Jahrome Hughes put on a show as New Zealand won Rugby League World Cup Group C by hammering Ireland 48-10 at Headingley on Friday.
Hughes scored two and set up three of the Kiwis' 10 tries as they ended the group stage with a perfect record and are expected to face Fiji at the quarter-final stage.
Slippery halfback Hughes, making his World Cup debut after recovering from a thigh strain, ghosted in for an opening solo try after Ed Chamberlain's penalty put Ireland in front and his pinpoint kick put one of a plate for Jordan Rapana.
Peta Hiku's quickfire double extended the Kiwis' advantage following a Louis Senior intercept try at the other end and Ronaldo Mulitalo's four-pointer made it 24-6 at half-time.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was perhaps lucky to avoid a red card for a high tackle on James Bentley late in that frantic first half.
New Zealand were not at their brilliant best, but Rapana and Hughes helped themselves to doubles, with James Fisher-Harris, Kenny Bromwich and Joseph Manu also crossing in the second half.
Senior pounced on a mistake to become the joint-leading try-scorer in the tournament with six as Ireland showed plenty of fight, but are on the brink of elimination with Lebanon poised to move into the last eight.
After a four-year wait to receive monetary damages from the Trinidad and Tobago Gymnastics Federation (TTGF), gymnast Thema Williams received payment on Thursday afternoon, following a ruling from a High Court judge.
High Court judge Frank Seepersad ruled on Thursday that Republic Bank at which the TTGF held an account, make out a cheque payable to Williams for $223,800.19. The amount includes interest accrued on the original judgement in 2018 of TT$200.000.00. According to the Newsday publication, the bank complied with the order about two hours before the 4:00 pm deadline set by the judge.
Her lawyer Martin Daly SC, meanwhile, has expressed concern over how the athlete was treated by the federation while it was collecting funds from the Trinidadian government mirroring comments made by Judge Seepersad in his ruling.
In his written judgement the judge stated; "Transparency of conduct, strict compliance with the law and accountability must define the way in which persons, organizations and entities operate. It is difficult to comprehend why the Judgment Debtor has continued to be in receipt of State funding and donations when it stands in violation of a court order."
In 2018, Williams won a court battle against the TTGF that was deemed to have discriminated against the gymnast when they withdrew her from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio Brazil. In her place, the TTGF selected Canadian-born gymnast Marisa Dick.
Williams had sought to recover damages of TT$11 million but the court ordered that she receive TT$150,000 in exemplary damages and a further TT$50,000 in lost earnings.
At the time of Thursday’s order, the amount in the TTGF’s account was just over TT$257,000.
Daly told Sportsmax.TV that he was delighted at the outcome but expressed concerns over how the state had treated the athlete who had to wait as long to be compensated after being egregiously wronged.
"I am pleased that she has finally got her money," he said while highlighting comments from Judge Seepersad during his ruling on Thursday.
"I think the most important comments in the judgement yesterday is the criticism of the state for continuing to provide funds for a federation that had behaved in the way that it did."
It brings into question the accountability of sporting bodies and why would a government continue to provide subvention to a body that had behaved in that way. One of the things that had greatly upset me was that as few as 14 days after the original judgement there was a picture in the newspaper of officials from sporting bodies receiving money from the state and included in that was the TTGF and I just could not understand why they couldn't have, as we say colloquially, 'mash brakes and think about what they were doing.
"So I think there is a very important long-term outcome of this which is the judge's criticism of the state being blind to egregious acts by sporting bodies. That is the long-term message we should take from this."
Emma Raducanu has pulled out of next month's Billie Jean King Cup, citing a wrist injury.
The former US Open champion had been named as part of Great Britain's team for the tournament, which will take place at Emirates Arena in Glasgow between November 8-13.
Raducanu was selected alongside Harriet Dart, Katie Boulter and Heather Watson, with a fifth member to be added at a later date, and made her Billie Jean King Cup debut in April's qualifier against Czech Republic.
However, after pulling out of the Transylvania Open earlier this month with the same right-wrist issue, the 19-year-old confirmed on Friday she had been told by doctors she will not recover in time.
