Paul Townend is still savouring a “massive performance” from Galopin Des Champs in last week’s Savills Chase at Leopardstown.
The reigning Cheltenham Gold Cup hero lined up in the Grade One feature with something to prove following successive defeats at the hands of Fastorslow at Punchestown, but bounced back to his very best with a hugely impressive 23-length victory.
Townend admits Fastorslow’s withdrawal on the morning of the race undoubtedly made his task easier, but feels the Willie Mullins-trained Galopin Des Champs would have proved a tough nut to crack in any case.
“Galopin Des Champs had a lot of questions to answer after his defeats at the Punchestown Festival and in the John Durkan, but he put in a huge performance at Leopardstown,” he said in his Ladbrokes blog.
“I rode him differently, he seemed to be very sweet, and he jumped brilliantly. Fastorslow was a non-runner on the day, and it’s impossible to know what would have happened if he turned up. However, Galopin Des Champs put up an absolutely massive performance and he would have been very hard to beat.
“I can’t wait to get back on him. Willie will probably bring him to the Dublin Racing Festival (Irish Gold Cup) and then onto to Cheltenham for the Gold Cup.
“It is disappointing when big names get beaten but it makes it all the sweeter and more enjoyable when they do come back and perform at the level they are capable of.”
Galopin Des Champs was one of five winners across two days at Leopardstown for the champion jockey, with the other major highlight being the victory of State Man in the Matheson Hurdle.
Many viewed his stablemate Impaire Et Passe as a major threat in the two-mile Grade One, but State Man swatted him aside with relative ease, ensuring the only horse to have beaten him when he has completed since joining the Mullins team is the mighty Constitution Hill in last year’s Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.
Townend added: “State Man just turns up and wins. He is a joy to ride.
“He is one of my favourite horses. He had a big task on his hands with Impaire Et Passe, but actually beat him snug enough come the line.
“Without Constitution Hill, he would be a real champion. He is probably not getting the credit he deserves because of that horse.”
Perhaps the most notable reverse for Townend over the festive period came aboard hot favourite Allaho in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.
While far from disgraced in being beaten just under two lengths into third place, the rider admits he left the Sunbury circuit a shade disappointed.
He said: “I had a great spin around in the King George on Allaho. I really enjoyed it. It was my first time at Kempton and it was a really good experience.
“Shishkin departing at the second last felt like I was gifted a present, but by the time we landed at the back of the last, it was short lived.
“Hewick flew home and pushed Bravemansgame past me for second to take more money from us. It was a big run from Allaho. Did he stay? It is hard to know. He was outstayed by two really good horses.
“I couldn’t have had a better race, it all worked out perfectly, so I was disappointed to have been given a present and then have it taken away from me.
“It was a brilliant race to be a part of. The atmosphere was massive and they are the days you want to be involved with.”
Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley says Kensington Oval being awarded the final of this year’s International Cricket Council (ICC) Men's Twenty20 World Cup, is testament to the country's high level of organisation, as she beamed with pride about the accomplishment.
Mottley, in a statement on Friday boasted about the country's cricketing feats and the fact that Barbados has firmly established itself as a cricketing mecca, while the storied Kensington Oval had cemented its place among the world’s leading sporting venues.
The ICC on Friday announced that Barbados could host the final of the June 1-29 showpiece, which is co-hosted by West Indies and United States of America. Barbados will also host three Super Eight, second round games and five group stage matches.
“It is with a sense of pride and excitement that I join cricketing fans here and across the region, in celebrating Barbados being selected to host the International Cricket Council 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup Final. That Barbados will host this final, as well as eight other games throughout the tournament, three of which are Super 8 (quarter-finals) games, is nothing short of a privilege and an honour," Mottley said.
“It is a historic moment for our country as well, as this will be the third global cricketing final Kensington Oval has hosted, confirming its place among the world’s premiere sporting venues. As a Government, we believe this is a testament to the high level of organisation Barbados has displayed throughout the years, having hosted the 2007 Men’s Cricket World Cup Final and the 2010 Men’s T20 World Cup Final," she added.
Barbados will be one six Caribbean host venues for the ninth edition of the T20 World Cup, with Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines all hosting matches.
