Hawks score vengeance victory vs. Magic
ATLANTA — Ersan Ilyasova scored 26 points on 9-for-9 shooting to help the Atlanta Hawks overcome Nikola Vucevic’s triple-double and beat the Orlando Magic 117-110 on Saturday night. Vucevic had 31 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, and Jonathan Simmons added a career-high 29 points for the Magic, who beat the Hawks 110-106 in overtime Wednesday night in Orlando. Kent Bazemore scored six late points for Atlanta, with two baskets coming on dunks after steals. With the game tied at 110, Bazemore stole a pass from Simmons to Vucevic and took it two-thirds of the court to dunk for the lead with 36 seconds remaining. He was fouled 21 seconds later while rebounding Shelvin Mack’s airball, then made a two free throws. After an Orlando timeout, Bazemore stole Mack’s inbounds pass on the sideline and raced for another dunk with 18 seconds left to make it 116-110. The Hawks tied a season high with 17 3-pointers on 33 attempts. Ilyasova hit all five of his shots from beyond the arc.
FOOTBALL
› CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals put cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones on injured reserve Saturday, ending his season because of a groin injury. Jones is one of at least six starters who is expected to miss today’s game against the Chicago Bears (3-9) at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals (5-7) took significant losses at cornerback during a 23-20 loss to Pittsburgh on Monday night, when Jones was injured while intercepting a pass. Starting cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick is out with a concussion, and cornerback Darqueze
Dennard is questionable with a knee injury. The Bengals promoted cornerback Tony McRae — who has appeared in five games with the Baltimore Ravens — from their practice squad. Linebacker
Vontaze Burfict and running back Joe Mixon are sidelined, too, both with concussions.
› COLUMBIA, Mo. — University of Missouri football coach Barry Odom has been given a two-year contract extension through the 2022-23 season. Odom’s salary will remain at $2.35 million annually for the additional two years, though he was also given a ticket-based incentive, with 20 percent of any home revenue above $11.7 million going to the second-year coach. Odom was originally given a five-year contract when he was hired in 2015, and he’s 11-13 in two seasons leading the program. The Tigers started 1-5 this season before closing with six straight wins to reach the Texas Bowl, where they’ll face Texas on Dec. 27. However, Missouri’s success could be traced to an offense that averaged 51.3 points per game during its winning streak, and former Tigers offensive coordinator Josh Heupel left the school this past week to become the head coach at Central Florida.
GOLF
› NAPLES, Fla. — Shane Lowry and Graeme McDowell put together an 8-under-par 64 in modified alternate shot competition Saturday and shared the lead with the team of Sean O’Hair and Steve Stricker going into the final round of the QBE Shootout. McDowell (Northern Ireland) and Lowry (Ireland), the only international players among the 12 teams at Tiburon Golf Club, began to erase a five-shot deficit with an eagle and birdie on the opening two holes, and they dropped only one shot all day in blustery conditions. Stricker and O’Hair started the back nine with a pair of bogeys, rallied with three straight birdies, then dropped one last shot from the bunker on the 17th. The teams were tied at 18-under 126. Keegan Bradley and Brendan Steele teamed for a 70 and were two shots out of the lead. Lexi Thompson,
the lone LPGA Tour player in the field, teamed with Tony Finau for a 66 that had them just three shots behind the leaders. Former Baylor School standout Harris English and Matt Kuchar, who won this event last year, carded a 72 and were tied for last with Charley Hoffman and Zach Johnson (70), nine shots out of the lead. The format for the final round is better ball.
› JOHANNESBURG — Shubhankar Sharma
shot a 7-under 65 Saturday to open a five-stroke lead in the European Tour’s Joburg Open. He was at 20-under 195 at Randpark Golf Club. He had a 61 Friday on the Bushwillow Course and added a bogeyfree round Saturday on the Firethorn Course, where the final round will be played. Christofer Blomstrand (62) was second, with James Morrison
(67) and Erik van Rooyen (70) another stroke back at 14 under. The top three players who are not already exempt will earn spots in the British Open.