"It's disappointing to get the news from the doctors that I won't be ready in time, particularly with it being on home soil," Raducanu said.
"I tried to do everything possible to get it ready in time.
"Since my last tournament I've been working every day on physical training and rehab. I've got confidence in my team-mates and look forward to playing next year."
Great Britain will be one of 12 teams participating in Scotland, and have been drawn in a group with Kazakhstan and Spain.
Aston Martin have been fined €450,000 (£388,830) after being found in breach of Formula One financial regulations for the 2021 season.
Motorsport's world governing body the FIA announced earlier this month that an audit determined Aston Martin and Red Bull – who were hit with a €7million (£6.1m) fine on Friday – broke the rules during the 2021 reporting period.
Aston Martin's financial documentation claimed their costs were under the budget cap, but the team was found to have misrepresented their outgoings.
In a statement, the FIA revealed Aston Martin "incorrectly excluded and/or adjusted costs" relating to the construction of their "new headquarters, new F1 simulator, wind tunnel fees, R&D tax credit, a signing bonus cost, use of transferable components, used inventories, service desk costs, cost of catering services at their headquarters, costs of desks and chairs, sponsor services and outsourced personnel services".
Aston Martin subsequently entered into an Accepted Breach Agreement (ABA) with the FIA, meaning they must pay a fine within 30 days and reimburse costs incurred by the administrators who conducted the financial review.
Announcing the ABA, the FIA said: "The Cost Cap Administration recognised that AMR [Aston Martin] has acted cooperatively and in good faith throughout the review process and has sought to provide additional information and evidence when requested in a timely manner, that this is the first year of the full application of the Financial Regulations and that there is no accusation or evidence that AMR has sought or obtained any undue advantage as a result of the breach."
With Aston Martin entering an ABA, there is no possibility for the team to appeal their fine and the matter is now closed.
Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen are ending their 13-year marriage after announcing they have started divorce proceedings.
Multiple outlets reported that Bundchen filed documents in the couple’s home state of Florida on Friday morning, hours after Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers were dealt a 27-22 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
The pair have reportedly reached a settlement on property and custody of their two children.
"We arrived at this decision to end our marriage after much consideration," Brady wrote in an Instagram post. "Doing so is, of course, painful and difficult, like it is for many people who go through the same thing every day around the world."
The announcement ends months of speculation that the high-profile marriage was close to unravelling. Brady briefly left the Buccaneers’ training camp in August for personal reasons that were rumoured to be related to the couple’s marital problems.
“The decision to end a marriage is never easy but we have grown apart and while it is, of course, difficult to go through something like this, I feel blessed for the time we had together and only wish the best for Tom always,” Bundchen wrote in a statement.
Brady had announced his retirement in February, citing the desire to spend more time with his family, but reversed course 40 days later and re-signed with the Bucs for a 23rd NFL season.
Bundchen admitted her displeasure over her husband’s decision in an interview with Elle magazine in September.
“Obviously, I have my concerns,” she said. “(Football) is a very violent sport, and I have my children and would like him to be more present. I have definitely had those conversations with him over and over again.
“But ultimately, I feel that everybody has to make a decision that works for (them). He needs to follow his joy, too.”
Brady and Bundchen, a successful supermodel born in Brazil, were married in 2009 and had their first child, Benjamin, later that year. Their second child, Vivian, was born in 2012.
The 45-year-old Brady has endured a difficult year on the field as well. The Buccaneers were among the NFC’s preseason favourites but fell to 3-5 with Thursday’s loss – the first time in the seven-time Super Bowl champion’s career his team is under .500 eight games into a season.
Jamaica’s Fraser McConnell is set to go up against some of the best drivers in the world when the fourth leg of 2022/2023 Nitro Rallycross Championship gets underway in Los Angeles, California this weekend, October 29 and 30.
SportsMax will carry the action live.
On October 2, the 24-year-old McConnell crashed and rolled during third-leg of Group E qualifying in Minneapolis but recovered to finish third.
Standing in his way for top honours this weekend will be Robin Larsson and Andreas Bakkerud, who have 160 and 141 points, respectively, to occupy first and second place. McConnell is third in the standings with 114 points.
