By the Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — Patty Mills came off the bench to score 31 points and the San Antonio Spurs beat Golden State 127-110 on Friday night, hours after the Warriors learned they will be without injured star Stephen Curry for at least three months.

LaMarcus Aldridge added 22 points for the Spurs (4-1), who were coming off their first loss of the season a night earlier.

D’Angelo Russell led Golden State (1-4) with 30 points.

The game was an indication of the uphill battle facing Golden State without Curry, who underwent surgery after breaking his left hand Wednesday against Phoenix.

Russell couldn’t carry the Warriors alone, even with three teammates in double figures. Rookie Jordan Poole scored 20.

Warriors fans began filing out of the new Chase Center midway through the fourth quarter. Golden State is winless in three home games this season.

Russell scored 19 points in the first half and the Warriors were within two points at the break, 57-55.

The Spurs took control in the third period, scoring 40 points and taking a 97-86 lead. That included 12 points from Aldridge in the quarter and a 13-2 Spurs run.

Mills, who starred in college for Saint Mary’s in nearby Moraga, California, hit six of his nine 3-point attempts and finished three points shy of his career high of 34 points. That career-best game came against the Warriors on April 26, 2012.

LaVine scores 26 as Bulls beat Pistons

Trailing by one in the closing minutes, the Chicago Bulls were looking for someone to hit the big shots. Zach LaVine delivered the baskets they needed.

LaVine scored 26 points, Otto Porter Jr. added 22, and the Bulls overcame a big effort by Derrick Rose against his former team to beat the Detroit Pistons 112-106 on Friday night.

Rose delighted the hometown crowd with 23 points and seven assists. But the Bulls came away with the win after dropping three in a row while handing the Pistons their fourth loss in five games.

LaVine put Chicago ahead for good with back-to-back 3-pointers and added four free throws in the final 11.5 seconds.

“Somebody’s got to step up to the plate,” he said. “I think I’m that dude.”

Porter did his part, shooting 8 of 12 and nailing three 3’s. Wendell Carter Jr. added 16 points and 11 rebounds, and the Bulls snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Pistons.

Chicago, which led by as much as 16, trailed 100-99 after a layup by Tony Snell.

But LaVine responded by hitting back-to-back 3’s to put the Bulls back on top 105-100 with three minutes left.

Chicago was clinging to a 107-104 lead with just over a minute remaining when Tomas Satoransky got called for traveling. But Rose missed a runner.

After LaVine missed a layup, Snell missed a 3 for Detroit. Carter then made 1 of 2 free throws with 17.5 seconds remaining to make it 108-104. Kennard then missed a 3, and LaVine hit two free throws, bumping the lead to six with 11.5 seconds left.

Rose’s return

Rose got a loud ovation when he entered the game in the first quarter and heard those familiar “MVP! MVP!” chants from the Chicago crowd throughout the night. The South Side product flashed some of the old explosiveness that made him the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2008 and NBA’s youngest MVP three years later, before injuries derailed his promising career with the Bulls.

“I felt the love out there,” Rose said. “I wish we would have gotten the win, but coming here is always special and playing here is always special.”

Andre Drummond led Detroit with 25 points and 24 rebounds — his third 20-20 game this season.

Luke Kennard scored 15 and made three 3-pointers. But the Pistons missed their first 14 from beyond the arc before he hit one late in the first half and were 6 of 29 in the game.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

NEW YORK — Even though James Harden’s jumpers weren’t falling, Nets coach Kenny Atkinson wanted to make sure his players kept defending them.

So he held up a sign with a picture of former Orlando Magic player Dennis Scott, wearing his No. 3 uniform, with a red line crossing through it.

The message came through loud and clear.

“It was a ridiculous sign,” center Jarrett Allen said, “but it made us look and it worked.”

Taurean Prince had 27 points and 12 rebounds, and the Nets slowed down Harden and the Houston Rockets in a 123-116 victory Friday night.

Two nights after scoring a franchise-record 159 points in a victory at Washington, the Rockets couldn’t get nearly enough shots to drop after opening an early 15-point lead. They went 12 for 48 from 3-point range, with Harden a dismal 2 for 16 in the face of an improved Nets defense — and Atkinson’s unusual sign.

