NBA: Surging Suns edge Warriors, tie team record for wins

Chris Paul hit the game's final two baskets 1:24 apart, including a clutch runner in the lane with 13.1 seconds remaining, as the Phoenix Suns survived a foul-filled finish to equal their single-season franchise record for wins with a 107-103 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday in San Francisco.

Devin Booker finished with 22 points, going 10-for-12 at the line, and Mikal Bridges tied for team-high honors with 22, helping the Suns (62-14) match the franchise victory record set in 1992-93 and tied in 2004-05. Phoenix won its ninth consecutive game.

Jordan Poole tied his career high, set last May against the New Orleans Pelicans, with a game-high 38 points for the Warriors (48-29). Golden State took its fourth straight loss and dropped into a tie for third place in the Western Conference with the Dallas Mavericks.

Paul's difference-making hoop came after Golden State's Draymond Green was called for traveling with his team down 102-101 with 31.2 seconds remaining.

Down three in the final seconds, the Warriors had two subsequent possessions, but the Suns elected to intentionally foul Green on the first one, resulting in two free throws as Phoenix retained a 104-103 lead with 12.4 seconds left.

After Paul hit two foul shots to restore the three-point edge with 7.7 seconds to go, Poole misfired on a half-court shot that could have forced overtime.

Paul broke a 96-all tie with an 8-foot floater with 1:37 remaining, after which 14 of the game's final 16 points were scored at the foul line, where Phoenix ended up 24-for-30 and Golden State 20-for-25.

Booker's 22 points came despite 5-for-21 shooting. The Suns overcame 25 percent shooting on 3-point attempts (7-for-28).

Deandre Ayton chipped in with a 16-point, 16-rebound double-double for Phoenix, Paul finished with 15 points and a game-high eight assists and Jae Crowder added 10 points to the cause.

Andrew Wiggins backed Poole with 19 points for the Warriors, who played once again without star Stephen Curry (foot).

Klay Thompson added 13 points on a 5-for-21 shooting night, while Gary Payton II went for 10 points and Green amassed 10 rebounds, seven assists and eight points.

-reuters

Tennis: Naomi Osaka breezes into last four at Miami

MIAMI -- Naomi Osaka moved into the Miami Open semi-finals with another impressive performance as an out-of-sorts American Danielle Collins was brushed aside at the Hard Rock Stadium on Tuesday.

The clinical Japanese star, yet to drop a set in this tournament, won 6-2, 6-1 and will meet Swiss Olympic gold medal winner Belinda Bencic in the last four.

Collins, who appeared to be struggling with a neck injury and has been suffering with a viral infection, will return to the top 10 when the rankings are released on Monday having briefly been there following her run to the Australian Open final earlier this year.

But Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam champion, has been in fine form in south Florida and on this evidence will take a lot of stopping if she is to be denied the title this weekend.

"I hope she is ok," said Osaka after her victory over the struggling Collins.

"This was my first night match so I didn't know what the conditions were like but I was fine and the fans were great," added Osaka who hit 12 aces in a match that lasted exactly one hour.

Bencic, the world number 28, who beat Australia’s Daria Saville 6-1,6-2, said: "I have played Osaka before, so I know how it feels to play her. 

"I'm really happy I achieved a great result here and everything else is a bonus. I'm going to enjoy and do the best I can."

In Wednesday’s remaining WTA quarter-finals, American Jessica Pegula will play Spain's Paula Badosa while Czech Petra Kvitova takes on world number one Iga Swiatek of Poland.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Nikola Jokic's triple-double leads Nuggets past Hornets

It took time for Nikola Jokic to get cranked up, but he carried the Denver Nuggets during second-half stretches on his way to a triple-double in a 113-109 road victory against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.

Jokic finished with 26 points, 19 rebounds and 11 assists, all team highs.

In a late-game, eight-minute span, Denver managed just seven points -- and Jokic had all of them. The Nuggets, who led by 13 early in the fourth quarter, had to hold off a furious rally from the Hornets.

