Sports

Stephen Curry hit seven straight shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, in a third-quarter flurry on Sunday night that broke open a competitive game and sent the Golden State Warriors to a 126-85 blowout win over the Houston Rockets in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals in Oakland, California.

Curry, who had been held to a total of 34 points in the first two games of the series, exploded for 35 points in 34 minutes, propelling the Warriors into a 2-1 lead over the top-seeded Rockets in the best-of-seven series.

“That’s what I expected to do, but just like my approach after every game is you don’t get too high after highs, don’t get too low after lows.” Curry said in an on-court interview after the game. “Obviously thankful to hit some shots tonight, eventually.”

Game 4 is scheduled for Tuesday night, also in Oakland.

Kevin Durant had 25 points, while teammate Draymond Green had a game-high 17 rebounds to complement 10 points, as the Warriors rebounded from a 127-105 shellacking Wednesday in Game 2 in Houston.

The Warriors have lost three games in their three series this postseason, and have rebounded to win the next contest by a combined 65 points.

“Tonight was all about defence and taking care of the ball,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “That’s it. When we defend at that level and take care of the ball, we’re usually in pretty good shape.”

James Harden had 20 points and a game-high nine assists to lead the Rockets, who had won three of their previous four road games in the postseason. Houston had the best road record in the NBA during the regular season at 31-10.

“As a team, we played a lot better defence today, which I think got everybody more involved,” Curry said.

The 41-point margin of defeat was the largest in the Rockets’ postseason history.

“It was not a very good game, and we’re going to have to play a lot better Tuesday,” Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We have short memories. Have to.”

The Rockets led by as many as four points in the first quarter and trailed just 54-43 at halftime before Curry almost single-handedly left them in the dust in the third period.

Curry, just 1-for-7 on 3-pointers in the first half after going just 2-for-13 in the first two games of the series, connected from 28 and 25 feet during a 14-0 burst midway through the third period that turned a 70-56 game into an 84-56 demolition.

“He’s good, and sooner or later he’s going to erupt,” D’Antoni said. “You can analyse him all you want, but at the end of the day, he’s still a pretty good basketball player.”

Curry made four of his five 3-point attempts in the second half to finish 5-for-12. He hit 13 of 23 shots overall.

Asked what the Warriors had to do to keep rolling in Game 4, Curry answered, “Just do everything we didn’t do in Game 2 and we should be in good shape.”

Klay Thompson (13), Quinn Cook (11) and Andre Iguodala (10) also scored in double figures for the Warriors, who have won 26 of their last 30 play-off games.

Harden’s 20 points came on 7-for-16 shooting for the Rockets, who shot just 39.5 per cent overall in the game and 32.4 per cent (11-for-34) on 3-pointers.

Clint Capela added 13 points, while Chris Paul logged a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Rockets.

Eric Gordon (11), P.J. Tucker (six) and Trevor Ariza (six), who combined for 68 points in the Game 2 win, combined for just 23 points in Game 3.

WEMBLEY — Manchester United Jose Mourinho bemoaned old foe Antonio Conte’s tactics as his side failed to breakdown Chelsea’s defensive wall in losing the FA Cup final 1-0 on Saturday.

Eden Hazard’s 22nd minute penalty proved the difference between the teams to ensure Mourinho’s second season at Old Trafford ends without a trophy.

United enjoyed a far better Premier League season than Chelsea as Conte’s men failed to even qualify for the Champions League by finishing fifth just a year after claiming the title.

However, despite finishing second in the league to a record-breaking Manchester City side, Mourinho’s approach has been much-criticised this season for lacking the flair and invention displayed by City and Champions League finalists Liverpool.

“I congratulate them because they won but I don’t think they deserved to win,” said Mourinho.

“I’m curious to read today and tomorrow, to watch, to listen [to] your [the media’s] opinions.”

Mourinho and Conte have consistently clashed since the latter arrived in England just under two years ago.

But tactically they have plenty in common as despite Mourinho’s protestations, Chelsea’s defensive resistance inspired by Conte’s organisation is exactly what Mourinho has made his own trademark in a trophy-laden career.

Mourinho claimed on the eve of the game that he didn’t understand the media’s interpretation of “entertaining”.

In the Portuguese’s estimations, racking up 6-0 victories is not as exciting as “emotion until the end, the game open, everyone on the edge of their seats, both dug-outs nervous and tense with the result in doubt”.

The final did deliver on that promise as Chelsea ‘keeper Thibaut Courtois saved brilliantly from Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba headed wide as United tried in vein to force the game to extra time.

