LeBron James spoke about the trust he has in his supporting cast after Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura starred in the Los Angeles Lakers' Game 1 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.

The Lakers put together a 69-47 second half to run away with a 128-112 victory, and Hachimura led the team in scoring with 29 points on 11-of-14 shooting off the bench. The trade deadline acquisition hit five of his six three-point attempts, while adding six rebounds in his 30 minutes of action. 

Meanwhile, breakout second-year talent Austin Reaves continued his strong form from the end of the regular season with 23 points (eight-of-13 shooting), four assists, a steal and a block, marking his fourth 20-point game from his past five outings.

Anthony Davis was an absolute game-changer on the defensive end, swatting seven shots to go with his three steals, 22 points (10-of-17) and 12 rebounds, but James made sure to credit the lesser-known Lakers for the decisive start to the series.

"It was our supporting cast that won us the game tonight," James said after putting up 21 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals of his own. "We trust [Reaves] with the ball in his hands – early in the game and late in the game. 

"We got something going in the fourth quarter, and after every stop… we went back to AR and put the ball in his hands.

"He was able to hit a pull-up two, able to hit a three when he had a soft switch, and then hit another pull-up two to put us up eight and close the game for us offensively.

"[Hachimura's performance] speaks for itself, he was huge, he hit timely shots. They made runs – in the third quarter he had two threes in a row – then they made another run in the fourth quarter, and he hit another three off an AR pump-fake, drive, behind-the-back pass.

"He was just on-time, on-target all night tonight, and we needed that. Especially coming off the bench, with how strong [Memphis'] bench is, but we were able to counter that with Rui's big game."

Reaves called playing playoff basketball for the Lakers a dream come true, saying: "You dream about being on a stage like this – I got hot late and I had fun."

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies were not willing to read too much into Hachimura's heroics, with Desmond Bane sharing that the plan was to leave him open, and it may remain the plan.

"That was our game plan going in," he said. "Make him hit shots, and he did, tip your cap. It's probably the best game he's had in his career. It's a seven-game series – let's see if he can do it again Wednesday."

Hachimura understands that is the case, and said of his role: "The way they guard me, they're going to be in the paint, so I got to be ready to shoot those kind of shots."

Game 2 will remain in Memphis on Wednesday, before the series heads to Los Angeles for Game 3 and Game 4.

Giannis Antetokounmpo's X-ray on his lower back contusion came up clear but Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said they will monitor him ahead of Game 2.

Antetokounmpo exited Sunday's 130-117 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series after landing heavily on his back with 4:13 left in the first quarter.

The Greek forward was slow to get back up and attempted to play through the issue, but was hobbled and re-exited with 9:56 left in the second quarter, with the Bucks proceeding to rule him out for the game.

"He has a back contusion, there was an X-ray that was clear here," Budenholzer told reporters after the game. "So we'll monitor him and see how he wakes up. See how he feels the rest of tonight and tomorrow."

Budenholzer would not be drawn on the outlook for Antetokounmpo for the rest of the series, but was buoyed by his ability to overcome wrist and knee injuries this season.

"We have to wait and see what the doctors say, most importantly what Giannis says," he said.

"We've been blessed with him being incredibly resilient and quick to heal. You've just got to take it day by day, see how he's doing and how he feels."

Budenholzer clarified that the decision to rule Antetokounmpo out of the game, after initially trying to play on, came given his limited mobility in the second quarter.

"He just wasn't moving [well]," Budenholzer said. "Didn't look comfortable or confident, so it felt like the right thing."

Bucks guard Jrue Holiday remained bullish about the Eastern Conference top seed's prospects in the series, even if MVP candidate Antetokounmpo is unavailable for any or all games.

"We don't want him to be hurt, but it's still next man up mentality," Holiday said. "We have enough talent on this team to cover for him until he comes back, so again, I just don't want to see him hurt because I know what it feels like, especially Game 1 of the playoffs."

Jimmy Butler top scored for the Heat, who overcame the first-half loss of Tyler Herro with a broken right hand.

Butler scored 35 points on 15-of-27 shooting along with 11 assists, while center Bam Adebayo had 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

"He's just a brilliant competitor," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He does it on both ends of the court. He has an innate feel for what's necessary during the course of a game.

