Sports

Donovan Mitchell scored 25 points, including a go-ahead jumper with 39.2 seconds left, to lift the Utah Jazz to a 101-99 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday in Salt Lake City.

The Jazz (29-28) climbed above .500 and extended their winning streak to 10 games, the longest active run in the NBA.

Mitchell hit a pair of go-ahead baskets and added a free throw to give Utah the lead for good in the final minute after they trailed by as many as 13 points earlier in the fourth quarter.

Joe Ingles added 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Utah, while Derrick Favours chipped in 19 points and seven rebounds. Kyle Anderson scored 16 points while Pau Gasol had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Spurs.

Warriors 129, Suns 83

Stephen Curry scored 10 of his team-high 22 points in the second quarter, helping Golden State overcome an early deficit en route to a blowout of Phoenix in Oakland, California.

The Warriors’ third consecutive win to close a four-game homestand came despite an impressive performance by the Suns’ Elfrid Payton, who led all scorers with 29 points.

Golden State played without Draymond Green (sprained left index finger). His replacement, Omri Casspi, recorded a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double, and Nick Young added 16 points.

Pelicans 118, Pistons 103

Anthony Davis, Nikola Mirotic and Jrue Holiday posted double-doubles as the visiting New Orleans beat Detroit.

Davis had 38 points and 10 rebounds, and Mirotic came off the bench to add 21 points and 12 rebounds. Holiday finished with 21 points and 12 assists. Emeka Okafor contributed eight points and seven rebounds in 14 minutes while making his first NBA start since April 15, 2013, when he scored four points for the Washington Wizards.

Blake Griffin led Detroit with 22 points. Reggie Bullock scored 14, and Andre Drummond had 13 points and 21 rebounds.

Bulls 105, Magic 101

Zach LaVine scored the go-ahead basket with 12.4 seconds to go, and Chicago avoided a fourth-quarter collapse to beat visiting Orlando.

The score was tied at 101 when LaVine stole an inbounds pass from Jonathon Simmons and raced across halfcourt for a breakaway dunk. Magic guard Mario Hezonja missed a deep 3-point attempt on the next possession, and LaVine made a pair of free throws to seal the outcome.

Chicago led by 18 points with 8:23 remaining in the fourth quarter before Orlando stormed back with a 23-3 run to grab a 98-96 lead with 3:11 to go. Hezonja, who sparked the comeback bid with 14 points in the fourth quarter, finished with 24 points to lead the Magic. Lauri Markkanen led Chicago with 21 points.

Clippers 114, Nets 101

Lou Williams scored 20 points to lead seven Los Angeles players in double figures as the Clippers beat Brooklyn in New York.

Williams shot 8 of 16 and posted his 35th game with at least 20 points. DeAndre Jordan added 16 points and 17 rebounds, and Danilo Gallinari also had 16 points as Los Angeles won for the 12th time in 17 games.

Joe Harris and D’Angelo Russell scored 16 points apiece to lead the Nets, who took their season-high sixth straight defeat. Allen Crabbe contributed 15 as Brooklyn lost for the 10th time in 11 games.

76ers 108, Knicks 92

Dario Saric scored 24 points, JJ Redick added 18 and Philadelphia led the entire way over visiting New York.

Joel Embiid scored 17 points while Ben Simmons and Robert Covington added 13 apiece for the 76ers. T.J. McConnell provided a major spark off the Philadelphia bench with his first career triple-double of 10 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to go along with six steals.

AMMAN — The best six women’s handball teams in West Asia are heading to Jordan for a regional championship that will get under way on Thursday in Princess Sumaya Hall, Al Hussein Youth City, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Qatar will join the host for a league-format competition that will see the best female players from West Asia compete. All eyes will be on the Jordan side when it launch the tournament against Lebanon, with coach, Adnan Belhareth, saying that his team has been training hard so that the hosts can put up a good show for the home fans. 

“We started training last November with a camp in Egypt where we focused on how to create harmony between the players and how to follow tactics inside the game,” he said. Jordan finished second in the last edition, held in Qatar in 2016, after losing 22-19 to the hosts in the final.

The coach believes they can go one better over the next week and said that the tournament provides his team with a great opportunity to test themselves ahead of the possible opportunity to compete at the Asian Championships in Japan.

On the day the Celtics retired Paul Pierce’s number, LeBron James stole the spotlight, leading the new-look Cleveland Cavaliers to a 121-99 victory against former teammate Kyrie Irving and host Boston on Sunday.

James had 24 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. Cleveland were playing their first game with a full squad after making a series of deadline-day trades to retool their roster, with George Hill, Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. all making their Cavs debuts.

Clarkson finished with 17 points while Hood and J.R. Smith each added 15. Hill had 12 and Nance chipped in five to help the Cavs to a second straight win.

