Ronnie O'Sullivan declared he would "rather not be playing", claimed he does not "really identify myself as a snooker player anymore", and made the cheeky claim he is only competing for "a bit of quiet time".
Yet the potting game's biggest star is two steps away from matching one of the great records at the World Championship, sauntering through to the semi-finals at the Crucible in Sheffield to close in on a seventh title.
On Wednesday in the Yorkshire city that has hosted this tournament since 1977, O'Sullivan completed a 13-5 quarter-final win over Scotland's Stephen Maguire, with the Essex-based 46-year-old one of a number of cuemen who is showing that middle age is no barrier to success on the baize.
"I'm struggling to see anyone that can compete with Ronnie," Stephen Hendry said on the BBC immediately after the match wrapped up. "He's taken the game to a different level."
Scotsman Hendry, the only man to win seven world titles in Sheffield, said it "would be an honour" for O'Sullivan, with six triumphs so far, to move alongside him.
Already this fortnight, Rocket Ronnie has moved past Hendry on the list of players with the most Crucible wins, going beyond his 70 and reaching 72, and counting.
He has blasted all-comers out of the water with his career total of 1,155 centuries, yet O'Sullivan still defers to Hendry's own greatness, labelling him "our Tiger Woods of snooker".
O'Sullivan, who has been threatening to retire since his teenage years, has battled myriad problems away from snooker during his career. He had drug issues, drank heavily, and was a binge eater.
Just feet away from where he spoke to the media on Wednesday, he once assaulted a junior press officer.
Now he is a gym regular, lives cleanly, and recently returned to the world number one ranking. Many see this world title, and the £500,000 top prize, as his for the taking.
Asked about his training regime, O'Sullivan said: "I wouldn't be able to tell you what it's like to be unfit really. I probably overdo it a little bit. There’s no place I’d rather be, other than the gym or on a run. That’s probably the most important thing in my life, so I do it because I like it, and I enjoy all the friends I've found through running.
"The gym’s a nice place to hang out. Some people like going to the bar or restaurants, but I enjoy going to the gym. I do it for those reasons, not for my snooker."
O'Sullivan and fellow fortysomethings John Higgins and Mark Williams are recognised as snooker's 'Class of 92', a title borrowed from the Manchester United golden generation that featured the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville.
Snooker's kingpin trio made their tour debuts 30 years ago. All are now multiple world champions, and have shown in Sheffield this year they remain formidable competitors.
O'Sullivan plays a canny game on and off the table, taking the pressure off himself.
"I don’t really identify myself as a snooker player anymore," he said. "I just get my cue out because I can do it, and it's probably the easiest thing for me to do, because it’s a bit of quiet time. It just gets me out of the house and around the snooker circuit.
"I'm just here to have fun. If I win, great; if I don’t, I’ve had a fantastic tournament. I’m not motivated by playing anymore, those days have gone. I couldn't put all my eggs in one basket and just play snooker anymore.
"I'd rather not be playing here to be honest. It’s a hard tournament. This tournament and the Masters are my two worst tournaments, I probably enjoy them the least out of all the other ones."
Despite this, O'Sullivan has the six wins in Sheffield and a record seven at the Masters, a London-based tournament that is the second most prestigious on the circuit.
"I’d actually prefer going to Leicester and playing in the [low-profile] Championship League," O'Sullivan said. "I know you guys might think that sounds crazy, but it’d mean I don’t have to put up with any pressure, and I love it. But you’ve got to show up to this one and give it your best."
O'Sullivan has found he is often mobbed in Sheffield, as the biggest fish in the goldfish bowl of the 17-day tournament, bona fide British sporting royalty.
He complained last year of being troubled in a nearby cafe by a fan he reckoned to be drunk, but if it is privacy that O'Sullivan wants, then it is privacy he will get.
"It’s all right," he said. "The cafe give me my own room now upstairs, so when I go in there it’s really good. I’ve got a nice hotel and a good system going. I try to keep as much quiet time for myself as I can, because it's quite hectic round here."
