Sports

LOS ANGELES — San Antonio used a balanced attack on Saturday to beat the reigning NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks 102-93, snapping a four-game losing skid with their first road victory of the season.

Point guard Dejounte Murray and reserve Bryn Forbes led the charge as five players, including two off the bench, scored in double figures for the Spurs, who improved to 2-4 on the season.

Murray scored a team-high of 23 points, Forbes had 16, Derrick White delivered 17 and Keldon Johnson finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs. Thaddeus Young came off the bench to score 10.

“I love having the ball, no matter what,” said Murray, who finished with nine assists. “I take pride in being a pass-first point guard, but also being ready when my number is called.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a game-high 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the injury-hit Bucks who were missing Brook Lopez (back), Jrue Holiday (ankle) and Donte DiVincenzo (ankle surgery).

The Spurs were playing the third game of a road trip and coming off a disappointing 104-99 loss to Dallas.

“Obviously, it’s a good win against the NBA champions,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “They were missing a pretty big piece tonight but it happens to all of us.”

San Antonio’s mostly inexperienced squad outscored Milwaukee 33-26 in the final quarter.

The Spurs played without starting forward Doug McDermott, who has an injured knee.

In Washington, Bradley Beal scored a team-high of 36 points and Kyle Kuzma grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds as the Washington Wizards continued their hot start to the season by beating the Boston Celtics 115-112 in double overtime.

Both Kuzma (17 points) and Montrezl Harrell (20 points, 14 rebounds) finished with double doubles as the Wizards improved to 5-1 for their best start since the 2005-06 season.

“It just shows our resilience,” Washington coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “I keep using that word, but it’s who we are and who we have to be. And every night somebody else finds a way to step up and make a play for us.”

Boston’s Jaylen Brown finished with 34 points and Jayson Tatum tallied 27 points and 15 rebounds. Josh Richardson was the only other Celtic to score in double figures, coming off the bench to score 18. 

Al Horford grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked six shots for the Celtics, who played in their third overtime game out of six contests this season.

Beal made a layup with 25 seconds left in the first overtime period that forced a second one. 

In double overtime, Beal scored on a fadeaway and layup, then Spencer Dinwiddie hit for two of his 20 points to give Washington a three-point lead.

‘We got the job done’

Tatum forced a Kentavious Caldwell-Pope turnover to give Boston one last gasp. But Caldwell-Pope then stripped Brown on the final possession to secure the win for the Wizards.

“We stayed composed, we stayed within each other, and we got the job done,” Caldwell-Pope said.

Also, Jerami Grant scored 22 points and NBA Draft top overall pick Cade Cunningham made his NBA debut as the Detroit Pistons beat the Orlando Magic 110-103.

Cunningham was sidelined the first four games with an ankle injury. He played 19 minutes, mostly in the first half, and shot one-for-eight from the field while scoring two points. He added seven rebounds and two assists. 

Kelly Olynyk contributed 18 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Josh Jackson tossed in 13 points with seven rebounds for Detroit. 

MADRID — Barcelona dropped more points in La Liga after failing to beat Alaves on Saturday as their first game since the sacking of Ronald Koeman ended in a disappointing 1-1 draw at Camp Nou.

Sergio Aguero had to be taken to hospital for tests after suffering breathing problems during the first half of the game. 

Aguero was able to walk off the pitch and Barca’s interim manager Sergi Barjuan said afterwards: “I asked him and he told me he was dizzy. I was told he went to hospital. I don’t know anything else.”

Gerard Pique was also taken off with a calf strain and, along with Aguero, will now be a doubt for Tuesday’s crunch Champions League game away at Dynamo Kiev.

Xavi Hernandez is expected to be appointed Koeman’s successor this week but with the details of his move still to be agreed with Qatari side Al Sadd, Barca B coach Barjuan has been put in temporary charge.

Yet, the removal of Koeman, and even the prospect of Xavi, produced no obvious uplift as a superb second-half strike from Memphis Depay was quickly cancelled out by an equally impressive run and finish from Alaves’ Luis Rioja.

“What I have to do is win over the players, make them believe in themselves,” said Barjuan.

After three league games without a win, Barcelona stay ninth, eight points adrift of leaders Real Madrid, who earlier defeated Elche 2-1 thanks to two goals from Vinicius Junior and aided by a red card for Elche’s Raul Guti.

Even more worrying for Barca will be the gap behind the top four is five points while attendances suggest the team’s form is creating a sense of apathy amongst supporters, with only 37,238 inside the 99,000 Camp Nou.

Club President Joan Laporta has suggested Barjuan will still be in charge for the trip to Kiev, with Xavi, or the next coach, arriving in time for next weekend’s game against Celta Vigo or during the international break.

