WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014 SPORTS NBA results/standings Knicks pound 76ers Charlotte 105, Denver 98; Brooklyn 101, Toronto 97; Miami 99, Washington 90; NY Knicks 123, Philadelphia 110; Milwaukee 105, Orlando 98; Atlanta 112, Utah 110; NEW YORK: Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 28 points as the BUCKS 105, MAGIC 98 Toronto in the Atlantic. Kyle Lowry scored 21 points to LA Clippers 112, Phoenix 105. New York Knicks defeated Philadelphia 123-110 on Brandon Knight scored 24 points and sparked lead Toronto, which had won nine of its previous 11. The Monday, sending the 76ers to their 17th straight loss. Milwaukee’s rousing rally from an 18-point deficit with a Nets trailed 94-92 after Lowry split the defense in the lane Amare Stoudemire added 23 points, and J.R. Smith dunk. Knight confounded Orlando with a quick first step for a lay-up with 2:15 left. Eastern Conference and Carmelo Anthony each had 22 as the Knicks won and threw down a dunk for a 74-71 lead with 10:57 left Brooklyn then answered with five straight points as Atlantic Division their fourth game in a row. after Ramon Sessions went high for an outlet pass in the Andray Blatche’s reverse lay-up tied the score at 94 and W L PCT GB Michael Carter-Williams recorded a triple-double with lane and patted the ball back to his driving backcourt Pierce followed with a 3-pointer. Toronto 35 27 .565 - 23 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, while Tony Wroten mate. also had 23 points for the struggling 76ers. The Knicks, The lead swelled to 95-81 with 2:49 left before Orlando Brooklyn 32 30 .516 3 HAWKS 112, JAZZ 110 who trailed by 12 points in the first quarter, took their mounted its own late charge to get within three off a 3 Kyle Korver scored 26 points and Paul Millsap added NY Knicks 25 40 .385 11.5 biggest lead of the game, 110-89, on the fourth of from Jameer Nelson with 35 seconds left. 23 to help Atlanta outlast Utah to snap a six-game losing Boston 22 41 .349 13.5 Hardaway Jr’s five 3-pointers with 7:37 left and never led But the Bucks hit their foul shots late and Orlando was streak. Jeff Teague had 14 points and the Hawks used a Philadelphia 15 48 .238 20.5 by less than 12 the rest of the way.

Central Division HEAT 99, WIZARDS 90 Dwyane Wade scored 13 of his 22 points in the fourth Indiana 46 17 .730 - quarter and LeBron James led all scorers with 23 points Chicago 35 28 .556 11 and Miami clinched a playoff spot. Detroit 24 39 .381 22 Chris Bosh scored 22 for the Heat, who snapped a Cleveland 24 40 .375 22.5 three-game slide and moved within one game of Indiana Milwaukee 13 50 .206 33 in the race for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Ray Allen added 13 for Miami, which was down one midway through the fourth before Wade sparked a 12-0 Southeast Division run with five points, three assists and a block at the rim. Miami 44 17 .721 - The Heat never trailed again, and avoided their first four- Washington 33 30 .524 12 game slide since 2011. Bradley Beal scored 18 points, Charlotte 30 34 .469 15.5 Martell Webster added 17 and Drew Gooden scored 15 Atlanta 27 35 .435 17.5 for the Wizards. Orlando 19 46 .292 27 CLIPPERS 112, SUNS 105 Blake Griffin scored 22 of his 37 points in the first quar- Western Conference ter and made 14 of 16 shots before fouling out as the Northwest Division Clippers won their eighth straight. Oklahoma City 46 17 .730 - Darren Collison scored 20 points and Chris Paul added Portland 42 21 .667 4 17 points and 11 assists for the Pacific Division leaders, Minnesota 31 31 .500 14.5 who were 55.1 percent from the field and improved to 23-1 when shooting at least 50 percent. Goran Dragic had Denver 27 36 .429 19 23 points and five assists during a foul-plagued 33 min- Utah 22 42 .344 24.5 utes for the Suns, who slipped a half-game behind idle Memphis for the eighth and final Western Conference Pacific division playoff spot and are 1 1-2 behind Dallas. Phoenix hasn’t LA Clippers 45 20 .692 - made the postseason since 2010 under