Pink Legend caused a minor surprise when beating odds-on favourite Galia Des Liteaux in the Make Your Best Bet At BetVictor Mares’ Chase at Newbury.
Trained by Venetia Williams, the nine-year-old put a disappointing display at Aintree on her seasonal return well behind her with a fine round of jumping under the excellent Charlie Deutsch.
She looked to face a tall task against Dan Skelton’s 2-5 favourite, a good winner at Market Rasen last time out, but Deutsch took the race by the scruff of the neck at halfway and dictated matters thereafter.
She was there to be shot at over the final two fences but two more accurate leaps meant both the favourite and Rose Of Arcadia could never quite get on terms, with Pink Legend winning by a length and three-quarters.
Winning owner-breeder Francis Mahon explained he had planned to be breeding from her by now, but the intervention of his trainer meant she stayed in training.
“She shouldn’t really be in training but it’s down to Venetia that she’s won another four races,” said Mahon.
“About 18 months ago I started to think she was a nice breeding prospect, she’d been second in the Mares’ Chase at Cheltenham (to Elimay) but Venetia said ‘why would you want to retire a horse who is running as well as she ever has?’.
“She got her way and since then she’s won four races and been placed again in the Mares’ Chase (third to Impervious). I think we might go for the Lady Protectress (at Huntingdon) next, she’s won that before, and then Cheltenham again.
“With Charlie now, every time he rides something I think he’s going to win, especially on a steeplechaser.
“She’s won over two miles so when it turned into a bit of a sprint, I thought we were always going to win and she never touched a twig.”
Mahon is hoping for a notable double as Pink Legend’s full sister Eleanor Bob runs in the Tommy Whittle Chase at Haydock on Saturday.
He told Racing TV: “On Saturday Eleanor Bob has a nice, low weight at Haydock and she’ll love the heavy ground, she’s a full sister to Pink Legend.”
Gidleigh Park enhanced his growing reputation with a stylish performance in the BetVictor EBF Stallions ‘National Hunt’ Novices’ Hurdle.
Harry Fry’s imposing five-year-old arrived in Berkshire having won a bumper and a novice hurdle and was sent off the evens favourite, despite facing some similarly promising individuals.
A little keen in the early stages, Johnny Burke was eager to keep a lid on his mount before the race began in earnest, but he was always travelling strongly and won by nine lengths from Fire Flyer.
Paddy Power cut the winner to 14-1 from 25s for the Ballymore at Cheltenham in March.
Fry said: “This was a step up in trip and Johnny said he was a little bit keen and landed flat footed at a couple down the backm but as the race developed he got better.
“He’s a lovely young horse going the right way. His form keeps working out well and all being well we’ll go to Cheltenham on Trials Day for the Grade Two novice hurdle there.
“This was just his second start (over hurdles). The Challow is in 10 days but I just felt we needed to take it one step at a time.”
Burke doubled up on Anthony Honeyball’s Park Princess (2-1 favourite) in the bumper.
Brave Kingdom (15-8) took his record under rules to five wins from just six outings with a battling display in the JM Finn Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase.
Trained by Paul Nicholls, he lost his unbeaten record in a Grade Two novice hurdle at Sandown in December 2021 and while he regained the winning thread back in calmer waters, was forced to miss the whole of last season through injury.
He reappeared with a win at Plumpton and followed up when seeing off Pulling Stumps by a length and three-quarters.
Winning rider Harry Cobden said: “I was always confident I’d get there because it’s very tiring ground and a very long straight.
“Horses like him that have had such a lay off can bounce on their second run, but he was relaxed today and I feel like this could be quite a smart horse, when I pulled him out he picked up nicely and there’s a nice handicap in him somewhere.”
Dan Skelton’s Etalon (3-1 joint-favourite) and Jonjo O’Neill’s Fortunate Man (9-1) were other impressive winners on the card.
Rossa Ryan rode his 200th winner of the year at Lingfield on Wednesday where he partnered a double.
Ryan, who celebrated the first Group One success of his career in the July Cup on Shaquille, joined an elite list in doing so with the likes of Sir Gordon Richards, Pat Eddery, Frankie Dettori and Kieren Fallon among those to have previously achieved the feat.
He won the Find More Big Deals At BetUK Handicap on Ninth Life (11-4 favourite) for Dr Richard Newland and Jamie Insole and then quickly followed up on John Jenkins’ Sunset In Paris (3-1) in the Always Gamble Responsibly With BetUK Handicap.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself really, even though a couple of little things haven’t worked. We’ve had plenty of winners the last couple of weeks but there were a couple I thought maybe if I’d done something different, it may have been a different result,” Ryan told Sky Sports Racing.
“It’s a big weight off my shoulders really, because I haven’t planned any of this. It was only when we came back from the November break I was 16 away from it and while my agent didn’t let on, he just hinted and some of the older jockeys told me to go for it and they’ve been a great help.
“Ed Dunlop said to me the other day to come back after Christmas and make sure I get it done and that I might not be in this position again. Luckily we got it done before Christmas, so I’m very pleased.
“It’s been a season of dreams really. The season is very long, especially because I started in January, but when you are popping in winners it helps.
“I’m still pinching myself I’ve hit 200, finished third in the championship and rode a Group One winner. I don’t know how to sum up in one word what to say, I can only thank all my trainers and owners and my agent – and my girlfriend who puts up with all my mess!
“When I passed 150 I never thought about getting 200, so I’m speechless really.”
Steve Kerr lauded Stephen Curry's "magical" performance as the two-time NBA MVP propelled the Golden State Warriors to victory over the Boston Celtics.
