Oklahoma Thunder whop Heats
MIAMI — LeBron James won the last two MVP awards but his grip on the trophy could be slipping after Kevin Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the Miami Heat 112-95 Wednesday.
Durant, who has finished second to James in MVP voting three times in his career, scored 33 points to stretch his 30-or-more points streak to a dozen contests.
Durant said he looks forward to these contests against the two-time defending champion Heat and he’s not taking anything for granted.
“It could be my last game every time I step on the floor so I got to give it my all,” the 25-year old Durant said. “He’s (James) a great competitor and I love playing against him.”
James finished with a game-high 34 points in front of a crowd of 19,673 at AmericanAirlines Arena but it wasn’t enough to give the Heat their fourth straight win at home.
“They beat us pretty good. From the second quarter on they did what they wanted to do,” James said.
This was a rematch of the 2011-2012 NBA finals and the Thunder and Heat remain two of the best teams in the league, but it didn’t live up to the pre-game hype.
Durant shot 12-of-23 from the floor and added seven rebounds and five assists for the Thunder, who have won nine straight games.
Miami stormed out to a huge lead in the opening minutes, but the Thunder outscored them 110-77 the rest of the way.
“We were down 22-4 and could easily have folded it up, especially because we are on the road. But we moved the basketball, got some good looks and made some shots,” Durant said.
Durant has carried the Thunder on his back during the latest win streak. On Monday, he scored 41 against the Atlanta Hawks, including the winning jumper with less than two seconds left.
UAE, Scotland qualify for cricket World Cup
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Cricketing minnows the United Arab Emirates and Scotland secured berths at the 2015 World Cup yesterday after taking the top two spots at a qualification tournament in New Zealand.
Both teams finished the round robin phase of the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup Qualifier on eight points after posting four wins and one loss, with the UAE’s superior run rate giving them the edge over Scotland.
The results mean they will play in next year’s World Cup alongside superpowers of the game such as India and Australia.
Scotland have featured in the World Cup twice before, in 1999 and 2007, while the UAE appeared in the tournament’s 1996 edition.
The Scots qualified after beating Kenya by three wickets in their final match with just three balls to spare, while the UAE downed Namibia by 36 runs.
Juninho retires from football
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Juninho, the Brazilian midfielder who won seven consecutive French league titles with Lyon, retired from football yesterday, his 39th birthday.
Roberto Dinamite, president of his present club, Vasco da Gama, told local media: “I want to confirm Juninho Pernambucano’s decision.
“We talked and he decided to end his career; he’ll give a press conference on Monday,” said Dinamite.
Juninho, who has not played since injuring his right thigh in November, was a noted set-piece specialist, scoring 100 goals for Lyon, which he captained.
He was part of the Brazil team that made it through to the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup.
Juninho left Lyon, French champions between 2001 and 2008, for a two-year spell in Qatar, a brief period with MLS side Red Bulls New York before returning to Brazil to Vasco da Gama, the club where his career began.
French court drops sex charges against Ribery, Benzema
PARIS, France (AFP) — A Paris court yesterday dropped the case against French footballers Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery, who had been accused of having sex with underage prostitute Zahia Dehar.
The court also dropped the case against Ribery’s brother-in-law, but handed down sentences ranging from three months suspended to one year plus an extra year suspended to five others accused of pimping.
Bayern Munich and France winger Ribery’s lawyer, Carlo Alberto Brusa, said that his client “had goosebumps” when he was told the news.
“This affair will nevertheless leave behind a little field of ruins,” he added. “Many people have been hurt by this.
“We have fought for this acquittal to leave no blemishes. One can make mistakes in life without it having anything to do with the courts.”
Sylvain Cormier, the lawyer acting for Real Madrid striker Benzema, said he was pleased that the case was finally at an end after “pointless” proceedings lasting four years.
“Karim had protested his innocence,” he said, adding that the case had been a “nightmare” for his client.