The FIA is continuing to evaluate plans to double the number of Formula One sprint events to six next year.
Silverstone staged the inaugural sprint race last year and the first of three on the 2022 calendar was staged at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix last weekend.
All 10 F1 teams are if favour of having six sprint events on the 2023 schedule.
F1's governing body is still considering whether to approve such an increase.
An FIA statement said: "With the first of three sprint events of the 2022 season popular with fans and stakeholders last weekend at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Formula One and the teams were supportive of an extension to six sprint events for the 2023 season, running with the same format as in 2022.
"While supporting the principle of an increased number of sprint events, the FIA is still evaluating the impact of this proposal on its trackside operations and personnel, and will provide its feedback to the commission."
Max Verstappen won the sprint at Imola to take pole position and duly converted that into a race victory on Sunday.
It has been five years since a defensive lineman was last taken first overall in the NFL Draft.
Back in 2017, Myles Garrett's name had been written in pen next to the number one slot for a long time before the Cleveland Browns officially gave him the distinction of being the first player off the board.
Garrett was seen as a can't-miss prospect, and he has lived up to that billing, with his 361 career quarterback pressures the fourth-most in the NFL since 2017.
All the signs are pointing to an edge rusher going first overall again in 2022. However, while Garrett was a sure thing, the Jacksonville Jaguars appear set to select a player who is anything but.
Talk of Aidan Hutchinson and Kayvon Thibodeaux going number one has given way to the belief Georgia's Travon Walker will be hearing his name called first in a class filled with more divisive prospects than clear-cut stars.
Walker has emerged as the favourite despite finishing his college career with Georgia, which ended with the Bulldogs winning the National Championship, with just 9.5 sacks.
His stock has risen sharply in the wake of stunning athletic performance at the NFL Scouting Combine, yet given his mediocre production compared to his contemporaries in the edge class and the role he played for Georgia, selecting Walker would represent a substantial gamble by the Jags.
A year on from selecting Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick, it is a gamble Jacksonville cannot afford to backfire.
Walker's production woes
Any conversation about Walker must begin by addressing the elephant in the room: the production, or lack thereof.
Walker had 3.5 sacks over his first two seasons before displaying a marked improvement in that regard as Georgia's dominant defense laid the foundation for their National title.
Indeed, he registered six sacks, 17th among all defenders in the SEC, yet his pressure numbers are illustrative of a player who failed to impact the quarterback on a consistent basis.
Walker registered 31 pressures on 259 pass-rush snaps for a pressure rate of just 12 per cent, which is in stark contrast to the player he appears to have usurped as the number one pick, Michigan star Hutchinson, who had a pressure rate of 30.8 per cent in 2021.
Only 16 of Walker's pressures involved him beating a pass blocker. Hutchinson beat a pass protector on 72 of his 85 quarterback pressures.
Yet the paucity of pass rush production is in part a reflection of how Walker was utilised by the Bulldogs.
Though Walker played 96 more snaps as a pass rusher than a run defender, his goal in attacking pass protectors was not always to get to the quarterback but to soak up attention from the offensive line and open rush lanes for second-level defenders.
As a result, teams evaluating Walker only saw flashes of his potential as a pass rusher, but it is the combination of those flashes and his astounding athletic profile that appears to have enticed the Jaguars into taking a significant risk.
Crushing the Combine
Though his Georgia defensive line mate Jordan Davis stole the show at the Combine with his remarkable performance in the 40-yard dash, Walker's pre-draft workout stands among the finest in NFL history.
Measuring at 6ft 5in and 272 pounds, Walker tore down the track in 4.51 seconds, putting him in the 98th percentile for defensive ends. His 10-yard split of 1.62 seconds was not quite as impressive but was still good enough for the 70th percentile.
Walker's arm length (35 and a half inches), hand size (10 and three-quarter inches) and wingspan of over seven feet (84 and a quarter inches) all measured in the 95th percentile for his position.
In the vertical jump and broad jump, which gauge lower-body explosiveness, Walker was in the 80th and 87th percentile respectively. In the three-cone drill, used for edge players as an assessment of their flexibility to turn the corner and beat an offensive tackle to the outside, Walker posted a time of 6.89 seconds that put him in the 93rd percentile.
