Sports News Roundup: Sixers slip past Heat in OT; Oklahoma State upsets No. 6 Kansas and more

Top 25 roundup: Oklahoma State upsets No. 6 Kansas Freshman Cade Cunningham scored 18 points and recorded a key block that led to the game-winning basket Tuesday as Oklahoma State upset No. 6 Kansas 75-70 at Stillwater, Okla.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 13-01-2021 22:38 IST | Created: 13-01-2021 22:28 IST
Sports News Roundup: Sixers slip past Heat in OT; Oklahoma State upsets No. 6 Kansas and more
Representative image. Image Credit: ANI

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Aussie De Minaur warms up for home slam with Antalya title

Australian Alex de Minaur warmed up for his home Grand Slam with an ATP title on Wednesday, winning the Antalya Open when fellow finalist Alexander Bublik retired with an ankle injury after just seven minutes' play. De Minaur, his country's highest-ranked player at 23rd, was 2-0 up in the first set when the Kazakh pulled out.

Golf: Challenge Tour postpones South Africa swing over COVID-19 concerns

The European Challenge Tour and Sunshine Tour on Wednesday postponed three co-sanctioned events scheduled to take place in South Africa next month due to safety concerns arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Challenge Tour's South African swing will now begin in the week of April 22-25, with the tournament and its venue to be announced later.

NBA roundup: Sixers slip past Heat in OT

Joel Embiid scored 35 of his 45 points in the second half and overtime to lift the host Philadelphia 76ers past the Miami Heat 137-134 on Tuesday. Embiid was 13 of 13 from the free-throw line, including two with 8.9 seconds left in overtime, to go along with 16 rebounds, five steals and four assists. Danny Green tied a franchise record with nine 3-pointers on his way to 29 points, and he added 10 rebounds as the Sixers snapped a three-game losing streak.

Korda continues progress with maiden ATP final spot at Delray

American Sebastian Korda, who hit the headlines by reaching the fourth round of the French Open in October, has booked a spot in his first ATP Tour final after beating Britain's Cameron Norrie in the Delray Beach Open semi-finals. Korda, the son of former world No.2 and 1998 Australian Open champion Petr, made his Grand Slam debut at the U.S. Open as a wildcard last year.

Harden vents frustration with struggling Rockets

James Harden's relationship with the Houston Rockets appears beyond repair after a second consecutive lopsided defeat left him venting his frustration with the team. The Rockets (3-6) are second from bottom of the Western Conference following Tuesday's 117-100 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. They lost to the same team 120-102 on Sunday.

Top 25 roundup: Oklahoma State upsets No. 6 Kansas

Freshman Cade Cunningham scored 18 points and recorded a key block that led to the game-winning basket Tuesday as Oklahoma State upset No. 6 Kansas 75-70 at Stillwater, Okla. With 40 seconds remaining and the score tied, Kansas' Marcus Garrett slashed to the basket looking to take the lead. Cunningham blocked the shot, controlled the rebound and started a fastbreak that culminated with a run-out by Rondel Walker, who converted a three-point play for a 73-70 Oklahoma State advantage.

Jones defies rare physical condition to qualify for Australian Open

Britain's Francesca Jones, who suffers from a rare genetic condition, reached her maiden Grand Slam main draw on Wednesday when she beat China's Lu Jiajing in the final round of Australian Open qualifying in Dubai. Jones suffers from ectrodactyly ectodermal dysplasia syndrome, a condition which meant she was born with three fingers and a thumb on each hand, three toes on her right foot and four toes on her left.

Sabalenka clinches third straight title with Abu Dhabi win

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka made a strong start to her 2021 season with a comfortable 6-2 6-2 victory over Veronika Kudermetova of Russia to clinch the WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday and extend her winning streak to 15 matches. After finishing 2020 with trophies at Ostrava and Linz, the strongly built Sabalenka started her new campaign in the same vein in Abu Dhabi and will rise three spots to a career-best world number seven when the WTA rankings are updated on Monday.

NBA: James keen to avoid returning to bubble life

LeBron James guided the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA Championship inside a bio-secure environment in Orlando last year but says just the thought of being stuck inside a bubble again gives him the shakes. The 2019-20 season was hit with a four-month delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was completed in October with teams competing in a bubble at Walt Disney World.

Rallying: Dakar Motorcycle leader Cornejo retires with two stages remaining

Overnight motorcycle leader Jose Ignacio Cornejo retired from the Dakar Rally on Wednesday, with the battle for victory now looking like a straight fight between defending champion Ricky Brabec and Argentine Kevin Benavides with two stages to go. Cornejo crashed at the 252km mark of the 342km 10th stage of the event in Saudi Arabia but managed to finish before having to withdraw, following a medical examination, due to the risk of concussion.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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