LeBron James had a triple-double with 32 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, and Anthony Davis added 31 points and nine rebounds to lead the unbeaten Los Angeles Lakers to a 131-127 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.
The Lakers improved to 3-0 under new coach JJ Redick, and Davis has scored at least 31 points in each game this season.
Los Angeles was up by as many as 15 points in the first half, but the Kings cut the lead to 64-60 by halftime and had built a 7-point lead in the third quarter. James helped the Lakers come roaring back with 16 points in the fourth quarter.
Davis had a big 3-pointer with 37 seconds left to give the Lakers a 128-123 lead after the Kings had cut it to two.
Domantas Sabonis also had a triple-double in the loss. He scored 29 points on 10 of 14 shots and added 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
James made a long 3 in the fourth quarter to cap an 8-0 run to give the Lakers a 101-94 lead.
Durant, Suns overcome Doncic
Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Jusuf Nurkic added 18 points and 14 rebounds and the Phoenix Suns defeated the Dallas Mavericks 114-102 despite Luka Dončić’s 40 points.
The Suns never trailed after the first quarter, though the Mavericks kept the deficit in the single digits for much of the night. Doncic also grabbed 10 rebounds while Kyrie Irving added 22 points.
The Suns led 91-80 heading into the fourth quarter and extended the lead to 105-90 six minutes later. Devin Booker added 21 points while rookie Ryan Dunn scored 13 in his first career start. Tyus Jones added seven assists.
Doncic started hot with 23 points in the first half but cooled off after halftime. He shot 12 of 25 from the field, including 5 of 13 from 3-point range. Klay Thompson had 19 points, making five 3s.
The Suns led by as many as 13 in the first half but settled for a 63-55 lead at the break.
Clippers survive Jokic’s 41
James Harden had 23 points and 16 assists, Norman Powell scored 26 of his 37 points in the second half and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame Nikola Jokić's 41 points to beat the Denver Nuggets 109-104.
Jokic made a career-high seven 3-pointers but missed a free throw with 20 seconds left that would have tied it. Harden made four from the line in the final 30.5 seconds.
The Clippers trailed 103-100 when Powell hit a 3-pointer. Jamal Murray, who had 22 points, missed a layup and Harden then made two free throws.
After Jokic split a pair from the line, Harden made two more foul shots to make it 107-104 and Jokic missed an off-balance 3-pointer.
Harden was 12 of 13 from the line and several of his 16 assists were to Ivica Zubac, who had 24 points and 15 rebounds.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one hit over 6 1/3 innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers hit three early homers off Carlos Rodón to beat the New York Yankees 4-2 on Saturday night for a 2-0 World Series lead in a game overshadowed by an injury to Shohei Ohtani.
Freddie Freeman, Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernández went deep for the Dodgers, who watched Ohtani walk off the field with a left shoulder injury at the end of the seventh inning.
After the Yankees closed to 4-2 on Giancarlo Stanton's RBI single in the ninth against Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia relieved with the bases loaded and retired pinch-hitter Jose Trevino on a first-pitch flyout for the save.
Yamamoto allowed Juan Soto's third-inning homer, then retired his last 11 batters and 15 of his final 16.
Soto also singled in the ninth and scored on Stanton's one-out hit off the third-base bag. Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled, and Anthony Rizzo was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Treinen then struck out Anthony Volpe before Vesia relieved.
Ohtani hurt his left shoulder on a feetfirst slide when he was caught stealing second base to end the seventh.
Game 3 is Monday night at Yankee Stadium. Forty-five of 56 teams holding 2-0 World Series leads have gone on to win the title.
New York star Aaron Judge went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts and is hitting .150 with six RBIs and 19 strikeouts in 40 postseason at-bats.
Yamamoto struck out four and walked two with a five-pitch array that included curveballs, splitters, sliders and cutters. He improved to 2-0 in four postseason starts.
A night after Freeman hit the first walk-off grand slam in Series history to transform a 3-2 deficit with two outs in the 10th inning into a 6-3 win, Edman put the Dodgers ahead with a solo shot in the second.
After Soto tied the score, Mookie Betts singled with two outs in the bottom half and Hernández, in a 3-for-27 slide, homered into the right-center pavilion for a 3-1 lead.
Carlo Ancelotti said Real Madrid will not "throw everything in the trash" despite losing the first Clasico of the season 4-0 to a rampant Barcelona side at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Madrid suffered their first league defeat since September 2023 – when they went down 3-1 to Atletico Madrid – on Saturday, as Robert Lewandowski netted twice and was joined on the scoresheet by Lamine Yamal and Raphinha.