Hel looks forward to the challenge at the iconic Glen Helen Raceway, where cars fly and the track thrills.
“Glen Helen is a track I enjoyed last year. It’s super-fast and almost 100 per cent dirt with eight or nine jumps, so you have to ensure you’re timing the speed right so that when you land, you get as much downhill of the speed as you can,” he said.
“My job is to ensure the car is making the gaps. I can’t wait to get out there.”
The 2022-23 NITRO Rallycross Championship will see action over 10 legs across the USA, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, and Canada. The series runs from June 2022 to March 2023.
Multiple-time winner Lennox Braithwaite of Guyana won the Grand Aggregate in the individual event at the 2022 West Indies Full Bore Shooting Championships on Thursday. The championship is being held at Twickenham Park in St. Catherine, Jamaica.
Brathwaite, who lamented the pandemic-induced relative lack of preparation coming into the tournament, won with a score of 467.39 out of a possible 480 points. He defeated Emmanuel Gauvin and Avtar Nanrey of Canada as well as compatriots Sherwin Felicien and Ransford Goodluck, who finished in the top five.
Guyana had five shooters in the top 10.
Jamaica’s national champion Dwayne Forde scored 449.30 to finished seventh while Karen Anderson was 17th.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Jordan-Cousins of Barbados scored 436.20 while out-dueling Anderson (435.25) to win the Amazon trophy which goes to the top female shooter. Women shoot against the males on the same targets and use same equipment in the competition.
The competition continued on Friday, October 28, with the team event which comprises a short-range and long range component.
The long-range team match, for the Milex Cup, began on Friday and will be followed by the short-range (300m/500m/600m) team match for the Wogarth Cup.
Braithwaite is the defending champion. The short range team match is Saturday, October 29.
About 100 golfers are expected to compete for US$100,000 in prize money when the Jamaica Golf Association’s (JGA) 55th Jamaica Open Golf Championship tees off at Tryall Golf Club from Saturday, November 12-Tuesday, November 15.
This year, the tournament will honour the late Seymour Rose who won the Open in 1977, 1982 and 1987.
“Seymour is really one of the icons of Jamaica’s golf and we don't want to forget him,” said JGA member Gordon Hutchinson at the launch on Wednesday.
“We want to remember him. We want him to be associated with Jamaica Open for a long time. His name will always be there on the records as a past winner. Seymour was outstanding because he was such a gentleman, in addition to being a golfer. He did a lot for young golfers coming up. He was a very humble person and you can approach him anytime and he would assist you irrespective of who you are.”
Meanwhile, Vice-President of the JGA Dr. Mark Newnham, said the association managed to overcome the challenges associated with the pandemic to make this year’s tournament possible.
"We are just so proud, so excited to host this championship,” he said.
“We struggled a little bit with staging this during Covid. Our protocols are going to be a little bit more relaxed this time and we couldn't be happier to stage this our 55th event. The Jamaica Open is our premier event."
With the start less than a month away, Chairman of the organizing committee Peter Chin said everything is going according to plan and they are expecting up to 100 golfers to compete at the tournament.
"We are very happy with where we are now, all the plans are in place, so far so good. We have sponsorship in place. We have the golf course in place. We have players who are registering and paid their entry fees,” he said.
“So far we have 65 players and we are hoping to reach to 100 by tournament day. We are happy that a number of the past winners are coming back; Michael Maguire, who won last year, and Patrick Cover who won the year before. Both players have graduated to the Korn Ferry tour but they seem to have a liking to the Jamaica Open so they are coming back to play."
The tournament is being sponsored by Aqua Bay, Tourism Enhancement Fund, SDF, Tryall Golf Course, JTL Jamaica Tours Limited, Digicel Business, Jamaica Producers, Rain Forest, Wisynco, Barita and First Rock.
Red Bull have been fined $7million and have been hit with a 10 per cent reduction in permitted aerodynamic research for breaking Formula One budget cap regulations.
Motorsport's world governing body the FIA revealed that Red Bull were guilty of spending £1.86m more than they were permitted to last season, which ended dramatically when Max Verstappen won his first world title.
