

Luke Kennard drained a three-pointer with 19 seconds left to pull the Clippers within one at 101-100.

But Jokic was fouled on an inbounds play and made two free throws to push Denver's lead to three and Brandon Boston's three-point attempt at the buzzer for Los Angeles didn't fall.

Boston and Eric Bledsoe led Los Angeles with 18 points apiece. Ivica Zubac scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Clippers, who were playing their first game since announcing that Paul George would miss at least three weeks with a torn ligament in his right elbow.

Elsewhere, Jimmy Butler returned from an eight-game injury absence to post a double-double in the Miami Heat's 93-83 victory over the Orlando Magic.

Butler, who was sidelined with a bruised tailbone, scored 17 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, handing out four assists and coming up with three steals.

It couldn't have been timelier after Miami guard Kyle Lowry on Saturday joined the parade of NBA players sidelined by COVID-19 concerns.

Miami were also without regular starters Bam Adebayo and P.J. Tucker. Orlando were even more short-handed and the teams reached halftime with Miami holding a slim 42-39 lead, despite connecting on just 37.8 percent of their shots from the field.

Six three-pointers in a 30-point third quarter helped the Heat pull away. They led by as many as 18 in the fourth period.

Coping with inevitable injuries has become more problematic for all teams amid the wave of coronavirus cases in the league that mirror the rise of the Omicron variant in the United States.

The Magic had six players in the league's COVID protocols on Sunday, with another player cleared to return but still absent because of conditioning issues. Another six players were out with injuries.

"You expect the unexpected," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said.

In Cleveland, the Cavaliers thrashed Toronto 144-99 in the Raptors' first game since December 18.

The Raptors, who had three of their past four scheduled games postponed because of lack of available players, had the league minimum eight on Sunday — four on regular contracts and four signed under the league's hardship rules.

"We haven't done a thing since our last game," Toronto coach Nick Nurse said before the game.

Kevin Love and Darius Garland scored 22 points each for the Cavs, who tied a club record with 46 points in the third quarter.

LaVine lifts Bulls 

In Chicago, the Bulls were buoyed by the return of Zach LaVine from COVID protocols in a 113-105 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

LaVine scored 32 points and DeMar DeRozan added 24 for Chicago, who led most of the way en route to their third straight win.

LaVine, who hadn't played since December 11, admitted he'd been frustrated to be ruled out because of COVID concerns.

"But that's the world we're living in right now," he said. "Everybody in the league and the world is dealing with it right now, so I'm not doing a poor-me mentality."

It was another lopsided affair in Washington, where Philadelphia's Joel Embiid scored 36 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the 76ers' 117-96 victory over the Wizards, who were without top scorer Bradley Beal because of COVID.

The Memphis Grizzlies, who lost Dillon Brooks and two other players to COVID concerns on Sunday morning, shook off a slow start against the Kings in Sacramento to triumph 127-102.

LOS ANGELES — Stephen Curry scored 33 points to power Golden State to a 116-107 victory over Phoenix that moved the Warriors ahead of the Suns for best record in the NBA on Christmas Day.

The surge of COVID cases around the league robbed the festive five-game slate of some star power on Saturday, but there was no lack of drama.

"The fact that it came on Christmas, we're on the road, what a great Christmas gift for our guys," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.

"They obviously gave it to themselves, but it's fun playing on Christmas, there's a special vibe and obviously this game with the two teams with the best record in the league had a special feel to it."

Otto Porter Jr. scored 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter as the Warriors pulled away to win a back-and-forth battle that featured 12 lead changes.

The Warriors arrived in Phoenix for the marquee clash with three of their top four scorers — Andrew Wiggins, Damion Lee and Jordan Poole — sidelined by COVID concerns.

Curry mostly filled the void and for the first time in nine Christmas games scored more than 20 points — despite connecting on just 10 of 27 shots from the field, including five of 16 from three-point range.

"I'm proud of everybody, man, because not a lot of people picked us to win tonight," said Curry, who praised Porter's poise after the Warriors ended the Suns' 15-game home winning streak.