“It’s just a defensive coverage we have and we’ve had trouble communicating it to the guys in the past, so we came up with this idea to find a way to communicate so everyone knows,” Atkinson said. “Sometimes if you use humor in things it sinks in a little more with the guys.”

Harden, the NBA’s leading scorer last season, fell to 14 for 70 from behind the arc this season.

“I had a lot of opportunities,” Harden said. “The 3-ball hasn’t been going for me but I’m just going to continue to shoot. I was here yesterday, this morning was here shooting so I’m not worried about it. Those are good shots. Those are shots that I’ve been taking the last couple of years, so even if teams are trying to take the 3-ball away, I’m going to still shoot them.”

Harden finished with 36 points and eight assists, but he was 10 for 31 from the field. Russell Westbrook added 27 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

The Nets also forced sixth man Eric Gordon to miss all five 3s in his 0-for-7 night. Westbrook was 1 for 6.
“Wide open,” Westbrook said. “Just got to make them.”

Neither Harden nor Kyrie Irving was at his best in a matchup of the NBA’s two leading scorers.

Harden came in leading the league with 36.8 points per game, and scored 59 in the Washington outburst. Irving was at 35.3 per game and had scored at least 26 in all four games, but he finished with 22 points on 7-for-18 shooting with 10 assists.

The Nets didn’t need a big scoring performance from him in a well-balanced effort. Caris LeVert scored 25 points, Garrett Temple had 16 and Joe Harris 15.

Houston led 45-30 early in the second quarter, but LeVert scored 12 points in the period to send the Nets into halftime with a 61-59 lead.

Prince hit two 3-pointers during his run of eight straight points for Brooklyn that extended the lead to 85-73, and the Nets were still up 12 after three.

Westbrook had three baskets early in the fourth as Houston climbed within eight, but then he checked out for a few minutes when Harden came back on, and the Rockets’ push fizzled.

Pacers beat Cavaliers behind Brogdon’s 25 points

Malcolm Brogdon is putting up some big numbers for the Indiana Pacers.

The newcomer filled the box score again Friday night with 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists to push the injury-riddled Pacers to their first home win of the season, 102-95 over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“I love it. This is a basketball city, a basketball state,” Brogdon said. “People show me a lot of love. I’m going to enjoy playing here.”

Especially as victories come. With their defense tightening and the bench finally finding its stride Friday, the Pacers have won two straight games after starting 0-3.

In avenging a 110-99 loss in Cleveland last weekend, Indiana held the Cavaliers to 37% shooting and forced 16 turnovers in an uncharacteristically low-scoring game.

Jeremy Lamb totaled 21 points and 10 rebounds for Indiana, and Domantas Sabonis added 18 points and 17 rebounds, but it was the second unit that broke open a close game in the fourth quarter.

Reserves accounted for 10 points in a 12-3 run that provided the Pacers an 82-71 advantage, the largest for either side all night. T.J. McConnell, who finished with five points and six assists, faked Collin Sexton into a foul in the lane and completed a three-point play. Rookie center Goga Bitazde, who finished with 10 points and nine boards and blocked four shots, drained his first 3-pointer during the sequence.

“They told me I’ve got to be ready any time,” Bitazde said. “We’re all for each other. We have good chemistry. We’ve just got to try to keep doing this.”

Indiana outscored the Cavaliers by 15 points in the 25 minutes the 6-foot-11 first-round pick roamed the floor. Bitazde seized his opportunity as Indiana played without the injured All-Star guard Victor Oladipo and starting center Myles Turner.

“Goga made huge plays,” Lamb said.

Brogdon drained four clutch free throws in the final minute to keep the Cavaliers at bay. Jordan Clarkson, who finished with 20 points and five assists, missed a 3 from the left side that would have brought Cleveland within three points in the final minute.

Brogdon was acquired in a July sign-and-trade deal with Milwaukee, where he played shooting guard and averaged 15.6 points and 4.5 rebounds.

