Curry, short-handed Warriors knock out Rockets in Game 6

Curry’s huge second half allowed the Warriors to overcome the absence of Kevin Durant and get the 118-113 win. (AFP)
Updated 11 May 2019
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Curry, short-handed Warriors knock out Rockets in Game 6

  • There were questions entering the game about how the Warriors would weather the loss of Durant
  • The Warriors move on to face the Denver-Portland winner with Game 1 scheduled for Tuesday night in Oakland

HOUSTON: After Stephen Curry bounced back from the first scoreless first half of his playoff career to score 33 points in the last two quarters and help the Golden State Warriors eliminate the Houston Rockets and advance to the Western Conference finals on Friday night, coach Steve Kerr stopped to talk with his star’s parents.
He said he told Dell and Sonya Curry: “If that game didn’t personify Steph Curry, I don’t know what does.”
Curry’s huge second half allowed the Warriors to overcome the absence of Kevin Durant and get the 118-113 win. He heard the chatter about how he’d struggled in this series entering this game and admitted that he was “pretty terrible” before halftime on Friday night.
“A night like tonight doesn’t happen without belief in myself,” Curry said.
Klay Thompson added 27 points to help two-time defending champion Golden State reach the conference finals for a franchise-record fifth straight year and eliminate Houston for the fourth time in five seasons. The Warriors did it with Durant sidelined by a calf injury sustained in the second half of their Game 5 victory.
“That was an absolute grind,” Kerr said. “We’re thrilled to be moving on and excited to have this one in our review mirror.”
James Harden led Houston with 35 points, and Chris Paul added 27.
Harden’s layup got the Rockets within three with less than a minute to go, but Thompson made a 3-pointer with 36.1 seconds remaining to extend Golden State’s lead to 110-104.
Gerald Green then missed a 3 for Houston and the Rockets were forced to foul Curry. He made both shots before Harden’s 3 got Houston within five at 112-107 with 24 seconds left.
Playing with a dislocated finger on his left hand, Curry made two more free throws before P.J. Tucker hit a 3 for Houston. But two more free throws by Curry made it 116-110 with 12.3 seconds left and Harden dribbled it off his foot for the last of his six turnovers.
“We’ve let a lot of opportunities slip away ... if you don’t take advantage of opportunities you end up on the losing side,” Harden said.
The Rockets failed to score for a big chunk of the fourth quarter and had to watch the Warriors celebrate a series victory on their home court for the second straight season after they won the conference finals in Houston last year. Harden was 11 of 25 from the field, going 6 of 15 from 3-point range, and 7 of 12 on free throws.
“This one’s going to leave a mark,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “This is not something you just get over. This one hurts. We played our best and they played their best, and we didn’t knock them out. It was like a heavyweight fight. We didn’t land the blows to at least get back to Golden State.”
Curry struggled early, failing to score in the first half for the first time in 102 career playoff games, and had just 10 points through three periods. But he got going in the fourth, scoring 23 points.
“At halftime we’re tied and I had zero points, you’ve got to like that situation,” Curry said.
There were questions entering the game about how the Warriors would weather the loss of Durant — and his more than 34 points a game. But they didn’t seem to miss a beat, getting 21 from Thompson in the first half before Curry closed it in the fourth.
“When you’re missing one of the greatest players to ever play and the best scorer in the world, you can’t collectively make up for what he does,” Thompson said. “But you can step up in his absence and help out the point production.”
The Rockets had a five-point lead to start the fourth and it was tied at 95 with about 7 ½ minutes to go after three points by Golden State’s Shaun Livingston.
Harden and Curry exchanged baskets soon after that before both teams failed to score for the next 2 ½ minutes. Houston missed five shots in that stretch and the Warriors missed four before Kevon Looney made a layup to put Golden State on top 99-97 with just under four minutes left.
A 3-pointer by Curry gave the Warriors a five-point lead before Harden ended a scoring drought by the Rockets of almost four minutes with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 102-100 with about 2 ½ remaining.
Harden was called for a charge after that before Curry scored all of Golden State’s points in a 5-2 run that made it 107-102 with 90 seconds left.
Tip-ins
Warriors: Durant didn’t make the trip to Houston, remaining in the Bay Area to receive treatment for his injury. The Warriors said he’ll be re-evaluated next week. ... The Warriors started Andrew Bogut for Durant and he had three rebounds and zero points. ... C Damian Jones, who is out with a torn pectoral muscle, has been cleared for contact drills and could be available later in the playoffs if the Warriors advance.
Rockets: Tucker had 15 points and has scored at least 10 points in eight of Houston’s last 11 games. ... Clint Capela had with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
They said it
Kerr on the performance of Andre Iguodala, who made six 3-pointers and had 17 points: “That game was probably not winnable without Andre’s contribution. Andre just does so much for us on both ends of the floor.”
Up next
The Warriors move on to face the Denver-Portland winner with Game 1 scheduled for Tuesday night in Oakland.