Los Blancos fell just short of equalling the longest unbeaten run in the history of LaLiga, a 43-match streak by Ernesto Valverde's Barcelona between 2017 and 2018.
They are now six points adrift of the Blaugrana at the top of LaLiga, but Ancelotti is choosing to remain calm, recalling that his side lost another Clasico by the same scoreline in their double-winning season of 2021-22.
"We don't have to throw everything in the trash, we have to forget the last 30 minutes," he said.
"It does not reflect what happened on the field. We couldn't get ahead on the scoreboard and they took advantage. The game, until the first goal, was very even and we had more chances.
"We already lost 4-0 here to Barca and won LaLiga and the Champions League. We won't be far from last season."
Madrid were continually caught out by Barca's high line, being caught offside eight times in the first half alone, with Kylian Mbappe being flagged eight times throughout the game.
Ancelotti said Madrid had chosen to target Barca's defence with balls in behind after watching them play a high line in Wednesday's Champions League win over Bayern Munich.
"It was known that they use the high line and we almost didn't take advantage of it. He had chances and sometimes he was offside," Ancelotti added of Mbappe.
"But we had three or four opportunities where they needed more success. I don't regret our approach. We did have opportunities.
"It's a tough moment, as always when you lose. And even more so when you do it after so many games unbeaten."
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler accused his team of a lack of professionalism after they squandered a 2-0 lead with two minutes of the 90 remaining versus Wolves.
The Seagulls were on course for their fifth win of the season when goals from Danny Welbeck and Evan Ferguson gave them a comfortable lead, only for a remarkable collapse to cost them at the death.
Rayan Ait-Nouri halved Wolves' deficit in the 88th minute, then Brighton missed a glorious four-on-one chance at one end and conceded a stoppage-time equaliser seconds later, Matheus Cunha powering home to double Wolves' points tally for the campaign.
It was the first time Brighton had failed to win a Premier League game after leading by two goals since a 3-3 draw with Liverpool in October 2022, and Hurzeler has demanded they learn from the experience.
"We were not clean enough in the defending during the last 10 minutes. We were too passive and not professional enough to finish the game in an ugly way," Hurzeler said.
"We haven't managed this today, so we have to learn from it. Hopefully we learn quickly but how to manage a game and win in an ugly way is a big topic for us.
"It is important to also have bad experiences because if you only have good experiences, you won't grow personally.
"In these moments, you can show your character and you can show how strong you are. You can lift yourself up and show a reaction."
The result could prove to be a pivotal one for Wolves boss Gary O'Neil, who had come under pressure after a difficult start to the season, with his team already having faced Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Manchester City this term.
"Obviously coming back late gives everyone a lift. It was something we deserved from the game," O'Neil said.
"It looked very unlikely at 85 minutes, of course, when we'd just gone 2-0 down, but in the second half we were the dominant side.
"To come here with where they are in the league, how well they've done against some really good sides recently, the players they have, the money they've spent in the summer... to come and be the better side for 45 minutes, the players deserve an awful lot of credit.
"We went about it in a strange way, but as it is at the moment, we decide to try and do it the hard way, and it ended up a little bit crazy at the end.
"But I'm delighted for the boys, because they've had some tough, tough breaks, some deflections go against us – [Fabian] Schar and the last-minute goal at the weekend."
Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso said his side were made to pay for "soft" defending against Werder Bremen.
Bremen twice came from a goal down to snatch a point and leave Leverkusen with a third draw from their last four league games.
Victor Boniface, returning to action after sustaining a hand injury in a car crash last week, opened the scoring in Saturday's Bundesliga contest, yet Marvin Ducksch restored parity midway through the second half.
Felix Agu's own goal put Leverkusen back in front, but late on, Romano Schmid fired in an equaliser.
"The fact that Werder could come back was down to both sides," Alonso said. "We were too soft in defending and they used their chances.
"We can and must defend better. At the moment we are missing a bit of stability. When we win it back then we will improve.
"At the end of the day we cannot be satisfied having twice wasted a lead.
"It is not the first time this has happened to us this season. There are things we need to correct."
Leverkusen's latest slip-up in the league has left them five points off leaders RB Leipzig in third place.
They also drew 1-1 at Brest in the Champions League on Wednesday.
"This feels like crap," said central defender Jonathan Tah. "Like a defeat. We just have to keep defending until the last second.
"The goals we let in were frustrating. I feel responsible. But we will get the chance to silence those talking about us now."
Holger Rune was on the end of an upset as he lost 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard at the Swiss Indoors Basel.
Mpetshi Perricard has soared into the top 50 after starting the year ranked at 205, and the Frenchman was on top form against his fellow youngster on Saturday.
