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Yorkshire 223 for 6 (Lyth 87) beat Durham 174 for 8 (Arshad 43, Plunkett 1-13, Carver 3-40) by 49 runsScorecardYorkshire Vikings posted their highest ever NatWest T20 Blast score of 223 for 6 to set up victory by 49 runs over Durham Jets at Headingley and reignite their chances of making it through to the quarter-finals.In a brave but futile attempt to reach their target, Jets reached 174 for 8 in their 20 overs to make their own push for a last-eight place that little bit more difficult.Man-of-the-match Adam Lyths blistering 87 led to Yorkshire overtaking their previous best score of 213 for 7 against Worcestershire at Headingley in 2010 but he received excellent support along the way.The Vikings batsmen looked in better fettle than in any previous game this season and they continued to rack up the runs after Lyth and David Willey had blazed the trail with an opening stand of 64 in just 4.4 overs.Lyth began the carnage in the games second over by slamming three boundaries in an over from Jamie Harrison which cost 17 and then Willey took up the challenge by smashing Usman Arshad for two fours and a six as 37 came off the first 15 deliveries.Willey had a life on 21 when he hit a terrific skier off Chris Rushworth and although wicketkeeper Phil Mustard ran to get under the ball at square leg he could not hold on to it, Lyth then taking three fours later in the over.Willey lofted Pringle for six over long off but in aiming another big drive he was caught by Richardson for 32 from 14 balls with three fours and two sixes.Skipper Alex Lees turned Keaton Jennings into his stumps to make it 82 for two in the seventh over but Australian Travis Head, in his first home appearance for the Vikings, then gave sensible support to Lyth in a third wicket stand of 83 in nine overs.Although Head reeled off plenty of fine strokes himself, he allowed Lyth to continue his domination of the crease and he swept Scott Borthwick for four to dash to a 32-ball half-century and take Yorkshire into three figures.Both batsmen hit further sixes as the stand reached 50 of which Heads share was 17 but they were parted when Head tried to follow up with a second consecutive six at Harrisons expense and was caught at long on by Muchall for 34 from 24 deliveries with two fours and two sixes.In the next over from Rushworth, Lyth was held on the boundary edge by Richardson for a career-best 87. He had received 54 balls and struck 11 fours and three sixes.Yorkshire were 174 for four in the 17th over and Jack Leaning made sure the pressure was kept on Jets by cracking three sixes in an over from Arshad when he was also put down on the edge by Pringle, one of seven catches of varying degrees of difficulty to be spilled during the innings. Leaning was out in the final over, his 32 coming off just 11 balls with two fours and three sixes.Mark Stoneman and Mustard showed they meant business by each taking two fours from Tim Bresnans first over but Willey then had Stoneman caught at long on by Azeem Rafiq and Durham could never quite keep up with the chase.Calum McCleod was well caught low at mid-off by Lees when driving at Liam Plunkett, whose four overs conceded only 13 runs, and there was a remarkable first over from left-arm spinner, Karl Carver, whose first four balls brought him two wickets along with two sixes. Mustard was held by Willey at long on and Muchall straight drove the next two deliveries high over the rope before clipping a catch to Bresnan at mid-wicket, his 25 containing a four and three sixes and coming off 14 balls.Yorkshires fielding and catching were of the highest class, particularly Plunketts catch at long on to account for Keaton Jennings.The umpires took Willey out of the attack when he bowled the second of two waist-high deliveries and the final ball of his spell was sent down by Head. Arshad kept fighting right until the end by blasting two sixes in the final over from Will Rhodes before being caught for 43 from 23 balls with five fours and two sixes.Lees said: This was the best we have played this season. Lyth and Willey set off like a rocket and everyone else kept whacking it. We went out wanting to entertain and leave no stone unturned and tonights game showed just what we can do.Plunketts excellent spell was bowled at a good pace and it changed the whole momentum of the game. He was well backed up by all of the other bowlers and the fielding was outstanding.Stoneman commented: This defeat puts us under some pressure but hopefully it will serve as a wake-up call. It probably came at a time when we can pull our socks up.We missed the opportunity to take wickets by not holding on to half-chances and they got away from us. If one or two of these chances had stuck we may have restricted them to 180-190 but 223 meant we were right up against it. . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds. . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Portland Trail Blazers hope for a couple of trends to continue when they play host to the Denver Nuggets Sunday night at the Moda Center.The Trail Blazers (6-4) have beaten Denver (3-6) six straight times at home and are 14-2 against the Nuggets at the Moda Center since the start of the 2008-09 season. Portland has won 12 of its past 13 matchups overall with Denver dating to the start of the 2013-14 season.The Blazers beat Denver 115-113 in overtime at the Pepsi Center on Oct. 29, scoring nine unanswered points in the final 1:26 of regulation to force the extra session. Damian Lillard scored a game-high 37 points on 15-for-28 shooting, including the game-winning field goal with .3 of a second remaining. Lillard has averaged 29.3 points on .485 shooting over the past three games against the Nuggets, having scored at least 30 in two of those games.Lillard is tied for fourth in the NBA in scoring at 30.6 points per game and has totaled the most points (306) in the first 10 games of a season in Portland history. The previous best was Kiki Vandeweghes 282 in 1986. Lillard becomes the first player in Blazer annals to score at least 30 points in six of the first 10 games of a season.Lillard scored 36 points to lead Portland past Sacramento 122-120 in overtime Friday at the Moda Center.A pretty gritty win, Portland coach Terry Stotts said. Its a positive that this group is able to find ways to win a close game.Portland is 4-1 in games decided by six points or fewer and 2-1 in overtime contests this season.The Blazers are going without power forward Al-Farouq Aminu, who has missed the past three gaames with a straining left calf.dddddddddddd (Aminu) will be re-evaluated in a couple of weeks, Stotts said.In the meantime, the fifth-year Portland coach will choose from among Meyers Leonard, Noah Vonleh, Evan Turner and Allen Crabbe for the fifth starting spot, depending on matchups.Well do whatever I think is best that night, Stotts said.Denver guard Will Barton, a former Trail Blazer, has missed the past six games and will sit out Sundays contest with a sprained left ankle. Forward Darrell Arthur (knee) is questionable for Sundays game.The Nuggets continue to have trouble taking care of the ball. They rank last in the league, averaging 18 turnovers per game after totaling 15 in a 106-95 home loss to Detroit Saturday night.We cannot continue to turn the ball over 18, 19 times a game if we want to give ourselves a chance to win, Denver coach Mike Malone told reporters.The Nuggets hope to get one of those turnovers reversed -- and get a chance to turn a loss into a defeat in the process. In Tuesdays 108-107 loss at Memphis, referees ruled the ball was touched by the Nuggets before it went out of bounds with .7 of a second left, a call that was upheld by replay. Denver was leading by one point; the Grizzlies went on to win on Marc Gasols buzzer-beating basket.The next day, NBA officials ruled the ball should have been awarded to Denver. The Nuggets have filed an official protest with the league and hope to replay the end of the game the next time they play Memphis Feb. 1 in Denver. ' ' '
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