Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham shed some light on Anthony Davis' health after the surging star was forced to leave Tuesday's 116-102 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers with flu-like symptoms.
Davis could only muster eight minutes before making his way to the locker room, being promptly ruled out from returning.
LeBron James picked up some of the slack inside as he racked up a season-high 17 rebounds to go with his 21 points, but the Lakers were no match for the Cavs down the stretch when Donovan Mitchell caught fire.
Mitchell top-scored with 43 points on 17-of-27 shooting, while Jarrett Allen was the main beneficiary of Davis' absence, dominating the interior with 24 points (11-of-14 shooting) and 11 rebounds.
Speaking after the loss, Ham said Davis' issue was one he was dealing with all day, but he tried, unsuccessfully, to tough it out.
"Yeah, it progressively got worse," he said. "His temperature went over 100 – I believe it was 101-and-change.
"He said he was going to try and give it a go, and he did, but he just felt too weak, drained and dehydrated a little bit.
"But, you know, it's that time of the season, in terms of winter time and the weather changing. Changing climates, coming from LA and going to these different places.
"We've dealt with it earlier in the year, and he experienced it again today. It set in earlier in the day, and it worsened as the day went on."
Ham discussed how he tried to combat the Lakers' lack of size by pivoting towards a focus on speed, but ultimately did not have the firepower to overcome it.
"We massaged the rotation a little bit… with him going out, just really trying to throw some different line-ups out there," he said.
"They're a really wide, rangy, long, athletic ball club, so just trying to get some speed out there to combat some of their size.
"Hats off to our guys, man, they competed their hearts out. That's a huge blow, obviously, with the way he's been playing of late, but they stayed the course.
"They got through the first half pretty good, they made it competitive in the third quarter, and then the bottom kind of fell out."
James gave his respect to Thomas Bryant, who came off the bench for the Lakers and chipped in 19 points and nine rebounds in 28 minutes, but said there is no replacing Davis.
"Next man up, but that's a tall task – figuratively and literally – for what AD has been doing for us over the last few weeks," he said.
"I thought Thomas [Bryant] came in and gave us some great minutes. He was high-energy, worked the glass really well, but it was tough for us when AD went out. We had to switch up our whole game plan from what we were trying to do.
"But we gave as much as we could, we had a couple of opportunities in the fourth, but they broke away with it."
He added: "Obviously you can't replace AD, so everyone has to do a little bit more, but do their job, at the highest level or capacity they can do it, and live with the results.
"[Davis' exit meant we lacked] a little bit of everything. He's giving us everything – scoring, defense, rebounding, blocking shots around the rim, our length… when you have a guy that's six-foot-11 with a seven-foot-seven wingspan, you can't match that."
The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for the Lakers, although they have still won eight of their past 11 outings to pull their record to 10-13 after a 2-10 start.
After going down 116-102 away from home against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, LeBron James made sure to give his respect to the franchise he called home for 11 seasons.
James was drafted by the Cavaliers as the first overall selection in 2003, carrying them to the NBA Finals in 2007, and then winning two league MVPs in 2009 and 2010 before taking his talents to South Beach.
He returned ahead of the 2014-15 season, taking the Cavaliers to four more NBA Finals appearances, highlighted by the franchise's only championship in 2016 when they came back from a 3-1 deficit against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors.
James has played against the Cavaliers multiple times since joining the Lakers, but he admitted that the video package his former team played during a timeout in Tuesday's game caught him by surprise.
"A little bit," he said "It's always love coming back here.
"Obviously, the memories I have here will never be forgotten, from the time I was drafted here as an 18-year-old kid, to the time I left, so the reception I got from the fans here, it's mutual for sure."
He added: "That's what Cleveland sports is all about. From the Guardians, to the Browns, to the Cavs – the fans are always going to support and be loud. I wouldn't expect anything less."
When asked if he has been impressed with the Cavaliers since they acquired All-Star Donovan Mitchell through an offseason trade with the Utah Jazz, James said he has been paying close attention for longer than that.
"They were competitive before Donovan got here, but I thought them adding him made them more dynamic," he said. "If you watched them last year, you saw how competitive they were then as well.
"When some of their guys got injured towards the end of the season they slipped a bit and ended up in the play-in game, but they were a good team last year.