Aaron Gordon scored 19 of his 21 points in the first half for the Nuggets (45-31), who won for just the third time in their past six games. Will Barton racked up 18 points and Jeff Green and Monte Morris both had 14 points.

Jokic hit two free throws with 1:25 left as Denver went up 109-104. LaMelo Ball scored for the Hornets before Morris sank two foul shots. Charlotte's Terry Rozier then connected on a 3-pointer.

Charlotte appeared to get the defensive stop it needed when Jokic missed a shot, but he grabbed his own rebound and was fouled. He made two free throws with 8.6 seconds left to push the lead to four.

Miles Bridges poured in 27 points to go with 11 rebounds for the Hornets (39-37). Ball had 22 points and 11 assists, Kelly Oubre Jr., Isaiah Thomas and Rozier all added 12 points and P.J. Washington posted 10 points.

Charlotte, which was coming off a road victory Sunday night against the Brooklyn Nets, hit only 13 of 42 attempts from 3-point range on Monday.

The Nuggets led 102-91 with 7 1/2 minutes to play. Charlotte tallied the next eight points, with Thomas and Bridges hitting 3-pointers to complete that part of the rally.

The Hornets held a 57-56 halftime edge despite shooting 5-for-20 from beyond the arc.

The Nuggets started to take control with a 13-0 run in the third quarter to move to an 80-71 lead. Jokic scored seven points during that stretch, including a free throw on a technical foul when Charlotte power forward Montrezl Harrell was ejected following a dust-up with Jokic and Gordon.

-reuters

Celebrities react to Will Smith's Oscars outburst

LONDON — Best actor winner Will Smith shocked audiences when he smacked presenter Chris Rock in the face and shouted vulgarity at the comedian for making a joke about his wife's hairstyle in a moment overshadowing the Oscars ceremony on Sunday.

Below are some of the reactions from celebrities on social media.

RAPPER AND ACTOR, JADEN SMITH, SON OF WILL SMITH AND JADA PINKETT SMITH:

"And That’s How We Do It."

ACTRESS MIA FARROW:

"It was just a joke. Jokes are what Chris Rock does. Always has been edgy. This was a mild joke for him. And I love GI Jane"

COMEDIAN KATHY GRIFFIN:

"Let me tell you something, it’s a very bad practice to walk up on stage and physically assault a comedian. Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters."

ACTRESS SOPHIA BUSH:

"Violence isn’t ok. Assault is never the answer. Also? This is the 2nd time that Chris has made fun of Jada on the #Oscars stage, & tonight he went after her alopecia. Punching down at someone’s auto-immune disease is wrong. Doing so on purpose is cruel. They both need a breather."

TALK SHOW HOST CONAN O'BRIEN:

"Just saw the Will Smith slap. Anyone have a late night show I can borrow just for tomorrow?"

FILMMAKER ROB REINER:

"Will Smith owes Chris Rock a huge apology. There is no excuse for what he did. He’s lucky Chris is not filing assault charges."

AUTHOR BERNARDINE EVARISTO:

"What a thing to wake up to. Only the fifth black man in nearly 100 years to win an Oscar for male lead, and the first in 16 years, resorts to violence instead of utilizing the power of words to slay Chris Rock. Then he claims God and Love made him do it."

ACTRESS AND MODEL JODIE TURNER-SMITH:

"and as far as *that incident* goes….. i am still processing. I have second hand embarrassment for all involved."

ACTOR CARY ELWES:

The "vessels of love" I have known or admired never acted violently against another human being…"

-reuters

NBA: Harrison Barnes, Davion Mitchell lift Kings over Magic in OT

Harrison Barnes hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining in overtime and rookie Davion Mitchell finished with 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds as the Sacramento Kings defeated the host Orlando Magic 114-110 on Saturday night.

Mitchell (10-for-23 shooting) reached double figures for the seventh consecutive game as Sacramento started 2-0 on its current five-game road trip. The Kings also posted consecutive wins for the first time since they defeated Minnesota on Feb. 9 and Washington on Feb. 12.