"We needed obviously some offensive punch, some triggers, something to settle us all down, particularly when we found out Tyler was out. Jimmy was able to do it in a lot of different ways."

Heat veteran Kevin Love hailed Butler as the best closer in the league.

"It's unbelievable what he's able to do out there," Love said. "He's our leader. He sets the tone for us. I'm taking him pretty much over anybody in the league when it comes down to closing out a game."

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole delivered another terrific start as he shut out the Minnesota Twins in a 2-0 home victory on Sunday.

Cole, who came into the contest with a 3-0 record this season after giving up just three earned runs in his 19.1 innings pitched, banked another win with nine scoreless frames against the Twins.

He allowed two hits and one walk to go with 10 strikeouts, retiring the game's last 11 batters to finish the complete game in 109 pitches (73 strikes).

With the bat, it was veteran infielder D.J. LeMahieu who was the Yankees' hero. The 34-year-old three-time All-Star came through with a two-out RBI single to give New York a 1-0 lead in the third inning, before doubling their advantage with a solo home run in the sixth inning.

Exciting rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe continued to make an impact for the Yankees, showing off his speed by reaching on an infield single in the fifth inning, and then he made his way into scoring position with his seventh stolen base of the season. 

His seven steals lead all rookies and tie him for the second most in the majors, while only Volpe and Baltimore Orioles speedster Cedric Mullins (eight steals) have nabbed at least seven bases without being caught stealing.

With the win, the Yankees secured a series split with the Twins, with both teams now at 10-6.

Bellinger bombs one against his former side

Former NL MVP with the Los Angeles Dodgers Cody Bellinger got revenge on his former side as his home run was the difference in the Chicago Cubs' 3-2 win.

Bellinger, who won Rookie of the Year in 2017 and NL MVP in 2019 as a member of the Dodgers, connected on the biggest hit of the game in his first series back in Los Angeles following an offseason move to the Cubs.

The 27-year-old blasted a 422-foot solo home run in the sixth inning to extend the Cubs' lead to 3-1, after team-mate Patrick Wisdom broke the tie with his own solo homer just three pitches earlier.

The victory secured the second impressive series win in a row for the Cubs after also taking their three-game set against the Seattle Mariners 2-1, and improved Chicago's record to 8-6.

Castillo flirts with perfect game

Luis Castillo showed why he is the top arm in the Mariners' rotation, not allowing a baserunner until the seventh inning as his side defeated the Colorado Rockies 1-0.

Castillo dismissed the first 18 Rockies batters in order, allowing no hits or walks through six innings, before his bid for a perfect game was broken up by back-to-back singles in the seventh frame.

The Mariners' offense needed all the help they could get, collecting only four hits as a team, but Jarred Kelenic came through with the crucial two-out RBI single in the sixth inning to get his team over the line.

Ja Morant was left in pain and said his Game 2 availability is "in jeopardy" after suffering a hand injury in the Memphis Grizzlies' 128-112 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of their first round series.

Morant shouted in agony as he ran off the floor after his hand slammed into the court as Anthony Davis slid in front of him to draw a charge with 5:48 left in the fourth quarter. Morant's wrist appeared to bend upon landing in a nasty incident.

The All-Star guard writhed in pain on the floor initially before running past the Grizzlies' bench and straight into the locker room.

Morant underwent an X-ray on his right hand that Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins revealed were negative.

However, Morant said his status for Game 2 was "in jeopardy", adding: "I'm in a good bit of pain."

The Grizzlies were down by four points at the time and Morant did not return as they lost at FedEx Forum in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series.

Jenkins was coy on detail, but added: "He's in some pain… taking it one day at a time."

Morant returned to the Grizzlies bench with 4:10 left, but Jenkins said medical staff had informed him that the guard was only available in an "emergency situation".

"Probably the smartest thing was just to hold him out as we continue to go through evaluation," Jenkins said.

Morant came into the game with wrapping on his right hand from an injury sustained in the final week of the regular season.

The Memphis guard scored 18 points with six rebounds in 30 minutes, while Rui Hachimura had a team-high 29 points for the Lakers. LeBron James put together 21 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and Davis contributed 22 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and seven blocks.