Barbados will host its first group stage game on June 2, a clash between Namibia and Oman, and will also welcome two games involving reigning champions England, when they oppose Scotland on June 4, and Australia on June 8.
“It is equally a reflection of the fact that cricket is intrinsically linked to the identity of Barbados. Quite simply, it is in our DNA. Throughout our history, our nation has firmly established itself as a cricketing mecca, producing some of the greatest male and female players to have played the game, including the greatest cricketer the world has ever seen, our National Hero The Right Excellent Sir Garfield Sobers," Mottley noted.
She pointed out that the Oval, located on the outskirts of the city, will now undergo a multi-million renovation in time for the T20 World Cup and, as such, a collaboration with all stakeholders would be crucial in order to make the venture a successful one.
“The planned renovation of Kensington Oval is tangible evidence that Barbados has already started its preparations. Over the coming months, we will continue to work with all stakeholders, in and outside of the sporting arena, to ensure the thousands of fans who gather here from across the world experience a safe, enjoyable and successful tournament and final," Mottley said.
“On behalf of the Government and all Barbadians, I wish to express sincere thanks to the ICC and Cricket West Indies for selecting Barbados and Kensington Oval as the location of choice to host this ICC 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup Final. As Barbadians, I say let us all work together to make sure this tournament is a resounding success. And in so doing, let us reflect the pride and industry we possess as a people, and share it with the world," the Prime Minister ended.
Guyana will host the first semi-final on June 26, while Trinidad and Tobago will take centrestage for the second semi-final a day later.
Llori Sharpe has signed a one -year contract with a UCI Continental Cycling Team- L39ion of Los Angeles (L39ion pronounced Legion).
L39ion was founded in 2019 by brothers Justin and Cory Williams with the goal of increasing diversity and representation in cycling.
The “39” represents 39th Street in Los Angeles where the Williams brothers grew up. The duo are the masterminds behind the formation of the Miami Blazers in 2021 and the Austin Aviators in 2023 - based in Miami & Texas respectively.
The team includes both a women’s and men’s squad with riders from North and Latin America. The 2024 calendar of events commence in March through to December.
Sharpe previously competed for European club CANYON/SRAM.
With the change of teams, Sharpe will switch gears from longer more endurance-based races typical of the European peloton to shorter and faster-paced criterium racing.
Nonetheless Sharpe is excited about the transition and has been doing some base training during her off-season since October in preparation for the transition.
Ile Atlantique appears the first string of five runners for Willie Mullins as the champion trainer goes in search of a record-extending ninth victory in the Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle on Sunday.
It is 19 years since the Closutton handler first landed the now Grade One contest with Homer Wells and he has since added to his tally with the likes of Mikael D’haguenet (2009), Gagewell Flyer (2011), Bellshill (2016) and Champ Kiely (2023).
Ile Atlantique, the choice of stable jockey Paul Townend in this year’s renewal, bolted up by 19 lengths on his hurdling debut at Gowran Park – but does have ground to make up on the Gordon Elliott-trained Firefox, who beat him by three-quarters of a length in a Fairyhouse bumper last spring.
Mullins said: “Paul has picked Ile Atlantique, who must have impressed him the most of our five entries, but all five horses appear in good form at the moment and have been working well over the Christmas period waiting for this race.”
Record-breaking amateur Patrick Mullins is aboard Chapeau De Soleil, who he steered to a comprehensive success at Clonmel on his first start over hurdles.
The Mullins quintet is completed by Annie Power’s unbeaten son Mystical Power (Mark Walsh), Lecky Watson (Danny Mullins) and Readin Tommy Wrong (Daryl Jacob).
“They are each owned by five different owners and they have all shown ability to be good enough to tackle what I think will be one of the best Graded novice races run over the Christmas period in Ireland or England,” the trainer added.
“The five horses have all shown that they have speed and stamina, which will be required for a contest of this nature, and how they run in this race is sure to be a great pointer to the season ahead.”
Firefox is the likely favourite for Elliott, who has previously landed this top-level prize with Death Duty (2017), Battleoverdoyen (2019), Envoi Allen (2020) and Ginto (2022).