Lukaku backlash

Mourinho has not been afraid to publicly criticise his players this season, most notably lambasting his squad after winning their Cup quarter-final against Brighton in March.

However, one of two exceptions that night along with Nemanja Matic was Romelu Lukaku.

The Belgian striker has scored 27 goals in all competitions in his debut season at Old Trafford.

But even he bore the brunt of Mourinho’s frustration for only declaring himself fit enough for a late cameo appearance from the bench due to an ankle injury.

“When a player tells you he is not ready to play, not ready to start, then the question is how many minutes you think you can? How can you convince a player?,” he added.

“Chelsea are not stupid. They know our team without Lukaku does not have a presence, so putting eight or nine players in front of the box they knew they would be dominant in that direct football.

“We tried everything by other ways but they had a huge block of compacted players.”

The damage at the other end was done early on when Chelsea capitalised on a fast start, and a fine individual display by Hazard.

The diminutive Belgian excelled in the space between United’s defence and midfield despite Mourinho’s best efforts to man mark him with Ander Herrera.

Hazard pounced on indecision by Phil Jones to burst clear on goal and was then brought down by the England international as he prepared to shoot before converting the spot-kick himself.

“They only play long ball,” insisted Mourinho. “When you play against a team so predictable, it is quite easy to adapt to it. But of course Hazard is a very good player and of course he created a penalty.”

BERLIN — Germany head coach Joachim Loew fired back on Friday at criticism from Sandro Wagner, who retired from international duty in mid-week after being left out of the extended World Cup squad.

“I took it as a criticism of his fellow players and he portrays some, who have played for us for an eternity and are senior players, as if they were complete idiots,” said Loew at an event in Berlin.

“He makes out that they are only with us [in the national squad] because they don’t speak their minds.

“He says that others don’t open their mouths. What should the likes of Jerome [Boateng] and Mats [Hummels] think? It’s completely outrageous.”

The outspoken Wagner, who scored five goals as Germany qualified for Russia 2018 with a perfect record of ten wins, resigned from international duty in protest after being left out of the 27-man extended squad on Tuesday.

“For me, it is clear that I do not seem to fit with the coaching team in the way I am always open, honest and address things directly,” fumed Wagner, who has made eight appearances for Germany.

The burly forward, who is Robert Lewandowski’s back-up at Bayern, was furious as Loew opted to include RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner, Mario Gomez of VfB Stuttgart and Freiburg’s Nils Petersen as his strikers.

Wagner indirectly accused the German squad of being packed with “yes men”, a notion Loew rejects.

“I can understand a little bit that he is disappointed, that’s clear,” said Germany’s World Cup-winning coach.

“But I find his reaction a bit over the top.

“Everyone who knows us knows how we always encourage players to voice their opinions, to be open and honest, to be critical of ourselves.

“These things are very important to us.”

Germany open their World Cup campaign against Mexico in Moscow on June 17 and also face South Korea and Sweden in Group F.

Neuer at World Cup

Bayern Munich keeper Manuel Neuer has been included in their squad for the German Cup final against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday and will start on the bench, coach Jupp Heynckes said on Friday.

The 32-year-old, who was named this week in Germany’s preliminary World Cup squad, has not played a game since breaking a bone in his foot back in September, putting his chances of making next month’s tournament in Russia in serious doubt.

“He has been training well and it is great to see the condition he is in. Manuel has absolutely no problems. Physically he is fully fit,” Heynckes told reporters. “But he will not play from the start.”

Neuer, who won the World Cup in 2014 and has been Germany’s first choice keeper for eight years, has been racing to get fit and started training with the team this week.

Loew said this week Neuer would have no chance of making the final squad for Russia next month without match practice, but Heynckes sounded confident the keeper would be there.

“Manuel has a presence, an authority in goal. You cannot compare him with anyone. The nation can relax. He will be a big support at the World Cup,” Heynckes added.

Eric Gordon and P.J. Tucker sparked a revival by Houston’s role players, and the Rockets evened the Western Conference finals with a 127-105 victory over the visiting Golden State Warriors in Game 2 on Wednesday.

Gordon scored 27 points off the bench, connecting on six of nine 3-point attempts, while Tucker chipped in a postseason-career-high 22 points on five-of-six shooting from behind the arc.

Rockets guard James Harden added 27 points and ten rebounds. He was not forced to carry the load singularly as he did in the series opener, when he paired 41 points with seven assists in a 13-point defeat.

