SPORTS DIGEST

BASKETBALL

The Los Angeles Clippers kept their slim play-off hopes alive with an impressive 117-106 victory at Eastern Conference leaders the Toronto Raptors. The Clippers are three games behind the Utah Jazz, who occupy the eighth and final play-off place in the Western Conference with just nine matches remaining. Lou Williams led a dominant visiting team with 26 points, while Tobias Harris and Montrezl Harrell added 20 and 19 points respectively for Doc rivers’ side. Jonas Valanciunas hit a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds but it was not enough for Toronto. The Cleveland Cavaliers capitalised on the Raptors’ loss as Lebron James and Kevin Love poured in double-doubles during their 121-114 win at the Brooklyn Nets. James recorded 37 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists while Love hit 20 points and 15 rebounds as Cleveland came from behind during the final quarter for their fifth-successive victory. Joe Harris led the way for Brooklyn, who were ahead for majority of the match, with 30 points. An injury-hit Golden State Warriors suffered a heavy home defeat at the hands of the Jazz. The Warriors had star duo Steph Curry and Kevin Durant on the sidelines as Donovan Mitchell hit 21 points and Rudy Gobert recorded 21 points and 15 rebounds in Utah’s 110-91 triumph. A triple-double from James Harden helped the Houston Rockets breeze to their 60th victory of the season during the 118-99 success against the Atlanta Hawks. Harden registered 18 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in a stellar all-round performance as Taurean Prince top-scored with 28 points and Isaiah Taylor claimed 26 points for the hosts. Victor Oladipo recorded 23 points to guide the Indiana Pacers to a 113-107 overtime win against the Miami Heat. The San Antonio Spurs fell to a 106-103 defeat at the Milwaukee Bucks despite 34 points from Lamarcus Aldridge as Giannis Antetokounmpo starred for Milwaukee with a double-double. Terry Rozier led the Boston Celtics to 104-93 triumph over the Sacramento Kings with 33 points, while the Portland Trail Blazers edged out the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-105 and the New York Knicks won 101-97 at the Washington Wizards. NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION: Brooklyn Nets 114 Cleveland Cavaliers 121, Golden State Warriors 91 Utah Jazz 110, Houston Rockets 118 Atlanta Hawks 99, Indiana Pacers 113 Miami Heat 107 (OT), Milwaukee Bucks 106 San Antonio Spurs 103, Oklahoma City Thunder 105 Portland Trail Blazers 108, Sacramento Kings 93 Boston Celtics 104, Toronto Raptors 106 LA Clippers 117, Washington Wizards 97 New York Knicks 101.

CRICKET

1st TEST (Auckland) England 58 (T A Boult 6-32, T G Southee 4-25) & 320 (B A Stokes 66, M D Stoneman 55, C R Woakes 52, J E Root 51) v New Zealand 427-8 dec (H M Nicholls 145 no, K S Williamson 102) New Zealand beat England by an innings and 49 runs

