All-rounder Sunil Narine leads Kolkata to 14-run victory over Delhi in IPL

NEW DELHI (AP) — Sunil Narine’s all-round performance kept defending champion Kolkata Knight Riders alive in the Indian Premier League with a 14-run victory over Delhi Capitals on Tuesday.

Narine made a brisk 27 up front to set up a platform for Kolkata’s total of 204-9 after Delhi captain Axar Patel won the toss and elected to field.

Narine, an experienced West Indies all-rounder, then grabbed 3-29 and ran out Lokesh Rahul to restrict Delhi to 190-9 — its third defeat in four home games this season.

Delhi stayed at No. 4 with 12 points while Kolkata remained in contention for playoffs with nine points after 10 league games.

Faf du Plessis top-scored with 62 off 45 and had pushed Delhi to 136-3 when he combined in a 76-run partnership with Patel, who made a quickfire 43 off 23 balls.

Patel batted with lot of aggression despite sustaining a hand injury during Kolkata's innings as he smashed Narine for three sixes and kept Delhi in the driving seat.

But Narine first had the wickets of Patel and Tristan Stubbs in the 14th over and then du Plessis lofted the spinner to deep mid-wicket in the 16th over which brought Kolkata back into the game.

Impact player Ashutosh Sharma could score only seven as he tried to accelerate against Varun Chakravarthy, but his reverse sweep went straight into the hands of Narine at backward point and Mitchell Starc fell of the next delivery when he skied a simple catch to wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

Vipraj Nigam’s late countercharge gave Delhi a glimmer of hope before Andre Russell clean bowled him in the final over for 38 off 19 balls as Kolkata squeezed the home team in the final five overs.

Narine and Gurbaz featured in Kolkata’s highest opening partnership of the season when they smacked 48 runs of the first three overs with Sri Lankan fast bowler Dushmanta Chameera conceding 25 runs in one over.

Starc had Gurbaz (26 off 12 balls) caught behind off a fullish delivery outside the off stump and Narine was out plumb leg before wicket when he tried to slog sweep leg-spinner Nigam’s quickish leg-break soon after the power play.

Patel then dried up the runs and got the wickets of captain Ajinkya Rahane (26) and Venkatesh Iyer (7) as Kolkata slipped to 113-4 in the 10th over.

Top-scorer Angkrish Raghuvanshi (44) and Rinku Singh (36) then rebuilt the innings with a 61-run partnership before both fell in the death overs.

Kolkata lost three wickets in Starc’s final over of the innings when the Australian (3-43) claimed two wickets and Russell was run out after he tried to regain the strike.

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Kolkata Knight Riders' Rahamanullah Gurbaz plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo)

Delhi Capitals' Mitchell Starc bowls a delivery during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo)

Kolkata Knight Riders' captain Ajinkya Rahane plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo)

Kolkata Knight Riders' Angkrish Raghuvanshi plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo)

Delhi Capitals' captain Axar Patel drops the catch of Kolkata Knight Riders' Angkrish Raghuvanshi during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo)

Kolkata Knight Riders' Rahamanullah Gurba, right, celebrates the runout dismissal of Delhi Capitals' KL Rahul, left, during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo)

Delhi Capitals' Tristan Stubbs, right, is bowled out by Kolkata Knight Riders' Sunil Narine during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo)

Kolkata Knight Riders players celebrates the dismissal of Delhi Capitals' Karun Nair during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo)

Delhi Capitals' Axar Patel plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo)

Delhi Capitals' captain Axar Patel appeals successfully for the wicket of Kolkata Knight Riders' captain Ajinkya Rahane during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo)

Kolkata Knight Riders' Venkatesh Iyer plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo)

Kolkata Knight Riders' Sunil Narine plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo)

CLEVELAND (AP) — Keyonte George scored 32 points, Lauri Markkanen added 28 and the Utah Jazz bounced back after a 55-point loss and defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 123-112 Monday night.

George had 16 points during the third quarter, when Utah rallied from a 10-point deficit and regained control and began its five-game road trip with a victory. George also was 12 of 12 at the free throw line and had nine assists.

The win was the Jazz’s second in their past eight games and came two nights after a 150-95 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, the second-largest by scoring margin in franchise history and the biggest since they moved from New Orleans in 1979.

