Welcome to the Daily Sports News :
- Nets rally from first half deficit to overcome Rockets;
- New Zealand beat England by 21 runs to level T20 series;
- WGC-HSBC Champions: Rory McIlroy beats Xander Schauffele in play-off to win in China;
- Rugby World Cup: Sir Bill Beaumont hails Japan 2019 as 'probably greatest' ever;
- Canelo stuns Kovalev with vicious KO to win light-heavyweight title;
Nets rally from first half deficit to overcome Rockets
Brooklyn faced adversity early against Houston on Friday night, but they rebounded to claim a 123-116 victory at Barclays Center.
The Nets fell into a hole early and trailed by as much as 15 in the first half before it found scoring from some surprising places.
Taurean Prince unexpectedly led the way offensively with a team-high 27 points for Brooklyn while Garrett Temple chipped in with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Brooklyn still called Kyrie Irving's number down the stretch and he sealed the game with a step-back dagger on a corner 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. He finished with 22 points on the night.
James Harden continued his ridiculous run at the charity stripe, tallying 36 points and eight rebounds while sinking 14 free throws. But he struggled from deep and made only two of his 16 long-range shots.
Houston has made a name for itself by shooting a large number of threes, but shooting at a 25 percent clip against a Brooklyn team that converted 59.4 percent from downtown didn't help their chances.
The Rockets dropped to 3-2 in the western conference, while the Nets improved to 2-3 in season 2019-20.
New Zealand beat England by 21 runs to level T20 series
New Zealand beat England by 21 runs to level the Twenty20 series at 1-1 in Wellington.
Chasing 177, England slipped to 3-2 after eight balls before being bowled out for 155 despite Dawid Malan's 39 and Chris Jordan's 19-ball 36 late on.
The returning Jimmy Neesham made 42 off 22 deliveries and Martin Guptill 41 in New Zealand's 176-8, with Jordan taking 3-23 and Sam Curran 2-22.
The third game of the five-match series is in Nelson at 01:00 GMT on Tuesday.
England, who have rested several first-choice players, restricted the Black Caps to what felt like a below-par total, despite dropping five catches, after winning the toss.
Although the pitch had more pace than the one in the series opener in Christchurch and the square boundaries were short, it never felt like England were in control of the chase.
WGC-HSBC Champions: Rory McIlroy beats Xander Schauffele in play-off to win in China
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy has won the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai after a play-off.
The 30-year-old beat defending champion Xander Schauffele after the pair were tied at 19 under par after four rounds.
Schauffele, 26, sunk a six-foot birdie putt on the last to force the play-off with the four-time major champion.
In the first play-off hole Mcilroy's birdie was enough to secure his fourth title of the year after the American could only make par.
McIlroy, who went bogey-free over the final two rounds, could only par on the 18th in round four after a poor drive and missed a 25-footer to take an outright victory at Sheshan International.
"I got lucky in regulation not to go in the water and then it was a relief to hit those two shots in the play-off," McIlroy said of his approach in the play-off, after winning his 26th worldwide title.
He added: "It was a perfect [yardage] for a four-iron back into the wind a little bit.
"You've got to take everything else out of the equation and just hit the shot."
Rugby World Cup: Sir Bill Beaumont hails Japan 2019 as 'probably greatest' ever
Japan 2019 will be remembered as "probably the greatest Rugby World Cup" in the event's 32-year history says World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont.
The tournament was the first time the showpiece had been staged away from one the sport's traditional heartlands.
South Africa beat England in Saturday's final to end a tournament that has been embraced by its hosts.
"Japan 2019 will be remembered as probably the greatest Rugby World Cup," said Beaumont.
"It has certainly been the most ground-breaking in terms of bringing the game to new audiences and attracting new fans to the sport."
Although Typhoon Hagibis - a seasonal hazard in the region - forced the cancellation of three pool-stage matches, Japan's run to their first quarter-final, with victories over Ireland and Scotland en route, galvanised local interest.
World Rugby's figures show that stadiums were filled to 99% capacity for the tournament with 1.84m tickets sold, while Japan's victory over Scotland attracted a record domestic television audience of 54.8m.
Worldwide World Rugby say the tournament generated 1.7bn digital video views online.
Canelo stuns Kovalev with vicious KO to win light-heavyweight title
Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez delivered a brutal 11th-round knockout of Sergey Kovalev to become the WBO light-heavyweight titleholder and four-division champion.
Canelo (53-1-2) came out on top in a tense and tactical battle in Las Vegas, where the Mexican star successfully stepped up two weight divisions on Saturday.
Biding his time, Canelo finally got to Kovalev (34-4-1) in the penultimate round with a vicious left hand that left the unsuspecting Russian on the canvas at MGM Grand.
Seeking to become a world champion at a fourth different weight, Canelo comfortably came in at his heaviest, having previously topped out at 167.5 pounds for his super-middleweight bout with Rocky Fielding last December.