Walker's testing suggests he has the physical skill set to blossom into an explosive and bendy pass rusher whose arm length should allow him to win hand fights with offensive linemen, with half the battle for pass rushers being the ability to make contact before the pass protector.
Evidence of his potential to develop into that player was sporadic during his college career, but the glimpses of that promise were undoubtedly tantalising.
A home-run swing
With Georgia frequently mixing up their defensive fronts, Walker played in a variety of roles. He was used as a defensive end in both 4-3 and 3-4 fronts and also played as a 3-technique defensive tackle lined up on the outside shoulder of the guard.
As such, it is difficult to know what Walker's best position is, though his versatility is undoubtedly part of his appeal.
Walker's athleticism clearly makes him a mismatch problem for guards when pass rushing from the inside. He had 13 pressures from the defensive tackle spot, with nine of those seeing him beat a pass protector, his quickness off the snap extremely tough for interior offensive linemen to react to and posing them significant issues when Walker was used in a stunt by the Georgia defensive line.
That same burst has facilitated his – albeit limited – success on edge. Though he needs to do a better job of translating his speed to power, when he does do so and gets his long arms into the pads of blockers, he can produce an impressive bull rush to help collapse the pocket.
On the top of that, Walker has fleetingly displayed the ability to get around the corner and flatten to the quarterback, with the acceleration he demonstrated on the 40 track showing up in the closing speed he displays when he has a path into the backfield and an opportunity to force a negative play.
Such closing speed can also be a substantial asset in the run game, in which Walker's arm length and power in his hands come into play in helping him disengage from blocks, freeing him to hunt the ball carrier.
Defending the run was certainly Walker's strength statistically last season, with only UAB's Alex Wright (18.7 per cent) and Hutchinson (17.9 per cent) recording a better run disruption rate among edge rushers than Walker's 12.9 per cent.
Of course, excelling as a run defender is a long way from being enough to justify a number one overall selection and, to make such a decision, the Jaguars must believe they can harness the untapped pass rush potential and refine a limited set of moves, with the rip move and the push-pull the only two with which Walker has enjoyed anything resembling consistent success.
The Jaguars do have a highly experienced defensive line coach who would be tasked with developing Walker. Brentson Buckner has worked with the likes of Chandler Jones and Jason Pierre-Paul during his career and was the defensive line coach for the then Oakland Raiders in 2019 when Maxx Crosby had 10 sacks as a rookie fourth-round pick.
Crosby, however, did not have the massive burden of expectation of being the number one overall pick.
Too often the Jaguars have seen top-five picks go to waste. Between 2012 and 2017 they picked in the top five for six consecutive drafts and only one of those selections, now Los Angeles Rams star Jalen Ramsey, even made a Pro Bowl.
In an era that will be defined by whether they take advantage of the gift of having Lawrence fall into their lap with the top overall pick last year, they cannot afford to miss on premium draft picks.
By likely taking Walker over Hutchinson, the Jags are going with the home-run swing over the prospect most believe to be a pro-ready day-one contributor. If they are to turn their fortunes around and contend with Lawrence, that swing must make contact.
World number one Iga Swiatek will not play the Madrid Open after suffering a shoulder injury.
The Pole is in stunning form, having won four titles in a row after prevailing in the Stuttgart Open last time out.
Before that, the 20-year-old – whose winning streak stands at 23 matches – had lifted the trophy at the Qatar Ladies Open, Indian Wells and Miami Open.
"After intense last weeks and winning four titles in a row, it's time to take care of my arm that has been fatigued since the Miami Open and I haven't had a chance to handle it properly," Swiatek, the 2020 French Open champion, wrote in a statement posted to Twitter.
"I need a break from playing so intensively in order to treat my arm well and that's why, unfortunately, I have to withdraw from the Mutua Madrid Open.
"My body needs rest. I'm going to take some time to prepare for Rome and Paris. See you soon there.
