Basketball, NBA: Guard DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Charlotte Hornets 104-94 on Friday, courtesy of Charlotte being unable to score in the final 4:45 minutes of the game. Forward Marvin Williams hit a three-pointer to tie the game 94-94 and give him 17 points, but that was the end of the scoring for the Hornets. Point guard Kyle Lowry then made a step-back jumper that put the Raptors into the lead with 3:28 to play and they were on their way to a 104-94 victory.

Horse Racing: ITV has signed a four-year deal to become the exclusive terrestrial broadcast partner for British racing from 2017, replacing Channel 4. Having won the tender process, ITV will begin broadcasting from Cheltenham’s New Year’s Day fixture on January 1. Channel 4’s last broadcast will be of the Betfred Challow Hurdle meeting at Newbury on December 31. Channel 4 said it wished racing “all the best from 2017”. ITV is committed to showing nearly 100 days of racing each year, with the Cheltenham Festival, the Crabbie’s Grand National meeting at Aintree, the Investec Derby at Epsom and Royal Ascot among the marquee events that will be shown on the main ITV channel.

Cricket: Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq has called on the cricketing fraternity to respect the decision to recall pace bowler Mohammad Amir to the international fold. Amir has received his first Pakistan call-up since completing a five-year ban for spot-fixing and was named in the one-day international and Twenty20 squads to tour New Zealand. The 23-year-old had served time in prison in the UK for the deliberate bowling of no-balls during the 2010 series against England.

Darts: Raymond van Barneveld came back from the brink to beat Michael Smith 5-4 and reach the semi-finals of the PDC World Championship. Van Barneveld, who won the last of his five world titles in 2007, lost the first three sets and was 2-0 down in the decider but won four legs in a row to set up a last-four clash with Adrian Lewis. Lewis dropped his first sets of the tournament against Peter Wright but ran out a 5-2 winner. Wright had one dart at double top to pull it back to 4-3 but missed it.

Equestrian: British star John Whitaker made a blistering start to the inaugural Equestrian.com Liverpool International Horse Show as he announced his Rio Olympics credentials in style. Whitaker thrilled a bumper crowd by winning the accumulator class and claiming runners-up spot behind recent Olympia World Cup winner Emanuele Gaudiano in the 1.45 metre two-phase competition. And his performance served immediate notice that he means business at the launch of Rio Olympics year, with 60-year-old Whitaker hoping to put himself in contention for a possible sixth Games appearance.

Tennis: Heather Watson will be coached on an interim basis by Great Britain’s Fed Cup captain Judy Murray for the first few weeks of her 2016 season, according to reports. The BBC says the British number two, who split with Argentinian Diego Veronelli last month, will link up with Murray for the Hopman Cup in Perth, the Hobart International – where Watson will be defending champion – and the Australian Open. Watson will play alongside Murray’s youngest son, Andy, during the Hopman Cup mixed team event, which gets under way tomorrow.