Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

NBA-Suns’ Paul says plant-based diet fueling push for NBA Finals return

When Suns point guard Chris Paul first heard about plant-based diets upon arriving in Los Angeles a decade ago the native of barbeque-loving North Carolina was anything but tempted. “I was like, nah, I’m cool off this,” a smiling Paul told Reuters in an interview. “I’m from the south, and we eat every piece of the pig you can find.”

WTA roundup: Top three seeds hold serve in Transylvania

Top seed Simona Halep, No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit and No. 3 seed Emma Raducanu all won in straight sets on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Transylvania Open at Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Playing in her homeland of Romania, Halep defeated Russia’s Varvara Gracheva 6-4, 6-2 after overcoming a back injury to win 26 of her 32 first-service points (81.3 percent). Halep will face countrywoman Jaqueline Cristian in the next round.

U.S. senators propose adding boycott of China’s Winter Olympics to defense bill

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Thursday proposed an amendment to an annual defense policy bill that would impose a diplomatic boycott of China’s Winter Olympics – less than 100 days away – amid accusations of rights abuses by Beijing. The amendment, led by Republican Senator Mitt Romney, mirrors language included in sweeping China-related legislation the Senate passed in June, and would prohibit the secretary of state from spending federal funds to “support or facilitate” the attendance of U.S. government employees at the Games.

ATP roundup: Frances Tiafoe upsets No. 1 Stefanos Tsitsipas in Vienna

After falling behind 3-0 in the deciding set, American qualifier Frances Tiafoe battled back to take down No. 1 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Thursday in the second round of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria. Tiafoe saved three of four break points in the third set and broke Tsitsipas’ serve twice en route to winning five straight games to make it 5-3. Tsitsipas smashed 11 aces in the match but committed six double faults along the way.

Baseball-Astros win first World Series home game in four years

The Houston Astros won a World Series game at Minute Maid Park for the first time in four years on Wednesday after beating the Atlanta Braves 7-2 in Game Two, leaving the best-of-seven Series tied at 1-1. The Astros had last won a World Series home game on Oct. 29 2017 when they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 on their way to their only championship.

Olympics-IOC to make decision on weightlifting and boxing ‘as soon as possible’

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will make a decision as early as possible on whether boxing and weightlifting will be at the Paris 2024 Games, president Thomas Bach said on Thursday. “We are quite concerned because in these two federations there are problems of good governance and that is why we are currently monitoring them very closely,” Bach told French sports daily L’Equipe.

NHL roundup: Panthers roll past Bruins to remain unbeaten

The Florida Panthers — off to the best seven-game start in franchise history — defeated the visiting Boston Bruins 4-1 on Wednesday night in Sunrise, Fla. Florida (7-0-0) got one goal each from Mason Marchment, Eetu Luostarinen, Anthony Duclair and Owen Tippett (empty net). The Panthers also benefited from Sergei Bobrovsky’s 30 saves, three assists from Gustav Forsling and two assists from Sam Reinhart.

Cricket-Unfazed by uncertainty, Afghans chase T20 Cup semis dreams

Afghanistan players are not fretting over what the future may hold for the team and are instead pre-occupied with the task of making the semi-finals of the Twenty20 World Cup, spinner Rashid Khan said on Thursday. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) will meet next month to discuss the game’s future in the south Asian country under the Taliban rule.

NHL-Former player turned advocate hopes Chicago sex assault scandal brings change

Former NHL player Sheldon Kennedy, who is now an advocate against abuse in sport, said on Thursday the Chicago Blackhawks’ mishandling of sexual assault allegations against a former video coach was inexcusable but hopes lessons can be learnt. Kennedy was speaking a day after Canadian hockey player Kyle Beach came forward as the “John Doe” who filed a lawsuit against the Blackhawks over the NHL team’s handling of allegations he made in 2010 against then-video coach Bradley Aldrich.

NBA roundup: Thunder shock Lakers with 26-point comeback

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points to help the host Oklahoma City Thunder rally from 26 down to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-115 on Wednesday night. The comeback matched the largest in Thunder history and helped the team claim its first win of the season despite several late miscues.

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