Sports

AL KHOR, Qatar — Qatar became the first home team to lose its opening World Cup match as Ecuador cruised to a 2-0 victory over the host, with Enner Valencia scoring twice in the tournament curtain-raiser on Sunday.

Asian champions Qatar enjoyed the backing of the majority of the crowd at the 60,000-capacity Al Bayt Stadium, but could not follow a glitzy opening ceremony with a statement performance.

Ecuador thought its had made a dream start when they silenced the home fans as Valencia headed in, only for the goal to be ruled out by VAR for an offside in the build-up.

Valencia did break the deadlock with a penalty in the 16th minute and doubled his tally just after the half-hour mark.

Qatar improved slightly in the second period, but by the end of the 90 minutes, the excitement which greeted the build-up — featuring Morgan Freeman and BTS star Jung Kook — was a distant memory as thousands of fans left early amid a deflated atmosphere.

Felix Sanchez’s Qatar will likely need a positive result in their second Group A match against Senegal on Friday just to avoid the ignominy of becoming only the second hosts, after South Africa in 2010, to be dumped out in the first round.

Hopes were high among the crowd that Qatar could make a winning start, but the deficiencies of the World Cup debutants were ruthlessly exposed by an impressive Ecuador.

Qatar failed to even muster a shot on target in the game, with spectators filing out of the stands long before the final whistle.

In the 92-year history of the tournament, home countries had previously won 16 and drawn six of their opening matches.

Early VAR intervention

The South Americans had the ball in the net inside three minutes when captain Valencia nodded home from Felix Torres’ miscued overhead kick.

VAR officials spotted an offside against Michael Estrada in the build-up after Torres challenged for the ball with Qatar goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb.

Ecuador were completely dominant in the early exchanges, though, and were awarded a penalty after Valencia was tripped by Al Sheeb when through on goal.

The former West Ham forward coolly sent Al Sheeb the wrong way from the spot and stroked the ball into the bottom corner to score his 36th international goal.

Ecuador did not have to wait long to double their advantage as, after a surging run from Moises Caicedo, right-back Angelo Preciado swung in a cross which Valencia met with a thumping header.

Even the small section of noticeably enthusiastic Qatari fans situated behind the goal, who arrived together after the majority of the crowd and wore matching t-shirts, briefly fell silent.

Almoez Ali, the hero of Qatar’s 2019 Asian Cup success, should have pulled one back on the stroke of half-time but could only steer a free header wide from eight yards out.

Ecuador allowed Qatar more of the ball after the break but still looked the more dangerous side, with Romario Ibarra bringing a diving save from Al Sheeb.

Valencia hobbled off in the 77th minute after being on the wrong end of a series of heavy challenges, although that would only have taken some of the shine off a famous night for Ecuador.

By the time an official attendance of 67,372 was read out over the tannoy, the stadium was barely half full.

ABU DHABI — Max Verstappen outpaced teammate Sergio Perez to grab pole position for Sunday’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as Red Bull locked out the front row in a closely-fought qualifying session.

The two-time world champion clocked a best lap in one minute and 23.824 seconds to finish two-tenths clear of the Mexican, delighting Red Bull after a week of reported rifts between the two drivers.

Charles Leclerc was third ahead of Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz and the two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, who claimed his maiden victory last weekend in Brazil.

Verstappen’s success brought him his third consecutive pole at the Yas Marina Circuit, his seventh of the season and 20th of his career ahead of a race in which he bids for a record-extending 15th win in a single season.

“Great job everybody, good team effort,” said Verstappen on his slow down lap. “Well done everybody,” added Perez, the two offering low-key enthusiasm after a stormy week since their “team orders” row. 

Lando Norris was seventh for McLaren ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and retirement-bound four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Aston Martin. Daniel Ricciardo was 10th on his last drive for McLaren.

Under the dazzling floodlights, Vettel’s father Norbert was conspicuous in his green Aston Martin shirt as he cheered his son from the garage for his final qualifying session.

A full five minutes passed before the “big guns” emerged, Mercedes delaying their entry to exploit a cooling track on a very warm evening with an air temperature of 30ºC and the track at 34ºC.