The FIA on Friday confirmed the sanctions imposed on the constructors’ champions after the Red Bull Racing accepted breaking the rules.
It was taken into account by the FIA that Red Bull Racing had "acted cooperatively throughout" what was the first review process under F1 financial regulations.
UFC great Anderson Silva has been cleared for his boxing match against Jake Paul after his "bad English" prompted a late meeting to assess his health before Saturday's fight.
Silva had told MMA Weekly he was knocked out twice in his training camp – comments that raised concerns to the Arizona Boxing & MMA Commission.
The 47-year-old's team said the Brazilian had misspoken in his second language, while Silva himself told ESPN he was "joking".
"When I'm talking about the knockout, it's just to help the [team-mates] who help me, to [lift] them up," he explained.
In a Twitter post, Silva said discussion of the knockouts were "rumours" that stemmed from "simply bad English".
The commission still had chairman Scott Fletcher attend Thursday's news conference, while Silva also had to take additional medical examinations.
Ara Feinstein, a commissioner who is also a surgeon and a ringside physician, assessed the results and cleared Silva to fight.
"When I look at all of those things together, I don't have any more concerns with Mr Silva fighting [on] Saturday than I would have any other fighter," he said, as quoted by ESPN.
Silva left the UFC in 2020 and has since won two fights to improve his professional boxing record to 3-1 ahead of facing Paul.
Ja'Marr Chase could be set for injured reserve following a hip injury, potentially slowing the Cincinnati Bengals' momentum as they recover from a tough start in 2022.
Second-year wide receiver Chase sustained the injury against the New Orleans Saints in Week 6, although he still caught two touchdown passes in that game and two more against the Atlanta Falcons last week, tallying 262 receiving yards across the two games combined.
Despite initially playing through the issue, Chase appeared on the Bengals' injury report on Thursday.
Coach Zac Taylor suggested the injury would be assessed daily, but ESPN subsequently reported Chase was facing four to six weeks on the sideline after seeing a specialist.
That would represent a huge blow to the Bengals, who started 0-2 after losing Super Bowl LVI but have recovered to 4-3.
As last year, when his 1,455 receiving yards set a rookie record for the Super Bowl era, Chase leads the Cincinnati receiving corps, tallying 605 yards and six touchdowns from 47 catches.
However, the Bengals are the only team in the NFL to have three players with at least 400 receiving yards, with Chase joined by Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins (both 455).
Boyd led the way with 155 yards in last week's 35-17 defeat of the Falcons, in which quarterback Joe Burrow threw for 481 yards – the third-most in a regular-season Bengals game all-time – and three TDs, rushing for a further 20 yards and a score.
Burrow endured a dismal start to the year, with four interceptions and seven sacks against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1, but now looks back to his best.
The QB's 11.45 yards per attempt against the Falcons represented a career high, while his completion percentage of 81.0 (34 of 42) was his second-best mark.
Burrow now faces the Cleveland Browns, a team he has never beaten in three attempts.
In fact, the Bengals have lost four straight to their AFC North rivals, their worst run in this matchup since dropping seven in a row between 1992 and 1995.
Bidding to end that run without Chase on Monday, Burrow and the Bengals are second in the division, two games ahead of the third-placed 2-5 Browns.ja
The big boys are back in Week 8 as the NFL season edges its way closer to the playoffs.
The Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings all return after a bye week, as do the defending champion Los Angeles Rams, who will look to increase the pressure on the San Francisco 49ers.
The Eagles are aiming to maintain their 100 per cent record when the Pittsburgh Steelers come to town, while the Bills host Aaron Rodgers and his wobbling Green Bay Packers.
Stats Perform has taken a look at the numbers ahead of Sunday's games, starting in the city of brotherly love.
Pittsburgh Steelers (2-5) @ Philadelphia Eagles (6-0)
It promises to be a tricky trip for Pittsburgh, as the Eagles own a nine-game winning streak at home against them, a streak that started in 1966 (Pittsburgh's last win there was Week 6, 1965). It is the Eagles' longest home winning streak against a single opponent in franchise history.
