Spurs wear down Clippers, extend home winning streak to 42

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San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard (2, left) drives to the basket  Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points and the San Antonio Spurs dominated the fourth quarter to beat the LA Clippers 108-87 on Tuesday for their 42nd consecutive home win, including 33 coming this season. LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 points, Patty Mills added 15 and Manu Ginobili contributed 13 for the Spurs (57-10), who outscored their guests 37-17 in the final frame for their 18th win in the last 20 games. The upset-minded Clippers trailed 71-70 entering the fourth quarter but with their leader Chris Paul resting on the bench, they watched the Spurs backups spark a game-breaking 26-9 blitz. David West scored eight quick points, Mills had seven, including a pair of triples, to open up a 97-79 cushion with four and a half minutes left, and the Silver and Black coasted home. Paul finished with 22 points and eight assists, while DeAndre Jordan had 16 points and 14 boards for the Clippers (42-24), who failed to bounce back from Sunday's listless 114-90 loss to Cleveland. Elsewhere: - Brooklyn Nets 131, Philadelphia 76ers 114: Bojan Bogdanovic exploded for a career-high 44 points and the Nets (19-48) snapped a four-game slide after cruising past the league-worst 76ers. Isaiah Canaan had 20 points for Philadelphia (9-58), which has dropped 15 of its last 16 games. - Toronto Raptors 107, Milwaukee Bucks 89: Kyle Lowry tossed in 25 points and rookie Norman Powell had a season-best 17 in place of rested top scorer DeMar DeRozan, and the visiting Raptors (45-21) completed a four-game season series sweep of Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 18 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists for Milwaukee (29-39), which was outscored 55-40 in the second half. - Orlando Magic 116, Denver Nuggets 110: Frenchman Evan Fournier hit five triples en route to 30 points, and Jason Smith came off the bench to record season-highs of 25 points with 13 rebounds, sparking the Magic (29-37) past the visiting Nuggets. Gary Harris had 18 points for Denver (28-40), which rallied from 18 down in the third quarter to four midway through the final frame before losing its second in a row. - Indiana Pacers 103, Boston Celtics 98: Paul George scored 25 points, and the Pacers (36-31) went on a game-breaking 20-9 burst midway through the final quarter to beat the visiting Celtics. Isaiah Thomas had 21 points for Boston (39-28), which was knotted at 77-apiece before the hosts pulled away. - Sacramento Kings 106, LA Lakers 98: Darren Collison and DeMarcus Cousins scored 22 points apiece, and the visiting Kings (26-40) stopped a five-game skid while completing a 4-0 season sweep of the Kobe Bryant-less Lakers (14-54). Lou Williams had 17 points but Bryant sat out the game to rest his sore right shoulder.

Turkey fire another warning with win in Austria

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Turkey team mates react after the 2-1 lead scored by Arda Turan (C) during the international soccer friendly match Austria vs Turkey in Vienna  Turkey fired another warning to their Euro 2016 rivals when Arda Turan scored with a delightful lob to give them a 2-1 win away to fellow qualifiers Austria on Tuesday. Turkey, who beat Sweden by the same score on Thursday, extended their unbeaten run to 13 games since their home defeat against Brazil in a friendly in November 2014. Austria goalkeeper Ramazan Ozcan, given a rare outing by coach Marcel Koller, sent a clearance straight to Turan who floated the ball back over him from 25 metres with the keeper stranded on the edge of his area 11 minutes into the second half. Koller, who rarely experiments, made four changes to his usual lineup, with Rubin Okotie replacing Marc Janko in attack. Cenk Tosun kept his place in the Turkey attack after scoring both goals against Sweden while the experimental central defensive partnership of Ahmet Calk and Mehmet Topal came through the test. Austria, who dropped only one point in qualifying, went ahead when Zlatko Junuzovic scored from a chance set up by Marko Arnautovic in the 22nd minute. Turkey equalised two minutes before halftime with a trademark free kick from midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu.