Porter, making his second start of the season after he was thrust into the lineup for the first time on Thursday, scored eight points in the final two and a half minutes, draining a three-pointer that sealed the win with less than a minute remaining.

"He can shoot the ball," Curry said.

Giannis makes big return 

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 36 points in his return from COVID protocols, powering the NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks to a 117-113 comeback win over the coronavirus-depleted Boston Celtics.

There would be no miracle comeback for the Los Angeles Lakers, however, as their bid to rally against a Brooklyn Nets team returning from a week-long COVID hiatus came up short.

The Nets, who had a league-high 13 players sidelined by COVID last week and had three games postponed, led by 23 points in the fourth quarter, but saw the Lakers tie it up with 45 seconds remaining, before scoring the final seven points in a 122-115 victory in Los Angeles.

James Harden, who missed three games because of COVID, posted a triple-double of 36 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Patty Mills added 34 points for the Nets, whose COVID absentees included superstar Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge.

Nic Claxton dunked over Lakers star LeBron James to break a tie with 40.7sec remaining and the Lakers, despite 39 points from James, suffered a fifth straight defeat.

In Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo, who had missed five games, scored 29 points in the second half as the Bucks rallied to deny a gutsy Celtics squad.

Boston had nine players unavailable because of COVID-19 concerns, 10 counting Al Horford, who cleared protocols but was deemed not yet game fit.

Behind 14 first-quarter points from Jaylen Brown, the depleted Celtics raced to a 35-22 first-quarter lead.

Brown, Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart combined for 69 points for Boston, who led by as many as 19 and were up by 13 with 5:28 remaining.

Antetokounmpo's layup knotted the score at 111-111 with 1:29 to play.

Bucks reserve Wesley Matthews drained a three-pointer with 30.3 seconds remaining to put Milwaukee up by one — their first lead of the contest and one they wouldn't relinquish.

"It feels good," Antetokounmpo said. "I was excited to be back, excited to be around my teammates and the fans again and excited to play the game."

The holiday action opened at Madison Square Garden, where Kemba Walker became the first New York Knicks player to post a triple-double on Christmas with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in a 101-87 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

In the nightcap, Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points to lead the Utah Jazz to a 120-116 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

AMMAN — The Jordan Basektball League tips off on Monday in a season rich in basketball achievements and clubs trying to  make the best of the return of fans to the stands.

Basketball is on a high note with national teams bringing the second most popular sport back to the forefront as fans filled the Prince Hamzah Arena to capacity in November when Jordan hosted the FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2021 (Division B) and finished second while the men's team advanced to the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 to be played next year.

Ahli head into the league after winning the 20th edition of the Jordan Cup earlier this month. They clinched their fourth consecutive Cup with Wihdat coming in runner-up as Orthodoxi and Kufr Youba were eliminated. Other competing teams were Jalil and Jubeiha.

Last season, Ahli clinched the league for a record 24th time as Wihdat relinquished their title and settled for runner-up. Kufr Youba beat Jubeiha to take third place while 2019 runner-up Orthodoxi did not reach the final four. 

The league champs are on a roll. Now led by coach Sam Daghlas, they are back full force. After disbanding the team for over a decade, Ahli won the Jordan Cup in 2018, and have now held the title for the fourth year running. They have since also won the league title three times in the past four seasons after the title had eluded them since 1994. 

Wihdat were league champs in 2019 for the first time in their history after overcoming Orthodoxi. Led by coach Mu'tasem Salameh, they are eager for an advanced spot and are rivaling Orthodoxi who won their record 23rd league title in the 2014-15 season and last won the Jordan Cup in 2015.  Led by Zeid Abbas, they have a strong lineup and also have sights set on the seasons titles. 

Missing the event are Riyadi who in 2015-16 season,  were crowned league champs — a title which had eluded them for 20 years when they beat titleholders Orthodoxi. Riyadi had last won the league in 1997 by then Jazira-Aramex team (whose players later on formed Riyadi's lineup). Riyadi won the League again in 2016/17.

