Sports

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday tweeted his support for HRH Prince Ali in his run for the FIFA presidency. 

The King also thanked countries and football associations that pledged their support for Prince Ali. 

“Proud of Prince Ali, for his dedication to positive change in FIFA. Thankful to all entities supporting his candidacy,” the King said on the Royal Court Twitter account @RHCJO. 

Prince Ali will compete with four other candidates in the February 26 election. 

Candidates for the presidency of world’s football governing body are Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain; Gianni Infantino, the UEFA general secretary from Switzerland; former FIFA official Jerome Champagne of France; and South African businessman Tokyo Sexwale. 

Last month, the Iraq Football Association pledged their support for Prince Ali during a meeting between him and an official delegation in Amman. 

Palestine’s football federation has also expressed support for the prince’s presidency bid.

Earlier this week, Prince Ali announced on his Twitter account (@AliBinAlHussein ) that he received endorsements from football federations in Liberia and Egypt. 

“Deeply honoured by the support of #Liberia as we work across the world to bring the change needed for #FIFA’s future,” Prince Ali wrote.

In another tweet, the prince said: “A great honour to today receive the endorsement and trust of the Egyptian FA for the presidency of FIFA.”

“I’m running to bring good governance, transparency & accountability, but also because I see how great FIFA could be,” he wrote on his Twitter account.

AMMAN — The first round of the popular Speed Test Championship “Kumho Speed Test” kicks off on Friday with the participation of 55 drivers at the Service Park at the Dead Sea.

The event, expected to attract hundreds of fans who will take advantage of the fair weather of the Dead Sea area ,will witness the participation of last year’s champion Mohammed Tayseer, who will be defending his title against the best in this sports.

Veteran drivers Ayman Najjar and Husam Salem will also bring excitement to the series in addition to Jad Nabas, Gaith Wraikat, Salem Taimeh and women driver Lina Hadidi. 

Othman Naseef, Jordan Motorsport CEO told The Jordan Times that everything is set for this season’s opener.

“We are really excited to kick off this season for the Speed Test championship with this challenging round. All preparations are set so everyone to enjoy the competition and the fair weather of the Dead Sea area,” he said.

“We are expecting a very competitive first round with the winner taking 20 points, second place 18 points and third place 16 points. Usually the first round defines the shape of the championship and starting at the Service Park will bring uniqueness to the event,” he added.

Last year, Tayseer won the first round of the 2015 season held at the Royal Automobile Club of Jordan racetrack after clocking 1m33.970s, followed by Rami Kaghado (1m36.100s) and Jad Nabas (1m37.980s).

AMMAN — Basketball matches on the weekend will again be vital and exciting as competition heats up with the top four playing Stage 3 matches in the battle for the play-offs.

Riyadi will next play Awdeh — the team that managed to beat Round 1 unbeaten leaders Hurrieh 65-61 last week. So far, Riyadi beat Hurrieh 73-67 and Orthodoxi 73-65. The team reversed their Round 1 form when they were close to many wins which seemed not within their grasp. Now Riyadi need to keep their focus as Orthodoxi also heat up the competition after they beat Awdeh 86-82 before they play Hurrieh in the last week of the current leg.

Following two legs of matches in the current Round 2, final standings from 1-4 will be decided to determine who advances to the final play-offs for the title.

Hurrieh finished Round 1 with an unbeaten record, while Orthodoxi were second after they beat Riyadi in the final week. With teams like Applied Science University, Ittihad, Wihdat pulling out of the competition, Awdeh joined the top four. 

The bottom four include Jalil, Ghazzet Hashem, Kufr Youba and Nashama and are now playing two legs in the battle to avoid relegation. So far, Jalil beat Nashama 52-45, Kufr Youba beat Ghazzet Hashem 73-57, Ghazzet Hashem beat Jalil 73-48 and Kufr Youba beat Nashama 78-68.

Apart from Orthodoxi and Riyadi, the league has undergone many changes. Former champs Applied Science University and Ittihad have pulled out of competitions over differences with the Jordan Basketball Federation and their players have been dispersed to other clubs. Clubs with no fan base are competing in what is seen as a sharp decline in the game locally and internationally.

