SPORTS digest

LaVine, Arcidiacono help Bulls edge Cavs

CHICAGO

Zach LaVine scored 24 points, Ryan Arcidiacono added 15 and the Chicago Bulls rebounded after blowing an early 16-point lead to edge the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-98 on Saturday night.

Wendell Carter Jr. also had 15 points as Chicago won for the second time in six games.

LaVine has scored 20 more points in each of Chicago’s 13 games this season and in a career-high 14 straight overall, dating to his final game of 2017-18. The last Bulls player to score 20-plus points in 14 consecutive games was Jimmy Butler, who did it 15 straight times in 2016.

Tristan Thompson had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the league-worst Cavs. Rookie guard Collin Sexton scored a season-high 20 points in his second straight start and second of his career.

Rodney Hood also had 20 points and Jordan Clarkson came off the bench to score 15, but the Cavaliers lost their fifth straight.

Phantoms rally past Lumberjacks late

MUSKEGON

Brett Murray scored two goals and the Youngstown Phantoms upset the USHL Eastern Conference’s best team, the Muskegon Lumberjacks, 4-3.

Murray scored the Phantoms’s (5-7-0-2) first goal and the go-ahead goal in the final minute of regulation. Jack Malone and Thomas Farrell each had one goal.

Jon Moor made 24 saves to get the win. Egor Afanasyev, Alex Gaffney and Bobby Lynch each scored a goal for Muskegon (11-2-0-0).

Dama Balash to speak to Curbstone Coaches

WFMJ sports director Dana Balash will be the guest speaker at Monday’s luncheon meeting of The Curbstone Coaches at the Avion Banquet Center on Western Reserve Road in Beaver Township.

The event begins at noon and is open to the public.

Applications are being accepted for nominations for the 2019 Hall of Fame Class that will be inducted on May 5, 2019. For an application to nominate please call 330-506-6774 or 330-792-2272. The application deadline is Nov. 17.

DeSmith, Penguins blank Coyotes

PITTSBURGH

Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist, Casey DeSmith stopped 39 shots and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-0 on Saturday night to snap a five-game losing streak.

The losing streak was Pittsburgh’s longest since it lost five in a row from Dec. 11-19, 2015, which included the first four games under coach Mike Sullivan. The Penguins haven’t lost six straight since 2006. Pittsburgh also ended a four-game home losing streak and continued a six-game points streak against Arizona.

DeSmith had his second shutout of the season and third of his career. DeSmith, signed by Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent in July 2017, has allowed five goals in his last six appearances. Starter Matt Murray served as the backup for the second straight game. He has one win in five home starts.

Alonso seeks triple crown at Indy 500

SAO PAULO

Two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso and his McLaren team will return to the Indianapolis 500 next year.

Alonso said on Saturday he wants to be the second driver in history to win the unofficial triple crown of motorsport with a victory at the historic American speedway.

Alonso and McLaren made the announcement at the Brazilian Grand Prix. The Spanish driver, who qualified 18th for Sunday’s race at Interlagos, is retiring from F1 after the Abu Dhabi season-closer on Nov. 25.

Alonso and McLaren, working with IndyCar team Andretti Autosport, competed in Indianapolis in 2017.

If the 37-year-old Alonso wins the Indy 500 on May 26, it will add to his victories in the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Staff/wire reports