"You add an All-Star, a dynamic guard like Donovan, it's automatically going to make a team better."
Mitchell played like a superstar against the Lakers, scoring a game-high 43 points on 17-of-27 shooting, while adding six rebounds, five assists and four steals.
"I mean Mitchell is Mitchell," James said. "He did a great job of penetrating our gaps, making some tough shots all night, and getting into a real good comfort zone. He's a really special kid."
Mitchell also had kind words for James, reflecting on his position now as a leader of the Cavaliers after watching the franchise on television growing up.
"It's crazy – I grew up watching him here," he said. "It really hit for me, that full-circle moment, when I watched him get that standing ovation and they played his intro.
"I just sat there on the stanchion and watched the reception he got – it's incredible. It's well-deserved, he's one of the greatest players of all-time.
"He brought a championship – the only championship – to this franchise. You've got to have admiration for that, and hopefully we can do something similar."
He went on to talk about how he will always view James as a Cavalier.
"There was a level of excellence he brought to the city, the way he's revered as an athlete," he said.
"I think the first initial thought is the Cleveland Cavaliers when you think LeBron – that's no disrespect to the Lakers or the Heat – but when you think of 'Bron, you think of Cleveland.
"He set that precedent. When you look at what he's done here in his career, in two different stints. To be the only team to come back from 3-1, leading that group.
"It's really cool, to be honest with you, to be in a situation where as a kid you're literally watching the games in front of a TV, and now I'm part of it."
The Cavaliers are built to last, and there has always been rumblings that James would end up finishing his career where it began.
But after signing a two-year extension with the Lakers in September, he is tied to Los Angeles until at least the end of the 2023-24 season, when he can exercise his player option and opt out, becoming a free agent once again.
When also taking into account the Cavaliers currently have four players who will be earning max-contracts – Mitchell, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley – the reality is one would have to make way to accommodate any potential return of the 'King'.
The Philadelphia Phillies added a former All-Star to their starting pitching rotation on Tuesday when Taijuan Walker signed on the dotted line for a four-year, $72million free agent contract.
Walker, 30, spent the past two seasons with the New York Mets, earning an All-Star selection in 2021, before improving his numbers this year.
The former Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks starter tailed off badly in his All-Star season, going on to post an ERA of 4.47 in his 29 starts, but rebounded strongly.
This year he boasted an ERA of 3.49 in 29 starts, while his 2.6 walks-per-nine-innings was his best figure since 2016. His 15 home runs allowed were also his lowest of any season he has pitched at least 100 innings.
Walker will join a rotation already featuring 2021 NL Cy Young Award runner-up Zack Wheeler, as well as this season's fourth place for the award Aaron Nola, giving the reigning NL champions one of the strongest units in the majors.
Mitch Haniger has been scooped up by the San Francisco Giants in free agency, signing a three-year, $43.5million contract as he bids farewell to the Seattle Mariners.
Haniger, who turns 32 later this month, finished fifth in the American League for home runs in the 2021 season, blasting a career-high 39 with 100 RBIs in 157 games.
He battled a series of injuries this year and could only suit up for 57 games – a recurring theme in his career, including a lengthy absence after a ruptured testicle in 2019 – but he got healthy just in time to help the Mariners reach their first postseason since 2001.
The Giants are also a leading candidate to land the top outfielder in this year's free agent market, Aaron Judge, and according to ESPN's Jeff Passan their decision to sign Haniger will have no impact on those negotiations.
Haniger hit 31 home runs in the 2022 season, batting at .246/.308/.737 across 224 at-bats for the Mariners, who ended their 21-year postseason drought.
NBA Player of the Week Anthony Davis exited the Los Angeles Lakers' clash on Tuesday with the Cleveland Cavaliers after experiencing flu-like symptoms mid-game.
Davis, who has averaged 37.8 points, 13.0 rebounds and 3.25 blocks over the past four games, left the court for the locker room late in the first quarter.
The Lakers officially ruled out the eight-time All-Star in the second quarter, reporting flu-like symptoms.
Davis had played eight minutes for one point with three rebounds and two assists, well down on his recent output.
The Lakers big-man has returned to career-best form this season, having been dogged by injuries over the past two years, restricting him to a combined 76 games in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.