OAKLAND, California — Stephen Curry had 35 points, nine assists and six rebounds to help the Golden State Warriors put away the Houston Rockets in the fourth quarter of a 123-110 victory Tuesday night. Even with a remarkable 47-4 record, Golden State are far from satisfied.

“We can definitely play better and just sustain our level of play and be more consistent over 48 minutes. It’s hard,” Curry said. “As long as you keep that at the forefront and challenge yourselves, that’s what hopefully inspires to continue to get better.”

Andrew Bogut added 13 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and a season-high six blocked shots — three in the fourth — during one of his best games yet.

“Bogut was phenomenal,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.

Iguodala and Harrison Barnes hit consecutive 3-pointers to start the fourth quarter to get the defending champions going after the game was tied at 93 after the third.

Golden State won their 42nd straight regular-season home game and are 24-0 at Oracle Arena this season. The Warriors are within two home victories of matching the Chicago Bulls’ NBA-record home winning streak of 44 games from March 30, 1995, to April 4, 1996.

James Harden overcame a scoreless first quarter to finish with 37 points, five assists and five rebounds in Houston’s eighth straight loss to Golden State.

“We didn’t win the game but we gained some momentum. It was a competitive game against an undefeated team at home and we put ourselves in a position to win,” Harden said.

At Miami, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 28 points, Kawhi Leonard added 23 and the San Antonio Spurs got seven points on one possession in the fourth quarter to help them beat the Heat 119-101 on Tuesday night.

Danny Green added 15 for the Spurs, who have won six straight over the Heat going back to the 2014 NBA finals.

Dwyane Wade scored 20 points on 9 for 12 shooting for Miami, which goes into the All-Star break on a two-game slide. Chris Bosh scored 18 and Hassan Whiteside added 14 points and six rebounds before getting ejected in that pivotal possession in the fourth.

Whiteside was assessed a flagrant-2 for elbowing the Spurs’ Boban Marjanovic as they tried to get position for a rebound. That was part of a seven-point trip for the Spurs, who pushed an 87-80 lead to 94-80 in 16 seconds and weren’t threatened again.

At Dallas, Gordon Hayward hit a fade away jumper at the buzzer in overtime and Utah extended their season-best winning streak to seven games with a 121-119 victory over the Mavericks.

Rodney Hood had a tying 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left in regulation as the Jazz ended a 10-game losing streak in Dallas. Their last win on the Mavericks’ home court was January 9, 2010.

Hood finished with 29 points, and Hayward had 20, including 13 in the second half and overtime.

Chandler Parsons led Dallas with 24 points but missed an open 3-pointer for the lead with 24 seconds left in the Mavericks’ second straight overtime game and NBA-high eighth of the season.

At New York, John Wall had 28 points and 17 assists, Bradley Beal scored 26, and Washington beat New York 111-108 in the Knicks’ first game under Kurt Rambis.

Wall made four free throws in the final 6.6 seconds and the Wizards held on when Langston Galloway’s 3-pointer at the buzzer was just short.

Carmelo Anthony had 33 points and 13 rebounds, but the Knicks lost their sixth straight in their first game since firing Derek Fisher on Monday. They have dropped 10 of 11 and started Rambis’ era the same way Fisher’s ended, by quickly falling in a huge early hole.

At Milwaukee, Khris Middleton made one of two free throws with 0.6 seconds left as Milwaukee defeated Boston 112-111.

Middleton drew a foul on Avery Bradley to get to the line. Boston had tied the game when Kelly Olynyk made two free throws with one second remaining.

Milwaukee appeared to have won the game on Greg Monroe’s last-second hook shot, giving the Bucks a 111-109 lead. Olynyk then drew the foul with no time expiring off the clock.

Monroe, who was removed from the starting line-up, had 29 points and 12 rebounds as the Bucks ended a five-game losing streak.

Crowder and Bradley had 18 points each for the Celtics.

PARIS — FIFA presidential candidate Sheikh Salman is calling on voters to agree on a single candidate ahead of the election.

In an interview with The Associated Press (AP) on Tuesday, Sheikh Salman dismissed suggestions that winning a contested election would give him a stronger mandate to lead world football’s governing body.

“If we go to election there will be losers and maybe sometimes you need to avoid that result,” he said.

The Bahraini royal and UEFA general secretary, Gianni Infantino, are seen as front runners among five candidates in the February 26 vote.

