MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2014 SPORTS Warriors march on

DALLAS: The Golden State Warriors won their fran- chise-record 15th straight game, with Stephen Curry scoring 29 points and Klay Thompson adding 25 Saturday in a 105-98 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. The Warriors became the 12th NBA team to open a season 20-2. Steve Kerr, in his first season, is the first coach to start that fast. Curry and Thompson each scored 17 in the first half as Golden State ran out to a 28-point lead. The Mavericks got as close as seven in the final minute of the game. Monta Ellis scored 24 points to lead the Mavericks, who played without Chandler Parsons because of a sore back. Dallas dropped to 0-5 against the top seven teams in the Western Conference.

MAGIC 100, HAWKS 99 Tobias Harris got a leaning, 13-foot jumper to rattle in at the buzzer as Orlando snapped Atlanta’s nine- game winning streak. Harris finished with 20 points, Evan Fournier added 19 and Nik Vucevic 18. Orlando took the second game of the back-to-back after Atlanta’s victory at home on Friday. The game was tight throughout, featuring 10 ties and 15 lead changes. The Magic had 10 first-quarter turnovers, but just five the LAS VEGAS: punches Devon Alexander during their bout on rest of the game. Jeff Teague had 24 points, leading six Saturday. —AP Hawks players in double figures. Al Horford added 18 and Kyle Korver 11.

Khan wins welterweight GRIZZLIES 120, 76ERS 115 Mike Conley hit the tying 3-pointer to send the decision over Alexander game into overtime and scored a career-high 36 points, leading Memphis past Philadelphia. The Grizzlies rallied from 18 points down over the LAS VEGAS: Amir Khan put his name in the plan but something just wasn’t right.” final 7 minutes of regulation to keep the Sixers winless mix for a possible fight with Floyd Late in the fight, Khan started opening at home. Conley scored 16 points in the fourth and Mayweather Jr., using his speed and accu- up more, throwing flurries of punches to kept Memphis in the hunt for best record in the rate right hand Saturday night to win a lop- Alexander’s head. Alexander kept advanc- Western Conference. Zach Randolph had 24 points and sided 12-round decision over former cham- ing, but didn’t throw nearly enough punch- 11 rebounds. Conley was 13 of 22 from the floor, hit pion Devon Alexander in a welterweight es and landed even fewer even as he need- five 3-pointers and had nine assists. Michael Carter- matchup. ed a knockout to pull out the fight. Still, Williams had an empty triple-double for the Sixers with Khan (30-3) won round after round there were scattered boos from the crowd 16 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds. But a handful of using the same formula, jabbing at of 7,768 at the MGM Grand in the final turnovers and poor shot selection helped doom the Alexander and following it with right hands round. Sixers in the fourth and OT. that found their mark more often than they The stakes were high for both fighters DALLAS: Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) falls backwards as Dallas missed. The British fighter didn’t knock on a night where top jock- ROCKETS 108, NUGGETS 96 Mavericks guard Monta Ellis (11) goes up for a shot in the second half of an NBA basketball down Alexander (26-3) and never seemed eyed for position on two different cards on Dwight Howard had 26 points and 13 rebounds in game. — AP to really hurt him, but was impressive the Las Vegas Strip. , who his return from injury, James Harden had a triple-dou- Mason Plumlee had double-doubles and points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots, and the enough to solidify his spot in the lineup for lost his last fight to Manny Pacquiao, drew ble, and Houston overcame an early deficit to beat beat Charlotte for its second straight victory. Pistons beat the Sacramento Kings 95-90 for its a possible fight next year with Mayweather. with Diego Chaves in an HBO fight down Denver. Howard, who missed the previous 11 games Johnson was 9 of 16 from the field and 4 of 6 from second straight victory. The Pistons used a 24-14 Khan’s quickness was too much from the the street at the Cosmopolitan. Khan was a with a strained right knee, also reached a milestone, 3-point range as the Nets shot 16 of 23 from beyond advantage in the third quarter and never relinquished eclipsing 10,000 rebounds in his career. opening bell as he kept the southpaw 3-1 favorite against Alexander, a former the arc. Williams had 18 points and 10 assists, and the lead in registering back-to-back wins for only the Harden had 24 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds Alexander on the outside and was first with champion who has held titles at 140 and Plumlee outplayed counterpart Al Jefferson with 11 second time all season. Detroit had lost 13 straight and for his third career triple-double. He almost didn’t get points and 13 rebounds for the Nets (10-12), who was one loss shy of tying the franchise record before his punches in most exchanges. 