The Kings outscored the Magic 9-5 in the overtime period. Orlando's final points came on Cole Anthony's long two-pointer with 1:51 remaining, and Donte DiVincenzo and Barnes both made triples inside the final minute of overtime as the Kings ended the game on a 7-0 run. 

DiVincenzo added a free throw with 6.9 seconds left, securing Sacramento's 11th road win this season.

Orlando squandered a 105-97 lead late in regulation. Trey Lyles' putback with 21.5 seconds remaining pulled the Kings within 105-103 and Mitchell's backcourt steal and layup made it 105-all with 12.9 seconds to go.

The Magic had an opportunity to win in regulation, but Chuma Okeke missed a 3-pointer near the left corner as time expired.

Sacramento had seven players finish in double figures. Barnes had 19 points and seven rebounds, DiVincenzo scored 16 points off the bench and centers Alex Len and Damian Jones each contributed 15 points. Lyles scored 11 points to go with 18 rebounds and Justin Holiday added 10 points.

Franz Wagner paced the Magic with 19 points and nine rebounds. Moe Wagner had 15 points, six rebounds and five assists in 19 minutes off the bench and Anthony had 14 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.

Mo Bamba totaled 18 points and 13 rebounds and Markelle Fultz contributed a season-high 16 points off the bench for Orlando.

Fultz made 7 of 14 shots in 20 minutes before exiting with just over five minutes remaining. The former No. 1 overall draft pick was appearing in his 11th game this season after suffering a torn left ACL in January 2021.

The Kings led 41-28 after the opening quarter, ending the period on a 21-8 run. Sacramento shot 67 percent (14-for-21) from the floor, making six of its eight 3-point attempts, in addition to going 7-for-7 at the foul line.

Mitchell scored 18 first-half points as the Kings built a 66-62 halftime lead.

Sacramento played its fourth straight game without leading scorer De'Aaron Fox (right hand). The Kings were also missing double-digit scorer and rebounder Domantas Sabonis as he recovers from a bruised left knee.

-reuters

'Shanghai won't lock down despite COVID spike'

Shanghai on Saturday recorded a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases, but a member of the city's pandemic task force said officials were determined to avoid a full lockdown over the damage it would do to the economy.

Millions of Chinese in affected areas have been subjected to city-wide lockdowns by an Omicron-led outbreak that has sent daily case counts creeping ever-higher, though they remain insignificant compared to other countries.

Shanghai, however, has aimed to ease disruption with a more targeted approach marked by rolling 48-hour lockdowns of individual neighbourhoods and large-scale testing while largely keeping the metropolis of 25 million people running.

At a daily Shanghai press conference Saturday, officials alluded to the importance of avoiding a full lockdown of the huge port city.

"If Shanghai, this city of ours, came to a complete halt, there would be many international cargo ships floating in the East China Sea," said Wu Fan, a medical expert with the city's pandemic task force.

"This would impact the entire national economy and the global economy."

Wu made the comments as city officials also announced that they would begin handing out self-testing kits to Shanghai residents, in the latest sign that the government was expanding its pandemic response.

The northeastern province of Jilin also said Saturday that it had begun distributing 500,000 of the rapid-antigen kits.

Shanghai and Jilin have been the areas hardest hit by the outbreak, which took off in early March. 

China had largely kept the coronavirus -- which first emerged in the city of Wuhan in late 2019 -- under control through its strict zero-tolerance measures.

But that top-down approach is increasingly being questioned amid concerns over the economic impact and public "pandemic fatigue", especially considering Omicron's less severe symptoms.

The National Health Commission announced two weeks ago that it would introduce the sale in China of rapid antigen self-test kits for the first time, and they have begun to appear on pharmacy shelves.

But Saturday's announcements appeared to mark their first wide-scale use as part of official pandemic control measures.

China on Saturday reported 5,600 new confirmed domestic transmissions, most of them asymptomatic.