Barjuan admitted on Friday that it is “difficult to change things in a short time” but also said the team’s style, a key factor in Koeman’s dismissal, is “non-negotiable”.

But while the first half an hour was slightly more purposeful from Barcelona, they still struggled for chances and the defence was beaten too easily for Rioja’s equaliser.

For all the talk about style and possession, Depay’s opener was a thunderbolt out of the blue. Jordi Alba played inside and Depay opened up his body before curling the ball into the top right-hand corner.

But Barca’s lead lasted less than three minutes as Alaves equalised with another superb goal, Rioja dancing past three Barca defenders, latching onto a sublime flick from Joselu, before rounding Marc-Andre ter Stegen and finishing.

Depay was slipped through by Gavi and Nico Gonzalez but hit the post and then Antonio Sivera as Alaves held on for a hard-fought point.

Vinicius again key for Madrid

Earlier, Vinicius’ sensational start to the season continued as he scored twice in Madrid’s victory over Elche to ensure the rested Karim Benzema was not missed.

Vinicius had already given Madrid the lead when Elche’s Guti was sent off in the 63rd minute and he added a second soon after with a superb chipped finish into the corner.

Madrid made life difficult for themselves late on when a Casemiro mistake allowed Pere Milla to pull a goal back but Elche’s brief hope of a comeback came to nothing.

“We were very practical,” said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti. “After only two days rest it’s not possible to play with intensity and energy.”

Benzema’s resurgence for France means Madrid no longer have their chief goalscorer all to themselves and after 17 games played already this term, Ancelotti opted to leave the striker at home.

It meant a surprise start for Mariano Diaz but it was Vinicius who filled the void, scoring his eighth and ninth goals of the season to continue an excellent run of form.

The 21-year-old Brazilian has long been circled as one of Madrid’s most exciting talents but he has found a different level under Ancelotti.

“I haven’t done anything,” Ancelotti said. “I just try to give him confidence. I am not a magician.”

LOS ANGELES — Jimmy Butler scored 32 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Bam Adebayo had 26 points, as the Miami Heat stretched their winning streak to three straight games with a 114-99 win over Charlotte Hornets on Friday.

Adebayo added 19 rebounds, and Tyler Herro came off the bench to score 26 for the Heat in the battle between the NBA’s top defensive team, Miami, against the top offensive club. The Hornets came into the game averaging 121 points per game.

“The IQ level of this team is very high,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We have experienced, savvy guys, but guys who can read situations in real time. That matters in this league.”

Gordon Hayward scored a team high of 23 points and Miles Bridges scored 22 for the Hornets in front of a crowd of 19,600 at FTX Arena in Miami.

The Hornets were missing Terry Rozier, who is out with an injured ankle.

Hornets’ forward P.J. Washington returned Friday night after missing two games with a sprained right knee. He had nine points in 22 minutes off the bench.

The Hornets’ LaMelo Ball struggled, as the reigning NBA rookie of the year finished with just six points on two-of-14 shooting. 

“It’s one of 82. We’ll learn from it. We’ll respond,” Hornets coach James Borrego said. “I saw a lot of fight tonight.”

Elsewhere, LeBron James returned from a two-game injury absence to score 26 points and dish out eight assists as the Los Angeles Lakers beat his old team the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-101.

James, who made just one of 10 three-point attempts, missed two games with a sore right ankle.

Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points and Russell Westbrook finished with 19 points for the Lakers, who halted the Cavaliers’ three-game winning streak.

The Lakers, who won for the third time in four games, took control down the stretch with Anthony hitting three three-pointers in front of a crowd of 19,100 at Staples Centre.

Rookie Evan Mobley led the Cavaliers with 23 points.

In Toronto, rookie Scottie Barnes scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Toronto Raptors edged the Orlando Magic 110-109. 

Fred VanVleet scored 16 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter for the Raptors, who have defeated the Magic nine straight times dating back to 2019. Barnes scored 19 points in the first half alone. 

Gary Trent also had 19 points while OG Anunoby tallied 16 as the Raptors completed a four-game homestand by going 2-2.

The Magic trailed by 12 points with two minutes remaining but scored the final 11 points of the contest and had a shot to win in the final second, but Cole Anthony misfired on a jump shot. 

Anthony scored 24 points for the Magic, who have lost five of six.

Mo Bamba added 14 points with 18 rebounds and Jalen Suggs scored 21 points, while Wendell Carter had 17 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.

In Portland, Damian Lillard scored 25 points and Jusuf Nurkic added 14 points and 17 rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers breezed to a 111-92 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

CJ McCollum had 14 points as the Trail Blazers won consecutive games for the first time this season and avenged a 30-point loss earlier in the week.