He served 17 aces to get the better of Rune and tee up a final against American Ben Shelton.
"It's amazing to be in the final. I played a good match today. It was difficult against Holger, but I found the key to win this match," said Mpetshi Perricard.
"Inside of me there was a lot of emotion, but I tried to calm it down. It's nice to be in the final and I hope to get the win."
Shelton, meanwhile, beat Arthur Fils 6-3 7-6 (11-9).
At the Vienna Open, Jack Draper ensured his place in the top 15 of the ATP rankings and reach the first ATP 500 final of his career by overcoming Lorenzo Musetti 6-2 6-4.
Musetti downed favourite Alexander Zverev to reach the last four, but the Italian was no match for Draper, despite the Briton letting a 4-2 lead slip in the second set.
"I thought the first set was a really high level from my side," said Draper.
"Lorenzo is a really tough competitor. I've known him since I was really young and playing against him is always so difficult. He's had an incredible season.
"The second set was really up and down. There were some long points and definitely some nerves and difficult moments, but I'm really proud of the way I kept on fighting and kept on going. In the end I got it done."
Karen Khachanov will be Draper's opponent in the final, after the Russian overcame Alex De Minaur.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery said his side deserved the win after they were pegged back in a late 1-1 draw by Bournemouth in the Premier League.
Coming on the back of a 2-0 defeat of Bologna – their third straight win in the Champions League which propelled them to the top of the 36-team table – Villa were frustrated by a brilliant goalkeeping display from Mark Travers.
But they found a way past the 25-year-old custodian in the 76th minute when Ross Barkley came off the bench to turn in a ball from Leon Bailey.
The Cherries, however, had the final say at Villa Park as Evanilson glanced a Marcus Tavernier free-kick into the net to salvage a point for the visitors in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
The result left Spanish tactician Emery frustrated as Villa were held to a third draw in four league matches, despite an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.8 and several attempts on target against the visitors on Saturday.
"We played a fantastic match. We played I think the best minutes since the start of the season. The first half we controlled the game, but we didn't score, or when we did it was a no goal,” Emery told Sky Sports.
"The second half we started even better than the first half. We were pushing, dominating, creating chances. The goalkeeper was saving a lot of times.
"We scored the goal, fantastic, but we didn't manage the last 10 minutes. They scored at the last moment and we have to accept it.
Barcelona crushed rivals Real Madrid 4-0 in the first Clasico of the season to move six points clear at the top of LaLiga and halt Los Blancos' year-long unbeaten run.
Madrid entered Saturday's game hoping to equal the longest unbeaten run in LaLiga history – a streak of 43 games set by Ernesto Valverde's Barcelona between 2017 and 2018.
However, they were blown away in front of a stunned Santiago Bernabeu crowd as Robert Lewandowski scored twice in two second-half minutes, with Lamine Yamal and Raphinha later joining him on the scoresheet.
While Carlo Ancelotti's side slumped to their first league defeat since September 2023, Hansi Flick's Barca made a statement regarding their title aspirations, recording their 10th win in 11 games this campaign.
Madrid were on the front foot early on, though they were continually caught out by Barcelona's offside trap. Mbappe dragged one shot wide after going too early, then saw another shot clawed off the line by Inaki Pena before the flag went up again.
Mbappe broke clear to chip Pena on the half-hour mark, but his celebrations were short-lived as the flag went up once more.
The momentum switched after half-time, though, and Barca made the breakthrough nine minutes after the restart as Lewandowski took in Marc Casado's pass before finishing low from the edge of the area.
Lewandowski had his second just over two minutes later, directing a wonderful header into the bottom-right corner after being picked out by Alejandro Balde.
Madrid desperately sought a response as Pena denied Mbappe with a one-on-one save, while Lewandowski missed two golden chances for a hat-trick, clipping the post with the goal gaping then blazing over from a tight angle.
But Barca did get their third when Raphinha sent Yamal racing into the box and the 17-year-old lashed his shot inside Lunin's near post.
And things got even better with six minutes to play as Raphinha got in on the act, dinking a shot over Lunin after latching onto Inigo Martinez's searching pass.
A sky full of stars
Ahead of Saturday's game, each of Barca's last five head coaches had lost their first match in charge against Madrid (Xavi, Ronald Koeman, Quique Setien, Valverde and Luis Enrique), since Gerardo Martino oversaw a 2-1 win in his first Clasico in 2013.
However, Flick bucked that trend as Barca made it a perfect week, having also routed their boss' former club Bayern Munich 4-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Lewandowski dragged them clear with his quickfire double, and he now has 10 goals in 16 career games against Madrid in all competitions, though these were his first strikes against them in LaLiga.
