​Image source, Getty Images. ByElizabeth Hudson. BBC Sport Journalist. 35 minutes ago. The Oklahoma City Thunder are within reach of clinching the NBA’s Western Conference top spot for the third season running after thrashing the Los Angeles Lakers for the second time in six days.. A 123-87 victory on Tuesday means the Thunder are one win – or one San Antonio Spurs loss – from ensuring they finish top.. The Lakers had lost 139-96 to the defending NBA champions on Thursday – one of their heaviest defeats in their history.. This time, despite being without Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James, they stayed with the Thunder into the second quarter before their opponents scored 23 points – conceding just five – in the final seven minutes and 16 seconds of the half to take control.. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 25 points in 28 minutes – extending to 139 his record for most consecutive games with 20 or more points – as his side secured their sixth consecutive win and their 18th in 19 games.. The defeat for the Lakers was their third in a row – they fall behind the Denver Nuggets in the chase for third spot in the Conference.. Rui Hachimura led the home side with 15 points with no other Lakers player scoring more than 11.. Elsewhere, the Phoenix Suns missed out on an automatic play-off spot after losing 119-105 to the Houston Rockets.. Kevin Durant who was traded from Phoenix to Houston last year, scored 24 points against his former team with sections of the Suns home crowd subjecting him to boos throughout the game.. The defeat for the Suns means the Minnesota Timberwolves have secured the final play-off spot in the Conference after their comprehensive 124-104 success over the struggling Indiana Pacers.. The Boston Celtics closed in on securing second seed in the Eastern Conference after holding off the in-form Charlotte Hornets 113-102 while the Toronto Raptors kept their automatic play-off hopes on track with a 121-95 win over the Miami Heat, who will now be involved in next week’s play-in tournament, along with the Suns.. Related topics. Basketball  

 Starmer to visit Middle East after US and Iran reach ceasefire deal. 13 minutes ago. Anna Lamche. Reuters. Keir Starmer welcomed the ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US as he travelled to meet with leaders of countries in the Gulf on Wednesday.. The prime minister is expected to “discuss diplomatic efforts to support and uphold the ceasefire”, according to No 10. He will return to the UK on Friday.. The ceasefire comes after Donald Trump threatened “a whole civilisation will die” if Iran did not agree to end the war and unblock the Strait of Hormuz – comments that led Downing Street to call again for “de-escalation”.. “I welcome the ceasefire agreement reached overnight, which will bring a moment of relief to the region and the world”, Starmer told reporters on Wednesday.. “Together with our partners we must do all we can to support and sustain this ceasefire, turn it into a lasting agreement and reopen the Strait of Hormuz”, he added.. Iran and the US agreed to the conditional ceasefire on Tuesday, just over an hour before the expiry of the deadline Trump had set for Iran to make a deal.. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the ceasefire was “subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz”.. Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced Iran would agree to a ceasefire “if attacks against Iran are halted”.. “For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible”, he added.. The war began in February, when the US and Israel launched co-ordinated attacks on Iran over concerns Tehran was accelerating efforts towards building a nuclear weapon.. In response, Iran has launched strikes on its neighbours across the Gulf and the wider Middle East.. It also placed a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that serves as a critical shipping route through which a fifth of the world’s energy shipments usually transits.. The conflict caused the price of crude oil to spike, with sharp increases in petrol and diesel costs, leading to concerns about the cost of living in countries across the world.. What we know about the two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran. UK will allow US to use bases to strike Iranian missile sites, PM says. UK will seek closer ties with EU in light of Iran war, Starmer says. Middle East. Keir Starmer. Donald Trump. Iran. Iran war. Iran-US relations. United States 

​Image source, Getty Images. ByBobbie Jackson. BBC Sport journalist. 48 minutes ago. Conor Benn says WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia is “good for boxing” but believes the American is a “liability”.. Garcia won his first major title in February after two previous failed attempts and following his return from a one-year suspension for doping.. The 27-year-old has long been on Benn’s radar but the Briton, who has served his own doping ban from the sport, spent 2025 tied up in his rivalry with Chris Eubank Jr.. Benn, 29, stepped up two weight classes to face Eubank, winning the second encounter, but is ready to start campaigning back at his traditional division of welterweight.. He told BBC Sport that Garcia was supposed to be his next opponent but did not want another period of inactivity, so agreed to face Regis Prograis on 11 April instead.. “I think Garcia’s good for the sport of boxing, I think he’s a character and he’s entertaining, but he’s also a liability,” Benn told BBC Sport.. “Garcia was next, that was scheduled in – I am mandatory number one position for Garcia.. “Now if you’re me, do you wait out until September or do you take a potential banana skin in the middle? I like rolling the dice and having a little bit of fun and keeping active.”. Drastic money difference behind Zuffa switch – Benn. 31 March. ‘Let’s do it’ – Wilder calls out Joshua after win. 2 days ago. Benn’s fight on Saturday is his first since leaving lifelong promoter Matchroom, having agreed a one-fight deal with Zuffa Boxing in February.. Zuffa Boxing is backed by UFC chief Dana White and Saudi Arabian capital.. White’s ultimate aim is to sideline the four traditional sanctioning bodies – the WBO, WBC, IBF and WBA – and make Zuffa’s belt the premier world title alongside the Ring Magazine title, an organisation owned by Saudi boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh.. What Benn’s future looks like beyond his deal with Zuffa Boxing remains unclear, but his desire to win a world title – just as his father Nigel did in the 1990s – remains firm.. Benn has several avenues to explore if he beats Prograis, with Rolando Romero holding the WBA title, Lewis Crocker in possession of the IBF belt and Devin Haney the reigning WBO champion.. But Garcia, whose unpredictability Benn admires, remains the Briton’s number one target.. “You don’t know who’s turning up – you don’t know if Garcia’s turning up,” Benn said.. “You don’t know if he’s going to make the fight or not, have some sort of episode. You just don’t know.. “People don’t want to be themselves in the sport of boxing, so I love it when I see a young man under fire for being who he is.. “At least you’re true to yourself and who you are. Whether I like you or not – I don’t him – but some people do, just be who you are.”. Related topics. Boxing. Boxing schedule and results 2026. 3 days ago. Watch every Born to Brawl episode. 28 April 2024. More boxing from the BBC. Notifications, social media and more with BBC Sport. 16 August 2  