France full of goalscoring threats in 4-2 win over Russia

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French team players Andre-Pierre Gignac and Dimitri Payet celebrate after Payet's goal  France looked full of goalscoring threats just 10 weeks before they host Euro 2016 as they beat Russia 4-2 in a friendly international on Tuesday. For the first soccer match at the Stade de France since last November's deadly Paris attacks, Les Bleus played attractive football and scored through N'Golo Kante, Andre-Pierre Gignac, Dimitri Payet and Kingsley Coman, four days after beating the Netherlands 3-2 away. France's goals against the Netherlands were scored by Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud and Blaise Matuidi. Alexander Kokorin and Yuri Zhirkov reduced the arrears for Russia on Tuesday, making the most of France's lapses in concentration on a rainy Paris night. Security was tight in and around the Stade de France following the attacks in Paris by militant Islamists on Nov. 13 that killed 130 people. The crowd also observed a minute's silence before kick-off in memory of the victims of last week's bombings in Brussels, Belgium. France coach Didier Deschamps made six changes to the team that beat the Netherlands, and the former captain discovered he has some more options for the June 10-July 10 European Championship. Leicester City's Kante celebrated his first start with his first international goal in the eighth minute on his 25th birthday with a low shot from inside the box after being played through by Griezmann. The holding midfielder was also at the start of a nice move that involved Gignac and Paul Pogba. Russia played rough but Gignac doubled the tally by heading home from Griezmann's corner kick seven minutes before the interval. Les Bleus suffered a minor glitch when fullback Jeremy Mathieu, who had come on for Patrice Evra at halftime, limped off with a leg injury and was replaced by Lucas Digne. Digne was caught cold by Kokorin, who beat him to the ball to latch on to Alan Dzagoev's free kick in the 56th minute. Payet, however, restored a two-goal lead on his 29th birthday with a superb 30-metre free kick into the top corner in the 64th, two minutes after coming on for Griezmann. Second-half substitute Coman made it 4-2 with 14 minutes left with a fine shot on the turn.

Ireland held by Slovakia but fringe players impress

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Ireland team group before the match  Ireland and Slovakia drew 2-2 in a Euro 2016 warm-up on Tuesday as a number of the hosts' fringe players staked their claim for a seat on the plane to France but were unable to get the better of the more experienced Slovaks. Starting with just one of the 11 who beat Switzerland 1-0 on Friday, Ireland's usually resolute but often uninventive side showed some much-needed attacking verve with Eunan O'Kane, Wes Hoolahan, James McClean and Cyrus Christie all impressing. For a side who kept six clean sheets in their last nine games, however, Ireland were picked apart with worrying ease at times, first after 14 minutes when Miroslav Stoch benefited from a Paul McShane error to sweep home an inch-perfect Erik Sabo pull back. Two penalties in the space two minutes quickly swung the momentum Ireland's way with smart work from man-of-the-match Hoolahan and Bournemouth's O'Kane putting Shane Long through before he was brought down by Slovak goalkeeper Matus Kozacik. Long converted the spot kick and won another with his next touch as he slickly beat Martin Skrtel before the Liverpool man clearly dragged him down. The hard-working McClean took over penalty duties but the outcome was the same. Slovakia, who also struggled at times in front of goal in qualifying and drew a blank on Friday against Latvia, equalised just before halftime with another well-worked move that led to McShane turning a cross from the ever-dangerous Sabo into his own net. The Slovaks, who will make their first trip to the European Championships as an independent nation in June and face a tricky group featuring England, Russia and Wales, kept the hosts at bay in a more subdued second half. While Ireland lost Newcastle United goalkeeper Rob Elliot to injury, they can consider it a very satisfactory five days. They will look to make up for a swift Euro 2012 exit at this year's finals in France where they will face the daunting trio of Belgium, Sweden and Italy in their group.

