Thomas Tuchel has questioned the priorities of the United Kingdom government after Chelsea supporters were criticised for chanting the name of owner Roman Abramovich.

Some Chelsea fans continued to express their backing for Abramovich during Sunday's 1-0 win over Newcastle United after he was sanctioned by the UK's government last week.

Abramovich had his assets frozen in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, leading to uncertainty over Chelsea's future.

The Russian billionaire can still apply for a licence that would allow him to sell the club, though he cannot receive any proceeds from a sale in such circumstances.

With Chelsea fans continuing to chant in support of Abramovich, a spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's called for them to stop.

"We recognise the strength of feeling around people's clubs but that does not excuse behaviour which is completely inappropriate at this time," the spokesperson said.

"I think people can show passion and support for their club without resorting to that sort of stuff."

When those comments were put to Tuchel ahead of Wednesday's Champions League tie with Lille, however, he urged those in power to focus on more pressing matters.

"I don't know if in these times this is the most important subject to be discussed in parliament," Tuchel said in a news conference.

"If fans chants need to be discussed in parliament, maybe we need to worry about the priorities of discussions there, but okay. 

"There's no need to comment from me. We have far more urgent things to discuss and handle."

Off-the-field talk again dominated Tuchel's media conference, though the former Paris Saint-Germain boss reiterated it is business as usual on the field.

Chelsea make the trip to Lille for the second leg of their last-16 tie boasting a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic three weeks ago.

"There is not more uncertainty. It's the same situation like in the last days. There are no updates," he said.

"Before we discuss a new owner, a new owner needs to arrive, be approved and be allowed to own a football club. Then we can discuss it if it's necessary.

"I did not have a choice to take this role [as spokesperson]. Do I need it? No. Listen, it's more or less day by day. 

"We talk inside and of course we have people who are in charge of different roles and different responsibilities but to the outside it is more or less me who talks. 

"I don't think too much about it. I try to be honest, give you an insight, provide you information from a coach's heart. Maybe this is what I try and you can rely on. 

"I am more than happy if things calm down and we can speak about football."

Tuchel will not let speculation regarding the ownership situation distract his side, though he admitted last week's sanctions – including a cap on spending – have had an impact.

Chelsea already booked flights to France before restrictions were put in place, but they may be forced to drive to Middlesbrough for Saturday's FA Cup tie. 

"There are restrictions, which we have to deal with it," he said. "There are adjustments in our amount of staff who is travelling, how many rooms we have in hotels, how we arrive.

"That will come soon. To my understanding everything is in place now we can arrive on a professional level. It is not about luxury, it is not about bling bling. 

"It is a professional level of sports where we play having only two days between matches while our opponents have four days. To arrive and decrease the possibility of injuries.

"For that, it is better to arrive with a plane than to sit in a bus. We try to be as professional as possible in the frame that we can do it. 

"To my understanding, we have a framework to go to Lille and play the game in Lille where there will be absolutely no excuses regarding this. 

"It is like already a bit more difficult to arrange things in the best way possible in the FA Cup. 

"As long as we have shirts, as long as we are 'alive', as long as we are a team and arrive with our players we will be competitive and fight hard for our success.

"We owe it to the people that support us in very invisible way. We are in the spotlight. It is our responsibility to do so and we will."

Liverpool must continue to prove an annoyance in the Premier League title race as they look to pip Manchester City to the post, Jurgen Klopp has said.

The Reds face in-form Arsenal on Wednesday, knowing a win would take them to within a point of Pep Guardiola's side.

City had plenty of opportunities against Crystal Palace on Monday, yet were held to a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park, giving Liverpool the chance to close the gap.

Liverpool have won their last eight league matches, scoring 21 goals and conceding just two in return across that run.

That is better than City in both regards, with the reigning champions netting 15 times and allowing five goals in at the other end.

Klopp's team have also created more opportunities, with their 21 goals coming from an expected goals (xG) return of 24.3, which would suggest some wasteful finishing or excellent shot-stopping from opposition goalkeepers has prevented Liverpool from further adding to their tally.

With the potential for the title rivals to be neck and neck heading into the final nine league matches of the campaign, including a showdown between the pair at the Etihad Stadium next month, Klopp still looked to keep a lid on the expectations.

"That's the plan, of course, that we keep being as annoying as possible, but we have to win our games," Klopp told a news conference when asked if Liverpool could push City until the end.