"Hopefully, I will play in Madrid many times in the future – I'm looking forward to it."
Swiatek was due to be top seed in the Spanish capital.
Vinicius Junior says "there are no words" to describe Karim Benzema's form as he backed his Real Madrid team-mate to win this year's Ballon d'Or.
Benzema, on his 600th appearance for Madrid, scored twice in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to Manchester City in their Champions League semi-final first leg at the Etihad Stadium.
The France international's first was a difficult twisting finish to drag Madrid back in the game at 2-0 down and the second a calm Panenka penalty late on to leave the tie well poised.
He now has 41 goals in as many games for Los Blancos this season, a tally bettered only by Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski (48 in 43) across Europe's top five leagues.
The 34-year-old is the fifth Madrid player to score over 40 goals in a single season, after Cristiano Ronaldo, Ferenc Puskas, Alfredo Di Stefano and Hugo Sanchez.
Benzema also leads the scoring charts in the Champions League this term with 14, one more than Lewandowski, whose Bayern side were eliminated by Villarreal at the quarter-final stage.
Having finished behind Lionel Messi, Lewandowski and Jorginho in last year's Ballon d'Or, Vinicius insists Benzema should land the 2022 award.
"There are no words that can describe how Benzema is playing," Vinicius said. "He deserves the Ballon d'Or.
"I hope my brother Benzema ends up winning LaLiga, the Champions League and Ballon d'Or."
Benzema scored a hat-trick in the second leg of the last-16 win over Paris Saint-Germain and another treble in the first leg of the quarter-final victory against Chelsea.
His nine goals in the knockout stages has been bettered only once in a single Champions League campaign – Ronaldo scoring 10 in the 2016-17 edition.
Vinicius is not alone in backing Benzema to win the Ballon d'Or, with former team-mate Mesut Ozil tweeting on Tuesday: "Give my boy Benzi the Ballon D'Or."
Ex-Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand agreed with that assessment, quoting the tweet and adding the word "Facts".
That post by Ferdinand was liked by Benzema, whose prospects of being crowned the world's best player could be bolstered by helping France to World Cup glory in December.
Rather than bask in his glorious form, however, the prolific striker accepts his side have a lot of work to do if they are to advance any further in this season's competition.
"A defeat is never good, but we are excited about this Champions League and the important thing is we never give up," he told Movistar+.
"Now we have to go to the Bernabeu and we need the fans like never before to do something magical, which is to win.
"We entered the game without confidence, and that's what happens with an opponent like Manchester City. In this game a little bit of everything was missing."
Chris Paul was perplexed by a "ridiculous" technical foul he received in the Phoenix Suns' Game 5 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Paul described the officiating as "out of control" after he was hit with an eight-second violation when the Suns were leading 100-92 in the fourth quarter.
Phoenix went on to win 112-97 at Footprint Center on Tuesday, taking a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference playoffs first-round series.
Paul, who scored 22 points and contributed 11 assists, made his feelings clear when asked about his technical foul, revealing he merely said "C'mon'' at the scorer's table as he wanted a review.
He said: '"It's out of control, that's ridiculous. It is what it is. We try not to get fourth-quarter techs on our team. That's a big deal."
Mikal Bridges starred with 31 points as the Suns gave themselves the opportunity to wrap up the series in Game 6 in New Orleans on Thursday.
The 25-year-old small forward said: "I'm ready to play tomorrow. I'm energised, my team-mates keep me going. I'm itching my knee right now, talking about it.
"I'm ready, I love being out there with my team-mates. They're my best friends, it makes it way easier."
Paul said of Bridges' exploits: "He doesn't miss games, he guards the best players every night and then he has 31."
Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram had fingers taped up following the game, but says he will play in Game 6.
"It's fine," Ingram said. "It got a little banged up during the game, but I'll be all right."
Victor Oladipo reflected on the difference a year can make as the injury-plagued star inspired the Miami Heat to the victory they needed to close out their first-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks.
It has been a luckless period for Oladipo, who has appeared in just 96 of a possible 309 regular-season NBA games over the past four years due to a combination of knee and quadriceps issues.