With his new team, at a new position, the fourth-year professional has upped his scoring to 22.6 points per game along with 10.2 assists and 5.8 rebounds.

Sexton had 21 points for the Cavs, who led 26-19 after the first quarter but fell into a 42-37 hole at halftime. Indiana, which shot 41% for the game and missed 22 of 27 3-point tries, was ahead 68-61 entering the final period.

“I thought our bench did a good job in that first half as well as the second lifting us and getting us going.” Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. “You might have nights like that where your shot’s not falling, and you’re going to need your bench to help you.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

DALLAS — LeBron James faced the crowd and sidestepped his way up the floor after a punctuating 3-pointer in overtime made possible by Danny Green’s buzzer-beating 3 in regulation.

The Lakers star took an extra peek toward the national TV crew at center court, perhaps to gauge the entertainment value of the first matchup of the 15-time All-Star alongside Anthony Davis against Dallas’ young European pair of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis.

The extra period was anticlimactic — but didn’t really take away from the second half that preceded it.

Davis started overtime with back-to-back dunks after Green’s corner 3, and the Lakers beat the Mavericks 119-110 on Friday night amid matching triple-doubles from James and Doncic, the Slovenian who grew up admiring the four-time MVP.

“You never know who you can inspire along your path,” James said. “For me, playing the game the right way, getting my teammates involved and playing for the purity of the game, I was able to inspire a kid that wasn’t even in America. That’s pretty special.”

James had a season-high 39 points with 16 assists and 10 rebounds, while Doncic finished with 31 points, a career-high 15 assists and 13 boards.

According to the NBA, they became the youngest and oldest players in NBA history with triple-doubles that included at least 30 points and 15 assists, doing so in the same game.

The 20-year-old Doncic, who grew up modeling his game after James, had his 10th career triple-double, extending his record for the most for a player under 21. James, who has 82 for his career, is third on that list with five.

James had nine points in overtime, starting with a three-point play that followed Davis’ dunks for a second 10-0 run going back to regulation — following one that immediately wiped out a 10-point halftime lead to start the third quarter.

The last of Doncic’s assists went to Dorian Finney-Smith for a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute of regulation. The Mavericks got a stop, but Dwight Powell missed one of two free throws to keep their lead at three, setting up Green’s tying corner 3 on James’ 14th assist.

The Mavericks had a foul to give when James dribbled inside the 3-point line before finding Green.

“That’s on me,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “Our plan in that situation was to foul a guy on the catch in a non-shooting situation. But the fact that we were unable to do it is on me.”

Davis had 31 points and eight rebounds. Kristaps Porzingis finished with 16 points and nine boards after a fast start for the 7-foot-3 Latvian that included a crossover dribble 3-pointer in front of Davis in the best test yet of opposing big-name duos for him and Doncic.

Doncic had his triple-double before the end of the third quarter, helping the Mavericks restore all but one point of a 10-point halftime lead after the Lakers put together a 10-0 run coming out of halftime.

“You can’t watch this game and say the NBA isn’t one of the most enjoyable things to watch in the world,” Carlisle said. “We’re not happy about losing. That’s all.”

The Mavericks expanded a nine-point lead to 11 in the first half despite being without Doncic and Porzingis for nearly a full quarter because of foul trouble.

Part of the reason was the season debut of 7-foot-4 (formerly 7-3) Boban Marjanovic, who had four points and seven rebounds along with three fouls in 11 minutes.

Bucks roll past Magic behind Antetokounmpo’s 29 points

It was a pretty typical performance for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Donte DiVincenzo was a bit of a surprise.

Antetokounmpo had 29 points and 14 rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks pounded the Orlando Magic 123-91 on Friday night.

While the reigning NBA MVP was great once again, DiVincenzo scored 14 points in his most extensive action so far this season. He played two minutes in the Bucks’ first four games and had not taken a shot.

DiVincenzo went 4 for 7 from 3-point range. He also contributed three assists and two steals in 17 minutes.

“He hasn’t played all season, and one thing I told him was to stay ready,” Antetokounmpo said. “You’re going to get your opportunity, and he was ready tonight.”