Ibrahimovic returns as Sweden draw 1-1 with Czech Republic

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Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic controls the ball during the friendly soccer match between Sweden and Czech Republic Sweden, buoyed by the return of captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic, drew 1-1 with the Czech Republic as both sides continued their preparations for Euro 2016 with a warm-up friendly on Tuesday. The home side, looking to rebound after losing 2-1 to Turkey on Thursday, took the lead in the 14th minute when Marcus Berg converted a cross with a first-time effort past Czech goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik. The Czechs, who lost to Scotland 1-0 at home last week, levelled in the 26th minute through Matej Vydra's diving header. The Swedes controlled much of the game and created a number of chances throughout, forcing Vaclik into several sharp saves. They also welcomed the return of Ibrahimovic, who missed Sweden's friendly against Turkey. Striker Ibrahimovic, 34, recently secured his fourth Ligue 1 title with Paris St Germain and scored 11 goals in Euro 2016 qualifying for the Swedes. Czech manager Pavel Vrba used a number of young players as he continues to experiment with different lineups ahead of this year's tournament. The Czechs left Borek Dockal -- their leading scorer during qualifying -- on the bench for most of the match and played without injured Arsenal duo Tomas Rosicky and Petr Cech. Sweden have been drawn in Group E with Ireland, Italy and Belgium for the Euro 2016 finals in France in June and July. The Czechs, who finished top of their qualifying group ahead of Iceland, Turkey and the Netherlands, will begin their Euro 2016 campaign with a Group D match against holders Spain.

Portugal beat Belgium in shadow of Brussels attacks

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Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (L) celebrates with his teammates after scoring the second goal against Belgium Portugal proved too strong for a Belgian side shorn of its regular defence and creative midfielders, securing a 2-1 victory in a Euro 2016 warm-up friendly played in the shadow of last week's Brussels attacks. Belgium were due to have hosted the match in Brussels, but it was switched to Leiria in Portugal after the bombings at Brussels Airport and the city's metro that killed 32 people, excluding three suspected suicide bombers. Belgium, who are number one in the FIFA world rankings, were missing half their regulars and this gave fringe players a chance to stake a claim for Euro 2016 squad berths. In the event, few excelled, with keeper Thibaut Courtois the stand out player. Injuries stripped them of captain Vincent Kompany and fellow defender Jan Vertonghen, attacking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, playmaker Eden Hazard and striker Christian Benteke. With right back Toby Alderweireld also out due to illness, a makeshift Belgian defence struggled to counter Portugal's attack led by Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal, who lost 1-0 at home to Bulgaria on Friday with Ronaldo missing a penalty, forced Courtois to make four fine saves inside the first 15 minutes. However, he could do little to keep out a shot from Nani in the 20th minute and a Ronaldo header 20 minutes later. Momentum changed on the hour mark, when Ronaldo and Nani left the field and Belgium's Jordan Lukaku came on at left back. Within minutes he supplied the cross from which brother Romelu scored, but Portugal held on for victory. Belgium warmed up in grey tops with "In memory of all victims" on the front and played in white shirts with the Belgian flag in the middle and black armbands. "The events of March 22 are naturally in the minds of the players, but when the referee blows the match will start and we'll go for it," coach Marc Wilmots had said before the game. Belgian and Portuguese players stood mixed together as they sang the two national anthems.

Azarenka moves closer to third Miami title with defeat of Konta

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Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in action against Johanna Konta of Great Britain  Two-time champion Victoria Azarenka beat Johanna Konta 6-4, 6-2 to eliminate the last British player in the Miami Masters, with the double grand slam champion from Belarus winning her 11th straight match Wednesday. Konta, a 2016 Australian Open semi-finalist who has improved her WTA ranking by 120 places over recent years, was unable to withstand the firepower of Azarenka, winner of the Indian Wells title this month. Azarenka will play the winner from Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber of Germany, the second seed, and US player Madison Keys. Azarenka is on the comeback trail after two seasons of injuries and already owns a pair of titles this season. So dominant was her performance after getting through a touch-and-go opening set that she committed only two unforced errors in the second set against her 23rd-ranked opponent. "I had trouble reading her serve at the start," Azarenka said. "But I was able to adjust, getting down lower on the returns and playing more aggressively. Conditions are always changing here, today it was windy, but it's been hot on other days. I'm adjusting every day." Azarenka had little time for speculation on possibly becoming the first woman to win the March back-to-back Masters events since Kim Clijsters did it in 2005. "I'm only looking at a semi-final now," Azarenka said. "The final seems so close, but it is really far. I want to continue to fight and get better." Azarenka, whose Miami titles date to 2009 and 2011, is one of two former champions remaining in the field along with Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova (2006).