This season alone Oladipo has featured in only eight regular-season matches for the Heat but with Kyle Lowry (hamstring) and Jimmy Butler (inflammation in the right knee) both absent for Game 5, he stepped up to help the Heat to a 97-94 triumph and 4-1 series victory.
Oladipo had a game-high 23 points along with three assists and three steals. It was the first time he had contributed 20 points in a playoff game since playing against the Heat back in the NBA bubble in 2020 when featuring for the Indiana Pacers.
Speaking after the game, Oladipo reflected on his journey saying in quotes reported by ESPN: "A year ago today I was expecting and waiting for my next surgery.
"I remember a year ago today, around this time last year, I was sitting in a dark room by myself and just broke down.
"Not because I quit, but because I was at the lowest point I could be at. And now, God has put me in this position today so I just made the most of it.
"I could have done two things. I could have stopped. Or I could have ran right through it and I'm still running through it."
Speaking to NBA TV, Oladipo added his belief this is just the beginning for him.
"There's nothing I can't handle," he said. "At the end of the day, I feel like I can come back and get through anything.
"So, when they told me I needed to start tonight, I just stepped up to the plate and did everything I could to help my team win.
"I credit my coaching staff and my teammates for believing in me, my family, my God in heaven for getting me through. It's only the beginning."
It was a real team effort for the Heat with Max Strus putting up 15 points, including a special personal 10-0 streak from 2:29 in the second quarter to 1:22.
Bam Adebayo also had 20 points on the back of 7-for-11 shooting and pitched in with 11 rebounds.
"Everybody that played had their fingerprints on this. We clearly had some adversity in this game not having Kyle or Jimmy, and our group doesn't even blink," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
"That's not even something we have to address. We just pivot and put in the game plan and everybody gets ready and tapes their ankles and gets out there and competes."
The Heat can now look forward to an Eastern Conference semi-final match up against either the Philadelphia 76ers or the Toronto Raptors – the former leading the latter 3-2 in that series.
Liverpool welcome Villarreal to Anfield on Wednesday and are heavy favourites in their Champions League semi-final tie.
Under Jurgen Klopp, the Reds have become one of the world's best teams. They have reached two Champions League finals, winning their sixth title in the competition in 2019, and followed that up with a maiden Premier League crown a year later. This season, their eyes are fixed firmly on an unprecedented quadruple – the EFL Cup is already theirs, they will face Chelsea in an FA Cup showdown next month and their race in the league with Manchester City is set to go to the wire.
Standing in Liverpool's way of a final against Manchester City or Real Madrid are, however, Unai Emery's Villarreal. While the Yellow Submarine will be considered underdogs, the reigning Europa League champions will be no pushovers.
Liverpool were frustrated for just over an hour by their relegation-threatened local rivals Everton in the Merseyside derby on Sunday, until Andy Robertson headed home and Divock Origi settled matters late on. They should be anticipating a similar test on Wednesday.
Yet whereas Everton are devoid of confidence or quality, Villarreal have both in abundance. They have already overcome European heavyweights in the form of Juventus and Bayern Munich, and will have home advantage in the second leg. They averaged just 35 per cent of possession across the two legs against the Bundesliga giants.
The last time these semi-finalists met was in the last four of the 2015-16 Europa League, and the two legs of this tie will come just a day under six years after each match in that previous fixture. Back in 2016, matters were rather different for Liverpool, who progressed 3-1 on aggregate, but went on to lose in the final to a Sevilla side coached by Emery.
It is fitting, then, that as Liverpool bid for European glory once more, a team that stood in the way of their first continental final under Klopp will try to prevent the Reds reaching a fourth with the German at the helm.
A remarkable turnaround
A quick glance at the team that started in the second leg of that 2016 tie, which Liverpool won 3-0 at Anfield, tells you the transformation that the Reds have gone through under Klopp has been dramatic.
