SPORTS SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2013 Hugo Lloris fears Suarez factor could derail Spurs

LONDON: Hugo Lloris admits Luis Suarez presents north London club that the season is back on track “It’s important to get a good result against him a clear indication of what his team can aim for the biggest barrier to Tottenham’s efforts to contin- but French goalkeeper Lloris knows they must Liverpool and to get the win because there is only this season. ue their recent revival with victory over Liverpool cope with the threat of Suarez, the top-flight’s in- three points difference between them and us.” The Reds head into the weekend second in the today. Andre Villas-Boas’ Spurs side have recovered form striker who has scored 15 times already this Villas-Boas must decide whether to recall striker table after 15 matches and they trail leaders impressively from the shock of losing 6-0 at season. “They have a very good team with a superb Roberto Soldado, who pressed his claims with a Arsenal by five points. After the trip to White Hart Manchester City and will face the Reds at White striker in Suarez,” Lloris said. hat-trick in the 4-1 midweek Europa League victory Lane, Rodgers’ team host Cardiff before travelling Hart Lane knowing victory will bring them level on “It’s true that, at the moment, maybe he’s the over Anzhi Makhachkala after being replaced by to Manchester City and Chelsea to finish off 2013. points with Brendan Rodgers’ team. Since the City best player in the Premier League, but we have to Jermain Defoe in the last two Premier League line- The three away matches are against teams that defeat, which came on the back of a home loss to show good resilience when we come up against ups. have a minimum expectation of finishing in the top Newcastle, Spurs have won four and drawn one to him and against the team as a whole. “You know Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen is in con- four and Rodgers is looking forward to measuring haul themselves back into contention in the when you play against a great player that you have tention after returning against Anzhi after a his own side against tough opposition. Premier League title race and wrap up qualification to expect anything at any moment, so we just have month’s absence with an ankle injury. Meanwhile, “There are four games from Tottenham away to to the Europa League knock-out stages. to make sure that we remain focused and concen- Liverpool manager Rodgers believes the trip to Chelsea away, which takes us to the end of the year Another victory would enhance belief at the trate on our game. Tottenham starts a run of four games that will give and the 19-game mark,” Rodgers said.—AFP Gordon leads Pelicans past Grizzlies, 104-98

NEW ORLEANS: Eric Gordon made 10 of 12 shots on his way to 25 points, and the New Orleans Pelicans won their second straight game, 104-98 over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night. Jrue Holiday added 20 points and 12 assists, hitting a clutch 3-pointer in the final minute to give New Orleans some breathing room after the Pelicans’ 19-point, fourth- quarter lead was trimmed to six with nearly five minutes remaining. Ryan Anderson scored 18 for New Orleans, which also benefited from a season-low six turnovers. However, New MUNICH: Bayern’s Thiago Alcantara of Spain, left, and Hamburg’s Milan Badelj challenge for the ball during the Orleans lost Tyreke Evans for the second half after aggra- German first division Bundesliga soccer match between FC vated a left ankle sprain that first occurred late last week. Bayern Munich and Hamburger SV in Munich, Germany, Jon Leuer scored 19 and Mike Conley 18 for Memphis, yesterday. — AP which has lost two straight. Zach Randolph added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who were done in by a 21-3 Pelicans run that started in the last half of the third quarter. Moyes wants The Grizzlies were as close as 63-62 on Kosta Koufos’ 6- foot runner halfway through the third quarter, but Randolph went to the bench with his fourth foul soon faltering United after. New Orleans then started to dominate, going on a 21-3 run that gave the Pelicans their largest lead at 84-65 early in the fourth