Category sport-news

Luka Doncic scored 31 points and LeBron James added 21 as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 94-85 to level their NBA Western Conference playoff series at one game apiece on Tuesday.

Slovenian star Doncic, acquired in a blockbuster February trade, also had 12 rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers, who led by as many as 22 and held on late in a bruising clash at Crypto.com Arena.

The Lakers bounced back from a blowout loss on their home floor, while elsewhere the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder seized 2-0 leads in their best-of-seven first-round series.

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The Pacers withstood another big performance from Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo and the return of Damian Lillard, beating the Bucks 123-115 in the East.

The Thunder followed up their crushing 51-point game-one victory over Memphis with another dominant win, beating the Grizzlies 118-99 in their Western Conference clash.

After a disjointed effort in their game-one loss, the Lakers rocketed out of the gate, taking a 10-point lead with 5:07 left in the first quarter and maintaining a double-digit advantage until midway through the fourth quarter.

James, chasing a fifth NBA title in his 22nd season, added 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers, who persevered in a physical game that saw the teams combine for 46 personal fouls.

Caught out early by the Lakers’ increased defensive intensity, the Timberwolves managed to apply some pressure in the final period, when the Lakers suddenly couldn’t get a basket to fall.

The Lakers scored just 13 points in the final period, but Minnesota — led by 27 points from Julius Randle and 25 from Anthony Edwards — couldn’t muster enough offense to capitalize.

“We played hard for 48 minutes,” Doncic said. “We played physical, that’s how we’ve got to play over the whole 48 minutes.”

In Indianapolis, Pascal Siakam scored 24 points and pulled down 11 rebounds and Tyrese Haliburton added 21 points and 12 assists for the Pacers, who saw a 15-point fourth-quarter lead slashed to two thanks to a 13-0 scoring run from the Bucks.

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 34 points, adding 18 rebounds and seven assists.

Lillard returns

Nine-time All-Star Lillard, playing his first game in five weeks after undergoing treatment for a blood clot in his right calf, scored 14 points and handed out seven assists for Milwaukee.

Lillard’s three-pointer with 2:33 to play pulled the Bucks within 115-113. But Siakam responded with a three-pointer.

Andrew Nembhard drilled another trey and the Pacers held on to win a game that was testy throughout.

A brief scuffle in the first quarter resulted in  technical fouls for Milwaukee’s Gary Trent Jr. and Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin. Siakam and Milwaukee’s Bobby Portis received technicals with less than two minutes to play, and there was plenty of jawing in between.

“It’s fun,” Haliburton said. “This is what everybody lives for. We’re all competitors, so having a lot of fun competing right now.”

In Oklahoma City, the Thunder showed no sign of a letdown after delivering the most lopsided game-one victory in NBA playoffs history.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points, Jalen Williams added 24 and Chet Holmgren delivered 20 points, 11 rebounds  and five blocked shots for the Thunder, who opened the game on a 9-0 run and led by as many as 23.

Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 26 points and Ja Morant added 23 for the Grizzlies, who showed signs of life in the third quarter only for Oklahoma City to open the fourth on a 9-0 run.

The Grizzlies wouldn’t get within 15 points the rest of the way.

Barcelona inched closer to the La Liga title with a 1-0 win over Mallorca on Tuesday which took them seven points clear of Real Madrid.

Spain international Dani Olmo slotted home to help Barca turn up the heat on second-placed champions Madrid, who visit Getafe on Wednesday.

Hansi Flick’s side, aiming for a potential quadruple, outplayed the visitors but could not extend their lead at the Olympic stadium as goalkeeper Leo Roman made save after save.

With Saturday’s Copa del Rey final against rivals Real Madrid in mind, Flick rested several of his usual starters.

The coach handed former teenage prodigy Ansu Fati his first start since October and deployed Hector Fort on the left of the defence, with Ferran Torres up front in place of injured top scorer Robert Lewandowski.

“We had a good game, the whole team, there were a lot of rotations today with players who hadn’t played for a while and I’m really happy for them,” Gavi told Movistar.

“Their goalkeeper had a great game, we had so many chances but that’s football, they’re not going to make it easy. ”

Barcelona created several chances in the first half and could hardly believe the score was goalless at the break.

Gavi’s deflected shot hit the post, while Torres fired over after Olmo played him in.

Fati also fired narrowly off target as the hosts turned the screw, and Roman saved from teenage star Lamine Yamal, before Fort’s shot was blocked as Mallorca rode their luck.

Now 22 and struggling for minutes at Barca, Fati drilled wide of the near post when he might have tested the increasingly-busy Roman, before Mateu Morey blasted home at the other end but was offside.

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Rapid strike

Barcelona left the pitch frustrated but swiftly took the lead at the start of the second half, with Olmo firing home less than a minute in, after a long string of passes.

Fati came close to a second but Roman palmed his drive to safety. Flick sent on Raphinha and Fermin Lopez to try and finish the job.