Curry, whose NBA record of 268 successive games with a successful 3-pointer came to an end in the Warriors' previous outing, was on fire as Kerr's team saw off Boston 132-126 in overtime on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old had 33 points, with seven of those coming in overtime, nailed a brilliant 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining to inspire the Warriors to victory.
Klay Thompson chipped in with 24 points, Jonathan Kuminga added 17 and Trayce Jackson-Davis contributed 10 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, but the plaudits went to Curry.
"Nothing shocks me with Steph, that shot was insane, the catch-and-shoot, the arc," Kerr said.
"But I fully expected it to go in, and I think all of our fans did, too. The guy's magical.
"I can't explain it. That's just the kind of stuff he does."
Rookie Jackson-Davis said of Curry's shot: "It was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow."
Curry, though, credited the work of Kuminga and Jackson-Davis down the stretch.
"Trayce's two blocks he had, you feel the crowd get into it, everybody hyped up. Then JK's steel in the first minute of OT," Curry said. "I was feeding off the crowd's energy and those guys created that with those individual plays.
"Everybody with significant minutes contributed in some way, shape or form. It was a gutsy win, to say the least."
The Warriors have now won their last three games, moving to 13-14 for the season, a game behind the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference.
Boston remain top of the East, but they have suffered three successive road defeats.
Nick Alexander enjoyed another memorable afternoon at one of his “lucky” tracks as he saddled four of the seven winners at Ayr on Wednesday.
The Kinneston handler is a regular visitor to the winner’s circle at the Scottish venue and has trained more winners at Ayr than at any course across the length and breadth of Britain.
He made a flying start to the track’s latest fixture, with point-to-point recruit Ozzy Cosmo (14-1) making a successful debut under rules under Bruce Lynn in the curtain-raising novices’ hurdle, a victory which set the tone for a profitable day.
“I hoped they would run well, but I thought the ground might be a bit soft to be honest. It’s very good of them to put on an extra fixture and I’m delighted,” said Alexander.
“I had a five-timer at Ayr once and it seems to be a lucky racecourse for us. I just love bringing horses here because it’s a such a big, fair track and it is reasonably local to us.
“I’m over the moon really, the day couldn’t have gone better.”
Following Ozzy Cosmo’s success, Alexander swiftly doubled up with 9-1 shot Beat The Retreat, whose rider Danny McMenamin also steered the trainer’s Cream Of The West (9-2) to victory later on the card.
The four-timer was completed by the Sean Quinlan-ridden Artic Row, who obliged at 2-1 in the penultimate race.
Alexander added: “Ozzy Cosmo is a very nice and we just hoped he’d run well. It wasn’t the deepest novice and he’s won it nicely. He’s going to be a three-mile chaser if he’s lucky, so we’re delighted he’s been able to win over two miles over hurdles.
“Beat The Retreat was a little disappointing last time, but it was very deep ground at Kelso that day and it was two-mile-six, whereas today he was back to two-mile-two on slightly better ground.
“The form of Cream Of The West’s last race at Hexham (finished third) has worked out very well, so we were delighted to see him get off the mark, and Artic Row has improved for the step up in trip and fences, which is great.
“They were all sort of entitled to win if everything fell right, but I thought we were going to have a winner or two at Musselburgh earlier in the week and we were nowhere near it, so it’s swings and roundabouts.”
Ja Morant is simply excited to be back on the court after he starred for the Memphis Grizzlies following the end of his eight-month absence from basketball.
Morant received a 25-game suspension from the NBA for conduct detrimental to the league back in June.
The two-time All-Star was banned for showing a firearm on social media, just three months after a similar offence.
However, Morant returned in style on Tuesday, finishing with 34 points, six rebounds and eight assists as the Grizzlies beat the New Orleans Pelicans 115-113.
"I've been putting work in, man. I ain't played a game in eight months," said Morant, whose buzzer-beater won the game.
"I had a lot of time to learn myself. A lot of hard days where I went through it. But you know, basketball is my life, what I love, [it's] therapeutic for me. I'm just excited to be back.
"I've been working hard, but there's nothing like NBA basketball. I just had to lock in and push through; pretty much my life, you know, just continuing to push, no matter what."
Reflecting on his time away from the game, Morant added: "[My support system] showed me a lot of support.
"They got on my a** a little bit, too. I felt like it was needed, not only during this process for me, but them as well to obviously learn from me.
"A lot of us make mistakes. I can see how [the situation] changed them as well. I don't wish it happened, but it definitely took me, my family, my team to the next level."
Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins simply wanted Morant to enjoy the moment.
"My one expectation was for him to have fun," he said.
"That's how you want Ja to play, is play fast and free with the dynamic abilities."
The Grizzlies, who went 6-19 in the 25 games without Morant, snapped a five-game losing streak. They host the Indiana Pacers on Thursday.
Nicky Richards is on weather watch with Florida Dreams ahead of a possible tilt at top honours in Aintree’s William Hill Formby Novices’ Hurdle on Boxing Day.
If given the go-ahead for the newly-created festive Grade One, it would mean a return to the scene of the five-year-old’s finest hour, and the place where he kept on gamely to land the Grade Two bumper that concludes the Grand National Festival in the spring.
Since then, the Jimmy Fyffe-owned gelding tasted defeat on his hurdling bow at Ayr, but the Greystoke handler had his charge firing on all cylinders when returning to the Scottish venue to open his account over obstacles earlier this month.
On that occasion, he reeled in David Pipe’s Phantomofthepoints to score by a neck and Richards believes that could turn out to be a smart piece of form.
He said: “The plan is to go to Aintree and I hope they have a dry week. If it does get too soft, he probably won’t go, but we’ll see how the week goes with the weather and take it from there.
