14—Cleveland Daily Banner—Monday, January 4, 2016
www.clevelandbanner.com
SCOREBOARD
Bears win Brawl in the Hall
From STAFF REPORTS
BRISTOL — The Bradley
Central wrestlers returned to
Cleveland with the championship
trophy after winning the Brawl in
the Hall tournament last weekend at Tennessee High School, in
Bristol.
The Bears closed out the tournament with 311 points to best
Virginia 3A runner-up Cave
Springs in the championship
match.
Host Tennessee High finished
third with 232 points followed by
Greeneville with 207 and Virginia
High with 97.
The Bears boasted four champions, with T.J. Hicks scoring five
on AIr
sports on tV
All times eastern
monday, Jan. 4
ColleGe BAsKetBAll
7 p.m.
esPn — North Carolina at Florida St.
esPn2 — West Virginia at TCU
9 p.m.
esPn — Oklahoma at Kansas
esPn2 — Virginia at Virginia Tech
esPnU — Alcorn St. at Texas Southern
nBA BAsKetBAll
7:30 p.m.
nBA — Indiana at Miami
10 p.m.
nBA — Memphis at Portland
nHl HoCKeY
9 p.m.
nBCsn — Los Angeles at Colorado
Women's ColleGe BAsKetBAll
7 p.m.
seC — Tennessee at Missouri
8 p.m.
Btn — Rutgers at Iowa
on tAP
monday, Jan. 4
BAsKetBAll
Lee University at University of West Alabama, 6:30
tuesday, Jan. 5
BAsKetBAll
Bradley Central at Cumberland County
Learning Tree, CAYA at Cleveland Christian, 5, 6
BoWlInG
McCallie /GPS at Walker Valley, 4
WRESTLING
Ooltewah at Walker Valley, 7
Wednesday, Jan. 6
BAsKetBAll
Baylor at Walker Valley, 6
BoWlInG
District 5 tournament
at rhea County
Bradley Central, Walker Valley participating
thursday, Jan. 7
BAsKetBAll
Cleveland State at Wallace State-Hanceville (Men), 3
Dogwood at Cleveland Christian, 6
WrestlInG
Cleveland at Bradley Central, 7
Soddy-Daisy at Walker Valley, 7
Friday, Jan. 8
BAsKetBAll
Cleveland at Ooltewah, 6
Soddy-Daisy at Walker Valley, 6
saturday, Jan. 9
BAsKetBAll
Cleveland at Model, Ga., 6
Bradley Central at Stone Memorial, 7
Delta State University at Lee University, 2
WrestlInG
soddy Daisy Invitational
Cleveland Participating, TBA
Walker Valley Duals, TBA
sunday, Jan. 10
BAsKetBAll
Cleveland State at Martin Methodist College JV (Women), 3
BAsKetBAll
national Basketball Association
eAstern ConFerenCe
Atlantic Division
W
l
Pct
GB
Toronto
21
14
.600
—
Boston
18
15
.545
2
New York
16
19
.457
5
Brooklyn
10
23
.303
10
Philadelphia
3
33
.083
18½
southeast Division
W
l
Pct
GB
Miami
20
13
.606
—
Atlanta
21
14
.600
—
Orlando
19
15
.559
1½
Charlotte
17
16
.515
3
Washington
15
17
.469
4½
Central Division
W
l
Pct
GB
Cleveland
22
9
.710
—
Chicago
20
12
.625
2½
Indiana
19
14
.576
4
Detroit
18
16
.529
5½
Milwaukee
14
21
.400
10
Western ConFerenCe
southwest Division
W
l
Pct
GB
San Antonio
29
6
.829
—
Dallas
19
15
.559
9½
Memphis
18
17
.514
11
Houston
16
19
.457
13
New Orleans
11
22
.333
17
northwest Division
W
l
Pct
GB
Oklahoma City
24
10
.706
—
Utah
15
17
.469
8
Portland
15
21
.417
10
Minnesota
12
22
.353
12
Denver
12
23
.343
12½
Pacific Division
W
l
Pct
GB
Golden State
31
2
.939
—
L.A. Clippers
22
13
.629
10
Sacramento
13
20
.394
18
Phoenix
12
25
.324
21
L.A. Lakers
8
27
.229
24
sunday’s Games
Chicago 115, Toronto 113
New York 111, Atlanta 97
Miami 97, Washington 75
Portland 112, Denver 106
L.A. Lakers 97, Phoenix 77
monday’s Games
Toronto at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Indiana at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Boston at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.