coach Alvin Golden State 40 24 .625 4.5 Gentry, now a Clippers associate head coach. Phoenix 36 27 .571 8 NEW YORK: Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony (7) defends Philadelphia 76ers’ Thaddeus Young (21) during the second half BOBCATS 105, NUGGETS 98 of an NBA basketball game. — AP Sacramento 22 41 .349 22 Al Jefferson scored 26 points and Kemba Walker added LA Lakers 22 42 .344 22.5 24 as Charlotte won its seventh straight at home. hurt after Nikola Vucevic was whistled for an offensive late 16-4 run to end a 10-game road skid and salvage a Jefferson made 10 of his first 14 field-goal attempts and foul with 22 seconds left. win at the end of a gloomy six-game road trip. Southwest Division also had a game-high 12 rebounds. Walker added seven The Jazz led 96-93 after Trey Burke’s 3-pointer, but assists for the Bobcats, who also received a big boost Korver started an 8-0 run with a 3-pointer and then a con- San Antonio 46 16 .742 - NETS 101, RAPTORS 97 from Gary Neal off the bench. Neal made his first six field- Deron Williams and Shaun Livingston each scored 18 tested jumper to beat the shot clock. Trey Burke made a Houston 44 19 .698 2.5 goal tries, including three 3-pointers, and ended up with points and an ailing Paul Pierce hit a 3-pointer with 1:14 layup before Millsap countered with two free throws and Dallas 38 26 .594 9 19 points. Josh McRoberts added 15 points for Charlotte, remaining to lead Brooklyn past Atlantic Division-leading Korver added two of his own. Trailing 109-100 with 26 Memphis 36 26 .581 10 including a key 3-pointer with 6:15 left at the shot-clock Toronto. seconds left, the Jazz made it interesting with 10 points New Orleans 26 37 .413 20.5 buzzer to extend Charlotte’s lead to 90-82 after Denver Pierce finished with 15 points and Joe Johnson added in the last 16 seconds. Burke scored 23 points and Marvin had cut it to five at 87-82. Ty Lawson scored 24 points to 14 for the Nets, who won their season-high eighth Williams had 18 for the Jazz, who have lost six of their last lead the Nuggets. straight at home. Brooklyn moved three games behind seven. — AP ABK announces winner of the first draw for the ‘Watch it Live in Brazil with Visa’

KUWAIT: Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait’s Cardholder, Haitham and get the chance to enter 2 draws to win quarter-final Hussein, is the lucky winner who will be flying to Brazil for and semi-final package (each for two persons) that include the 2014 FIFA World Cup courtesy of Visa International; this air-tickets to Brazil, hotel accommodation and match-tick- offer comes as part of ABK’s commitment to offer exciting ets. In addition, cardholders also earn Emirates Skywards rewards to its valued customers. Miles for every 1 KD spent locally or overseas on the card, Haitham Hussein won the first draw event that was held exclusively with ABK. on the 10th of March, his prize consist of a 2014 FIFA World Stewart Lockie, GM Retail Banking stated, Cup Brazil Quarter-final Package for two. The draw was “Congratulations to our lucky winner, the promotion con- conducted by ABK under the supervision of the Ministry of tinues till the April 30, with lucky winners to be drawn Commerce and Industry. every month. To those who were not lucky I say, keep The ABK 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil promotion is still spending as you still have a lot of time, and many chances running, where customers get the chance to win a trip to in the coming draws. Several opportunities remain to win Brazil. With the special FIFA World Cup edition Visa Gold those amazing packages courtesy of Visa International, and Prepaid Travel card, ABK customers will get the exclusive get a chance to watch it live in Brazil” chance to travel to Brazil and attend the quarter-final or So go ahead, use your ABK special FIFA World Cup edi- semi-final match courtesy of Visa. tion Visa Gold Prepaid Travel card and win packages to All the cardholder has to do to win is spend on the card watch the matches live in Brazil.