Chinese authorities had watched nervously as a deadly Hong Kong Omicron surge sparked panic buying and claimed a high toll of unvaccinated elderly in the southern Chinese city.

Its subsequent spread in mainland China has posed a dilemma for authorities wrestling with how forcefully they should respond.

On Wednesday, Shanghai infectious disease expert Zhang Wenhong, a top doctor in the city's pandemic fight, called for balancing anti-virus measures with maintenance of "normal life".

The comments in his widely followed blog indicated growing official tolerance for voices who question the lockdown approach.

Shanghai's softer strategy has so far failed to stop cases from rising, and the localised lockdowns have provoked grumbling online and a run on groceries in some districts.

Shanghai on Saturday reported another steep rise in new local transmissions to 2,269 -- around 40 percent of the national total. 

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Devin Booker scores 49 as Suns clinch top seed

Devin Booker scored a season-high 49 points and added 10 assists, Chris Paul had 17 points and 13 assists in his return to the lineup, and the visiting Phoenix Suns beat the Denver Nuggets, 140-130, on Thursday night to clinch the top seed in the Western Conference.

Mikal Bridges scored 22 points, Deandre Ayton had 16 points and Jae Crowder finished with 12 for the Suns (60-14), who have won seven straight.

Paul missed 15 games with a fractured thumb and hadn't played for the Suns since prior to the All-Star break. He did log two minutes in the All-Star Game.

Nikola Jokic led Denver (43-31) with 28 points, Bones Hyland scored 23, Aaron Gordon had 21, Will Barton had 17, Monte Morris scored 15, Jeff Green added 11 and DeMarcus Cousins had 10.

The teams traded leads in a high-scoring first half, with Phoenix leading by five and the Nuggets up by seven at one point.

Hyland did most of the damage for Denver. He scored 19 points off the bench, including 4-for-6 from behind the arc, to help give the Nuggets a 68-66 lead at halftime.

Things stayed close for the first few minutes of the third quarter before Denver created some distance. Barton and Morris hit 3-pointers, and Morris was fouled on his jumper and made the free throw for a four-point play and an 85-78 lead.

The Suns got within 89-86, but the Nuggets stretched the lead to 101-92 late in the period. Phoenix came back behind Booker, who scored 10 points in the final 2:52 to cut the deficit to 106-104 heading into the fourth.

Phoenix took the lead when Bridges' 3-pointer made it 110-109, then the Suns started to pull away. Bridges hit a pair of free throws, Booker made a jumper in the lane and Bridges hit another 3-pointer to make it 122-114.

Denver got within 124-120 on a three-point play by Gordon with 3:55 left, but Phoenix closed it out.

-reuters

Oil stays above $120 per barrel ahead of NATO Russia-Ukraine summit

LONDON - World share markets were choppy on Thursday as the Russia-Ukraine war kept oil above $120 a barrel, while "stagflation" worries rose on renewed talk of aggressive US interest rates hikes and slowing growth.

Europe's main stock indexes barely budged and government bond yields edged up toward multi-year highs hit earlier in the week as March PMI data came in reassuringly robust. 

Focus was otherwise on a Thursday special NATO summit in Brussels, which US President Joe Biden will attend, to discuss further responses to Russia's month-old invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation". 

Rabobank's head of macro strategy, Elwin de Groot, said markets would be watching what emerges closely, especially how unified NATO members remain and what Biden can offer European countries to help wean themselves off Russian gas.

"The NATO meeting is certainly important," de Groot said. "At the minimum you would expect the members to come up with preparations for a possible further escalation in the Ukraine war."

Wall Street futures were up a solid 0.6 percent ahead of trading there, but the mood seemed changeable.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan recouped some of its early losses overnight but ended down 0.6 percent after more falls in China and Hong Kong.

Japan's Nikkei bucked the trend, rising 0.25 percent to a nine-week high as its exporters cheered the yen falling to its lowest against the dollar since 2015. 