Yamal should have added Barcelona’s second when the excellent Pedri sent him through, but Roman made yet another save.

The goalkeeper showed good reflexes to thwart Eric Garcia and then clawed out Lopez’s deflected shot when it looked like it was dipping over his head for his 10th save of the night.

It was Roman’s first appearance in the league in 2025 for Mallorca and although he and his side left without a point to show for it, another save to deny Lopez towards the end underlined his outstanding display.

“The coach has a huge problem deciding (between Roman and usual goalkeeper Dominik Grief),” said Mallorca defender Jose Copete.

“Leo’s been training really well, he hadn’t played for so long, and you just have to see how he played in a tricky game like today’s. ”

Mallorca appealed for a penalty in stoppage time when Garcia held Abdon Prats in the box but their appeals were waved away.

Barcelona have five games remaining in La Liga, including a mouthwatering Clasico showdown against Real Madrid on May 11.

Matheus Nunes scored a priceless stoppage-time winner as Manchester City beat top five-rivals Aston Villa 2-1 on Tuesday to boost their bid to qualify for the Champions League.

Pep Guardiola’s side were seconds away from a damaging draw at the Etihad Stadium after Bernardo Silva’s early opener was cancelled out by Marcus Rashford’s penalty.

But Nunes’s last-gasp strike sparked wild celebrations from Guardiola and his players as they climbed to third place in the Premier League.

With the race for a top-five finish approaching a tense climax, Portugal midfielder Nunes, converted to right-back lately, could not have picked a better time to net his first league goal for City.

City’s 15th successive home league win against Villa wasn’t quite as stunning as the fightback from two goals down that brought them the Premier League title on the last day of the 2021-22 season.

But it could prove almost as lucrative, with a place in the Champions League now within their control.

With four games left, City will remain at least fifth even if fourth-placed Nottingham Forest, fifth-placed Newcastle and sixth-placed Chelsea each win their game in hand.

After winning the Premier League six times in the previous seven seasons, City have been reduced to fighting for a place in the Champions League at a time of year when they are usually in the title hunt.

City’s decline has already been remarkable enough, but enduring a first season without Champions League action since 2010-11 would be a new low and this was a vital step in avoiding that fate.

City will turn their attention to the FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest at Wembley on Sunday, while Villa must bounce back from a painful loss in time for their own last-four clash with Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Villa were eliminated from the Champions League quarter-finals last week after narrowly failing in their bid for a dramatic fightback against Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg.

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  City saviour

This was another blow for Unai Emery’s seventh-placed side, who are two points adrift of the top five with four games left.

With Rashford on loan from Manchester United, it was no surprise that his name was loudly jeered by City fans before kick-off.

The England forward almost silenced the boos just 19 seconds after kick-off when he slalomed past Ruben Dias for a low drive that smacked off the far post.

After that narrow escape, Silva landed the first blow for City in the seventh minute.

Omar Marmoush was the catalyst with an incisive surge into the Villa area before cutting his pass back to Silva, whose stinging strike from 10 yards was too powerful for Emiliano Martinez’s awkward attempted save to keep out.

Silva’s first goal since December provoked an immediate response from Villa.

In the 18th minute, Jacob Ramsey induced a lumbering challenge from Dias, who tripped the midfielder for a penalty that was only awarded by referee Craig Pawson after VAR told him to consult the pitchside monitor.

Guardiola was furious with the decision, earning a booking for his tirade at the fourth official.

Rashford kept his nerve, sending Stefan Ortega the wrong way from the spot for his fourth goal since his loan move in the January transfer window.

Rashford’s blistering speed was a constant danger to City and he easily out-paced their back four for a shot that Ortega blocked with his legs.

However, City got to grips with Rashford better in the second half as they pushed for a winner.

Nunes was their saviour in the fourth of five minutes of stoppage time when he met Jeremy Doku’s low cross with a superb finish from the most acute of angles six yards from goal.

Guardiola’s frenzied fist-pumping dance of joy underlined the significance of a crucial result in a turbulent season that could still have an uplifting finale.

Championship club Norwich on Tuesday sacked manager Johannes Hoff Thorup after three straight defeats, with former Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere taking temporary charge.

The Dane, 36, was appointed on a three-year deal in May last year to replace David Wagner, who was dismissed following the Canaries’ play-off defeat by Leeds.

The club, relegated from the Premier League in 2022, are 14th in the second-tier Championship and have no hope of reaching the play-offs, for the sides that finish between third and sixth.

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Assistant head coach Glen Riddersholm has also left his position.

Sporting director Ben Knapper said: “Whilst we made this appointment with a long-term focus and in line with our wider club strategy and direction, unfortunately recent results and performances have deemed it necessary for us make a change. ”

Wilshere, who had been working as part of Thorup’s coaching staff, will be in charge of the team on an interim basis for the final two Championship games of the season.