BOXING DAY SPORTSBREAK

The annual World Junior Hockey Championship showcasing the world’s best under-20 hockey players kicks off today. Canada will open against Slovakia in Montreal in prime time tonight (7 pm Sask time). The earlier games will see Russia play Denmark, the U-S facing Finland and the Czech Republic against Sweden.

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Goaltender Zachary Fucale gets the start for Canada against Slovakia tonight at the World Junior Hockey Championship. At last year’s tournament in Sweden, Jake Paterson was in net for Canada’s first two round-robin games. But a 5-4 shootout loss to the Czech Republic cost Paterson his spot and Fucale played the rest of the tournament.

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Chris Paul scored 22 points and the Los Angeles Clippers handed the NBA-leading Golden State Warriors their second straight loss with a 100-86 victory. Blake Griffin missed his first eight shots and was 5-for-16 overall with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Klay Thompson scored 15 points, and Stephen Curry 14 for Golden State.

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Also in the NBA, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka led Oklahoma to its sixth consecutive regular-season win over San Antonio, beating the defending NBA champs 114-106. Washington handed the New York Knicks their 16th loss in 17 games with a 102-91 victory. Miami topped Cleveland 101-91 and the Chicago Bulls beat the L-A Lakers 113-93.

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Cleveland’s LeBron James and Stephen Curry of Golden State are the leading vote-getters in the first returns from NBA All-Star fan voting. James had about 553-thousand votes at the Eastern Conference front-court spot. Curry had more than 549-thousand votes as a guard for the West.

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NBA action continues today with 11 games around the league. First up is Brooklyn at Boston in an afternoon matinee. The Toronto Raptors have the night off and will play the Clippers in Los Angeles tomorrow.

(Canadian Press)