ARMED ROBBERS ATTACK FAMILY

A WHITECLIFFE family was on Tuesday terrorised after being attacked by armed robbers who went away with cash and goods amounting to US$1641.

Clement Mutyambizi, 58, who runs a tuck shop, his wife Patricia Mutyambizi, 52, and their children were attacked by six armed robbers during the night, who were demanding money.

The robbers went away with US$381, a Techno Pova 4 cellphone, a Samsung M 13 cellphone, a Samsung 1.2 cellphone, an Itel Tablet 2 cellphone, a Samsung A 10 cellphone, a Hisense 43-inch television set and national and bank cards, a driver’s licence and medical cards.

Acting Harare provincial police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Faith Mapisa, said Clement was rushed to hospital where he was treated and discharged.

“Circumstances are that on January 9 at around 2030 hours, the family was at home when the six armed robbers knocked on the door.

“One of the children attended to the knock and one of the robbers asked to buy bread and was told that it was not available.

“As she was about to close the door, one of the robbers forcibly pushed the door and entered the house.

“Behind him were five other men and one of them was holding a gun and the other one was holding a log.

“The wife screamed, which alerted her husband, who was taking a bath.

“The accused tied the wife’s hands and legs with shoe laces as well as the two children and demanded money.

“Her husband rushed into the dining room to check what was happening and was struck once on the head and shoulder by the robber, who was holding a log, thereby sustaining serious injuries.

“They left after ransacking the house where they stole various items,” said AssInsp Mapisa.

JAYSON TATUM scored a game-high 45 points, including 12 in overtime, to help the Boston Celtics improve their home record to 18-0 by beating the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves 127-120 on Wednesday.

Jaylen Brown added 35 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who set a franchise record for consecutive home victories at the start of a season, originally set by the 1957-58 team. Minnesota hasn’t won a game in Boston since the 2004-05 season.

Tatum gave the Celtics a 122-120 lead on a layup with 1:04 left in OT and increased the lead to five by making a 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining. He sank two free throws with 12.7 seconds left to finalize the scoring.

Anthony Edwards tossed in 29 points for Minnesota, which received 25 points and 13 rebounds from Karl-Anthony Towns. Naz Reid had 19 points and 10 rebounds.

SPURS 130, PISTONS 108

Victor Wembanyama recorded the second-fastest triple-double in NBA history and San Antonio rolled past host Detroit.

Wembanyama racked up 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in just 21 minutes for his first NBA triple-double. Russell Westbrook compiled a triple-double in 20 minutes in 2014. Keldon Johnson added 17 points and Devin Vassell had 16 as eight Spurs scored in double figures.

The Pistons dropped to 3-35 while losing their sixth straight. They have lost 34 of their past 35 games. Detroit was playing for the second time without top scorer Cade Cunningham, who has a strained left knee.

HAWKS 139, 76ERS 132 (OT)

Jalen Johnson scored 25 points, seven of them in overtime, with a career-high 16 rebounds and seven assists to help Atlanta end a two-game losing streak with a win over visiting Philadelphia.

Atlanta tied the game at 132 when Johnson made two free throws with 1:07 to go in the extra frame. He then came up with a steal and drained a 3-pointer with 40.5 seconds left. Philadelphia led by three in overtime with 2:31 remaining but did not score another point.

The Sixers played without reigning MVP Joel Embiid, who missed his second straight game with left knee swelling. Philadelphia got 35 points, eight rebounds and nine assists from Tyrese Maxey and 32 points and 10 rebounds from Tobias Harris.

PACERS 112, WIZARDS 104

Myles Turner collected 18 points and 13 rebounds to fuel Indiana to a victory over Washington in Indianapolis.

Seven players scored in double digits for Indiana to help offset the absence of leading scorer Tyrese Haliburton (23.6 points per game). The All-Star guard strained his left hamstring in the Pacers’ 133-131 victory over the Boston Celtics on Monday.

Washington’s Jordan Poole scored 28 points and Corey Kispert added 15 off the bench. Daniel Gafford contributed 12 points and eight rebounds for the Wizards, who have lost six in a row and nine of their past 10 games.

KINGS 123, HORNETS 98

Keegan Murray scored 21 of his 25 points in the first half and Domantas Sabonis racked up 24 points and 10 rebounds as Sacramento avenged a stunning loss last week by defeating host Charlotte.

Malik Monk had 20 points off the bench and De’Aaron Fox added 19 points for the Kings, who began a five-game road trip by winning a night earlier at Detroit.

The Hornets have lost 14 of their past 15 games, the lone victory in that stretch coming in Sacramento on Jan. 2. Miles Bridges paced Charlotte with 24 points and Terry Rozier poured in 22.

THUNDER 128, HEAT 120

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points and Jalen Williams narrowly missed out on a triple-double to lead Oklahoma City over host Miami.

The Thunder continued their hot shooting, finishing 59.3 percent from the floor, their ninth consecutive game shooting 50 percent overall or better. Williams totaled 19 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists.

Bam Adebayo led Miami with 25 points and 11 rebounds while Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 21 points.

BULLS 124, ROCKETS 119 (OT)

Coby White scored a game-high 30 points and Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic notched double-doubles to boost Chicago to an overtime victory against visiting Houston.

Chicago led by as many as 16 on the way to its third straight victory. Outscored 56-30 in the paint, the Bulls connected on 19 3-pointers, with White drilling six. His final make from deep pushed the Bulls’ advantage to four points with 1:04 left in the extra session.