Eric Bledsoe added 18 points, six rebounds and six assists for Milwaukee, which was coming off a 116-105 loss at Boston on Wednesday night. Khris Middleton added 16 points and six rebounds.

The Bucks grabbed control by making nine 3-pointers during a key stretch in the first half. They went 17 for 47 from beyond the arc on the night.

Evan Fournier led Orlando with 19 points. Nikola Vucevic had 14 points and seven rebounds.

Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez, Bledsoe, Ersan Ilyasova (two), Sterling Brown, George Hill and DiVincenzo (two) connected from long range during a 32-7 run for the Bucks.

“You could feel things shifting in that first quarter,” DiVincenzo said. “Everybody on our team is so unselfish. We have guys who could get 25 every night, but instead we have a balanced attack and guys getting open looks.”

After making eight of their first nine shots on their way to a 20-7 lead, the Magic were outscored 40-9 over the next 11 minutes, most of it by Milwaukee’s reserves.

“Orlando was doing a lot of things well early, but our bench came in and flipped the script,” said Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer. “We had really good bench play tonight.”

The Bucks led 79-51 after Middleton scored seven straight points midway through the third quarter.

Milwaukee shot 50.5 percent for the game. The Bucks also had a 57-41 rebound advantage and scored 54 points in the paint.

“They were wide open, wide open … wide open. It wasn’t like they made all these great shots, it was wide open,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said. “It was an unacceptable effort against a great team and they played well.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

DUBLIN — Conor McGregor has been fined 1,000 euros ($1,120) for assaulting a man in a pub.

The retired mixed martial arts fighter from Ireland pleaded guilty to a charge of assault during an appearance at Dublin District Court.

Video footage of the incident in April was played in the hearing.

McGregor accepted his actions were “very wrong”, telling the judge: “I assure you nothing of this nature will happen again.”

The 31-year-old McGregor hasn’t fought in MMA since losing by submission to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018. He was banned for six months and fined $50,000 for his part in a post-fight brawl.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump will welcome the come-from-behind Washington Nationals who will celebrate their World Series victory Monday on the South Lawn of the White House.

The Nationals beat the Houston Astros 6-2 on Wednesday to clinch the title in Game 7 of the World Series. They are the first World Series winner with all four victories on the road.

Trump attended part of Game 5 at Nationals Park in Washington and was greeted with both cheers and boos.

When the boos began as Trump’s image flashed on the ballpark’s giant video screen, the president seemed momentarily taken aback. He mouthed something to his wife, Melania Trump, while gamely trying to clap along.

But his smile froze and then faded as the boos continued and some in the crowd launched into a brief chant of “Lock him up,” a version of the phrase chanted against Hillary Clinton at dozens of Trump rallies during the 2016 campaign.

The Washington Post reported that relief pitcher Sean Doolittle confirmed he does not plan to participate in the White House visit.

Doolittle and his wife, Eireann Dolan, have worked with Syrian refugees and military veterans, as well as supporting gay rights. He has not specifically spoken out against Trump.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

NEW YORK — Carlos Beltrán, two years removed from his playing career and with no managerial experience, has been picked by the New York Mets to replace Mickey Callaway.

Beltrán received a three-year contract that includes a club option for 2023. The Mets announced the move Friday.

A nine-time All-Star during 20 major league seasons, Beltrán played for the Mets from 2005-11.

He interviewed to become New York Yankees manager after the 2017 season, when Aaron Boone was hired, and spent this season as an adviser to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.

“At the beginning it’s a little bit overwhelming. There’s a lot of information that you have to digest,” Beltran said after he was interviewed by the Yankees two years ago. “Being a player and being able to play this game for such a long time, I have seen a lot, and I have seen the importance of what players need in the clubhouse.”

The 42-year-old Beltrán becomes the first minority to fill one of the eight major league manager vacancies this offseason. Those jobs filled are: the Chicago Cubs (David Ross), Kansas City (Mike Matheny), the Los Angeles Angels (Joe Maddon), Philadelphia (Joe Girardi) and San Diego (Jayce Tingler). Pittsburgh and San Francisco remain open.

