Related items

• NBA: Bucks overcome Ball's 50 points in win over Hornets

  Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points and 11 rebounds and the resurgent Milwaukee Bucks overcame LeMelo Ball’s career-high 50 points in a 125-119 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.

  Milwaukee opened the fourth quarter with a 14-5 spurt for a 110-90 lead, but the Hornets got it to 121-119 on Brandon Miller’s 3-pointer with 15 seconds left.

  Taurean Prince answered with a pair of free throws for the Bucks to make it a two-possession game, and Charlotte missed a pair of 3-pointers on the ensuing possession. Antetokounmpo hit two free throws with 4.5 seconds left to make it 125-119.

  Ball hit 17 of 38 shots, including 6 of 17 from beyond the arc, and 10 of 13 free throws to surpass his previous personal best of 38 points, done twice.

  Brandon Miller added 32 points for the Hornets, who have lost five of seven.

  Milwaukee, which completed a 4-0 homestand, has won six of its last seven. The only loss in that span was a 115-114 loss to the Hornets on Nov. 16 following a controversial foul call.

  Charlotte’s Grant Williams went to the locker room late in the fourth quarter with an apparent leg injury and did not return.

  Milwaukee hit four consecutive 3s for a 12-3 run and a 96-83 lead late in the third quarter.

   

  Nuggets use dominant 2nd half to rout Lakers

  Nikola Jokic scored 34 points and Michael Porter Jr. added 24 as the Denver Nuggets used a strong second half to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102.

  Russell Westbrook had 14 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds for Denver against his former team.

  Austin Reaves scored 19 points and LeBron James added 18 for the Lakers, who lost consecutive home games after starting the season 7-0 at home. Rui Hachimura, back in the starting lineup after he missed the previous five games with a left ankle sprain, scored 10 points in 22 minutes.

  It was the teams' first meeting since the Nuggets beat the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs earlier this year. Denver also swept them in the Western Conference final the previous year.

  Denver trailed by six points at halftime but outscored Los Angeles 37-15 in the third quarter and 70-39 for the second half while dominating inside and outside.

  Westbrook had a putback dunk at the end of the third quarter to put the finishing touches on an authoritative quarter and extend the lead to 94-77. Westbrook then twirled his arms around emphatically in celebration as he ran back down the floor.

   

  Magic down Pistons to continue surge

  Franz Wagner continued his hot stretch with 30 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and the Orlando Magic defeated the Detroit Pistons 111-100 for their eighth win in nine games.

  Wagner, who has scored 30 or more points in five of his last seven games, sat out the fourth quarter while the Magic’s bench stretched Orlando's lead to 22 with 7:19 remaining.

  He has averaged 27.7 points in the 11 games since the Magic lost star Paolo Banchero to a torn oblique.

  Mo Wagner had 18 points and seven rebounds off the Orlando bench, and Jonathan Isaac added five points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.

  Jaden Ivey led the Pistons with 19 points and seven rebounds. Malik Beasley, starting in place of the injured Cade Cunningham, added 18 points.

  Orlando remained unbeaten at home (8-0) despite playing without Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr. and losing Jalen Suggs to a sore left hamstring in the first half.

  After Beasley’s 3-pointer pulled the Pistons even at 56 at the outset of the second half, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope answered with a 3 and the Magic went off on a 20-9 run that included nine straight Magic points from Franz Wagner.

• Sinner and Berrettini send defending champions Italy into Davis Cup final

  Jannik Sinner's victory over Alex de Minaur clinched Italy's place in another Davis Cup final, with Matteo Berrettini also victorious as the defending champions beat Australia 2-0.

  Italy won the Davis Cup for the first time since 1976 last year, and they will have an opportunity to defend their crown against the Netherlands on Sunday.

  Former Wimbledon finalist Berrettini got the ball rolling with an entertaining 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 7-5 victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis, not surrendering a break after losing the opener in a tie-break. 

  That teed up Sinner to close out Italy's victory, with the world number one overcoming De Minaur 6-3 6-4, the same scoreline he beat the Australian by at the ATP Finals earlier this month.

  Speaking after his victory in Malaga, Sinner said: "It means a lot. It was a tough encounter, playing Alex. We know each other quite well now, so I have to be very careful every time.

  "It's a very tough challenge for me, so I was looking forward to this one. Obviously, it helped a lot that Matteo won the singles today. He played amazing tennis. It was very high quality. 

  "Hopefully, this can give us some confidence for [Sunday]. It's going to be a very difficult and tough day for us and also the Netherlands."

  Data Debrief: Back-to-back for Italy

  Italy's men are looking to follow in the footsteps of their female counterparts, who won the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this week.

  They are just the third nation in history to make back-to-back finals at both the Davis Cup and the Federation/Billie Jean King Cup, after the United States (1963-64, 1978-79, 1981-82 and 1990-91) and Australia (1963-64 and 1964-65).

• Djokovic appoints Murray as coach for Australian Open

  Novak Djokovic has announced his long-term former rival Andy Murray as his coach for the Australian Open in 2025.

  Murray, a three-time Grand Slam winner, announced his retirement earlier this year and played his final match at the Paris Olympics in August.

  He will join Djokovic's team in the off-season and coach him through the opening grand slam of the year, which begins on January 12.

  This will be Murray's first coaching role since retiring following a 19-year career.

  "We played each other since we were boys. 25 years of being rivals, of pushing each other beyond our limits," Djokovic said in a video on social media.

  "We had some of the most epic battles in our sport. They called us game changers, risk-takers, history makers.

  "I thought our story may be over - turns out it has one final chapter.

  "It's time for one of my toughest opponents to step into my corner. Welcome onboard coach, Andy Murray."

  Djokovic failed to win a major title for the first time since 2017, though he did clinch a long-awaited Olympic gold medal in Paris.

  The Serb is currently level with Margaret Court for the most major singles titles by any player. He has a good record in Australia though, winning 10 times in Melbourne, beating Murray in four of those finals.

  Murray, who beat Djokovic to win the US Open title in 2012 and Wimbledon the following year, says he hopes they can achieve success together.

  "I'm going to be joining Novak's team in the off-season, helping him to prepare for the Australian Open," Murray said.

  "I'm really excited for it and looking forward to spending time on the same side of the net as Novak for a change, helping him to achieve his goals."