■ Basketball
Suns sold for US$401m
The US$401 million sale of the Phoenix Suns to San Diego banking executive Robert Sarver was completed as scheduled on Wednesday. NBA owners unanimously approved the transaction, the Suns said in a brief news release. Sarver owns about one-third of the franchise, with the remainder split among a group of investors that includes former NBA player Steve Kerr and Suns' president Bryan Colangelo. Former NBA stars Charles Barkley and Sean Elliott had been listed as owners but decided against making the investment before the transaction was completed. Bryan's father, Jerry Colangelo, who came to Phoenix as general manager of the expansion Suns 36 years ago, relinquished his 20 percent ownership but will remain as Suns' chairman and chief executive.
■ Auto Racing
Scott Pruett in pole position
Scott Pruett won his fourth pole of the season Wednesday for the Grand American sports car race at Daytona International Speedway. Pruett put his Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus Riley on the pole with a best lap of 192.888kph to take the inside of the front row for Thursday's Paul Revere 250. Starting second will be David Donohue in a Porsche Fabcar after a lap of 191.682kph.
■ Basketball
Ha secures deal with Nike
The first South Korean player in the National Basketball Association has landed a four-year sponsorship contract with sports apparel giant, Nike, the company announced yesterday. Ha Seung-jin, a 223cm center from Seoul's Yonsei University, was a second-round pick by the Portland Trail Blazers in last week's NBA draft.
BOUNCE BACK: Curry scored 46 points in the Warriors’ victory over the Spurs, after ‘everybody stepped up’ following Tuesday’s blowout loss to Oklahoma City Nikola Jokic scoring 50 or more points had never been enough for the Denver Nuggets to win — until now. Jokic on Wednesday night tied the highest-scoring performance in the NBA this season with 55 points, as the Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Clippers 130-116 for their sixth straight victory. The Nuggets were 0-4 in his previous 50-point outbursts. “It’s a good feeling,” the three-time NBA Most Valuable Player said. He equaled Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 55 in a double-overtime game at the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 23. Jokic has been on a roll during Denver’s winning streak. He is the
TIGHT GAME: The Detroit Pistons, the NBA’s second-best team, barely outlasted the Washington Wizards, who fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss Cade Cunningham’s triple double, Daniss Jenkins’ three-pointer at the buzzer and Javonte Green’s overtime dunk lifted Detroit past Washington 137-135 on Monday, stretching the Pistons’ win streak to seven games. In an unexpected thriller, the NBA’s second-best team barely outlasted a Wizards club that fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss. “We knew how big this game was for us,” Jenkins said. “We wasn’t going to let nothing stop us from getting this W.” Cunningham made 14-of-45 shots and 16-of-18 free throws for a career-high 46 points, and added 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and two
The tri-nation Twenty20 international series featuring hosts Pakistan, as well as Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, is to be played entirely in Rawalpindi from Tuesday next week, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said yesterday, after this week’s suicide bombing in the capital, Islamabad. The change came after at least eight Sri Lankan players asked to leave over security fears following Tuesday’s bombing that killed 12 people and wounded 27. Their country’s cricket board issued a stern directive to the team to stay put or face consequences. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said the decision to stay was taken after “close consultations” with hosts Pakistan who
Australian restaurant chain Grill’d has made a cheeky apology for putting a “curse” on Oscar Piastri’s Formula One title hopes with their offer of a free burger for every time the McLaren driver gets on the podium. The Melbourne native has not finished in the top three since the promotion relaunched five races ago, losing the championship lead to teammate Lando Norris and now 24 points behind. Online conspiracy theorists have been quick to put two and two together. The chain’s Piastri 81 Burger debuted ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in March, with his endorsement, and was relaunched in September after he
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