147 pounds. The British fighter was offered it, grabbing his 10th rebound with less than a second Khan pitched a shutout on one ringside a chance to fight Alexander for a title at this eclipsed 100 points for the first time in 11 games. beating Phoenix on Friday. Rudy Gay made four 3- left in the game. Ty Lawson had 19 points and 12 Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 15 points for the Hornets (6- pointers and scored 20, and also added eight scorecard, winning 120-108, while the oth- time last year, but declined the fight assists, and Darrell Arthur had a season-high 20 points er judges scored it 119-109 and 118-110. because he thought he would get a bout 17), who shot 36 percent from the field in their second rebounds and eight assists for the Kings. Carl Landry for the Nuggets. straight loss. had 15 points and Ben McLemore 14 for Sacramento, The Associated Press scored it 119-109. with Mayweather instead. who has dropped three straight and eight of 10. Andre “I didn’t call Floyd Mayweather out with Mayweather, though, picked Marcos BUCKS 111, CLIPPERS 106 PISTONS 95, KINGS 90 Drummond had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Kyle total confidence before, but now I feel I Maidana as his opponent, and this time Brandon Knight scored 22 points, Giannis Greg Monroe scored 24 points, Josh Smith had 21 Singler added 11 points for Detroit. — AP proved to everyone I deserve that fight,” Khan didn’t really have a choice but to fight Antetokounmpo added 20, and Milwaukee beat the Khan said. Alexander. Clippers. Jamal Crawford hit a 3-pointer with 3.1 sec- Promoter Oscar De La Hoya said it is a In another welterweight bout with big onds left to pull the Clippers to 109-106. Knight’s NBA results/standings fight he would love to make, if Mayweather fight implications, won an inbounds pass was tipped out of bounds by Matt and Manny Pacquiao can’t come to terms easy decision over Italy’s Leonard Bundu to Barnes, who was tied up with Khris Middleton on a for a bout next year. Mayweather said remain unbeaten in 24 fights. But the big close play. The referees reviewed the replay and con- Golden State 105, Dallas 98; Brooklyn 114, Charlotte 87; Portland 95, Indiana 85; Orlando 100, Atlanta Friday he wanted to fight Pacquiao, but puncher didn’t win over the crowd at the firmed that the Bucks had the ball. Milwaukee 99; Milwaukee 111, LA Clippers 106; Memphis 120, Philadelphia 115 (OT); Houston 108, Denver 96; immediately put conditions on negotia- MGM, which booed him in the ring after- inbounded again, and Knight hit a pair of free throws Detroit 95, Sacramento 90. with 2.1 seconds remaining to close the scoring. tions for what would be the richest fight ward for not knocking out Bundu. Eastern Conference Western Conference ever. Thurman also didn’t do much to boost Barnes scored a season-high 26 points and JJ Redick added 25 for . Atlantic Division Northwest Division “He almost had a perfect fight with a his stock for a main event fight, though he W L PCT GB Portland 18 6 .750 - southpaw, which is very complicated,” De could be in one next against Marcos TRAIL BLAZERS 95, PACERS 85 Toronto 17 6 .739 - Oklahoma City 10 13 .435 7.5 La Hoya said. “He has proven himself over Maidana, who watched from ringside. LaMarcus Aldridge had 19 points and 14 rebounds, Brooklyn 10 12 .455 6.5 Denver 10 13 .435 7.5 and over again. You can see the determina- Thurman scored a flash knockdown less Damian Lillard added 18 points and Portland finished Boston 7 14 .333 9 tion in Khan’s eyes that he wants than a minute into the fight, but seemed Utah 6 17 .261 11.5 its five-game road trip with a victory over Indiana. NY Knicks 5 20 .200 13 Minnesota 5 17 .227 12 Mayweather.” Khan never seemed to hurt content after that to box against Bundu on Portland (18-6) had lost two straight overall and Philadelphia 2 21 .087 15 Pacific Division Alexander but was in control throughout. his way to a lopsided decision. All three four straight on the Pacers’ home court.CJ Watson had Central Division Golden State 20 2 .909 - His dominance was shown by ringside stats judges scored the fight 120-107. 