Reuters Sports News Summary

short-handed Heat The Miami Heat, who are set to host the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night, used 15 different starting lineups last season. Houston set the NBA team record with 10 straight games with at least 15 triples between the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Grizzlies set to end hiatus with showdown vs. Spurs

Two of the NBA's hottest teams, the San Antonio Spurs and the Memphis Grizzlies, will look to continue their success when they square off on Saturday for the first of two games in three days in the Alamo City. Memphis returns to the floor for the first time since Jan. 18 after having five games postponed over the past two weeks because of limited player availability due to COVID-19 protocols. Out of quarantine and into action for Australian Open players

With quarantine over for almost all of the tennis players who have travelled to Melbourne for the Australian Open, the preparations begin in earnest when a packed week of warm-up events gets underway on Sunday. Serena Williams and Ash Barty headline two WTA tournaments - the Yarra Valley Classic and the Gippsland Trophy - which start on the Melbourne Park courts normally reserved for the Grand Slam. No complaints but quarantine differentials were a mistake: Zverev

Alexander Zverev has no complaints about being forced into quarantine ahead of the Australian Open but believes allowing top players like Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal more salubrious isolation conditions was a mistake, the German said on Saturday. A select group of players, also including Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Dominic Thiem, enjoyed stays in higher-end Adelaide hotels for their obligatory 14 days of isolation than the rest of the players sequestered in more modest Melbourne hotels. Kings aim to extend win streak vs. short-handed Heat

The Miami Heat, who are set to host the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night, used 15 different starting lineups last season. This season, with the Heat off to a struggling 6-12 start, Miami has already used 13 different lineups, tied with the Houston Rockets for the most in the league. Miami also has the longest active losing streak in the NBA at five games. Casey storms into Dubai Desert Classic lead heading into final round

England's Paul Casey carded an eight-under-par 64 in the third round of the Dubai Desert Classic on Saturday and tied the lowest round of the week to go 15-under overall and take a one-shot lead heading into the final round. Casey recorded six birdies and capped off his day with an eagle on the par-five 18th in an error-free round to jump up five places to lead Scotland's Robert MacIntyre. South African Brandon Stone is third, a shot further behind. Frustrated Mavs prepare for consecutive meetings with Suns

The Dallas Mavericks own a season-worst, four-game losing streak, and superstar Luka Doncic is mighty peeved. Dallas looks to halt its skid and lower the frustration level when it hosts the Phoenix Suns on Saturday in the first of two consecutive matchups between the clubs. NBA roundup: Jazz rout Mavs for 11th win in row

Bojan Bogdanovic scored a season-high 32 points and sank seven 3-pointers to lift the short-handed Utah Jazz to their 11th straight victory, a 120-101 blowout of the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night in Salt Lake City. Joe Ingles became the franchise's all-time leading 3-point scorer on a night when Utah hit 20 3-pointers for their ninth consecutive game with 15 or more from beyond the arc. Houston set the NBA team record with 10 straight games with at least 15 triples between the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. Did not miss tennis or most players, Kyrgios says ahead of return

Nick Kyrgios did not miss tennis or most of his fellow players during his year away from the game, the 25-year-old maverick said ahead of his return to action at an Australian Open warm-up event next week. The outspoken Australian will take on Frenchman Alexandre Muller in the opening round of the Murray River Open on Monday in what would be his first competitive match in a year. Pelicans trending upward as surging Rockets visit

The Houston Rockets look stable after a rocky start to the season. The New Orleans Pelicans are showing signs of improvement as they host the Rockets on Saturday. Australian Open to be allowed 30,000 fans a day

The Australian Open will be allowed to admit up to 30,000 fans a day, around 50% of the usual attendance, when the Grand Slam gets underway on Feb. 8, Victoria state sports minister Martin Pakula said on Saturday. The limit will be reduced to 25,000 over the last five days of the tournament when there are fewer matches, but Pakula said the announcement would ensure some of the biggest crowds for a sporting event since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.