The Steelers lost 16-10 at the Miami Dolphins last week, and are averaging just 15.3 points per game, the second fewest in the NFL (Denver Broncos, 14.3). The last time they finished in the bottom two of the NFL in scoring was 1969 (15.6 points per game, second worst).
The Eagles have held a lead of at least 14 points in each of their six games this season. The last team to do so in seven straight games to begin the season was the 2007 Patriots (eight straight).
Philadelphia have won Jalen Hurts' last nine starts, tied for the longest quarterback win streak in franchise history with Carson Wentz (2017), Donovan McNabb (2003) and Norm Van Brocklin (1960). The Eagles were 6-10 in Hurts' first 16 career starts in the NFL.
San Francisco 49ers (3-4) @ Los Angeles Rams (3-3)
Including a 24-9 home win in Week 4, the 49ers have won seven straight regular-season games against Los Angeles, their second-longest streak against the Rams all-time (17 straight from December 1990 to December 1998). However, the Rams beat the 49ers in last season's NFC Championship Game at SoFi Stadium.
San Francisco lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, 44-23, at home last week. It was the first time they have lost back-to-back games by at least 14 points since Weeks 9-10 in 2020. They followed those games up with a 23-20 win against the Rams in Los Angeles.
Last week, Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 303 yards, the 11th game in his career with at least 300 yards. The 49ers won the first seven of those games but are just 1-3 in the last four. The only win in that span came on the road against the Rams in Week 18 last season.
Rams QB Matthew Stafford is 1-6 in his regular season career against the 49ers, his worst record against any NFC opponent. He has thrown four touchdown passes and five interceptions in his three games against them since joining the Rams, losing each one.
Green Bay Packers (3-4) @ Buffalo Bills (5-1)
The Packers have won their last four home games against the Bills, but are 0-6 all-time in Buffalo, most recently losing a 21-13 game there in Week 15, 2014. The Bills are the only active franchise the Packers have never beaten on the road.
Green Bay lost 23-21 to the Washington Commanders last week, and have lost three straight games for the first time since Weeks 11-13 in 2018. They have not lost four straight since Weeks 8-11 in 2016. The last time they lost four of their first seven games was in 2006 (also 3-4).
The Bills are coming off their bye week following a 24-20 win in Kansas City in Week 6. Since the Bills' last Super Bowl appearance in 1993, they have begun a season 5-1 four times – 1995, 2008, 2019, and this year.
Buffalo's offense has faced a blitz on 35.3 per cent of its passing plays this season, the fourth highest in the league. The Packers have faced a blitz just 20.2 per cent of the time, second lowest in the league (Miami, 18.2). The Bills have blitzed opponents just 12.9 per cent of the time, the lowest in the league.
Elsewhere…
Dak Prescott should face the Chicago Bears (3-4) after making his return in the Dallas Cowboys' (5-2) win over the Detroit Lions last week, moving his career record as a starter to 54-33 (.621). Since 2016. The Cowboys are 9-8 when Prescott does not start (.530) while averaging almost 60 total yards fewer per game when he is not the starter (382.3 with, 322.9 without).
The New York Jets (5-2) enter their clash with the New England Patriots (3-4) with a chance to break their current 12-game losing streak against them, which dates back to the 2016 season. With a loss, the streak would match Denver's 13-game losing streak to Kansas City as the longest active one in the NFL.
Saquon Barkley (110 rushing yards) and Daniel Jones (107) each ran for over 100 yards last week, the third time a New York Giants (6-1) duo has eclipsed that mark. Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw did so in Week 14, 2010 and Week 16, 2007. The only other team with such a duo this season was the New Orleans Saints in Week 5 against the Giants' opponents for Week 8, the Seattle Seahawks (4-3).
The Tennessee Titans (4-2) own a four-game win streak after a 19-10 win at home against the Indianapolis Colts. This is the Titans' sixth-straight season with a winning streak of at least four games, and it could go to five with a win at the Houston Texans (1-4-1).
Alpine have won their appeal against a penalty imposed on Fernando Alonso following the United States Grand Prix, meaning his points for a seventh-place finish have been restored.