23 points and Rodney Stuckey added 14 for the strug- 14 8 .636 - LA Clippers 16 7 .696 4.5 that had him landing 243 of 563 punches Thurman threw twice as many punches gling Pacers (7-17), who have lost eight straight. It’s Cleveland 13 9 .591 1 to 91 of 461 for former two-time champion. as Bundu and landed three times as many. Indiana’s longest losing streak since an eight-game Milwaukee 12 12 .500 3 Phoenix 12 12 .500 9 “I’m getting better with age,” the 28-year- Bundu was credited with landing just 62 skid in December 2009. Indiana 7 17 .292 8 Sacramento 11 13 .458 10 old said. “The Mayweather fight didn’t hap- punches over 12 rounds. Portland shot 77.8 percent from the field against Detroit 5 19 .208 10 LA Lakers 7 16 .304 13.5 the Pacers’ usually stout defense in the second quarter, pen last year, but I now believe I’ve earned “He was tricky. I’ve never met a fighter Southeast Division Southwest Division it this year.” like him,” said Thurman, who knocked out turning a one-point deficit into a 58-38 halftime lead. Memphis 19 4 .826 - The Trail Blazers led by as much as 29 early in the third, Washington 16 6 .727 - Alexander pressed forward through the 21 of his first 23 opponents. “He came to Houston 18 5 .783 1 and Indiana never got closer than eight. Atlanta 16 7 .696 0.5 fight, but never seemed able to solve the not be knocked out and he was able to do Miami 11 12 .478 5.5 San Antonio 16 7 .696 3 speed and accurate punching of Khan. “I that.” Bundu, a 40-year-old fighting for the NETS 114, HORNETS 87 Orlando 10 16 .385 8 Dallas 17 8 .680 3 was having a hard time catching him,” first time outside of Europe, lost for the first Charlotte 6 17 .261 10.5 New Orleans 11 11 .500 7.5 Alexander said. “I tried to follow the game time to fall to 31-1-2. — AP Joe Johnson scored 22 points, Deron Williams and Mercedes-Benz Kuwait sponsors GulfRun 24HR Karting Endurance Race

KUWAIT: AR Al-Bisher and Z Al-Kazemi Co., display. This event is a showcase of the exclusive general distributor for speed, power and performance.” Mercedes-Benz in Kuwait participated in The dynamic and agile Mercedes-Benz the GulfRun 24HR Karting Endurance Race, A45 AMG was the pace car for the race, the first stop on the annual GulfRun season leading the assembled starting grid of motorsports activities. Returning for its around the track for an unscored warm-up fourth consecutive year at the SIRBB before allowing the specially imported Circuit; the high-skill, high-endurance race karts to begin their flying start. The AMG featured over 18 teams competing non- family’s first high-performance vehicle to stop over 24 hours, in the country’s only enter the compact class, the A45 AMG race of its kind. boasts a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo GulfRun is an annual motorsport event engine, the most powerful series produc- started in 2005 by a group of young tion four-cylinder engine in the world with Kuwaitis who shared a passion for cars. acceleration from zero - 100 km/h in 4.6 Since then, GulfRun has developed from seconds. an annual event into a complete season of Off the track, visitors at the event can motorsports activities that include the enjoy a close-up view of some of the most 24HR Karting Endurance Race in partner- exciting new Mercedes-Benz models. ship with Pro-Vision Sports Management, These include the CLA 45 AMG with its the GulfRun Car show, GulfRun Race in emphatic sportiness, extravagant design, Bahrain and the GulfRun Racing Academy. turbocharged engine that makes it the “GulfRun 24 HR Karting brought an most powerful 4-cylinder series produc- excitement to motorsports in Kuwait and tion car in the world. Also on display were we are pleased to sponsor such a unique the 5.5-litre V8 bi-turbo ML63 AMG, the event,” said Michael Ruehle, CEO, Abdul luxury SUV G63 AMG, the E63 AMG luxury Rahman Al-Bisher & Zaid Al-Kazemi sedan and the slick new Mercedes-Benz E- Company. “We encouraged all motor class Cabriolet, providing speed-enthusi- enthusiasts to enjoy and view the asts with much to admire both on the track impressive Mercedes-Benz AMG line up and off. on