Since proving too strong for Ile Atlantique, Firefox has registered a third bumper win at Down Royal and claimed another notable scalp on his hurdling bow at Fairyhouse in the Mullins-trained Ballyburn.
The master of Cullentra has a second string to his bow in the form of Croke Park, who arguably sets the standard on hurdling form, having landed the Grade Three Monksfield at Navan last time out.
“There’s eight good horses in it, we’re looking forward to both of our horses and we hope they’ll run well,” said Elliott.
“Firefox was good the last day and I don’t think stepping up in trip will be a problem to him.
“Croke Park is a good horse as well and hasn’t done much wrong.”
The only runner not trained by Mullins or Elliott is Henry de Bromhead’s An Tobar, who steps up in trip after finishing third in the Grade One Royal Bond at Fairyhouse.
De Bromhead’s race planner Robbie Power said: “He ran very well in the Royal Bond on what was only his second ever start over hurdles. With that experience and the step up to two and a half miles, this looked a good race to go for.
“The Fairyhouse race looked a strong Grade One, as the winner, Farren Glory, looked like he was going to win another Grade One at Aintree over Christmas (before falling) and the runner-up, King Of Kingsfield, was very impressive winning at Leopardstown over Christmas, so it is strong form.”
England finished their triumphant Ashes series by beating Australia to win the fifth Test and complete a 3-1 victory on this day in 2011.
It had seemed a formality since the end of day three in Sydney that they would wrap up a series win – and so it proved when an innings-and-83-run triumph was confirmed just before noon.
Their success on the final day – as in many of those previous against an outplayed Australia in the 2010/11 series – came on the back of a mountain of runs from Alastair Cook and a supreme bowling collective led by James Anderson.
The series’ leading wicket-taker’s seven in the match took him up to 24 for the campaign, and Cook’s 189 in England’s mammoth 644 all out carried him above all but Wally Hammond among his country’s highest run-scorers in an Ashes series.
But there were several other significant contributors at the SCG, and elsewhere, as Andrew Strauss’ team achieved their long-held ambition – to become the first from England to win the Ashes outright in Australia for 24 years.
Such was their ultimate dominance – three innings victories, against one equally resounding defeat in Perth – that it was tempting to conclude it had all been a little bit more straightforward than expected.
However, captain Strauss said: “It hasn’t felt easy, there’s no doubt about that.
“There is always a feeling you don’t know what is round the corner, what’s going to be sprung on you.
“Thankfully, as the series has gone on, I think we have become more dominant – and certainly those last two Test matches were as well as an England side I’ve played in has performed.”
It remains the last time an England side won the Ashes on Australian soil.
Caoilin Quinn is chasing a second National in the space of a few days when he lines up at Plumpton on Sunday on David Bridgwater’s Dom Of Mary.
Conditional jockey Quinn partnered Gary Moore’s Nassalam to a brilliant victory in the Welsh version at Chepstow and now has his sights set on the BetGoodwin Sussex National Handicap Chase.
Quinn knows Dom Of Mary well, having ridden him in his last six races, winning once at Stratford in heavy ground.
He arrives having not been disgraced behind Gavin Cromwell’s Malina Girl at Cheltenham in November and Bridgwater says everything is now in the hands of the in-form jockey.
“He stayed the trip well enough at Cheltenham last time out I felt – and that was a good race,” said Bridgwater.
“He’s been running well really, he’s coming into this on the back of a good run last time, so I’m just hoping for a bit of luck.
“I’ve got a good jockey on board and I’m hoping he’s the National king! I’ve already told him I’ve set him up for a National double and now it’s up to him.
“Brendan Powell is my jockey really, but Caoilin has won on this horse before and I think he’s ridden him in his last half a dozen races, so he knows him very well and he obviously knows the track. I’m hoping for a good run.
“I haven’t gone through the race in detail but I think you’d have to probably watch out for Venetia’s (Williams, Eceparti) at the bottom.”
Seamus Mullins has been fourth and sixth for the last two years with I See You Well and this season fields top-weight Tommie Beau.
He is coming off wins at Sedgefield and Fontwell over marathon trips, so his stamina is certainly not in doubt.