Callaway was hired by then-general manager Sandy Alderson and led New York to a disappointing 77-85 record in his first season. Brodie Van Wagenen replaced Alderson as GM and proclaimed the Mets favorite to win the NL East.

But New York fell to 41-51 with a loss in its first game following the All-Star break and could climb only to the periphery of the wild-card race before finishing 86-76, third in the division behind Atlanta and World Series champion Washington.

“Congratulations to Carlos. We are thrilled, as we know our passionate fans will be, to have him back in the family,” Mets COO Jeff Wilpon said in a statement. “Thanks to Brodie and the entire baseball operations staff on this expansive, diverse and collaborative managerial search process.”

Beltrán will be the fourth current manager born in Puerto Rico, joining Boston’s Alex Cora, Toronto’s Charlie Montoyo and Washington’s Dave Martinez.

He signed a $119 million, seven-year contract with the Mets in January 2005 and helped them win the NL East in 2006, but he took a called third strike with the bases loaded against Adam Wainwright, ending New York’s 3-1 loss to St. Louis in Game 7 of the 2006 NL Championship Series.

Beltrán got into a flap with Mets management in January 2010 when he had surgery on his right knee without their approval. Beltrán went to Colorado to be examined by Dr. Richard Steadman, who operated. Assistant general manager John Ricco said at the time the team wanted to discuss Steadman’s diagnosis and possibly seek a third opinion but was never given the opportunity.

With New York out of contention in 2011, the Mets traded Beltrán to San Francisco that July for pitcher Zack Wheeler.

Beltrán finished with a .279 average, 435 home runs, 1,587 RBIs and 312 stolen bases for Kansas City (1998-04), Houston (2004, 2017), the Mets (2005-11), San Francisco (2011), St. Louis (2012-13), the Yankees (2014-16) and Texas (2016).

Note: The Mets declined their $9.5 million option for 2020 on outfielder Juan Lagares, who will receive a $500,000 buyout and become a free agent. The option was part of a five-year contract that guaranteed $23,553,696. Lagares hit .213 this year with five homers and 27 RBIs in 258 at-bats. New York also said infielder Joe Panik and left-hander Donnie Hart declined outright assignments to Triple-A Syracuse and elected to become free agents.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

WASHINGTON— The Washington Nationals are getting a hero’s welcome home from a city that had been thirsting for a World Series championship for nearly a century.

Tens of thousands of fans are expected for a parade Saturday honoring the Nationals, who won a nail-biting, come-from-behind victory against the Houston Astros in Game 7 to clinch the World Series.

“When they tell you dreams come true, point them toward our @Nationals,” Mayor Muriel Bowser tweeted Thursday. “Tell them they do.”

She included the hashtag SportsCapital, a reference, too, to the Washington Capitals’ Stanley Cup championship in 2018 and the Washington Mystics’ WNBA championship this year.

“For the first time in 95 years, the #WorldSeries champions are from Washington, DC,” the Nationals tweeted after the Wednesday night win. Before the Nationals, the last Washington team to win a World Series was the Senators in 1924.

President Donald Trump has invited the Nationals to the White House on Monday. The president attended Game 5 of the series in Washington and was greeted with loud boos when he was shown on the giant video screen during a tribute to veterans. They more than overwhelmed a scattering of cheers.

In a capital city divided by politics, race and economics, the Nats were something of a unifier — at least for the time being — as partisans and nonpartisans alike openly congratulated one another on their team’s win. There were lines at The Washington Post’s downtown office Thursday as fans sought to buy a copy of the day’s paper celebrating the win and a 12-page commemorative edition with a single-word headline blazoned across the top of the front page: CHAMPS!

Saturday’s parade was beginning on Constitution Avenue and then merging onto Pennsylvania Avenue for a rally just a few blocks from the Capitol.

When the Capitals won the Stanley Cup championship in 2018, it was estimated that hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets along the parade route to celebrate.

“Hey @Nationals – #WorldSeries Championship party at our house on Sunday night see you there,” the Capitals tweeted Friday.