Much as expected, following their speed in final practice, the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Perez set the pace ahead of the Ferraris on their first runs before a frantic final flurry in Q1.

That left Kevin Magnussen as the fastest of the rest, eliminated in 15th place just a week after claiming his and Haas’s maiden pole in the rain at Interlagos.

Out with him went Pierre Gasly in his last weekend with Alpha Tauri before joining Alpine, Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and the Williams pair of Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi.

The Q2 section began with Perez outpacing Verstappen by four-tenths.

Hamilton had briefly appeared endangered, but responded to go second, splitting the Red Bulls, with Russell taking fourth. “Three-tenths?” he repeated when told of his gap behind the motivated Mexican.

Vettel, irritated by slower rivals including Ferrari, drove aggressively to rise to ninth and then fifth, an emotion-fuelled effort.

Fellow former champion Alonso failed to make the cut for Alpine. Out with him went Yuki Tsunoda of Alpha Tauri, Haas’s Mick Schumacher, Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu.

On the first runs in Q3, Sainz set the pace before Verstappen delivered a rasping lap in 1:23.988 to pull three-tenths clear of the Ferrari, stamping his authority on proceedings before the final runs.

DOHA — After a 12-year build-up engulfed by a desert storm of controversy, the World Cup finally kicks off in Qatar on Sunday with Lionel Messi aiming to crown his glittering career by winning football’s greatest prize.

The first ever World Cup held in the Arab world — and the first staged outside of the northern hemisphere’s summer window — gets under way at the 60,000-capacity Al Bayt Stadium, where hosts Qatar take on Ecuador in Group A.

It marks the start of a month-long footballing extravaganza that embattled Qatari organisers desperately hope will be remembered for events on the field rather than off it.

So far talk of the tournament proper has struggled to emerge from the long shadow cast by allegations of corruption, mistreatment of migrant workers and criticism of Qatar’s human rights record.

Yet, there are enough storylines to suggest that the 2022 finals may prove to be every bit as engrossing as past editions once the action does get under way this weekend.

Perhaps the most intriguing concerns Argentina and their captain Messi, who at the age of 35 is playing in his fifth and final World Cup.

The Paris Saint-Germain and former Barcelona superstar has won everything there is to win in club football, but has found success on the World Cup stage elusive.

But under Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni, Messi has flourished for the “Albiceleste”, winning last year’s Copa America and helping the team go on a 36-game unbeaten streak.

Argentina open their campaign against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, and will be expected to top a Group C that also includes Poland and Mexico.

Elsewhere, Brazil has been installed as several bookmakers’ favourites to win a sixth World Cup, with Messi’s PSG teammate Neymar determined to atone for disappointments at the 2014 and 2018 World Cup.

“The World Cup is my greatest dream,” Neymar told Britain’s Daily Telegraph this week. 

“It has been since I understood what football was. Now I’m getting another chance so I hope to make it.”

The Brazilians face Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon in Group G, and could well face a quarterfinal against either Germany or Spain if the tournament seedings go to plan.

“The World Cup is full of surprises,” Neymar said. “You get teams that unexpectedly get very far even in the competition even if many don’t believe in them. But I believe the favourites are Argentina, Germany, Spain and France. 

“I think those four along with Brazil are fully capable of reaching the final.”

While Argentina and Brazil have arrived in Qatar in prime form, defending champions France touched down in Doha shrouded in uncertainty.

The 2018 champions are bidding to become the first back-to-back World Cup winners since Brazil completed a double in 1962, but have been beset by injuries that have deprived them of midfield stars Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante.

France faces Euro 2020 semifinalists Denmark, Tunisia and Australia in Group D. The reward for winning the group will likely mean avoiding Argentina in the last 16.

If France emerge top of their group, it could well set up a quarterfinal against England, which heads into the tournament with little to suggest that their 56-year wait for a major title is about to come to an end.

Gareth Southgate’s squad have failed to win any of their last six matches, the team’s worst run of form since 1993.

The Three Lions kick off their campaign against Group B rivals Iran on Monday, and then face potentially awkward tests against Wales and the United States.