quarter. to narrow focus The surge included Gordon’s layup and 27-footer with a second left in the third quarter. Gordon, who hit all three BIRMINGHAM: Manager David Moyes wants of his 3-point shots, hit from long range early in the fourth Manchester United to clear their minds of title quarter to make it 87-70 with 10 minutes left. NEW ORLEANS: New Orleans Pelicans small forward Al-Farouq Aminu, top left, watches his shot go through the basket Memphis nearly had an answer, though. Mike Miller’s as Memphis Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph, right, pursues in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New talk as they look to avoid losing three successive Orleans, Friday. — AP Premier League games for the first time since free throws began a 15-3 run, which he capped with a 3 to 2001. United travel to Aston Villa today for a cut it to 94-88 with 4:53 still left. New Orleans called time- with a 103-99 win over the Brooklyn Nets. Detroit (11-13) league fixture that they have not lost since 1995, out soon after, and when the game resumed, Gordon hit a led by 21 early in the fourth and survived the Nets’ (8-15) 20-foot jumper, Holiday followed with a 9-foot floater, Al- NBA results/standings but with the champions already 13 points behind late surge. Nets power forward Kevin Garnett grabbed his Farouq Aminu sank a pair of clutch free throws and Holiday 14,000th rebound during the third quarter, becoming the leaders Arsenal, their grip on the title is weaken- connected from 3. That put New Orleans ahead 103-93 ing. 10th player in league history to reach that mark. He is only Indiana 99, Charlotte 94; Cleveland 109, Orlando 100; with 54 seconds left, and Memphis could not recover. the third player to have 25,000 points, 14,000 rebounds Toronto 108, Philadelphia 100; Atlanta 101, Washington However, Moyes believes that discussing the Memphis shot 75 percent during the first 10 minutes of 99 (OT); Boston 90, NY Knicks 86; Detroit 103, Brooklyn 99; possibility of closing the gap and winning a 21st and 5,000 assists, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl the game, allowing them to open an early 32-24 lead on Malone. New Orleans 104, Memphis 98; Oklahoma City 122, LA league title has to stop until they get back in the Tony Allen’s finger roll even as New Orleans shot better Lakers 97; Chicago 91, Milwaukee 90; San Antonio 117, mix with the other contenders. than 50 percent. The lead grew to 10 when Jerryd Bayless’ Minnesota 110; Utah 103, Denver 93; Phoenix 116, Thunder 122, Lakers 97 Sacramento 107; Houston 116, Golden State 112. “The gap is bigger than we would like it to be,” driving layup made it 40-30. Forward Kevin Durant scored 31 points to lead the he said. “We would like to be closer. We can only The gap remained about the same until Holiday’s 3 with Oklahoma City Thunder to an easy 122-97 victory over Eastern Conference do one game at a time. Let’s look at it later on 4:05 left in the period sparked a 10-0 run that included a 3 the Los Angeles Lakers. Durant added eight rebounds, Atlantic Division next year and let us see if we can answer the and layup by Anderson, the latter giving New Orleans a 49- five assists and four steal in 31 minutes of action. Guard W L PCT GB question better then. “This club expected to win 48 lead. Evans, who’d been playing on a sore left ankle, Russell Westbrook flirted with a near triple double as he Boston 11 14 .440 - all the games. That is the fact and that is why if reinjured himself on a drive in the final seconds of the half, collected 19 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds. The Toronto 8 13 .381 1 but was able to hobble back to the free throw line and Lakers (10-12) got 14 points and seven rebounds from Brooklyn 8 15 .348 2 you lose one or two then things get said. I knew Philadelphia 7 17 .292 3.5 that was the situation before I got the job, I make two foul shots to give the Pelicans a 55-54 lead head- center Pau Gasol while guard Kobe Bryant handed out 13 ing into the locker room. NY Knicks 6 16 .273 3.5 understand that. points but scored only four. Oklahoma City (18-4) moved Central Division “There are a lot of games we can get points in, to 11-0 at home. Indiana 20 