Henrietta Knight is feeling the nerves as she prepares to resume her training career with two potential runners at Wincanton on Friday.
The 77-year-old handed in her licence back in 2012 following a stellar career highlighted by Best Mate’s three victories in the Cheltenham Gold Cup between 2002 and 2004.
She also counted 2000 Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Edredon Bleu among her stable stars, while Somersby, Calgary Bay, Racing Demon and Lord Noelie were other leading lights for the West Lockinge yard.
Zettabyte and Ballywalter, who could contest the Start Your RacingTV Free Trial Now Handicap Hurdle and Stayers Maiden Hurdle at Wincanton respectively, are evidently some way below the calibre of those stable luminaries, but Knight admits the butterflies are setting in.
She said: “I’m quite nervous thinking about it and I think I’m more nervous than when I sent out Best Mate in his third Gold Cup.
“Lots of people have been writing about us and I think there is an expectation for us to have a winner as we had a winner with our first runner in 1989 at Bangor.
“The plan is very much to go to Wincanton on Friday providing it is on. Zettabyte would prefer better ground, while Ballywalter is not a particularly fast horse but he will love the ground. He is a very honest and game horse that jumps and stays well.
“He is owned by my niece, who will be there at Wincanton with me, and he will run in my late sister’s (Celia) colours so it will be an extremely emotional day.”
Knight has kept her hand in the racing world over the intervening years, writing several books, as well as setting up a pre-training and schooling business, which she will be continuing to operate, and acting as racing manager to the late owner Mike Grech.
She will have former trainer Brendan Powell as her assistant, while secretary Dawn Graham has returned to her old role.
Knight saddled seven Cheltenham Festival winners during her first spell in the training ranks and the ultimate goal is to add to that tally – although she does not anticipate that success in the immediate future.
She added: “I would love to have another winner at Cheltenham, but I might have to wait until I’m in my 80s for that to happen as a lot of the horses we have are young and exciting and some are only two or three years old.
“It would be my aim to have another winner at Cheltenham as you can’t describe that feeling. However, for all that those previous days there were wonderful, I never look back.
“I don’t really have the time to sit back and watch those races. Racing is about planning ahead and keeping on going forwards. You can’t keep winding the clock back.
“We are already halfway through this season, and next season we will start to have targets. At the moment, it is just going to be one step at a time, but it will be nice when we get the first winner on the board.”
Ted Walsh expects Any Second Now to be suited by conditions should he line up in Saturday’s Wigley Group Classic Chase at Warwick.
The 12-year-old is one of 21 entries for the three-mile-five-furlong feature, with his trainer eager to make an inaugural visit to the track as he seeks a winning opportunity for the veteran.
Any Second Now finished down the field on his return at Navan last month and after racing off a career-high mark of 167 in last year’s Grand National, his rating has now fallen to 148 in Ireland.
“I’ve never had a runner at Warwick, I’ve never been to Warwick, but it’s a race I’ve often watched. It suits the National-type of horse, it’s a lot of jumping and you really have to stay there which I think will suit him,” he told the Nick Luck Daily podcast.
“I’m very limited in what I can do here. He’s not good enough for the better races and I ran him at Navan off 150, but a lot of the races here are confined at 150 – he’s now 148.
“If I don’t go there, I’ll go to the Thyestes, but the Thyestes is very, very heavy ground and it’s competitive. Warwick is definitely on the agenda to go there.”
Having finished third at Aintree in 2021 and second in 2022, Any Second Now is a 33-1 shot with bet365 for this year’s marathon, but Walsh feels his chance of National glory has gone.
He said: “He’s now 12 years of age – he’s a pensioner. I haven’t any aspiration of him being a live contender for the National anymore, but I think he’s quite capable of winning a race somewhere.
“I need a lot of help (from the handicapper). He’s been a very good, consistent horse and he’s always run a good race but he’s not what he used to be, which you wouldn’t expect, and he crawled up the handicap through his good runs in the National.
“I don’t honestly think he was ever quite as high as the English handicapper rated him, he was up in the 160s at one stage. I never thought he was a Grade One horse.
“He’s a good handicapper and can win a Grade Three chase. He’s been a great servant and I’d like to think there’s another race in him somewhere and I put him in at Warwick because I think the conditions of the race will suit.”
