Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - A bungled pitstop has cost Shane van Gisbergen his seventh win of the Supercars season.

The New Zealand driver was in command of the opening race in Darwin until his team was unable to swiftly replace his right rear tyre.

The routine stop costed him almost 30 seconds and left van Gisbergen at the back of the pack.

He eventually finished 13th, 29 seconds behind the race winner Chaz Mostert.

Mostert remains third in the championship but has cut van Gisbergen's lead to 190 points.

Shane van Gisbergen's teammate Jamie Whincup is second in the championship, just two points ahead of Mostert.

Surprise leaders at US Open

The unlikely pair of Richard Bland and Russell Henley share the halfway lead at the U.S. Open.

Englishman Bland, renowned as a steady straight-hitter, was in his element at Torrey Pines, fashioning a four-under-par 67 that matched the best second-round score.

American Henley later stood poised to enjoy the sole overnight lead until he missed a four-foot par putt at his final hole for the only bogey on his card in a 70.

"It's tough to swallow on the last hole," Henley said after matching Bland at five-under 137, one stroke ahead of perennial major contender Louis Oosthuizen (71) and last year's runner-up Matthew Wolff (68).

Pre-championship favourite Jon Rahm (70) stayed in touch, two back with double Masters champion Bubba Watson (67), but major specialist Brooks Koepka slipped five behind with a 73.

- Reuters

Paddon closes in on 2021 NZ Rally Championship

Hayden Paddon has won Rally South Canterbury and in doing so put one hand on the 2021 New Zealand Rally Championship.

The Hyundai New Zealand driver blitzed the field again in what proved yet another drama-filled and chaotic event on the fast gravel roads in South Canterbury to have an all but unassailable championship lead with two rounds two go.

Paddon survived slippery conditions in the morning and kept his nose clean on a day which saw a huge number of competitors run into problems.

Ben Hunt was second in his Subaru - finishing 3:25.9s behind Paddon.

Regan Ross drove another steady rally to secure the final spot on the podium in his Ford Fiesta R5.

The championship heads north to Hawke's Bay next month before finishing at Coromandel in early September.

Clippers pull off stunning second-half comeback

The Los Angeles Clippers have won a place in the NBA's western conference finals for the first time in their history.

The Clippers have beaten the Utah Jazz 4-2 in their semifinal series after winning game six 131-119 in LA.

They came back from 25 points down in the second-half to stun the Jazz, who had won the opening two games of the series.

Terance Mann led the Clippers with 39 points in the absence of Kawhi Leonard.

The Los Angeles Clippers will face the Phoenix Suns for a place in the NBA Finals.

Both eastern conference semifinal series are going to deciding game sevens.

The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Atlanta Hawks 104-99 in game six of their playoff series earlier on Saturday afternoon.

England held at Wembley by Scotland

England's ambitions to be crowned kings of Europe got a cold dose of reality as they were held to a 0-0 draw by a gutsy Scotland side in a Euro 2020 'Battle of Britain'.

Victory for Gareth Southgate's England side in the eagerly-awaited Group D clash at a rain-swept Wembley Stadium would have sealed a place in the last 16 but they produced a nervous performance against the Scots who kept their own hopes alive.

Scotland rode their luck at times with John Stones heading against the woodwork early on for England but almost scored themselves with Stephen O'Donnell and Lyndon Dykes going close before Che Adams spurned a golden opportunity.

It was the Scotland fans in the 22,000 crowd who sang loudest at the end as the draw means their team could still reach the last 16 by beating Croatia in their final group game in Glasgow.

Ivan Perisic scored a stunning second half equaliser as Croatia pegged back Czech Republic for a 1-1 draw in Group D, keeping their slim hopes alive of qualifying to the European Championship knockout stages.

Sweden moved to the top of Group E with a 1-0 win over Slovakia after Emil Forsberg scored their first goal of the European Championship from the penalty spot to put the Scandinavian side on track for the knockouts.

- Reuters

Christian Eriksen leaves hospital

Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen has been discharged from hospital following a successful operation, days after he collapsed on the pitch during Denmark's Euro 2020 opener.

Eriksen had a heart-starter device implanted after his collapse due to a cardiac arrest during Denmark's first Group B game against Finland in Copenhagen.

The 29-year-old's life was saved when CPR was administered to him on the pitch and his heart was re-started with a defibrillator before he was taken to hospital.

"Thank you for the massive number of greetings, it has been incredible to see and feel," Eriksen, who plays his club football at Italian champions Inter Milan, said in a statement.

"The operation went well and I am doing well under the circumstances. It was really great to see the guys again after the fantastic game they played last night. No need to say that I will be cheering on them on Monday against Russia."

- Reuters

America's Cup in Spain again?

The Spanish city of Valencia is in the running to host the next America's Cup.

Team New Zealand rejected the New Zealand government's $99 million offer to keep the event in Auckland and are now looking at overseas offers.

Valencia hoped to access a multi-billion dollar fund created by the European Union intended to help countries recover from the financial damage caused by Covid-19

The city had previously hosted the regatta in 2007 and 2010.

"The Real Club Nautico de Valencia, as a club, has already helped bring the America's Cup to Valencia in the past," club director Carlos de Beltran said.

"Due to its continuous commitment to the development of sailing and the improvement of the Valencian nautical sector, it is natural that the club is a natural member of the candidacy."

Other potential hosts included Dubai, the United Kingdom and China, the event was expected to take place in 2023 or 2024.

Venus into ATP 500 semi-finals

New Zealand's top ranked tennis doubles player Michael Venus and his new partner Germany's Tim Puetz have cruised into the semi-finals at the ATP 500 tournament in Halle in Germany.

The 5th seeds have impressed in a straight sets quarter final win over America's Austin Krajicek and Sam Querrey, winning 6-3 6-4.

Venus and Puetz broke Querrey in the sixth game and Venus served out the opening set in 28 minutes. They got an early break in the second set, this time Krajicek dropped serve in the third game and they were unable to break back although Venus had to save break points at 15-40 when serving for the match.

Venus and Peers will face two of the best young singles players in the world, Canada's Felix Auger Aliassime and Poland's Hubert Hurkacz for a place in the final.

Hawks and Nuggets victors in NBL

The Hawke's Bay Hawks handed the Wellington Saints their second loss of the National Basketball League season with a 88-82 win.

Devondrick Walker was the hero for the Hawks. His triple with 17 seconds left on clock put them up 86-82.

Derone Raukawa would go on to ice the game from the charity stripe, leaving the Saints with their second blemish on their 2021 record.

Further south the Nelson Giants celebrated their 40th anniversary in the league, but somebody forgot to tell the Otago Nuggets who decided to gate-crash the party with a 94-84 win.

Up 54-37 at the half, and then 71-57 with a quarter to play, the Nuggets did withstand some nervous moments down the stretch as Sam Dempster and Hunter Hale tried to lift their team to a miracle win, but this game belonged to the Nuggets.