Sheikh Salman said it was best for FIFA if “we have a clear indication on who will be elected”.

“We have to be realistic. We know the chances of each candidate,” said the Asian Football Confederation president, who has the majority backing of his own continent and from African football leaders. The two blocs count for 100 of the 209 FIFA voting federations.

“Every day we calculate. I am sure that, of course, it is positive,” Sheikh Salman said. “I hope that Europe looks at it from an organisational point of view, and not an individual, on what is best.

“And if there is an agreement then I think it is a win-win. Everybody is involved and everybody has a share of the power and gets involved in the decision-making. But everybody has the right to run and go ahead. It is not up to me to decide on that.”

A pre-election deal to unite behind one man was suggested last week by FIFA executive committee member Vitaly Mutko, the Russian sports minister.

“Mr Mutko’s comments reflect the feeling of a lot of people around,” Sheikh Salman said. “It can be done through [the national federations]. They can persuade.”

The two election front runners were both in Paris on Tuesday with their campaign teams.

Sheikh Salman met with the AP on Tuesday in a five-star hotel about one kilometre from another hotel where Infantino attended a meeting of leading European clubs.

The sheikh declined to confirm if there had been direct talks between the two camps.

Infantino declined to speak about FIFA issues before presenting his election pitch at the European Club Association meeting.

One deal option for Asia and Europe has been aired often since the campaign took shape last October — that Sheikh Salman becomes FIFA president with Infantino as his secretary general.

“Europe has to look after its interests as well,” Sheikh Salman acknowledged. “We are open for dialogue. The decision is not just my decision now. I have a partner now and Africa is my partner and I will consult with the Africans on all future steps.”

CLEVELAND — LeBron James had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his 40th career triple-double, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 120-100 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.

Kyrie Irving matched his season high with 32 points for Cleveland. The point guard was 13 of 21 from the field and tied his career high with 12 assists.

It was James’ first triple-double of the season. The four-time MVP rested during the fourth quarter.

Cleveland went ahead early in the game and steadily built their lead against the listless Kings, who have dropped eight of nine.

Rudy Gay and Omri Casspi led Sacramento with 16 points each.

Clippers 98, 76ers 92, OT

J.J. Redick had 23 points, including the tying three-pointer late in regulation and Jamal Crawford also scored 23 points to lead the short-handed Clippers to the win.

The Clippers overcame their largest deficit in a victory this season, coming back from 19 points down to win their 19th game in the last 23 overall and 12th in the last 14 on the road.

Jerami Grant had 17 points to lead the 76ers, who were looking for their first winning streak of the season.

Los Angeles took control in overtime, scoring the first eight points in the extra session as Philadelphia missed 10 straight shots to end regulation and start OT.

Magic 117, Hawks 110, OT

Nikola Vucevic scored 25 of his 28 points after halftime and Orlando rallied from 20 points down to beat Atlanta in overtime.

Orlando, which trailed by 20 in the opening period and by 18 in the third, took their first lead at 96-94 on Mario Hezonja’s three-pointer with 3:33 remaining in regulation.

Orlando scored the first six points of overtime, including a jumper by Vucevic, who also had 13 rebounds. Kyle Korver’s three-pointer pulled the Hawks to 112-110, but Evan Fournier answered with a 3 for the Magic.

Al Horford led Atlanta with 27 points, and Paul Millsap had 22 points and 13 rebounds.

Trail Blazers 112, Grizzlies 106, OT

Damian Lillard scored 33 points for Portland, and C.J. McCollum had six of his 21 points in overtime.

McCollum scored the first three baskets of OT to create a buffer for the Trail Blazers.

Mike Conley led Memphis with 27 points. Zach Randolph added 26 points as the Grizzlies lost their second straight overtime game.

Thunder 122, Suns 106

Kevin Durant scored 25 of his 32 points in the second half and Oklahoma City pulled away in the final four minutes to hand Phoenix its eighth consecutive loss.

The Suns, losers of 23 of their last 25 games, were in it most of the way and led by as many as six late in the third quarter. But Durant sank two three-pointers in a 16-4 Oklahoma City run to finish the game.

Russell Westbrook added 29 points for the Thunder, who were coming off a 116-108 loss at Golden State on Saturday night.

