Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points to lead the host Oklahoma City Thunder to a 112-100 win over the Orlando Magic on Saturday night. The game marked the first regular-season matchup between the Magic's Paolo Banchero and the Thunder's Chet Holmgren, the top two picks in the 2022 NBA Draft. Banchero finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Holmgren, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 draft who missed last season due to a foot injury, had 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Orlando cut what was a 16-point deficit to six on Cole Anthony's pullup jumper with 2:14 left in the game. Jalen Williams answered with a jumper on the next possession, sparking a 7-0 run for Oklahoma City, which has won four consecutive games and nine of its past 11. Celtics 145, Rockets 113 Jaylen Brown scored a game-high 32 points and Jayson Tatum finished with 27 to help Boston defeat visiting Houston. Brown made 11 of his 15 field-goal attempts and was 4-for-6 from 3-point territory. Tatum also had eight rebounds and five assists before he was ejected after his second technical foul with 10:17 to play. The Celtics improved to 19-0 at home. Cam Whitmore came off the bench to score a team-high 22 points for Houston. Alperen Sengun finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Jazz 132, Lakers 125 Lauri Markkanen recorded 29 points, nine rebounds and five assists and Utah posted a season-high fifth straight victory by dispatching Los Angeles in Salt Lake City. Collin Sexton added 27 points and Jordan Clarkson had 21 off the bench as Utah won for the 11th time in the past 13 games. D'Angelo Russell scored a season-high 39 points and matched his season best of six 3-pointers but couldn't prevent the Lakers from losing for the 11th time in 15 games. Los Angeles played without LeBron James (ankle). It was his fourth absence of the season. Wizards 127, Hawks 99 Kyle Kuzma poured in a game-high 29 points to help lead visiting Washington to a win over Atlanta. Jordan Poole added 20 points for Washington, which snapped a six-game losing streak overall and picked up its first road win since Dec. 21. Deni Avdija chipped in 19 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. Trae Young led Atlanta with 21 points and 10 assists, while Saddiq Bey added 16 points. The Hawks' streak of 94 consecutive games with at least 100 points ended. It was the third-longest such streak in NBA history. Bucks 129, Warriors 118 Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton combined for 84 points and host Milwaukee overpowered short-handed Golden State. Antetokounmpo led the way with a game-high 33 points. Lillard had 27 and Middleton finished with 24 points and a game-high 10 assists for the Bucks, whose only game since Monday was a 33-point breeze over the visiting Celtics. Playing the second night of a road back-to-back and doing so without Stephen Curry (rest), the Warriors also had three players score 20 or more points, led by Jonathan Kuminga with 28. Brandin Podziemski had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Klay Thompson chipped in with 21 points. Knicks 106, Grizzlies 94 Julius Randle had 24 points and 11 rebounds as visiting New York beat Memphis. Miles McBride scored a career-high 19 points, OG Anunoby added 18 and Donte DiVincenzo had 13 for New York, which won for the sixth time in its past seven games. Isaiah Hartenstein finished with 12 points and matched his career high with 20 rebounds. Rookie GG Jackson led Memphis with a career-high 20 points off the bench. Vince Williams Jr. scored 17, David Roddy and Luke Kennard added 14 apiece and Xavier Tillman finished with 12 points and a career-high six steals. Pelicans 118, Mavericks 108 Rookie Jordan Hawkins scored 34 points and six teammates scored in double figures as visiting New Orleans defeated Dallas. Herbert Jones scored 15 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists and Larry Nance Jr. and Jose Alvarado scored 14 points apiece for the Pelicans. Kyrie Irving scored 33 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. and Derrick Jones Jr. each added 24 to lead the Mavericks, who played without Luka Doncic (ankle) and Dante Exum (foot). Bulls 122, Spurs 116 Nikola Vucevic finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds, including a critical 3-pointer with 31.7 seconds to play, as visiting Chicago outlasted San Antonio in the second game of a back-to-back for both teams. The Bulls, back on the court after a loss at home to Golden State on Friday, led by eight points at halftime and by 18 midway through the third quarter before San Antonio rallied to tie the score at 94 heading into the final period. Tre Jones led the Spurs with a career-high 30 points while Keldon Johnson had 26, Malaki Branham scored 14 and Jeremy Sochan finished with 11. San Antonio, which was playing for the second straight night after beating Charlotte on Friday, was without rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama (rest). —Field Level Media
Related Posts
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Joshua Kimmich gave Bayern Munich a 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen and put them on the brink of a ninth consecutive Bundesliga title.
RB Leipzig s shock 2-1 defeat at relegation-threatened Cologne earlier on Tuesday gave Hansi Flick s side the opportunity to go 10 points clear with four matches remaining.
They did so with the minimum of fuss after Choupo-Moting – again deputising for the injury Robert Lewandowski – opened the scoring in the seventh minute.
A superb second from Kimmich made a response from Leverkusen deeply unlikely, as their struggles during the second half of this season were again laid bare at the Allianz Arena. Hannes Wolf s side are seven points behind four-placed Wolfsburg having played a game more.
Fo…
The penultimate day of the Games on Saturday offers medals across 34 events, with athletics, wrestling and boxing featuring heavily.
The United States basketball team overcame an early scare against Australia and they now face France in a gold-medal clash on day 15 in Tokyo.
Just five medals away from table-toppers China, the USA will be hoping for more gold in both the men s and women s 4 400 metre relay races.