"We are very ambitious and very determined to do great stuff, but we respect a lot how good they are and how good all the other teams are. Ten games we still have to play, but there are a few really tough ones. Sitting here if you say we will win 10 games it doesn't sound likely but we will give it a proper try, I can tell you.

"If you go through the last few years it never looked really different. My whole career we went to the last matchday because there was something there to grab. To stay in the league or get a spot in the Europa League or the Champions League or a title.

"If you are close enough you will be involved and that's where we are. We have reached the quarter-finals in two competitions and in the Premier League are not in the worst spot so we have created a basis and now we have to be ready for a long finish with 10 [league] games and we will give it a try whatever happens.

"It is intense. You say that we won the last eight games, imagine if we'd have lost one of them. The mood is good. It's not crazy good, it's concentrated, focused and good. It's about staying on track, trying to improve, even in the best moment when you have a result.

"It's final after final after final, that's how it is, that's how we prepare. Now everything is in front of us, attack it, chase it, that's what we do."

Asked if City's failure to win had boosted the mood around Liverpool's training ground, Klopp said: "It would impact the mood if it would be in our mind, this competition with City, but in fact we play Arsenal and are still four points behind.

"I don't know how you can count points away at Arsenal and say it is only one point. We have to play this game and that's what I am concerned about.

"If you want to reach something in this league and you are not top of the table then you need to win your games and depend on other teams dropping points."

Arsenal were hammered 4-0 in the reverse league fixture this season, but have won each of their last five league games. It means the Gunners have joined City, Liverpool and Chelsea as the only sides to win five in a row during 2021-22 so far.

Christian Eriksen has been named in Denmark's squad for their upcoming friendlies, capping a remarkable return for the playmaker after suffering a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020.

The 30-year-old's career looked to be over just nine months ago when collapsing on the pitch in Denmark's group-stage clash with Finland in Copenhagen.

He subsequently underwent an operation to have an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) fitted, which left him unable to feature for former club Inter due to Serie A rulings.

However, after spending time building up his fitness with boyhood club Odense and Ajax's reserve side, Eriksen was handed a six-month contract with Brentford in January. 

And having featured three times for his new club in what is his second spell in the Premier League, the former Tottenham midfielder is now back in the Denmark fold.

Eriksen was part of the 23-man squad named by Kasper Hjulmand on Tuesday ahead of friendlies against the Netherlands and Serbia later this month.

"He is 100 per cent ready and is where he needs to be," Hjulmand said of Eriksen, who has 109 caps to his name.

Denmark have already booked their place at the 2022 World Cup, which Eriksen may now be a part of following this latest chapter in his incredible return to the pitch.

Also included in Denmark's latest squad is Preston North End goalkeeper Daniel Iversen, who is in line for his senior debut, while Barcelona's Martin Braithwaite has been left out.

The Red and Whites take on the Netherlands in Amsterdam on March 26 and host Serbia at Parken Stadium three days later.

Denmark squad:

Kasper Schmeichel, Frederik, Ronnow, Daniel Iversen, Rasmus Nissen, Alexander Bah, Joachim Andersen, Victor Nelsson, Andreas Christensen, Jannik Vestergaard, Joakim Maehle, Christian Eriksen, Philip Billing, Christian Norgaard, Pierre Emile Hojbjerg, Mathias Jenney, Thomas Dela, Jesper Lindstrom, Jacob Bruun Larsen, Kasper Dolberg, Andreas Cornelius, Jonas Wind, Andreas Skov Olsen, Yussuf Yurary

Frank Vogel says LeBron James' game time is "always a concern" after the four-time MVP played a team-high 40 minutes in the Los Angeles Lakers' 114-103 loss to the Toronto Raptors.

James starred for the Lakers in the previous day's defeat to the Phoenix Suns but was listed as questionable for Monday's clash with the Raptors due to soreness in his right knee.

The Lakers were 6-12 without James heading into the contest at Crypto.com Arena and Vogel took a gamble of sorts by not only using James but keeping him on the court for longer than any other player.

He delivered another impressive display with 30 points and nine rebounds, yet it was not enough to halt the Lakers' poor run as they fell to an eighth defeat in 10 games to go 29-39 for the season.

Despite James' fitness concerns, Lakers head coach Vogel is comfortable with his decision to keep the 37-year-old on the court against the Raptors, who won for a fourth straight game.