LaVine had 25 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, while Vucevic contributed 18 points and 15 boards. Alperen Sengun scored all 25 of his points after halftime to pace the Rockets. Fred VanVleet added 20 points and 10 assists.

PELICANS 141, WARRIORS 105

Herbert Jones led an early barrage of 3-pointers, Jonas Valanciunas went for 21 points in 21 minutes and New Orleans shellacked Golden State in San Francisco.

Three days after leading by as many as 50 points while blitzing the Kings 133-100, New Orleans used nine 3-pointers — three by Jones — in a 46-point first quarter to put the Warriors in a huge hole, and they never recovered. Zion Williamson was among eight Pelicans, including all five starters, to score in double figures with 19 points.

Moses Moody scored 21 points off the bench for the Warriors, who heard it from the home fans while losing for the fifth time as they completed a seven-game homestand. —Reuters.

AN own goal by defender Stefan Savic and a strike by Brahim Diaz late in extra time gave Real Madrid a 5-3 comeback win over city rivals Atletico in a rip-roaring Spanish Super Cup semi-final in Riyadh on Wednesday.

The rivalry, the comeback and the stakes combined to make this arguably the best match of the Spanish season, with two fearless sides battling for 120 minutes in a breathtaking derby.

“It was spectacular, but we don’t enjoy matches like this,” Real manager Carlo Ancelotti told Movistar Plus.

“The wear and tear has been tremendous. Because we are two very strong teams who have given everything.”

Atletico, who inflicted Real’s only loss of the season in September, started the game on top with

Brazilian winger Samuel Lino almost opening the scoring with a curling strike that was saved by goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

However, there was nothing Kepa could do when Antoine Griezmann lifted his corner into the box and defender Mario Hermoso sent a towering header flying past the keeper to give his side the lead in the seventh minute.

Real fought back through an Antonio Rudiger header from a Luka Modric corner in the 20th minute and a Ferland Mendy close-range strike, before Griezmann worked his magic in the 37th minute with a brilliant long-range strike.

Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak made a stunning stop with his legs to deny a Rodrygo close-range strike and the scores were level at halftime.

Real Madrid targeted the right side of Atletico’s defence and Vinicius Jr. took advantage with a quick free kick to Dani Carvajal whose thunderous strike was brilliantly saved by Oblak.

Atletico retook the lead in the 78th minute thanks to a calamitous attempted clearance from goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga who punched the ball on to his team mate Rudiger and it ended up in the net.

Real equalised through Dani Cavajal who converted a rebound after Oblak made two fine saves from Vinicius and Jude Bellingham.

With a penalty shootout looming, Joselu’s header bounced off Savic into Atletico’s net five minutes from the end of extra time to deliver a hammer blow to Atletico.

In the last play of the match, Diaz finished off a counter- attack into an empty net after Oblak went up to Real’s box in a desperate attempt to equalise from a corner.

“I told my players that I’m really proud of them, they played a great game and we were very close, but it was an unfortunate outcome...,” Atletico manager Diego Simeone told Movistar Plus.

The city rivals will clash again next week as Atletico host Real in an elimination game in the Copa del Rey last 16. In three weeks time, they will square up again at the Santiago Bernabeu in a LaLiga match. — Reuters.

MAURICIO POCHETTINO is not currently at risk of losing his job at Chelsea.

However, he could face the sack if the Blues fail to qualify for Europe this season.

His side are currently 10th in the Premier League but just three points adrift of seventh place.

Seventh spot was enough to secure Europa Conference League qualification last season.

The Telegraph report that Pochettino’s future is not in doubt at present with Chelsea still in the mix for European football.

That could change, though, if they miss out on a return to continental competition.

According to the report, the board are demanding an improvement on last season, which saw the Blues finish 12th, their lowest finish since 1994.

Pochettino can still secure European football through both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, though, as well as the league.

Despite Tuesday’s 1-0 loss away to Middlesbrough, his side can still reach the Carabao Cup final with victory in the second leg on January 23.

Winning the competition for the first time since 2015 would guarantee a place in next season’s Europa Conference League play-off round.

Meanwhile, an FA Cup triumph comes with passage into the Europa League’s league phase in 2024/25.

Chelsea eased past Preston on Saturday to reach the fourth round, where they will host Aston Villa later this month.

Pochettino’s hopes could be boosted by even more transfer business this month.

Ukrainian striker Artem Dovbyk has been strongly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge after scoring 11 league goals for La Liga surprise package Girona this term. — The Sun.

ZIMBABWE powerlifter, Chido Maenzanise, is seeking US$5000 to make her trip to the United States for the World Strongman competitions.

She was the only one invited from Zimbabwe to take part in the competitions set for March 1.

Maenzanise won a bronze medal at the African Strongman Championship, which were held in Zambia, last year.

The strong woman, who trains in powerlifting and strength wars and challenges, can lift up to 350kgs of weights at once.

She trains three hours every day, increasing to five hours when competition is imminent. “I am in need of US$5k for me to attend the World Strongman competitions. I am pleading with well-wishers to come to my rescue to help my travel arrangements to succeed.

“My call goes to the Foreign Affairs to assist me to get a visa as soon as possible.”

Maenzanise is expecting to leave the country in February if everything is put in order.

“I was the only one invited from Zimbabwe and, since the competitions will on March 1, I should be there in February. “There is limited time.”

Maenzanise has won several gold medals.