“He’s very well, he’s had an easy time since his last win, he’s had two strong bits of work this week and he’s fresh and well, I’m really looking forward to it,” Mullins told Sky Sports Racing.
“We’ve got a lot of weight but theoretically we are the best horse in the race.
“There’s a fair bit of strength in depth down the bottom of the weights in Andy Irvine’s horse (Gold Clermont) and Venetia’s, they had a battle at Fakenham recently, it’s a good renewal.
“I’ve tried to win this race a few times with a good old horse called I See You Well. We’ve decided he doesn’t quite stay this trip but we go there with a live chance with Tommie Beau.
“He came home very well last time and I haven’t put him under too much pressure since, I think the main thing with these staying chasers is to have them fresh and well.”
LeBron James delivered an honest assessment of the Los Angeles Lakers' play after the team's slump continued with another loss, this time against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Lakers suffered a 127-113 home loss on Friday despite 32 points from LeBron, 31 from Anthony Davis and 19 from Austin Reaves, who added a career-high 12 assists.
Los Angeles has lost four straight games and been beaten in 10 of their last 13, struggling badly since lifting the NBA Cup in Las Vegas.
Coach Darvin Ham had insisted ahead of the game that he continues to have the support of the franchise despite speculation over his job status with his team sitting below .500.
With their record now at 17-19 and the Lakers now 11th in the Western Conference, LeBron did not hold back.
"I mean, we just suck right now," James said after the game.
James felt too much weight has been given to the Lakers' triumph in the in-season tournament.
"That was just two games," James said. "It's a small sample.
"Everyone is getting so cracked up about Vegas and keep bringing up Vegas. It was two games. We took care of that business.
"It was the in-season tournament, we played it, we won it. But that was literally just two games."
Memphis was last in the league for 3-point shooting percentage going into the game, but the Lakers gave up a season-high 23 from deep.
"They're NBA players," added LeBron. "They work on their craft, too.
"It seems to happen a lot versus us, where the percentages go the other way. We had our game plan and how we wanted to execute that, and I thought we did that as well as we could. They made us pay."
Ham is growing frustrated about the huge focus placed on every Lakers result.
"I'm tired of people living and dying with every single game we play," Ham said. "It's ludicrous, actually. It's like, come on, man, this is a marathon. And we hit a tough stretch.
"It's the same team. We played some high-level games a little while ago, and we just got to get back to that.
"We got to keep the fight going. We cannot lose our fight. This is the NBA. This is a marathon and you have to look at the totality of the picture."
Davis, meanwhile, understood the scrutiny that would come with their current losses.
"Wearing this uniform, you get a lot of flack, and guys are watching you under a microscope as a team," he said.
"You have a couple of bad games, lose a couple in a row, you can't lose your confidence. Can't be on social media, listening to whatever people are saying.
"We've got to stay together in this locker room and find our way out of it. There's no help coming. There's no cavalry. We've got to do it with the guys we've got and remain together.
"We still have a lot of basketball left. But we're trending in the wrong direction right now. And the last thing we need, especially when guys are out, is to separate and fall apart.
"So we got to stay together, for sure, and figure it out. We can't be in our feelings. We can't be complaining or whatever. We can't take anything personal.
"We have to look individually, myself, everyone in the locker room, the coaching staff, look at ourselves in the mirror and figure out what we can do individually better to help the team be better. And I think then we can come out and flip things around."
The Grizzlies improved to 12-23 after Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 31 points and Marcus Smart added 29 points with a season-high eight 3-pointers.
"It was good, because obviously we haven't won here in a while, said Ja Morant," who had 21 points for Memphis.
"It's the team that knocked us out of the playoffs. Obviously, we're not where we want to be right now during the season, so this was a big-time win for us. We can carry the momentum from this game."
The Grizzlies are on the road against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, while pressure is on the Lakers as they take on city rivals the Los Angeles Clippers.
Brennan Johnson has urged Tottenham to keep building momentum after they progressed into the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Spurs were made to work hard by Burnley on Friday night, but eventually broke the visitors’ resistance thanks to Pedro Porro’s superb 78th-minute strike.
It made it four wins in five matches for Tottenham and despite a plethora of unavailable players, Johnson is relishing the attacking philosophy being implemented by boss Ange Postecoglou.
