Sports

OAKLAND, California — Stephen Curry knocked down six 3-pointers on the way to 26 points, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Washington Wizards 102-94 on Tuesday night to stay on pace for the all-time NBA wins record.

Klay Thompson followed back-to-back 40-point games with 16 as Golden State (67-7) stayed a game ahead of the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ pace during their 72-10 season. The Warriors must go 6-2 over their final eight games for the record.

Curry (356) and Thompson (255) already had the most combined 3-pointers by a pair of teammates in a season. Curry, the first player in NBA history with 300 3s in a season, has eight games left to chase 400. Thompson is aiming to top Curry’s previous record of 286 3s.

Draymond Green had 15 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists to just miss back-to-back triple-doubles in the Warriors’ 54th straight regular-season home win and 36th consecutive this season.

Elsewhere, James Harden scored 27 points as Houston rallied from a 20-point deficit to beat LeBron James-less Cleveland 106-100.

Harden scored 18 points in the fourth quarter and Houston outscored Cleveland 35-16 in the period.

Dwight Howard’s free throw with 2:13 left put Houston ahead 95-94. Harden’s 3-pointer made it 98-94 before Kyrie Irving hit a 3-pointer with 1:30 left, making it a one-point game. Both teams missed shots on their next possession, but Trevor Ariza’s 3-pointer from the corner with 17 seconds left gave Houston a 101-97 lead.

Irving scored 31 points for Cleveland, which rested James for the night and fell to 1-3 this season without him.

In Indianapolis, Jimmy Butler made a tiebreaking jumper with 3.7 seconds left as Chicago beat Indiana 98-96 to end a four-game losing streak.

Nikola Mirotic scored 28 points as Chicago (37-37) got back to .500 and pulled within two games of Indiana for the eighth and final play-off spot in the Eastern Conference. Mirotic made seven 3-pointers, his final one tying it at 96 with 2:19 remaining.

The Pacers missed five shots in the final two minutes that would have given them the lead before the Bulls rebounded Pau Gasol’s miss with 20 seconds remaining and got the ball to Butler for his 17-footer from the right wing.

Detroit’s Marcus Morris scored 24 points as the Pistons took advantage of Kevin Durant’s absence in a 88-82 victory over Oklahoma City.

The Thunder rested Durant and Serge Ibaka, and Oklahoma City were held to only nine points in the third period en route to their lowest-scoring game of the season. The Thunder rallied from a 15-point deficit, closing the gap to just one in the fourth, but Detroit were able to get another victory in its push for a play-off spot.

Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 24 points on 8-of-28 shooting.

Charlotte set a team record for wins in a month with their 13th victory in March, topping Philadelphia 100-85.

Nicolas Batum had 19 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for his second triple-double of the season and Cody Zeller added 18 points and 11 boards.

The Hornets, who entered the game in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, also inched closer to clinching their first play-off spot in two years and just second postseason berth in the last 13 years.

Orlando’s Aaron Gordon had 20 points and Elfrid Payton had 11 points and 12 assists as the Magic scored a season high in defeating Brooklyn 139-105.

The Magic had eight players in double figures, including back-ups Andrew Nicholson with 24 and Jason Smith with 14.

SYDNEY — Tim Cahill scored twice as Australia eased into the final round of Asian qualifying for the 2018 World Cup with a convincing 5-1 victory over Harry Redknapp's Jordan on Tuesday.

Cahill's 46th minute and 47th minute international goals, combined with a first half effort from the excellent Aaron Mooy and scores after the break from Tom Rogic and Massimo Luongo saw the Asian champions comfortably secure top spot in Group B.

Jordan, which had inflicted the only defeat of the campaign on the Socceroos, never looked like repeating the feat and was left relying on other results to keep alive its slim hopes of progressing as one of the four best runners-up.

Australia's victory sent Syria through with one of the runners-up spots and they both joined Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Japan, Thailand and South Korea in securing places in the 12-team third qualifying phase, from which four countries will earn tickets to Russia in 2018.