3 .870 - Pacers 99, Bobcats 94 Detroit 11 13 .458 9.5 but we need to go and do it, not talk about it. We Lance Stephenson scored 20 points to help the Indiana need to make sure it happens on the field.” United Spurs 117, Timberwolves 110 Chicago 9 12 .429 10 Pacers defeat the Charlotte Bobcats 99-94. Stephenson Cleveland 9 13 .409 10.5 will be without striker Robin van Persie, who has Point guard Tony Parker had 29 points and six assists to made nine of 14 field goals and had 11 rebounds and sev- lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 117-110 win over the Milwaukee 5 18 .217 15 been ruled out for a month with a thigh strain. en assists. Roy Hibbert added 18 points and 11 rebounds Minnesota Timberwolves. Parker was 13 of 24 from the Southeast Division Moyes described the absence of last season’s and David West added 14 points and eight rebounds as the Miami 16 6 .727 - field in 36 minutes as the Spurs returned from a two game Atlanta 12 11 .522 4.5 top goalscorer as a “big blow” and he is also Pacers (20-3) remained undefeated in 11 home games. road trip. San Antonio had five other players in double fig- expected to be without Michael Carrick, Charlotte center Al Jefferson had 21 points and nine Charlotte 10 13 .435 6.5 ures with forward Kawhi Leonard getting 19, while guards Washington 9 12 .429 6.5 Marouane Fellaini, Patrice Evra and Nemanja rebounds for the Bobcats (10-13). Manu Ginobili had 20 and Marco Belinelli 12. Forwards Orlando 7 16 .304 9.5 Vidic. Wayne Rooney is set to return to league Boris Diaw had 12 and Tim Duncan chipped in 12 with 14 Western Conference action after missing last weekend’s defeat by Cavaliers 109, Magic 100 rebounds for San Antonio (18-4). Minnesota (11-12) had Northwest Division Newcastle United through suspension after he Kyrie Irving scored 31 points to lead the Cleveland their all-time record fall to 9-41 in San Antonio. Portland 19 4 .826 - picked up his fifth booking of the season in the Cavaliers to just their second road win of the season, beat- Oklahoma City 18 4 .818 0.5 Denver 13 9 .591 5.5 loss against Everton just four days before. ing the Orlando Magic 109-100. Irving, who had 37 points Bulls 91, Bucks 90 in Tuesday’s win over the New York Knicks, hit 12 of 24 Minnesota 11 12 .478 8 The England striker will make his 500th club Forward Mike Dunleavy’s three-pointer with 5.8 sec- shots as the Cavs (9-13) won for the fifth time in their last Utah 6 19 .240 14 appearance if he features against Villa and Moyes onds left capped off a fourth quarter comeback for the six games. Dion Waters had 21 points, including 16 in the Pacific Division Chicago Bulls, who snapped a three-game losing streak LA Clippers 15 9 .625 - expects him to pick up plenty more with a mid- fourth quarter when he sparked the Cavs to the game-win- field role a possibility later in his career. “He can with a 91-90 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. bChicago Phoenix 13 9 .591 1 ning run. Rookie guard Victor Oladipo led the Magic with a Golden State 13 11 .542 2 go far in terms of numbers because as he gets (9-12) trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half, season-high 26 points. but chipped away at Milwaukee’s lead in the final quarter. LA Lakers 10 12 .455 4 older, he is adaptable and such a good football Bulls center Joakim Noah blocked guard O.J. Mayo’s Sacramento 6 15 .286 7.5 player,” Moyes said. Raptors 108, 76ers 100 attempt at a buzzer-beater, sealing the victory for Chicago. Southwest Division “Maybe if he gets older and loses a bit of his DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points and the Toronto San Antonio 18 4 .818 - Milwaukee (5-18) was looking to beat the Bulls for the sec- Houston 16 8 .667 3 pace he can always drop a bit deeper and can Raptors defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 108-100. Terrence ond time in a week. play deeper. The big thing for Wayne is that there Ross added 24 points for the Raptors (8-13), who have won Dallas 13 10 .565 5.5 New Orleans 11 10 .524 6.5 are some big targets ahead for him. “There are two of their past eight games while the Sixers (7-16) lost Jazz 103, Nuggets 93 Memphis 10 12 .455 8 some fantastic legends around this