Markkanen, 10th in the league in scoring at 27.8 points per game, also had 12 rebounds. Jusuf Nurkik, who missed the last two games due to a toe injury, had 11 points and 17 rebounds.

Darius Garland led Cleveland with 23 points and Donovan Mitchell scored 21. The Cavaliers have dropped two of three.

PACERS 98, CELTICS 96

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Pascal Siakam scored 21 points, including the decisive 7-foot bank shot with 6.1 seconds remaining, and Indiana won three straight games for the first time this season, beating Boston.

Boston’s Derrick White missed a go-ahead 3-point attempt in the final seconds. He had tied the game at 96-all on a driving layup with 28.6 seconds remaining.

Siakam pump-faked and stepped inside the foul line for the high-arcing leaner that banked through in the final seconds. He also had eight rebounds and six assists.

The Pacers began the night with the NBA’s worst record but improved to 9-31, one-half game better than the New Orleans Pelicans. They were without forward Bennedict Mathurin (17.8 points per game), sidelined by a thumb injury for a fifth consecutive game.

Jay Huff had 20 points, including four 3-pointers, for the Pacers.

Payton Pritchard led the Celtics with 23 points and eight assists. White had 18 points and Anfernee Simons 16.

76ERS 115, RAPTORS 102

TORONTO (AP) — Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points, Joel Embiid had 27 and Philadelphia used an 80-point first half to beat Toronto.

VJ Edgecombe and Paul George each scored 15 points as the 76ers bounced back from Sunday’s overtime loss to Toronto to win for the sixth time in eight games.

Embiid (left knee and left groin) and George (left knee) were back in the lineup after sitting out Sunday.

Fans chanted “We want Lowry!” in the fourth quarter, then rose for a standing ovation when former Raptors player Kyle Lowry checked in for Maxey with 1:57 left to play.

Lowry starred for the Toronto team that won the 2019 NBA championship. He airballed a 3-pointer on his first attempt and missed all three shots he took.

Immanuel Quickley scored 18 points and Brandon Ingram had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Scottie Barnes scored 15 points for Toronto.

MAVERICKS 113, NETS 105

DALLAS (AP) — Cooper Flagg scored 27 points and matched a season high with three steals, and Naji Marshall had three straight baskets down the stretch and finished with 22 points as Dallas beat Brooklyn.

The Mavericks (15-25) snapped a two-game skid. Klay Thompson scored 18 off the bench and matched a season high with six 3-pointers.

Michael Porter Jr. scored 28 points and Day’Ron Sharpe had 14 points and 12 rebounds off the bench for the Nets (11-26), who have lost four consecutive games. They were swept in a road back-to-back, losing 103-98 at Memphis on Sunday.

KINGS 124, LAKERS 112

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) —Malik Monk made seven 3-pointers and scored 26 points to help Sacramento Kings to a win over Los Angeles.

DeMar DeRozan had 32 points and six assists for the Kings (10-30), who won their second straight after a seven-game skid. Russell Westbrook, who played 78 games for the Lakers in 2023, added 22 points and seven assists.

It was the Kings’ first home win against the Lakers since March 13, 2024.

Luka Doncic paced the Lakers with 42 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. It was the seventh 40-point game of the season for the NBA’s leading scorer.

LeBron James had 22 points on 8-for-17 shooting that included missing all five attempts from 3-point distance.

DeAndre Ayton scored 13 points to reach 7,000 for his career. Jaxson Hayes added 12 points for the Lakers (23-11), who have lost two straight since winning three in a row.

CLIPPERS 117, HORNETS 109

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 35 points and James Harden had 32 to move into ninth place on the NBA’s career scoring list, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat Charlotte for their fourth win in five games.

Jordan Miller added 14 points and Ivica Zubac had nine points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers.

LaMelo Ball had 25 points and nine rebounds to lead the Hornets in their third loss in four games. Kon Knueppel scored 18 points, Moussa Diabaté had 13 points and 15 rebounds, Brandon Miller also scored 13 and Miles Bridges 11.

Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (4) blocks a shot by Utah Jazz forward Kyle Filipowski (22) in the second half of an NBA basketball game in Cleveland, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)