England’s preparations have also been hit by the injury absence of in-form defender Reece James, just one name on a lengthening list of players ruled out of the tournament. Senegal star Sadio Mane was added to the absentees late Thursday after undergoing knee surgery.

The mounting injury toll has been attributed to football’s compressed schedule leading into the tournament — a cause for concern for global players’ union FIFPro.

Most players in Europe were in action for their clubs just days before heading to Qatar, and many will be pressed back into action swiftly after the tournament concludes with the final on December 18.

“Significantly reduced preparation and recovery periods before and after this World Cup pose an ominous threat to player health and hinder performance optimisation,” FIFPro warned this week.

WASHINGTON — C.J. McCollum scored a season-high 30 points while reserves Larry Nance Jr. and Jose Alvarado made key contributions to spark New Orleans over Memphis 113-102 in an NBA game Tuesday.

McCollum made 11-of-23 shots from the floor, 7-of-13 from 3-point range, and passed off nine assists as the Pelicans improved to 8-6, just behind Memphis (9-6) in the Western Conference.

“I just tried to be aggressive, take advantage of the opportunities,” said McCollum, who had 22 points in the second half. “I’ve been in the gym a lot trying to work on my fundamentals and my shot discipline and tonight it carried over.

“I’ve been getting a lot of great looks all season, haven’t been knocking them down. I just wanted to focus on the work and it paid off.”

Ja Morant scored a game-high 36 points to lead Memphis, but it was when he went to the bench late in the third quarter, with the Grizzlies leading 86-85, that the Pelicans seized command.

New Orleans went on a 15-5 run with Morant resting and stretched the spurt to 19-5 for a 104-91 edge with 6:12 remaining, Alvarado scoring five in the run and Nance and McCollum each adding four.

Nance finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots while Alvarado had 12 points and six assists.

The Pelicans, among the NBA’s worst 3-point shooting clubs, went 18-of-38 from beyond the arc, helped by direction from coach Willie Green and confident drives to the hoop to draw in defenders and set up passes to the outside when no shot develops.

“Coach put an emphasis on the early easy pass, making sure guys had a shot ready,” McCollum said. “Guys have been in the gym a lot working on catch and shoot threes and tonight we shot them.

“All the times we force our way into the paint we’ve got to trust our judgement. It’s a credit to the guys making the right pass and making the right play.”

Memphis forward Jaren Jackson Jr. made his season debut after undergoing right foot surgery following the 2022 play-offs, contributing seven points, six rebounds and five blocked shots.

Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson missed the game with a bruised right foot.

The Grizzlies were without guard Desmond Bane, out up to three weeks with a sprained right big toe.

At Dallas, Luka Doncic had game highs of 35 points and 11 rebounds to spark the host Mavericks over the Los Angeles Clippers 103-101.

Reggie Bullock’s back-to-back 3-pointers put the Mavericks ahead 99-93 with 91 seconds to play.

Nicolas Batum answered with a 3-pointer for the Clippers and Paul George added a layup to lift the visitors within 99-98 with 51 seconds remaining.

Doncic sank a 3-pointer with 27 seconds remaining to stretch the Dallas lead to 102-98. George answered on a layup with 18 seconds to play and Bullock made only 1-of-2 free throws with 7.3 seconds to play to make it 103-100.

The Mavs fouled Batum and he made a free throw then missed another, but Dallas grabbed the rebound and ran out the final seconds.

George led the Clippers with 23 points and Batum had 22 while Dorian Finney-Smith added 21 for Dallas.

New York’s Jalen Brunson scored 25 points and passed off a game-high eight assists to lead the Knicks over host Utah 118-111.

Terence Davis came off the bench to score 31 points and grab nine rebounds, leading the host Sacramento Kings over Brooklyn 153-121. Kevin Durant scored 27 for the Nets in a losing cause.

The Kings scored their most in any game since 1993 and the most by any team in an NBA game this season.

Jerami Grant scored 29 points to spark the Portland Trail Blazers over visiting San Antonio 117-110.