The Miami Heat lost starting guard Tyler Herro in the second quarter of Sunday's Game 1 against the Milwaukee Bucks after he suffered a broken hand.

The injury occurred late in the second quarter after the reigning Sixth Man of the Year had put up 12 points (five-of-nine shooting) in 19 minutes, landing awkwardly on his hand while diving for a loose ball in the final minute of the half.

Herro immediately began wincing in pain, but the ball found him open in the corner 20 seconds later in a position where he had to shoot. He air-balled the shot and signalled to the bench that he needed to be taken out.

Miami quickly announced that X-rays confirmed he had broken his hand and would take no further part in the game.

The 23-year-old is enjoying a terrific first season as a full-time starter, averaging 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists while draining a career-high 3.0 three-pointers per game, shooting 37.8 per cent from deep and leading the league with a free throw percentage of 93.4.

It came after Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo exited the contest earlier in the second quarter following a hard fall onto his back, and was also ruled out for the remainder of Game 1.

#MIAvsMIL INJURY UPDATE: Tyler Herro (broken right hand) will not return to tonight’s game vs the Bucks.

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) April 16, 2023

Matt Fitzpatrick secured a sentimental victory at the RBC Heritage on Sunday after surviving a three-hole playoff against Jordan Spieth.

Fitzpatrick, the reigning U.S. Open champion, had come into the final round with the outright lead after a spectacular career-best round of 63 on Saturday, but he found himself two strokes behind through 13 holes.

It was Spieth who had raced out to the lead with five birdies and eight pars through his 13 holes as part of the final group with Fitzpatrick, turning a two-stroke deficit into a two-stroke lead as Fitzpatrick was only one under in his round up to that point.

But Spieth would bogey the 14th, allowing Fitzpatrick to grab a share of the lead at 17 under with a birdie on 16, after both birdied the 15th.

Fitzpatrick blew a golden opportunity to take the outright lead with a poor birdie putt on 17, and then Spieth converted a tricky up-and-down on 18 to force a playoff.

It is a playoff that will live long in the memory of Spieth, as he had his potential tournament-winning birdie putt catch the lip on the first extra hole, and then again narrowly missed a birdie putt on the second playoff hole to keep Fitzpatrick alive.

Fitzpatrick eventually made the American pay, nearly holing out from the fairway on their third attempt at the 18th hole, tapping in for birdie as Spieth sailed his approach long and could not pull off a miracle.

It is Fitzpatrick's first non-major PGA Tour victory, and one that will carry some extra weight on a personal level after revealing this week that his family have made annual trips to Harbour Town Golf Links to watch this tournament since he was six years old.

Patrick Cantlay finished outright third at 16 under, with fellow top-10 ranked talent Xander Schauffele in outright fourth at 15 under.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has been ruled out of the remainder of the Milwaukee Bucks' Game 1 against the Miami Heat after suffering a lower back confusion as the result of a heavy fall.

Two-time NBA MVP Antetokounmpo sustained the injury on a drive to the bucket after Kevin Love tried to slide in and take a charge, causing an awkward twisting collision where Antetokounmpo landed flat on his back with 4:13 left in the first quarter.

Antetokounmpo was slow to get back up and attempted to play through the issue, before the Bucks confirmed he was out before half-time.

The Greek forward played for 11 minutes, scoring six points on two-of-four shooting, making two-of-four free-throws, with three rebounds and a turnover.

The Bucks, who have an 11-8 record without Antetokounmpo this season, trailed 68-55 at half-time at Fiserv Forum.

Antetokounmpo has averaged 31.1 points and 11.8 rebounds per game this season, sitting in the NBA's top five for both categories.

Sevilla boss Jose Luis Mendilibar wants his team "to remove the ropes that bind us" and rise to the occasion of the Europa League rematch with Manchester United on Thursday.

A 2-0 win at Valencia in LaLiga on Sunday came despite Mendilibar feeling something was missing from the performance.

He considers it a huge boon that his team can still win while not at their best, and hopes they hit their peak at the right moment.

A fightback in Manchester by Sevilla means the quarter-final tie is locked at 2-2 heading into the second leg.