Walsh was “absolutely shocked” last year when the British Horseracing Authority’s chase handicapper Martin Greenwood allotted Any Second Now top-weight for the National with a mark of 167, a rating the trainer still feels was inflated.
He added: “We don’t always agree with Martin Greenwood, but we’re on the other side of the fence and whatever he gives us, we would think he could give us a few pounds less, that’s the way it is.
“I didn’t think in the National last year, I’ve a good memory and he isn’t the calibre of horses I saw carry top-weight and run well in the National, the likes of L’Escargot, Crisp and Red Rum – he never was of that calibre.
“It’s up to Martin Greenwood to assess him, but I honestly thought he had what he had, but I think he wasn’t within 7lb of those horses.”
While the ante-post market for the National is still in its formative stages, a couple of those prominent in the betting are also pencilled in for Warwick.
The Jonjo O’Neill-trained Monbeg Genius leads the way as a 20-1 chance for Aintree, with the Dan Skelton-trained Galia Des Liteaux a 40-1 chance along with Malina Girl, who could be another Irish raider for Gavin Cromwell.
Other key names possible for Warwick include Beauport, Rowland Meyrick winner Fontaine Collonges, last season’s Midlands National hero Major Dundee and Guetapan Collonges, who finished fourth in last year’s renewal.
Barcelona defender Inigo Martinez is facing another spell on the sidelines after suffering a fresh injury setback on his return to action at the weekend.
The Spain international lasted just 11 minutes as he made his comeback from a hamstring problem as a second-half substitute in Sunday’s Copa del Rey victory at Barbastro.
The 32-year-old now has a thigh injury and, having just spent a month out, is now facing a further period on the casualty list.
An update from the club read: “Tests carried out on the first team player show that Inigo Martinez has an injury to the biceps femoris muscle in his left thigh.
“He is unavailable for selection and his recovery will dictate his return.”
Maidstone United produced the biggest FA Cup upset at the weekend as the lowest-ranked team left in the competition beat Stevenage to reach the fourth round.
The sixth-tier club are waiting to learn who they face next after a 1-0 victory against the League One side sealed their sixth FA Cup win this season and a place in the hat for Monday night’s draw.
Here, the PA news agency turns the spotlight on The Stones, who have reached the fourth round for the first time.
Route to the fourth round
Second qualifying round – Steyning Town 1-4 Maidstone
Third qualifying round – Winchester City 0-2 Maidstone
Fourth qualifying round – Torquay 0-2 Maidstone
First round proper – Chesham United 0-2 Maidstone
Second round proper – Maidstone 2-1 Barrow
Third round proper – Maidstone 1-0 Stevenage
Upsetting the odds
Maidstone reached the third round proper for the first time since 1987 when coming from behind to beat League Two promotion-chasers Barrow 2-1 last month thanks to goals from Sam Corne and Bivesh Gurung, who fired a superb 74th-minute winner. Against Stevenage on Saturday, midfielder Corne kept a cool head to convert a first-half penalty and that was enough to dump out Steve Evans’ League One high-flyers, who are 69 places above The Stones in the league pyramid.
Elokobi eyes dream tie with Wolves
Manager George Elokobi said after his side’s win on Saturday that it would be a dream come true if they were drawn to play his former club Wolves in the fourth round. Elokobi, who moved to England from Cameroon aged 16, spent six years as a defender at Molineux before ending his playing career with The Stones and also had spells at Colchester, Oldham and Leyton Orient. “Whoever we draw, it’s a privilege and a great time to be a Maidstone United player, fan, for the management team, owners and backroom staff. It is a historic day,” he said.
Boom and bust
Maidstone won promotion to the Football League for the first time in 1989 but at the end of their third season in the old Fourth Division, the club’s debts had spiralled out of control and they were liquidated in 1992. A new club, Maidstone Invicta, was established in the Kent County League Fourth Division and in 1995 they changed their name to Maidstone United. They have had two spells in the National League since 2016 and were relegated to National League South last season.
Home from home
During their spell in the Football League, Maidstone were forced to play home games at Dartford as their ground was not up to standard and they were without a stadium of their own until 2012 when the £2.8million Gallagher Stadium was opened in the town on James Whatman Way. After several improvements, the ground now has a seated capacity of 4,200. Maidstone are currently fifth in the National League South table, 13 points behind leaders Yeovil.