WASHINGTON — Jayson Tatum scored 27 points and Jaylen Brown added 26 to lead the Boston Celtics over Oklahoma City 126-122 on Monday, stretching their NBA win streak to seven games.

Marcus Smart added 22 points, Al Horford had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Tatum also contributed 10 rebounds as the Celtics improved to 11-3 on the season while the Thunder fell to 6-8.

The Celtics, down by seven at halftime and after three quarters, outscored Oklahoma City 37-26 in the fourth quarter to rally for the victory, with Derrick White coming off the bench to score 16 points.

“I thought our bench did a great job of bringing the energy and picking us up,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.

Payton Pritchard added 10 points and two steals in a reserve role.

“We were a little sluggish starting this game,” he said. “I think the second half we just wanted to come out, pressure the ball, make them uncomfortable and that led to points on the other end.”

“Stay being resilient. That’s what it is. Got to be resilient always.”

Boston moved atop the Eastern Conference after the Milwaukee Bucks fell to 10-3 with a 121-106 home loss to Atlanta.

De’Andre Hunter led the Hawks with 24 points while Trae Young added 21 points and nine assists for Atlanta.

Dejounte Murray and Clint Capela each added 19 points and Capela had 10 rebounds for the Hawks, who improved to third in the East at 9-5.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 27 points and added eight rebounds and four assists.

Adebayo 

powers Heat win 

Bam Adebayo scored 30 points to lead seven Miami scorers in double figures as the Heat edged visiting Phoenix 113-112. Adebayo, who grabbed 10 rebounds, was 9-of-18 from the floor and 12-of-14 from the free throw line.

Adebayo’s jumper with 58 seconds remaining gave Miami a 111-110 edge but Cameron Payne answered to give Phoenix a 112-111 lead.

Adebayo was fouled by Deandre Ayton and hit two free throws with 35 seconds remaining to give the Heat their final victory margin.

Payne missed a late jumper and Devin Booker, who led Phoenix with 25 points, missed a three-pointer in the last two seconds to end the Suns’ final hope.

Jimmy Butler added 16 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for Miami.

Canadian guard Dalano Banton scored 27 points to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 115-111 triumph at Detroit.

Paul George had 22 points and a game-high eight rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 122-106 victory at Houston.

Reggie Jackson and reserve Norman Powell each added 17 points for the Clippers while Jalen Green scored a game-high 25 points for the Rockets.

Mason Plumlee scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier each added 17 to spark Charlotte over host Orlando 112-105.

Ball also had a game-high nine assists while Franz Wagner scored a game-high 23 points in a losing cause.

Jordan Poole scored a game-high 36 points as defending champion Golden State beat visiting San Antonio 132-95.

LONDON — Tyson Fury said he made his brief retirement from boxing because he knew no other way of “keeping it sane”.

After beating Dillian Whyte at Wembley in April the undefeated WBC heavyweight champion said he was hanging up his gloves.

But the 34-year-old reversed his decision several times before confirming he would defend his title in an all-British bout against Derek Chisora at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on December 3.

That fight was set up after Fury’s attempts to call out fellow world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and British rival Anthony Joshua failed to produce a high-profile fight.

In an interview with BT Sport boxing, Fury said he returned after experiencing similar emotions to those he felt after his shock win over Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.

That victory gave Fury the WBA, IBF and WBO belts, but he soon he suffered alcohol and drug problems that led to a public mental health breakdown.

‘No way back’ 

“After I beat Dillian Whyte in April, I really meant retirement and I swear to God I couldn’t have been sure of something in all my life,” Fury said.

“I had a few months out of the ring, I was writing my third book and I am producing a song as well for the World Cup, so I was really busy. But, without boxing, I just felt I didn’t have any purpose in my life anymore.”

“For the four months I was retired, I’ve never felt so back to 2015, 2016, 2017 ever before. But I was back in that moment in that time where life was very dull, very dark and there was no way back for me.”

He added: “I ain’t back boxing for a belt. Or back boxing for some more money, to win another five or 25 fights or to unify the division, I am boxing because of this [his head].