“Hopefully, it (the bumper) won’t be the last Graded race he wins and the journey is only beginning with him – I’m quite sure he is going to make into a very good horse.
“He got the job done (at Ayr) and I would say there is no doubt David Pipe’s horse is probably not a bad horse as well. We will find out in the future, but my lad is a horse with a lot of ability and I hope he goes on to prove it.”
The Aintree race, which was formerly run as the Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown, has attracted a strong cast of 14 entries, with Gordon Elliott’s Royal Bond scorer Farren Glory a notable name that could be given a raiding mission.
Only a nose separated Nicky Henderson’s Jango Baie and Ben Pauling’s Tellherthename when they clashed at Ascot and, with the latter impressing subsequently, connections will be eyeing turning the tables in this Grade One event.
Fergal O’Brien’s Kamsinas will look to supplement his Haydock Grade Two victory with a perfect Christmas present up at the highest level, while Chepstow scorer Jackpot D’Athou could represent champion trainer Paul Nicholls.
Favour And Fortune has appeared a classy operator and is now deemed ready for the next level by Alan King, with Paul Robson keen to gauge Cannock Park’s true ability after a taking success at Cheltenham in November.
A continental feel to the race is added by French challenger July Flower, with the four-year-old set to represent trainer Mickael Seror.
Nicky Henderson is looking forward to putting a frustrating period behind him by belatedly taking the wraps off Constitution Hill and Shishkin at Kempton on Boxing Day.
The superstar duo have not been seen in competitive action so far this season and, not for the first time, the Seven Barrows handler has drawn criticism from some quarters for his cautious approach.
There have, though, been extenuating circumstances on both counts, with Constitution Hill’s intended defence of the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle scuppered by the weather, and Shishkin even getting to the start of Ascot’s 1965 Chase, only to dig his heels in and refuse to jump off with the other runners.
Henderson subsequently entered and declared his top-class pair for a rescheduled Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Sandown – and while the decision to withdraw both on account of testing conditions left many disappointed, the trainer insists with Constitution Hill in particular, it was a straightforward call.
“You couldn’t run at Sandown and Kempton. It was physically not possible,” Henderson said at a media morning at his yard on Tuesday.
“You knew straight away you were going to have to sacrifice one race for the other and we decided we would stick to the original plan.
“I wasn’t going to put him in at Sandown until the very last minute. I had already said to Michael (Buckley, owner) ‘I don’t think this will work’, but he said ‘let’s see’.
“You could not have possibly run in both races and that is what some people fail to understand. That is the only thing I find frustrating.
“Of course, it is frustrating when you drag him all the way to Newcastle and back again. That was bad luck. That was the original plan and that is where he would have been, and we would have been on the same leg as last year – unfortunately, we are not.”
While Constitution Hill’s preparation for a bid to claim back-to-back Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle wins has not gone entirely to plan, Henderson is confident the lack of a recent run will not be a hindrance.
He is, though, keen to see how the six-year-old performs before considering plans beyond Christmas.
Henderson added: “He was ready for Newcastle, and he is ready for Kempton.
“We have got to get out there and he has got to go through the motions. He has got to be as good as he ever was at Kempton, then we can look forward.
“He could go to Kempton, then Cheltenham for the International Hurdle, which they have stuck in on Trials Day, then Cheltenham (for the Champion Hurdle) and then Aintree.
“He won’t go to Ireland then (for the Dublin Racing Festival), definitely not, but I won’t look forward until Kempton is over.”
While much is made of Constitution Hill’s apparently bombproof temperament, the same cannot be said at this stage of his stablemate Shishkin following his much publicised refusal in Berkshire last month.
Henderson, however, insists that while the nine-year-old has his quirks, his behaviour tends to improve as the season progresses.
He said: “Constitution Hill is the A, B, C of training horses and you point him in the right direction. He is very straightforward, as he has got a very good temperament.
“Shishkin is very straightforward, but the early part of the season with him is probably the most difficult. That was a bit to do with what happened at Ascot.
“When he is fresh, he is a bit of a plonker! I sent him to Zara Tindall to go and do some work with her. It was good condition and dressage work to get some manners on him and get the basics done. I think he really enjoyed it.
“He doesn’t enjoy that bit here early on and I don’t know why. He can be stroppy. Once he has had a run, he is completely the opposite. He is putty in our hands.”
As a six-time Grade One and dual Cheltenham Festival winner, Shishkin’s raw ability is not in question, but Henderson feels he faces an almighty task to win the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase on what will ultimately be his first start since impressing at Aintree in the spring.
“I’ve been saying all along I don’t see how you can win a King George without a race and the answer is you can’t. On the other hand, we have got nowhere else to go, as there isn’t another race until the Cotswold Chase,” Henderson went on.
“If I ran him at Sandown in the Fighting Fifth, I would have bottomed him and he wouldn’t go to the King George, so therefore I had to take him home and run him straight in.
“He has been going, for him, really well, and his schooling the other morning was fantastic. I’m not going to sit here and tell you he can win a King George, but I do think he can run very well.
“The trouble with Kempton is that some people think it is an easy three miles because it is flat and fast and there are no hills, but there isn’t a place where they can take a blow or have a breather. You jump, jump, jump, then go flat out around a bend, then go jump, jump, jump. It is all go, go, go.
“We have got to have a go, as we have no other option. We have got to Christmas and he hasn’t had a run, but that is not his fault and I don’t think it is mine either, as we have been trying.”
On his plans to try to avoid a repeat of his Ascot antics, the trainer added: “George (Daly) will go down to the start with him, as he knows him really well.
“We can’t do anything. Charlie Brooks mentioned a hunting horn, but Barney (Clifford, clerk of the course) won’t let me get up a tree and blow it!”
