NBA FAST BReAK DIeS
BElovED play passEs quIEtly
MIAMI» NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has heard all the reasons why the league should not have an AllStar Game in Atlanta next weekend.
He has two reasons why the league should: the fans and the game’s economy. Silver, in an interview with The Associated Press, said the fact that about 100 million votes were cast by fans for All-Star starters shows that the people who follow the game globally wanted the league’s midseason showcase to be played. And the league, he said, didn’t want to disappoint them.
“It’s the largest factor, the amount of engagement we get from our fans around All-Star,” Silver said.
Durant out until after break; Sabonis gets All-Star spot.
NEW YOR K» Kevin Durant will be out through the All-Star break because of a hamstring injury, sidelining the Brooklyn Nets star from a game for which he was chosen to serve as a captain.
Indiana’s Domantas Sabonis was chosen by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to replace Durant, with Boston’s Jayson Tatum elevated to the pool of starters for the March 7 game in Atlanta.
Akinwole scores 32 to carry Omaha past Denver 80-76. Ayo Akinwole had a career-high 32 points as Omaha snapped its 10-game road losing streak, narrowly defeating Denver 80-76 on Friday.
Akinwole hit 6 of 8 3-pointers, and he added eight rebounds.
Jase Townsend had 18 points for the Pioneers (2-18, 1-12), whose losing streak reached five games.
Sorenstam gets 2 more days on LPGA Tour.
ORL A NDO, FLA.» Annika Sorenstam went more than 12 years without playing on the LPGA Tour. Now she gets two more days.
Sorenstam made three birdies after making the turn Friday at Lake Nona and posted a 1-under 71 in the Gainbridge LPGA. And even with the wrong ruling the previous day that led to an extra stroke, she still made the cut on the number.
Lydia Ko posted a 3-under 69 and took a one-shot lead over Nelly Korda (68). Ryan O’Toole had her second straight 68 and was another shot behind.
Brandon Wu leads PGA Tour’s windy Puerto Rico Open. RIO GR A NDE, PUERTO RICO » Brandon Wu birdied the final two holes for a 5-under 67 and the second-round lead Friday in the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open. Wu played the back nine in 4 under at windy Grand Reserve. He birdied the par-4 12th, par-5 15th, par-4 17th and par-5 18th to reach 11-under 133.
Gut-Behrami wins downhill and moves atop World Cup standings. MOEN A ,IT A LY » Coming off a performance that included two golds and three medals overall at the world championships, Lara Gut-Behrami now has another title — overall World Cup leader.
The Swiss skier won Friday’s downhill, moving her ahead of Slovakian rival Petra Vlhova in the standings. Gut-Behrami finished a slim 0.02 seconds ahead of Ramona Siebenhofer. Recently crowned world champion Corinne Suter finished third.
2 skiers defy death in descent of Yosemite’s Half Dome.
YOSEMITE N ATION A LP A RK, CA LIF. » Two skiers navigated a thin layer of snow with no margin for error down the precipitous shoulder of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park and alternately skied and rappelled back to the valley floor in an unusually daring feat.
Jason Torlano, 45, and Zach Milligan, 40, completed the descent in five hours Sunday by carefully carving their way in crusty snow and using ropes to rappel several sections of bare rock known as the “death slabs” beneath the iconic face of Half Dome, the Fresno Bee reported Thursday.
No one is known to have attempted the entire 4,800-foot (1,463-meter) descent from peak to valley.