"It's always a concern," Vogel, who was in constant dialogue with James, said when asked about the forward's minutes. "But you feel the game out. There was enough stoppages. It's not always the total minutes on here. 

"It's what kind of flow the game has and there was enough stoppages that we never left like he was being too taxed."

James has played 1,845 minutes this season, which is second behind only Russell Westbrook (2,299) among Lakers players.

He has 1,487 points for the campaign and has averaged 29.7 across his 50 games, a tally that is bettered only by Joel Embiid (29.9).

Despite James' efforts, the Lakers left themselves with too much to do against the Raptors after finding themselves 24 points down in the first.

The hosts hit back to make it 109-97 with just over two minutes to go, but the comeback fell short.

Reflecting on another disappointing night for his side, a frustrated Carmelo Anthony said: "If you take away the first quarter, we won the game. We can't be digging ourselves holes or whatever. 

"We've been digging ourselves holes to start games off with. We did it against Phoenix, we did it again today. We find ourselves in those positions often this season."

Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson enjoyed an on-court reunion on Monday, which was described by the latter as "magical".

For the first time since Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, the Warriors had their star trio of Curry, Green and Thompson on the court together.

Green had been out since early January due to a back injury, meaning he had been unable to feature since Thompson's return from two serious injury lay-offs.

But the trio were back and as good as ever against the Washington Wizards, who the Warriors defeated 126-112.

Green featured for 20 minutes and had six points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Thompson added 20 points to the Warriors' tally.

Curry, meanwhile, marked his 34th birthday in sensational style, scoring a season-high 47 points and finishing with six rebounds and as many assists. 

It was the sixth time in 2021-22 that Curry has enjoyed a 40-plus point game.

"That was magical," Thompson told reporters, while Green enthused: "It was beautiful."

Curry explained: "I think what it did for him is what it did for all of us. You could tell the energy picked up.

"It's not anything more than what's built on 10 years of experience and chemistry and winning and an understanding of how we do things. No matter how much time we have off, we can get right back to it.

"It is crazy to think first time me, Klay and Draymond had been on the court in a very, very long time.

"We want to keep building on that. We know each other like the back of our hand, we complement each other very well."

Golden State have now won four straight games all by double digits, following a five-game losing streak.

The Warriors moved to 47-22 for the season and have now beat every other team in the NBA at least once this season.

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall of Famer Scott Hall, who rose to stardom in the 1990s as Razor Ramon, has died at the age of 63.

Hall had been placed on a life support machine after suffering severe health complications following surgery to repair a broken hip.

WWE confirmed in a statement on Monday that Hall, widely considered to be one of the most influential wrestlers of all time, had passed away.

Hall began his wrestling career in 1984 and joined the WWE – then known as WWF – in 1992, before spending time with WCW, ECW and various other promotions.

He spent four years with WWE, winning the Intercontinental title four times, and had notable rivalries with Kevin Nash, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels.

Rafael Nadal sympathises with Naomi Osaka over the abuse she was subjected to at Indian Wells, but says athletes must be prepared to deal with it "as nothing is perfect in life".

Osaka was reduced to tears as she crashed out of the Indian Wells Open with a 6-0 6-4 third-round defeat to 21st seed Veronika Kudermetova on Saturday.

A member of the crowd could be heard shouting "Naomi, you suck" after the four-time grand slam champion had been broken in the first game of the match.

Osaka approached the chair umpire to report the incident and held further discussions with the court supervisor after being insulted again.

While accepting there is no place for such conduct, 21-time grand slam winner Nadal believes players should learn to cope with hostile environments.

"These kind of questions are tough to answer because, in some way, the easy answer for me is I feel terrible about what happened, that never should happen," he told reporters.

"The real thing, in the real world, that happens, you know? I feel very sorry for her. We are having, in my opinion, a great life. 

"We are very lucky people that we're able to enjoy amazing experiences because of our life, because we are tennis players. We make money.

"Even if is terrible to hear from that, we must be prepared for that. We need to resist these kind of issues that can happen when you are exposed to people. 

"At the same time, as we like a lot when the people are supporting, when something like this happens, we need to accept and move forward.

"I understand that probably Naomi, she suffered a lot with his probably kind of issues that she has, mental [health] issues. 

"The only thing that I wish for her is to recover well from that and wish her all the very best. But nothing is perfect in this life. We need to be ready for adversities."

Speaking shortly after the incident, an emotional Osaka said being targeted by the spectator reminded her of abuse the Williams sisters were subjected to at the same event.