Allaho, Gerri Colombe and last year’s winner Bravemansgame are among eight confirmations for the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.
Willie Mullins sprang a surprise in the race two years ago with Tornado Flyer but that was his first triumph in the race since Florida Pearl in 2001 and in Allaho he has strong claims of a second success in three years.
A dual Ryanair Chase winner, Allaho was being aimed at the three-mile contest last year but picked up an injury which ruled him out of the whole campaign. He returned to action with a win in the Clonmel Oil Chase.
Gerri Colombe has only met with defeat once in his career, at last season’s Cheltenham Festival behind The Real Whacker, and the two are on course to clash again.
Only a short head separated them there but their fortunes have differed wildly since, with Gerri Colombe winning two Grade Ones at Aintree and Down Royal, while The Real Whacker was pulled up in the Paddy Power Gold Cup – having struck into himself.
Paul Nicholls’ Bravemansgame has yet to win a race since his victory 12 months ago. He went out on his shield in the Cheltenham Gold Cup but has been surprisingly beaten in the Charlie Hall and Betfair Chase this season.
He will be joined by stable companion Frodon, winner of the race in 2020.
Shishkin is the unknown quantity in the field after refusing to start at Ascot recently. He proved his stamina for three miles at Aintree in the spring but the lack of a recent run is a concern for his trainer Nicky Henderson.
Shark Hanlon’s Hewick and Venetia Williams’ Royal Pagaille, winner of the Betfair Chase, complete the eight.
Constitution Hill will face a maximum of five rivals in the Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle.
The best National Hunt horse in training will be making his seasonal bow, with his intended comeback in the Fighting Fifth frozen off before Henderson deemed the ground too soft a week later when it was rearranged at Sandown.
His stablemate First Street, Black Poppy and Nemean Lion, both trained by Kerry Lee, Nicholls’ Rubaud and the veteran Sceau Royal are his only possible rivals.
The Ladbrokes Kauto Star Novices’ Chase is due to feature the UK debut of Il Est Francais, trained by Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm in France.
However, he faces far from an easy task, with Nicholls’ Hermes Allen, Gordon Elliott’s Imagine, the Mullins pair of Grangeclare West and Klassical Dream and Lucinda Russell’s Giovinco all potential rivals among nine entries.
Five of Jamaica's best shooters captured top spots in the five competitive divisions of the Jamaica Rifle Association's (JRA) Christmas Hamper at the Woodleigh Shooting Range in Clarendon, on Saturday.
A total of 54 competitors took to the 10-stage range under sometimes cloudy skies. In the end, Ryan Bramwell topped the Open Division, Chris Hart bagged the Carry Optic Division, Petrano Belafonte secured the Limited Optics Division, and Greg Henry held on to the Limited Division, while Michael Bradshaw was the surprise winner of the Production Division.
Bramwell, who ended with 887.45 points, ahead of Andrew Yap's 795.02 and Alrice Palmer's 726.34 in the Open Division, was overjoyed.
"I am very happy with my performance on the weekend. I really wanted to win the year with a strong performance, and I shot a very fast and accurate match on Saturday. When the dust settled, I ended up winning eight of the ten stages in my division and I won the match by eleven percent and ninety-two match points which is actually the largest margin of victory all year. My performance is the result of all the work that I have put in," Bramwell said.
"I have actually done a lot of observation and analysis when I attended the US IPSC Nationals in November, and this match presented me with an opportunity to put some of that knowledge and information gained into practice, and I think I have a lot more in the tank. I am really looking forward to 2024 as my training and preparation for the World Shoot which is in 2025 continues. It is setting up to be a really exciting year ahead and I can't wait for the action to start in January," he added.
The Production Division was very competitive with under two points separating Bradshaw and runner-up Anthony Johnson. Bradshaw who switched division from Carry Optics to Production, put in a disciplined performance to post 554.43 points with the experienced Johnson (552.68 points) and Sanjay Welsh (533.97 points) behind.
"My performance on Saturday was a result of both mental and physical training weeks before the Christmas Hamper. Production is the division which I first started shooting and I decided to shoot the same to tighten up a few fundamental aspects of my shooting. Being focused is also one of the main reasons why I was able to come out on top as one can easily lose focus whilst going through the stages, hence I knew I had to remain focused because I knew I was going up against some of the top shooters in the country," said Bradshaw.
Hart's 714.40 points was good enough to bag the Carry Optics Division ahead of the fast-charging Darin Richards (697.86 points) and Christopher Nunez (664.87 points). Experienced female shooter Yeonie Campbell, who opted to shoot Carry Optics instead of her customary Production Division, placed fourth with 566.90 points.
Belafonte secured the Limited Optics Division with 713.03 points, well ahead of Adrian Randle (692.74 points) and Ekepedeme Otuokon (652.53 points), while Henry (668.42 points), proved too good for rivals in the Limited Division. He won ahead of Ronald Brown (642.19 points) and Paul Dixon (541.74 points).
Meanwhile, Jamaica Constabulary Force ladies, Constable Shayon Francis (644.32 points) and Detective Sergeant Sasha Mullings (518.35 points), dominated the law enforcement category, as they placed first and second respectively.
Newly-elected JRA president Rohan Wilson said the event was significant in helping shooters with preparation in their build-up to the International Practical Shooting Confederation World Shoot in South Africa in 2025
"There will be a team of so far eight that will be going (and) the team is now in the process of being selected. This was not one of the qualifying events but nonetheless, it is one of our preparatory events, and so we are grateful to the Woodleigh Shooting Range which offers a great spread in terms of real estate. We did see quite a number of competitors exercise extreme dexterity in the way they performed, and it was just an awesome competition to watch," Wilson said.