Markieff Morris scored 23 points for Phoenix, and Archie Goodwin had 20.

Raptors 103, Pistons 89

Kyle Lowry scored 25 points, and Toronto went on an 11-2 run at the start of the fourth quarter to pull away for their 14th victory in 15 games.

Terrence Ross added 18 points for the Raptors, who recovered quickly after Detroit’s Andre Drummond made a shot from about 24m to end the third quarter. Toronto led 70-65 at the start of the fourth, and Lowry’s driving three-point play set the tone for the final period.

Drummond had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Pistons.

Nets 105, Nuggets 104

Joe Johnson’s three-pointer at the buzzer lifted Brooklyn to the victory.

Thaddeus Young scored 20 points for the Nets. Markel Brown added a career-high 19 and Johnson finished with 12 points and eight assists.

Danilo Gallinari had 24 points and Kenneth Faried added 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Nuggets.

Pelicans 116, Timberwolves 102

Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday scored 27 points apiece, and New Orleans snapped a four-game losing streak.

Davis grabbed eight rebounds and Holiday had nine assists and five boards as well. Ryan Anderson chipped in 26 points and the Pelicans turned 12 turnovers into 21 points while turning the ball over just four times themselves.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who were looking for their first three-game winning streak since November 27. They shot 44 per cent and trailed by as many as 28 in a lacklustre effort.

Pacers 89, Lakers 87

Indiana’s Paul George scored all seven of his second-half points in the final 71 seconds and Monta Ellis made two free throws with 20.6 seconds left to clinch the win.

George finished with 21 points and nine rebounds. Myles Turner added 14 points and 13 rebounds on a night the Pacers (28-24) blew a 17-point second-half lead, and then scored nine straight points for the win.

Kobe Bryant scored 19 points in his final appearance in Indianapolis. He made three straight three-pointers to give the Lakers an 82-79 lead with 2:30 left to play. But he also missed two threes in the final 20 seconds.

Los Angeles (11-43) has dropped 16 of its last 19 games.

Hornets 108, Bulls 91

Kemba Walker scored 30 points, powering Charlotte to the victory.

Nicolas Batum had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Hornets, who won their third straight over the Bulls at home. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 20 points.

Pau Gasol finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds for Chicago.

AMMAN — Shabab Urdun, Faisali and Ahli now share the lead as teams head into Week 13 of the 64th Jordan Professional Football League which resumed with some surprising results.

It was Ahli’s downing of Faisali 2-1 in the opening week of Leg 2 that drew most attention as they also beat them 1-0 in the Jordan Cup semis and have a chance to consolidate their advanced position further when they play Sarih.  Shabab Urdun beat Ramtha 3-0 and have an easy match against bottom placed Asala, who have only one win. Ramtha are now 7th and next play Faisali.

Wihdat beat Asala 1-0 and next play Kufrsoum who lost 2-1 to Jazira. The latter are fifth and next play Hussein Irbid.

Sarih were no easy prey as they beat Baqa’a 1-0 to keep fifth place. The latter play That Ras who beat Hussein Irbid 2-1 and are now 10th.

Faisali, Shabab Urdun, Ahli and Wihdat were the top four when Leg 1 concluded with inconsistent results. As the national team regrouped, teams scrambled to assess and bolster their line-up with Wihdat and Ahli signing two pros from Brazil, Faisali signing Khalil Bani Atiya and Moayyad Abu Kishk after their top scorer moved to the UAE, while Ahli signed former Ramtha star and top scorer Rakan Khalidi. Baqa’a who were a team in the upper half of the standings contracted Iraqi coach Tha’er Jassam hoping to change their fortunes in Leg 1. 

So far this season, Jordan Cup holders Faisali beat league titleholders Wihdat 1-0 to win the 33rd Super Cup. Wihdat were also knockout out of the Jordan Cup this season.

Standings  (Previous position in parenthesis) 

AMMAN — Their Royal Highnesses Prince Ali and Princess Haya on Tuesday sent a letter to Jibril Rajoub, president of the Palestinian Football Federation, in which they expressed their gratitude and appreciation of the federation’s decision to support Prince Ali’s candidacy for FIFA presidency.