club and their fifth in a row. Tony Wroten led the 76ers with 23 Guard Gordon Hayward scored a season-high 30 points Wayne has got a chance to turn out to be one of points. and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds, center Derrick them. He already is with what he does but I am Favors had 19 points and the Utah Jazz beat the Denver talking real, real top status.” Celtics 90, Knicks 86 Nuggets 103-93. Forward Richard Jefferson scored 14 The Boston Celtics blew a 17-point second-quarter lead For all United’s early-season struggles, Aston points for the Jazz, who led most of the way. Forwards and then rallied from 11 points down in the fourth to beat Villa manager Paul Lambert does not buy into the Wilson Chandler and Jordan Hamilton had 17 points the New York Knicks 90-86. It was Boston’s second win over belief that the dominant force of the last 20 years apiece for the Nuggets, who had their six-game home win- New York in six days, but this one was entirely different ning streak snapped. are now in decline. “It’s the same group of lads than the 114-73 blowout last Sunday. The Celtics, down 79- who had the mentality of winning things,” 68 with 10:32 left, held the Knicks (6-16) to just two field Suns 116, Kings 107 Lambert said. goals in the final 7:16 and took the lead for good on Avery Guards Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe combined for 57 “Maybe the difference is from the outside look- Bradley’s three-pointer from the right corner with 2:38 left. points on 21-for-30 shooting from the field and the ing in, you can’t afford to drop. That’s the high Jared Sullinger led the first-place Celtics with 19 points. Phoenix Suns beat the new-look Kings 116-107. Dragic had standard Man United have set, not just over five a game-high 29 points including four of Phoenix’s 12 to 10 years, over 20 years, (former manager Alex) Hawks 101, Wizards 99 (overtime) three-pointers while Bledsoe added 28 points and eight Ferguson’s reign. People jump on the bandwagon Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford had his best game of assists for the Suns, who have won a season-high four saying they are a spent force but I don’t buy into the season. Horford hit two tying free throws with five sec- straight and moved to 13-9 on the season. Guard Isaiah that.” onds to play to force overtime and then hit a fade-away Thomas had 27 points and his new teammate forward However, Lambert says his side will not be con- jumper as time expired to lift the Hawks over the Wizards Rudy Gay added 24 for the Kings. cerned by their poor record at home to United 101-99. Horford finished with a season-high 34 points and 15 rebounds to lead Atlanta (12-11) to their 11th straight and will go out to attack the champions. “I have Rockets 116, Warriors 112 home win over Washington (9-12). Washington forward good faith in the lads to go on the front foot,” he Center Dwight Howard slammed home forward Trevor Booker had a season-high 22 points, including a said. “If we can do that, we will make it a game, Terrence Jones’ miss to start a three-point play with 2:15 to reverse layup that tied the game 99-99 with one second go, highlighting a late run that allowed the Houston that’s for sure.” left in overtime. Beaten 2-0 at Fulham last weekend, which was Rockets to record a 116-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors. The win allowed the Rockets (16-8) to continue their first defeat in six league games, Aston Villa RENNES: Rennes’ French forward Mevlut Erding (L) vies Pistons 103, Nets 99 their recent mastery of the Warriors (13-11), beating them with Paris Saint-Germain’s Italian midfielder Thiago Motta are in 11th place in the table ahead of the week- Andre Drummond scored 22 points and 13 rebounds for the second time this season and 19th time in the last 22 during the French L1 football match between Rennes and end’s fixtures, three points below United. — AFP and Greg Monroe contributed 22 points and 11 rebounds meetings. Shooting guard James Harden had 26 points to Paris Saint-Germain yesterday, at Route de Lorient stadi- as the Detroit Pistons ended a three-game losing streak lead the way for the Rockets. — Agencies um in Rennes, western France. — AFP