James Harden broke out of his slump by finishing with 29 points, eight assists and eight rebounds and the Brooklyn Nets overcame a sluggish start to record a 105-98 victory over the Indiana Pacers in New York.

PARIS — Neymar set up Angel Di Maria to score an 88th-minute winner as Paris Saint-Germain came from behind once again, this time to beat reigning French champions Lille 2-1 on Friday.

With Kylian Mbappe missing and Lionel Messi taken off at half-time, PSG needed captain Marquinhos to equalise in the 74th minute after Jonathan David had given the away side a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes.

Di Maria had set up the equaliser and he then arrived to fire low into the net from Neymar’s lay-off and secure a win that allows PSG to extend their lead at the top of Ligue 1 to a massive 10 points over second-placed Lens before the rest of the weekend’s games.

Nevertheless, this was another in a long line of disjointed displays from Mauricio Pochettino’s team and the coach was again left with questions to answer.

It was the third time in four home league games that PSG have come from behind to score a late winning goal, and here it came against a Lille side who are in mid-table after a poor start to their title defence.

The absence of top-scorer Mbappe due to illness did not help, nor did that of injured playmaker Marco Verratti.

“It is not by chance that the team responded the way they did. It shows the mentality and the character that they have,” Pochettino insisted.

“We want to win in the best possible manner, and by the biggest margin. The truth is that it’s often a struggle but it’s not by chance that we have won 10 league games out of 12.”

Messi’s goal drought

Messi was taken off at the interval and is still without a goal after five appearances in Ligue 1. That record is surely not what anyone expected from him when he arrived in August.

Perhaps he eventually will start scoring for fun in France, but he will go into November still looking to break his duck.

To be fair Messi has been making an impact in the Champions League, with three goals in three appearances in Europe.

His premature substitution here was a precautionary measure ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with RB Leipzig in Germany — the Argentinian had been struggling with a minor injury during the week.

“We think he will be available for the match against Leipzig,” Pochettino told broadcaster Amazon Prime.

Neymar’s form has also been a source of concern, and the Brazilian still has just one goal to his name this season, and that from a penalty.

Here the world’s most expensive player sometimes cut a frustrated figure and talked his way into a late booking, but that was before he teed up Di Maria for the winner.

Earlier Lille were rewarded for a fine first-half showing with the opening goal just after the half-hour mark.

Burak Yilmaz, who had come close to scoring in the first minute, got to the byline and cut the ball back for Canada striker David to turn it into the net from close range.

Yilmaz was then denied by Gianluigi Donnarumma early in the second half but PSG pushed in search of an equaliser and eventually got it as Di Maria’s chipped ball from the byline was turned in by Marquinhos.

Mauro Icardi, who had replaced Messi at the break, missed a great chance to win it for the home side before Di Maria struck.

MADRID — Barcelona are close to finalising Xavi Hernandez's long-anticipated return as coach, according to various reports in the Catalan press on Thursday, with B team coach Sergi Barjuan put in temporary charge following the sacking of Ronald Koeman.

Barca president Joan Laporta was reportedly in talks with Xavi about the vacant position on Thursday morning. 

Xavi is currently coach of Al Sadd but prising him away from the Qatari club is not expected to be a problem, with the Spaniard eager to complete a sensational return.

The 41-year-old left Barcelona in 2015 on the back of winning the treble, which took his career tally to eight titles in La Liga and four in the Champions League.

He is widely considered one of the club's greatest ever players and there is huge excitement about his potential as a coach, after his influence on the iconic Barca team managed by Pep Guardiola.

Barcelona's scheduled morning training session on Thursday was put back to 5pm (1500GMT) and will be taken by Barjuan, who is likely to be in charge for the game at home to Alaves on Saturday.

Barca have three games to negotiate before the international break, against Alaves and Celta Vigo in La Liga, as well as a crucial Champions League trip to Dynamo Kiev in between.

Barca had won only two of their last seven league games under Koeman, a run that included losing to Real Madrid in Sunday's Clasico at Camp Nou.

A poor start to the season has raised the possibility of the team even failing to qualify for next season's Champions League, which would have enormous consequences for the club's already dire financial situation.

Heavy debt

Koeman spent six years at Barcelona as a player and is considered a club legend after scoring the winning goal in the 1992 European Cup final against Sampdoria.

He was appointed coach by Barca's previous president Josep Maria Bartomeu in August 2020 and enjoyed some success in his first season, winning the Copa del Rey and bringing a disillusioned Lionel Messi back onside.

But a disappointing finish in La Liga and a heavy defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last 16 cast doubt over Koeman's ability to navigate the biggest games, a criticism that was aimed at him again last weekend following the loss to Real Madrid.