Warren Greatrex views this weekend’s Betfred Tommy Whittle Chase at Haydock as an ideal opportunity to get Bill Baxter up the weights ahead of his ultimate aim back on Merseyside.
The Lambourn handler sees the grey as the perfect type for the Grand National, perhaps not surprisingly given how well he took to the fences when winning the Topham back in April.
However, with the field for the National reduced to 34 this season, competition for places will be hotter than ever and Greatrex feels his current handicap mark of 140 needs to be higher to guarantee a spot.
“The plan has always been the Grand National and he probably needs to go up at least 7lb between now and when the weights are released, so the Tommy Whittle looks a good opportunity to try to get him up the weights,” the trainer said.
“The ground is soft, heavy in places, with more rain to come this week, so it will be tough conditions. I think the track will suit him, as he has run well around Haydock Park before over hurdles and he seems in good form.
“He will be put in the Rowland Meyrick at Wetherby on Boxing Day, but I’m favouring the Tommy Whittle.
“It looks the place to go with the ground set to be in his favour – and with everything happening a bit slower in soft ground around Haydock, I would like to think he will be thereabouts at the end.”
Another reason Greatrex is favouring Haydock is the availability of jockey James Bowen.
“James has ridden him a fair amount and has won twice on him. He knows him and knows what he can do. James is a big part of the team now and is riding everything when he is available,” said Greatrex.
“It works well him being second jockey to Nicky (Henderson) and first jockey to us. He is a huge asset and to have him on board on Saturday would be huge.
“If I go to Wetherby, there are a lot more meetings on Boxing Day and the chances of James being able to ride are much less than he would be able to on Saturday, and that is a big factor.”
Damian Lillard recognised the importance of his accomplishment after reaching 20,000 NBA points in the Milwaukee Bucks' 132-119 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Seven-time All-Star Lillard is the eighth active player to reach the milestone, having followed LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan and Chris Paul in achieving the feat.
There have been 51 players in NBA history who have reached 20,000, with Lillard doing so in his 794th game, making him the 17th fastest to do it, on a night in which he scored a season-high 40 points.
Lillard increased his career point total to 20,034 on Tuesday, while there was also a triple-double for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo had a career-high 16 assists, 14 rebounds and a season-low 11 points for his second triple-double this season, giving the Bucks a fifth straight win and a 14th consecutive triumph at Fiserv Forum.
"I don't want to fake downplay it like it's nothing," Lillard said after the game about hitting 20,000.
"I know it's a big deal. It's a great accomplishment. It's a rare space to be in.
"I look at what led up to it. All of the things that I think of in high school, in college and the doubt that I faced over the course of my career, before the NBA – what I wasn't supposed to be, what I wasn't supposed to accomplish, and just my mentality through all those things.
"Sometimes you don't really see the light at the end of the tunnel. You've just got to have that faith in yourself."
Lillard drained seven 3-pointers in a fantastic performance that saw the Bucks improve to 20-7 for the season, second only to the Boston Celtics (20-6) in the Eastern Conference.
"When you look at Dame, obviously he can shoot the ball," added Bucks coach Adrian Griffin.
"He can stretch the floor. He just puts a lot of pressure on your defense.
"If you bring your bigs up, he can drive around them. He's strong enough and physical enough to finish at the rim. He just has no weaknesses on the offensive end."
The Spurs played without star rookie Victor Wembanyama (ankle) and lost for the 20th time in 21 games.
"I don't think we are expecting it to be long-term or anything," coach Gregg Popovich said about the injury.
Milwaukee is 5-0 on its season-long, six-game homestand that concludes Thursday against Orlando. San Antonio returns to action in Chicago on the same day.
Petra Kvitova said she was “shaken” and “fortunate to be alive” after a knife attack in her apartment, on this day in 2016.
The two-time Wimbledon champion was confronted by an intruder posing as a utilities man seeking to read a meter, holding a knife to her throat and injuring her racket-holding hand in the attack.
“I am shaken, but fortunate to be alive,” the Czech player wrote on social media.
“The injury is severe and I will need to see specialists, but if you know anything about me I am strong and I will fight this.”
At a press conference three days later, Kvitova revealed she had undergone surgery lasting nearly four hours after tendons in all four of her fingers and thumb were damaged as well as two nerves.
Having initially targeted a return for Wimbledon, Kvitova made her return to competitive action ahead of schedule at the French Open in 2017 and reached a grand slam final at the Australian Open two years later.
Although she fell to defeat against Naomi Osaka in the 2019 final, Kvitova put the loss into perspective post-match.
She said: “To my team, thank you for everything. But mostly thank you for sticking with me even though we didn’t know if I would be able to hold the racket again. For supporting me and staying positive for me, which I really needed.”
In 2019, Czech man Radim Zondra was charged and sentenced to eight years in prison, with the sentence increasing to 11 years on appeal.
Kvitova is currently ranked 14th in the world and won the Miami Open in April earlier this year.
Ja Morant scored 34 points in his season debut, including a spinning dribble in the lane to set up a game-winning floater as time expired, to lift the Memphis Grizzlies to a 115-113 victory Tuesday over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Morant didn’t look rusty in his return, shooting 12 of 24 from the field with eight assists and six rebounds to help Memphis snap a five-game losing streak.
His point total was the most in NBA history by a player coming back from an absence of at least 25 games.
The Grizzlies went 6-19 during Morant’s suspension for his social media antics with guns.
Jaren Jackson Jr. had 24 points and Desmond Bane added 21 for Memphis.
Brandon Ingram poured in 34 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 22 and 4 rebounds for the Pelicans, who had a four-game winning streak stopped.
Zion Williamson was limited by foul trouble and was limited to 13 points.