Odyssey Sims W Virginia falls short Mercedes Trophy to kick off at Sahara Golf and Country Club in Big 12 title game Three finalists to compete at the World Finals in Germany

OKLAHOMA CITY: Everything seemed to be going West remaining, then West Virginia quickly fouled. Johnson KUWAIT: Once again pitting the nation’s best ama- MercedesTrophy tournaments all over the world. Virginia’s way. Baylor superstar Odyssey Sims was hobbled made two more free throws with 4.7 seconds to play to put teur golfers against one another to compete for a All participants get the unique chance to win a by a left ankle injury and the Lady Bears’ emerging star, Baylor up by three. Stepney missed a 3-pointer at the Nina Davis, played with foul trouble through much of the buzzer, and Baylor celebrated. place at the MercedesTrophy World Finals 2014, spot in the ‘Monday After Event’ of The Open Big 12 championship game. Sims left the game after hurting her left ankle with Abdul Rahman Albisher & Zaid Alkazemi Co. is hold- Championship (aka The British Open), travelling West Virginia didn’t take advantage. Sims scored 15 of 18:20 left in the first half and West Virginia leading 5-0. ing the 17th Kuwait National Final of the prestigious to the United Kingdom to play on the same her 19 points in the second half to help No. 9 Baylor defeat When she returned to action with 12:59 left in the half, the MercedesTrophy Golf tournament, taking place at course that world’s leading golfers were compet- No. 7 West Virginia 74-71 Monday night and earn an auto- Lady Bears had taken a 16-12 lead. the Sahara Golf and Country Club on Friday, 14 ing for the Claret Jug on just a day before. matic berth in the NCAA tournament. “I told the players, Sims subbed out again with 9:36 left in the first half. March 2014. “Over decades, golf has grown to become an remember how this feels because the next time going When she returned, West Virginia tested her. Brooke Lucky winners will qualify for the 25th Mercedes integral part of Mercedes-Benz engagements in down the stretch, we’ve got to execute,” West Virginia Hampton drew a foul on her and made two free throws, coach Mike Carey said. “We normally have executed well then made a jumper over her after a drive, leading to Sims’ Trophy World Final to be held in September 2014 in sport. Besides our partnership with the Masters, the going down the stretch. Today we just had a couple shots, return to the bench. Stuttgart, the birthplace of the automobile and PGA Championship and The Open Championship, missed them, and then defensively is where I was really dis- Sims re-entered the game, but committed her second headquarters of Mercedes-Benz. In celebration of Mercedes-Benz is very proud to provide the most appointed. We didn’t execute and get some stops.” foul with 2:16 left in the half. Through it all, Baylor main- the tournament’s 25th anniversary, a rule disallow- fascinating premium amateur golf series to dedicat- Niya Johnson had a career-high 19 points and made tained control. Davis scored in close to push Baylor’s lead ing previous winners will be suspended exclusively ed golfers worldwide,” said Michael Ruehle, CEO, four free throws in the final minute, and Davis added 16 to 36-25, but she committed her second foul with 41 sec- for 2014 so that the former participants can qualify Abdul Rahman Albisher & Zaid Alkazemi Co. “Every points for the Lady Bears (29-4), who have won 15 of their onds left. again and participate. year we look forward to hosting this tournament, past 16 games. Davis, a freshman, was named the tourna- West Virginia’s Asya Bussie stole the ball and Holmes ment’s most outstanding player. made a layup with 4.6 seconds left to cut Baylor’s lead to A Hole-in-One challenge will see participants and 2014 is the best yet for amateur golfers in Bria Holmes scored 24 points and Linda Stepney and 38-32 at halftime. Holmes scored 19 points in the first half eagerly compete to drive home a Mercedes-Benz C- Kuwait.” Players will compete to be one of the top Averee Fields each scored 10 for West Virginia (29-4), which to keep the Mountaineers in the game. She made 7 of 9 Coupe, won on the spot should any skilled golfer three finalists who will form Kuwait’s national team. had won 12 straight. shots in the first half while her teammates made 4 of 18. have the luck to ace a shot. The team of three will then go on to play at the 2014 “I think tonight we’ll feel the loss a little bit, but we just “I think we played a little bit tentative the first half, so The exciting programme also offers the oppor- Mercedes Trophy World Final held annually in have to learn from it,” Fields said. “Our season is not over, second half, coach Carey just told us to play our game to tunity to take part in the special ‘Drive to the Germany in September against national teams from and we want to make a good run in the NCAA tournament, do what we normally do,” Fields said. “I think we came out Major’ competition played during around the world. so we have to put it behind us. We have to move on from with a lot of energy and wanted to play the way we nor- wins and we have to move on from losses. So I think that mally do. We like running up and down the floor, so we we’ll get back together, get focused in practice, and we’ll tried to do that more the second half.” Davis committed her be ready for the tournament.” third foul with just over 15 minutes to play. Right after she The teams shared the regular-season Big 12 title and subbed out, West Virginia cut Baylor’s lead to 46-44 on a split their games during the regular season, with each win- baseline jumper by Stepney, then tied the game on its next ning on the other’s home court. West Virginia slowed Sims, possession when Bussie scored down low. The who had scored 48 and 39 points in the regular season Mountaineers finally took the lead on a 3-pointer by games, but the Bears supported her Monday by shooting Holmes with just under 12 minutes remaining. West 48 percent overall. Virginia extended its lead to five on a steal and layup by The lead went back and forth in the final minutes. Sims Fields. made a jumper with 50.4 seconds left to put Baylor up 70- Baylor regained the lead, 63-62, on a putback by 69. West Virginia misconnected on a post entry pass and Khadijah Cave, setting up the final 4 minutes. West Virginia turned the ball over. Baylor ran the clock down, forcing now will wait to see where the selection committee places West Virginia to foul. Holmes committed her fifth foul by the Mountaineers. Carey believes his team has earned a reaching in on Johnson, and Johnson made two free good seed. “I think we at least should be a three, at least a throws. three seed,” he said. “I said this yesterday: Two, three, I’m West Virginia’s Stepney made a layup with 5.4 seconds happy.”—AP