Serena and Venus Williams were the victims of verbal abuse at the tournament in the Californian desert back in 2001.

The siblings' father, Richard Williams, claimed he had been racially abused at Indian Wells, while Venus Williams said she "heard whatever he heard".

Daniil Medvedev, who will concede his status as world number one back to Novak Djokovic from next week, said he can relate to how Osaka felt after recently hitting out at the "disrespectful" crowd at the Australian Open.

"I didn't see it with my own eyes, and I didn't watch the videos after, so I just heard it from someone who heard from someone, so I don't want to go too much into it," he said.

"It's tough for everybody because I can feel for Naomi. I mean, I felt not great in Australia. 

"You know they're [the players] getting millions. They should be ready for everything. At the same time, we're humans. We all make mistakes, good decisions. 

"Sometimes we feel bad. Sometimes we feel good. I can understand that Naomi didn't feel that great when she heard it and I can completely understand her feelings.

"Life would be easier if everybody would be calm and not angry but, even talking about me, I get angry, so I should be better also."

Karl-Anthony Towns revealed he was just following coach Chris Finch's orders when he went out and hit 60 points in the Minnesota Timberwolves' win over the San Antonio Spurs.

While MVP rivals Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid collided in Philadelphia, Towns stole the spotlight with a stunning display, hitting a season-high points total in the Timberwolves' 149-139 triumph on Monday.

Towns' tally took him ahead of the efforts of Trae Young and LeBron James, who both scored 56 this season, while it was also a franchise record.

And the 26-year-old said he had asked Finch pre-game what was required of him, with the coach telling him to "go get 60".

He continued: "I told coach before the game, 'Hey listen, we need this win. I'll do whatever it takes. If I need to play 44, 48 minutes, I'll get it done.'

"That was kind of the mindset I came in [with]. I had to dominate. I had to be my best.

"So I just went out there, tried to be really aggressive."

Finch was understandably delighted with Towns' showing, with Gregg Popovich's Spurs unable to stop him.

"They were selling out to protect the rim with everything else we were trying to do," Finch said.

"He had the matchup, and they didn't have an answer for him. We definitely needed it, and he stepped up."

Popovich, who recently racked up a record 1,336th victory as a coach, also heaped praise on Towns.

"Karl was fantastic," Popovich said. "He drove it, he shot it. He always plays hard. He's a hell of a player. It's not like it was a surprise, but tonight he was special."

After reaching half-time with 24 points, Towns exploded into life after the break, scoring 32 of his side's 46 third-quarter points on his way to final shooting figures of 19-31 from the field, 7-11 from three and 15-16 from the line.

Towns, who is the first center to hit 60 points in a single NBA game since Shaquille O'Neal in March 2000, also grabbed a personal season-high of 17 rebounds.

He became the first player in the league's history to have 60 points, 60 per cent 3-point shooting and 15 rebounds in a single game, while only four centers had previously enjoyed a 60-point game.

Tuesday sees two very finely poised games in the Champions League round of 16 as Manchester United host Atletico Madrid and Benfica travel to Amsterdam to face Ajax.

A 1-1 draw at the Wanda Metropolitano three weeks ago felt harsh on Atletico, and Diego Simeone will not have been too pleased to see Cristiano Ronaldo roar back into form at the weekend with a hat-trick in United's 3-2 win against Tottenham.

An exciting first leg in Lisbon saw Benfica and Ajax play out a 2-2 draw, with the Dutch side's star striker Sebastien Haller finding the net at both ends.

The removal of the away goals rule means there is not a single thing separating these sides heading into the second legs, so here are some Opta facts to help you decide who you think will come out on top on Tuesday.

Manchester United v Atletico Madrid

Ronaldo was back to his effervescent best on Saturday, and has scored in both of his Champions League home games for Ralf Rangnick's men this season. If he does so again, it would be only the second time he has managed three in a row for the club (previously between November 2007 and March 2008).

He has netted 13 goals in his last 15 home games against Atletico across all competitions, including two hat-tricks in his most recent four (for Real Madrid in May 2017 and Juventus in March 2019, both in this competition).

United have been eliminated from their last three Champions League knockout stage games when drawing the first leg, doing so against Real Madrid (2012-13 last 16), Bayern Munich (2013-14 quarter-final) and Sevilla (2017-18 last 16).