Spain and defending Olympic champions Brazil clashing in a mouth-watering men s football final among a host of other events and Stats Perform considers the potential highlights to look forward to.
CAN BRAZIL DO THE DOUBLE?
Spain head into their third Olympic men s football final, having settled for silver in 2000 after triumph…
Carlo Ancelotti rates Liverpool as favourites to win the Champions League but has warned that his Napoli side have also improved since last season s meeting.
Liverpool lost 1-0 in Naples last October but won the reverse fixture to scrape through the group stage at Napoli s expense and went on to lift the famous trophy for a sixth time.
The sides face off again at Stadio San Paolo on Tuesday in their Group E opener and Ancelotti has targeted another victory on home soil against the best team in Europe .
Liverpool have grown because last season gave them so much awareness, he said at his pre-match news conference.
: The atmosphere makes a big difference. I hope the San Paolo really gets behind us
— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapo…
Best odds: 6/5
Bookmaker:
The group stages are over and we re now into the knockout phase. There s some really cracking encounters to come from Saturday to Tuesday, and along with the one between England and Germany on Tuesday, Belgium taking on Portugal at the Estadio la Cartuja in Sevilla should be at the top in terms of balance and quality.
Belgium
Having thrashed Russia in the opening round by 3-0 and then beaten Denmark by 2-1, they made sure they got the maximum number of points against Finland, courtesy of an own-goal by Lukas Hradecky and a strike from Romelu Lukaku. The fact that Belgium top the FIFA rankings at the moment obviously speaks a lot about their quality, and it seems that quality is finally matched by form.
Many see this as the one …
Erling Haaland is on the same early career trajectory as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Norway coach Lars Lagerback.
Haaland, 20, enjoyed a sensational breakout season in 2019-20, impressing for both Salzburg and then Borussia Dortmund after a January move.
The Norwegian striker scored 28 goals in 22 matches for Salzburg across all competitions, before adding 16 in 18 outings for BVB.
He was unable to help Dortmund to a first Bundesliga title since 2011-12 as Bayern Munich continued their dominance, but Haaland s swift adaptation provides optimism for the seasons to come – if they can keep hold of him.
Haaland s introduction to international football has seen him score once in three games, that strike coming in Friday s 2-1 defea…
Liverpool completed one of the Champions League s greatest ever escapes on Tuesday as they overturned a 3-0 first-leg deficit to power past Barcelona and into their second consecutive final.
Divock Origi set Liverpool on their way to a famous 4-0 victory early on before Georginio Wijnaldum scored twice in quick succession shortly after being introduced at the interval.
Trent Alexander-Arnold s quickly taken corner was then buried by Origi 11 minutes from time as Jurgen Klopp s side booked their spot in next month s final in Madrid where they will take on either Ajax or Tottenham.
Here, with the help of Opta, we look at some of the key stats behind Liverpool s incredible Anfield victory.
AAARRGGHHHHHH!!
— Liverpool FC (@LFC)
…
Gerard Pique believes Josep Maria Bartomeu was among the worst presidents in Barcelona s history.
Bartomeu held the post from January 2014 until his resignation in October last year, courting controversy along the way.
His exit was forced amid the threat of a no-confidence vote as Barca lurched from one setback to the next on and off the field.
Barca won the treble in Bartomeu s first year in charge, yet things gradually began to unravel over the course of his tenure.
Lionel Messi had made clear his desire to leave before eventually sealing a move to Paris Saint-Germain, while Pique is one of several players who have taken a pay cut to ease the Camp Nou club s perilous financial situation.
With questionable head coach appointments added into the…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has challenged his Manchester United players to rediscover their mojo as they bid to return to winning ways in the Premier League against Southampton on Tuesday.
The Red Devils title tilt has suffered a blow over the past week, a shock home defeat to rock-bottom Sheffield United followed up with a point from a 0-0 result at Arsenal on Saturday – their fourth goalless draw in the league this season.
They are now three points behind leaders Manchester City who also have a game in hand in the Premier League table, having sat top not so long ago.
United will hope to get back on track against a Southampton side they have not lost to in nine games, although they are looking to complete their first league double over the…
Kevin De Bruyne and Son Heung-min have joined Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold in being nominated for the Premier League s Player of the Season award.
De Bruyne, who won the award in 2019-20 despite Manchester City missing out on the title to Liverpool that season, is enjoying his best goalscoring campaign for the club.
He netted four goals in a 5-1 thrashing of Wolves on Wednesday, taking him to 19 in all competitions.
Salah is the only other past winner to be up for the award, having scored 22 goals and provided 13 assists (both league-high tallies) in another outstanding campaign as Liverpool battle City for the title.
Fellow Reds star Alexander-Arnold is also on the shortlist after racking up 12 assists in 31 appearances, as is T…
Mohamed Salah was affected by his contract saga in the latter stages of last season, according to Liverpool team-mate Virgil van Dijk.
Egypt international Salah signed a new deal at Anfield last month worth a reported £350,000 a week, making him the highest-earning player in the club s history.
That brought an end to months of speculation regarding the 30-year-old s future, having himself hinted that he may move away as he entered the final year of his previous deal.
Despite Salah finishing last season as the Premier League s joint-top goalscorer alongside Son Heung-min, Van Dijk believes the contract standoff took its toll on the Egypt star.
At the end of the season, from maybe April until the end, there was a lot of talk about his contract and stuff, …