MILAN, Italy — Ilia Malinin lifted the United States above Japan to the top of the podium of the figure skating team event at the Milan Cortina Games on Sunday, where home team Italy captured bronze.

With the U.S. and Japan tied going into the men’s free skate, the 21-year-old Malinin was not at his best but was still good enough to lead the U.S. to a second successive Olympic team title.

Malinin had been expected to perform seven quads in his free skate but ended up attempting only five, and even those were not flawless as he stumbled out of his quad Lutz. He turned two planned quads – including the quad Axel – into triples.

But he salvaged his program with a huge quad toeloop followed up by a quad Salchow, both in combinations.

His score of 200.03 was almost 40 points less than his season’s best but still good enough to defeat Japan’s Shun Sato, who went after Malinin but was unable to match his rival’s technical ability.

The U.S. finished with 69 points, one more than Japan, while Italy took bronze with 60 points.

JAPAN FIGHT BACK

Japan came into the final day of the team competition trailing the U.S. by five points but their gold medal hopes were given new life with stunning performances from Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara in the pairs and Kaori Sakamoto in the women’s free skate — leaving them tied with the U.S heading into the final men’s free skate.

The Japanese pairs world champions opened with a triple twist lift and Miura was left punching the air in delight as the duo closed their program with Kihara lifting her above him into their final pose — a performance that earned them a season-best 155.55 from the judges.

“We were trying to aim for about 145 or a little bit higher, and when we saw that it was 155, there was so much joy… we were overwhelmed with emotions,” a teary-eyed Miura told reporters following the rousing performance which left Japan trailing the U.S. by just two points with two segments to go.

Japan pulled into a tie with the U.S. when Sakamoto delivered a spellbinding performance that earned her top place in the women’s free skate with 148.62 points.

American Amber Glenn had to settle for third behind Sakamoto and Georgia’s Anastasiia Gubanova after she endured two botched landings at the start of her routine – a result which wiped out the United States’ lead heading into men’s free skate.

“I just physically didn’t feel great,” Glenn said.

“My legs were feeling heavy, I was tired. I just didn’t feel my best.”

U.S. hopes of defending their gold medal from Beijing then rested on the shoulders of self-described “Quad God” Malinin, who made up for his disappointing short program on Saturday by winning the point America needed to top the podium.

Malinin remains the runaway favorite to win gold in the individual event at his first Olympic Games.

–Reuters, special to Field Level Media

Scottie Barnes scored 13 of his game-high 25 points in the decisive third quarter and the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Indiana Pacers 122-104 on Sunday afternoon.

Barnes also led everyone with 14 rebounds and four blocked shots to help the Raptors sweep the four-game season series from the Pacers. After trailing by two at halftime, Toronto took over the game with a 44-26 advantage in the third quarter.

RJ Barrett contributed 20 points and Sandro Mamukelashvili added 17 points for the Raptors, who have won three of four on their five-game homestand. Brandon Ingram and and Immanuel Quickley each scored 13 points. Trayce Jackson-Davis had 10 points and 10 rebounds in his Raptors debut.

Pascal Siakam scored 18 points for the Pacers, who have lost four straight. Jay Huff added 15 points, Jarace Walker provided 13 points, Ben Sheppard scored 12 and T.J. McConnell and Andrew Nembhard each notched 10.

Toronto led 21-20 after one quarter, but lost starting center Collin Murray-Boyles to a left thumb injury. He had two points and one blocked shot before leaving for good with 3:47 left in the first quarter.

Jackson-Davis, obtained in a trade with the Golden State Warriors, entered the game in the second quarter and immediately got a steal and assisted on Barnes’ running layup.

Siakam’s layup gave the Pacers a six-point lead with 2:06 to play in the second quarter and they led 48-46 at halftime.

Toronto solved Indiana’s defense by getting out in transition and scored the first eight points of the third quarter. Barnes led the Raptors’ charge and his rebound was followed by a running two-handed dunk to boost the lead to 13 with 6:53 to play. Quickley padded the margin to 19 with two consecutive 3-pointers.

Indiana’s Johnny Furphy collapsed after his dunk with 2:57 left in the third quarter cut Toronto’s lead to 80-68. He was helped off the court before being taken to the dressing room in a wheelchair with what the team said was right-leg soreness.

Toronto led 90-74 after three quarters.

The lead reached 21 when Jackson-Davis converted a free throw with 7:58 to go in the fourth quarter. The Pacers never got closer than 16 the rest of the way.

–Field Level Media

Kawhi Leonard scored 41 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help the Los Angeles Clippers pull away for a 115-96 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.

John Collins and Yanic Konan Niederhauser added 15 points apiece for Los Angeles, which won its second game in a row. Kobe Sanders contributed 10 points.

Anthony Edwards scored 23 points to lead Minnesota, which has lost three of its past four games. Julius Randle finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, and Rudy Gobert tallied 10 points and seven rebounds.

Ayo Dosunmu scored 11 points in his debut with the Timberwolves, who acquired him from the Chicago Bulls three days earlier. Dosunmu made 4 of 11 shots and was 3-of-7 from 3-point range.

The Clippers led by at least 18 points throughout the fourth quarter. Jordan Miller made a pair of free throws to give Los Angeles its largest lead of the game at 28 points with 3:10 remaining.

Los Angeles entered the fourth quarter with a 21-point lead.

The Clippers started the second half on a 7-0 run to go ahead 61-42 with 10:15 remaining in the third quarter. Collins and Leonard each made a jump shot, and Derrick Jones Jr. punctuated the run with a 3-pointer.

The Timberwolves pulled within seven points after Edwards made a dunk to cut the deficit to 63-56 with 6:21 left in the third quarter.

Leonard and the rest of his Clippers teammates did not allow Minnesota to get any closer. The Clippers finished the third quarter on a 17-3 run to seize an 80-59 advantage. Sanders sank two 3-pointers during the run.

The Clippers led 54-42 at the half.

Los Angeles closed the first half on a 20-6 run to seize the lead. That included a stretch in which the Clippers scored 11 consecutive points on a 3-pointer by Kris Dunn, two free throws and a layup by Leonard, a dunk by Collins and a driving layup by Dunn.

-Field Level Media