However, when failing to win the first leg of a Champions League knockout tie at home, Atletico have been eliminated three out of four times. The only exception was a 3-1 win at Chelsea in the 2013-14 semi-final, following a 0-0 draw in the home leg.

Before this season, 69 per cent of teams to draw the first leg of a Champions League knockout stage tie at home have been eliminated (59/85). That being said, six of the last 10 such teams to progress have done so against English sides.

Atletico have lost their last two away trips to face English sides in the Champions League, losing at Chelsea in 2020-21 and Liverpool this season without scoring a goal in either. In addition, they have not kept a clean sheet in any of their eight total away games against English teams in the competition, conceding 14 goals overall.

The Red Devils have only won two of their last eight Champions League home games when hosting Spanish opposition (D3 L3), although the most recent of those did come earlier in the competition this season, beating Villarreal 2-1 with a stoppage-time winner from Ronaldo.

Despite the reputation of Simeone's side for being tight at the back, they have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last six Champions League matches – only between September 2009 and October 2013 (seven games) have they had a longer such run in the competition.

Ajax v Benfica

Ajax lost their first ever home game against a Portuguese opponent in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League (3-1 in February 1969 v Benfica) but have since gone unbeaten in five matches since (W4 D1). They have won all three encounters that have taken place in the Champions League era, including one earlier this season (4-2 win v Sporting CP in the group stage).

Including qualifiers, Benfica have only won one of their last 10 away games against Dutch sides in European competition – 1-0 v AZ in the Europa League in 2013-14. Six of the other nine games have ended in draws (L3), including one earlier this season against PSV in Champions League qualifying (0-0).

Ajax have won all three of their home games in the Champions League this season. They will be looking to win four in a row on home soil in the competition for the first time since March 1996, when they won seven in succession under Louis van Gaal.

Benfica are looking to progress beyond the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time since 2015-16, when they beat Zenit. It would be just the fourth time they have reached the quarter-finals of the competition in the 21st century, after doing so in 2005-06, 2011-12 and 2015-16.

Goal enthusiasts Ajax have scored at least twice in all seven of their Champions League games this season, netting 22 times in total. That is the most by team from outside of the big five European leagues through their first seven games of a campaign since Ajax themselves, who scored 30 in 1979-80.

Benfica have only won one of their last 14 away games in the Champions League (D4 L9), which was against AEK Athens in October 2018. In the knockout stages of the competition, Nelson Verissimo's side have lost five of their last six away games (W1).

Ajax have four different players in double figures for chances created from open play in the Champions League this season – Dusan Tadic (16), Haller (13), Steven Berghuis (12) and Antony (10). Only Manchester City have had as many different players do so (also four).

Haller has been directly involved in five goals in three home appearances in the Champions League this season (three goals, two assists), and could become just the fourth player in the competition's history to score in each of his first four home appearances, after Oscar (2013), Frederic Kanoute (2008) and Alessandro Del Piero (1996).

They say you should never judge a player on one good international tournament.

In fairness, when Bayern Munich splashed out a reported €35million on an 18-year-old Renato Sanches in 2016, he had already impressed at Benfica, but it was his showings at Euro 2016 for eventual winners Portugal that sped up the hype train.

Just over a year later, he was struggling to get game time during a loan move at Swansea City.

Sanches' star had fallen almost as quickly as it had risen, and after being unable to establish himself at Bayern, the midfielder made the move to Lille in 2019.

At the French side he finally settled and became a crucial part of Christophe Galtier's underdogs, who impressively beat Paris Saint-Germain to the 2020-21 Ligue 1 title.

Sanches followed up his championship medal with another comeback, standing out as one of the best players again at Euro 2020.

As football never seems to learn its lessons, hype rebuilt around Sanches following his performances for Portugal in last year's rescheduled tournament, and the 24-year-old has been linked with a transfer to one of Europe's elite pretty much ever since.

Clubs including Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid have all been mooted as possible destinations, but recent reports suggest that Milan could be where Sanches takes the next step of his journey, and potentially where he could finally fulfil that much-discussed potential.

Although Lille have failed to come close to defending their title this season, Sanches has continued to impress when available.

He has played 25 games in all competitions (21 starts), registering one goal and five assists, three more than any other Lille midfielder.

Sanches has completed 57 dribbles, with Jonathan Ikone – more of a forward player and who moved to Fiorentina in January – completing the next most at the club this season (38), and he has created as many big chances (eight) as Ikone having played the same number of games. A big chance is defined by Opta as a situation where a player should reasonably be expected to score.