Simon Mignolet started in goal, behind a back four of Nathaniel Clyne, the now-retired Kolo Toure, Dejan Lovren and Alberto Moreno (who might have been facing his former club for Villarreal if not for a serious knee injury sustained last month). Roberto Firmino and James Milner started, but they are the only two of that 18-strong squad that remain at Liverpool, and neither can be considered regular starters anymore.
Liverpool were convincing winners – racking up an xG of 3.8, producing 25 shots with 12 of those on target.
The team that take to the field on Wednesday will almost certainly feature a world-class goalkeeper in Alisson, one of Europe's best defenders in Virgil van Dijk, a Champions League-winning midfielder in Thiago Alcantara, two exceptional full-backs and, of course, a devilishly potent attacking trident, whichever three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota or Luis Diaz line up. Firmino is unavailable.
Salah has returned to goalscoring form in timely fashion, after a relative dry spell. Only in 2017-18 (10) has he scored more Champions League goals in a single campaign than the eight he has netted this season, moving his tally for the club to 33. He is now just three behind both Didier Drogba and Sergio Aguero for the most goals scored in the competition for an English side.
For Klopp to take that Liverpool team back in 2015-16 to two finals (they lost on penalties in the EFL Cup to Manchester City that year) was, looking back, an extraordinary achievement, especially considering he only took over in October.
Since then, they have gone from strength to strength. In the Premier League, Klopp has won 162 of his 253 games (64 per cent), with his team scoring a remarkable 544 goals, and the German has averaged 2.15 points per game. He is building a true dynasty.
Emery to have his say?
"Unai's a world-class coach and is doing an incredible job," said Klopp in his pre-match news conference on Tuesday. And he is right, Emery – perhaps unfairly maligned during his stints at Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain – has been brilliant for Villarreal.
He could well have left for cash-rich Newcastle United earlier this season but elected to stay put, and Villarreal are, at least in Europe, reaping the rewards. Their shoot-out success against Manchester United in last season's Europa League final represented Emery's fourth triumph in UEFA's second-tier tournament, and he also took Arsenal to the final in 2018-19, losing to Chelsea.
Villarreal are not flying quite as high in LaLiga, though surely that can be forgiven. They sit seventh, having won their last two games, and still have hope of qualifying for European competition through the league, too.
Emery has taken on Klopp five times as a coach, winning the first meeting – that Europa League final back in 2016.
Klopp claimed victory in two of the three Premier League encounters with the Spaniard's Arsenal, with those victories being 5-1 and 3-1 respectively. The other league match was drawn 1-1, while Liverpool also beat Arsenal on penalties in the 2019-20 EFL Cup after a wild 5-5 draw.
Emery can feel hard done by that he was not given more time at PSG. His win percentage of 76 was the best of any coach during the QSI era, putting him above the likes of Carlo Ancelotti (64) and Thomas Tuchel (75). He succeeded in 87 of his 114 matches in charge and claimed seven trophies. Only Laurent Blanc (11) has won more silverware at PSG since 2011, while Emery's team scored 2.7 goals per game, with just Tuchel managing to match that.
Yet Emery's ability to get a side competing way beyond their expected level is what he is renowned for. His run of three successive Europa League titles with Sevilla was extraordinary, and he seems to be in a similar position at Villarreal.
Having to rebuild his reputation slightly after his spell at Arsenal, Emery has won 51 of 104 matches in all competitions (49 per cent), with Villarreal scoring 188 goals and conceding 101, keeping 37 clean sheets.
Emery's win percentage has not been beaten by any other Villarreal coach to have taken charge of 100 matches, while in Gerard Moreno, who has directly contributed to 60 goals during Emery's tenure, the Spanish side have a brilliant striker to call on.
Liverpool have, in many ways, come full circle with this tie, but the Villarreal they will face on this occasion have improved just as much, in relative terms, as Klopp's team have. It is set to be a fascinating tussle.
In-form Anthony Rizzo produced the first three-home run game of his career while Joey Gallo blasted his first of the season as the New York Yankees won 12-8 over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.
Rizzo opened the scoring with a three-run homer in the third inning, before Gallo slugging a two-run blast in the fourth inning to end his lean run to start the season.