"It was good," said Australia coach Ange Postecoglou, whose side also booked a spot at the 2019 Asian Cup.

"Against a side everyone acknowledged was a tough opponent, we were dominant from start to finish.

"We probably should have scored five or six more."

With Cahill restored to lead the line after missing last week's 7-0 thrashing of Tajikistan and Mooy and Robbie Kruse irresistible in midfield, the match was as good as over as a contest by half-time.

Mooy and Kruse combined to give Cahill a simple tap-in to open the scoring in the 24th minute and the trio were all involved again when Mooy went through to double the lead with a fine finish 15 minutes later.

Just before half-time, Mooy found Kruse and the winger's cross provided Cahill with all the invitation he needed to find the net with a trademark leaping header from the middle of the penalty box.

The 25,000 fans at the Sydney Football Stadium had to wait for eight minutes after the break until Rogic resumed the scoring and substitute Luongo lashed home the fifth 20 minutes from time.

Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Redknapp kept up his urging from the sidelines until the final whistle but only a string of saves from Amer Shafi, one to deprive Cahill of a hat-trick, prevented the scoreline from blowing out further.

Substitute striker Abadallah Deeb, though, restored a modicum of pride for the Jordanians with a superb shot into the top corner in the dying minutes.

"There was a gulf in class," said the 69-year-old Englishman.

"We stepped up a level tonight and it was difficult, they were better than us."

Whoever was in charge going forward, however, Redknapp felt they would need to make changes if the Jordanians were to get to the stage where they might be able to qualify for a World Cup for the first time.

"There's so much work needs doing if Jordan is going to move on, having been here five or six days, the whole structure, the set-up needs so much work," he said.

"We've got no analyst, we don't have anything on the opposition, we don't have sports scientist. The players are short of fitness so when they play against better teams, they struggle for fitness."

Overall, however, Redknapp said it was an experience he would remember fondly.

"I've enjoyed it apart from today," he said. "No one enjoys standing on the touchline getting well beat."

Doc Rivers couldn’t resist needling Los Angeles Lakers’ fans after Paul Pierce went down with an ankle injury Monday night.

“It is his ankle, which is good news, because when he went down I thought it was his knee,” Rivers said. “Of course, the Lakers’ fans thought they were going to bring out the wheelchair at some point, but they didn’t do that, so that was good.”

Rivers was referring to the 2008 NBA finals when he was coach of the Boston Celtics and Pierce was one of the team’s stars. Pierce left the court in a wheelchair with an apparent leg injury, only to return a short time later and resume playing.

Pierce’s ankle sprain put more of a scare into the Clippers than the Celtics did. Austin Rivers scored 16 points, and Los Angeles rolled past Boston 114-90 at Staples Centre.

DeAndre Jordan and Jamal Crawford added 15 points apiece for the Clippers, who won their third consecutive decision. Jordan also had 13 rebounds and three blocks in three quarters.

Chris Paul finished with 13 points and 14 assists, Wesley Johnson scored 11 points, and Jeff Green contributed 10 for Los Angeles (46-27). Paul’s 14 assists equalled the entire output of the Celtics, while the Clippers had 29.

Isaiah Thomas led Boston with 24 points, while Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart each scored 13. The Celtics (43-31) had their four-game winning streak snapped.

The Clippers’ shooting was the difference. The Clippers made 52.4 per cent of their shots to 34.8 per cent for the Celtics. Los Angeles also connected on 11 of 25 (44 per cent) 3-point tries to seven of 19 (36.8 per cent) for Boston.

“Any team in this league, if they’re knocking down shots, it’s tough to guard,” said Smart, who connected on six of twelve shots but missed all four of his 3-point attempts. “They were very comfortable out there, and we kind of let them get into their zone. It was hard to stop them in the second half.”

Pierce, who scored eight points in 12 minutes, hurt himself with 2:06 left in the second quarter when he drove to the bucket as he was defended by Jared Sullinger. He slumped to the court after he landed at an awkward angle under the basket.