Davis scored 55 points in Sunday's 130-119 victory over the Washington Wizards, the second most by any player in a single game this season.
The Chicago Cubs landed 2019 NL MVP Cody Bellinger on Tuesday, signing him to a one-year, $17.5million free agent contract.
Bellinger, 27, has spent his entire six-year career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, highlighted by a remarkable 2019 campaign where he slashed .305/.406/.629 with 47 home runs and 115 RBIs.
All of those figures were career-highs, and while he remains a Gold Glove-calibre centre-fielder, his offensive production has cratered over the past two seasons.
Bellinger hit just .165 in 315 at-bats in 2021, and showed only slight improvement this year to hit .210 in 504 at-bats. He also hit more home runs in his MVP season than the past three combined (41).
At his age, Bellinger has plenty of time to turn things around, and he has decided a change of scenery could be what is needed, heading to a Cubs team that has not won a playoff series since 2017.
The one-year deal is an opportunity for Bellinger to prove he can still be an elite hitter, and Cubs manager David Ross said he feels his combination of skills makes it a risk worth taking.
"He's a really good fit from a perspective of [his] great defense, great base running, left-handed bat with the potential to have an uptick offensively," he said.
James Wiseman has been recalled by the Golden State Warriors after being sent to their G League affiliate three weeks ago, struggling for form.
The 21-year-old, who was the second pick overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, will link up with the Warriors in Salt Lake City on Tuesday for Wednesday's game against the Utah Jazz.
The reigning champions have ruled out All-Star trio Stephen Curry (left ankle soreness), Draymond Green (left hip tightness) and Andrew Wiggins (right adductor strain) for that game.
Wiseman had played seven games for Golden State's G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, averaging 15.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 26.6 minutes.
The young center has had a difficult time since joining the Warriors, tearing his meniscus in his rookie season before several setbacks in 2021-22 ultimately ended his campaign without playing. Wiseman is averaging 6.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists across 11 games for Golden State this season.
The Warriors have rallied to a 13-12 record, on the back of seven wins from their past 10 games.
The NBA announced on Tuesday it has created a new trophy for this season, to be awarded to the team that has the best regular-season record.
The Maurice Podoloff Trophy – named after the NBA's first commissioner – will be handed out for the first time this season.
According to the announcement, the trophy "features a crystal ball cut into 82 panels, sitting on a pedestal that combines the structures of the Eastern Conference posts and Western conference rings."
Podoloff's name used to be tied to the league's MVP award, though it had been dropped when Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic retained it last season.
Had the new award been given out after the 82 games last year, it would have gone to the Phoenix Suns after their impressive 64-18 campaign, and would perhaps have provided some consolation after they were beaten in the Western Conference semi-finals by the Dallas Mavericks.
The Boston Celtics currently lead the way in the NBA this season, with a record of 20-5 after finishing runners-up to the Golden State Warriors in last year's Finals.
The NBA also unveiled redesigned trophies for the Joe Dumars Trophy for sportsmanship, the Red Auerbach Trophy for coach of the year, the Twyman-Stokes Trophy for the league's best teammate and the NBA Executive of the Year Trophy, working with artist Victor Solomon.
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz will be exchanging fierce right-handers and left-handers across the net when tennis visits a legendary Las Vegas boxing venue in March.
In the lead-up to the Indian Wells Open, the Spanish superstars will go head to head at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 5, it was announced on Tuesday.
The indoor venue has staged major fights featuring the likes of Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather, Canelo Alvarez, Manny Pacquiao and Tyson Fury.
Nadal, the record 22-time men's singles grand slam winner, will be facing current world number one Alcaraz in a clash of generations. Alcaraz does not turn 20 until May, while Nadal will be 36 in June.
The match will mark Alcaraz's return to action in the United States, six months after he triumphed at the US Open in New York to land a first slam title.
Already the youngest number one in ATP history, Alcaraz is expected to win many more majors, but he recently said he turns a "deaf ear" to comparisons between himself and Nadal.
"There is no point in comparing," Alcaraz told reporters. "It doesn't matter that now I am world number one, Rafa's entire career counts for a lot. It is a pleasure, for every tennis lover, to see Rafa on the court."
