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Basketball, NBA: Klay Thompson (picture) set an NBA record with 37 third-quarter points as he led the Golden State Warriors to a 126-101 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Friday. Thompson finished with a career-high 52 during his record-setting night. The NBA’s previous record for most points in a single quarter was 33, shared by George Gervin of San Antonio and Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks. “They showed me the third quarter stat sheet – to see an NBA record was humbling,” Thompson told reporters.

Baseball: Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, the pioneering and famously affable slugger hailed by the team for which he played 19 seasons as “the greatest Cub in franchise history,” has died at age 83. A shortstop and first baseman renowned as ‘Mr Cub’ and ‘Mr Sunshine’, Banks joined the team as its first black player in 1953, six years after Jackie Robinson broke major league baseball’s colour barrier on the Brooklyn Dodgers, and remained with the Cubs until his retirement in 1971, hitting 512 career home runs and 1,636 runs batted in.

Rugby Union: Australia flanker David Pocock scored a try in his first match for almost a year when he played an hour of a Super Rugby pre-season warm-up for ACT Brumbies against Western Force. The 26-year-old was rated one of the best openside flankers in the world before suffering serious knee injuries that required reconstruction at the start of the last two seasons. Pocock has played just five Super Rugby matches for the Brumbies since moving to the capital from the Force. “I was really excited to be back out there,” he said after the 31-21 defeat at McGillivray Oval. “Personally it’s been a long time out and it’s always good to get that first one out of the way. I was just happy to get through it and be back out there playing with the team.”

Golf: Fresh from a tie for third at last week’s Sony Open in Hawaii, American Matt Kuchar maintained his red-hot form to grab a one-shot lead after Friday’s second round of the $5.7 million Humana Challenge at La Quinta. The world number 11 took advantage of another gorgeous day in the California desert as he fired a sparkling eight-under-par 64 on the Nicklaus Private course at PGA West, one of three venues hosting the pro-am event. Kuchar, a seven-times winner on the PGA Tour known for his remarkably consistent play, mixed seven birdies with an eagle and a lone bogey to post a 15-under total of 129. Overnight leader Michael Putnam was a further stroke back.

Boxing: Amir Khan insists a fight with old friend Manny Pacquiao “can certainly happen” after meeting his former sparring partner in London on Friday. The British welterweight trained alongside the former pound-for-pound king for several years under previous trainer Freddie Roach and always maintained they could never fight. However, despite their relationship still being cordial, both men are now open to fighting each other and met at Fitzroy Lodge boxing club in London. “Even though we have that friendship, if it makes sense then it’s a fight that can certainly happen between us. I want to fight the biggest and best names out there and Manny is definitely among them,” Khan said.

Euroleague: Euroleague holders Maccabi Tel Aviv and debutants Nizhny Novgorod lit up the fourth round of the second group stage while twice winners Barcelona also had plenty to cheer. Maccabi coped with a fervent atmosphere in Lithuania to beat 1999 champions Zalgiris 73-66 and Nizhny’s attacking performance secured a 109-90 home win over Anadolu Efes Istanbul. Barcelona, missing the competition’s all-time leading scorer Juan Carlos Navarro and American guard Brad Oleson, were still too strong for Red Star Belgrade as the duo’s 19-year old Croatian understudy Mario Hezonja shone in a 92-77 success.

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