They said the Palestinian stance is an extension of “the deep-rooted” relations between the Jordanian and the Palestinian peoples, who have lived together and shared common values, according to the Jordan News agency, Petra. 

AMMAN — Wihdat lost to Saudi Arabia’s Ittihad Jeddah 1-2 on Tuesday in their 2016 Asian Football Confederation Asian Champions League match in Jeddah.

With this loss, the Jordanian club failed to advance past the preliminary round.

BOSTON — Avery Bradley scored 25 points, Isiah Thomas had 22 and the Boston Celtics held off the Sacramento Kings 128-119 on Sunday for their ninth win in 10 games.

Jared Sullinger matched his season high with 21 points and reserve Tyler Zeller had a season high 17 with seven rebounds for Boston, which committed a season high 24 turnovers but shot 56 per cent.

DeMarcus Cousins led Sacramento with 31 points. Marco Belinelli and Darren Collison each had 16 points. The Kings have lost seven of eight.

Nuggets 101, Knicks 96

Rookie Emmanuel Mudiay scored nine of his 15 points during a decisive fourth-quarter run, and Denver beat the fading Knicks.

Former Knicks forward Danilo Gallinari and Will Barton each had 19 points to lead the Nuggets, who won for the third time in four games. But it was Mudiay, who was just 2 for 12 through three quarters, who delivered nearly all the points during an 11-2 spurt that put the Nuggets in control after the game was tied at 86-all.

Kristaps Porzingis had 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who have lost five in a row and nine of 10 since they were 22-22 and looking like a realistic play-off team.

Carmelo Anthony returned to face his former team after missing a game to rest his sore left knee, finishing with 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

Clippers 100, Heat 93

Chris Paul had a game-high 22 points, Jamal Crawford added 20 off the bench and the Clippers beat the Heat.

J.J. Redick scored 14 points, Wesley Johnson had 10 and DeAndre Jordan and Cole Aldrich grabbed 11 rebounds each for the Clippers, who won despite missing 14 consecutive shots in the first quarter and swept the two-game season series with Miami.

Paul started 0 for 9, but made two three-pointers late to help seal it for the Clippers.

Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic all scored 17 points for Miami, which missed a chance to finish the day fourth in the Eastern Conference standings.

Magic 96, Hawks 94

Nik Vucevic hit a shot from 5.4m at the buzzer and the Magic beat the Hawks.

Elfrid Payton, who set up Vucevic’s winning shot with an inbounds pass, scored or assisted the Magic’s final six baskets as they won for only the third time in 18 games in 2016.

The Magic had gone scoreless since Payton’s jump shot with 3:41 left, squandering a 94-86 lead.

Vucevic led Orlando with 22 points and nine rebounds and Evan Fournier, starting in place of the injured Tobias Harris, added 21 points. Payton had 12 points and 12 assists.

Jeff Teague scored 24 for the Hawks.

Meanwhile, when the NBA convenes All-Star weekend in Toronto beginning on Friday, the league’s annual “midseason” showcase will be as strong top to bottom as it has been in some time. But that doesn’t mean there couldn’t be ways to add more flavour and different twists to keep things fresh.

With that in mind, TNT analysts Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith were asked if there were any changes they would like to see the league make to one of its most popular events of the season. And like most other matters concerning the game, the trio didn’t hesitate to offer some suggestions.

“I would love to see an outdoor game,” Barkley said. “That would be my suggestion.”

That wouldn’t work in Toronto next weekend, obviously. But why not give it a shot when the All-Star Game next goes to Miami or Phoenix or Los Angeles?

Barkley also would like to see the league try a United States versus the world format to get away from the Eastern Conference versus the Western Conference matchup used ever since the game was first played in 1951. With the influx of international talent to the league and the NBA’s global reach, it’s an intriguing thought. This year the Rising Stars Challenge featuring the best rookies and sophomores will be played that way.

“We’ve got enough international players now to make it competitive,” Barkley said. “I think that would be exciting.”

Smith would like to see a non-NBA player get a chance to compete against LaVine and the league’s other high flyers in the dunk contest and also wouldn’t mind seeing past three-point champions get to come back and face the winners of today.

Shaq proposed a tournament of 1-on-1 games featuring the All-Stars, with the winner taking home $1 million to ratchet up the competition.