Friday 45 Sports Friday, February 2, 2018 Cavaliers edge Heat 91-89 as Celtics thump Knicks

LOS ANGELES: LeBron James scored 24 They harried the Heat into 20 turnovers as points and came up with a crucial late as they held an opponent to less than 90 points the Cleveland Cavaliers edged the Miami Heat for the first time since November. “It’s a good 91-89 on Wednesday in a duel for third place step in the right direction,” James said. in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. “King” James prevented James Johnson from getting a shot BLOWOUT IN BOSTON off at the final buzzer as Cleveland held on for Elsewhere, the Orlando Magic rebounded the win in their first game since Kevin Love from a heartbreaking loss to the Houston was sidelined with a broken hand. Love is ex- Rockets with a 126-105 victory over the Los pected to miss six to eight weeks-just more Angeles Lakers. Marreese Speights scored a bad news in a tough January for the Cavs, who game-high 21 points and Evan Fournier added finished the month with a 6-8 record. “I just 20 points for the Magic, who made 18 of their wanted to keep the ball between me and the 32 three-point attempts and set a season-high basket,” James said of his late-game stop. for three-point percentage. “That’s just the rules I’ve always been The Brooklyn Nets snapped a four-game taught and I was happy to be able to get that skid with a 116-108 victory over the Philadel- last stop. “It’s a good win for us.” Jae Crowder phia 76ers. Spencer Dinwiddie scored nine of drained a three-pointer from a James his 27 points in the fourth quarter for the Nets with 1:21 left to play to give Cleveland a three- and D’Angelo Russell, playing his fifth game point lead. Miami’s Josh Richardson answered back after knee surgery, added 22 points. with a floater with a minute remaining before It was a blowout in Boston, where the East- Cleveland’s Isaiah Thomas made two free- ern Conference-leading Celtics overcame the throws to build the margin to 90-87 with 18.8 absence of Kyrie Irving to down the New York seconds to play. Knicks 103-73. The Celtics, up by five midway CLEVELAND: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers goes to the basket against the Miami Heat on ’s layup trimmed the deficit to through the third quarter, more than doubled Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. —AFP one point with 12.1 seconds remaining. With that lead in less than two minutes, seizing an 11 seven left Cleveland’s Kyle Korver made the point lead and never letting the Knicks get first of two free throws and Johnson, with within single digits again. Terry Rozier, making quarter and the most in a single period in the the waning seconds of the fist quarter and James defending him, was unable to release the his first career NBA start, produced his first NBA this season. came down awkwardly, his left leg twisting be- potential game-tying jump shot before time career triple-double with 17 points, 10 assists McCollum joined Houston’s James Harden neath him. expired. and 11 rebounds for Boston, adding two steals as the only players to score 50 points in just He sat still on the court awaiting aid from “We needed a win like this, where we win a and two blocked shots. three quarters this season. In Phoenix, a horri- medical staff and was eventually taken off on game on our defense,” said James. The Cavs In Portland, C.J. McCollum scored 50 points fying broken left ankle to Suns reserve guard a stretcher as shocked teammates and oppo- entered the contest as the NBA’s worst-ranked to lead the Trail Blazers to a 124-108 victory Isaiah Canaan overshadowed the hosts’ 102-88 nents looked on. The Suns quickly issued a defensive team but limited Miami to 3-of-28 over the . McCollum scored 28 victory over the . brief statement saying he had a broken from three-point range. points in the first quarter, a club record for a Canaan had slashed to the rim for a layup in ankle. —AFP

That left Saints manager Mauricio Pelle- Southampton grino unable to bolster his struggling side further following the 19 million-pound record signing of Monaco striker Guido Bowl) game. “It’s been a dream come true for dominate but held Carrillo last week. Evergreen Brady me, many times over, and you know it takes a lot Argentine Carrillo gave a good account of of hard work to get here. “We’re working hard by fellow strugglers himself up front once he was introduced in this week, we had a good practice today. I’m not the 46th minute for Dusan Tadic, but how Pel- not the retiring type thinking about retirement - I’m thinking about legrino missed an incisive striker in the MINNEAPOLIS: Tom Brady said yesterday he the Super Bowl and trying to win the most im- Promes mould as they laboured up front, Brighton has no plans to retire anytime soon as he pre- portant game of the year.” looking to cancel out Glenn Murray’s 14th- pares to lead the New England Patriots into his minute penalty. eighth Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Ea- RECORDS AT RISK? SOUTHAMPTON: Southampton fans are a “After the goal we controlled the game gles this weekend. The 40-year-old quarterback Brady will already become the oldest non- restive bunch these days, and the mood at St completely, but we could not play quick could win an extraordinary sixth Super Bowl kicker to play in the Super Bowl when he suits up Mary’s was lifted little by a controlling but ul- enough to break their defence,” Pellegrino told ring in Minneapolis on Sunday at an age when at the US Bank Stadium on Sunday. And at five timately impotent performance at home reporters. “Little by little they would drop, and most NFL players are already comfortably set- months past his 40th birthday, he will comfortably against Brighton on Wednesday. it got harder and harder for us to find space.” tling into a life beyond the sport. eclipse his great rival Peyton Manning’s record for That an equaliser salvaged a 1-1 Premier Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg hit the bar with a for- Brady, however, who attributes his remark- being the oldest quarterback to win the champi- League draw, after conceding an early penalty, tunate charged down deflection before Pelle- able longevity to his strict diet and fitness onship if he bags another Super Bowl against the was scant consolation for fans furious that the grino really went on the attack after the break, Eagles. Manning was 39 when he led the Denver regime, told reporters he would like to play club is sitting in the relegation zone despite introducing Carrillo and tricky midfielder Sofi- Broncos to a fairytale win over the Carolina Pan- on until his mid-40s after another dazzling having pocketed some 75 million pounds ane Boufal. But it took a defender, Jack thers in Super Bowl 50 two years ago. ($107 million) for the sale of Virgil van Dijk to Stephens, to hit their 64th-minute equaliser season in which he amassed a league-leading If Brady plays into his mid-40s, he could rival Liverpool. with his second goal in two games, nudging 4,577 yards. records set by Steve DeBerg, who became the Southampton failed to buy a replacement the ball home from James Ward-Prowse’s mis- The California-born signal-caller was re- oldest quarterback to start an NFL game when he defender, and their protracted courting of hit free kick. sponding to comments by Patriots president led the Atlanta Falcons against the New York Jets Spartak Moscow winger Quincy Promes fiz- Saints threw Italian international striker Jonathan Kraft earlier Thursday in which he said in 1998. DeBerg, a back-up quarterback, also be- zled out earlier on Wednesday as the transfer Manolo Gabbiadini on with 10 minutes to Brady had earned the right to choose his own re- came the oldest player ever included on a Super window closed. Sources say the clubs had fi- go, but despite holding much of the posses- tirement date. But Brady was having none of it. Bowl roster, at the age of 45 years and 12 days, nally agreed a fee - believed to be more than sion - and repeatedly sweeping the ball “Why does everyone want me to retire so when the Falcons appeared in Super Bowl 33 in 25 million pounds - but that the deal had been from side to side of the St Mary’s pitch - the bad?” he said. “I’m having fun. The team’s doing 1999. “I’ve always wanted to play until my mid- left too late, leaving the Russians unable to re- hosts lacked the penetration needed for a good. I’m really enjoying it. “I obviously really 40s, so we’ll see,” Brady said of breaking DeBerg’s place the Dutchman. winner. —Reuters enjoy the experience of playing in this (Super records. —AFP