“We’re enjoying it a lot. You can tell by how we play on the pitch,” Johnson said.
“We want to keep progressing individually and as a team we want to keep getting better.
“Before the game, the manager said, ‘we’re in two competitions, the Premier League and FA Cup, and we’re at no point where we can slack off in this cup or play half-hearted.’
“We know even (here), we won 1-0 but it went to seven minutes of extra time and they pushed with everything.
“We have to be on it 100 per cent and play how we play every week. If we can keep building momentum in this cup and keep playing how we do in the Premier League, I think we have every chance (of winning silverware).”
Tottenham will discover their fourth-round opponents on Monday but for a long period of Friday’s clash a replay at Turf Moor looked on the cards.
It took Porro’s spectacular effort to finally break the deadlock and Johnson hailed his team-mate.
Johnson told ITV: “There was no luck about that. Everyone who watches him every week knows the quality he has, especially on the ball.
“I think sometimes he is too far out to shoot most weeks but he won the ball back and there weren’t too many options.
“He has the quality. He shoots a lot in training, misses a lot but it came off and it was an unbelievable goal.”
It was not a sorely positive night for Postecoglou with Giovani Lo Celso forced off early and, more worryingly, Ben Davies suffered a potential hamstring injury.
While Postecoglou hoped Lo Celso’s withdrawal was “muscle fatigue,” he was more downbeat about Davies, who will be assessed over the coming days.
There was better news on Micky van de Ven, after he returned following a two-month absence with a hamstring injury, but remained an unused substitute ahead of next weekend’s trip to Manchester United.
“He’s fine. The plan was to give him some game time but the way the game was going, we needed something up front to crack them open,” Postecoglou added.
“We kept him on ice but he’s trained this week, he was okay and will train fully (next week). He’s available.”
Burnley also have injury concerns ahead of hosting Luton on January 15 with Lyle Foster replaced with an unspecified issue, while Charlie Taylor hurt his shoulder.
Clarets boss Vincent Kompany explained: “We’ll see. I hope it’s not bad news.
“I can’t tell you much more, but hopefully with that little bit of extra time before the next game, we’ll have some good news.”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits he cannot afford to take too many risks with his team selection for the FA Cup third round tie at Arsenal.
Even though his side are already just two matches away from Wembley with a Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg at home to Fulham on Wednesday the Reds boss said he could not make huge changes against the Gunners.
Three will be enforced with forward Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo at the African Nations Cup and Asian Cup respectively while fellow midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai has been ruled out for at least two matches with a hamstring problem.
The return of Alexis Mac Allister, out for a month with a knee injury, and Ryan Gravenberch are likely to fill the gaps in the middle of the pitch but the troublesome spot is Salah’s right-wing berth.
Harvey Elliott played there in the League Cup quarter-final with West Ham and the 19-year-old Kaide Gordon did the job in the Europa League defeat to Union Saint Gilloise but it seems unlikely the teenager will be pitched straight in at the Emirates.
“If you bring a boy who didn’t play for five or six weeks, it’s very rare he can play to his best. That’s why so far I think we did that quite well,” said Klopp of his rotation policy this season.
“But actually I am not sure if Arsenal is now a game to rotate. I don’t know 100 percent if we have the opportunity to do so to be honest.
“We have players available and we can line a good team up. If that looks then afterwards like rotation, I don’t know yet.
“We’ve had six days between the games (since Newcastle on New Year’s Day) and there’s no need for rotation.
“You can say, ‘OK, three days later we have another game’. Yes, that’s true, but we can think about that when the other game is over. That’s what we do usually.
“And both have the same importance, there is nothing in between. We want to win these games, we want to go to the final but we want to go to the next round as well but it is probably the most tricky draw you can get.”
Liverpool recalled Owen Beck, nephew of all-time top goalscorer Ian Rush, from a loan spell at Dundee as both left-backs Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas are injured, although the former is expected to be back by the end of the month.
The 21-year-old cannot feature against Arsenal due to an existing Scottish League Cup ban but should help to give Joe Gomez, standing in at left-back a break, with Klopp saying: “In Dundee he made big steps, and now the situation here is clear: we lose two of our left-backs so we think it makes sense if a boy we like is available for us.”
