For a while there, it looked as if James Harden’s bid for a second straight Most Valuable Player award would be dead in the water. It wasn’t just that he appeared, well, mortal to start his 2018-19 campaign. More importantly, it was that his exertions, however much, amounted to squat in the grand scheme of things. The Rockets, whom he led to within two quarters of a Finals berth last May, were sputtering off the gate; they seemed to alternate wins with losses, racked as much by offseason changes in the roster as by injuries to key players in the updated rotation.

The Warriors and Cavaliers are going at it again, but this time off the court. The subject of their conflict: Patrick McCaw, who, in two full seasons with the defending champions, averaged a whopping four, one, and one in 16 minutes of exposure. Including even more anemic numbers in the playoffs, he proved as crucial to their title runs as just about any other player riding the pine for them. Still, they wanted him back, and offered him a two-year contract worth $5.2 million that he subsequently declined because the second year wasn’t guaranteed. Enter the 2018 runners-up, with whom he signed a deal that his previous employers couldn’t match, and for whom he then wound up playing only three games.

The first set of scrimmages in the National Basketball Association’s bubble environment got under way yesterday. To be sure, the four matches on tap weren’t representative of the quality expected from the restart to the 2019-20 season. That said, teeming fans deprived of pro hoops competition since it was halted by the novel coronavirus pandemic last March were willing to overlook the fact that they bore witness to more misses than makes, and more miscues than moments of marvel. They understood that all and sundry still needed to adjust to the demands of full-bore action, not to mention the unique court setup at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.

COLOGNE, Germany — Manchester United were forced to dig deep to reach the Europa League semi-finals as Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes converted a 95th-minute penalty to secure a 1-0 win over a stubborn FC Copenhagen side after extra time on Monday.

Close to three minutes had passed before the Lakers got their first field goal yesterday. In what would give them their only taste of the lead for the entire first half, LeBron James’ left-handed reverse stab off a quick leak past the unprepared Blazers followed two missed shots, a turnover, and two flubbed charities. The unscripted sequence was one of many that would benefit them throughout the match, but their relative carelessness with the ball told on their consistency. Despite ultimately taking 24 more free throws and 17 more rebounds, their 17 turnovers kept things interesting.

WITH no fans to cheer her on, Serena Williams was left to push herself to a record-breaking straight-sets victory in the first round of the US Open on Tuesday.

MAMARONECK, New York — Tiger Woods hopes to snap his run of lacklustre performances at the US Open this week, nearly a year after his last PGA Tour victory.

KIEV — Germany scored once in either half to beat hosts Ukraine (2-1) in the Nations League on Saturday for their first win in four matches and their first ever victory in this competition.

ZAGREB — France stretched their unbeaten run against Croatia to eight games after a late goal by Kylian Mbappe gave the world champions a 2-1 win in their Nations League top-tier Group 3 match on Wednesday.

FOR the first time this season more than half of this weekend’s NFL games will welcome fans, the league said on Saturday as it oversees its 2020 campaign amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

FIVE days after reports emerged that Tyronn Lue was finalizing a deal to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, the team confirmed the move Tuesday.

LISBON — France handed defending Nations League champions Portugal a rare defeat on Saturday, winning 1-0 in Lisbon with N’Golo Kante’s second-half strike to reach the competition’s final four at the expense of the holders.