NBA: Doncic dazzles in vain as Mavs downed by Pelicans

LOS ANGELES -- Luka Doncic scored 37 points but it was not enough to stop the Dallas Mavericks from slipping to defeat against the depleted New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.

Slovenian star Doncic dragged the Mavs to within one point of the Pels with four seconds remaining after a driving lay-up made it 112-111.

The 23-year-old was left shaking his head in disappointment after a three-point effort on the buzzer that would have snatched victory bounced off the rim to hand New Orleans a 113-111 win.

Doncic finished with 11 rebounds and seven assists in addition to his 37-point haul, with Spencer Dinwiddie providing support with 24 points and Christian Wood 23 points.

But Dallas were ultimately pipped by a balanced New Orleans line-up that saw eight players finish in double figures.

The victory was made all the more impressive given injuries that deprived New Orleans of regular starters Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.

Trey Murphy III scored 22 points -- making 8-of-8 from the field -- while C.J. McCollum made 14 points with 11 assists.

McCollum later admitted he could barely watch as Doncic launched his last-gasp three-point attempt on the buzzer.

"When he shot it I just thought 'Please don't go in, please don't go in'," McCollum told an on-court interviewer.

"I didn't shoot the ball well but a lot of young guys stepped up tonight and that's what we're going to need all season long.

"We're a solid team. Guys work hard, get in early and stay late and they relish these kind of opportunities to come out and put on a show."

The Pelicans improved to 3-1 with a win to move into second in the Western Conference behind leaders Portland. Dallas fell to 1-2 with the loss.

In other games on Tuesday, the Washington Wizards took their season record to 3-1 with a 120-99 romp against the Detroit Pistons at home.

Kyle Kuzma led the Washington scorers with 25 points with Kristaps Porzingis adding 20. Will Barton added 16 from the bench, including four three-pointers.

Agence France-Presse

Death toll from missiles on Ukraine town rises to 17

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine - At least 17 people including a child died when seven Russian missiles struck the industrial town of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine, the Ukrainian authorities said Saturday.

The missiles struck before dawn on Thursday, with three landing in the town center, just 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the artillery battles of the southern front.

"In total, 17 people were killed," Ukraine's State Emergency Service said on Telegram, adding that one of them was a child.

The toll has repeatedly risen since an initial tally of one dead. Earlier on Saturday, it had stood at 14.

A five-storey residential building on the main street was almost razed to the ground.

President Volodymyr Zelensky lashed out on Telegram saying Zaporizhzhia "is subjected to massive rocket attacks every day... (it's a) deliberate crime".

The Ukrainian-controlled city is located in the eponymous Zaporizhzhia region, also home to the Russian-occupied nuclear plant that has been the site of heavy shelling.

Moscow claims to have annexed the region even though its forces do not control all of it.

Ukraine said at least 30 people were killed last week when a convoy of civilian cars in the Zaporizhzhia region was shelled in an attack Kyiv blamed on Moscow.

Agence France-Presse

MLB: Ohtani signs record $30-M deal with Angels for 2023

LOS ANGELES -- Japanese star pitcher and slugger Shohei Ohtani signed a one-year Major League Baseball deal worth $30 million to remain with the Los Angeles Angels for the 2023 season, the club announced Saturday.

The 28-year-old unique double threat inked the largest-ever MLB deal for a player eligible for arbitration, surpassing the $27 million given to Mookie Betts by the Boston Red Sox in 2020.

Reigning American League Most Valuable Player Ohtani's deal is fully guaranteed. He remains set to become a free agent after next season.

Ohtani has never gone through the arbitration process with the Angels, avoiding it this time as he did when he signed a two-year deal worth $8.5 million before the 2021 campaign.

Ohtani makes a hefty salary jump after making only $3 million last season and $5.5 million this year.

The battle for this year's AL MVP award figures to be between Ohtani and Aaron Judge, who has matched the AL one-season home run record by hitting 61 so far this season for the New York Yankees, matching the mark of 61 set 61 years ago by ex-Yankee Roger Maris.

On the mound as a right-handed pitcher, Ohtani is 15-8 with a 2.35 earned-run average and 213 strikeouts over 161 innings.

He was hurling a no-hitter into the eighth inning on Thursday against Oakland and is set to make his final start of the season in Oakland on Wednesday in the club's season finale.

With the bat, Ohtani is hitting .276 this season with 34 homers, 29 doubles, 11 stolen bases and 94 runs batted in over 152 games.

Ohtani entered the weekend with a 15-game hit streak, the longest active run in the major leagues.

He ranks in the top four in the AL in pitching wins, strikeouts, earned-run average and homers.

Despite Ohtrani's heroics, the Angels are days away from finishing off a seventh consecutive losing season. They haven't reached the MLB playoffs since 2014 and haven't won a playoff game since 2009.

Agence France-Presse