Lillard has 40 to power Bucks past Spurs
Damian Lillard scored a season-high 40 points to reach 20,000 and Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to their fifth straight win, 132-119 over the San Antonio Spurs.
Lillard increased his career point total to 20,034 to become the 51st player in NBA history – and eighth active player – to accumulate 20,000 points. He is the 17th-fastest player to reach that milestone.
Antetokounmpo had a career-high 16 assists, 14 rebounds and a season-low 11 points for his second triple-double this season and 37th of his career.
Milwaukee is 5-0 on its season-long, six-game homestand that concludes Thursday against Orlando. The Bucks have won 14 straight games at Fiserv Forum for their longest home winning streak since a 20-game run from April 19, 1990-Jan. 8, 1991.
The Spurs played without rookie Victor Wembanyama (sore right ankle) and lost for the 20th time in 21 games.
Warriors outlast Celtics in overtime
Stephen Curry scored 33 points, including seven straight in overtime, and the Golden State Warriors defeated the Celtics, 132-126 to end Boston’s five-game winning streak.
Klay Thompson had 24 points, Jonathan Kuminga added 17 and Trayce Jackson-Davis contributed 10 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists as the Warriors won their third in a row.
Derrick White scored 30 points and Jaylen Brown had 26 points, eight boards and six assists for Boston, which dropped its third straight road game.
Al Horford’s 3-pointer with 36 seconds left in overtime drew the Celtics within 127-126, but Curry drilled a 3 with the shot clock winding down with 12 seconds to play and added a pair of free throws in the closing seconds.
Owen Tippett scored with 1:35 remaining in overtime to lead the surging Philadelphia Flyers to a 3-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.
Ryan Poeling, who entered with two goals in 25 games this season, had the other two goals and Samuel Ersson stopped 24 shots as the Flyers improved to 7-0-2 in their last nine games.
Philadelphia already has 39 points in 31 games this season after it had 75 all last season and missed the playoffs.
Michael McLeod and Jesper Bratt tallied for New Jersey, which has points in nine of its last 12 games (8-3-1).
Rangers snap Maple Leafs’ point streak
Mika Zibanejad scored two goals and Igor Shesterkin turned aside 31 shots as the New York Rangers ended the Toronto Maple Leafs’ nine-game point streak, 5-2.
Braden Schneider, Alexis Lafreniere and Artemi Panarin also had goals to help the Eastern Conference-leading Rangers win their third straight.
Auston Matthews scored two more goals for Toronto, giving him 11 in his last seven games and a league-high 25.
The Leafs had been 6-0-3 in their last nine games.
Marchenko has hat trick as Blue Jackets roll
Kirill Marchenko had a natural hat trick and the Columbus Blue Jackets rolled to a 9-4 rout of the reeling Buffalo Sabres.
Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and two assists for the Blue Jackets, who had the second-highest scoring game in franchise history.
Columbus set the record in a 10-0 win over Montreal on Nov. 4, 2016.
Casey Mittelstadt had three assists as the Sabres dropped to 3-7-1 in their past 11 games. The nine goals were the most allowed by Buffalo since a 10-4 loss to Dallas in March.
Devon Levi was pulled in the second period after allowing four goals on 18 shots and was replaced by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who stopped 11 of 16 shots the rest of the way.
Michael van Gerwen began his bid for a third World Championship title by easing into the third round.
The Dutchman has not won the biggest tournament in darts since 2019 and is ready to end that drought, opening his campaign with a 3-0 win over Keane Barry.
The highlight was an impressive 167 checkout, finishing with an average of 98.17 at Alexandra Palace.
Van Gerwen knows there is room for improvement but is happy to be in the next round.
“I’m a little disappointed with my scoring, the most important thing is I won my first game,” he said during his on-stage interview.
“You don’t want to let yourself down, you have to fight for every leg, and when things like the 167 work it gives you a great boost.
“It’s the first round of the World Championship no one wants to lose, there is pressure on me, like there is all the top boys. The most important thing is I’m back after Christmas.”
Matt Campbell is flying home for Christmas after sending 13th seed James Wade crashing out.
The world number 57 beat the four-time semi-finalist 3-2 to record the biggest win of his career and win back-to-back matches at Ally Pally for the first time in his career.
He will now return home to Canada before returning for the post-Christmas last 32.
“The flight back is going to suck,” he said. “I have been doing it for two years flying back and forth, I’ve got to the Worlds twice.
“I think I need to fly home and see my family more than anything. If I stay awake when I fly back there is no jetlag, right?”
Wade, who became the first seeded player to exit the tournament, did not shake Campbell’s hand after the match but the Canadian had no hard feelings.
“I woudldn’t be happy either,” he said. “I guarantee if I see him now he would come down and be like nothing happened. But in that moment, we work all hard all year for this, I don’t blame him for being disappointed.”
Keegan Brown will not want to hear the name Boris Krcmar again after enduring a chastening afternoon.
Brown was left confused when MC John McDonald mistakenly called out his opponent’s name when he was due to walk onto the stage before the first-round match.
Things got even worse once play began as the Croatian cruised to a 3-1 win.
Brown took the first set but things went downhill from there, with Krcmar coming back to reach the second round for the second successive year, with Dirk van Duijvenbode waiting for him in the next round.
Leading women’s player Mikuru Suzuki is still waiting for her first win at the Alexandra Palace after she was beaten 3-0 by German Ricardo Pietreczko.
Suzuki follows Fallon Sherrock out of the tournament.
There were also wins for Steve Beaton, Jeffrey de Graaf, Tomoya Goto and Mike De Decker.
Mary Earps rounded off a “wild” 2023 by winning the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year prize on Tuesday night.