Laporta was re-elected as president in March and while he allowed Koeman to continue as coach, there was never much trust between the pair. 

Laporta told Koeman in the summer he wanted two weeks to look for a replacement for the Dutchman while Koeman reacted badly last month to Laporta suggesting coaches do not have all the power. 

"He spoke too much," Koeman said.

No replacement was found or could be persuaded to take over, perhaps in part because of Barcelona's perilous financial problems. 

The club is 1.35 billion euros in debt and had to watch Messi join PSG in August after failing to renew the Argentine's contract.

Other key players like Antoine Griezmann also departed without being adequately replaced as Sergio Aguero and Memphis Depay both arrived on free transfers and Luuk de Jong came from Sevilla on loan.

"In recent years other clubs have strengthened every season and we haven't," said Koeman after his last game in charge against Rayo.

Honest approach

Youngsters like Pedri, Gavi, Nico Gonzalez, Sergino Dest and Ronald Araujo have all benefited from Koeman's faith, but more established players have suffered a drop in form.

Koeman's honest approach was largely accepted and even appreciated last season, but his downbeat assessment of his squad this term was seen by many as counter-productive and not befitting of a Barcelona coach.

There was criticism of Koeman's style of play, which became increasingly direct, while the board were reportedly irritated by his straying from the club's traditions of playing 4-3-3.

But results were the key factor, as consecutive 3-0 defeats by Bayern Munich and Benfica in the Champions League were followed by losses against Atletico and Real Madrid in the league.

Laporta said before the international break that Koeman "deserved the benefit of the doubt", moving to end speculation that he would lose his job after the defeat by Atletico earlier this month.

But faced with an early exit in the Champions League and the possibility of failing to make the top four in La Liga, Laporta decided to act.

MILAN — Olivier Giroud scored the only goal in AC Milan’s 1-0 win over Torino on Tuesday to move his side to the summit of Serie A despite an underwhelming performance at the San Siro.

France forward Giroud tapped home his fourth league goal since arriving from Chelsea in the summer in the 14th minute of a largely dreary contest to move Milan three points clear in first place.

Napoli can, however, reclaim top spot on Thursday with a home win over Bologna.

“I’m very happy, we did well early in the match and afterwards Torino didn’t create lots of chances,” said Giroud in faltering Italian to DAZN before switching to English.

“We have the three points which is the most important thing. We play every three days and it’s very difficult for the body, so everything was not perfect but we are very pleased with the win tonight.”

It was a sixth straight Serie A win for Stefano Pioli’s side on the day Milan announced they had halved their losses to 96.4 million euros ($111.8 million).

However, with a long injury list slowly being reduced it was a far from vintage performance against a Torino team who played their part and could have earned at least a point with some sharper finishing.

Andrea Belotti was substituted in the 54th minute, seconds after the Italy striker scuffed a presentable opportunity after being well set up by Karol Linetty.

Antonio Sanabria wasted Torino’s best chance with 14 minutes remaining, collecting Dennis Praet before hitting his close-range shot too close to Ciprian Tatarusanu.

And Praet left the home fans with their hearts in their mouths 11 minutes later when his shot took a massive deflection off Fikayo Tomori and clipped the top of the crossbar.

Torino pushed for a leveller but Milan held for the win with some frantic defending.

Red card enrages Venezia

Venezia fell to a late 2-1 home defeat to Salernitana after Ethan Ampadu’s strange sending off left the hosts down to 10 men for more than 20 minutes.

Andrea Schiavone swept home the winner for Salernitana in the 95th minute in Venice to complete a come-from-behind win in the clash between struggling promoted sides.

The away side moved off the bottom of the table with seven points, but are still in the relegation zone despite their first away win of the season.

They are level with third-from-bottom Genoa, who earned a 1-1 draw at Spezia thanks to Domenico Criscito’s 85th-minute penalty.

“We need to keep up this rhythm because it’s important. We played well, we were all together, today you saw a group that wanted to win and the three points were very important,” Franck Ribery told DAZN.

Salernitana had a man advantage from the 67th minute, with the scores level through goals from Mattia Aramu and Federico Bonazzoli.

Wales midfielder Ampadu, 21, performed what looked to be a perfect tackle to dispossess Ribery, but referee Marco Di Bello pulled out his red card.

Venezia players surrounded Di Bello in protest and the match official then went to the pitchside screen to check his decision after being prompted by VAR. 

However, Di Bello inexplicably confirmed his decision to send off Ampadu, on loan at Venezia from Chelsea.

“We had a referee who was the worst performer on the pitch,” Venezia coach Paolo Zanetti told DAZN.

“These are important matches in which we’re fighting for our survival, they can’t be influenced by things like that.”