Yamal and Raphinha then added some gloss to the scoreline. The latter is one of just three players to register at least five goals and five assists in one of Europe's top five leagues this campaign (six goals, six assists).
The match stats were all in Barca's favour, painting the picture of a dominant display. The visitors had 15 shots to Madrid's nine, got seven of those on target and accumulated 2.45 expected goals (xG) to Los Blancos' 1.48.
Donning their Coldplay-sponsored kits, it really was a sensational Clasico display from Barca, who face Espanyol next as they bid to put further distance between themselves and the chasing pack.
Madrid caught out as unbeaten run ends
Having gone 42 games unbeaten in LaLiga since a 3-1 defeat to rivals Atletico Madrid last year, Madrid were chasing a slice of Spanish top-flight history on Saturday.
With bottom club Valencia up next for Ancelotti's men, this felt like the final real obstacle between them and the outright record unbeaten run in LaLiga.
However, just like Bayern in midweek, Madrid continually struggled to spring Barcelona's aggressive offside trap, with Flick's bold out-of-possession approach paying off again.
Madrid were caught offside eight times in the first half – their joint most on record (since 2003-04) in a single LaLiga match, equalling their tally against Celta Vigo in March 2013.
Mbappe alone was caught offside eight times, the most by any player in a single game in Europe's top five leagues since Karim Benzema against Eibar in November 2018.
Ben Stokes has no doubt that England's battling line-up features the country's "best top six players", despite a capitulation against Pakistan.
A 2-1 series defeat for England was confirmed on Saturday, as Pakistan claimed a nine-wicket triumph in Rawalpindi.
The tourists were undone by Pakistan's spin bowlers, with Sajid Khan and Noman Ali seeing England all out for 112, their lowest-ever total in Pakistan.
England started the series with an emphatic victory, with Joe Root and Harry Brook dominating the first Test, but in matches two and three, their batting left much to be desired.
Captain Stokes, though, is confident in the squad.
"There is no doubt in my mind that we have got the best top six players in England," Stokes told Sky Sports.
"You always pick your best players.
The last couple of Tests we've been thrown some challenges and it's pretty easy to assess that we weren't able to stand up to those challenges."
Stokes also put the onus on himself to improve, after he struggled to get going following his return from injury.
"I am always trying to evolve and adapt whether against spin or pace," he said.
"The disappointment is always there, it always hits hard, but when you have so much experience to fall back on it is a little bit easier to take."
Ollie Pope, meanwhile, has come under criticism for his performances, but coach Brendon McCullum was quick to come to his defence.
"What he did through the summer, stepping up with his captaincy and leadership and him stepping up into that role, even his 150 in that final Test match, we know when he gets in, he gets big scores and defining scores as well," said McCullum said.
"It's not an easy place to bat at number three. I know he'll be disappointed with the volume of runs in this series but I expect him to bounce back in New Zealand.
"We'll make sure he's got the required support to do so."
England's next Test series sees them face New Zealand, starting next month.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank said he was still irritated after his side defeated visitors Ipswich Town 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller in the Premier League.
Bryan Mbeumo struck a 96th-minute winner at the Gtech Community Stadium as the Bees recorded their fourth win of their 2024-25 league campaign.
Sam Szmodics and George Hirst gave Ipswich a 2-0 lead, but Yoane Wissa initiated a Brentford comeback before Harry Clarke’s own goal levelled the scores.
Mbeumo then struck to give the hosts the lead before Clarke was sent off for Ipswich, who did not give up without a fight and restored parity through substitute Liam Delap late on.
However, Mbeumo scored his second of the game to cap off a positive, yet tense outing for Frank and the Brentford faithful.
"Being completely honest, I am still irritated. In many ways we did not do well enough, so big respect and praise to Ipswich,” the Brentford boss told BBC Sport after the game.
“They were by far the better team for the first 40 minutes, there was only one team on the pitch. It was one of our worst ever in the Premier League.
"The last five was better and then in the second half, we were clearly the better team and got back to 3-2 and then lacked the killer instinct to finish it off.
The Global Super League (GSL), coming to Guyana from 26 November to 7 December, today announced that ExxonMobil Guyana will serve as the cricket tournament’s title sponsor this year.
“ExxonMobil Guyana has a long history of supporting cricket in Guyana. They are an ideal title sponsor – we appreciate their continued investment in Guyana,” said Sir Clive Lloyd, Chairman of the Global Super League.
The Global Super League will feature the Guyana Amazon Warriors and four other established T20 cricket teams from around the world vying for US$1million in prize money. Each team will play four matches, with the top two teams progressing to the final.
