Durant is back for Phoenix Suns as Philadelphia 76ers dent Dallas Mavericks

THE Philadelphia 76ers dented Dallas Mavericks' hopes of reaching the NBA play-offs with victory on Wednesday.

The Mavericks, conference finalists in 2022, took a 12-point lead in the first half but the 76ers came back to win 116-108, Joel Embiid scoring 25 points.

Dallas are 11th in the Western Conference with the top six going straight into the play-offs and seventh to 10th going into the play-ins.

Elsewhere, Phoenix Suns beat Minnesota Timberwolves on Kevin Durant's return.

Making his home debut for the Suns after 10 games out with a sprained ankle, 13-time AllStar Durant scored 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes in the 107-100 win, with Devin Booker scoring 29 points.

The Suns are fourth in the Western Conference while the Timberwolves sit seventh.

The Sacramento Kings are third and now guaranteed a playoff place - their first appearance for 17 years - after beating the Portland Trail Blazers 120-80.

It ends the longest run without an appearance in the post-season games in NBA history.

Jrue Holiday scored a career-high 51 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo made his fifth triple-double of the season to take the Milwaukee Bucks, the leaders of the Eastern Conference, to a 149-136 win over the Indiana Pacer

The New York Knicks' 10192 home win over Miami Heat was marred by an ankle injury to All-Star forward Julius Randle.

Randle, who sustained the injury in the second quarter, made one of two subsequent free throws before being removed.

Anthony Davis scored 38 points and 10 rebounds and LeBron James added 25 points to boost the visiting Los Angeles Lakers to a 121-110 win against the Chicago Bulls, which means they move level with New Orleans Pelicans for eighth place in the Western Conference.

Russell Westbrook scored

36 points made 10 assists as the Los Angeles Clippers ended the Memphis Grizzlies' seven-game winning run, the Brooklyn Nets inflicted the Houston Rockets' seventh straight loss, Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz beat the San Antonio Spurs, Talen Horton-Tucker scoring 41 points.

The NBA regular season concludes on Sunday, 9 April.

(BBC Sport)

By Sean Devers

BORN in River Road, Curepe, Trinidad and Tobago on August 23, 2004 to a Trinidadian mother, Avian Persad-Latiff and Guyanese father, Luke Latiff, 18-year-old medium pacer, Chelsea Latiff, was selected for Demerara U-19 and the county’s senior female teams and joins her dad, who played for Berbice at both the U-19 and Senior level before leaving for Trinidad in 2001, as the only father and daughter pair to play in Guyana’s Senior Inter-County cricket.

Luke made his U-19 Inter-County debut in 1988 before playing at that level up to 1990, while he represented Berbice at the Senior level from 1989 to 1999.

Chelsea attended Couva East Secondary in Trinidad before moving to Guyana to pursue studies in Medicine at the University of Guyana Turkeyen Campus; reading for a Bachelors Degree in Medicine and Bachelors of Surgery (MBBS).

“Proper time management and my natural adaptation to academics and cricket is what I plan to do while I am in Guyana attending UG” Chelsea explained.

Chelsea, who played for Central Zone from 2016 to 2020 in the Twin Island Republic, and club cricket for Achievers Women's Cricket team and trained with the Trinidad Under 17 & 19 in 2020, explained how she became interested in cricket.

“Both of my parents are involved in cricket in Trinidad (her dad as player and her mom as a scorer), so cricket runs in my veins.

“I took great inspiration from watching my dad play and bowling medium pace [and] like him, [cricket] gradually became my passion,” disclosed the ‘Trini’ teenager, who attended Trinidad & Tobago U-17 and U-19 trials.

“I want to focus on showing my full abilities in this tournament, and making the most of the opportunity. Like any bowler, gathering wickets under my name is my main goal for now” posited the lass who plays for city club, Transport Sports Club.

“It was an amazing feeling because I'm literally following in my dad's footsteps in his native country and once cricket does not have an adverse effect, I would love to represent Guyana at the Regional level” said Chelsea, who trains on Fridays and Saturdays.