The Basketball League which started in 1952 has had eight teams crowned champion. It was cancelled in three seasons and discontinued once. Ahli have won 24 times, Orthodoxi 23, Zain (Fastlink) 6 times, ASU four times, Riyadi and Jazira-Aramex twice, while, Wihdat, Urdun, Watany and the Electricity Co. won once each.

Teams like former league and cup champs Applied Science University, Ittihad, and Zain have pulled out of the competition.

The Jordan Cup has seen Fastlink winning the most titles in four consecutive seasons 2003-04-05-06, before they played and won under Zain in 2008, Ahli won four times 2018-19-20-21, Riyadi won three times in 2002, 2011 and 2012, ASU in 2010, 2013 and 2014 and Orthodoxi in 2007 and 2015.

AMMAN — Abdullah Hammad has clinched a third gold medal for Jordan at the Asian Senior & Cadet, Junior and U21 Karate Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

Hammad beat Iran's Ali Meskini in the final, 2-1, to win the gold in the -60kg weight category in the Senior Men’s. Jordan finished the tournament by winning bronze in the men’s team combat competition, after beating Chinese Taipei, 3-1, in the third-place fight-off.

These medals took Jordan’s tally to 14 for the championship, consisting of three gold, five silver and six bronze.

The other medals were won by Muhammad Al Jaafari — Youth-76kg (gold), Yara Bashar - Women's -54kg (gold), Omar Shakra - U-21 -55kg (silver), Ahmed Abu Hazeem - Youth -61kg (silver), Youssef Nofal - Youth 76kg (silver), Serene Al Najjar - Women's -54kg (silver), Wassim Salama - Junior -63kg (silver), Men's National Team - Team (bronze), Abdul Rahman Al Masafa - Men's -67kg (bronze), Abdullah Hammad - U-21 -60kg (bronze), Lynn Mansour - Women's -53kg (bronze), Nourullah Bashar - Women's -59kg (bronze) and Lynn Hagros - Women's -47kg (bronze).

The event attracted over 450 fighters representing 23 Asian countries.

LONDON — Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and Tottenham boss Antonio Conte have called for January's League Cup semifinals to be switched to one-legged ties to ease fixture congestion.

Spurs have a backlog of three Premier League fixtures due to postponements for bad weather and coronavirus outbreaks among the squad, while Liverpool have also been impacted by four positive cases of COVID-19 over the past week.

Six of the scheduled 10 Premier League games last weekend were called off and more are expected in the coming weeks as the authorities have decided to press ahead despite record numbers of positive cases across Britain.

The two-legged semifinals of last year's League Cup were cut back to one game due to the backlog caused by a late start to the season by the pandemic.

As it stands Liverpool will face Arsenal in the first two midweeks of January with Conte facing his old club Chelsea in the last four.

"I think it would be better with one game absolutely, but obviously what I say is not too important," said Klopp, who revealed a Premier League managers' meeting will take place on Thursday to address a series of coronavirus concerns.

"If there are two games, then we will play two games. But it would be helpful if there was only one, true.

"The draw has us at Arsenal, I'm fine with that, we play there and see who is better and go for it."

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson said on Wednesday that "nobody really takes player welfare seriously" amid concerns over the number of games being forced upon already stretched squads.

Klopp has consistently campaigned for fewer matches and the return of five substitutions to the Premier League in recent seasons.

But Liverpool were one of six English clubs that attempted to launch a European Super League in April that would have added even more games to the schedule.

"I don't just speak about player welfare this year, I have been speaking about it for six years or maybe longer," added Klopp.

"If the things I say would help more, I would say it much more often. But it doesn't help.

"The only thing I do with these messages is I create headlines. They never arrive at the right places."

Tottenham were eliminated from the Europa Conference League earlier this week after a rearranged date for their final group game against Rennes could not be agreed between the clubs.

Spurs had to postpone the fixture, initially scheduled for December 9, due to a Covid outbreak that saw at least eight players and five staff test positive.

"Maybe it would be better to play one game and not two games, especially for the situation we are living but we have to respect the rules," said Conte.