Speaking after his team's victory at Mestalla, Mendilibar said: "We have to gain confidence. Sometimes you don't play well and the result is with you. That makes you think that when you play well, you're going to do even better.

"It's going to give us peace of mind to be able to compete against Manchester on Thursday."

Messy defending from a corner allowed Loic Bade to sneak in to poach Sevilla's opener against Valencia in the 55th minute, before Suso's clean hit into the left corner in the 75th minute sealed the win.

Valencia had Ilaix Moriba sent off late on as the game ran away from them.

"We're having success in front of goal," said Mendilibar. "We've scored two goals in each game, It's what's giving us life."

It is true that Sevilla have scored twice in each of their last four matches, winning twice and being held to draws in the other two games.

These games have all followed Mendilibar's appointment on March 21 as successor to Jorge Sampaoli, with Sevilla improving step by step.

"We hope to be able to remove the ropes that bind us," Mendilibar said.

United also won 2-0 on their travels on Sunday, beating Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.

Mendilibar knows the threat Erik ten Hag's team will pose, but likes Sevilla's future prospects and said: "We hope to be able to bring quality into play from now on, not just with goals."

After an action-packed race at MotoGP's Grand Prix of the Americas it was Alex Rins emerging with a drought-breaking victory for LCR Honda.

Rins, who qualified second and finished second in Saturday's sprint race around the Circuit of the Americas, was the beneficiary after pole-winner Francesco Bagnaia crashed out for the second race in a row, this time while leading with 13 laps remaining.

Bagnaia, who could have taken over as the championship leader if he went all the way, was one of nine riders to not complete the race. 

Alex Marquez, Aleix Espargaro and Jorge Martin all went down on the first lap, before Jack Miller went down with 14 laps to go while in a podium position, and he was followed with an early finish by Raul Fernandez (14 to go), Bagnaia (13), Joan Mir (12), Takaaki Nakagami (nine) and Stefan Bradl (two).

The carnage left Rins as the leader for the final 12 laps, and he held his nerve the rest of the way, coming home to deliver LCR Honda's first race victory since Argentina back in 2018. It is the Spaniard's fifth MotoGP win, and his first since switching teams after spending the past six seasons with Team Suzuki Ecstar.

It was also the first win for a Honda bike in 539 days in what has been a dominant stretch by the Ducatis, as no Honda rider finished better than Marc Marquez's 13th in the 2022 season standings.

With the result, Rins catapulted himself up to third in the standings after a 34-point week in Texas, while championship leader Marco Bezzecchi extended his gap at the top to 11 points with his safe sixth-place outcome.

Grid Classification

1. Alex Rins (Honda) 41:14.649

2. Luca Marini (Ducati) +3.498 seconds

3. Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) +4.936

4. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) +8.318

5. Miguel Oliveira (Aprilia) +9.989

6. Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati) +12.049

7. Johann Zarco (Ducati) +12.242

8. Franco Morbidelli (Yamaha) +20.399

9. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ducati) +27.981

10. Augusto Fernandez (KTM) +28.217

Championship Standings

1. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46) 64

2. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 53

3. Alex Rins (LCR Honda) 47

4. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) 45

5. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) 44

Teams

1. Mooney VR46 102

2. Pramac Racing 73

3. Aprilia 63

4. Yamaha 63

5. Ducati 58

Massimiliano Allegri rued Juventus only sparking into life after suffering a "slap in the face" during their 1-0 loss at Sassuolo.

Juve went down to Gregoire Defrel's fine finish on Sunday, suffering a second straight Serie A defeat and their third loss in four away games in the league.

The defeat leaves Juve – who will defend a 1-0 lead against Sporting CP in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday – sitting in seventh place and nine points behind Milan in the final Champions League spot.

Having hardly threatened prior to going behind, Juve did spark into life in the closing stages. Andrea Consigli saved from Adrien Rabiot's excellent header, while Angel Di Maria blazed over from a great chance.

But it was not enough to ease Allegri's frustration, with the Juventus coach telling DAZN: "We did not play well for an hour, then reacted after the slap in the face of the goal.

"It was an important game for the table, but it was a second consecutive defeat in the league.

