Oklahoma City surged in the third quarter to overcome a double-digit deficit and beat a hot-and-cold Houston 104-92 on Thursday, closing within half a game of the NBA Northwest Division lead.

Elsewhere, league leader Indiana made it nine-straight home wins with a comfortable victory over New York, and Brooklyn was too good for Atlanta in their match in London.

Jose Sulaiman, the longtime head of the World Boxing Council who promoted renowned fighters and introduced rules to protect boxers, died Thursday. He was 82.

Sulaiman's son, Mauricio Sulaiman, said the man who many say raised the profile of the sport in his four-decade leadership at the Mexico-based council died at a hospital in Los Angeles. He had been hospitalized at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center for months for a heart condition.

Fifth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro has been eliminated from the Australian Open in the biggest upset of the tournament this week, beaten 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 by Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain.

It was Bautista Agut's first win in seven matches against a top 10 player, and del Potro's fourth second-round exit in eight years at the season's first major.

Pirelli secured a new three-year contract with motor sport's governing body on Thursday to remain Formula One's sole tire supplier, a welcome relief for the Italian manufacturer following an extremely difficult season.

Last July, F1 teams held in-season testing sessions at Silverstone to assess new tires provided by Pirelli after several blowouts on the same circuit at the British Grand Prix in June prompted a furious response from drivers and even a boycott threat the following week.

World number one Rafael Nadal beat 17-year-old home hope Thanasi Kokkinakis in straight sets to reach the Australian Open third round on Thursday.

Nadal was kept on court for one hour and 53 minutes before winning 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 against the 570th-ranked Australian.

Australia's third-most capped player Brett Emerton brought an end to a glittering career Thursday announcing his retirement due to chronic back injury.

The 34-year-old Sydney FC stalwart, who earned 94 caps for the Socceroos, has made just nine appearances this A-League season.

Russian star Maria Sharapova said Thursday her intense training after shoulder surgery had paid off after surviving a big scare against Karin Knapp in intense heat at the Australian Open.

The third seed battled through temperatures of up to 42 Celsius (107.6 Fahrenheit) and a third set lasting nearly two hours to overcome the 44th-ranked Italian 6-3, 4-6, 10-8 to make the third round.

Three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer marched on through the sapping heat to reach the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.

Second seed Djokovic stepped it up from his mixed first-round performance to ease past Argentina's Leonardo Mayer 6-0, 6-4, 6-4 for his 23rd straight win at the Open.

Serena Williams on Wednesday said the Australian Open heat was making her paranoid with the world number one waking up during the night to keep hydrated and avoid cramp.

The top seed played in 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) conditions and said the thought of it kept her awake overnight after players fainted and vomited in the heat on Tuesday.

Former Manchester United forward Diego Forlan looks set to move to Cerezo Osaka of Japan, reports said Wednesday, with hopes that the Uruguay international can rev up the J-League.

The 34-year-old is in the final stages of talks with the Japanese outfit, the Nikkan Sports and Yomiuri Shimbun among others reported.