Joe Gomez insists Liverpool will not get giddy at the prospect of another potential quadruple tilt, but has acknowledged there is a fire in the squad to achieve this season.
The Premier League leaders continue to battle on four fronts after they progressed into the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday with a 2-0 win at Arsenal.
Next on the agenda for Jurgen Klopp’s team is Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at home to Fulham, but Gomez says there is no prospect of complacency creeping in.
He said: “We don’t want to get giddy. We’re all just full of desire and want to make the best out of the season.
“All we can do is take it one game at a time. I know it’s a cliche, but there’s desire and we have a platform to build on.
“We can’t take that for granted, as we know with last season it’s not always plain-sailing and we went through rough patches but we built from it and learnt from it. So, we have to keep at it and see where it takes us.”
Gomez only made 31 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool last season, but is already up to 26 this term and has recently been used at left-back with Andrew Robertson absent.
While the unorthodox position has been a challenge for the London-born defender, he relished another battle with Bukayo Saka and hailed a big team effort at the Emirates.
“He’s a top player, a direct winger. It’s not often the case these days but he’s one that will stay wide to pick up the ball and drive at you. It was tough. I knew it was going to be having played him so recently but yeah, great team performance, we all dug deep,” Gomez added.
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“It’s different at left back! It’s been a challenge to adapt. Small, minor differences that maybe aren’t noted, maybe how you receive the ball and so on.
“But people at the club know me now, they know I will give my all. I’ve been here long enough now but I’m grateful to play for the club.”
Liverpool were on the ropes for long period in the capital before Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free kick produced Jakub Kiwior’s own-goal and a late Luis Diaz strike made it four wins in five for Klopp’s men.
The victory was all the more impressive considering the club’s lengthy list of absentees with captain Virgil van Dijk ill, while Mohamad Salah is away at the African Cup of Nations.
Nevertheless, Gomez hailed the togetherness of the squad and backed them to take another step towards silverware in this week’s cup tie with Fulham at Anfield.
“There’s definitely a good bond in the team. There’s definitely a freshness and fire about the team,” he added.
“We’re not over-analysing who we lost and who we don’t have. We’ve got top players who we’ve missed this year.
“Thiago, Robbo, Kostas (Tsimikas), Mo going, but the gaffer keeps reiterating we can all do a job defensively and we can all defend.
“It means we don’t have to worry about who’s missing. We have to keep that mentality.
“We’ve got a bit more of a spring in our step. Another big game on Wednesday. We want to get to another final, (it’s) over two legs but we’ll go for it.”
Kevin De Bruyne admits he will need to hold himself back as he eases himself into action following a long lay-off.
De Bruyne made his first appearance in five months with an impressive substitute cameo in Manchester City’s 5-0 FA Cup third-round demolition of Championship Huddersfield on Sunday.
The Belgium playmaker was given the last 33 minutes of a one-sided tie at the Etihad Stadium and wasted no time as he set up his side’s fifth goal for another player returning from injury, Jeremy Doku.
De Bruyne had a hamstring operation in August after being troubled further by a problem that had affected him in the latter stages of last season’s treble-winning campaign.
“I worked hard and I’m happy to be back,” said the 32-year-old. “I felt good so I’m pleased about that but I’m still nowhere near where I need to be.
“It’s a good continuation of the process of the last few weeks. I feel good, the movements were good, I felt comfortable in what I was doing and that was the only thing I was really looking for.
“To get that ovation after being away for five months gives you more of a boost. There will be moments I want to play every game but I know in the back of my mind I need to take care of myself.
“It’s good being January where we have fewer games. I don’t expect to be playing too many games and Newcastle next week is a big game so I’ll expect to be back on the bench.”
Getting injured was an obvious frustration for De Bruyne but, given his heavy schedule for club and country in recent years, he tried to turn the situation into a positive.
He said: “To be honest I enjoyed it in a way.
“At the beginning it was a big blow but I knew I was going to be out for four or five months, so after the first reaction I thought to myself I needed to work hard when I’m working, but then I could enjoy the things that I’ve not been able to do with my family and friends.