“I was worried about him,” Paul said. “I did not even see him fall. Once he made [the shot], my mind clicked straight to defence. Paul is a warrior and a guy that has been through a lot, and we are glad that he is OK.”

Pierce’s departure occurred when the Clippers were completing a dominating second quarter that allowed them to bolt past the Celtics. They outscored Boston 37-26 in the second and turned a six-point advantage after the first quarter into a 67-50 halftime lead.

Los Angeles increased the margin to 92-70 heading into the final quarter.

Austin Rivers scored 10 points in the second quarter.

“Sometimes, we try to get it back in one play,” said Thomas, who collected half of his points on the foul line, where he hit 12 of 13. “A lot of teams do that, though. We can’t get down like that, especially to a good team. It’s hard to come back against a really good team and get down 20, especially on the road. We can’t put ourselves in that hole.

“Honestly, we just didn’t make shots. For the most part, we got the looks that we wanted, [but] guys didn’t make shots. Like I said, against a team as good as they are, you have to play a perfect game on the road. You have to be able to make shots and defend them at a high level. We didn’t do that.”

The clubs split the season series. The Celtics won the initial meeting 139-134 in overtime at Boston.

AMMAN — Jordan plays a vital match against Australia in Group B qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup doubling as part of the qualification for 2019 Asian Cup.

“We know it’s going to be a much tougher game in Australia,” said Redknapp after arriving at the airport, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. “We understand that.

“It’s got the makings of a real good game. We need to win, so we’ve got to be going for it.

“We’ll have to start well because [there will] be a big crowd, great atmosphere.

“And we’ve got to make sure we come out as ready as we were to compete [against Bangladesh] and play the way we played.”

After an 8-0 win over Bangladesh in Amman, the team remained second in the group as leaders Australia crushed Kyrgyzstan 7-0. A win in the 11:30am Jordanian time match will secure Jordan’s advance to the next round, while a draw might boost qualifying chances as 40 teams end their home and away round-robin matches in the current second qualifying round following which group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup. 

So far in the qualifiers, the Kingdom lost 1-0 to Kyrgyzstan, and beat Australia 2-0 and Tajikistan 3-0. In the first leg, Jordan was held to a disappointing 0-0 draw with Kyrgyzstan, beat Tajikistan 3-1 and Bangladesh 4-0. 

It will be the fourth match between the two teams: Jordan beat Australia 2-1 in the qualifiers for the World Cup in Brazil, before the Aussies beat them 4-0 in the return leg. Jordan also beat Australia 2-0 in the current qualifiers in October.

After an interim inconsistent period, the Jordan Football Association last week introduced Harry Redknapp who will lead the team in the upcoming period with a focus on reaching the Asian Championship and keeping World Cup qualifying chances alive.

Redknapp sounded optimistic although he has a tough task with the little time to prepare the line-up. “I believe the future is good for Jordanian football. Winning the next match is a difficult challenge. We have to believe we can do it,” he added.

Redknapp guided Tottenham into the UEFA Champions League for the very first time in 2009–2010 the season. He previously managed Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, and Queens Park Rangers. In his second spell at Portsmouth, he managed the side that won the 2008 FA Cup.

Jordan is now 82nd in latest FIFA World Rankings but observers noted the drawbacks of not playing friendlies ahead of the last two qualifiers and only beating Egypt 1-0 earlier this year under interim coach Abdullah Abu Zam’eh. Egypt did not employ its senior squad and Jordan played without most pros while some were on the injury list. 

The Kingdom’s most memorable World Cup qualifying journey was in 2013 when they lost the chance to play at the World Cup for the first time and advanced to play then World’s 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie for a place in the 2014 World Cup, losing 5-0 on aggregate. Jordan had never reached that far in World Cup qualifying since taking part in the qualifiers since 1985. 

In the Asian Cup, Jordan reached the championship three times since first taking part in qualifiers in 1972. The pinnacle was at the 13th Asian Cup, when they lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA rank of 37th in August 2004. In 2011, Jordan again reached the quarter-finals.