The 30-year-old goalkeeper was a key part of the Lionesses side which reached the Women’s World Cup final in the summer and won FIFA’s Golden Glove award for the best goalkeeper at the tournament.
Manchester United goalkeeper Earps saved a penalty from Spain’s Jenni Hermoso in the final, but the Lionesses were unable to add to their 2022 European crown as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat in Sydney.
Her international career appeared at a crossroads in 2021 and she acknowledged during the BBC show she felt she had “lost purpose” after losing her place in the England team.
Sarina Wiegman recalled her in the first England squad she named in September of that year after Earps had been out in the cold since November 2019.
Earps claimed the BBC award ahead of England cricketer Stuart Broad, who retired at the end of the fifth Ashes Test in the summer, and heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson. For Earps, it was the culmination of a scarcely believable last 12 months.
“(Winning the award) feels pretty great on the back of a couple of big years – 2023 has been wild in ways I never expected, I am really grateful,” she said.
“I always committed to myself that anything I would have after that period of time (out of the England team) would be a bonus and it just hasn’t stopped yet. I’m just trying to make the most of everything, because when it stops you miss it.
“I wouldn’t be here without my team-mates at the Lionesses and United; we’ve achieved some incredible things over the last few years. Whilst individual accolades are great they only come on the back of team success. So it’s their trophy as much as mine.”
Earps was one of Wiegman’s vital lieutenants as the Lionesses won the Euros in 2022, and she secured her place in the public’s affection as she danced on the table in celebration during a press conference after the final victory over Germany at Wembley.
Last season Earps kept 14 clean sheets as Manchester United finished second in the Women’s Super League. She also drew praise after she spoke out about sportswear manufacturer Nike’s failure to offer an England goalkeeper’s replica jersey for sale before the World Cup.
Earps’ success on Tuesday night made her the third successive female winner of the award, after US Open champion Emma Raducanu in 2021 and Earps’ England team-mate Beth Mead last year.
Wheelchair tennis player Alfie Hewett, jockey Frankie Dettori and golf star Rory McIlroy were the three other sports luminaries who made it on to the shortlist for the prestigious prize.
The BBC declined to comment on why there were no new words from McIlroy in the VT introducing his nomination or any link-up for a live in-show interview.
Broad announced he was retiring from cricket during the fifth Ashes Test in the summer and bowed out in spectacular fashion. The 37-year-old hit a six off his final ball and took the final wicket as England won the match to level the series, although Australia retained the urn.
Johnson-Thompson claimed the world heptathlon title for the second time in Budapest in the summer after a calf injury wrecked her hopes of Olympic glory in Tokyo in 2021.
Manchester City’s treble-winning campaign was recognised as they won the Team of the Year prize. Star striker Erling Haaland, who scored 52 goals as the Blues dominated at home and in Europe, won the World Sport Star of the Year award and City manager Pep Guardiola was named coach of the year.
Sir Kenny Dalglish, who played and managed with great distinction at Liverpool, was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at Tuesday night’s ceremony in Salford.
Dalglish, who won nine titles with Celtic before moving to Merseyside in 1977, scored 172 goals in 515 appearances for the Reds. He enjoyed great success as a player, including scoring the winner in the 1978 European Cup final.
In 1985 he took over from Joe Fagan as manager of the club, initially while continuing to play, winning three further league titles. He then went on to win the Premier League title with Blackburn in 1995.
Fatima Whitbread, the 1987 world javelin champion, won the Helen Rollason Award.
Whitbread was abandoned as a baby and spent the first 14 years of her life in children’s homes before being adopted by javelin coach Margaret Whitbread. Since retiring, Whitbread has worked with various charities assisting and guiding children who had a similar experience to her.
Sixteen-year-old snowboarder Mia Brookes won the Young Sports Personality prize, while Desmond Smith, a grassroots sports coach from Sheffield, won the Unsung Hero award.
Frankie Dettori finished outside of the top three in the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year but said he still felt like a winner as he reflected on the “mistake” he made in declaring 2023 would be his last year in the saddle.
Dettori was one of six who made the shortlist for the coveted award, although as soon as it was announced England goalkeeper Mary Earps was made a long odds-on favourite.
Dettori recently took part in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in Australia but was the first to leave the show. Nevertheless, his year proved a real triumph and he was often seen at his majestic best.
The Italian – who turned 53 last week – enjoyed so much success in fact that he revealed he would postpone retirement and continue his career in America, where he will ride in California.
His domestic campaign got off to the perfect start when he won the 2000 Guineas on Chaldean and ensured he won two of the five Classics on offer by taking the Oaks on Soul Sister.
Further big-race glory followed at Royal Ascot in the Gold Cup on Courage Mon Ami and the winners continued to flow. He later admitted that by August he was having second thoughts about his retirement decision.
On Champions Day at Ascot, his scheduled last meeting in Britain, he produced a stellar ride on Trawlerman in the Long Distance Cup and signed off in customary fairytale fashion by winning the Champion Stakes on King Of Steel.
Speaking by video link from France, where he is on holiday with his family, Dettori told Clare Balding: “I’ve been in Australia for a month, and I’ve only got four days off before I start riding in the US on Boxing Day.
“I couldn’t jeopardise these four days to be with you guys, otherwise my family would have killed me! I apologise to everyone, I know how important this is to me and to everyone, I’m very sorry (not to be in the studio).
“To get to the last six, to me I’m already a winner. Racing is very important to me, but other sports appeal to a wider audience in England. I already feel like a winner to be a nominee.
“And you know what, apart from Stuart Broad the other contestants weren’t even born when I started riding! I’m the old man of the group.