“Total team effort”, Harden said postgame on TNT. “We played harder and smarter than Game 1. We didn’t switch up any strategies or whatnot. Just play harder.”

Kevin Durant scored a game-high 38 points on 13-of-22 shooting and kept the Warriors within range with 18 points in the third quarter. However, Houston utilised its multitude of offensive weapons and also eliminated the defensive mistakes that proved fatal in the opener, limiting the Warriors to 9-of-30 shooting from 3-point range while surrendering only seven points in transition.

“Everything was fuelled off our defence,” Gordon said. “Everybody was locked in at the right time and guys were knocking down shots, and when we play that way, it becomes a fun game and that’s why we got a good result.”

Even with the Warriors’ erratic play, the Rockets laboured to pull away until midway through the fourth quarter.

Golden State sliced what was a 19-point deficit to 11 with a 13-5 run that bridged the final two periods. However, after Andre Iguodala missed a free throw that would have cut the margin to ten with 8:12 remaining, Houston responded with an 11-0 burst that included 3-pointers from Gordon, Harden and Tucker. At 111-89, the Rockets finally held an advantage that felt secure.

Houston, which recorded just three fast-break points in Game 1, responded with a concerted attempt to run early and often. The Rockets had seven points in transition in the first quarter alone and repeatedly attacked the Warriors early in the shot clock, preventing Golden State from setting up its stifling defence.

“We just played at a better pace,” said Rockets guard Chris Paul, who scored 16 points. “A lot of that was helped, too, that we got stops. We defended better, we got out in transition, we still played our [isolations] when we had them. We just played with a little bit more thrust.”

The Rockets carried a 26-21 lead into the second period and extended that advantage to double digits with a 12-5 spurt. When the Warriors responded, the Rockets answered with 3-pointers, closing the first half 10 of 23 from behind the arc.

Golden State coach Steve Kerr said: “We had seven turnovers in the first quarter. We set the tone early with our own play and allowed them to get some confidence and some easy buckets in transition. We let guys get going a little bit. But, give them the credit. They came out and played a great game and got everybody going. So we got what we deserved. They kicked our butts, there’s no other way to say it.”

Stephen Curry added 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Warriors but missed seven of eight shots from deep. Klay Thompson scored just eight points after posting 28 in the series opener.

“For the most part, it was a frustrating night all around,” Curry said. “They made some adjustments, got other guys involved and made plays. That’s kind of how a series like this is going to be. Game after game is going to be a chess match. Tonight we just didn’t make enough plays to stop the momentum that was building, and that was the difference in the game.”

Trevor Ariza posted 19 points and six assists for Houston, and Clint Capela had five points and 10 rebounds.

The Rockets wound up 16 of 42 (38.1 per cent) from 3-point range while the Warriors were 9 of 30 (30 per cent).

Game 3 is Sunday at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.

AMMAN —  Shabab Urdun play Jazira on Friday in the 38th Jordan Cup final, the last of the season’s competitions with both teams looking to secure the title in order to be eligible for next year’s Asian Football Confederation Cup and playing recently crowned Jordan Professional Football League titleholders Wihdat in the season opening Super Cup.

The teams reached the final after Jazira ousted Faisali while Shabab Urdun eliminated Wihdat. In the first round, Pro League teams played in four groups with the top team moving to the semifinal. (Group A): Aqaba, Jazira, Ramtha; (Group B) Hussein, Yarmouk, Wihdat; (Group C): Baqa’a, Faisali, Ahli; (Group D): That Ras, Shabab Urdun, Manshieh. Jazira topped Group A, Wihdat led Group B, Faisali topped Group C and Shabab Urdun topped group D.

So far this season, Jazira lost two competition finals as Jordan Cup champs Faisali beat Jazira to win the 35th Jordan Super Cup, while Wihdat beat Jazira to win the Jordan Football Association Shield final. Jazira also finished runner up in the league won by Wihdat for a record 16th time.

Since the Cup started in 1980, there have been 37 editions with Faisali being a record 19 time champions. Wihdat has won ten times, Ramtha and Shabab Urdun twice each, while Jazira, Arabi, That Ras and Ahli have won once each.

Last season, Faisali combined the Jordan Cup title with their 33rd league title. Ahli won the 34th Super Cup while Shabab Urdun won their second Shield title after they first won in 2007. 

AMMAN — Jordan dropped one more spot to 118th when the latest FIFA Rankings were issued on Thursday.