Orlando at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
San Antonio at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Sacramento at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Houston at Utah, 9 p.m.
Memphis at Portland, 10 p.m.
Charlotte at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
tuesday’s Games
Milwaukee at Chicago, 8 p.m.
New York at Atlanta, 8 p.m.
Sacramento at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Golden State at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.
nCAA
soUtHeAstern ConFerenCe
Conference
All Games
W
l PCt W
l PCt
Kentucky
1
0 1.000 12 1 .923
Texas A&M
1
0 1.000 11
2 .846
Florida
1
0 1.000 9
4 .692
LSU
1
0 1.000 8
5 .615
Auburn
1
0 1.000 7
5 .583
South Carolina
0
0 .000 13 0 1.000
Alabama
0
0 .000 9
3 .750
Mississippi St.
0
0 .000 7
5 .583
Missouri
0
0 .000 7
6 .538
Mississippi
0
1 .000 10 3 .769
Georgia
0
1 .000 7
4 .636
Vanderbilt
0
1 .000 8
5 .615
Tennessee
0
1 .000 7
6 .538
Arkansas
0
1 .000 6
7 .462
saturday’s Games
Auburn 83, tennessee 77
Alabama 68, Norfolk St. 49
Missouri 81, Savannah St. 5 0
Texas A&M 92, Arkansas 69
South Carolina 86, Memphis 76
Kentucky 83, Mississippi 61
Florida 77, Georgia 63
LSU 90, Vanderbilt 82
sunday’s Games
No games scheduled
monday’s Games
No games scheduled
soUtHern ConFerenCe
Conference
All Games
W
l PCt W
l PCt
Chattanooga
1
0 1.000 12 2 .857
Mercer
1
0 1.000 11
3 .786
ETSU
1
0 1.000 7
6 .538
Furman
1
0 1.000 7
7 .500
Wofford
1
0 1.000 4
9 .308
Samford
0
1 .000 9
5 .643
The Citadel
0
1 .000 7
7 .500
VMI
0
1 .000 5
7 .417
W. Carolina
0
1 .000 5
9 .357
UNC Greensboro 0
1 .000 4 10 .286
first-period pins to win the 113pound championship.
Ryan McElhaney earned the
championship medal at 120
pounds. McElhaney had four
pins in the tournament with
three coming in the first period.
Knox Fuller took the top spot
at 138 with four first-quarter
pins and five pins overall.
Donnie Beyer won first place at
152 and was voted Most
Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.
Joshua LaCoe placed second
at 126 while and Austin
Matthews finished second at
145. Matthews also received
accolades from the coaches with
saturday’s Games
Chattanooga 84, The Citadel 78
Mercer 69, Samford 50
ETSU 82, W. Carolina 66
Furman 85, VMI 57
Wofford 87, UNC Greensboro 76
sunday’s Game
No games scheduled
monday’s Games
ETSU at NC Central, 8 p.m.