Irving led the Celtics with 18 points and five assists. Marcus Morris was the only other player in double figures with 17 for Boston, who dropped their second straight.

Rockets 104, Mavericks 97

Chris Paul guided host Houston to a victory over undermanned Dallas.

Paul finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and three steals, providing the spark down the stretch of the third quarter that enabled the Rockets to extend their winning streak to eight games.

James Harden added 27 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Clint Capela posted a double-double (16 points, 11 boards) for Houston. The Mavericks left Dirk Nowitzki, Wesley Matthews and J.J. Barea back in Dallas following their home triumph over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night. They received 20 points from Yogi Ferrell and a 18 points and 12 rebounds from Dwight Powell.

Thunder 110, Grizzlies 92

Paul George amassed 33 points, eight assists and three steals as short-handed Oklahoma City routed visiting Memphis.

George helped the Thunder win without Russell Westbrook (sprained left ankle) and forward Carmelo Anthony (sprained right ankle), who missed each missed a second consecutive game.

Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies with 18 points, but Memphis dropped their sixth straight.

Raptors 123, Hornets 103

DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points and visiting Toronto wore out travel-weary Charlotte.

CJ Miles posted 24 points off the bench and Jonas Valanciunas supplied 21 points for Toronto, who shot 56.3 per cent from the field. The Raptors won their fifth game in a row, though the other four came at home.

The Hornets had returned home Saturday morning after finishing a four-game West Coast trip with Friday night’s loss at Utah. A night earlier, they lost in overtime at Portland. Charlotte lost their fourth game in a row Sunday despite 23 points from Kemba Walker and 17 points and 13 rebounds from Dwight Howard.

Timberwolves 111, Kings 106

Karl-Anthony Towns’ 22-footer broke a late tie, and Minnesota went onto beat Sacramento in Minneapolis for their 13th consecutive home win.

Towns led all scorers with 29 points for the Timberwolves, who snapped a two-game losing streak.Rookie De’Aaron Fox had 23 points for the Kings, who lost for the fourth time in five games.

Hawks 118, Pistons 115

Dewayne Dedmon converted a three-point play that gave Atlanta a late lead and then knocked down a clutch 3-pointer to help the Hawks beat visiting Detroit.

Atlanta were down 107-104 with 2:24 play but mounted an 8-0 run, fuelled by Dedmon, to take the lead. Dedmon grabbed an offensive rebound, hit a layup and made the ensuing free throw that put the Hawks in front. He followed with a 3-pointer from the right wing, as the shot clock was winding down on Atlanta’s next possession that put the Hawks up 112-107.

Dennis Schroder scored 23 points and went 6-for-6 from the foul line in the final seconds to seal the win, for Atlanta. Dedmon finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Andre Drummond scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, and Reggie Bullock added 20 points for the Pistons, who have dropped two straight.

Pacers 121, Knicks 113

Victor Oladipo scored 30 points to lead Indiana past New York in Indianapolis.

Oladipo added nine assists and eight rebounds to go along with six steals. Bojan Bogdanovic had 20 points, and Thaddeus Young delivered a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers.

Enes Kanter and Tim Hardaway Jr. shared top-scoring honours for the Knicks with 17 points. Kanter, who had 11 rebounds, was able to return after missing the previous game following oral surgery.

Jazz 115, Trail Blazers 96

Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points and Joe Ingles 24 to lead visiting Utah past Portland.

Rudy Gobert contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds as the Jazz won their ninth consecutive game and ended Portland’s nine-game home winning streak. Jae Crowder — donning a Utah uniform for the first time after a three-team trade — chipped in 15 points and five rebounds off the bench.

Damian Lillard, coming off a 50-point game Friday at Sacramento, led the Trail Blazers with 39 points. Portland’s CJ McCollum added 22.

GANGNEUNG, South Korea — Evgenia Medvedeva set a new world record on Sunday in the women’s figure skating short programme, with a brilliant skate that helped the Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) into second place in the team competition behind Canada.

Medvedeva, the reigning world champion who is competing in her first Olympics, was awarded 81.06 points for her performance, sparking cheers from Russian fans in the crowd.

The 18-year-old overcame a number of hurdles to make it to Pyeongchang, including a broken foot that forced her to drop out of the Grand Prix Final last year and a doping scandal that cast doubt on whether the Russians would be allowed to participate at all.

Medvedeva said her injury and the uncertainty surrounding Russian Olympians had just made her and her teammates stronger.

“I competed to feel the magic of the Olympics,” she said.

Following the women’s short programme the top five teams — Canada, OAR, the United States, Italy and Japan — advanced to the final round of the team event.

Trailing Canada and the OAR, the United States are currently in third place after solid performances by 20-year-old Bradie Tennell and the husband-wife pair of Chris and Alexa Scimeca Knierim.