A dramatic race for the Spaniard involved his car sustaining significant damage after a collision with Lance Stroll saw the Alpine rear up and hit roadside barriers, forcing him to pit for repairs.
The Haas team launched a protest after Alonso lost his right-hand mirror late in the race, and a 30-second punishment saw him fall to 15th place in the race standings.
The post-race complaint from Haas came, according to Alpine, some 24 minutes after the deadline for making such claims.
Now Alpine have succeeded in getting the penalty overturned by governing body the FIA, with two-time champion Alonso recovering the six points he achieved in Austin.
Ahead of this weekend's Mexico City Grand Prix, Alpine said in a statement: "BWT Alpine F1 Team thanks the FIA stewards for convening and reaching a positive conclusion on the matter involving car #14 from last weekend's United States Grand Prix.
"The team welcomes the decision made by the aforementioned stewards, whereby car #14 reinstates its seventh-place finish and six points from the race. We look forward to continuing our collaborative work alongside the FIA to ensure the racing spectacle is maintained to the highest quality. The team now looks forward to competing this weekend at the Mexico City Grand Prix."
Alonso sits ninth in this year's drivers' standings, one place behind team-mate Esteban Ocon.
Before the FIA appeal result was known, Alonso said on Thursday: "It was a rollercoaster of emotions for me on Sunday: I started at the back, then we were like P6, we had the accident; last again; and then finishing P7, and then in the evening, again out of the points. So it was up and down all day long."
Tom Brady said the Tampa Bay Buccaneers "struggled on everything" in Thursday's 27-22 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, with the quarterback now on his first three-game losing streak since 2002.
The Bucs' miserable run of form continued as the Ravens clicked into gear after only scoring three points in the first half, with Lamar Jackson throwing two touchdowns after the interval.
Neither quarterback committed a turnover as Brady completed 26 of his 44 passes for 325 yards and one touchdown, but the seven-time Super Bowl champion is now enduring his worst losing run in 20 years.
The Bucs have slumped to a 3-5 record after opening the season with two wins, and Brady says they are simply not meeting their own standards.
"We just didn't play well enough to win, so give them credit. They played good, certainly better than we did," Brady said.
"We just came up short, I don't think it feels good, whether [you're ahead in the] first half or second half. We just have to play better, certainly on offense.
"I think we've struggled pretty much on everything. We struggled in the red zone, on third down, during the run game. It's just not very good offense football."
Having lost five of their last six games to fall below the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South, the Bucs now have a 10-day break before they face the Los Angeles Rams, and Brady knows the importance of a response.
"I don't think anyone feels good. We've lost five, so it's not where we want to be, but we haven't earned it," he added. "We've got to go earn it, fight hard and figure out how to win games.
"Whenever we play, we play. We've got to win, break or no break. We're all just frustrated we're not getting the job done.
"We're playing to win and losing is no fun for any of us, we're just coming up short."
The Bucs' injury problems continued to mount when outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett suffered a suspected torn Achilles in the third quarter, and Brady cannot wait for the team to return to something approaching full strength.
"Shaq's a great player for us, I hope he's okay," Brady said. "We need to get some guys back, get a little healthier, and see if we can perform a bit better."
Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles admitted "it doesn't look good" for Shaquil Barrett after he suffered a suspected torn Achilles in the team's 27-22 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
The outside linebacker was injured during a Ravens running play in the third quarter on Thursday, and reports have suggested his season could be over after initial examinations.
Speaking after the Bucs suffered a fifth loss in their last six games, Bowles said of Barrett: "He has an Achilles right now, so we'll wait for the MRI, but it doesn't look good."
Any significant absence for the two-time Pro Bowler would represent a considerable blow for the Bucs, who were already coping with several injuries ahead of Thursday's game.
Barrett has led the team for sacks in two of the last three seasons, and has recorded eight sacks and 43 tackles in his eight starts this campaign.
With Tampa Bay slumping to a 3-5 record despite winning their first two games of the season, Bowles acknowledges things are "dark" for his team, but he remains confident they can change their fortunes.
