Sports News Roundup: NBA roundup: Grizzlies edge Cavs for 11th straight win; Tennis-Nadal sidelined for 6-8 weeks with hip flexor injury and more

World number five Sabalenka, who warmed up for Melbourne Park by winning the Adelaide title, mowed down Tereza Martincova in her opener but struggled for rhythm in the opening exchanges with Rogers, dropping serve early in the first set. Tennis-American Volynets stuns ninth seed Kudermetova to reach third round Qualifier Katie Volynets stunned ninth seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-4 2-6 6-2 on Thursday to storm into the Australian Open third round and continue the good start for American players at the year's opening Grand Slam.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

NBA roundup: Grizzlies edge Cavs for 11th straight win

Steven Adams put back a missed Ja Morant layup and Dillon Brooks blocked a desperation 3-point attempt from Darius Garland as time expired to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to their 11th straight win, 115-114 over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night. The 11 straight wins matches the Memphis franchise record and is one shy of Brooklyn's 12-game run as the longest in the NBA this season.

Tennis-Nadal sidelined for 6-8 weeks with hip flexor injury

World number two Rafa Nadal will be sidelined for six to eight weeks by the hip flexor injury he suffered during his second-round loss at the Australian Open, the Spaniard's team said on Thursday. Nadal's title defence ended bitterly on Wednesday as he slumped to a 6-4 6-4 7-5 defeat by Mackenzie McDonald, the latest chapter in a long history of fitness problems at Melbourne Park.

Tennis-Brooksby delivers Ruud shock to send second seed crashing

American Jenson Brooksby knocked second seed Casper Ruud out of the Australian Open on Thursday with a 6-3 7-5 6-7(4) 6-2 victory, extinguishing the Norwegian's hopes of winning a first Grand Slam title and topping the world rankings. Two breaks of serve in the opening set of the second-round match handed Brooksby the early lead and he dictated terms in the second to raise the prospect of another big upset by a Californian after Mackenzie McDonald beat defending champion Rafa Nadal.

Tennis-Sabalenka rolls on at Australian Open, Volynets delivers upset

Aryna Sabalenka shook off a slow start to power past American Shelby Rogers 6-3 6-1 and move into the Australian Open third round on Thursday, as normal service resumed at the season's first Grand Slam after two days interrupted by heat and rain. World number five Sabalenka, who warmed up for Melbourne Park by winning the Adelaide title, mowed down Tereza Martincova in her opener but struggled for rhythm in the opening exchanges with Rogers, dropping serve early in the first set.

Tennis-American Volynets stuns ninth seed Kudermetova to reach third round

Qualifier Katie Volynets stunned ninth seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-4 2-6 6-2 on Thursday to storm into the Australian Open third round and continue the good start for American players at the year's opening Grand Slam. In only her sixth main draw appearance at a Grand Slam, the world number 113 is the first U.S. qualifier to reach the third round in women's singles at Melbourne Park since three-times major winner Lindsay Davenport in 1993.

NHL-Provorov was 'free to decide' to boycott Pride Night, says NHL

The National Hockey League (NHL) said on Wednesday that players are free to decide which initiatives to support after Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov's boycott of the team's Pride Night festivities. Provorov skipped the Flyers' pre-game skate on Tuesday when his team mates took the ice wearing Pride-themed warmup jerseys that featured player names and uniform numbers in rainbow colors while also using sticks wrapped in rainbow tape.

Tennis-Tiafoe's eye-catching Nike outfit not one for Britain's Evans

Frances Tiafoe's multi-colored Nike attire at the Australian Open has captivated and divided tennis and although Britain's Dan Evans is of the opinion that the American pulled the look off well, he would not choose to wear it himself. Tiafoe, who reached last year's U.S. Open semi-finals, stole the show on the first day of the tournament as he sported a sleeveless top and shorts with a psychedelic red, purple and blue pattern during his four-set win over Germany's Daniel Altmaier.

Top 25 roundup: DePaul ends No. 8 Xavier's win streak

Umoja Gibson scored 22 points and Javan Johnson had 16 as host DePaul edged No. 8 Xavier 73-72 on Wednesday night in Chicago to end the Musketeers' 11-game winning streak. The Blue Demons (9-10, 3-5 Big East) shot 42.6 percent overall and 45 percent from long range (9-for-20) to hand the Musketeers their first league loss of the season.

NBA-NBA returns to Paris as French hopes of Olympic gold grow

The NBA returns to Paris on Thursday for the first time in three years amid growing optimism in France that the men's national team could win Olympic gold on home soil next year. Tickets to see the Chicago Bulls face the Detroit Pistons at Accor Arena sold out in minutes and the build up to the game has been "crazy in the best possible way," said George Aivazoglou, the NBA's head of fan engagement for Europe and the Middle East.

NHL roundup: Steven Stamkos nets No. 500 as part of hat trick

Steven Stamkos recorded a hat trick that included his 500th NHL goal, leading the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-2 road win over the host Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday. Stamkos became the 47th player in NHL history to reach the 500-goal plateau and the first player to hit the milestone in a Lightning uniform. With the three goals, Stamkos moves into a tie for 45th on the all-time goals list, joining Hall of Famer Joe Mullen with 502 career goals.

(With inputs from agencies.)