“And without it, [my head] is going downhill rapidly and I don’t know any other way of keeping it sane. This is me being brutally honest, speaking from the heart. I do not know how to quit.”

During the interview, Fury said he was open to more bouts on home soil and even a fourth fight against Deontay Wilder.

But the fight Fury wants above all others is with Ukraine’s Usyk, who defended his WBA, IBF and WBO belts against Joshua in Saudi Arabia in August.

“If Usyk can be made and they actually want the fight, then we’ll do that fight next providing I win and everything goes right, because I don’t look past anything and you can’t count your chickens before they hatch,” Fury said.

“If the Usyk fight happens, more than likely it will be in Saudi Arabia. Get through him and then back to the UK.”

“Deontay Wilder is now fighting Andy Ruiz Jr for a final eliminator to fight me. Now that would be amazing here at Wembley again, wouldn’t it? I’ve been over there [to the United States] three times now. If he wants the fourth fight, he’s got to come here.”

LOS ANGELES — Joel Embiid scored 59 points to carry the Philadelphia 76ers to a 105-98 victory over Utah on Sunday, just one of two 50-point performances that lit up the NBA night.

Cleveland guard Darius Garland scored 27 of his 51 points in the fourth quarter, but his heroics weren't enough to prevent the Cavaliers from surrendering their first defeat on their home floor, 129-124 to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Embiid's epic performance, which improved on his prior career best of 50 points, proved to be all the 76ers needed to hold off the tenacious Jazz.

The Cameroonian big man added 11 rebounds and eight assists along with seven blocked shots, all just a day after he scored 42 points in a victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

"I've never seen a more dominating performance, when you combine defence and offence," 76ers coach Doc Rivers said after Embiid became the first player in league history with 50 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five blocks in a game since blocks became an official statistic in the 1973-74 season.

With the Jazz pressing late, Embiid scored 26 of Philadelphia's 27 points in the fourth quarter.

Chants of "M-V-P" were raining down at the Sixers' Wells Fargo Center as Embiid poured it on.

The teams were tied heading into the final period, and Embiid's turnaround jump shot with less than six minutes remaining knotted the score at 94-94.

He hit two free throws on Philadelphia's next possession for a 98-96 Sixers lead. His fadeaway jump shot with a minute remaining put Philadelphia up 103-98 and he closed out the scoring with a pair of free throws.

In Cleveland, Garland barely beat Embiid to the first 50-point performance of the season as he became the fourth Cavaliers player to hit the half-century mark along with LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Walt Wesley.

Garland's 10 three-pointers — six in the fourth quarter — were just the start as Garland dazzled with an array of agile jump shots and bullish drives to the basket.

"Special", Cavs veteran Kevin Love said of Garland's performance. "A masterclass by Darius that was just beautiful."

Cavs star Donovan Mitchell was cheering from the bench as he sat out with a sore ankle, but Garland's career night wasn't quite enough.

D'Angelo Russell scored a season-high 30 points on 11-of-13 shooting and handed out 12 assists, while Karl-Anthony Towns scored 29 points for the Timberwolves, who led by 24 late in the third quarter.

Lakers snap skid 

The exploits of Embiid and Garland overshadowed the Los Angeles Lakers' desperately needed 116-103 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, which halted the team's five-game losing streak.

With LeBron James sidelined a second game with a groin injury, Anthony Davis scored 37 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to lead the Lakers to just their third victory of the season.

In Sacramento, Kings center Domantas Sabonis scored 26 points with 22 rebounds to lead the hosts to a 122-115 victory over the reigning champion Golden State Warriors.

Stephen Curry scored 27 points and Andrew Wiggins added 26 for the Warriors, who led by as many as 15 points in a hot-shooting first half, but couldn't contain the Kings after the break and fell to 0-7 on the road.

Elsewhere, the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled into New York and thumped the Knicks 145-135 to the vocal dismay of the Madison Square Garden crowd.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points and Josh Giddey had a triple-double of 24 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists to lead the young Thunder squad.

Australia's Giddey, 20, joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to post triple-doubles in their first two games at the iconic Manhattan arena.