HoCKeY
FootBAll
national Football league
All times est
AmerICAn ConFerenCe
east
W
l
t Pct
y-New England
12
4
0 .750
N.Y. Jets
10
6
0 .625
Buffalo
8
8
0 .500
Miami
6
10
0 .375
south
W
l
t Pct
y-Houston
9
7
0 .563
Indianapolis
8
8
0 .500
Jacksonville
5
11
0 .313
Tennessee
3
13
0 .188
north
W
l
t Pct
y-Cincinnati
12
4
0 .750
x-Pittsburgh
10
6
0 .625
Baltimore
5
11
0 .313
Cleveland
3
13
0 .188
West
W
l
t Pct
y-Denver
12
4
0 .750
x-Kansas City
11
5
0 .688
Oakland
7
9
0 .438
San Diego
4
12
0 .250
nAtIonAl ConFerenCe
east
W
l
t Pct
y-Washington
9
7
0 .563
Philadelphia
7
9
0 .438
N.Y. Giants
6
10
0 .375
Dallas
4
12
0 .250
south
W
l
t Pct
y-Carolina
15
1
0 .938
Atlanta
8
8
0 .500
New Orleans
7
9
0 .438
Tampa Bay
6
10
0 .375
north
W
l
t Pct
y-Minnesota
11
5
0 .688
x-Green Bay
10
6
0 .625
Detroit
7
9
0 .438
Chicago
6
10
0 .375
West
W
l
t Pct
y-Arizona
13
3
0 .813
x-Seattle
10
6
0 .625
St. Louis
7
9
0 .438
San Francisco
5
11
0 .313
x-clinched playoff spot
y-clinched division
sunday’s Games
Houston 30, Jacksonville 6
Washington 34, Dallas 23
Detroit 24, Chicago 20
Buffalo 22, N.Y. Jets 17
Miami 20, New England 10
New Orleans 20, Atlanta 17
Cincinnati 24, Baltimore 16
Pittsburgh 28, Cleveland 12
Indianapolis 30, Tennessee 24
Philadelphia 35, N.Y. Giants 30
San Francisco 19, St. Louis 16, OT
Denver 27, San Diego 20
Seattle 36, Arizona 6
Kansas City 23, Oakland 17
Carolina 38, Tampa Bay 10
Minnesota 20, Green Bay 13
the finals Best Match Award.
Edward Elkins took the runnerup spot at 170 with Brett Brown
earning the second-place medal
at 195.
Three Bears finished the tournament in third with Bryson
Bishop earning his medal at 106
pounds and Henley Headrick
taking third place at 160.
Two Bears came home with
fifth-place finishes. D.J. Gibson
and D.J. Adams stood on the
podium at 220 and 295 pounds
respectively.
Kevin Gentry helped the Bears
to the championship trophy coming through with a seventh-place
finish at 182 pounds.
PF
465
387
379
310
PA
315
314
359
389
PF
339
333
376
299
PA
313
408
448
423
PF
419
423
328
278
PA
279
319
401
432
PF
355
405
359
320
PA
296
287
399
398
PF
388
377
420
275
PA
379
430
442
374
PF
500
339
408
342
PA
308
345
476
417
PF
365
368
358
335
PA
302
323
400
397
PF
489
423
280
238
PA
313
277
330
387
nFl Playoff Glance
Wild-card Playoffs
saturday, Jan. 9
Kansas City (11-5) at Houston (9-7), 4:35 p.m. (ABC/ESPN)
Pittsburgh (10-6) at Cincinnati (12-4), 8:15 p.m. (CBS)
sunday, Jan. 10
Seattle (10-6) at Minnesota (11-6), 1 p.m. (NBC)
Green Bay (10-6) at Washington (9-7), 4:30 p.m. (FOX)
Divisional Playoffs
saturday, Jan. 16
Cincinnati, Houston or Kansas City at New England (12-4),
4:35 (CBS)
Minnesota, Washington or Green Bay at Arizona (13-3),
8:15 p.m. (NBC)
sunday, Jan. 17
Seattle, Green Bay or Washington at Carolina (15-1), 1:05
p.m. (FOX)
Pittsburgh, Kansas City or Houston at Denver (12-4), 4:30
p.m. (CBS)
Conference Championships
sunday, Jan. 24
AFC, 3:05 p.m. (CBS)
NFC, 6:40 p.m. (FOX)
Pro Bowl
sunday, Jan. 31
At Honolulu
Team Rice vs. Team Irvin, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
super Bowl
sunday, Feb. 7
At santa Clara, Calif.
TBD, 6:30 p.m. (CBS)
nCAA
2015-16 Bowl Glance
Friday, Jan. 1
outback Bowl
tampa, Fla.
tennessee 45, northwestern 6
Citrus Bowl
orlando, Fla.
Michigan 41, Florida 7
Fiesta Bowl
Glendale, Ariz.
Ohio State 44, Notre Dame 28
rose Bowl
Pasadena, Calif.
Stanford 45, Iowa 16
sugar Bowl
new orleans
Mississippi 48, Oklahoma State 20
saturday, Jan. 2
taxslayer Bowl
Jacksonville, Fla.