While December was busy Liverpool could have seven matches this month if they progress on Sunday.
And the nightmare scenario would be a draw which forces a replay and interrupts what should be the weekend of their scheduled Premier League break.
“I think a rematch against Arsenal would really not be helpful because it just doesn’t fit in, would kill the winter break,” added Klopp.
“We have the most busy month you can imagine in December and then some teams obviously don’t play that often in January. We don’t have that.
“For us it is a normal month: busy but not crazy busy like December where there were five games in 13 days. That just makes no sense, but that’s how it is.
“I think rhythm helps but in the end we will see that.”
Pep Guardiola refuses to take any credit for lower division sides playing in the style of his all-conquering Manchester City team.
A greater number of clubs beneath the Premier League are now looking to play out from the back, dominate possession and pass their way through opponents in the manner at which City have excelled.
That could be testament to Guardiola’s extraordinary success in his near-eight years at the Etihad Stadium, but it is not something he is aware of.
“I don’t have time to see other teams,” said Guardiola, whose treble-winning side begin their FA Cup defence against Championship outfit Huddersfield at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
“Always I believe teams play what the manager believes in, first for the players they have and they adapt.
“If one team plays high pressing it is because the manager believes in that, if a team play long balls it is because the manager believes in that. This is the most important thing but I don’t know.
“I have watched Leicester a little bit because in their last game they played Huddersfield and because (former assistant) Enzo (Maresca) is there, and I am curious and happy for how incredible he’s doing but, the rest, I don’t have time.”
Guardiola intends to make the most of City’s lighter schedule this month by getting through extra work on the training field, including at a warm-weather camp in Abu Dhabi.
After playing nine games in December, including two in Saudi Arabia for the Club World Cup, City have just three fixtures in January, although that will increase to four if they beat the Terriers in their third-round tie.
Guardiola said: “The Premier League took a great decision to make Boxing Day and Christmastime intense, like it always has been, and then to take a break in January.
“It helps a lot to arrive in February fresh mentally. It’s good now to have the FA Cup, to try to retain the title or go as far as possible, and after that we have a really important game at Newcastle.
“Then after that two weeks to refresh our minds. We will have more time to train in Abu Dhabi, to remember things that you cannot do normally.
“You have to try to do things you don’t have time to do in the busy schedule. We can refresh concepts we maybe forgot because we don’t have time to train.”
Tyrese Haliburton handed out 18 of the Pacers’ franchise-record 50 assists as Indiana rolled to its sixth straight win, 150-116 over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.
Haliburton also had 10 points and eight rebounds in just over 25 minutes, while Myles Turner scored 27 and Bennedict Mathurin added 18.
Indiana shot 71 percent in the first half and lead 78-54 at the break before finishing at 63.8 percent, including 48.7 percent (19 for 39) from 3-point range.
The Pacers reached 150 points against Atlanta for the second time this season after setting an NBA season high in a 157-152 win on Nov. 21.
Dejounte Murray scored 30 points for the Hawks and Trae Young was held to a season low-tying 13 on 4-of-18 shooting, going 1 for 11 from long range.
Clippers stay hot, cool Pelicans
Paul George scored 24 points with six 3-pointers and Kawhi Leonard added 19 points and nine rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 111-95 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
James Harden had eight points and 13 assists in 29 minutes to help the Clippers win their fifth in a row and 14th in 16 games.
Jonas Valanciunas tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Pelicans, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.
New Orleans’ top two scorers – Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram – were each held to 12 points on 3-of-9 shooting. Williamson left in the third quarter with a right leg contusion.
Banchero stars as Magic rally
Paolo Banchero recorded his first career triple-double and sank a pair of go-ahead free throws with 9.7 seconds left as the short-handed Orlando Magic rallied past the Denver Nuggets, 122-120.
Banchero had 32 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists and hit four free throws in the final 34.6 seconds in a game the Magic trailed by as many as 18 points in the third quarter.
Jalen Suggs scored a career-high 27 points and Cole Anthony added 23 for Orlando, which avoided a winless four-game road trip despite playing without Markelle Fultz, Gary Harris, Wendell Carter Jr., Joe Ingles, Jonathan Isaac, Goga Bitadze and Franz Wagner.
