Afrobasket: D’Tigress defeat Congo 84-47

The Nigeria`s senior female basketball team, D’Tigress, on Saturday defeated the Democratic Republic of Congo team, 84-47 in the ongoing 2017 Women Afrobasket tournament taking place in Mali.

The Nigeria`s senior female basketball team, D’Tigress, on Saturday defeated the Democratic Republic of Congo team, 84-47 in the ongoing 2017 Women Afrobasket tournament taking place in Mali.

The Nigerian team on Friday overwhelmed Mozambique, 80-69 in their opening match. The victory over the DRC team was the second group B match.

The fourth quarter was a huge success for the D’Tigress as they picked 32 points while their DRC opponents only got nine points.

The match played in Bamako, Mali, saw D’Tigress maintaining their lead from the first quarter of the game which ended 23-8 points.

Even as the Congo side picked 22 points at the end of the first quarter while Nigeria got 18 points, the quarter still ended 41-20 and the third quarter 52-48 both in favour of D’Tigress.

Atonye Nyingifa scored 13 points to get the highest points of the match while Mokango Modiri of Congo scored 10 points.

D’Tigress victory over DRC consolidates Nigeria’s chances of going beyond the preliminary stage, with four points from two matches played.

Russell Westbrook named NBA's MVP

Russell Westbrook was voted MVP on Monday night after setting a record with 42 triple-doubles during a historic season for the point guard. He led the league with 31.6 points and added 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game, joining Oscar Robertson as the only players to average a triple-double for the season and breaking the hall of famer’s single-season record of 41 triple-doubles in 1961-62.

Magic named Lakers president of basketball ops

Magic Johnson has been named president of basketball operations for the Los Angeles Lakers, the team announced on Tuesday, just two days before the NBA's trade deadline. 

In addition, longtime general manager Mitch Kupchak has been relieved of his duties, effective immediately, and Jim Buss will no longer hold his role as executive vice president of basketball operations. 

Carmelo To Replace Love In The Eastern Conference's 2017 NBA All-Star Game

Carmelo Anthony is reportedly set to replace the injured Kevin Love on the Eastern Conference's 2017 NBA All-Star Game roster, marking the 12th appearance of Melo's 15-year career.

He's an acceptable injury replacement, sure. NBA commissioner Adam Silver reportedly just went with the coaches' previous votes, which makes sense, too.

But there are a few players in the East we'd rather see take the floor in New Orleans on Sunday. No disrespect, Melo; this is purely a matter of personal taste.

First, let's establish our baseline with Melo's box score averages this season:

23.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.5 blocks per game in 2016-17.

Those are solid, All-Star-worthy numbers, sure. Again, we're not necessarily against Anthony taking part in the festivities in New Orleans this weekend.

It's just that if we were making the decision, we'd pick one of these guys instead — because defense and efficiency matter.

Usain Bolt stripped of Olympic gold medal

The world's fastest man alive Usain Bolt is no longer a nine-time Olympic gold medalist.

The International Olympic Committee has stripped the Jamaican sprinter of the 4 x 100m gold he won at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing after his teammate Nesta Carter was found guilty of doping offences.

Carter, who helped the 4x100 team to win Olympic and world championship titles, returned a doping violation for the banned stimulant methylhexanamine in a retest of 454 samples from the Beijing Games.

Bolt, Carter and other teammates from 2008, have now been ordered by the IOC to return their gold medals.

2016: Its Best sports moments

KOBE BRYANT'S FINAL GAME

Never the same since tearing his Achilles tendon in 2013, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant brought his career to an end in the Purple and Gold’s final regular-season home game of 2016. Amazingly, Bryant, who appeared to be a shell of his former self all season, scored 60 points in his final game. The “Black Mamba” nailed the final five shots of his career, as the Lakers came from behind in the fourth quarter to defeat the Utah Jazz. It was a remarkable way for the future Hall of Fame shooting guard to say goodbye.

LEBRON AND THE CAVS BRING CLEVELAND ITS FIRST NBA TITLE

Despite facing a three games to one series deficit against the record-setting Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, LeBron James and the Cavaliers found a way to prevail in seven games to bring Cleveland its first NBA championship. After winning an emotional and tightly contested Game 7 on the road, James was named Finals MVP as he averaged 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.6 steals and 2.3 blocks for the series.

STEPHEN CURRY BECOMES THE NBA’S FIRST UNANIMOUS MVP

Warriors guard Stephen Curry became the first unanimous MVP winner in NBA history this past year. Considering Curry led Golden State to the best regular-season record ever by averaging 30.1 points on over 50 percent shooting from the field, the accolade was well-deserved for the point guard.

STEPHEN CURRY SETS NBA'S SINGLE-GAME RECORD FOR THREE-POINTERS MADE

Although he might not admit it, Stephen Curry is the greatest shooter the basketball world has seen. Curry added to his legacy by nailing an NBA record 13 three-point shots in one game in early November against the New Orleans Pelicans. The Warriors stud finished the game with 46 points, and the Dubs won.

PORTUGAL WINS EURO 2016

In the first edition of a 24-team European Championship, Cristiano Ronaldo finally helped Portugal earn its first major trophy of his international career. Although Ronaldo suffered an injury in the final against France, Portugal was able to play a strong defensive game without the star forward and came away with a 1-0 win.

LEICESTER CITY ACHIEVES THE IMPOSSIBLE

5000-1 underdogs to start the season, Leicester City pulled off the impossible this past May, winning the English Premier League. Led by striker Jamie Vardy and his league-leading 24 goals, the Foxes proved that massive spending isn’t necessarily needed to win in the EPL.

USAIN BOLT THREE-PEATS

The fastest man in recorded history, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt became the first runner to win three straight gold medals in the 100, 200 and 4x100-meter relay this past summer in Rio. Bolt's “triple-triple” is an achievement unlikely to be matched in our lifetimes.

MICHAEL PHELPS WINS MORE AND MORE GOLD

If there was ever a doubt Michael Phelps was the greatest swimmer ever, he eliminated it with his performances in the 2016 Olympic Games. Phelps added six more gold medals to his résumé in Rio, taking his total an Olympic record 23.

Irving explains Cavs water bottle flipping

Close to the end of their win over the New York Knicks Wednesday night, some of the Cleveland Cavaliers players decided to get in on one of the latest social media trends.

With the Cavs up 29 points and less than a minute remaining in the game, cameras caught LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and a few others trying to flip a water bottle and get it to stand upright.

Irving later explained the little game, telling reporters you’re basically a “legend” if you can get the bottle to land upright.

What LeBron gets for putting up no show

We're still your faithful subjects ''King James''

LA Clippers outshine the Champs

Los Angeles Clippers' Austin Rivers goes up for a shot against Cleveland Cavaliers' Chris Andersen and Richard Jefferson during the second half Dec 1 in Cleveland.
 The Clippers won 113-94.

Harden's triple-double leads Rockets over Warriors

James Harden notched his fourth triple-double of the season with 29 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists, and the Houston Rockets outlasted the Warriors 132-127 in double overtime Thursday night to end Golden State's 12-game winning streak.

NBA: Blake Griffin suffers hand injury in team-related incident

Blake Griffin can now add a hand injury to his already existing quad injury, meaning he may be out of the lineup for the Los Angeles Clippers for longer than initially expected.