"We come here once a year, so you've got to have fun while we're here and luckily in my time we've had two wins, so it's been going good so far," Giddey said in a post-game interview.

Lu Dort also scored 24 points for Oklahoma City, who connected on 62.5 per cent of their shots from the field. That included making 17 of 31 from three-point range.

In Washington, Kristaps Porzingis scored 25 points and Deni Avdija chipped in 21 to lead the Wizards to a 102-92 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Washington notched a fourth straight victory despite the continued absence of Bradley Beal. The Grizzlies were short-handed as well, with Ja Morant sidelined by a sore left ankle and Desmond Bane out with a troublesome toe.

LOS ANGELES — Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets clamped down defensively in a 110-95 NBA victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday, their fourth win in the five games since Kyrie Irving was suspended.

As the Nets’ resurgence continued despite turmoil, the Boston Celtics notched a sixth straight victory and the Dallas Mavericks downed the high-flying Portland Trail Blazers thanks to a 42-point triple-double from Luka Doncic.

Star guard Irving was suspended for at least five games by the Nets after using social media to publicise a film widely condemned as anti-Semitic.

Although he has now sat out five games, Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said before Saturday’s contest that Irving would not return for Sunday’s clash with the Lakers.

“We’re obviously missing [Irving] and we’ve got to look where those points are going to come from,” Durant said after the Nets opened their southern California sojourn with a hard-fought victory. “I think guys are doing that as a group.”

Durant excelled on both ends of the floor, scoring 27 points with six rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and two steals.

Reserve Seth Curry scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter as the Nets finally put the back-and-forth battle away.

Durant, 34, is the first player to start a season with 13 straight games scoring at least 25 points since Michael Jordan had 16 25-point games to open the 1988-89 campaign.

He’s made sure the Nets have weathered the absence of Irving, as well as the continuing struggles of Ben Simmons, who came off the bench and scored just one basket.

Durant said defence was key to the win.

“We hung our hat on just staying in front of our man and making them shoot tough shots over us,” he said after the Nets held Clippers star Paul George to just five-of-12 shooting and 17 points.

Centre Ivica Zubac scored 16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and Marcus Morris added 13 as the Clippers kept the pressure on until the Nets put together a late 18-2 scoring run.

“Even though we didn’t make shots [early] I felt like we were generating good shots, too, so eventually they were going to start to fall,” Durant said.

Defence has been a focus since Vaughn took over, after Steve Nash was sacked this month — part of a tumultuous stretch for the club that included the furore surrounding Irving.

While the likely date of seven-time All-Star Irving’s return remains unknown, his situation appeared to be heading towards a resolution after both NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Nets owner Joe Tsai said this week they had had productive talks with the player.

In Dallas, Doncic broke out of the doldrums that beset him in back-to-back defeats this week to post his third triple-double of the season, adding 13 rebounds and 10 assists in the Mavs’ 117-112 win over the Trail Blazers.

The 23-year-old Slovenian star’s 49th career triple-double was his fourth to feature at least 40 points.

His display slowed down the surging Blazers, who had won three straight to lie second in the Western Conference. Damian Lillard led Portland with 29 points and 12 assists, but they felt the absence of injured center Jusuf Nurkic.

Tatum powers Celtics 

In Detroit, Jayson Tatum scored 43 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Celtics overcame the injury absences of second-leading scorer Jaylen Brown, Al Horford and Malcolm Brogdon in a 117-108 victory over the Pistons.

A tight first half ended with the Pistons up by two points, but Tatum came alive in the second half, scoring 28 points after the break.

Joel Embiid had a big night in Philadelphia, scoring 42 points with 10 rebounds to lead the 76ers to a 121-109 victory over the Hawks, avenging a defeat in Atlanta on Thursday.

Elsewhere, the Miami Heat spoiled the season debut of LaMelo Ball with a resounding 132-115 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

Former Rookie of the Year Ball had missed Charlotte’s first 13 games with a sprained left ankle.

He scored 15 points in 28 minutes on court, but he and the Hornets were no match for a Miami team led by 31 points from Max Strus.