Sports News Roundup: NBA roundup: Heat hang on to defeat Jazz; Boxing-Alvarez knocks out Plant in 11th round, becomes undisputed champion and more

The four-time Olympian, 40, started her mission with the Berlin Marathon in September and is ending the journey at the New York City Marathon on Sunday, a project she told Reuters rekindled her joy for running two years since she quit professional competition. Olympics-UIPM to meet athletes seeking board resignation over horse riding axe Modern pentathlon's governing body UIPM said it will hold talks with athletes next week after more than 650 of them called for its executive board to step down following its decision to drop horse riding from the Olympic programme.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

NBA roundup: Heat hang on to defeat Jazz

Tyler Herro had 29 points and Jimmy Butler added 27 as the host Miami Heat used a multi-dimensional offensive attack to build a big lead before holding on to defeat the Utah Jazz 118-115 on Saturday night. Kyle Lowry scored 20 as part of a triple-double for the Heat.

Boxing-Alvarez knocks out Plant in 11th round, becomes undisputed champion

Saul "Canelo" Alvarez became the undisputed super-middleweight champion after knocking out Caleb Plant in the 11th round of their bout in Las Vegas on Saturday to unify the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO belts. Alvarez, 31, came into the fight holding three 168-pound titles (WBC, WBA and WBO) while 29-year-old American Plant owned the IBF title.

Athletics-Six marathons, six weeks: Former New York champ Flanagan closes another marathon chapter

For some, retirement is a time for relaxation. For 2017 New York City Marathon champion Shalane Flanagan, running six marathons in six weeks has proven a more appealing post-career project. The four-time Olympian, 40, started her mission with the Berlin Marathon in September and is ending the journey at the New York City Marathon on Sunday, a project she told Reuters rekindled her joy for running two years since she quit professional competition.

Olympics-UIPM to meet athletes seeking board resignation over horse riding axe

Modern pentathlon's governing body UIPM said it will hold talks with athletes next week after more than 650 of them called for its executive board to step down following its decision to drop horse riding from the Olympic programme. The UIPM decided on Thursday to remove horse riding from the 2028 Los Angeles Games in the wake of an outcry after a German coach punched a horse that refused to jump a fence at this year's Tokyo Games.

NHL roundup: Panthers throttle Hurricanes

In a clash of top early-season performers, the Florida Panthers scored four first-period goals, ending the Carolina Hurricanes' perfect season with a 5-2 victory on Saturday night in Sunrise, Fla. Anthony Duclair scored twice for the Panthers, who improved to 10-0-1. Carolina is now 9-1-0.

Tennis-Samsonova leads Russia to fifth Billie Jean King Cup title

Russia claimed their fifth Billie Jean King Cup title on Saturday after Daria Kasatkina and Liudmila Samsonova handed them an unbeatable 2-0 lead over Switzerland. After Kasatkina had romped to a 6-2 6-4 win over Jil Teichmann, Samsonova held her nerve despite being a late replacement for the injured Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to defeat Belinda Bencic 3-6 6-3 6-4 and secure Russia their first title since 2008 in the women's team competition.

Tennis-Djokovic to clinch record seventh year-end number one spot

Novak Djokovic made sure he would clinch the year-end world number one spot for a record seventh time when he secured his place in the Paris Masters final on Saturday with a 3-6 6-0 7-6(5) victory against Poland's Hubert Hurkacz. The top seeded Serbian overcame a wobbly start at the Bercy arena against an opponent who booked the last ticket for the season-ending ATP Finals on Friday before racing through the second and handling his nerves in the third.

Tennis-Medvedev sets up rematch with Djokovic in Paris Masters final

World number two Daniil Medvedev demolished Alexander Zverev 6-2 6-2 in the Paris Masters semi-final on Saturday, setting up a rematch of the U.S. Open final against Novak Djokovic. The Russian fired off six aces and won nearly 80% of his first-serve points to keep alive his chances of winning back-to-back titles in the French capital. Zverev produced four double faults and lost his cool in the second set, smashing his racquet with the Russian up a break.

NHL-Blackhawks fire head coach, assistants citing 'necessary changes'

The Chicago Blackhawks fired head coach Jeremy Colliton and assistant coaches Tomas Mitell and Sheldon Brookbank on Saturday, citing the need for "necessary changes" within the National Hockey League (NHL) team. The franchise has the second-worst record in the Western Conference with one win and nine losses, and has been engulfed by a sexual abuse scandal that led to the firing of Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman.

Horse racing-Knicks Go dominates field to win Breeders' Cup Classic

Knicks Go took the early lead and never let up in the Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday, winning the $6 million showpiece in Del Mar, California, in dominant fashion. Jockey Joel Rosario piloted the Whitney Stakes winner through a speedy nine-horse field to deliver trainer Brad Cox his first Breeders’ Cup Classic win, beating Bob Baffert's controversial Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit by 2-3/4 lengths.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)