“As you get older you have to train more to compete with people half of my age. I would say 70 per cent of the jockeys riding weren’t even born when I started, so fitness is very important. Nowadays we’ve got nutritionists and the most important thing is the mental state – the anger you’ve got to have to keep on winning, and that’s what’s kept me going all these years.”
On his decision to call off his retirement, he said: “At the beginning of the season, I thought, ‘well, I’m 52 and I want to stop at the top’. I watched (Cristiano) Ronaldo two years ago playing for Portugal in the World Cup and he was on the bench. I didn’t want to stop my career being on the bench.
“I thought when I called it a day things would ease off and I’d walk away into the sunset and say my last farewell to everyone. But the opposite happened, wherever I went I kept on winning, I did my farewells everywhere in Europe and I kept on winning and winning. I got to August thinking, ‘Oh my God, am I doing the right thing here?’.
“But unfortunately I’d told everyone I was quitting, so I’d kind of got myself snookered in the corner. I thought, ‘well, I can’t really carry on in England, because they organised so many farewell tours for me and a statue at Ascot’. But I’ve still got to get it out of my system, so my only option was emigrating to the USA, because it’s my last chance to perhaps continue what I love until one day I wake up and say, ‘enough is enough’.
“At the moment, because I’m still winning and the adrenaline is still there, the public still follow me – I’m sorry everyone, I made a mistake, I shouldn’t have said I was going to retire.”
Sir Anthony McCoy in 2010 remains the only jockey to have won the BBC prize. Dettori himself finished third in 1996, the year of his ‘Magnificent Seven’, when he went through the card with all seven winners at Ascot. Hollie Doyle was third in 2020.
Mary Earps has been named BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the England goalkeeper’s record.
3 – clean sheets for Earps as she won this summer’s World Cup Golden Glove award. She saved Jenni Hermoso’s penalty in the final but could not keep England from a 1-0 defeat.
18 – international appearances this year.
6 – clean sheets in those games, with a friendly against Portugal and Nations League clashes with Belgium and Scotland along with the World Cup games against Haiti, Denmark and Nigeria.
12 – goals conceded by Earps in last season’s Women’s Super League as runners-up Manchester United finished with the best defensive record.
14 – record number of clean sheets across that season. Her career total of 56 is also a WSL record.
47 – international caps in Earps’ career.
25 – clean sheets along the way, with only 30 goals conceded.
39 – Earps has started all but six of Sarina Wiegman’s 45 games as England coach, playing every minute of those appearances.
152,000 – signatures on a petition calling for Nike to make replica Lionesses goalkeeping shirts available for sale around the World Cup.
5 – a batch of the shirts released on the Football Association website on December 11 sold out in five minutes, with the supply on Nike’s own site also snapped up that day.
27 – squad number for United, who reported in August that her shirt was the second-highest seller among their women’s squad behind only England team-mate Ella Toone.
727,000 – followers on Earps’ official Instagram account.
Mary Earps being crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year marks the latest high in an incredible turnaround for a player who in early 2021 was considering calling time on her career.
At that point, the goalkeeper had not been involved in the England set-up since claiming her eighth cap in November 2019.
After being recalled as part of Sarina Wiegman’s first Lionesses squad in September 2021, she has gone on to help the team make history as Euro 2022 winners on home soil and then runners-up at this year’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The final of the latter saw Earps pull off a penalty save, and she received the tournament’s Golden Glove award, six months on from being named FIFA women’s goalkeeper of the year.
View this post on InstagramAs well as recently being nominated for the FIFA accolade again, the 30-year-old was fifth in the Ballon d’Or voting, and 2023 also included her finishing last season with a Women’s Super League-record 14 clean sheets across the campaign for Manchester United.
The journey that might have stopped before she reached such heights began with Nottingham-born Earps kicking a ball around in her garden with her younger brother and father. Having trained with her brother’s team but been unable to play in matches, she joined West Bridgford Colts aged 10.
The young Earps – who would do games like ‘two touch’ with a classmate who shared her love of goalkeeping – was involved in various other activities like badminton, judo, swimming and dancing, which she has said helped build a confidence evident in her readiness to be vocal when playing football.
She spent time with Leicester and Nottingham Forest before joining Doncaster and making her WSL debut in 2011. Spells with Birmingham, Bristol City and Reading followed, while she also studied for a degree in information management and business studies at Loughborough University.
Earps then made a handful of appearances for Wolfsburg in 2018-19 before joining newly-promoted United.
She earned her first England cap in June 2017 and was a member of Phil Neville’s 2019 World Cup squad, without getting any minutes. A few months after that, she played in a friendly against Germany at Wembley, was on the bench three days later in the Czech Republic – then was out of the picture.
Come the start of 2021, in the final year of her United contract, Earps was weighing up whether to continue playing or utilise her business degree.
She would subsequently sign a new deal with United, and Wiegman then started work as England boss, and Earps told the BBC last year: “I can vividly remember the days of feeling really down.
“I had given it a good go, but I just wasn’t quite good enough. I had responsibilities, I had a mortgage and it wasn’t adding up. Eventually I decided ‘OK, I’ll give it a couple more years’. Then Sarina came in and life changed literally like that.”
View this post on InstagramEarps became Wiegman’s number one as England secured their first major trophy in 2022, then reached a maiden World Cup final. She also helped United break new ground as WSL and FA Cup runners-up last term.
As well as on the field, the boldness of her character has been exemplified by various off-pitch moments, from her dancing on a table during a post-Euro 2022 final press conference, to speaking out about Nike not putting her replica shirt on sale – something in keeping with an England side that has collectively pushed for change in a number of ways.
When named the best women’s goalkeeper by FIFA in February, Earps said the award was “for anyone who has ever been in a dark place”, adding: “Just know that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Keep going, you can achieve anything you set your mind to.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