“Maybe it was good to refresh a little bit. It’s not like I needed a break but I took it, to turn a disadvantage into an advantage.”
City were already well in control when De Bruyne entered the fray after first-half goals from Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez. A third goal came after an Oscar Bobb cross deflected in off Ben Jackson and Foden doubled his tally before Doku wrapped up the scoring.
Despite his return, De Bruyne confirmed Kyle Walker will remain as the team’s regular captain having worn the armband throughout the Belgian’s absence.
“I’m number two, Walks is number one,” said De Bruyne.
Huddersfield boss Darren Moore felt his team acquitted themselves well and hopes that spirit can be carried forward as they look to pull away from the bottom end of the Sky Bet Championship.
Moore said: “It’s no disgrace to lose against arguably the best team in the world.
“It is about what we can take into next week and the second half of the season. For me as a manager a lot has been learnt, and certainly the players learnt a lot.”
World Championship runner-up Luke Littler will make his World Series debut later this month following the 16-year-old’s stunning breakthrough at Alexandra Palace.
The Professional Darts Corporation has included Littler in the line-ups for the Bahrain Darts Masters and the Dutch Darts Masters after hitting the headlines around the world for his remarkable run to the record-breaking world final last week.
‘The Nuke’ lost 7-4 to Luke Humphries, denying him one of the greatest sporting stories of all time by becoming the youngest world champion, but his exploits have opened up several doors.
He has already secured a Premier League place and will now be part of the 16-player fields at the two-day events at the Bahrain International Circuit on January 18-19 and Maaspoort Den Bosch on January 26-27.
Humphries will be announced on stage as world champion for the first time in Bahrain, while Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Nathan Aspinall, Peter Wright and Rob Cross will all be competing against eight local representatives in both tournaments.
Newcastle defender Fabian Schar has signed a contract extension which will keep him at the club until the summer of 2025, the Magpies have announced.
The 32-year-old Switzerland defender, whose existing deal was due to expire at the end of the season, has committed his future to the Tyneside outfit for at least another campaign two days after playing his part in a 3-0 derby victory over Sunderland in the FA Cup third round.
A club statement said: “Newcastle United are pleased to announce that defender Fabian Schar has extended his contract at St. James’ Park until the summer of 2025.
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“Switzerland international Schar, who turned 32 last month, has made 169 appearances for the club since arriving from Deportivo La Coruna in July 2018.”
Schar, who cost Newcastle just £3million when he arrived from Deportivo, has established himself as a key member of Eddie Howe’s side and a firm fans’ favourite with his no-nonsense style of defending.
He is also confident on the ball and is not afraid to stride forward and take aim at goal, which he did to spectacular effect during the famous 4-1 Champions League victory over Paris St Germain at St James’ Park in October.
Schar, who has been capped 78 times by his country, said: “I’ve said it a lot of times, but I feel really at home here.
“I feel so comfortable living in Newcastle. I love the city and I love playing for the club and the incredible fans. I can’t say enough how much I love them, and how much their support means to me.
“Playing for this team where I feel so comfortable with all my team-mates and with the coaching staff feels really like a family for me, so I’m really grateful to stay here a bit longer and hopefully to have some more exciting times.”
Head coach Howe was delighted to have secured the services of one of his most influential players for another season.
Howe said: “Fabian has been excellent for us. Since I’ve come to the football club, he’s been a model of consistency and a big part of our success.
“He’s defended very well but he’s hugely talented with the ball as well, so we’re delighted that he’s extended his time here.”
Paul Nicholls has raised the possibility of Bravemansgame contesting the Betfair Denman Chase at Newbury next month en-route to a second tilt at the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The nine-year-old had to make do with the runner-up spot in his bid for back-to-back victories in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day, with Nicholls of the belief he may have held off the fast-finishing Hewick had he not been hampered by Shishkin’s exit two fences from home.
Last season Bravemansgame headed straight from the King George to the Gold Cup, in which he finished second to Galopin Des Champs, but admitted in his latest ‘Ditcheat Diary’ instalment with Betfair that he is having a change of heart as how best to approach the blue riband this time around.
“He’s come out of the race very well actually, he’s had an easy time and has kept his condition this year better than ever before,” said the champion trainer.