Tiger Woods improves form at Dubai Classic
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Tiger Woods enjoyed some welcome Arabian comfort yesterday, opening the Dubai Desert Classic with a 68 that was 11 shots better than his previous round at Torrey Pines last Saturday.
That seven-over flop in San Diego meant that the world number one got his 2014 campaign off to the worst possible of starts by missing the cut on a course where he was a multiple winner.
“Just a bad day at the office”, was his unperturbed assessment of that round, and he did enough at the Majlis Course, where he has won twice previously, to give that view some credence.
“Overall it was a pretty good score. Maybe could have gotten two more out of it. After going 0 for 12 on birdies on the par-fives last week, it was actually nice to make one too. The first hole, right out of the gate. Got rolling from there a little bit.”
Rolling for Woods meant further birdies at 13, 15 and 18 to go out in four under. He struggled a bit coming back in on the more tricky front nine, especially off the tee, but his short game was sharp and he came home without a bogey on his card.
Bayern need the challenge, says Guardiola
BERLIN, Germany — Coach Pep Guardiola has said Bayern Munich needed the challenge of a dramatic win in Stuttgart to maintain their record unbeaten league run, with the Bundesliga title race effectively over.
Bayern went 13 points clear in the table on Wednesday with a dramatic 2-1 win as Thiago Alcantara’s stunning 93rd-minute volleyed bicycle-kick saw off a spirited Stuttgart challenge and extended Bayern’s record unbeaten league run out to 43 matches.
The Bavarians last lost in the German league back in October 2012 and this season’s German title race is widely considered to be over with more than three months still to play.
But Bayern did not have things their own way in Stuttgart, falling behind to a Vedad Ibisevic goal after 29 minutes before Claudio Pizarro equalised 14 minutes from time, then Alcantara volleyed the winner in added time.
Guardiola says his side needed a tough league match to remind them that nothing is yet decided, despite their massive lead.
“If a team doesn’t lose 43 times and everyone says that the Bundesliga (title-race) is over and the championship is secured, it’s not easy for the players’ mentality,” said Guardiola.
“To always win, win, win — I know how difficult that is.”
Federer joins Swiss team for Davis Cup tie
NOVI SAD, Serbia (AFP) — Roger Federer, a last-minute addition to Switzerland’s team, opens the Davis Cup World Group first round tie against Serbia’s Ilija Bozoljac, ranked a modest 268th, today.
Federer, who fell to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open semi-finals, was initially left off the Swiss squad sheet for this tie against last season’s beaten finalists.
But the world number eight decided to make a rare first-round appearance to help a Swiss team featuring Stanislas Wawrinka, who succeeded where Federer failed in Melbourne by beating Nadal to clinch his first Grand Slam title on Sunday.
Wawrinka, who has risen to third in the world, follows Federer on the hard indoor surface at Novi Sad against Dusan Lajovic.
The Serbs are weakened with the absence of Novak Djokovic and Janko Tipsarevic.
Mourinho lashes West Ham
LONDON, England — Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho angrily accused West Ham United of playing “football from the nineteenth century” after they secured a hard-fought 0-0 draw against his side.
Chelsea dominated a one-sided game at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, but were unable to find a way through the obdurate defence of Sam Allardyce’s West Ham.
That meant they missed out on the chance to move second in the Premier League table, leaving them three points behind new leaders Manchester City, whom they face next at the Etihad Stadium on Monday.
“It’s very difficult to play a football match where only one team wants to play,” said Mourinho. “Very difficult. A match is about two teams playing. This match was only one team playing, and another team not.
“I told Big Sam (Allardyce), and I repeat my words, that they need points. Because they need points, to come here and not play and do it the way they did, is it acceptable? Maybe yes. Maybe yes.
“I cannot be too critical because if I was in this position, I don’t know if I would do the same. Maybe I would. So I don’t want to criticise that.
“But at the same time, this is not Premier League. This is not the best league in the world. This is football from the nineteenth century. Too bad.”