Georgia 24, Penn State 17
liberty Bowl
memphis, tenn.
Arkansas 45, Kansas State 23
Alamo Bowl
san Antonio
TCU 47, Oregon 41, 3OT
Cactus Bowl
Phoenix
West Virginia 43, Arizona State 42
monday, Jan. 11
College Football Championship Game
Glendale, Ariz.
Clemson (14-0) vs. Alabama (13-1), 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
saturday, Jan. 23
east-West shrine Classic
At st. Petersburg, Fla.
East vs. West, 4 p.m. (NFLN)
nFlPA Collegiate Bowl
At Carson, Calif.
National vs. American, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)
saturday, Jan. 30
senior Bowl
At mobile, Ala.
North vs. South, 2:30 p.m. (NFLN)
FCs Playoff Glance
Quarterfinals
Friday, Dec. 11
Richmond 39, Illinois State 27
Jacksonville State 58, Charleston Southern 38
saturday, Dec. 12
North Dakota State 23, Northern Iowa 13
Sam Houston State 48, Colgate 21
semifinals
Friday, Dec. 18
North Dakota State 33, Richmond 7
saturday, Dec. 19
Jacksonville State 62, Sam Houston State 10
Championship
saturday, Jan. 9
At toyota stadium
Frisco, texas
North Dakota State (12-2) vs. Jacksonville State (13-1), Noon
national Hockey league
eAstern ConFerenCe
Atlantic Division
GP W
l ot Pts GF GA
Florida
39 23 12
4 50 106 85
Montreal
40 22 15
3 47 116 99
Detroit
39 19 13
7 45 1 00 106
Boston
37 20 13
4 44 116 102
Tampa Bay
39 19 16
4 42 100 95
Ottawa
39 18 15
6 42 111 118
Toronto
37 15 15
7 37 99 103
Buffalo
39 15 20
4 34 91 105
metropolitan Division
GP W
l ot Pts GF GA
Washington
38 28
7
3 59 121 83
N.Y. Islanders
40 22 13
5 49 113 99
N.Y. Rangers
39 21 14
4 46 112 103
New Jersey
39 20 14
5 45 93 94
Pittsburgh
38 19 15
4 42 91 93
Carolina
39 16 17
6 38 92 110
Philadelphia
37 15 15
7 37 79 102
Columbus
40 15 22
3 33 103 127
Western ConFerenCe
Central Division
GP W
l ot Pts GF GA
Dallas
41 28
9
4 60 144 107
Chicago
40 23 13
4 50 111 97
St. Louis
41 23 14
4 50 101 100
Minnesota
38 20
11
7 47 101 90
Nashville
39 19 13
7 45 103 102
Colorado
39 18 18
3 39 109 110
Winnipeg
39 18 19
2 38 104 114
Pacific Division
GP W
l ot Pts GF GA
Los Angeles
38 25
11
2 52 104 83
Arizona
38 18 16
4 40 107 122
Anaheim
38 16 15
7 39 73 90
Vancouver
39 15 15
9 39 95 110
San Jose
37 18 17
2 38 101 106
Calgary
38 18 18
2 38 101 121
Edmonton
40 16 21
3 35 101 122
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss.
saturday’s Games
Edmonton 4, Arizona 3, SO
Tampa Bay 3, Minnesota 2, SO
Columbus 5, Washington 4, SO
Detroit 4, Buffalo 3
Los Angeles 2, Philadelphia 1
Toronto 4, St. Louis 1
Florida 3, N.Y. Rangers 0
New Jersey 3, Dallas 2, OT
Pittsburgh 5, N.Y. Islanders 2
Nashville 2, Carolina 1, OT
Calgary 4, Colorado 0
Winnipeg 4, San Jose 1
sunday’s Games
N.Y. Islanders 6, Dallas 5
Florida 2, Minnesota 1
Chicago 3, Ottawa 0
Anaheim 4, Winnipeg 1
monday’s Games
Detroit at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Ottawa at St. Louis, 8 p.m.
Los Angeles at Colorado, 9 p.m.
Carolina at Edmonton, 9 p.m.
Arizona at Vancouver, 10 p.m.
tuesday’s Games
Washington at Boston, 7 p.m.