At 1000 GMT, the dollar was up 0.4 percent versus the yen, at 121.65, with expectations that the Bank of Japan will be far behind other top central banks in raising interest rates.

HAWKISH

Driving some of the volatility, Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday signaled they stood ready to take more aggressive action to bring down decades-high inflation, including a possible half-percentage-point rate hike at the next policy meeting in May. 

Those signals pushed all three main US share benchmarks 1 percent lower overnight. 

"The sharp hawkish repricing of Fed rate hike expectations has mainly benefited the US dollar against low yielding currencies whose own domestic central banks are expected to lag well behind the Fed in tightening policy," MUFG currency analyst Lee Hardman wrote in a note to clients.

Oil and gas markets also remained hot amid the geopolitical uncertainty.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Moscow would seek payment in roubles for gas sold to "unfriendly" countries, jolting energy markets, although Italy's President Mario Draghi said it planned to keep paying in euros. 

Brent futures were little changed at $121.67 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate futures fell 41 cents, or 0.35 percent, to $114.5 a barrel

The bond market was starting to shift again with the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes up at 2.37 percent and German bunds creeping over 0.52 percent.

"Inflation is really the big driver," Rabobank's de Groot said, adding that it was also behind falling consumer confidence.

EU leaders are expected to agree at a two-day summit starting on Thursday to jointly buy gas, as they seek to cut reliance on Russian fuels and build a buffer against supply shocks. But the bloc remains unlikely to sanction Russian oil and gas. 

Gold was slightly lower at $1,942.9 per ounce.

(Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by William Mallard)

-reuters-

Tennis: Medvedev, Sabalenka top seeds at ATP and WTA Miami Open

MIAMI -- Daniil Medvedev will try to reclaim the world number one ranking and top seed Aryna Sabalenka chases her first final in 10 months at the ATP and WTA Miami Open.

Men's play starts Wednesday and women's play begins Tuesday in the hardcourt tournament at Hard Rock Stadium, where highest seeds receive first-round byes.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic moved into the top spot of the rankings this week, bumping out reigning US Open champion Medvedev after a three-week stay following his third-round exit at Indian Wells.

The 26-year-old Russian, runner-up at the past two Australian Opens, would return to the top spot with a semi-final run at Miami.

Medvedev only reached his first Miami quarter-final last year, when he lost to Roberto Bautista Agut, so a last-four spot would mark a best-ever run in Miami.

And Medvedev has a potential second-round matchup with former world number one Andy Murray, provided the Briton gets past Argentina's Federico Delbonis.

Murray, a 34-year-old Scotsman and three-time Grand Slam champion, won the Miami crown in 2009 and 2013 but lost his only meeting with Medvedev in Brisbane in 2019.

Also in Medvedev's quarter of the draw is defending champion Hubert Hurkacz of Poland.

Germany's Alexander Zverev is the second seed with Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas third and Italy's Matteo Berrettini fourth.

Sabalenka, of Belarus, fell to fifth in this week's rankings and has not reached a WTA final since last May on Madrid clay.

Poland's Iga Swiatek is the second seed with Estonia's Anett Kontaveit third and Greece's Maria Sakkari fourth.

Australia's top-ranked Ashleigh Barty is not in the field, but former world number ones Naomi Osaka and Simona Halep are in the draw.

Romania's Halep could face Britain's 19-year-old Emma Raducanu, the reigning US Open champion, in the third round.

Japan's Osaka could meet Canada's 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez, the 2021 US Open runner-up who ended Osaka's title defense last year at New York, in the third round.

Agence France-Presse

Boeing CEO offers 'full support' for China aviation crash probe

WASHINGTON - Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun told employees on Monday that the planemaker has offered the full support of its technical experts in the investigation of the crash of a China Eastern Airlines 737-800 airplane.

Calhoun said in an email to employees he was limited by what Boeing could say about the investigation being led by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. 

"Trust that we will be doing everything we can to support our customer and the accident investigation during this difficult time, guided by our commitment to safety, transparency, and integrity at every step," Calhoun said.

-reuters