The NHL team planned to honor the Nationals in a pregame ceremony before taking the ice against the Calgary Flames.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

SHENZHEN, China— Karolina Pliskova advanced to the semifinals of the WTA Finals for the third straight year, beating Simona Halep 6-0, 2-6, 6-4 Friday shortly after defending champion Elina Svitolina completed a near-perfect group stage.

Pliskova benefited from a bit of luck on match point, hitting a forehand that caught the top of the net and dropped over for a final break of serve.

“It was big relief after this point because I felt it was going to end up in the net,” Pliskova said. “I was kind of happy, of course.

“Felt sorry for her because the match was so close.”

In the semifinals, Pliskova will take on top-ranked Ash Barty — Australia’s first female year-end No. 1.

Svitolina, who made it through the group stage without dropping a set, beat replacement Sofia Kenin 7-5, 7-6 (10) earlier Friday. She will next face Belinda Bencic.

Svitolina had already qualified for the semifinals from the Purple Group before the match. She saved two set points in the second set before finally winning the match on her sixth match point.

“I am that kind of person that each time I step on the court I have to win,” Svitolina said. “My parents raised me this way, that I have to fight for everything, I have to give 100% each time I play.

“They would be very angry if I would just give this match to her. And my grandmother, as well, she would be very sad.”

Kenin was playing her only match of the tournament after replacing the injured Bianca Andreescu.

“It was an amazing experience,” Kenin said. “I’m really happy to have experienced it. Hopefully for next year I can actually not be an alternate, yeah, and just play here.”

The 12th-ranked Kenin, who earned $165,000 for her appearance, was the second alternate to see action this week.

Kiki Bertens took Naomi Osaka’s place after the Japanese player withdrew with a right shoulder injury ahead of her second match. Bertens ended up retiring with a virus against Bencic during her second match on Thursday.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

PARIS — Top-ranked Novak Djokovic and No. 2 Rafael Nadal remain on course to face off in the Paris Masters finals, the 55th match in their intense rivalry, after winning their quarterfinals in straight sets on Friday.

Djokovic demolished seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-1, 6-2 after losing to the Greek three weeks ago in the Shanghai quarterfinals. It could have been even quicker since he led the first set 5-0, 40-0, but Tsitsipas saved three set points and held serve.

Nadal had a more demanding contest against 2008 champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, with the first set tiebreak reaching 3-3 after Nadal double faulted.

But when the veteran Spaniard broke the unseeded Frenchman at the start of the second he took control in a 7-6 (4), 6-1 win.

“It was a tough first set where I had to play at a very high level,” Nadal said after beating Tsonga for the 10th time in 14 meetings.

Nadal and Djokovic are vying for the year-end No. 1 ranking. Nadal will guarantee it for the fifth time if he wins the Paris Masters for the first time, while Djokovic is chasing a fifth title at Bercy Arena and a sixth year-end finish as No. 1.

In Saturday’s semifinals, he takes on Grigor Dimitrov while Nadal plays Denis Shapovalov.

Nadal is 1-1 in career meetings with the Canadian, while Djokovic has an 8-1 lead over the U.S. Open semifinalist Dimitrov.

Djokovic, chasing a 77th career title, even impressed himself with the level of his performance.

“I played one of the best matches of the season. I prepared myself very well for this match. I lost to Stefanos in Shanghai and obviously I went through the videos, understanding what I did well, what I didn’t do so well,” Djokovic said. “I served well. I read his serve very well, as well. Put him under pressure constantly.”

He broke Tsitsipas in the third game of the second set, then held and broke to love for 4-1. Tsitsipas, who dropped his serve four times, appeared to hurt his left ankle when retrieving a shot near the baseline in the second set.

Serving for the match, Djokovic clinched it on his first match point when Tsitsipas whipped a forehand long following a short rally.

Djokovic, last year’s runner-up, is wary of Dimitrov, who beat Roger Federer in the U.S. Open quarterfinals. Although Dimitrov has won only eight career titles — and none since the ATP Finals in 2017 for his biggest prize — Djokovic talked him up.

