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LONDON -- Taking the court as the No. 1-ranked player for the first time, Andy Murray got the job done.The Wimbledon champion was tested for much of his opening match at the ATP finals but still came out on top, playing in his home country and beating Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-2 Monday at the O2 Arena.It was obviously nice to play in that stadium with the crowd like that. It obviously helps, Murray said. After a long, kind of, few months, its nice to know that Im going to be finishing the year playing in that sort of atmosphere.Murray took over at the top of the rankings last week, replacing Novak Djokovic. But the year-end No. 1 ranking is still up for grabs and could be decided on Sunday if both Murray and Djokovic reach the final.The prospect of attaining that, however, doesnt seem to be weighing too heavily on Murrays mind.The last few days, I havent thought about it too much, Murray said. It didnt change much for me.It certainly hasnt affected his ability to win matches. Murray has won a career-high eight titles this season, including a second Wimbledon title in July and a second straight Olympic gold medal in August. Since then, he has won titles in Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna and Paris.The latest victory on Monday didnt come so easy. Murray struggled to win his service games in the first set against Cilic, but still ended up saving all but one of the five break points he faced in the match. On the other side, he converted four of his five break points.When I need to step in, I didnt. When I need to wait a little bit longer, I wasnt waiting, said Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion. The hitting could have been better. Yeah, a little bit unfortunate to go 6-3, 6-2 down, where it felt it was much, much closer in the first set. Beginning of the second, I had couple chances as well.In the early match, Stan Wawrinka finally lost a match at the ATP finals to someone who hasnt been ranked No. 1 in the world. The U.S. Open champion, who has reached the semifinals of the season-ending tournament for the last three years, was beaten by Kei Nishikori 6-2, 6-3.It was not a great match compared to what I can do, thats for sure, said Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam champion. I dont think I find anything on the court today. I was a little bit slow on everything. I was hesitating a lot with my game, my movement.Wawrinka holds a 6-7 record at the tournament for the top eight players in the world, but his previous six losses were against Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal -- twice to each.Mondays loss doesnt mean Wawrinka is out of the tournament, but it hurts his chances of finishing the year as the No. 3-ranked player. Wawrinka, Nishikori and Milos Raonic all have a chance to end up one spot behind Murray and Djokovic.Im sure I still have something inside me to play some great tennis before the end of the year, so Im going to try everything for that in the next match, Wawrinka said. Im going to do what I need to do tomorrow to get ready for trying to play better in two days.Nishikori, currently ranked fifth, helped his own chances of reaching that third spot by breaking Wawrinka twice in each set while not allowing a single break point on his serve.Im not thinking too much about rankings, but would be nice if I could finish 4 or 3, Nishikori said. I see good chance to be there if I can play good this week.Greedy Williams Youth Jersey . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. Baker Mayfield Browns Jersey . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. http://www.brownsrookiestore.com/Browns-Sione-Takitaki-Jersey/ . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. David Njoku Browns Jersey . -- Quarterback Will Finch threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, and Yannick Harou rushed in two scores as the No. Bernie Kosar Browns Jersey . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge.HOUSTON -- In the postgame locker room after the Houston Rockets 126-109 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night, James Harden teased teammates, laughed about excess shower water caught in his beard and joked with reporters.It was a stark contrast from the more solemn and stern version of Harden from last season.Ive been having fun all year, even in games we lose, Harden said. This is a special group of guys, coaching staff included, and this locker room is definitely enjoying this ride right now.Harden had 26 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season to help the Rockets overwhelm the Trail Blazers in their highest-scoring game of the season.Harden completed the triple-double in the third quarter. The Rockets rebounded a night after scoring just three points in the final 6 minutes of a 105-103 loss in Oklahoma City.Its the chemistry, Rockets coach Mike DAntoni said. Everybody is feeling good about themselves. Were going to make mistakes, and we still have some improving to do, but as long as they come with that attitude every day and work at it and fix their mistakes, good things will happen.C.J. McCollum led Portland with 26 points, Maurice Harkless had 19, and Damian Lillard 18, his second-lowest output of the season.We kind of suck right now -- its that simple, Lillard said. Were usually a pretty good offensive team. Weve been bad on offense and bad on defense. Were trying hard, but were not making the smartest plays -- just not good enough. Were not very good right now.Blazers coach Terry Stotts was much less harsh in his assessment of his teams second straight loss. Portland outscored Houston by a combined 12 points in the second and fourth quarters but was ultimately doomed by a 29-point deficit in the first and third quarters.The game was tied at 62 at halftime, but Houston took a 100-83 lead into the fourth quarter.Theyre very good at what they do and Harden is key to that, Stotts said. Houston is a very good offensive team -- its a challenge to guard them.Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley made his seaason debut after missing the first 11 games following arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.dddddddddddd Limited to 25 minutes, Beverley had 11 points, three assists and three blocks.Our defense is getting a lot better with him out there because of his toughness, DAntoni said about Beverley. He is smart and plays with an edge. Youve got to have that.Playing without backup center Nene, Houston frequently featured smaller lineups with Montrezl Harrell filling in with interior defense while starting center Clint Capela was on the bench. Capela had 15 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, while Harrell added nine points and eight rebounds off the bench.TIP-INSTrail Blazers: McCollum made his first six field-goal attempts and had 19 points at the half. ... Portland was outrebounded 54-41 and outscored 56-48 in the paint. ... Mason Plumlee had eight rebounds and seven assists. ... Al-Farouq Aminu (calf) missed his fifth straight game.Rockets: Despite posting a season-high 41 points in the first quarter, Houston was scoreless for the first 2 minutes. ... In the second game of a back-to-back veteran center Nene was given the night off for rest. ... Houston made 14 of 32 3-pointers (43.8 percent).BEVERLEYS NEW LOOKIn his season debut, Beverley sported a shorter haircut and a slightly leaner frame than he did at the end of last season.Losing a lot of weight really helped me change my body, Beverley said. I felt strong, I felt fast and my wind is going to come. I felt really good and felt confident, too.WHOSE HOUSE? COOGS HOUSEThe Toyota Center crowd erupted for the loudest ovation of the game early in the fourth quarter when highlights from the University of Houstons Thursday night game against No. 8 Louisville were shown on the videoboard alongside an up-to-date score showing the Cougars up 31-0. The games were played simultaneously three miles apart.UP NEXTTrail Blazers: Travel to New Orleans on Friday night.Rockets: Host Utah on Saturday night. ' ' '