Spinners help IPL’s lowest ranked Bengaluru defeat Hyderabad

Updated 25 April 2024
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Spinners help IPL’s lowest ranked Bengaluru defeat Hyderabad

  • Faf du Plessis-led RCB won the toss and scored a par 206-7, setting a 207 run target for Hyderabad
  • Hyderabad could only score 171-8 as RCB registered only their second win in nine games

HYDERABAD: Indian spinners Karn Sharma and Swapnil Singh took four key wickets to help IPL’s lowest-ranked Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 35 runs in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Earlier, Faf du Plessis-led RCB won the toss and scored a par 206-7, setting a 207 run target for Hyderabad’s in-form batting unit which has already broken some IPL batting records this season.
Hyderabad could only score 171-8 as RCB registered only their second win in nine games and are still languishing at the bottom of the 10-team table.
Indian batting superstar Virat Kohli hit a slow 43-ball 51 and stitched a 48-run opening partnership with Plessis, who fell after hitting 12-ball 25.
England’s Will Jacks (6) fell early before Rajat Patidar’s explosive 20-ball 50 propelled Bengaluru to 130 in the 13th over, when the rookie batter fell to Indian veteran pacer Jaydev Unadkat.
Kohli fell in the 15th over leaving RCB reeling at 140-4 as their innings lost some momentum and wickets of Mahipal Lomror (7) and Dinesh Karthik (11) by the 19th over.
Australia’s star all-rounder Cameron Green hit an unbeaten 20-ball 37 to provide a final flourish as Unadkat (3-30) and T Natarajan (2-39) finished with five wickets between them.
Hyderabad’s explosive openers, Australia’s Travis Head and Indian rookie Abhishek Sharma, failed to build a partnership Thursday.
Head (1) fell in the very first over of the chase to spinner Jacks and Sharma hit 13-ball 31 before he fell in the fourth over to leave Sunrisers at 2-37.
Bengaluru’s Karn and Swapnil took three key middle-order wickets — Aiden Markram (7), Nitish Kumar Reddy (13), and Heinrich Klaasen (7) — to leave Hyderabad at 5-69 in the eighth over of the chase.
Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins, who hit 15-ball 31 with three sixes, provided some lower-order flourish before dismissal to national teammate Green, who bowled two tight overs for 12 runs and two wickets.
Hyderabad is still comfortably placed on the third spot in the IPL table and Cummins said that he “won’t dwell on this one too much.”
Winning captain Plessis said that their team had “been close for a while but you need to win matches to get confidence in the group.”
“Massive win for us. When you’re not winning it does affect you mentally, it does affect your confidence,” he added.
“You can’t speak confidence into the group, you can’t fake confidence into the group.”


Ronnie O’Sullivan fully committed to growth of snooker in Saudi Arabia

Updated 25 April 2024
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Ronnie O’Sullivan fully committed to growth of snooker in Saudi Arabia

  • ‘I always try to support the youngsters coming through and I’ll be doing the same in Saudi Arabia,’ star says after 1st-round win at the 2024 World Championship in Sheffield
  • The 7-time world champion this month signed a 3-year partnership with Riyadh Season, and plans were announced for a snooker academy in the Kingdom bearing his name

LONDON: Snooker superstar Ronnie O’Sullivan, the hot favorite to win the 2024 World Championship that is underway in the English city of Sheffield, said he is fully committed to the development of the sport in Saudi Arabia.

The seven-time world champion this month signed a three-year partnership agreement with Riyadh Season, and plans were announced to establish a snooker academy in the country bearing his name.

Speaking after a 10-1 first-round victory over Jackson Page at The Crucible on Thursday, O’Sullivan reiterated his dedication to the development of snooker in the Kingdom and the wider Gulf region.

“I love helping grassroots snooker,” he told SportsBoom.com. “I’ve done a lot in China, previously, and I have a lot of academies out there. I always try to support the youngsters coming through and I’ll be doing the same in Saudi Arabia.

“It’s great for snooker; we need grassroots. It’s great to be a part of helping that new generation coming through.”

O’Sullivan said he is eager to work with Saudi investors to help grow snooker in the region and expand its global reach from its traditional heartland in the UK. He added that he will visit the Kingdom several times a year, even outside of tournament appearances, in his efforts to actively contribute to the expansion of the sport.

“We haven’t decided but whatever his excellency (Turki Alalshikh, chairperson of the General Entertainment Authority) wants to do, I’ll be happy to discuss anything with him.”