​Image source, Getty Images. ByAlastair Telfer. BBC Sport journalist. 18 minutes ago. England full-back Ellie Kildunne has admitted feeling “really alone” after experiencing an emotional dip following the Red Roses’ Rugby World Cup win.. The pre-tournament star delivered by scoring a brilliant solo try in England’s final victory over Canada at a sold-out 82,000-capacity Allianz Stadium in September.. Four weeks on from winning England’s first World Cup in 11 years, Kildunne returned to club action for Harlequins in front of 2,929 fans at Twickenham Stoop against Loughborough Lightning.. “You are playing in front of a sold-out crowd at Allianz, you have just won a World Cup, and the next minute you are back playing over the road in front of a slither of the amount of people,” the 26-year-old told BBC Sport.. “There was that little bit of a dip in ‘why I am doing this?’ I always say it is for the happiness and inspiring people and every room I walk into.. “My expectation gets higher of myself all the time. If I played 8/10 then I feel I might as well have played 2/10. I am going to have the highest standards for myself to keep on striving to get better.. “I needed to rework that out – how am I going to keep pushing myself from within, to keep wanting to do my best and stay completely focused.. “I went from playing Guitar Hero every night with my team-mates to going back to living on my own in Reading. Suddenly I was like ‘wow, I feel really alone’.. “There is going to be good and bad emotions and things that I want to talk about. Like a dip, which is natural after a peak, but who do I talk to?. “It made me value the times that I have got with people.”. Dahl, Torres and ‘Keighley Queens’ – the making of Kildunne. 27 September 2025. Female coaches make huge difference – Scarratt. 2 days ago. Women’s Six Nations guide: Fixtures and BBC coverage. 1 day ago. England v Ireland. Women’s Six Nations. Saturday, 11 April, kick-off 14:25 BST. Allianz Stadium. Watch live on BBC One, iPlayer and online; updates on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds; live text and video highlights on BBC Sport website and app. The 2024 World Rugby women’s player of the year maintained her impressive form throughout last year, but missed the World Cup quarter-final victory over Scotland after sustaining a concussion in England’s final pool-stage win over Australia.. Kildunne, who departed shortly after half-time, had struggled against the Wallaroos and made a number of uncharacteristic errors.. She was recalled for the semi-final against France and scored twice – including another remarkable solo try – to banish any doubts over her form before the final.. “I look back at moments in that World Cup, and I probably didn’t have my best game against Australia for quite a few reasons,” Kildunne said.. “Then, obviously, I got concussed, which added the pressure back on. Am I going to get back? Am I getting back for a semi-final, or am I going to get back for a final? We needed to see how fa  

​ByMatthew Harris. Golf photographer. Seve’s dance. Rory’s roar. Tiger’s fist pumps. In more than 50 years of covering sport, I’ve been fortunate enough to take some of golf’s most iconic photographs.. While my career was kickstarted by a split-second snap that captured Seve Ballesteros’ famous celebration at the 1984 Open Championship, others have taken meticulous planning.. Last year at Augusta National, I was setting up at 06:15, almost 12 hours before Rory McIlroy’s Masters-winning moment, to make sure I was in the perfect spot to capture his emotion as he completed the career Grand Slam by claiming his first Green Jacket.. And, while I’ve been privileged to photograph all 15 of Tiger Woods’ major victories, one image in particular took months of planning.. Here are a selection of my favourite images – and the stories behind them.. Seve’s celebration. Image source, Matthew Harris Golf Collection. This was taken at my first major championship in 1984 and turned into a hugely influential picture. I was covering the final day for the Observer newspaper, and I came away with perhaps the most iconic moment of Seve Ballesteros’ career – which is many people’s favourite picture from the modern era of golf.. Only a few photographers caught this split-second moment when all the elements came together – where his right arm is, the angle of the putter, the position of his legs, his facial expression.. There is always an element of luck to every great picture but I had been taking photos at sporting events for about a decade by this point so I had some experience of where to position myself and what to look out for.. I knew from previous celebrations he would be animated and emotional, but the timing was everything.. The newspaper didn’t need the image until the Tuesday, to go in the following Sunday’s paper, so I drove home overnight to my lab in Hemel Hempstead. It was taken using a manually focused lens so it was a huge relief when I saw the image had come out in focus.. It was picked up by several magazines across Europe and Japan and it still sells today.. Tiger’s tiger. Image source, Matthew Harris Golf Collection. With Tiger Woods, it was a case of ‘just shoot from every angle you could’. Some sportspeople you only need a silhouette to be able to recognise – and Tiger is definitely one of those.. But I had been trying to get this picture for many months – even years.. I wanted a picture that was sharp on his well-known headcover of a tiger but for him to be abstract to it, as opposed to standing next to it.. Photographers often chat to caddies and ask for help from time to time in how they position the bag, or clubs, to aid us in getting the best shot. It’s like being in a travelling circus and the caddies are a great and insightful group.. I knew Tiger’s caddie Stevie Williams well, and although he did help me out with some shots, I want to stress he didn’t here!. This opportunity arose at the Dubai Desert Classic in 2001, when Tiger was bending d