In 2015, Jordan’s line-up was led by Briton Ray Wilkins under whom the team failed to advance past the quarters of the 16th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup. Ahmad Abdul Qader took over in the transitional phase under whom the team played the first qualifier. Belgian Paul Put took over in July and his contract was suspended after he got caught in the midst of a court case over match fixing in the Belgian league. 

Group B standings

AMMAN — The region’s motorsporting attention turns towards Jordan for round three of the Middle East Rally Championship from May 5-7, after Nasser Al Attiyah put on a driving masterclass to clinch round two in Kuwait at the weekend, according to a statement from the Jordan Rally Media Service.

The Qatari 11-time regional champion eased to victory after winning all 13 of the timed special stages to cruise home with a winning margin of 11 minutes and 24.9 seconds.

And with Kuwait in the bag, the regional road show will begin to wind its way across to Jordan where one of the best routes in the world of rallying is being finalised by organisers Jordan Motorsport, which has officially announced that entries are now being taken.

“I always look forward to Jordan immensely because it is such a memorable occasion,” Attiyah was quoted as saying in the statement. “It is probably the most difficult round of the Middle East Rally Championship. The stages are never easy and provide a great challenge. For several reasons, I didn’t have much competition in Kuwait but I hope my rivals will all be in Jordan.”

Held under the patronage of HRH Prince Feisal, the chairman of Jordan Motorsport, the rally’s regulations have now been published and it shows a testing route including many of the competitive kilometres used by Jordan when it hosted the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2008, 2010 and 2011.

The overall distance is 643.28km with 222.74km to be run over-timed special stages held on May 6 and 7 through the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas. A ceremonial start and spectator event will be held on the afternoon of May 5 in Amman at a location to be revealed.

The itinerary also reveals that there will be a return to the world-class King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Centre managed by Hilton – Dead Sea where the headquarters were based during those memorable WRC years.

Work is also continuing unabated on the stages which are being repaired following a Jordan winter which brought heavy rainfall.

For more rally details and a copy of the regulations, fans and competitors are asked to visit www.jordanrally.com.

NEW ORLEANS — DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points and Patrick Patterson had 16 as the Toronto Raptors ended a two-game losing streak, beating the New Orleans Pelicans 115-91 on Saturday to tie a franchise record with their 49th victory of the season.

Toronto were never pushed by the Pelicans, who were down to just nine players on the active roster because of injuries. The Raptors shot 53 per cent from the floor and the defence was nearly as good, holding New Orleans to just 43 per cent shooting.

With New Orleans’ top five scorers on the bench due to injury, Alonzo Gee led the Pelicans with 18 points.

Cavaliers 107, Knicks 93

LeBron James had 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his third triple-double of the season while Kevin Love added 28 points and 12 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the New York Knicks.

James recorded his 42nd career triple-double and moved within three points of Dominique Wilkins for 12th place on the NBA’s scoring list.

Even with Kyrie Irving resting, the Cavaliers easily bounced back from a loss in Brooklyn on Thursday, shutting the Knicks down in the first half and pulling away when the lead got down to 10 in the fourth quarter.

Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points after a brutal start for the Knicks, who were coming off a home-and-home sweep of Chicago. Kristaps Porzingis had 19.

Hawks 112, Pistons 95

Paul Millsap had 23 points and nine rebounds as the Atlanta Hawks ended the Detroit Pistons’ five-game winning streak.

The Hawks have won 13 of their last 16 and moved a game ahead of Miami atop the Southeast Division.

Tobias Harris scored 21 points, and Andre Drummond had 19 points and 17 rebounds for Detroit but the Pistons couldn’t recover from a poor first quarter. Atlanta never trailed and led by as many as 20 in the fourth.

Nets 120, Pacers 110

Brook Lopez scored 23 points and Bojan Bogdanovic added 18 as the Brooklyn Nets beat the Indiana Pacers.

