- Sakamoto leads Japanese women's sweep at Skate Canada
- Sainz success shows his class as Ferrari rise above the radar
- Verstappen, Norris set for another duel
- Michelle Obama admits fear over vote result, slams Trump
- Sainz takes pole for Mexico City Grand Prix ahead of Verstappen
- Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps defend Skate Canada pairs title
- Lille score twice in stoppage-time to beat Lens after 'extraordinary' week
- Barca in 'flow' state after thrashing Madrid: Flick
- Curfew extended in French Caribbean territory amid power blackout
- Ruling party set to win Georgia election amid opposition protests
- Lille score twice deep in stoppage-time to beat Lens, Brest win
- NASA astronaut released from hospital after return from ISS
- Lewandowski double as Barca shred Madrid in La Liga Clasico
- Floods hit Saint-Tropez as rains lash south of France
- Japan votes with new PM on shaky ground
- Herve Renard completes surprise return as Saudi coach
- Di Lorenzo fires Napoli five points clear, Atalanta hit Verona for six
- Van Graan has 'utmost respect' for Du Toit as Bath go top of Premiership
- Report details fossil fuel threat to 'Amazon of the seas'
- Michelle Obama to boost Harris, as Trump rages against migrants
- Catholic Church assembly acknowledges 'obstacles' for women
- 'Too early' to say Leverkusen out of title race: Alonso
- World champion Malinin grabs men's lead at Skate Canada
- Farrell 'sorry' for second Top 14 yellow in Racing win
- Ruling party set to win Georgian elections
- Piastri, Norris set Mexico practice pace as Verstappen struggles
- Lewis century gifts West Indies consolation victory in Sri Lanka
- Guardiola vows to learn from rock-bottom Southampton after tight win
- Rooney 'angry' despite stunning Plymouth fightback in Preston draw
- Opposition, ruling party both shown ahead in Georgia elections
- Venezuelan prosecutor accuses Lula of faking injury as tensions with Brazil rise
- Draper into Vienna ATP final, ensures career-high ranking
- Farrell opens Top 14 try account in Racing victory, ends game in sin-bin
- Opposition tipped to win narrow majority in Georgia election: exit poll
- Haaland fires Man City to top of Premier League, Villa held
- West Indies set 195 to win rain-hit Sri Lanka ODI
- Leipzig beat Freiburg to go top, Dortmund lose away again
- Shelton downs friend Fils to reach Basel final
- Di Lorenzo fires Napoli past Lecce and five points clear
- Hussain says Pakistan have found 'kryptonite to Bazball' with England series win
- Seven dead in overnight Russian attacks on Ukraine
- Tehran presses on, uneasy after Israeli strikes
- Masood says Pakistan need stability after famous England win
- Iran warns will defend itself after Israeli strikes
- N.Korea involvement in Ukraine raises regional security risks: analysts
- Santner heroics seal historic New Zealand Test series win in India
- Brignone wins ski World Cup opener as Shiffrin flops
- Thitikul surges into three-way lead at LPGA in Malaysia
- Israel hits Iran military sites in retaliatory strikes
- Santner heroics seal New Zealand's first Test series win in India
Thunder edge Pelicans in thriller, Celtics, Bucks and Clippers win playoff openers
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drained a go-ahead basket with 32.5 seconds left on Sunday as Western Conference top seeds Oklahoma City clawed out a 94-92 victory over New Orleans in their NBA playoff opener.
Hours after he was named a finalist for NBA Most valuable Player along with Denver star Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the Thunder.
The Pelicans were missing star Zion Williamson because of a hamstring strain but they refused to buckle at Oklahoma's Paycom Center.
A pulsating contest featured 20 lead changes and was a marked contrast to the wins posted earlier by the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers, who all roared out of the gates on the way to dominant victories.
The Celtics, fueled by Jayson Tatum's first career playoff triple-double, parlayed a 14-0 start to a 114-94 victory over the Miami Heat.
The Clippers shrugged off the absence of Kawhi Leonard, bullying the Mavs early on the way to a 109-97 victory over the Mavericks -- who put up just eight points in the second quarter.
In Milwaukee, Damian Lillard scored all 35 of his points in the first half as the Bucks built a 69-42 halftime lead and held on to beat the Indiana Pacers 109-94 despite the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The first half in Oklahoma City saw a dozen lead changes and ended deadlocked at 43-43.
An 11-0 scoring run gave the Thunder a nine-point lead midway through the third period, but the Pelicans countered every punch they threw and were up by two after Brandon Ingram's layup with 3:34 left to play.
Gilgeous-Alexander tied it with 1:36 remaining and was fouled on his go-ahead basket, making the free-throw for a 93-90 Thunder lead.
Trey Murphy III scored 21 points to lead the Pelicans and CJ McCollum added 20 but missed a three-point attempt in the waning seconds.
"We didn't execute down the stretch the way we wanted to. We let them believe, but we did enough to get the 'W,'" the 25-year-old Gilgeous-Alexander said.
"One game closer to our goal."
Jalen Williams scored 19 points and Chet Holmgren had 15 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots for the Thunder, who host game two of the best-of-seven series on Wednesday.
In Los Angeles, James Harden scored 28 points and handed out eight assists for the Clippers, drilling six of their 18 three-pointers.
Paul George added 22 points and Ivica Zubac scored 20 points with 15 rebounds for Los Angeles, who seized control early as Dallas and NBA regular-season scoring leader Doncic struggled.
The Mavs connected on just two of 21 attempts in the second quarter and trailed by 26 at the break.
Eight-time All-Star Kyrie Irving made all eight of his attempts on the way to 20 points in the third quarter as the Mavericks came alive.
Doncic would finish with 33 points and 13 rebounds and Irving scored 31, but they were in too deep of a hole to escape.
"In the second half, that is how we should play the whole game," Doncic said.
- Bucks limit Pacers -
Mavs coach Jason Kidd said his players were too passive in the face of the Clippers' early physicality -- Harden said that was just the effect the Clippers were going for.
"We can't ease into games," Harden said. "We've got to be the physicality team from the beginning, and we did that."
In Milwaukee, the Bucks were more than up to the task without Antetokounmpo, who remained sidelined with a left calf injury.
Lillard's explosive first half included a 19-point first quarter, and his 35 points were a record for any Bucks player in any half of a playoff game.
He didn't make a basket in the second half, but his teammates picked up the slack and the prolific Pacers offense was held under 100 points for just the second time this season.
Tyrese Haliburton, chosen ahead of Lillard for the US Paris Olympic squad, finished with just nine points for the Pacers, who were led by Pascal Siakam's 36 points and 13 rebounds.
In Boston, Tatum scored 23 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists to fuel the Celtics, who were ousted in the Eastern Conference finals by the eighth-seeded Heat last season.
Tatum was one of six Celtics to score in double figures and Boston made 22 three-pointers to keep the Heat on their heels.
O.Norris--AMWN