The Indian Wells action begins on March 8. Nadal beat Alcaraz in last year's semi-finals before losing to Taylor Fritz in the final, later revealing he played with a broken rib in the title match.
Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn believes Jamal Musiala will be an "important cornerstone" in the club's future, with the Bavarian giants eager to secure the teenager's long-term services.
Musiala has enjoyed an impressive start to the Bundesliga season, scoring nine goals and providing six assists, with his 15 goal involvements the most registered by any teenager across Europe's top five leagues.
The Germany international, whose tally is also just two shy of Paris Saint-Germain's Lionel Messi (17 - seven goals, 10 assists), is under contract with Bayern until 2026, though Kahn does not want the 19-year-old to be tempted away from the Allianz Arena.
"Jamal has enormous qualities that he's showing consistently at a high level at 19," the former goalkeeper said. "He's also very ambitious and always wants to improve. We're glad we have him. Jamal will be an important cornerstone in the future of Bayern."
Musiala's performances provided a rare positive during Germany's disappointing World Cup campaign, with Die Nationalmannschaft exiting in the group stage for the second successive finals.
Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic believes the experience will benefit the youngster, with whom he soon hopes to open discussions regarding his future.
"Jamal was one of Germany's bright spots at the World Cup," he said. "Watching him play is simply fun.
"Playing at a World Cup was a valuable experience for him. Although the elimination is bitter, Jamal is 19 and still has many tournaments to play for Germany.
"Of course, we told Jamal's mother Carolin and his management before the World Cup that we're very happy with Jamal, and we let them know that we want to sit down with them after the tournament to talk about Jamal's further future at Bayern.
"We saw that he could transfer his performances at Bayern to the national team. We at Bayern will do everything to continue supporting him in his development."
The Texas Rangers continue to be busy in the free-agent market, signing veteran left-handed starting pitcher Andrew Heaney on Tuesday to a two-year contract.
The deal is worth $25million with another $12m available in incentives, and includes an opt-out after the first season, according to ESPN.
The 31-year-old Heaney had a bounce-back season with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022, going 4-4 with a 3.10 ERA in 16 appearances, including 14 starts.
After missing most of the first half of the season due to two stints on the injured list from left shoulder inflammation, Heaney returned to post a 1.09 WHIP and struck out a career-best 13.6 batters per nine innings.
Heaney joins a rotation that includes Jacob deGrom, who the Rangers signed to a five-year, $185m contract last week. DeGrom, considered the best pitcher in baseball when healthy, was the latest massive contract handed out by the Rangers.
Texas spent a combined $500m on middle infielders Corey Seager and Marcus Semien last offseason, and now add Heaney and DeGrom to a rotation that could include holdovers Jon Gray, and Martin Perez and recently acquired Jake Odorizzi.
In nine seasons with the Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees and Dodgers, Heaney is 36-42 with a 4.56 ERA in 137 games, including 126 starts.
Rafael Leao believes the hat-trick heroics of Goncalo Ramos in Portugal's 6-1 rout of Switzerland show what quality lurks in the squad's ranks as they chase a first World Cup triumph.
Even the president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, joined in the praise of Fernando Santos' team as they sped through to the quarter-finals in Qatar.
Ramos started Tuesday's game ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, with the 21-year-old Benfica forward proving far from unnerved by that prospect, hitting the first, third and fifth goals of Portugal's handsome win.
It may mean Ramos keeps his place for the clash with surprise quarter-finalists Morocco, who upset Spain with a penalty shoot-out victory.
Leao came off the bench in the late stages and struck the team's exquisite sixth goal, staking his own claim for place in the side to tackle the Atlas Lions.
Asked about Ramos, Leao told Sport TV: "We have a lot of players of great quality, and he is another young man who showed a lot of quality.
"Today he had the opportunity to be in the starting line-up, he helped the team and we are very happy for him."
Before Ramos, the last player to hit a hat-trick on his first World Cup start went on to become the tournament's 16-goal all-time record scorer: Germany's Miroslav Klose.
The Morocco game will take place on Saturday, so the imperative for Portugal is to move on as quickly as possible and prepare for that tussle.
"We're going to celebrate, but calm spirits, respecting the Moroccan team," Leao said. "Now it's time to prepare for that game and for sure we'll come in strong."