"It's still dark; until you win ball games consistently and play for four quarters consistently it's going to be dark," he said.
"That doesn't mean we can't get out of it, we just have a lot of work to do as coaches and as players."
The Ravens looked to have suffered an injury blow of their own when tight end Mark Andrews was ruled out with a shoulder injury in the second quarter, while wide receiver Rashod Bateman also exited with a foot problem.
However, head coach John Harbaugh played down any concerns over the duo after the win, saying: "They are not serious.
"Rashod was a tweak of what he had before, and Mark is not a serious long-term injury."
The Golden State Warriors' offense, led by the Splash Brothers, was at its destructive best in Thursday night's 123-110 victory over the Miami Heat.
In a strong four-quarter performance, the Warriors scored between 29 and 32 points in all four periods, led by iconic backcourt duo Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Curry was the game's top-scorer with 33 points on 13-of-22 shooting, hitting seven of his 14 three-point attempts.
Thompson also got up 14 three-point attempts as the Warriors – who play at the fastest pace in the league at 111.7 possessions per game – were determined to let it fly from deep.
The second Splash Brother hit five of his 14 attempts, while going one-of-five from two-point range for 19 points of his own. They were supported strongly by Andrew Wiggins, who grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to go with his 18 points (five-of-10 shooting).
For the Heat, Jimmy Butler was terrific on both ends, leading his team with 27 points on an incredibly efficient eight-of-13 from the field (four-of-seven from deep, made all seven free throws), while adding eight assists, six rebounds and six steals.
The win means the defending champions are 3-2 through their first five games, while Miami fell to 2-4.
The Baniac delivers again
Memphis Grizzlies wing Desmond Bane is in a rich vein of form, and he led the way with 31 points in a 125-110 win against the Sacramento Kings.
It is the second consecutive game Bane has top-scored for the Grizzlies in a win, after dropping 38 to tie with teammate Ja Morant and set a new franchise record for points by a duo (76) in their victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
Against the Kings, Bane stayed red-hot as he made 11-of-18 field goal attempts, including six-of-eight from long range in a true sharpshooter's performance.
One of the best shooters in the entire NBA, Bane now boasts a career three-point percentage of 43.3 per cent on 5.6 attempts per game.
Thunder collect another win over the Clippers
The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Clippers for the second time in the past three days with a 118-110 triumph.
Los Angeles were missing stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George when they rolled into Oklahoma City for a two-game road trip, and were still without Leonard as George returned to the lineup.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (24 points on 10-of-23 shooting) and Luguentz Dort (21 points on nine-of-15) carried the offensive load for the Thunder, while George was much less effective for the Clippers.
George could only muster 10 points on four-of-12 shooting, while center Ivica Zubac grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds with his 12 points. After starting their season with two wins, the Clippers have now lost their past three.
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving left his side's 129-125 overtime loss against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday with an appreciation for his opposition and MVP favourite Luka Doncic.
Doncic became only the 10th player in the history of the NBA to record his third career 40-point triple-double, finishing with 41 points (14-of-28 shooting) in his 41 minutes while adding 14 assists and 11 rebounds.
The Nets were able to force overtime after Kevin Durant tied the game at 112-112 when he dunked with less than 10 seconds remaining in regulation, and instead of allowing Doncic to attempt the game-winner, they forced it out of his hands resulting in a missed Reggie Bullock three-pointer.
In the overtime period, Doncic was not fazed by the Nets' desperation to restrict his shot attempts, scoring two field goals and providing the assists for all four of the other Mavericks baskets in the extra session.
All of the stars shone brightly in the contest, as Durant had 37 points on 12-of-21 shooting, while Irving finished with 39 points on 14-of-31 shooting, and in his post-game press conference Irving compared the experience to that of a pick-up game at the park.
"It's like being at the park playing five-on-five," he said. "Luka brings his guys, me and [Durant] bring our guys, and you know where most of the offense is going through.
"On the defensive end you just want to take the challenge – a few times I got switched onto Luka and I felt I did a good job… there's only so much you can do, but you just try to make it tough.