Rizzo added a two-run shot in the fifth inning to put the Yankees up 6-0, while Aaron Judge also got in on the act with a homer on his 30th birthday.
The Orioles closed the gap to 11-8 before Rizzo completed a treble of home runs with a third in the eighth inning.
Rizzo sits on top of the majors charts with eight home runs this season, while he has 13 runs, 17 hits and 18 RBIs.
Twins walk-off miracle
The Minnesota Twins miraculously defeated the Detroit Tigers 5-4 after two wild walkoff runs after catcher Eric Haase's errant throw.
At the bottom of the ninth with two out, the Twins trailed 4-3 when Miguel Sano's hit to right field led to a baserunning blunder.
However, the Twins were bailed out when Haase lobbed a throw too high to third base, allowing Trevor Larnach and Gio Urshela to correct their mix-up and both get home for victory.
Trout homers in Angels win
Mike Trout homered for the fifth time this season as the Los Angeles Angels won 4-1 over the Cleveland Guardians. Trout had two hits for three RBIs in the win.
The Arizona Diamondbacks rallied from 3-0 down to win 5-3 over the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were left to rue sloppy fielding from Cody Bellinger before David Peralta's two-run eighth-inning homer.
Carlos Rodon had nine strikeouts with three hits across six innings as the San Francisco Giants improved to 13-5 with an 8-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics.
Ja Morant produced a dazzling fourth-quarter display and game-winning lay-up to earn the Memphis Grizzlies a 3-2 series lead in their first round playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.
The Grizzlies triumphed 111-109 over the Timberwolves, led by Morant with 30 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.
Morant made the decisive contribution with a play with 3.7 seconds left with scores at 109-109, bucketing a left-handed lay-up from Dillon Brooks' inbound.
Memphis had trailed by 11 points in the last quarter before their rally, with recently crowned NBA Most Improved Player Morant scoring 18 points in the fourth. Morant had sparked after a massive third-quarter dunk.
Desmond Bane added 25 points for the Grizzlies, while Karl-Anthony Towns was excellent with 28 points including five three-pointers and 12 rebounds.
Heat seal series win over Hawks
The Miami Heat completed a 4-1 series victory over the Atlanta Hawks with a 97-94 win, despite the absences of Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry.
The Hawks failed to get a shot away in the final play in the dying seconds to force over-time as the Heat triumphed led by Victor Oladipo (23 points) and Bam Adebayo (20 points and 11 rebounds).
Trae Young struggled again with 11 points on two-of-12 shooting from the field, finishing the five-game series with 30 turnovers.
Bridges guides Suns into 3-2 lead
Mikal Bridges produced a 24-point second half as the Phoenix Suns won 112-97 over the New Orleans Pelicans to move ahead 3-2 in their first round series.
Bridges finished with 31 points for the game while Chris Paul had 22 points, 11 assists and three steals for the Suns who were without Devin Booker (hamstring).
The Suns, who came into the playoffs with the best record in the NBA, led from start to finish. Brandon Ingram top scored for the Pelicans - who had six turnovers in the first quarter - with 22 points.
The instructions for Ja Morant for his game-winning lay-up were as simple as "go get a bucket, Ja" in the Memphis Grizzlies' 111-109 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.
Morant landed the decisive bucket from the final play with scores locked at 109-109 with 3.7 seconds to play, putting Memphis 3-2 up in their first round NBA playoffs series.
The NBA's Most Improved Player received Dillon Brooks' inbound, losing Anthony Edwards who went for the steal, before driving and putting in an under-handed lay-up past Jarred Vanderbilt.
"Go get a bucket, Ja," Morant told reporters when asked about the instructions for the final play.
Morant scored 18 fourth-quarter points after struggling with 12 until three-quarter time, appearing to be sparked after a dunk in the third quarter.
"I wasn’t that excited about the dunk," he said. "It was over a guard, that's pretty easy.
"Definitely ignited the crowd, gave us some energy, from then on being very aggressive."
