Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - Steven Adams and the Oklahoma City Thunder are heading for a fourth straight first round exit from the NBA playoffs.

The Thunder trail the Houston Rockets 2-0 in their best-of-seven western conference series, after losing game two 111-98 in Orlando.

Oklahoma City was outscored 34-20 in the final quarter after leading 78-77 after three periods.

Adams was restricted to eight points, but led the Thunder with 11 rebounds.

Meanwhile, the Miami Heat have beaten the Indiana Pacers 109-100 to also take a 2-0 lead in their eastern conference series.

Robinson set for return to World Cup

The Queenstown skier Alice Robinson is planning on starting her World Cup campaign at the venue where she first hit the big time.

Robinson has returned to her base in Italy to prepare for the northern season which was cut short this morning with news that the opening events in North America had been cancelled because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The women's Giant Slalom series is now scheduled to start on the glaciers above Soelden in Austria in the middle of October.

Robinson won her first Alpine World Cup race at the venue in October last year, pipping Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin of the USA for the title.

The International Ski Federation has said that races in Europe will go ahead as scheduled with the intention that the cancelled races will be added to the European calendar.

Robinson decided to return to Europe earlier than normal to make up for lost time with her coaches who were unable to travel to New Zealand this winter.

Hartley only Kiwi at Le Mans

Brendon Hartley is the only New Zealand driver confirmed so far for this year's Le Mans 24 hour motor race.

Hartley, who won the race in 2017, will be in the second Toyota Hybrid car in the top division.

He'll drive alongside two other former Formula One drivers Sebastien Buemi of Switzerland and Kazuki Nakajima of Japan.

Toyota have won the last two races with Buemi, Nakajima and Fernando Alonso.

Another New Zealander, Earl Bamber, who has won the race twice, isn't on the entry list after Porsche withdrew their top cars because of the economic impact of the Covid-19 crisis.

The race is scheduled for september 19 and 20.

-Le Mans

Bewley gets a crack at Le Tour

New Zealand cyclist Sam Bewley has been selected to ride the Tour de France for the first time.

The 33-year-old has been named in the Mitchelton-Scott team alongside compatriot Jack Bauer, who's been named to ride his fifth lap around France.

Excited to be heading to Nice next week to line up in my first TDF. Been plenty of laps of Italy and Spain over the years but pumped to be heading for one of France with the boys! pic.twitter.com/G03uCGNxgT

— SamBewley (@SamBewley) August 20, 2020

For the first time in Mitchelton-Scott's eight-year history an Australian rider hasn't been named in its line-up for the Tour.

Instead last year's stage winner Daryl Impey (Soutyh Africa) and former top-four finishers Adam Yates (Great Britain) and Esteban Chaves (Colombia) will lead the charge.

The Tour de France will begin on August 29, with riders finishing in Paris on September 20 as part of a packed 25-event schedule crammed into three months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Eels beat Storm

Melbourne were held scoreless for the first time in six years in a 14-0 loss to Parramatta in the NRL and will be desperate for some troops to return next week with up to five more players potentially set for stints on the sidelines.

Of most concern is hooker Brandon Smith, who left the field late clutching his jaw, while five-eighth Ryley Jacks also went down with a hip injury.

The Storm could well be the first team to fall foul of a crusher tackle crackdown, with debutant half Cooper Johns and bench forward Albert Vete placed on report in the first half.

Even a grade one charge would mean a suspension under the new guidelines while the club could also be without Nelson Asofa-Solomona, who was sin-binned for a shoulder hit to the face of Marata Niukore and faces a nervous wait for the match review committee charge sheet.

The Eels bounced back well from last week's loss to the Dragons, coughing up plenty of ball with adventurous play but defending brilliantly and finding two tries in a largely dominant display. Back-rower Ryan Matterson was heavily involved in his return from injury.

- NRL

Shields says players won't be forced to kneel

The former Hurricanes skipper Brad Shields says it will be up to individuals if they want to take a knee to support the Black Lives Matter movement before English Premiership rugby games.

The England forward Billy Vunipola stood before Saracens' opening game of the season last weekend, while the majority of his team-mates kneeled.

Vunipola said his Christian faith meant he was uncomfortable with the idea of taking a knee as part of the Premiership's anti-racism protest in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protest being linked to attacks on church buildings.

Shields, who plays for Wasps, told Sky Sports as a group they can hopefully show their support.

"However at the end of the day it's up to individuals, we don't want to force anyone to do anything, it's up to what they want to do," Shields said.

Meanwhile Shields Wasps team mate, the former All Black Malakai Fekitoa, has been suspended for one match after accumulating three yellow cards for foul play in a season.

And Worcester full-back Melani Nani, who played five years with the Blues, copped a three week suspension for a dangerous no arms tackle on Gloucester's Jonny May last weekend.

Fans likely at rescheduled IPL

The Emirati organisers of this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) are hopeful of at least some fan presence in the stands during the matches.

The Emirates Cricket Board is finalising preparations to host the world's richest Twenty20 league from Sept. 19 after India's struggle to contain the COVID-19 surge prompted its relocation.

While it will be impossible to create the usual carnival-like atmosphere in the stands, the ECB is hoping it would not be a totally behind closed doors affair as is the norm during the pandemic.

The 53-day tournament will be played across three venues -- Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi -- with the final scheduled on Nov. 10.

- Reuters

Revised timings for third test in England

The third Test between England and Pakistan that begins tonight (Friday) in Southampton will feature revised playing timings to accommodate for poor weather conditions.

Play can begin at 1030 local time, 30 minutes earlier than scheduled if time is lost due to bad light or rain earlier in the test.

The decision comes after just 134.3 overs were possible across five days of the second test due to rain and bad light.

England lead the three-test series 1-0.

- Reuters

Premier League fixtures announced

Liverpool will begin defending their Premier League title on Sept. 12 at Anfield, according to a fixture list for the new season, when they play newly promoted Leeds United, who return to England's top-flight for the first time in 16 years.

Manchester City and Manchester United will not participate on the opening weekend after they were guaranteed 30 days of rest following the end of their European seasons.

City were due to open their season against Aston Villa and United against Burnley but those games have been moved.

United will now kick off the season at home to Crystal Palace on Sept. 19, according to the fixture list released by the league on Thursday, and City will travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers for their opener on the same day.

Mikel Arteta will begin his first full season in charge of Arsenal with a trip to newly promoted Fulham on Sept. 12, while north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur host Everton.

Elsewhere on the opening weekend, Crystal Palace host Southampton, while West Ham United face Newcastle United at the London Stadium.

- Reuters

South African cricketers test positive

Cricket South Africa has reported two positive COVID-19 tests among national team players who were due to participate in a squad camp taking place this week.

CSA tested 50 players and officials prior to the camp, which began on Tuesday and runs to Saturday, and confirmed two positive cases among the group, without naming those infected.

The camp is focused on team bonding and was arranged after CSA came under heavy criticism from some former players who claimed there was a culture of racism within the side.

"There were no replacements made for the two players who tested positive. All those unable to attend the camp will join the proceedings virtually," CSA said in a statement on Thursday.

Another absentee is former captain Faf du Plessis, due to the imminent birth of his second child.

- Reuters