"It feels good when you can go back-and-forth, but obviously we just want to come out with the win.
"He's a great player, it's a pleasure always to go against him."
Irving was not finished there, diving into what makes Doncic and the Mavericks such a unique puzzle to solve, saying they have "traits of a great team".
"The first thing we need to discuss is how long he's been playing professional basketball," he said. "I think it's been since he was 14 or 15 years old.
"He's used to seeing so many defenses, so many different roles he has played, and now that he's in the NBA you just see how he plays at an incredible pace.
"He makes great decisions, most of the offense goes through him, he takes his time a lot, and gets to the free throw line. He maximises all of the rules of the game of basketball, and uses them to his advantage.
"All of the rest of the guys around him play their roles really well – they're a good team, they're only getting better, and I'm glad we got to see a team like this.
"Down the line, the continuity they have and the trust, because they've been through certain battles – you can see it. They don't panic. That's just good to see, traits of a great team."
Nets coach Steve Nash added to the chorus of praise for the 23-year-old Slovenian, saying it does not matter how predictable the Mavericks' offense is going to be if it is Doncic running it.
"He makes others better," he said. "He makes his teammates better, he makes plays for others.
"14 assists, not to mention all the other times he probably gets the 'hockey assist'. He puts an incredible amount of pressure on.
"All they do is [give it to] him over-and-over again in pick-and-roll, get a matchup and make a play. That's a lot of responsibility for him, and he handles it almost every night."
With his on-court interview immediately after the win, Doncic called it "almost impossible" to slow down Irving and Durant, and when asked how he feels about his gaudy stat-line, he said "as long as we win, I'm good".
The result sees the Nets fall to 1-4, while the Mavericks are now 2-2.
The Baltimore Ravens' offense clicked into gear in the second half of their 27-16 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night after only mustering three points in the first two quarters.
Baltimore grabbed an early lead just four minutes into the action, with their punt on the opening drive of the game bouncing off the chest of Buccaneers returner Dee Delaney to gift the Ravens a redzone opportunity.
The Buccaneers defense held, forcing a Justin Tucker field goal, and they took the lead just five minutes later when Leonard Fournette punched in a one-yard touchdown run to cap off a 75-yard drive.
A Tampa Bay field goal would give them a 10-3 lead at halftime, but the Baltimore offense would figure things out in the second half as a five-yard touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson to Kenyan Drake tied the contest at 10-10.
After forcing a Buccaneers punt, the Ravens made it two touchdown drives in a row as Jackson was flushed out of the pocket and found rookie tight end Isaiah Likely along the back of the endzone in tight coverage.
They then made it three touchdown drives in a row when receiver Devin Duvernay was able to convert a third-and-one into a 15-yard touchdown run on a jet-sweep, widening the Ravens' lead to 24-13 with under seven minutes to play.
Tom Brady was able to lead the Buccaneers back into the redzone twice, and was rewarded with a consolation eight-yard touchdown pass to the returning Julio Jones with under a minute on the clock.
Neither quarterback ended up committing a turnover as Jackson completed 27 of his 38 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns, while Brady was 26-of-44 for 325 yards and one score.
After star Ravens tight end Mark Andrews left with an injury, Likely led the Ravens in catches (six) and receiving yards (77), while Mike Evans caught six balls for 123 yards to lead the Buccaneers.
The injury to Cole Anthony announced by the Orlando Magic on Thursday means they may be running out of guards soon.
Already without Markelle Fultz and Jalen Suggs, the Magic will now be missing third-year point guard Anthony, who will be sidelined indefinitely after an MRI revealed a right internal oblique injury.
Anthony was injured in Wednesday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers after he had nine points, five rebounds and five assists in 32 minutes.
The Magic said that Anthony’s return to play will depend on how he responds to rehabilitation and treatment. In four games this season, he is averaging 15.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
Fultz has yet to play this season due to a toe fracture and Suggs has missed the past three games with a right ankle sprain.
R.J. Hampton could see an increase in minutes with the Magic thin in the backcourt, while the only other healthy guards on Orlando’s roster are veteran Terrence Ross and rookie Kevon Harris.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