GOLF

OFFICIAL WORLD RANKING: 1 Dustin Johnson (USA) 9.88pts, 2 Justin Thomas (USA) 9.49, 3 Jon Rahm (Spa) 8.18,4 Jordan Spieth (USA) 7.88 , 5 Justin Rose (Eng) 7.63, 6 Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn) 6.77, 7 Rory Mcilroy (Nirl) 6.45, 8 Rickie Fowler (USA) 6.13, 9 Sergio Garcia (Spa) 5.66, 10 Brooks Koepka (USA) 5.66,11 Tommy Fleetwood (Eng) 5.51 ,12 Jason Day (Aus) 5.47 , 13 Paul Casey (Eng) 5.39, 14 Alex Noren (Swe) 5.11, 15 Henrik Stenson (Swe) 5.10, 16 Marc Leishman (Aus) 4.88, 17 Tyrrell Hatton (Eng) 4.75, 18 Phil Mickelson (USA) 4.40, 19 Pat Perez (USA) 4.26, 20 Matt Kuchar (USA) 4.17, 21 Bubba Watson (USA) 4.17, 22 Rafael Cabrera-bello (Spa) 3.99, 23 Brian Harman (USA) 3.96, 24 Patrick Reed (USA) 3.79, 25 Kevin Kisner (USA) 3.76, 26 Xander Schauffele (USA) 3.43, 27 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 3.41, 28 Charley Hoffman (USA) 3.37, 29 Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha) 3.28, 30 Gary Woodland (USA) 3.20, 31 Branden Grace (Rsa) 3.19, 32 Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 3.17, 33 Patrick Cantlay (USA) 3.07, 34 Tony Finau (USA) 3.03, 35 Ross Fisher (Eng) 3.02, 36 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng) 2.97, 37 Daniel Berger (USA) 2.97, 38 Kevin Chappell (USA) 2.87, 39 Brendan Steele (USA) 2.71, 40 Webb Simpson (USA) 2.66, 41 Haotong Li (Chn) 2.65, 42 Adam Hadwin (Can) 2.63, 43 Kyle Stanley (USA) 2.58, 44 Cameron Smith (Aus) 2.56, 45 Thomas Pieters (Bel) 2.54, 46 Satoshi Kodaira (Jpn) 2.47, 47 Dylan Frittelli (Rsa) 2.47, 48 Chez Reavie (USA) 2.46, 49 Jason Dufner (USA) 2.46, 50 Si Woo Kim (Kor) 2.37. USPGA TOUR OFFICIAL MONEY LIST (after the WGC Dell Technologies Matchplay. Prize money in dollars (USA unless stated): 1 Justin Thomas 5,050,800, 2 Bubba Watson 3,297,879, 3 Phil Mickelson 3,257,113,4 Patton Kizzire 3,177,988, 5 Dustin Johnson 2,829,667, 6 Justin Rose (Eng) 2,778,400, 7 Jon Rahm (Spa) 2,259 698, 8 Jason Day(aus) 2,228,400, 9 Pat Perez 2,190,741, 10 Alex Noren (Swe) 2,183,059, 11 Paul Casey (Eng) 2,095,635, 12 Tony Finau 2,090,273, 13 Brian Harman 2,075,918, 14 Chez Reavie 2,056,102, 15 Brendan Steele 2,034,258, 16 Patrick Cantlay 1,996,830, 17 Gary Woodland 1,934,717, 18 Marc Leishman (Aus) 1,892,914, 19 Luke List 1,834,632, 20 Rory Mcilroy (Nirl) 1,759,888.

ICE HOCKEY

The Winnipeg Jets became the latest team to seal an NHL play-off spot with a 5-4 shootout win over the stuttering Nashville Predators. After failing to qualify for the last two seasons, the Jets booked their place in the post-season thanks to Mark Scheifele, who scored the only goal in the shootout. Nashville had led 2-0 and 3-1 during regulation time but the Jets hit back to level at 4-4, with Kyle Connor finishing with a goal and two assists. Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves as the already-qualified Predators slumped to a third successive loss. Hampus Lindholm scored in overtime to help the Anaheim Ducks to a 5-4 win against the Edmonton Oilers. By the end of the second period, the Oilers looked to be racing to victory with goals from Connor Mcdavid, Ty Rattie and Leon Draisaitl putting them 3-1 up. But the Ducks rallied in the third and Adam Henrique struck twice - including the leveller at 4-4 with less than 90 seconds remaining - to send the game to overtime. There, Lindholm found the net to complete Anaheim’s comeback and put an end to the Oilers’ three-game winning streak. The victory leaves the Ducks two points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings for third place in the Pacific Division. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins were also winners in overtime, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 and Minnesota Wild 2-1, respectively. The Vancouver Canucks, meanwhile, eased past the Dallas Stars 4-1. NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE: Dallas Stars 1 Vancouver Canucks 4, Edmonton Oilers 4 Anaheim Ducks 5 (OT), Minnesota Wild 1 Boston Bruins 2 (OT), Pittsburgh Penguins 5 Philadelphia Flyers 4 (OT), Winnipeg Jets 5 Nashville Predators 4 (SO).