Sergey Karasev scored a career-high 17 points for the Nets, who took a 104-102 lead on Bogdanovic’s 3-pointer with 5:41 remaining in the game. Lopez then scored nine consecutive points for Brooklyn before Bogdanovic nailed a contested 3-pointer to put Brooklyn ahead 116-110 with 39 seconds remaining.

Paul George then missed a 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining, sealing the win for Brooklyn.

Magic 111, Bulls 89

Orlando journeyman centre Dewayne Dedmon scored a career-high 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Jason Smith added 14 off the bench as the Magic dealt the Chicago Bulls a blow to their fading play-off hopes.

Elfrid Payton scored 15 points and had 10 assists and Evan Fournier added 12 points for the Magic, who ended a six-game losing streak.

The Bulls (36-36), fighting to climb back into the eighth and final play-off spot in the Eastern Conference, dropped their third straight game. 

Jazz 93, Timberwolves 84

Gordon Hayward scored 16 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter as the Utah Jazz finished a five-game road trip with victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Hayward had just two points on 1-of-6 shooting in the first three quarters. But he shot 6 of 9 in the fourth and Derrick Favours chipped in with 19 points and five rebounds to get the Jazz a much-needed victory as they make a push for the play-offs. The Jazz (36-37) entered tied with Dallas for eighth in the Western Conference and have won seven of their last nine.

Ricky Rubio scored 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting for the Timberwolves, who missed a chance for their first three-game winning streak since November 27. The Wolves shot 38 per cent and fell to 2-12 on the second night of a back-to-back.

Thunder 111, Spurs 92

Kevin Durant scored 31 points and Russell Westbrook added 29 to help the Thunder defeat the short-handed San Antonio Spurs.

Enes Kanter had 20 points and 10 rebounds and Serge Ibaka added 15 points and eight rebounds for Oklahoma City, which won its seventh straight.

Hornets 115, Bucks 91

Nicolas Batum scored 23 of his 25 points in the first half as the Charlotte Hornets used a 3-point barrage to rout the Milwaukee Bucks 115-91.

Marvin Williams added 21 points and Kemba Walker had 18 for the Hornets, who won three of four games in the season series. Charlotte connected on 16 of 29 3-pointers against Milwaukee in this one, a 55 per cent clip.

John Henson had 19 points and Jabari Parker 15 for the Bucks, who have lost five straight and six of seven. 

Celtics 102, Suns 99

Isaiah Thomas scored 28 points against his former team as the Boston Celtics held off the Phoenix Suns despite almost blowing a 21-point lead.

Evan Turner added 17 points, 15 of those in the first half, to go with 11 rebounds for Boston, which won its fourth straight. He also blocked the potential tying shot with 3.9 seconds left.

Phoenix had a chance to take the lead twice with under a minute left but Booker and Knight missed shots.

Marcus Smart made two free throws and after Booker’s put-back basket with 15.5 seconds left made it 100-99, Thomas and Smart each made one free throw. The Suns missed a shot from beyond half-court at the final buzzer.

Trail Blazers 108, 76ers 105

C.J. McCollum converted a three-point play with 7.6 seconds left to break a tie and lift the Portland Trail Blazers past the Philadelphia 76ers.

Trapped in the corner near the sideline and the midcourt line, McCollum split two defenders, drove through the lane and hit a lay-up as he was fouled and stumbled to the floor, helping the Blazers avoid another embarrassing loss to the worst team.

AMMAN  — The 4th West Asian Women’s Basketball Champions Cup ended on Friday with Lebanon’s Riyadi crowned the champ.

The championship hosted by Fuheis Club grouped teams from three countries: Lebanon’s Riyadi and Homenetmen, Palestine’s Sariet Ramallah and Jordan’s Orthodoxi and Fuheis.

Riyadi finished with an unbeaten run after overcoming compatriots Homenetmen, who beat Orthodoxi 75-48 as the latter beat Ramallah 77-71 and settled for third despite losing to Fuheis 63-61. Ramallah came in fourth after beating Fuheis 69-65 as the hosts finished last after losing to Homenetmen 96-47 on the final day.