“We are thrilled to deepen our commitment to cricket and the community in Guyana through our partnership with the Global Super League. We look forward to an electrifying series of matches and celebrating the spirit of cricket with fans around the world,” said ExxonMobil Guyana President, Alistair Routledge.
All 2024 Global Super League matches will take place at the Guyana National Stadium in Providence.
The Global Super League is set to take place annually in Guyana, with different teams from around the world being invited to take part each season. It is South America’s first standalone cricket event, sanctioned by Cricket West Indies and fully supported by the government of Guyana.
ExxonMobil Guyana has sponsored the Guyana Amazon Warriors team for eight years. The company invests in youth sport programmes around the country, including an annual “Future Warriors Tapeball Tournament.”
Bayer Leverkusen twice took the lead but conceded a 90th-minute equaliser to draw 2-2 at Werder Bremen.
Victor Boniface, playing with a bandaged hand, flicked in a Jeremie Frimpong cutback in the 30th minute to put the champions in the driving seat.
He had missed Wednesday's Champions League 1-1 draw at Brest after suffering minor hand and foot injuries as a passenger in a car crash on Sunday, a day after he had scored the winner in Leverkusen's victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.
Boniface, who has now scored six league goals this season, had a chance to add another on the hour but Bremen goalkeeper Michael Zetterer pulled off a stunning save.
Instead, it was Bremen who scored with Marvin Duksch's powerful header in the 74th to level. Their joy only lasted three minutes, though, as Felix Agu, under pressure, spectacularly miskicked for an own goal.
Bremen, however, came back again, and Romano Schmid fired in a 90th-minute equaliser to snatch a point.
Leverkusen are third on 15 points, two behind second-placed Bayern Munich, who are in action on Sunday.
Data Debrief: Ducksch comes up trumps
Duksch accumulated the second-highest expected goals (xG) total in the game (0.65) and took the most shots in the match (seven).
That tally of shots is the most by a Bremen player in a Bundesliga match this term.
Lukas Hradecky, meanwhile, was making his 200th Bundesliga appearance for Leverkusen, becoming the first non-German player to hit that milestone for the club.
Despite Bremen's late equaliser, they have now won just one of their last 15 competitive matches against Leverkusen.
Girona suffered a 1-0 defeat at lowly Las Palmas as a first-half goal from Alex Munoz proved decisive in LaLiga.
Munoz put Las Palmas ahead three minutes before the break with a first-time strike, capitalising on a cross that sailed over the box to find him unmarked.
The visitors showed little urgency in chasing an equaliser, allowing Las Palmas to control most of the match with the home side coming close to doubling their lead.
Girona saw their substitute goalkeeper Juan Carlos sent off from the bench in the 74th minute for abusive language, with their team also awarded a further five yellow cards.
As the clock ran down, Girona intensified their efforts to find a leveller, but their momentum was disrupted by injury stoppages, and Las Palmas secured the victory.
After defying expectations to finish third last season, Girona now sit 13th with 12 points, while Las Palmas are just outside the relegation zone in 17th with nine.
Data Debrief: Las Palmas clinch victory against the odds
Prior to facing Girona, Las Palmas had not won any of their last 12 home games in La Liga (D6 L6), their longest winless run at home in the top flight.
They had a similarly poor record against Girona. At home, Las Palmas had not won any of their last five games in all competitions against their opponents (D1 L4).
Defeat ends Girona coach Michel's unbeaten streak against Las Palmas. He had previously faced them six times in all competitions without losing (W5 D1).
West Indies ended their tour of Sri Lanka with a win as an unbeaten century from Evin Lewis helped them defeat the hosts by eight wickets via DLS method in the third and final ODI in Pallekele.
Sri Lanka had secured the series with a five-wicket win in the second ODI on Wednesday, but Lewis’ unbeaten 102 off 61 balls gave the Windies a morale-boosting victory in the final ODI.
West Indies had sent Sri Lanka to bat, but their innings was disturbed by rain in the 18th over. Upon returning to the crease after a five-hour delay, they were only given 5.4 overs to set a competitive total.
The hosts managed 75 runs after the restart with Kusal Mendis headlining their innings with an unbeaten 56 off 22 balls as Sri Lanka finished with 156-3.
Chasing a DLS-adjusted target of 195 in 23 overs, Lewis hit a swashbuckling hundred in his first ODI since 2021 with support coming from Sherfane Rutherford, who smashed an unbeaten 50 off 26 deliveries.
West Indies reached the target with one over to spare, and they will gather some confidence from the win as they prepare for the ODI series against England starting on October 31.
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