Florida at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Dallas at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Chicago at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Columbus, 7 p.m.
Montreal at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
Winnipeg at Nashville, 8 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Calgary, 9 p.m.
loCAl notes
BAseBAll
BAseBAll InstrUCtIon
Cleveland State Community College assistant baseball coach Ryne Foster will be offering baseball instruction and lessons for individuals or small groups. Lessons
will be offered on weeknights and weekends for hitting,
catching, infield play, outfield play and pitching. For times
and pricing, contact coach Foster at (317)650-1064 or
email [email protected].
HIttInG/PItCHInG CAmP
The 2016 Walker Valley High School Hitting &
Pitching Camp will take place at the WVHS Hitting Facility
on Jan. 10, 17, 24, 31 and Feb. 7 Registration will be held
Jan. 3, 2016. The cost for the camp is $100 per camp or
$150 for both. Each camper will receive a camp T-shirt.
For more information, contact Mike Turner at 595-2640 or
Joe Shamblin at 364-6951.
BAsKetBAll
KIlBY InDIVIDUAl InstrUCtIon
Individual basketball instruction for male and female
elementary, middle school, high school and post graduate athletes is being offered by former Junior College
and Universtiy coach L.J. Kilby. Coach Kilby brings 10
years of head coaching experience as well as 30 years
experience in junior college, NAIA and NCAA Division I
basketball. For more information, contact Coach Kilby at
(423)596-2515.
FIsHInG
CleVelAnD BAssmAsters
The Cleveland Bassmasters meet the first Thursday
of each month at South Cleveland United Methodist
Church at 7 p.m. Cleveland Bassmasters includes
boaters and non-boaters and are associated with FLW.
The club fishes and holds tournament on Chickamauga
Lake, Nickajack Lake, Lake Guntersville, Lake Weiss,
Watts Bar and Neely Henry. Dues for the Bassmasters are
$35 quarterly. Other fees include $35 FLW joining fee, $8
insurance, $20 per year for biggest largemouth or smallmouth bass and $15 for tournament largemouth or smallmouth prize. For more information, contact Dewayne
Lowe at 423-715-5772.
trAnsACtIons
sunday’s sports transactions
BAsKetBAll
nBA Development league
RIO GRANDE VALLEY VIPERS — Acquired G Matt Carlino
from the available player pool.
FootBAll
national Football league
CLEVELAND BROWNS — Fired general manager Ray
Farmer and coach Mike Pettine.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS — Released OT Reid Fragel from
the practice squad.
MIAMI DOLPHINS — Placed WR Rishard Matthews on
injured reserve. Signed LB Mike Hull from the practice
squad.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS — Signed RB Toben Opurum
from the practice squad.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES — Placed NT Bennie Logan on
injured reserve. Signed CB Randall Evans from the practice
squad.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS — Fired coach Jim Tomsula.
Placed LB Michael Wilhoite on injured reserve.
HoCKeY
national Hockey league
CAROLINA HURRICANES — Recalled F Brock McGinn
from Charlotte (AHL).
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS — Acquired F Richard Panik
from Toronto for F Jeremy Morin. Loaned D David Rundblad
to ZSC Lions (National League A-Switzerland).
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING — Assigned F Jonathan Drouin to
Syracuse (AHL).
American Hockey league
AHL — Suspended Torontto LW Richard Clune one game.
BAKERSFIELD CONDORS — Assigned G Ty Rimmer to
Norfolk (ECHL).
LAKE ERIE MONSTERS — Recalled F Peter Quenneville
from Cincinnati (ECHL).
TORONTO MARLIES — Assigned G Rob Madore to
Orlando (ECHL).
eCHl
ECHL — Suspended Tulsa F Mathieu Gagnon eight games,
Rapid City D Garrett Clarke and D Jonathan Narbonne five
games, Tulsa G Kevin Carr three games and Tulsa F
Emerson Clark one game.
IDAHO STEELHEADS — Released G Will Gagnon as
emergency backup.
INDY FUEL — Signed F Adam Lapsansky.
NORFOLK ADMIRALS — Released G Adam Courchaine.