O’Sullivan’s enthusiasm for raising the profile the sport in the Kingdom is supported by Barry Hearn, the president of promotions company Matchroom Sport.

Hearn said O’Sullivan is the ideal person to help develop the game in previously untapped markets and will play a pivotal role in the plans for Saudi Arabia. He drew parallels with the effect British boxer Anthony Joshua has had on the development of boxing in the Kingdom.

“We’ve opened 16 gyms over there since Joshua did his first fight and we’ll be looking to open a similar amount of snooker clubs, with Ronnie as the spearhead,” he said.

Hearn also confirmed the plans to establish a dedicated Ronnie O’Sullivan Snooker Academy to help grow the sport in the region and said Matchroom will supply coaches to work there.

“The Ronnie O’Sullivan Academy will be opened this year, which will be the focal point, and we’ll be sending some of our coaches over to Saudi (Arabia) full-time,” he added.

O’Sullivan is due to take on Ryan Day on Sunday in the second round of the World Championship.


New Zealand outclass Pakistan to win 4th T20I

Updated 25 April 2024
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New Zealand outclass Pakistan to win 4th T20I

  • Opener Tim Robinson hit a half-century to ensure New Zealand reached 178-7 in 20 overs
  • Pacer William O’ Rourke returned figures of 3-27 to keep Pakistan down to 174-8 in 20 overs

LAHORE: Experienced allrounder Jimmy Neesham kept his cool to defend six off the last ball to clinch a four-run victory for New Zealand on Thursday in the fourth Twenty20 international against Pakistan in Lahore.

Pakistan needed 18 off the last over in their chase of 179 but Neesham came out in flying colors despite being hit for a boundary off the first ball, giving a packed Qaddafi Stadium crowd heartbreaks.

Opener Tim Robinson hit a maiden half century to lift New Zealand to 178-7 in 20 overs before pacer William O’Rourke claimed 3-27 to keep Pakistan down to 174-8.

Returning allrounder Imad Wasim (22 not out) managed to hit the last ball for a single as New Zealand take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match series with the last game on Saturday, also in Lahore.

Pakistan also lost the third match by seven wickets after winning the first by the same margin while the first match was abandoned after just two balls — all three in Rawalpindi.

The defeats are a jolt to a full-strength Pakistan side in their preparations for the Twenty20 World Cup to be held in the United States and the West Indies in June.

New Zealand, missing a host of players due to Indian Premier League, injuries and unavailability, can feel elated at their bench strength going into the World Cup.

Pakistan sensed they were in with a chance when Fakhar Zaman, who made 45-ball 61 with three sixes and four boundaries, lifted Pakistan from 79-4 with a 59-run stand for the fifth wicket with Iftikhar Ahmed who made a 20-ball 23.

But O’Rourke, playing only his fourth T20I, dismissed Ahmed to add to his wickets of Babar Azam (five) and Saim Ayub (20) to give New Zealand a boost.

Fellow pacer Ben Sears (2-27) claimed Zaman’s wicket with 33 needed off 14 balls.

Earlier, Robinson batted with aggression.

Robinson’s 36-ball 51 with two sixes and four fours lifted New Zealand — who were sent in to bat — to 93-1 in 10 overs before Abbas Afridi’s career best 3-20 helped Pakistan pull back.

New Zealand started briskly with Robinson and Tom Blundell, who made 28 off 15, putting on 56 for the opening stand in five overs.

But from 94-1 New Zealand lost three wickets, including that of dangerman Mark Chapman for eight, as Pakistan’s fielders held catches to back some good bowling by Abbas.

Dean Foxcroft chipped in with 34 off 26 deliveries and skipper Michael Bracewell added 27 to keep the scoreboard ticking as New Zealand managed 43 in the last five overs.

Pakistan were forced to make five changes as wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan and Muhammad Irfan Khan were injured while they rested Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed.
 


Spanish govt to ‘oversee’ scandal-hit football federation

Updated 25 April 2024
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Spanish govt to ‘oversee’ scandal-hit football federation

  • The CSD said it will create a “commission of supervision, standardization and representation” led by “independent personalities“
  • Former Spain coach and 2010 World Cup winner Vicente del Bosque could be one of the members of this commission

