12 Established 1961 Sports Sunday, January 14, 2018 Pacers rally past Cavaliers as Warriors extend streak Nets down Hawks 110-105

LOS ANGELES: Darren Collison scored 22 points and joke that gets caught it’s the guy who laughs,” James Victor Oladipo tallied 19 as the Indiana Pacers rallied said. Cleveland, which lost its previous two games by a from a 22-point deficit to edge the struggling Cleveland combined 62 points, was outscored 84-61 over the final Cavaliers 97-95 on Friday. Lance Stephenson finished three quarters. with 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers who improved to 22-20 on the season in front of a crowd of WARRIORS 108, BUCKS 94 17,900 at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse arena. The loss Kevin Durant scored 26 points, and Draymond Green was the third straight for the three-time defending contributed 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to Eastern Conference champion Cavaliers. Cleveland lead visiting Golden State over Milwaukee. Klay would need a monumental effort from LeBron James in Thompson added 12 points for Golden State, which order to halt their losing streak. But it wasn’t enough as recorded its 11th consecutive road victory. The Warriors, the four-time MVP finished with 27 points, 11 assists who played without point guard Stephen Curry (ankle) and eight rebounds while for the second straight Kevin Love had 21 points game, have won six of and 10 rebounds in the their past seven games loss. overall. Giannis Oladipo gave the Antetokounmpo scored Pacers the lead for good 23 points and Eric on a three pointer with Third straight Bledsoe added 21 points just over two minutes to and four steals for the play. James then had two for Cavaliers Bucks. Malcolm Brogdon opportunities in the final tallied 17 points for two seconds to win it but Milwaukee, which scored failed on both. James just 12 points on 5-of-20 stepped out of bounds shooting in the final ATLANTA: Malcolm Delaney #5 of the Atlanta Hawks tries to defend against Caris LeVert #22 of the with 1.7 seconds to go, a quarter and shot 42.9 Brooklyn Nets at Philips Arena on January 12, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. — AFP call that was confirmed percent overall. by video replay. Then, after Collison made a free throw to give the Pacers a 97-95 lead, James’ desperation TIMBERWOLVES 118, KNICKS 108 five rebounds and four steals for the Pelicans, who shot points on 14-of-26 shooting. He scored 11 of his points shot from beyond the arc rattled off the rim at the Nemanja Bjelica ignited a fourth-quarter burst with 53.4 percent from the field. Damian Lillard and CJ in the fourth quarter and added seven assists. buzzer. Following the game, James said the out-of- a 3-pointer as Minnesota broke open a tight game en McCollum each scored 23 points for Portland. Al- bounds call was correct but he also made mention of a route to a victory over New York in Minneapolis. Karl- Farouq Aminu contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds NUGGETS 87, GRIZZLIES 78 prior no-call that allowed Milwaukee Bucks forward Anthony Towns recorded game highs with 23 points, 15 for the Blazers, who also got 19 points from Jusuf Locked in a tight game early in the fourth quarter, Giannis Antetokounmpo to score the winning basket rebounds and nine assists, helping the Timberwolves Nurkic and 17 from Shabazz Napier. Denver used a 12-2 run to break it open and went on over the Oklahoma City Thunder. win a fourth straight game to begin a five-game homes- to beat visiting Memphis. Will Barton led the way for “Definitely stepped out by a tiny bit after seeing it tand. The Knicks took their 10th loss in 13 games. Seven NETS 110, HAWKS 105 the Nuggets with 17 points, while Trey Lyles came off over again! Great call. Needed to be in OKC on that New York players scored in double figures, led by Spencer Dinwiddie hit the go-ahead layup with 11 the bench to net 16. Nikola Jokic added 14 points and drive. Lol. Live and you Learn,” James wrote on Twitter. Jarrett Jack with 18 points. seconds remaining and scored seven of his 20 points in Jamal Murry was good for 11 as Denver, which lost at James was also slapped with a technical foul after los- the final 2 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter as Brooklyn home Wednesday night to the lowly Atlanta Hawks, ing his cool and retaliating against Stephenson with PELICANS 119, TRAIL BLAZERS 113 beat host Atlanta. Dinwiddie nearly recorded his first avoided another defeat to one of the NBA’s worst 7:53 left in the game. James made the mistake of shov- Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins had monster career triple-double, totaling 10 assists and matching a teams. Marc Gasol scored a game-high 22 points and ing Stephenson in