“There’s lots of debate going on about who would have won and I think if Shishkin and Bravemansgame hadn’t got in a bit of a muddle, it would have been really interesting. He (Bravemansgame) definitely showed signs he’s coming back to his best and I think it would have been very close.
“I was going to go straight to Cheltenham and I haven’t spoken to Bryan (Drew, owner), but I’ve spoken to Clifford (Baker, head lad) and I said ‘look, every time we went to the Gold Cup with Kauto Star or Silviniaco Conti or Denman, we always ran in the Denman Chase en-route to Cheltenham’.
“I just thought why not change tack a little bit and rather than being too hard on him at home, keep him nice and fresh and have a look, possibly, at the Denman Chase and then go on to Cheltenham.
“The Denman Chase is a possibility, I’m not saying it’s definite, but we could try to do something different with him and train him a little bit differently.”
Bravemansgame is one of two Gold Cup entries for Nicholls along with star novice Stay Away Fay.
Nicholls expects the latter to stick to novice company at the Festival at this stage, although that could change if he takes his chance and impresses in the Cotswold Chase on Festival Trials Day.
He added: “He’s very unlikely to run in the Gold Cup, I just put him in that because we were in the Cotswold Chase.
“He’s on schedule to run possibly in the Cotswold Chase, or the Reynoldstown is the other good option for him, and if you’re not in it (Gold Cup) you can’t run.
“Let’s just see how we run on our next start. I don’t think I’ve ever run a novice in the Gold Cup, but novices have won it, so it is possible.
“Last year’s winner (Galopin Des Champs) looks the one to beat – he looks head and shoulders above everybody else – but has he improved that much from when he beat Bravemansgame seven lengths last year?
“In that race the other day in Ireland (Savills Chase), he looked good, but I can’t believe he’s that far in front of all the others. Maybe he is, but we’ve got to keep all our options open.”
William Saliba has vowed Arsenal will come back stronger after they suffered a third consecutive defeat on Sunday.
The Gunners created a number of chances, especially in the first half but exited the FA Cup in the third round following a 2-0 loss at home to Liverpool.
It saw Mikel Arteta’s team conclude a difficult festive period on another low after a run of four defeats in their last seven matches.
Arsenal will get the chance to reset with no fixture until January 20 and they are set to spend this week away in Dubai at a warm-weather training camp.
“We have to stick together,” Saliba said.
“We know we’re not in our best moment, but we won’t give up and we’ll come back even stronger.
“We will work a lot during this break, we will breathe a little bit. We will stick together and come back stronger and better.”
Arsenal were top of the Premier League on Christmas Day, but have only scored once in their last three fixtures in all competitions.
Like in their 2-0 loss to West Ham, their final home clash of 2023, the Gunners were wasteful in front of goal against Liverpool and made to pay when Jakub Kiwior headed an own goal past Aaron Ramsdale in the 80th minute.
Luis Diaz confirmed Liverpool’s place in round four with a fine finish after a slick counter-attack, but it could have been a different story had Reiss Nelson, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz taken excellent first-half chances.
Arteta played down talk of a January move for a forward and insisted the fans must stick with his young side.
Saliba told the official club website: “I’m really disappointed because we started the game so well.
“We had too many chances too score, but we didn’t. Even in the second half, we were good. Unfortunately we conceded one free kick 10 minutes before the end.
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“We have to kill the game off before because when we have so many chances like this, we have to score.
“We have to defend free kicks better, we cannot concede like this, so we can be really disappointed.”
Arsenal were without forward Gabriel Jesus for the visit of Liverpool due to another knee injury, but Arteta played down concerns.
“He had some pain in his knee. We have done a scan that shows something,” Arteta insisted.
“Hopefully it’s not something big. It’s the same knee that he had before, so we could not take any risks.”
The return of Colin Graves to Yorkshire would “undermine the progress” the game has made against racism and “make a mockery” of those who have suffered in the past, according to the Sporting Equals charity.
Sporting Equals, which promotes ethnic diversity in UK Sport, has issued a strongly-worded open letter about Graves’ potential reinstatement at Headingley.
Graves was Yorkshire chair between 2012 and 2015, before taking the same role at the England and Wales Cricket Board, and heads a consortium in ongoing talks with the debt-ridden county.