MADRID: The Spanish government decided Thursday to create a commission to “oversee” the country’s scandal-hit football federation (RFEF) and try to pull it out of crisis.
“The Spanish government adopted this decision to redress the serious situation of the RFEF so that the organization could enter a stage of renewal in a stable climate,” the National Sports Council (CSD), an agency dependent on the Ministry of Sports, announced.
Spain are set to host the 2030 World Cup along with Portugal and Morocco, but in recent months the RFEF has lurched from one embarrassment to another.
The CSD said it will create a “commission of supervision, standardization and representation” led by “independent personalities” which will “oversee the RFEF during the coming months in response to the federation’s crisis and in defense of Spain’s general interests.”
According to the Spanish press, former Spain coach and 2010 World Cup winner Vicente del Bosque could be one of the members of this commission.
However, world and European football governing bodies FIFA and UEFA issued a statement expressing “great concern” at the situation around the RFEF.
“FIFA and UEFA will seek additional information to assess the extent to which the CSD’s appointment (of the committee)... may affect the RFEF’s obligation to manage its affairs independently and without undue government interference,” they said.
FIFA suspended Zimbabwe and Kenya’s memberships over government interference in 2022, subsequently lifting the bans.
Former RFEF president Luis Rubiales resigned in disgrace last September after his forcible kiss on the lips of Women’s World Cup winner Jenni Hermoso and is now being investigated in a separate corruption probe.
The only candidate to replace Rubiales, Pedro Rocha, is also being investigated, while a report from the country’s leading sports court said the RFEF had taken decisions “beyond its remit.”
One such decision was the renewal of Spain coach Luis de la Fuente’s contract in February.
It was the sport court’s report that led to Thursday’s CSD decision to oversee the federation.
Elections for the RFEF presidency are currently scheduled for May 6.
The Secretary of State for Sport and CSD president, Jose Manuel Uribes, on Thursday urged the RFEF “to limit its functions to the mere ordinary administration of the entity, as required by law.”
The CSD will meet again next Tuesday to analyze the situation and make a ruling, if necessary, on the corruption case opened by the sports court against Rocha, who took over from Rubiales on an interim basis.
In a year when the RFEF will be responsible for Spain’s teams at the European Championship and the Olympic Games, the Spanish government is aiming “to restore the reputation, the good name and the image of Spanish football and complete the electoral process with a renewed assembly for the 2024-2028 period,” said Uribes in the CSD statement.
“We have to look after what we have in the future, the immediate future, which is the planning of the World Cup,” Uribes said in an appearance at Spain’s Congress of Deputies.
He pledged that the government will do everything to sort out the “unacceptable situation” at the RFEF.
Uribes also said he was “in constant communication with FIFA” regarding the RFEF.
“The CSD is going to guarantee that Spanish football maintains its excellence at the sporting level and also stands out as exemplary at the institutional level,” Uribes insisted on Thursday.


Steven Gerrard discusses football, family, future aspirations

Updated 25 April 2024
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Steven Gerrard discusses football, family, future aspirations

  • Young boss advises aspiring players to ‘dream big and work hard every single day’
  • Former Liverpool legend holds Zinedine Zidane in high regard, labels him as his hero and ‘best midfielder in the world’

RIYADH: Roshn Saudi League side Al-Ettifaq’s manager Steven Gerrard has called on young players dreaming of a football career to “dream big, picture a dream and then work as hard as you can every day to improve.”
The ex-Liverpool legend, in an exclusive interview with the RSL, advised young footballers to “listen to the right people and every day be extremely motivated and dedicated to reach your dream.”
Gerrard, 43, shared his views on Thursday on various aspects of his life and career, giving his opinions on alternative careers, advice for young players, family life, and his views on leadership.
Opening up about other potential career paths outside football management, the former Liverpool captain said: “I’m very much into sport so I would have tried to have stayed in some sport in some capacity and tried to get a job related to football, or maybe related to a different sport. Growing up, all I wanted to do was watch sport on TV, do sport at school, so I’m very sport orientated.
“I think football is about dreams and memories and experiences, so my advice to (youngsters) is set a dream, set a target and then every single day maximize the opportunities to get better, to learn and to grow and to improve your skills, and reach for the stars.”
Gerrard also spoke about his family life, and said: “When I am not at work or at football, I am very much family orientated.
“I have three daughters and one son, so I am always taking them to different places; always playing football in the garden with my son or taking him to football.
“I am probably a taxi or an Uber driver a lot of the time, taking them to school and picking them up from school. I also help with doing homework and if I get a small bit of time to myself, I like to spend it with my friends.”
Having spent his life in football, Gerrard has had the perfect opportunity to see the top world stars firsthand, and he recalls his favorite three players with ease.
He said: “I would pick Zinedine Zidane (as top player) because he was my hero growing up. In my generation, he was the best midfielder in the world, so I’d pick Zidane and also the two others in my generation were Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. They would be the three I’d pick.”
And how would Gerrard himself like to be remembered? He said: “I want to be remembered as someone who gave everything in terms of 100 percent every single day.
“I was loyal, I was a fighter. I wanted to give all my energy and my efforts for the team that I represented and I was a team player, so I want to be remembered for those values.”
Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq currently sit in seventh place in the RSL and face Al-Raed in their next fixture on April 27.