the chest after the two made contact games in leading New Orleans past visiting Portland. career best with nine rebounds. He posted his first grabbed 11 rebounds for Memphis, but he didn’t get a with each other. After the game, James described Davis poured in 36 points to go with nine rebounds, career game with 20 points and 10 assists, helping the lot of help. Only two other teammates managed to join Stephenson as a “dirty” player. “I should have known, and Cousins collected 24 points, 19 rebounds and eight Nets break a three-game losing streak. Atlanta’s him in double figures, as Tyreke Evans and James Ennis I’ve known since school, it’s not the guy who tells the assists. Jrue Holiday chipped in 25 points, six assists, Dennis Schroder led all scorers with a career-high 34 each tallied 12. — Agencies

Alpine skiing: Swiss Haunted by Sochi, Patrick star Feuz shines Chan fights overthinking on home snow WENGEN: Home star Beat Feuz, the reigning world TORONTO: Patrick Chan is hoping the acknowledgement that his champion in the discipline, won the World Cup down- biggest enemy may well be himself could propel him to hill at Wengen in yesterday. On a sunny gold at the Pyeongchang Olympics at the third time of asking. Chan, morning under a perfect blue sky, Feuz went first and who finished fifth in Vancouver in 2010, clinched silver behind ’s flew down the Lauberhorn, the longest downhill on the Yuzuru Hanyu in Sochi, where he had been favored to win. The result circuit at 4.42km, in 2min 26.50sec, leaving his rivals made the now 27-year-old the latest in a long line of Canadian male with little chance. It briefly looked as if Aksel Lund skaters who just missed the top podium place at the Olympics, cap- Svindal might threaten as he passed the final check- ping an experience he remembers overall as a painful “whirlwind”. point with a faster time. But to the great satisfaction of “I lived those Olympic two weeks both times and I don’t remember a record crowd of 35,000 fans, the Norwegian lost much,” Chan told Reuters in an interview of his previous Games time in the last few hundred metres and finished experiences. “I don’t think I remember much because I was so living 0.18sec back. The Austrian Olympic champion in fear every single moment. “After the competition I had to live with Matthias Mayer was third, 0.67sec behind Feuz. Feuz’s the disappointment of not winning gold, but before I remember clear- ninth World Cup victory continues his habit of racing ly over-analyzing every situation. “The minute you step into the well on Swiss snow. (Olympic) village you start analyzing and (your) brain is on overdrive. He was first at Wengen in 2012 and was second in “Is eating this or touching this going to affect my program? To that 2015. The race was cancelled last year because of point, to the -Nth degree. That ruined, absolutely ruined, the experi- heavy snow. He won his world title last year in St ence for me.” Moritz, where he had already won the World Cup Despite taking an additional silver in Sochi for the team competi- downhill and Super-G in 2016. The other favorites tion, Chan subsequently sat out the next season before a comeback in could not tame one of the most demanding and gruel- 2015-2016. A three-time world champion, Chan is known for his ing tracks on the circuit. Austrian Hannes Reichelt, who artistry in an era of ever-increasing jumps, a trend he has won in Wengen in 2015 and had the best time in the regarded with caution amid concerns about skater safety. In the 2017 first training run this year, was fourth 0.10sec off a world championships in Helsinki, Chan landed three quadruple jumps podium place. , an Italian who won the in his free program for the first time, but still only finished fourth, with downhill in December, was eighth, 1.22sec each of the podium finishers, Japanese duo Yuzuru Hanyu and Shoma behind Feuz. Frenchman Adrien Theaux, who had the WENGEN: Switzerland’s Beat Feuz celebrates on the podium after winning the Downhill race at the FIS Uno, and China’s Jin Boyang, landing four. — Reuters best time in the second training run but is suffering World Cup in Wengen, yesterday. — AFP from a back problem, was 11th, at 1.84sec. — AFP