In the pairs free skate, Canadians Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford had a solid performance but did not cleanly land their throw quad Salchow, an element that pushes the technical limits of the sport. The pair earned 148.51 points.

“It’s nice to have a strong performance but not a perfect one here, so we have room left to improve for the individual event,” Radford told Reuters. 

Italy’s Valentina Marchei and Ondrej Hotarek skated a personal best score of 138.44 points, helping Italy into fourth place, while Olympic Athletes from Russia Natalia Zabiiako and Alexander Enbert finished third with 133.28 points.

Canadian ice dancers dazzle

Earlier on Sunday, Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir produced a sizzling routine to bolster an already strong Canadian team performance.

The reigning world champions and three-time Olympic medallists dazzled with an impressive midline step sequence that earned them 80.51 points.

American brother and sister Maia and Alex Shibutani’s energetic performance that included smooth twizzles and an impressive rotational lift, finished second with 75.46 points. 

“It was our strongest performance that we were looking to put out, I think we made a lot of big steps coming out of Nationals,” Alex told reporters, referring to the US competition last month. 

“The programme felt great. We went out there with a job and we’re very happy that we did it,” he said, although he added they were a little disappointed at their score.

Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev, part of the Russian team that won gold at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games, were third with 74.76 points.

“We had trouble with our rumba,” Soloviev told reporters. “Of course we’re disappointed because we worked on this element more than on the others.”

The first day of the team competition, which included the men’s and pairs short programmes, were marked by falls by Canada’s Patrick Chan and American jumping ace Nathan Chen, although the overall team scores were lifted by the later pairs results. 

The final rounds take place on Monday.

AMMAN — Jazira kick off the 15th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup on Monday when they play titleholders Iraqi Air Force Club in Group A while Faisali play Syria’s Wihdeh in Group C on Tuesday, as the second-tier Asian club competition kicks off around the continent.

Jazira’s group includes Oman’s Suweiq and Bahrain’s Malikieh. While Faisali’s group includes Oman’s Dhofar and Lebanon’s Ansar. The top teams from each group in addition to the best second placed team will move to the second round.

Last week, Faisali lost their 2018 AFC Champions League play-off match to Uzbekistan’s Nasaf Qarshi 5-1 and failed to reach the group stages of Asia’s elite club competition. They have now settled to play the AFC Cup alongside their compatriots Jazira. Jordanian teams have never before made it past the ACL preliminary round. Wihdat were knocked out in 2017, 2016 and 2015, while Shabab Urdun were eliminated in 2014.

Jordanian league champs Faisali last season finished runner-up to Tunisia’s Tarajji in the Arab Clubs Championships after an impressive performance which included two wins over Egyptian veterans Ahli. This season they are not leading the league and hope to make up on the regional scene.

Last season, Ahli played the AFC Cup for the first time and Wihdat reached the West Asia zone semifinals, the winner of which faced the winner from the rest of the Asian zones to decide the AFC Cup champion, won by Iraqi Air Force Club for the second year running.

The AFC Cup was previously won three times by Jordanian teams: Faisali won in 2005 and 2006 while Shabab Urdun won in 2007. Other Jordanian teams that competed include Wihdat, Jazira, Ramtha, Hussein and That Ras. 

So far this season, reigning League and Jordan Cup champs Faisali beat Jazira to win the 35th Jordan Super Cup. Wihdat beat Jazira to win the Jordan Football Association (JFA) Shield. In the Jordan Cup, Jazira ousted Faisali while Shabab Urdun eliminated Wihdat to reach the final.

AFC Cup Champions list

2004Jeish (Syria)

2005Faisali (Jordan)

2006 Faisali (Jordan)

2007Shabab Urdun (Jordan)

2008Muharraq (Bahrain)

2009Kuwait SC (Kuwait)

2010Ittihad Aleppo (Syria)

2011Nasaf Qarshi (Uzbekistan)

2012Kuwait SC (Kuwait)

2013Kuwait SC (Kuwait)

2014Qadissieh (Kuwait)

2015Johor Darol Tazim (Malaysia)

2016Air Force Club (Iraq)

2017Air Force Club (Iraq)

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla won the first gold medal of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics on Saturday after powering away from the field to secure victory in the women’s 7.5km + 7.5km skiathlon.

Sochi Games champion Marit Bjoergen of Norway, who has decided to skip Thursday’s 10km sprint race, took the silver 7.8 seconds behind Krista Parmakoski of Finland won the bronze. 

Kalla made her break midway through the last of the four laps, leaving Bjoergen to battle Parmakoski and Swede Ebba Andersson for the podium places. 

It was the third Olympic gold medal for the 30-year-old Kalla, who won the 10km freestyle at Vancouver in 2010 and followed that with a win in the 4x5km relay in Sochi four years later. 

“I‘m very happy today, it feels incredible,” a beaming Kalla told a media conference. 