The 75-year-old’s previous Yorkshire tenure covered part of a period where the club have admitted charges of failing to address the systemic use of racist or discriminatory language.
For his part Graves denies knowledge of any racist behaviour during his time but controversially suggested there was “a lot of banter”.
Addressing their concerns to sports minister Stuart Andrew, the ECB, county cricket clubs and sports, Sporting Equals wrote: “Cricket has been making an effort to combat racism over the past few years.
“Since Azeem Rafiq publicly exposed the deep systemic problems the ECB, amongst others, have taken action to address these issues.
“However, the potential reinstatement of Colin Graves as chairman of Yorkshire County Cricket Club would undermine the progress made.
“His reinstatement would send a message that emboldens those who perpetuate the myth that racism is simply banter, that it is enough to pay lip service to policies and procedures.
“It would make a mockery of the suffering of ethnically diverse players across the country. It would be a rejection of the ICEC Report’s thorough investigation and well-considered conclusions. This progress must not be stunted.”
The organisation then calls for a five-point plan to be adopted, starting with an independent fit and proper person test for prospective owners.
The other suggestions include a disqualification process “to rid the game of bad actors” and mandatory inclusivity training for those in leadership roles.
Rafiq, writing in the Observer over the weekend, appealed for sponsors to stand against Graves.
He said “There is still time for them to act, to leave now and stop Yorkshire stepping back in time and undoing what progress they have made in the past three years.”
Meanwhile Clive Efford, a member of the Culture, Media and Sport committee, told the PA news agency last week that Graves’ return would be “a disaster for cricket” and a “retrograde step”.
PA has contacted Yorkshire for comment.
Ivan Toney says he lost his love for football during an eight-month betting ban but is ready to return and repay Brentford’s support during his lengthy lay-off.
The 27-year-old England striker has not played since last May, when he was found guilty of 232 breaches of the Football Association’s gambling rules, but is set to make his Premier League comeback against Nottingham Forest on January 20.
He has spent his time away from the game working hard on his own, in extra sessions at the club and on solo trips to Nashville, and admits struggling to come to terms with his punishment.
“I didn’t watch football for a while. In a way I punished myself. There was a stage I probably did fall out of love with football,” he told Sky Sports.
“Missing games and not being around my team-mates was tough. I was confused but what’s done is done now, I can’t dwell on these things. Life’s not fair, we know this, the more you dwell on it the more it’s going to hurt you.”
Toney has been linked with a big-money move, with the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea reportedly interested in a player who netted 20 times last season, but he is keen to show his appreciation for the Bees.
“(Brentford manager) Thomas Frank has been nothing but the biggest help I could have asked for – the whole club has,” Toney added.
“From putting on extra sessions for me, from taking their time out to put a session on and go outside when it’s raining when they’re not supposed to be in. I have a lot to repay them and I can’t wait to try and do that.
“The fans were behind me. Even when I wasn’t at their games, they were singing my name. A friend of mine sent me a video of the fans singing my name, I got goosebumps to know that they’re still behind me, even though I’m not there.
“With Brentford, they’re struggling at the moment but I’m sure when I’m back I will play a big part to get them out of the losing form they’ve been in. I can’t wait to get back and be helping my team-mates.”
Toney’s time away also helped focus his mind on life outside of football and he came away with bold plans for his future off the field.
“I want to start my own businesses, start my own clothing brand. One thing I want to do is get into acting, which I think I’d be quite good at,” he said.
Kyrie Irving hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:05 remaining and finished with 35 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a hard-fought 115-108 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.
The Mavericks trailed 106-100 with under four minutes left before moving ahead to stay with a late 13-0 run highlighted by two Irving 3-pointers, the first of which tied the game with 2:59 left before he connected again less than a minute later.
Luka Dončić added 34 points and eight assists to help Dallas to a third straight win. The Mavericks also stayed in a first-place tie with New Orleans in the Southwest Division after the Pelicans rolled to a 133-100 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
Anthony Edwards had 36 points and 10 rebounds for the suddenly scuffling Timberwolves, while Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points in the loss.
Minnesota remains atop the Western Conference but has now lost three of its last four games.