“He has been one of the best talents we had in the sport in the last decade for sure. There’s been a lot of comparison with his game and Federer’s game,” Djokovic said. “Since the U.S. Open he’s playing at a different level, a high level.

He always had the game; it’s just sometimes it’s a matter of things coming together, really, mentally and at the right time.”

Djokovic also noted that Dimitrov, who is set to break back into the top 20 rankings next week after plummeting to No. 78 in August, has found a way to overcome a weakness on backhand.

“The backhand was always his kind of weaker shot … so most of the players (tried) to attack that vulnerable side of his game,” Djokovic said. “But he mixes it up really well with the slice. He blocks a lot of returns and gets back into play and he moves extremely well. He’s one of the fittest guys on the tour. So that helps him, always being in the right position.”

Dimitrov reached his second semifinal this season by beating Cristian Garin 6-2, 7-5.

Shapovalov crushed Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-2, ending the Frenchman’s hopes of reaching the season-ending ATP Finals in London and sending U.S. Open semifinalist Matteo Berrettini there instead.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry will miss at least three months for the ailing Warriors because of a broken left hand that required surgery, the toughest blow yet early in an already difficult season for struggling Golden State following five straight trips to the NBA Finals.

Now, both Splash Brothers are on the sidelines, leaving Golden State thin in the backcourt while facing a 1-3 record and just trying to stay in games. Klay Thompson is recovering from surgery July 2 for a torn ACL in his left knee that he injured June 13 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals that won Toronto its first championship.

Before Friday night’s game against San Antonio, Warriors coach Steve Kerr acknowledged his team’s incredible injury misfortune, dating back to the Finals last spring when star forward Kevin Durant was lost to a ruptured Achilles tendon shortly before Thompson went down.

However, Kerr also stressed he didn’t want his players dwelling on the negative with so much season still ahead.

“It’s just insane what’s happened,” Kerr said. “But we’ve had a lot of good fortune here too over the years. So we don’t spend too much time thinking about what it all means. We just push forward and try to do our jobs.”

Curry underwent surgery Friday on the hand and second metacarpal of his index finger, and the team said he will miss at least three months but is expected to make a full recovery.

The Warriors announced Curry had undergone surgery Friday morning performed by Dr. Steven Shin at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles.

An update on his progress is planned after three months, which would be early February. If he makes that timeline or close to it that would give Curry about 30 games remaining in the regular season.

He has indicated he wants to play for the U.S. team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, so Curry likely would prefer to play games before that.

Specialists examined a CT scan Curry had Thursday, a day after the two-time MVP broke his non-shooting hand in the third quarter of a 121-110 home loss to the Phoenix Suns.

Kerr had planned to spend Thursday meeting with his coaching staff to prepare for how to move forward playing another man down.

He referenced Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who Kerr played under during his own career, as a leader who knew how to put seemingly disastrous situations into perspective for his players.

In his own pregame media session Friday, Popovich was asked about the coaching challenge facing Kerr in light of Curry’s injury, and Popovich predicted his former player wouldn’t coach the Warriors any differently.

“It’s not like he flips the script and teaches them something different,” the Spurs coach said. “Same fundamentals on both ends of the court. Whoever’s here next year will benefit from the teaching and competitiveness this year.

“They won’t miss a beat. They’ll just go on. Chances are they won’t be in the Finals, but that’s not the point.”

The Warriors, who follow Friday’s game by hosting Charlotte on Saturday, are also missing forward Kevon Looney.

He went into the weekend having missed four straight games because of a right hamstring injury and is scheduled to be evaluated early next week by a team of specialists because of an “on-going presence of a neuropathic condition in his body, which has a direct correlation to his recent injury.”

Looney is limited to controlled workouts with the training staff for now.

Curry was injured while driving to his left while defended by Kelly Oubre Jr. and with big man Aron Baynes standing in the paint. Curry leapt with the ball then came down head first, landing awkwardly on his hands as he tried to brace himself. Baynes then landed on Curry’s left hand.

The 31-year-old Curry grimaced in pain, grabbing at his fingers then walking to the locker room.

Source: Manila Bulletin