ORLANDO SOLAR BEARS — Released G Bobby Fowler
as emergency backup.
WHEELING NAILERS — Signed F Massimo Lamacchia.
ColleGe
GEORGIA — Named James Coley wide receivers coach,
Dell McGee running backs coach and Marshall Malchow
recruiting director.
N.C. STATE — Fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
NOTRE DAME — Announced WR Will Fuller and RB C.J.
Prosise will enter the NFL draft.
SOUTH CAROLINA — Announced G Shay Colley has left
the women’s basketball team.
AP Photo
AtlAntA’s Kent BAzemore looks to pass as New York Knicks center Robin Lopez falls to the
floor in the first half Sunday, in New York.
Afflalo s cores 38 as
Knicks beat Hawks
NEW YORK (AP) — Arron
Afflalo went right from in a slump
to in the zone.
Afflalo made his first seven 3point attempts and scored a season-high 38 points to lead the
New York Knicks to a 111-97 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on
Sunday.
Afflalo was 14 for 17 from the
field and finished 7 for 8 from
behind the arc in nearing his
career best of 43 points.
“To shoot the ball the way he
did and chase Kyle Korver defensively, which is about as hard of
a job as you can have defensively
as a guard in the NBA, was very
impressive,” Knicks coach Derek
Fisher said.
The Knicks improved to 8-2
when Afflalo scores 15 or more
points.
“To be honest, I play 30-plus
minutes,” Afflalo said. “If you’re
going to have a player out there
that long, he has to be effective.
The way we have things structured offensively, I do think it’s
important that as I do get more
involved and engaged in the
game, it gives us a better chance
to win.”
After shooting a combined 20
for 63 from the field in his previous six games, Afflalo hopes he’s
broken his shooting slump for
the long haul.
“I want to play well and I want
to play well consistently,” Afflalo
said. “For me, consistency is
more important than great
games and very bad games. The
more I can be counted on night
in and out, the better it is for the
team.”
Robin Lopez finished with 16
points and 11 rebounds for the
Knicks. Kristaps Porzingis added
14 points.
New York jumped to an 11-2
advantage and led most of the
way in bouncing back from its
franchise-worst fourth quarter in
a loss at Chicago on Friday.
“Credit to New York, they
played well as a group,” Hawks
coach Mike Budenholzer said.
“Obviously Arron Afflalo had a
very good individual game. It just
wasn’t one of our better days. I
thought the effort was pretty
good, our guys tried.”
Paul Millsap scored 19 points
and Kent Bazemore had 18 for
the Hawks. Al Horford and
Korver both scored 13.
The teams meet again Tuesday
in Atlanta.
“We just didn’t have our game
today and New York is part of the
reason we didn’t have our game,”
Budenholzer said. “We have them
again on Tuesday. We’ll have to
prepare, think about what it
takes to execute better on both
ends and we’ll do that before
Tuesday.”
BULLS 115, RAPTORS 113
TORONTO (AP) — Jimmy
Butler broke Michael Jordan’s
team record for points in a half,
scoring 40 of his 42 after the
break to lead the Chicago Bulls
over the Toronto Raptors 115113 on Sunday.
Jordan had 39, also in the second half, in a game against
Milwaukee in 1989. Butler shot
14 of 19 in the final two quarters
after a 1-for-4 start in the Bulls’
fourth straight win.
Pau Gasol had his 17th double-double of the season with 19
points and 13 rebounds as
Chicago beat Toronto for the second time in a week and a seventh
consecutive time overall.
DeMar DeRozan led the way
for the Raptors with 24 points.
HEAT 97, WIZARDS 75
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chris
Bosh scored 23 points, Goran
Dragic had 18 and the Heat dominated
the
undermanned
Wizards.
With just nine healthy players,
Washington was outscored in the
second quarter 25-7. The
Wizards missed 20 of their 22
field goal attempts as the Heat
took a 50-31 halftime lead.
John
Wall,
who
led
Washington with 14 points, hit
just six of his 21 field goal
attempts.
The Wizards shot just 34.1
percent and their 75 points were
a season low. Miami allowed its
fewest points of the season.
TRAIL BLAZERS 112,
NUGGETS 106
DENVER (AP) — CJ McCollum
had 25 points and seven assists,
leading the Trail Blazers to a victory over the Nuggets.
