India looks to press ‘advantage’ against Australia in Champions Trophy semifinal

DUBAI: New Zealand go into their Champions Trophy semifinal against South Africa in Lahore on Wednesday buoyed by beating the Proteas at the same venue in a tri-series last month.

The Black Caps lost to India in their final Group A match on Sunday in Dubai but Tom Latham said it would have no bearing on the encounter for a place in the final.

More relevant is that New Zealand chased down 305 against South Africa in Lahore after Kane Williamson scored 133 and also beat hosts Pakistan in the tri-series.

“We’re fortunate that we had a tri-series in Pakistan and against South Africa,” said the wicketkeeper Latham.

“We’ve got a chance to look back on those experiences and give our best in a semifinal, which is pretty cool,” he added.

New Zealand were already into the last four of the Champions Trophy prior to Sunday’s loss to India in Dubai.

They also already knew they would have to head back to Pakistan for their semifinal.

“It is something that’s out of our control,” Latham said of the traveling, with India playing all their games in Dubai after refusing to go to hosts Pakistan.

“We don’t decide the schedule and for us it’s about turning up at each game regardless of where it is and trying to play our best brand of cricket as best we can.

“Obviously it’s a chance at making an ICC final,” said Latham.

“We know there’s a lot of hard work to do to get to that point.”

South Africa topped Group B ahead of Australia with two impressive wins and one washed-out match.

“We know how strong South Africa are,” said Latham.

“They’ve got all bases covered in terms of batting, bowling and in the field. As you look at it, I’m sure it’ll be a fantastic game.”

New Zealand’s fielding has been outstanding on their way to the semifinals — Glenn Phillips took a spectacular one-handed flying catch at backward point to dismiss Virat Kohli on Sunday.

“I think we’ve seen throughout the tournament some of the catches that the guys have been taking,” said Latham. “For us it’s an attitude thing.”

India face Australia in the first semifinal, in Dubai on Tuesday.
 

LOS ANGELES: The Cleveland Cavaliers erased an 18-point deficit to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 133-129 in an NBA overtime thriller and boost their league-best record with a 10th straight victory Sunday, as Boston defeated Denver in a clash of the past two champions.

De’Andre Hunter, getting a starting nod as Cavs star Donovan Mitchell rested, scored 18 of his game-high 32 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as Cleveland poured it on late to grab their 50th win of the season against 10 defeats.

“Made open shots, tried to get to the rim and get fouled,” Hunter said of his late-game heroics, which saw him give Cleveland the lead for good with a three-pointer that put them up 131-129 with 30.8 seconds remaining in overtime.

Hunter, acquired from Atlanta at the trade deadline, then came up with a steal and grabbed a rebound when Portland’s Deni Avdija missed a three-pointer. Finally Hunter drilled a pair of free-throws to seal the win.

“He carried us in every way,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “No way we get this win without him.”

Avdija led Portland with 30 points and added 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double. Anfernee Simons scored 27 points for the Blazers, who led most of the first half in pursuit of a fifth straight win.

After Cleveland edged ahead 42-39 on Darius Garland’s jump shot, Portland closed the first half on a 15-0 scoring run that sent them into the locker room leading 54-42.

The Cavs pulled level at 101-101 with 5:43 left in the fourth quarter, and they traded the lead three more times before Simons made a pair of free-throws that tied it at 119-119 to send it to overtime.

In Boston, the Celtics let a big lead get away before holding off the Nuggets 110-103.

Jaylen Brown scored 22 points and handed out eight assists to lead the reigning champion Celtics, who led by as many as 20 points in the third quarter only for Denver to pull within three points in the waning minutes.

Jamal Murray scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to key the comeback, his driving layup off a rebound of a Brown miss pulling the Nuggets within 102-99 with 1:15 remaining.

NBA Most valuable Player Nikola Jokic scored 20 points with 14 rebounds and nine assists for the 2023 champion Nuggets, but the Celtics came up with the shots when they needed them to snap a two-game skid.

The Los Angeles Lakers led all the way in a 108-102 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, their sixth straight victory pushing them a hair ahead of the Nuggets for second place in the Western Conference.

Luka Doncic scored 29 points and Lakers superstar LeBron James, the league’s all-time leading scorer and the first to reach 40,000 regular-season points, scored 17 and is one point shy of becoming the first to score 50,000 points in the regular-season and playoffs combined.

Jalen Williams scored a career-high 41 points to fuel Western Conference leaders Oklahoma City in a 146-132 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

Rookie Stephon Castle scored 32 points to lead the Spurs, who led at halftime but couldn’t keep pace after the break.

Williams said Oklahoma City’s defensive resolve was fortified by a third-quarter altercation between Thunder reserve Kenrich Williams and San Antonio’s Julian Champagnie that saw both players ejected along with the Thunder’s Luguentz Dort.

New York’s Jalen Brunson scored 31 points — including the go-ahead three-pointer with 2:27 left in overtime — to help the Knicks erase a 19-point deficit and beat the Heat 116-112 in Miami.