<p style="text-align: justify;">Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>NHL roundup: Avs dump Oilers in OT to snap skid</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Cale Makar scored at 2:09 of overtime and the visiting Colorado Avalanche rallied to beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 on Saturday night. Makar added an assist, Nathan MacKinnon and Brad Hunt had goals, Evan Rodrigues added two assists and Alexandar Georgiev made 28 saves for the Avalanche. Colorado snapped a five-game losing streak.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>NBA roundup: Luka Doncic sizzles as Mavs best Pelicans</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Luka Doncic had his ninth triple-double of the season and the host Dallas Mavericks rode a dominant start to a 127-117 victory over the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night. Doncic had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his third triple-double in his last six games. Christian Wood scored 28 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. had 18, Jaden Hardy 15 and Spencer Dinwiddie 12 as the Mavericks raced to a 19-point lead at the end of the first quarter and remained in control.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Tennis-Djokovic saves match point to beat Korda for Adelaide crown</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Novak Djokovic dug deep to save a match point on the way to a battling 6-7(8) 7-6(3) 6-4 victory over Sebastian Korda in the Adelaide International 1 final on Sunday ahead of this month’s Australian Open. A day after he overwhelmed Daniil Medvedev in the semi-final despite sustaining a hamstring injury, Djokovic moved freely on court but was pushed hard by Korda before the Serb made a late charge to deny his opponent a potentially career-defining win.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Tennis-Sabalenka stops qualifier Noskova to seal Adelaide title</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Aryna Sabalenka warmed up for the Australian Open by capturing her 11th WTA Tour title with a 6-3 7-6(4) win over teenaged Czech qualifier Linda Noskova in the Adelaide International 1 final on Sunday. The big-hitting Sabalenka made a sluggish start to the WTA 500 event this week before hitting her stride and she was flying in the first set against the giant-killing 18-year-old, taking charge of rallies from the baseline to grab the advantage.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Alpine skiing-Shiffrin equals Vonn’s World Cup win record</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">American Mikaela Shiffrin equalled compatriot Lindsey Vonn’s women’s World Cup record by clinching her 82nd victory in the second giant slalom race in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia on Sunday. Shiffrin won with a combined time of one minute 52.53 seconds, finishing 0.77 seconds ahead of second-placed Federica Brignone of Italy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>NFL-Chiefs beat Raiders to secure top seed and first-round playoff bye</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Kansas City Chiefs secured the top seed in the American Football Conference and a first-round bye with a 31-13 victory over the host Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday in the NFL teams’ regular-season finale. Given the NFL’s decision to cancel the Monday night game between Buffalo (12-3) and Cincinnati (11-4) after Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest, the Chiefs (14-3) entered the Week 18 contest in control of their playoff seeding.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Tennis-Former champion Osaka withdraws from Australian Open</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Two-times champion Naomi Osaka has pulled out of the Australian Open, organisers of the year’s first Grand Slam which begins on Jan. 16 said on Sunday without elaborating on the reason, as a cloud hung over one of the sport’s brightest stars.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Japanese former world number one’s name was on the entry list for the Australian Open, but Osaka was not scheduled to play in warm-up tournaments in Adelaide and Hobart, raising doubts about her participation in the hardcourt major.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Tennis-Djokovic lost sleep to deal with hamstring problem</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Novak Djokovic said he worked with his physiotherapist all night to fix a hamstring issue before the Serbian beat Sebastian Korda in the Adelaide International 1 final on Sunday ahead of this month’s Australian Open. Djokovic underwent treatment on his left leg during Saturday’s semi-final victory over Daniil Medvedev after he hyper-extended his left hamstring while stretching to make a forehand.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Tennis-Fritz delivers as U.S. win inaugural United Cup crown</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Taylor Fritz edged Matteo Berrettini 7-6(4) 7-6(6) as the United States justified their status as favourites to outclass Italy in a one-sided final at the inaugural United Cup mixed team tournament on Sunday. Coming into the third rubber with his team 2-0 up and needing one more victory to win the $15 million event, world number nine Fritz took the opening set when his big-hitting opponent found the net in a tight tiebreak.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>NFL-Bills’ Hamlin continues to progress, shows ‘excellent’ neurological function</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin continues to make progress after suffering a cardiac arrest during a game last Monday but remains in critical condition, the NFL team said on Saturday. Hamlin collapsed after making a tackle against the host Cincinnati Bengals and had to have his heartbeat restored on the field before he was brought to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he remains.</p>
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