Denver’s Jamal Murray had a chance to tie the game, but his 10-foot shot rimmed out at the buzzer.
Chicago Blackhawks star rookie Connor Bedard left after a hard hit in the first period and the New Jersey Devils rallied for a 4-2 victory on Friday.
Bedard, the rookie leader with 15 goals and 33 points, was levelled by Devils defenseman Brendan Smith as he carried the puck into the offensive zone. Bedard then skated to the bench holding his face.
Chicago coach Luke Richardson had no update on Bedard after the team’s 14th straight road loss.
Simon Nemec and Alexander Holtz each had a goal and an assist and Michael McLeod snapped a tie in the third period as the Devils won their fifth in six games.
Jason Dickinson and Boris Katchouk had goals for the Blackhawks, who have been outscored 19-4 during a four-game losing streak.
Jets win fifth straight, extend point streak
Laurent Brossoit made 37 saves and Nate Schmidt and Cole Perfetti scored third-period goals as the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 to run their point streak to 11 games.
Nikolaj Ehlers had the other goal to help the Jets win their season high-tying fifth straight and improve to 9-1-1 since a 2-1 loss at San Jose on Dec. 12.
Winnipeg moved atop the league standings with 54 points, one ahead of the Rangers and Avalanche.
Anaheim’s lone goal came from Mason McTavish in its fourth consecutive loss (0-3-1).
Streaking Hurricanes defeat Capitals
Brent Burns scored two of Carolina’s six unanswered goals and red-hot Andre Svechnikov had a goal and two assists in the Hurricanes’ fifth straight win, 6-2 over the Washington Capitals.
Seth Jarvis and Dmitry Orlov also scored, Vasily Ponomarev tallied in his NHL debut and Sebastian Aho had three assists for Carolina, which is 8-1-3 in its last 12 games.
Svechnikov has six straight multipoint games with seven goals and seven assists during that span.
Nic Dowd and Dylan Strome had goals as the Capitals dropped to 1-4-2 in their last seven games.
Tyrell Hatton hit 10 birdies and an eagle as he shot a 62 to move into second place on day two of The Sentry in Hawaii.
Hatton had the best round of the day 62, moving to 15-under-par alongside Brendon Todd and Sungjae Im, one stroke behind Scottie Scheffler.
Collin Morikawa and Norway’s Viktor Hovland are among a bunch of players on 14-under-par after they both shot 67.
Hatton said: “Maybe a surprise to do it in the second round back to start the year, after how long I’ve had off.”
“I wouldn’t say I looked after myself in the December period — maybe that played a small part. Yeah, so the body hasn’t been moving well.
“I’m sure if you had seen some of the flight tracers of some of my tee shots, you would be disgusted.”
Fellow Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick moved to within three of the lead with a 64.
World number one Scheffler also shot 64 with eight birdies and an eagle.
Australia opener David Warner scored 57 in his final Test innings as Australia defeated Pakistan by eight wickets to complete a 3-0 series win.
Warner, 37, retired from Test cricket at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday after 112 matches, averaging 44.6 over his career with the bat.
Warner was trapped leg before with just 11 runs needed to win, leaving Marnus Labuschagne to hit the winning runs with 61 not out.
Australia were set 130 to win after they dismissed Pakistan for 115 on Saturday morning.
Pakistan’s Aamir Jamal was awarded player of the match after scoring 82 in the first innings and claiming six wickets in the first innings with the ball.
Australian captain Pat Cummins was player of the series after taking 19 wickets.
Warner will go down as one of the country’s great all-format openers with Australia yet to announce his replacement for the upcoming series against the West Indies.
He announced his retirement from ODI cricket on New Year’s Day after Australia secured the World Cup last year.
Earlier in the week, Warner issued a public plea after his cap went missing in transit from Melbourne ahead of the third Test.
The search for Warner’s “baggy green” has made headline news in Australia with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joining the calls for its return.
But he revealed it had been found in an Instagram post on Friday saying: “I’m pleased and relieved that I have got my baggy back in my hands.”
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