Gerald Henderson scored 19
points and Al-Farouq Aminu had
14 for Portland, which has won
four of its last five.
Danilo Gallinari led the
Nuggets with 29 points in his
second game back from a
sprained left ankle. Denver has
lost six straight, two off its season high.
LAKERS 97, SUNS 77
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lou
Williams scored a season-high 30
points, and the Lakers sent
Phoenix to its ninth straight loss.
The Lakers, coming off victories
over
Boston
and
Philadelphia, have won three in a
row for the first time since Feb.
22-27. Rookie Larry Nance Jr.
had 15 points and tied a season
high with his second straight 14rebound game.
Kobe Bryant sat out his second
straight game because of a sore
right shoulder.
Brandon Knight had 25 points,
nine assists and three rebounds
for the Suns, who shot 36 percent from the field and trailed by
as many as 38 points.
Serena skips Hopman opener with injury
PERTH, Australia (AP) —
Serena Williams withdrew from
her opening match at the
Hopman Cup on Monday
because of inflammation in her
left knee, an early setback in her
preparations for an Australian
Open title defense.
The top-ranked Williams
practiced ahead of her scheduled season-opener against
Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in the
international mixed-team competition at Perth Arena, but
withdrew from the match and
was replaced by Vicky Duval.
Duval lost 6-4, 6-1 to
Svitolina
and
Alexandr
Dolgopolov beat Jack Sock 6-4,
6-2 to clinch the best-of-three
Group A match for Ukraine
before the U.S. pair won the
mixed doubles 6-2, 6-3.
Williams said she expected to
be able to join Sock in the U.S.
team to play the Australia Gold
team on Tuesday.
Hopman Cup tournament
director Paul Kilderry said
Williams reported feeling pain in
her knee on Sunday.
“She wanted to give herself
every chance to play, she
warmed up this morning but
common sense prevailed and
she just thought today she can’t
do it,” Kilderry said.
After winning the Australian
Open, French Open and
Wimbledon titles in 2015,
Williams narrowly missed completing a season Grand Slam
when she lost to Roberta Vinci
in the semifinals of the U.S.
Open.
For the 20-year-old Duval,
who returned to tennis in
August
after
overcoming
Hodgkin’s lymphoma, filling in
for Williams was a great opportunity.
“I was kind of nervous
because I was filling in big
shoes. But I had a really fun
time today,” Duval said. “I have
a whole new outlook on life. I’m
just really grateful to be back
and do what I love.”
Andy Murray had a 6-2, 6-2
win over Kenny De Schepper to
giv e Britain a 1-0 lead over
France in the night match.
At the Brisbane International,
2015 finalist Grigor Dimitrov
needed six match points before
beating fifth-seeded Gilles
Simon 6-3, 7-6 (10) to move into
the second round.
Two-time Australian Open
champion Victoria Azarenka
returned from a layoff with foot
and leg injuries with a 6-2, 6-0
win over Russian qualifier Elena
Vesnina in her first competitive
match since September, setting
up a second-round match
against No. 2-ranked Simona
Halep.
In other women’s singles, No.
6-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro
advanced to a second-round
match with local favorite Sam
Stosur, the former U.S. Open
champion who recovered from
early service breaks in each set
to beat Slovakian qualifier Jana
Cepelova 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
Also advancing in Brisbane
were with No. 7 Belinda Bencic,
who beat Sara Errani 6-1, 6-2,
and Vinci, who overcame former
No. 1-ranked Jelena Jankovic 36, 6-2, 6-4.
At the ASB Classic in
Auckland, New Zealand, fourthseeded Svetlana Kuznetsova
progressed to the second round,
leading 6-2, 1-1 when Mona
Barthel of Germany retired from
their first-round match because
of a stomach ailment.
Fifth-seeded Sloane Stephens
of the United States beat Polona
Hercog of Slovakia 6-3, 6-3 and
Irina Falconi ousted No. 6-seeded Coco Vandeweghe 5-7, 6-4,
6-3.
Venus Williams, Ana Ivanovic
and Caroline Wozniacki play
their opening matches on
Tuesday.