The Timberwolves did rally in the fourth quarter, though, as they trailed 96-87 with nine minutes left before shifting momentum with a 19-4 run sparked by its two stars. Edwards had 10 points during the spurt and Towns contributed nine.
Grizzlies stun Suns with big fourth-quarter rally
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 28 points and led a fourth-quarter rally that propelled the Memphis Grizzlies to a stunning 121-115 road victory over the Phoenix Suns.
The Grizzlies trailed by 11 points after three quarters before outscoring the Suns by a 35-18 margin in the fourth to spoil the return of Phoenix star Kevin Durant, who was back in the lineup after missing three games with a sore hamstring.
Memphis' comeback also came without the services of its top player, as point guard Ja Morant sat out the contest with a right shoulder injury.
Jackson had 10 points in the fourth quarter and Desmond Bane nine as the Grizzlies took control late. The Grizzlies opened the period on a 14-1 run to take a 100-98 lead, though the Suns regrouped to go back ahead when Durant's jumper with 2:49 left broke a 112-112 tie.
Bane countered with a 3-pointer with 1:47 remaining, though, as Memphis closed the game on a 9-1 spurt to prevail.
Bane finished with 23 points and Marcus Smart had 25 along with eight assists in the Grizzlies' third win in four games.
Durant had 23 points and 10 rebounds in his return, while Devin Booker recorded 24 points and eight assists for Phoenix, which had won five of six coming in.
Lakers hold off rival Clippers to end four-game skid
Taurean Prince hit a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 1:17 left as the Los Angeles Lakers got back on track with a 106-103 win over the cross-town rival Los Angeles Clippers.
The Lakers also got 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists from LeBron James as they snapped a four-game skid and ended the Clippers' five-game winning streak. James finished 11 of 19 from the field, while Anthony Davis went 10 of 15 while contributing 22 points and 10 rebounds.
The Clippers got 22 points each from Paul George and Ivica Zubac and fought back from a 10-point deficit with eight minutes to go to tie the game at 98-98 entering the final two minutes.
George missed a would-be go-ahead 3-pointer, though, and Prince buried a 26-footer before James scored on the Lakers' next possession to put his team up 103-98 inside the final minute.
The Clippers had a chance to force overtime after the Lakers' Austin Reaves made just one of two free throws to make the score 106-103 with 4.2 seconds left. However, Norman Powell's 3-point try just before the buzzer landed off the mark.
Zubac added 19 rebounds for the Clippers, who also got 15 points each from Kawhi Leonard and James Harden despite the star duo going a combined 10 of 30 from the field.
The Atlanta Falcons announced they have fired head coach Arthur Smith after three seasons of missing the playoffs and delivering middling results.
Owner Arthur Blank disclosed the decision in a statement released hours after the Falcons ended their 2023 campaign with Sunday's 48-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Smith went 7-10 in each of his three seasons after being hired in 2021. The 41-year-old previously served 10 seasons as an assistant with the Tennessee Titans, including the last two as that team's offensive coordinator.
The Falcons said they will conduct a search for a new head coach immediately, with Blank and team CEO Rich McKay to lead the operation.
“Decisions like this are never easy and they never feel good,” said Blank in a statement. “We have profound respect for Coach Smith and appreciate all the hard work and dedication he has put into the Falcons over the last three years. He has been part of building a good culture in our football team, but the results on the field have not met our expectations. After significant thought and reflection, we have determined the best way forward for our team is new leadership in the head coaching position.”
Smith came to Atlanta with a reputation as a successful play-caller during his time with the Titans, but the Falcons never finished in the top half of the NFL in total offence in any of his three seasons despite investing high draft choices on expected playmakers in tight end Kyle Pitts (2021), wide receiver Drake London (2022) and running back Bijan Robinson (2023).
Additionally, young quarterback Desmond Ridder struggled in his first season as a full-time starter in 2023 after displaying potential in a four-game stint as a rookie the previous year.
Smith did have the Falcons in position to end the franchise's five-year playoff drought, as the team owned a one-game lead atop the NFC South in early December. Atlanta lost four of its final five games, however, to finish two games back of the Saints and the eventual division champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Falcons last made the postseason in 2018 and their six consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs is tied with the Carolina Panthers for the longest active stretch in the NFC.
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