Tokyo’s Waseda University. “But TV and so on, they highest level earlier this season following a disastrous Searching for appear to be wavering over who to focus on and pro- NFL: Big Ben not display in a 30-9 loss to the Jaguars on October 8. mote.” Asada was a household name for so long, she “Maybe I don’t have it anymore,” Roethlisberger said began attracting attention as a junior, that her retirement after the loss, which included five interceptions and the next Asada, produced banner headlines and television stations thinking about two pick sixes. broadcast her retirement media conference live. Since that loss, however, Roethlisberger has redis- Japan rebuilds “I think it boils down to these three overlapping fac- future; Jags loom covered the sureness of touch that has made him one tors: her tremendous success in a relatively long career, of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks for more than a her tender age and cute and youthful looks, and her decade. In the final six games of the season, TOKYO: Japanese figure-skating fans into next carefully curated public persona and frequent appear- LOS ANGELES: Ben Roethlisberger is putting Roethlisberger threw for 16 touchdowns and only five month’s Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in an unusual ances in the media,” Michelle Cho, a visiting gender thoughts of his future to one side as he prepares to interceptions. “You have to treat every game like it position with no-one in their once powerhouse studies scholar at MIT who has studied sports in Japan, lead the Pittsburgh Steelers into an NFL playoff bat- could be your last because you never know when it women’s team assuming the mantle of the retired Mao told Reuters in an email interview. “Asada has a ‘good tle against the Jacksonville Jaguars today. The 35- is,” Roethlisberger said. The Steelers, who went 13-3 Asada. Olympic 2010 silver medalist and three-time girl’ or ‘girl next door’ kind of image that draws from year-old quarterback could conceivably be making in the regular season, will start as favorites to world champion Asada, known in Japan by the affec- Japanese feminine stereotypes of being chaste, humble, his farewell appearance at Heinz Field in the AFC divi- progress past the Jaguars, who finished 11-6 for the tionate nickname “Mao-chan,” retired in 2017, leaving dutiful and a good homemaker.” sional round contest, with a likely trip to the New year before edging the Buffalo Bills 10-3 in last week- the country’s legions of fervent fans, as well as the England Patriots awaiting the Steelers in the event of end’s wild-card game. media, at a loss. Probable successor a victory. Two-time Super Bowl winner “There are a lot of skaters, but nobody really comes to Miyahara was long seen as Asada’s probable succes- Roethlisberger has yet to confirm whether or not he Experience edge for Saints? mind as Mao’s successor,” said Hiroko Yamaguchi, a 41- sor, but suffered a stress hip fracture in 2016 that kept intends to return for the Steelers next season, but Elsewhere today, another veteran quarterback will year-old secretary watching December’s Grand Prix Final her out of competition, and the public eye, for roughly a hinted this week he was not ready to call time on his be aiming to extend his career when Drew Brees and in Japan. “There was just something about her. I got so year, dimming her popularity. Still, her dogged efforts at career. the New Orleans Saints travel to Minneapolis to face much energy watching her skate.” The problem is not a rehabilitation, covered extensively by the media, touched “I don’t think it is my last, but I’m not thinking the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC divisional round. lack of candidates. Six women fought to top the podium at a chord in a culture that values perseverance. Her lyrical, about that right now,” Roethlisberger said when asked Brees is the only quarterback in the NFC playoffs to December’s nationals and claim one of the two Olympic floating routines to “Memoirs of a Geisha” and “Madama if he believed today’s game with the Jaguars would be have a Super Bowl victory next to his name, and his team spots, a prize ultimately won by , 19. Butterfly” also “speak to Japanese feelings,” according his last before Pittsburgh’s fans. “I’m going go out and big-game temperament was pivotal in the Saints 31- The second spot went to Kaori Sakamoto, 17 and rel- to a viewer at the Grand Prix Final, where she finished play this one and give everything I have,” he added. 26 win over the Carolina Panthers last weekend. The atively unknown even in Japan, who finished second in fifth. Sakamoto remains an unknown quantity, but her Roethlisberger flirted with retirement at the end of Saints hope Brees will be able to summon a repeat the nationals in her first full senior season. “The Japan attitude and perky character, shown by her grin when last season, only deciding to return after discussions performance against the Vikings after making 23-of- Skating Foundation (JSF) only cares about skill,” said her Japan nationals results came up, could make her with his family. The veteran gunslinger also ques- 33 passes for 376 yards last weekend, including two Hirotaka Matsuoka, a professor of sports marketing at appealing. — Reuters tioned whether he still had the ability to deliver at the touchdowns. — AFP