Germany leads World rankings at No. 1, followed by Brazil, Belgium, Portugal, Argentina, Switzerland, France, Spain, Chile and Poland. 

Tunisia is the top-ranked Arab team at 14, followed by Morocco (42), Egypt (46), Algeria (64) and Saudi Arabia (67).

Jordan ended 2017 in 107th place — a position they did not better throughout last year. The team is now lagging behind relatively uncompetitive Asian teams.

Once among the Asia top ten, the Kingdom is now 21st in the continent trailing Iran (36), Australia (40), Japan (60), South Korea (61), Saudi Arabia (67), China (73), Kyrgyzstan (75), Syria (76), the UAE (81), Lebanon (82), Oman (87), Uzbekistan (88), Iraq (91), Palestine (96), India (97), Qatar (101), Vietnam (102), North Korea (110), Philippines (111) and Bahrain (116).

The national squad will host Cyprus on Sunday in a new series of friendlies as the local season winds down and the squad refocuses on preparation for the Asian Cup. Jordan was drawn in Group B alongside Australia, Syria and Palestine. The Kingdom was not in the best position for the draw where 24 teams were split to play in six groups. The top two from each group and four third placed teams will advance to the Round of 16.

Advancing to the 2019 Asian Cup set for the UAE in 2019 was not a difficult task against relatively unknown teams in the Asian continent. The top two teams from each group moved to the finals as Jordan topped Group C.

Since first taking part in Asian Cup qualifiers in 1972, Jordan reached the Asian Championship three times. The pinnacle was at the 13th Asian Cup, when it lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA ranking of 37th in August 2004. The Kingdom’s lowest ranking of 152nd was in 1996. It also reached the Asian Cup in 2011 and 2015.

After elimination from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, qualifying for the Asian finals was a priority for Jordan who has steadily slid down FIFA rankings and the team has had inconsistent results compared to 2013 when Jordan was on the verge of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup for the first time and advanced to play then World’s 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie. It lost the home game 5-0 and held the former World Cup champ 0-0 in the away match. Jordan had never reached that far in World Cup qualifying since taking part in qualifiers. Round 3 had been the furthest Jordan reached in the past 7 times in the qualifiers since 1986. 

LONDON — Everton’s structural shake-up left no room for Sam Allardyce who was sacked as manager on Wednesday after a six-month reign in which he steered the Merseysiders to eighth place in the Premier League.

Former England manager Allardyce replaced sacked Dutchman Ronald Koeman in November with the club 13th and five points above the relegation zone. He had a year to run on his contract.

Denise Barrett-Baxendale, who will officially replace Robert Elstone as the club’s CEO on June 1 as part of a raft of changes at the top, said the task of replacing Allardyce would begin immediately.

“On behalf of the chairman, board of directors and [owner] Mr [Farhad] Moshiri, I’d like to thank Sam for the job he has done at Everton over the last seven months,” she told the club’s website.

“Sam was brought in at a challenging time last season to provide us with some stability and we are grateful to him for doing that.

“However, we have made the decision that, as part of our longer-term plan, we will be appointing a new manager this summer. We wish Sam well for the future.”

Allardyce was not a popular choice with the fans and the writing looked on the wall for the 63-year-old when he criticised the recent changes in the club’s hierarchy on Tuesday.

“I’m shocked, disappointed and disgusted that the football club didn’t have the decency to tell me, my director of football and my staff about the changes,” he told the Liverpool Post.

“They must have been in the pipeline for a considerable time but no-one thought to tell me and my staff.”

Since Moshiri took over the club in February 2016, Everton have spent around £300 million ($404.3 million) in the transfer market but rather than mount a challenge to the top four they are treading water in the Premier League.

Koeman was sacked with the club in 18th place, although by the time Allardyce took charge caretaker manager David Unsworth had steadied the ship and they were 13th.

Allardyce was in charge for 26 games in all competitions, winning 10, drawing seven and losing nine.

His final match in charge was a 3-1 defeat at one of his former clubs West Ham United on Sunday.

Including Unsworth, Everton have had four managers since Moshiri came in and former Watford and Hull City manager Marco Silva is favourite to become the fifth.

Everton first targeted Silva when they were seeking a replacement for Koeman but then appointed Allardyce after Watford refused to give them permission to approach the Portuguese who was subsequently sacked in January.

Watford accused Everton of unsettling Silva which they say led to a downturn in form.

“The club is convinced the appointment of Silva was the right one and had it not been for the unwarranted approach by a Premier League rival for his services we would have continued to prosper under his leadership,” Watford said at the time.