In 2015, Lebanon’s Riyadi took the title after beating Syria’s Wihda who came in second while Orthodoxi came in third. Fuheis were fourth and Sariet Ramallah finished fifth. Lebanon’s Antranik Club had won the title before. 

In the last regional event in 2014, Orthodoxi finished 4th at the 16th Arab Clubs Basketball Championship for Women in Egypt when Lebanon’s Riyadi retained the title.

In the men’s championship, Orthodoxi hosted the 16th West Asian Clubs Championship earlier this year which qualifies teams to the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Champions Cup.

Iran’s Petroshemi, Lebanon’s Riyadi and Iraq’s Shurta advanced from the zonal qualifiers, Orthodoxi appeared below form and lost all four matches. The West Asian Clubs Championship has been dominated by Lebanese and Iranian team since it started in 1998.

Orthodoxi were the only Jordanian team to win the title in 1999. Jordanian runners-up are Jazira (currently Riyadi’s team) in 1998, Orthodoxi in 2001 and 2002, Arena in 2003 and Zain in 2009.

SYDNEY — Former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp remains uncertain about his future with Jordan beyond the team’s World Cup qualifying match against Australia on Tuesday.

Redknapp, who arrived Saturday for Jordan’s must-win match against the Socceroos, said earlier this week that he’d be open to extending his two-match coaching deal with Jordan should the team progress to the next round of Asian qualifying.

Jordan, which beat Bangladesh 8-0 in Redknapp’s first match in charge on Thursday, trails first-place Australia by two points in Group B, but could qualify for the third round as one of the four best runner-up teams in the eight groups.

Redknapp says he hasn’t discussed his contract with Jordan Football Association President HRH Prince Ali, adding “I’ve enjoyed it obviously, but I don’t know about the future.”

“I only came for two games, that was what I did with Prince Ali,” Redknapp added.

“I’m [adviser] at [second-tier] Derby at the moment so as soon as I get back from here I go straight to Derby. We play Cardiff away on Saturday, it’s a big game for us. I just want to get a great result from Jordan and go from there.”

Redknapp, who led Tottenham into the Champions League for the first time in 2010, and went on to manage Queens Park Rangers from 2012 to 2015, expects a tough match from Australia on Tuesday. The Socceroos went on a scoring spree of their own on Thursday, beating Tajikistan 7-0.

“It’s got the makings of a real good game,” he said. “We need to win, so we’ve got to be going for it. We’ll have to start well because they’ll be a big crowd, great atmosphere.”

AMMAN – Harry Redknapp on Thursday led Jordan to an 8-0 win over Bangladesh in his first game as an interim head coach of the national team. 

The win was Jordan's fifth victory in Group B of the 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers to remain two points behind leaders Australia, who beat Tajikistan 7-0 earlier in the day. 

The game against Bangladesh, held at Amman International Stadium, was Jordan's first of two matches under Redknapp. 

Hamza Dardour netted a first-half hat-trick, who opened the score in the seventh minute before scoring again 16 minutes later when he lifted Yousef Rawashdeh’s cross from the right over Bangladesh keeper Ashraful Rana. 

Before the half-hour mark, Abdullah Deeb scored the third goal from a penalty spot. Two minutes later, Rawashdeh netted Jordan's fourth. 

Dardour scored his hat-trick and the national team's fifth with five minutes of the first half remaining.

Substitute Baha Abdelrahman made it 6-0 in the 63rd minute. With just seven minutes remaining to the match, substitute Yousaf Al Naber got his name on the score sheet. 

In the stoppage time, a challenge by a Bangladeshi defender gave the Jordan the second penalty kick of the match, played by Ahmed Samir to complete the 8-0 win.

Jordan will travel to Australia to face the 2015 AFC Asian Cup champions on Tuesday, with a victory in Sydney seeing Jordan leapfrog the Socceroos and finish top of the table.

Eight group winners will advance to the third round of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, as well as straight to the 2019 Asian Cup in United Arab Emirates, along with the four best runners-up.