With about a dozen racers close together as they made the switch from freestyle skiing to skating style, Kalla began evaluating when she would attack. 

“During the first skating lap I knew it felt very good, so my plan was to try to do something quite early on the last skating lap,” she explained. 

“I didn’t know exactly where Marit was, I knew that she was in the group somewhere, so I just tried to focus on my performance and not evaluate what the others did.” 

Kalla barely looked over her shoulder during the final three kilometres as she dug deep for victory. 

“There were thoughts about maybe what are the others doing, but I just tried to focus on my performance all the time and just look forward,” she said, acknowledging that she had found it tough. 

“I know that I have been in the zone of pain many times in the summer and fall, and just looked forward all the time,” she said. 

Silver medallist Bjoergren has decided not to participate in Thursday’s 10km race, but said it had nothing to do with her performance in the skiathlon. 

“It’s a decision I took a long time ago. I don’t feel like I have a chance of a medal, so that’s why I made this choice,” she told broadcaster Eurosport. 

Meanwhile, Pyeongchang Olympics organisers were looking into a disruption of non-critical systems on the day of the opening ceremony but could not yet confirm if it was a cyber attack, games spokesman Sung Baik-you said on Saturday. 

The Winter Olympics opened with a spectacular ceremony on Friday, attended by several heads of state who witnessed the joint march of North and South Korean athletes, as games systems played up. 

The ceremony was also attended by North Korean ceremonial leader Kim Yong-nam and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, as well as US Vice President Mike Pence. 

Some local media reported system problems, including the games website and some television sets, were due to a cyber attack but Sung said it was still too early to determine whether hackers had attempted to damage them. 

“There were some issues that affected some of our non-critical systems last night for a few hours,” Sung told reporters, without detailing what the issues specifically were. 

LeBron James capped his 64th career triple-double with a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 140-138 overtime victory over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.

James finished with 37 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists, and he set the stage for his game-winner with a block on Jimmy Butler on the previous defensive possession, the first blocked shot of the game for the Cavaliers.

James followed by catching the inbounds pass from Jeff Green and nailing the jumper to send Cleveland to their first win on national television this season. The Cavaliers had been 0-8 in such games, losing by an average of 18 points per game.

Butler scored a team-high 35 points while Karl-Anthony Towns had 30 points and 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves. Jeff Teague also recorded a double-double with 14 points and 15 assists.

Rockets 109, Heat 101

James Harden scored 41 points to lead Houston to their sixth straight victory, beating host Miami.

Harden was 13-for-25 from the field, including 5-for-12 from behind the 3-point line. Chris Paul added 24 points for the Rockets, while Goran Dragic and Josh Richardson each scored 30 for the Heat.

The teams exchanged leads in the final quarter, but Houston outscored Miami 26-21 for its 10th win in the past 11 games.

Spurs 129, Suns 81

LaMarcus Aldridge had 23 points and 13 rebounds, and Patty Mills added 18 points off the bench as visiting San Antonio blew out Phoenix.

Danny Green had 17 points, and he and Mills hit five 3-pointers apiece for the Spurs, who broke a two-game losing streak. Mills played 17 minutes.

Alex Len had 14 points, Josh Jackson had 13 and Dragan Bender had 12 for the Suns, who tied the worst margin of defeat in franchise history. Phoenix played without leading scorer Devin Booker (hip) for the second consecutive game.

Jazz 92, Grizzlies 88

Ricky Rubio had 29 points and eight rebounds, and Utah posted their season-best seventh consecutive victory by defeating host Memphis.

Rodney Hood added 18 points as Utah completed a 4-0 road trip. Hood made all eight of his free-throw attempts as part of the Jazz’s 28-of-33 effort from the line. Utah’s Rudy Gobert collected 12 rebounds and scored eight points.

Andrew Harrison scored a season-best 23 points to lead Memphis, who have lost five straight games and seven of its last eight. Marc Gasol added 20 points.

Pistons 115, Nets 106

Blake Griffin poured in 25 points, Andre Drummond pulled down an NBA season-high 27 rebounds and Detroit stretched their winning streak to five games by downing visiting New Jersey.

Griffin, who joined the Pistons for the second game of the streak, also had a team-best seven assists. Drummond’s rebounding total was two shy of his career high. He also contributed 17 points, three steals and three blocks.

Allen Crabbe scored a career-high 34 points for the Nets, who have lost eight of their past nine.

Pacers at Pelicans, postponed

The scheduled game between Indiana and host New Orleans was postponed due to concerns about a wet floor inside the Smoothie King Centre.

A makeup date is to be determined.

A leak in the building’s roof allowed rainwater to seep onto the court, and a delay began shortly before the scheduled tipoff. A delay of approximately 90 minutes ensued while officials of the two teams and the NBA office discussed options before the postponed eventually was announced.