Mourinho escalates Conte feud with ‘fixing’ jibe
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho continued his feud with Chelsea boss Antonio Conte by saying he will never be “suspended for match-fixing”.
Conte received a four-month suspension while at Juventus in the 2012-13 season for failing to report match-fixing at his previous club Siena, BBC reported.
In 2016, the Italian was cleared by a court of any wrongdoing in the matter.
Mourinho’s comments came after Conte had accused the Portuguese of forgetting his own antics in the past.
Conte had reacted angrily this week to Mourinho’s assertion that he did not need to act like a “clown” in his technical area, saying, “I think he has to see himself in the past – maybe he was speaking about himself in the past.”
Speaking after his side’s 2-0 FA Cup third-round win over Derby on Friday, Mourinho said the “clown” comments were not directed at Conte.
But he added, “The only thing I want to say to end the story is that yes, I made mistakes in the past on the touchline. Yes, I will make less but I think I will still make a few.
“What never happened to me – and will never happen – is to be suspended for match-fixing. That never happened to me and will never happen.”
Mourinho was then told by a journalist that Conte had been charged by football authorities in the past with failing to report match-fixing.
“Did he? Not me,” the United boss replied.
‘Ready for fight’
On Friday, speaking before United’s win over Derby, Conte reacted to Mourinho – who has managed Chelsea twice, winning three Premier League titles across two spells at Stamford Bridge.
“There is a person that continues to look here. You understand? He went away, but he continued to look here,” said Conte, who won the title last season with the Blues.
“I am starting to be a bit annoyed. If you want to go to fight with me I am ready. I am improving a bit my English – because this is the real problem for me – otherwise we can go, we can go to fight.
“I’m ready to fight for me, for my players, for the club, with everyone. I have no problem.”
But Mourinho denied he had aimed the comments at Conte.
“I don’t blame the Chelsea manager at all. I understand his reaction. I was speaking about myself,” he said.
“I was saying I don’t need to behave as a clown to show passion, that I control my emotions in a better way.”
On a night when the Celtics were in danger of a possible letdown, the 1-2 punch of Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart off the bench lifted them up to a fifth straight triumph.
Fresh off the statement victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, a day stuck inside due to the blizzard Thursday, and with the London trip looming next week, Friday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves was a potential trap one for the Celtics, The Associated Press reported.
They appeared well on their way to getting stuck in that trap — at least offensively — deep into the second half when Rozier and Smart yanked them out of it on their way to a 91-84 victory.
“Terry and Smart, those guys are good players. They’ve been doing it for a long time here. They just keep getting better and better,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said.
The duo was key to a 16-5 run late in the third quarter that turned a seven-point deficit into a four-point lead heading to the fourth, before helping push the gap to 12 midway through the final quarter, as the Celtics took control and never relented.
“That’s my job to bring energy off the bench,” said Smart, who was a game-high, plus-18 on the night.
“Create for others, and be the playmaker that I am. So when I get into the game I just try to create a lot of chaos and get us to running the floor.”
Smart had a team-high 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting, while Rozier had his career-best sixth straight double-digit scoring game off the bench with 14 points to go with nine rebounds.
Kyrie Irving threatened a triple-double with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, while Aron Baynes had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Boston. The Celtics had 17 offensive rebounds on their way to a 56-43 advantage on the boards overall.
Karl-anthony Towns had 25 points and 23 rebounds for Minnesota. But he had little help with Jimmy Butler held to 14 points on 3-of-12 shooting, and the Timberwolves stuck at a paltry 37 percent shooting night overall.
“It’s a great feeling,” Smart said of holding Butler and most of the Timberwolves in check.
“I know this coaching staff feels really good about it because they spend a lot of time, not only on offense, but also on the defensive end trying make sure that we’re in the right places to the succeed.
“For when our shots are not
Suns 89 Spurs 103
Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobili each scored 21 points and the San Antonio Spurs beat Phoenix 103-89 on Friday night for their ninth straight win at home over the Suns.
Ginobili joined Vince Carter as the only 40-year-old players to score 20 points off the bench. He shot 7 for 10 from the field in setting a season high for points.
The Spurs were without starters Lamarcus Aldridge, who sat out for rest, and an injured Danny Green, but had 15 steals and six blocks against the Suns while shooting 47 percent.
Devin Booker had 21 points and Marquese Chriss added 12 for Phoenix.
San Antonio went on a 23-6 run after falling behind by eight points two minutes into the second quarter.
Leonard had eight points during the run in his most complete game of the season, especially on the defensive end.
The two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year set a season high with three blocks and tied his season best with four steals.
Leonard ran down Booker from behind to block a layup early in the first quarter and minutes later stepped in front of Tyson Chandler for a steal that led to a breakaway dunk.
The Spurs made their first three shots, including a pair of 3-pointers by Kyle Anderson and Bryn Forbes, who started for Aldridge and Green.
Forbes finished with 16 points and Pau Gasol added 15.