Comparing the same numbers to Milan's midfield, he has created twice as many big chances as the Rossoneri's most creative players (Sandro Tonali and Alexis Saelemaekers – four), and only Saelemaekers has completed more dribbles (58), albeit from more appearances. Sanches averages more completed dribbles than the Belgian per 90 minutes (3.01 to 2.51).

One assumption would be that Sanches has been earmarked to replace Franck Kessie, who appears likely to be leaving San Siro when his contract expires at the end of the season, though the two are not all that similar as players.

Kessie has six goals this season, two from the penalty spot, but just one assist, and has only created two big chances. Sanches also makes far more dribbles, attempting 91 compared to 38 from Kessie.

Sanches has made almost as many recoveries as the Ivory Coast international (146 to 158) but has attempted fewer tackles than all of Milan's midfielders (20), with the lowest tackle success rate (45 per cent).

His pass success percentage is also worse than Kessie's (81.77 to 88.73). You might think that could be down to the intent of those passes, but Kessie is even more comfortably ahead when it comes to pass success percentage in the opposition half (75.53 to 85.53).

Sanches, of course, plays in a different league, and so how do his numbers compare in this season's Champions League?

While it must be noted that Lille had an easier time of things in the group stages than Milan, who went up against Liverpool, Atletico Madrid and Porto, Sanches did seem to shine on the big stage more than Stefano Pioli's current crop.

Only Ismael Bennacer (39) made more recoveries than Sanches' 38, having played a game more, while no-one at the Serie A side attempted as many as his 209 passes, and none won possession in the opposition's final third more than him (four).

Milan suffered elimination in their group, while Lille won theirs and put up a respectable fight against Chelsea in the first leg of their round-of-16 clash at Stamford Bridge.

Sanches in particular looked good again, though he was unable to prevent the Premier League side taking a 2-0 lead over with them to the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Wednesday, where Sanches sadly will not play after picking up a muscle injury in the 0-0 draw with Saint-Etienne on Friday.

"Renato Sanches underwent tests this morning following the injury contracted on Friday during the match between LOSC and AS Saint-Etienne," read a statement from Lille. "The midfielder has suffered an injury to the biceps femoris muscle in his left thigh.

"His unavailability is estimated at three weeks, depending on the clinical evolution of his injury."

And this is arguably the thing that has held Sanches back more than anything, his injury record.

For context, at the age of just 24, he already has two pages of injuries listed on his injury history on Transfermarkt, the vast majority of which have been muscle issues that just do not seem to go away.

In terms of what he has shown on the field in the past couple of years, Sanches seems more than ready for another shot at an elite club.

Whether he can stay fit long enough to do so is another matter.

On a day that saw MVP favourites Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic go head-to-head, it was fellow center Karl-Anthony Towns who stole the headlines.

Towns scored a career-high 60 points in the Minnesota Timberwolves' 149-139 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

It is the most points scored by any player in a single game this season, ahead of Trae Young and LeBron James, who both scored 56.

After reaching half-time with 24 points, Towns exploded into life after the break, scoring 32 of his side's 46 third-quarter points on his way to final shooting figures of 19-31 from the field, 7-11 from three and 15-16 from the line.

Towns, who is the first center to hit 60 points in a single NBA game since Shaquille O'Neal in March 2000, also grabbed a personal season-high of 17 rebounds, while on the other side Dejounte Murray was no slouch with 30 points and 12 assists, though it was not enough for the Spurs.

Novak Djokovic will return to the top of the ATP rankings after Daniil Medvedev fell to a brilliant Gael Monfils comeback at the Indian Wells Open.

Medvedev was beaten 4-6 6-3 6-1 by Frenchman Monfils, with the reigning US Open champion only able to connect on 50 per cent of his first serves, while he was broken three times in the decider.

For Monfils, the win earns him a spot in the fourth round against Carlos Alcaraz, while the loss means Medvedev will lose his position as world number one after only two weeks.

Speaking to post-match media, Medvedev said while he will work hard to earn the top-ranking back, starting in Miami next week.

"Is it better to be number one for, let’s say one week in your life, or never touch it?" he said. "I think it's still better to at least touch it.

"Now I know I'm going to lose it, so I have Miami to try to get it back. [I'm] usually feeling a little bit better in Miami in terms of tennis, so I'll try to play good there.

"I thought it could give me more motivation, well, I had motivation. It's just that I didn't find my best tennis."