SPORTS DIGEST
BASKETBALL
Karl-anthony Towns set a new franchise record for the Minnesota Timberwolves, scoring 56 points as his side beat the Atlanta Hawks 126-114. Minnesota sit eighth in a tight Western Conference but helped their bid for postseason basketball as they raced to a 65-57 half-time lead with Towns scoring 26. He went on to score his 63rd doubledouble – with 15 rebounds – while Andrew Wiggins added 17 points in the victory. A clutch three-pointer from Jaylen Brown put the Boston Celtics in front with 0.1 seconds left to play as they beat the Utah Jazz 97-94. The Jazz were up 94-88 with 2:25 left to play but the Celtics rallied for their 52nd win of the season. Kemba Walker became the Charlotte Hornets all-time scoring leader, shooting 21 in a 118-105 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Lebron James was in fine form, scoring 41 points to dampen the spirits of Hornets’ fans with the defeat denting the side’s slim hopes of making the play-offs. CJ Mccollum scored 42 points, but the Portland Trail Blazers were upset by the Memphis Grizzlies 108-103, with Memphis outscoring their opponents 32-22 in the fourth quarter. The Brooklyn Nets and the Orlando Magic are both out of post-season contention but D’angelo Russell scored 16 points and had 12 assists as the New York side won 111-104. The other team from the Big Apple, the Knicks, went down 118-101 to the Philadelphia 76ers, who had Joel Embiid leave the game after a collision. The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Phoenix Suns 111-99, while the Dallas Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 103-93. NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION: Charlotte Hornets 105 Cleveland Cavaliers 118, LA Lakers 103 Dallas Mavericks 93, Memphis Grizzlies 108 Portland Trail Blazers 103, Minnesota Timberwolves 126 Atlanta Hawks 114, Orlando Magic 104 Brooklyn Nets 111, Philadelphia 76ers 118 New York Knicks 101, Phoenix Suns 99 LA Clippers 111, Utah Jazz 94 Boston Celtics 97.
ICE HOCKEY
The Colorado Avalanche were dealt a blow in their hunt for a wild card spot when they lost 2-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers. The Avs sit a point behind the eighthplaced Anaheim Ducks and a win would have seen them leapfrog the side in the Western Conference. But the side suffered an early setback when Claude Giroux and Ivan Provorov scored to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead. Matt Nieto got one back, but the Flyers held on as they helped their campaign for a wild card spot in the Eastern. The Toronto Maple Leafs survived a scare to beat the Florida Panthers 4-3 and tighten their grip on third spot in the Atlantic Division. The Panthers have hit a purple patch winning 10 of their last 14 games - as they try to muscle out the Leafs to ensure playoff hockey. But Toronto went 3-0 up in the first period and held off a late Florida comeback after Evgenii Dadonov reduced the deficit to one with 90 seconds left to play. The Washington Capitals cemented their position at the top of the Metropolitan Division as Evgeny Kuznetsov scored after 38 seconds of overtime to secure a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers. Meanwhile, a Kevin Connauton goal was the difference as the Arizona Coyotes beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2. NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE: Colorado Avalanche 1 Philadelphia Flyers 2, Toronto Maple Leafs 4 Florida Panthers 3, Vegas Golden Knights 2 Arizona Coyotes 3, Washington Capitals 3 New York Rangers 2.
SPEEDWAY
FIXTURES Tonight: Premiership KO Cup quarter-final (1st leg) – Poole P Somerset P; 2nd leg – Somerset v Poole (7:30pm); Championship Shield – Ipswich v Lakeside (2:15pm); Lakeside v Ipswich (8pm); National League – Belle Vue v Coventry (1pm); Scottish Cup 2nd leg – Edinburgh (40) v Glasgow (50) (7:30pm). Tomorrow: Tyne/tweed Trophy (1st Leg) – Berwick v Newcastle (7pm); Easter Chase (1st Leg) – Eastbourne v Kent (7.30); Cumberland Open – Workington (7pm). Sunday: Championship – Scunthorpe v Edinburgh (3pm), Championship Shield – Peterborough v Ipswich (7pm); Tyne/ Tweed Trophy (2nd Leg) – Newcastle v Berwick (6.30pm); British Youth Championship (125cc) Rd 1 – Scunthorpe (follows championship fixture).