Leao has showed outstanding form for Milan in Serie A across the last 18 months, but such are the resources available to Santos he is not a certain starter for his country.
There will be games when the coach prefers other options, but Leao has a long-term future in the team.
"Even though I'm not the first option, when I come on I try to help the team," Leao said. "I have to respect the coach's decisions."
President Rebelo de Sousa told television broadcaster RTP3 it had been one of Portugal's finest nights.
There have been others that have topped it, notably their Euro 2016 title triumph, and there might yet be better days ahead in Qatar.
"I think the selector's choices in general worked well," said Rebelo de Sousa. "The team played well in the first half and also in the second half. The substitutions happened naturally and we still had more goals.
"It was one of the best nights in Portuguese football."
Jude Bellingham has a "match-winning ability" that is taking his game to another level, according to England assistant manager Steve Holland.
The Borussia Dortmund midfielder has been one of the Three Lions' standout performers in their run to the World Cup quarter-finals, where they face reigning champions France on Saturday.
Bellingham launched England's campaign with the opening goal in the 6-2 thrashing of Iran, before assisting Jordan Henderson during another impressive display in the last-16 win over Senegal.
The 19-year-old leads his team-mates for dribbles completed (six) and possessions won (23) in Qatar, while only Luke Shaw (72) has bettered his tally of 48 passes ending in the final third.
Holland is well aware of the qualities and attributes possessed by top players following his time at Chelsea, where he served as assistant manager under the likes of Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, Rafael Benitez and Guus Hiddink, and England's number two believes those traits are evident in Bellingham.
"He's unique. When you're categorising really top players – I was lucky enough in eight years at Chelsea to experience a few of those – there are the physical attributes, there are the technical attributes," Holland said.
"My experience would be that what makes the top, top ones is the mentality – the self-belief, the confidence, the drive, the ambition every day to push and be competitive.
"There were a few at Chelsea during my time that I felt were always there every time in training – [Ashley] Cole, [Frank] Lampard, [Didier] Drogba, [John] Terry.
"There were others: players who perhaps weren't super gifted physically or even super gifted technically – although on a high level – but the mental aspect of it took them to a different level of performance.
"Jude has those attributes. There has been an evolution physically over the last 12 months. We watch every match he plays, either live or by going over the footage.
"We know him really well, and there has definitely been an evolution physically because he is still developing. It has taken him to another level.
"There are only three things you can do in football: stop goals, make goals, score goals. That's how you contribute.
"Jude can do all of those things and, recently, he has begun to score goals, which is the bit that makes the biggest players big. It's a match-winning ability that he is adding to his game."
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo could be in line to return for the postseason after a report suggested he would not require surgery on his broken left foot.
Garoppolo stayed down after being sacked by both Jaelan Phillips and Jerome Baker during the 49ers' 33-17 win against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
It was subsequently said he had broken bones in his foot which would likely require surgery, giving rise to fears his season was over.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan described the blow of losing his starting quarterback as "crushing", but his fears may yet be allayed, according to a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The report claims Garoppolo avoided a Lisfranc injury and will not require surgery, potentially opening the door to his return to the field within seven to eight weeks.
If Garoppolo was to return within seven weeks, he could feature in any potential NFC Divisional Round game for San Francisco, while the NFC Championship game takes place one week later.
Super Bowl LVII, meanwhile, will take place another two weeks down the line, potentially giving Garoppolo the chance to win his third Super Bowl title.
On Monday, Shanahan indicated Garoppolo's injury may not be as bad as first feared, but was unwilling to speculate until he could give an official diagnosis.
"They're still trying to work through it," Shanahan said. "Some specialists have to finalise it, so we don't want to give you guys any false information.
"They're discussing all those things, but we're feeling like it's starting to get better than that, so we'll see when we get the official information."
With any potential return for Garoppolo some time away, the 49ers will rely on Brock Purdy – the final pick in this year's draft – to fill the void following an encouraging display against the Dolphins.
On Monday, Shanahan refuted suggestions the 49ers could not compete for honours with Purdy in a starting role, saying: "He's decisive. He started for years [at Iowa State] at a high level.
"You gotta have some balls to play quarterback in this league, and he does. We think we'll have a chance with him."
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