BASKETBALL
Cousins out for season
New Orleans Pelicans forward LaMarcus Cousins, set for a starting appearance in the NBA All-Star Game next month, is to miss the remainder of the season, the club announced on Saturday. Cousins is to undergo surgery to repair a ruptured left Achilles tendon suffered when he was going for a rebound late in the Pelicans’ 115-113 victory over Houston on Friday. Cousins’ spot on the LeBron James All-Star roster is to be taken by Oklahoma City’s Paul George, but it will be James who decides which player replaces Cousins as a starter. Cousins is averaging 25.2 points and 1.6 blocked shots a game, as well as career highs of 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists a game. He ranked third in the league in rebounds and eighth in scoring.
CYCLING
Local rider wins ocean race
Jay McCarthy yesterday became the first local rider to win the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in Geelong, Australia, battling through extreme heat to finish in a sprint ahead of Italian Elia Viviani. McCarthy took the fourth edition of the 164km race in 4 hours, 4 minutes. Viviani and South Africa’s Daryl Impey were in second and third place respectively with the same time. McCarthy, 25, said he was speechless at finishing his last race in Australia with a win before heading back to Europe. He had talked up his chances of a win before the race as teammate and three-time world cycling champion Peter Sagan had left Australia after the Tour Down Under. The riders endured searing heat conditions that saw the mercury soar above 40°C. Race commentators said road surface temperatures rose to 50°C.
GOLF
Hsu in third in Bahamas
Canada’s Brooke Henderson on Saturday battled another day of windy conditions to finish her second round five-under-par overall and with a one-stroke lead at the season-opening Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic. Strong winds, which have already forced organizers to cut the competition from 72 to 54 holes, delayed the start of play at the Paradise Island Ocean Golf Club before the second round was suspended due to darkness. On the last shot of the day, Feng Shanshan sank a putt on the par-five 18th for birdie to give her sole possession of second place with nine holes of her second round left to play yesterday. Taiwan’s Hsu Wei-ling shot a 69 to gain a share of a five-way tie for third place that includes Americans Lexi Thompson, Danielle Kang and Ryann O’Toole, as well as rookie Luna Sobron Galmes of Spain.
CRICKET
Pakistan downs NZ by 18
Pakistan yesterday beat New Zealand by 18 runs in the series-deciding Twenty20 match at Mount Maunganui. The victory gave Pakistan a come-from-behind 2-1 series win that will see them overtake New Zealand at the top of the world rankings. Pakistan made 181-6 batting first with Fakhar Zaman making 46, while Umar Amin clipped 21 off seven deliveries. New Zealand were 163-6 after their 20 overs with Martin Guptill making 59. The consecutive defeats, following an 13-match winning streak across all formats against the West Indies and Pakistan, put a dampener on New Zealand’s preparation for next month’s triangular series with Australia and England.
MOTHER KNOWS BEST: Warriors’ coach Kerr said his 91-year-old mother criticized him for his attitude toward officials that led to his ejection from Monday’s game Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Wednesday rescued the Oklahoma City Thunder with a game-tying buzzer-beater before finishing with 46 points in a 129-125 overtime victory against the Utah Jazz. The reigning NBA champions looked to be heading for a third straight loss after the Jazz inched into a 114-112 lead following Lauri Markkanen’s layup with just three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. However, NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander drained a superb 13-foot jump shot to tie it up at 114-114 as the buzzer sounded to send the game into overtime. Gilgeous-Alexander then took over in the extra period with nine points as the Western
Mohamed Salah’s Egypt knocked reigning champions Ivory Coast out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a 3-2 win in the quarter-finals on Saturday, while Victor Osimhen starred as Nigeria beat Algeria 2-0 to set up a clash with hosts Morocco. In Agadir, Morocco, a thrilling last-eight tie saw Omar Marmoush and Ramy Rabia net in the first half for the Pharaohs before an own goal by Ahmed Aboul-Fetouh brought the Ivorians back into it. Salah then got Egypt’s third early in the second half and they held on after Guela Doue again reduced the deficit. Egypt is to face Senegal
AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE: Sabalenka aims to follow up with a third Australian Open win, while Taiwanese Joanna Garland claimed a WTA 125 title in Canberra Aryna Sabalenka beat Karolina Muchova in straight sets to reach her third Brisbane International final in a row yesterday, a week ahead of the Australian Open. Sabalenka looked in great touch against the tricky Czech, who had won their last three meetings and went into the match as one of the few players with a winning record over the world No. 1. However, Sabalenka showed her class and power as she broke Muchova once in each set to take the semi-final 6-3, 6-4 in 89 minutes to face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final. “I struggled against her a couple of times [in
Brandon Miller scored 18 points, LaMelo Ball had 17 and the Charlotte Hornets built a 47-point lead in the first half of a 150-95 rout against the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. It was the second-biggest win in franchise history for the Hornets and their largest on the road. The Hornets bounced back from a pair of frustrating losses in a big way, having fallen to Toronto by one point and Indiana by two in their last two games. Charlotte pounded the NBA champion Thunder by 27 in Oklahoma City before those defeats, previously the Hornets’ most lopsided victory of the season. Tre
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