BASKETTBALL

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Eastern Conference leaders the Cleveland Cavaliers suffered their first home loss of the season with a surprise 135-124 defeat to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. Cleveland's second loss of the season came after a strong second-half display from Atlanta with De'Andre Hunter scoring 26 points off the bench, Jalen Johnson adding 22 points and Trae Young contributing 20 with a career-high 22 assists.

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After a sluggish start to the season, Luka Doncic (25) is set to be sidelined with a sprained wrist. The Dallas Mavericks star will be out for at least a week. For the time being, the Dallas Mavericks' start to the season is far from living up to expectations. Last year's finalists, the Texans are currently far from their ambitions, even if their record is positive (eight wins and seven losses).

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Damian Lillard scored 37 points to lead Milwaukee to victory at Miami 106-103 in the NBA Cup on Tuesday despite playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo due to a knee injury. Lillard hit 10-of-17 from the floor and 8-of-13 from 3-point range while passing off 12 assists as the Bucks improved to 3-0 in group play while the Heat slid to 1-2 and never led. "It's a game of runs. I got off to a hot start," Lillard said. "I didn't try to force the issue. I didn't want to be passive. I tried to stay aggressive. I was getting the ball out. We just made good plays." All 30 league clubs play for the NBA Cup in an in-season tournament with teams divided into six groups of five for round-robin play in hopes of advancing to December knockout rounds with games also counting in the regular-season standings.

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Jayson Tatum (26) scored 33 points as the Boston Celtics ended the Cleveland Cavaliers' 15-game unbeaten start to the season with a hard-fought 120-117 victory in the NBA Cup on Tuesday. The Celtics unleashed a barrage of 22 three-pointers to overwhelm Cleveland, who clawed their way back to within two points of the lead late in the game after trailing by 21 early in the second half.

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The National Basketball Association (NBA) is in danger of "sportswashing" rights abuses through its links with the United Arab Emirates, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday.

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German international Franz Wagner drained a three-pointer with three seconds remaining as the Orlando Magic ended the Los Angeles Lakers' unbeaten home record with a dramatic 119-118 victory on Thursday. Rising star Wagner took full advantage of wayward Lakers shooting from the free throw line in the closing seconds of a see-saw battle at the Crypto.Com Arena to give Orlando a hard-fought win. Wagner, 23, finished with 37 points, 11 assists and six rebounds to lead the Magic scoring, with older brother Moritz adding 19 from the bench and Jalen Suggs scoring 23.