"We've got to get back to our feet, work on what we got wrong and take a different approach to the matches. All we can do is stay quiet, work hard and drag out the last drops of energy to get past Sporting.

"I told the players this was an important step. Instead, we dropped points."

Paul Pogba came on for just his fourth appearance of the season, all of which have come from the bench since his return from a calf injury that kept him out for over six months.

Allegri, though, said the France midfielder is still well behind where Juve hoped he would be.

"There are players like Federico Chiesa and Paul Pogba who are getting back into shape, while others have played a lot more and are tired," Allegri added.

"I saw improvements from Pogba, but he's still a long way behind schedule and not in condition to play 90 minutes.

"We'll try to slowly get him up to 30 minutes and see how he responds."

Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper described the decision not to award his team a penalty against Manchester United as a "really poor error".

United went on to win 2-0 at the City Ground on Sunday thanks to goals from Antony and Diogo Dalot, but not before they had escaped a handball shout with the game still goalless.

A Forest corner in the 19th minute struck the outstretched arm of Harry Maguire – who had already been booked – at the far post, with the hosts immediately appealing to referee Simon Hooper for a penalty.

After consultation with the VAR, Hooper waved away the claims.

"I personally think it's a penalty," Cooper told Sky Sports after the game. "It's a really, really poor error.

"The referee should see it, but I understand why he hasn't because of the angle and the amount of players. But why the VAR hasn't is not right, in my opinion.

"It's another moment that will put big scrutiny on VAR. There's been a lot of negative decisions over the last few weeks, and that's another one.

"I'm not going to stand here and say it's the reason we didn't win the game, although it could be a second yellow and a red for Maguire, and we could have scored the penalty and gone 1-0 up.

"It has a big impact, I'm really biting my tongue because I don't want to use it as an excuse for why we lost the game or why we're in the league position we are in; it's not.

"But it's a bad error. How [VAR] Andy Madley hasn't seen it needs looking at."

The incident came just a week after a number of questionable decisions from officials in Tottenham's 2-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion, after which refereeing body PGMOL issued an apology to the Seagulls.

Forest remain in the Premier League relegation zone on goal difference behind 17th-placed Everton and have now gone 10 games without a win.

Nantes head coach Antoine Kombouare labelled his players "a sh***y team" on Sunday as he took a dramatic swipe at the group two weeks ahead of the Coupe de France final.

There will be glory in their sights at the Stade de France on April 29 when Nantes tackle Toulouse for cup honours.

However, former Paris Saint-Germain boss Kombouare tore into his side in a television interview after the 2-1 loss at Auxerre on Ligue 1 duty that left Nantes 15th in the table.

The 59-year-old told Prime Video: "Today the players aren't concerned by survival because, up to now... imagine, you got to the 16th finals of the Europa League, you're going to the Stade de France in two weeks.

"But apparently they would prefer for us to be up the creek and find ourselves 17th to be able to wake up.

"They like to play with the pressure so we're going to laugh. In any case today, I hear those from Auxerre say that we are a good team but no, we are a sh****y team!"

Nantes saw their Europa League campaign ended by Juventus in February when they lost 4-1 on aggregate to the Italian giants.

They have not won a domestic league match since February 12 when they scored a 1-0 home victory over Lorient, taking three points from a possible 24 since.

It is a run that has left relegation a distinct possibility, with Nantes just two points clear of the drop zone, which contains the bottom four sides for this season as Ligue 1 makes the change to an 18-team league from the 2023-24 season.

They will be seeking back-to-back Coupe de France titles, having beaten Nice 1-0 in last season's final.

Paul George is unlikely to be fit to feature for the Los Angeles Clippers in their NBA playoffs first-round series against the Phoenix Suns.

The eight-time All-Star forward has been out with a sprained right knee since March 21, but it had been hoped he would be back in time for the start of the postseason.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski though, the Clippers have been preparing for the series without George.

It means they will almost certainly need to rely heavily on Kawhi Leonard in his absence against a Suns team that has gone to another level since adding Kevin Durant in February.

George averaged 23.8 points per game during the regular season, as well as 6.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 2.8 three-point shots made.

Game 1 between the Clippers and the Suns takes place in Phoenix on Sunday.