The Grizzlies had trailed by 11 points in the last quarter before their rally led by Morant, but the All-Star said he was "tired" of being forced to fight back. Memphis had clawed their way back from 26 points down in Game 3 to win 104-95.
"It feels good when you win," Morant said. "Me personally, I'm tired of it. I'm tired of playing from behind.
"Game 2 you see what happened when we come out and play from the jump. We've got to have that mindset like we had in Game 2 in Game 6 [on Friday] not give them too much life to go ahead.
"We need to start early. The last three games we haven't played our basketball, not knocking down our shots but we battle."
Meanwhile, Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, who had 28 points with 12 rebounds, bemoaned letting another lead slip.
"It's a tough pill to swallow," Towns said. "You feel like you got it after all the mistakes made and everything like that.
"We hit a big three to tie the game up with four seconds (left). You feel good. You feel good about going into overtime and having a chance to win the game. Just a learning experience."
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says anything less than a focused 90 minutes from his side will not see them through to the Champions League final following their 4-3 win over Real Madrid.
City got off to a fast start in Tuesday's semi-final first leg, with goals from Kevin de Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus putting them 2-0 up within 11 minutes.
There was a sense it could have been more but whenever Guardiola's side threatened to break the tie open, Madrid pulled a goal back.
With Casemiro likely to return for Madrid, Guardiola asserted City will have to be at their best to progress to May's final in Paris.
"Regardless of the result, if it was 2-0 or 3-0 we would still have to go to the Bernabeu and play well. If we play like we did in the second half, we won't be able to win," Guardiola said.
"If we play like we did at other periods, we will. We want to be there to put on a good show, this is what I want to tell my players to do – don't think of anything else.
"When I became a footballer and a manager, when you go to the Bernabeu you have to perform as yourself or there is no option to win. You have to come through these situations to win the Champions League."
City were similarly vulnerable in the quarter-final second leg, holding onto a one-goal lead in the tie against Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano.
They still could have put the game and arguably the tie against Los Blancos to bed. One instance where an enraged Guardiola berated Riyad Mahrez for not squaring to Phil Foden in the first half highlighted what was at stake and the fine margins at play.
The 51-year-old took some solace in the fact City managed to get into those positions, but conceded they need to realise those kinds of opportunities at the Bernabeu.
"We miss them but we create them," he said. "We were there all the time. No complaints about the result, the performance, anything. I am so proud of the way we perform in front of the world.
"We did everything to win and with courage – with the ball, without the ball.
"Football is football, the result is the result, but how we perform is exceptional. Nobody can say the performance was not good. We know we have to maybe raise the level to reach the final but this competition demands that. At the end maybe the chances we create we have to convert."
Donovan Mitchell remains a chance to play in Game 6 of the Utah Jazz's first round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks.
Mitchell limped out of Monday's 102-77 loss to the Mavericks in the fourth quarter, as Dallas claimed a 3-2 series lead to put the Jazz on the brink of elimination.
The Jazz provided an update on Tuesday after an MRI on the injury was negative, ahead of Thursday's Game 6 in Salt Lake City.
"Mitchell has bi-lateral quadriceps contusions and will continue treatment," the Jazz said.
"His status for Game 6 against Dallas will be updated on Wednesday."
Mitchell doubled over in pain as he limped towards the tunnel on Monday, but said at the time he remained hopeful of playing in Game 6.
"This is the playoffs, so I've got to find a way," Mitchell said. "We'll see how I feel, but I'm a competitor."
Mitchell is averaging 25.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1,5 steals per game this season.
Corinthians momentarily moved to top spot of Group E in the Copa Libertadores, defeating Boca Juniors 2-0 on Tuesday.
Maycon scored a double for Corinthians, who moved to six points from three games following their opening group game defeat away to Always Ready.
On loan from Shakhtar Donetsk, the 24-year-old opened the scoring in only the fifth minute, getting on the end of Fagner's cross to head home past Javier Garcia.
Despite playing at home, the Timao were more than comfortable absorbing Boca possession, with only 33.8 per cent of the ball for the second half.
They eventually doubled the margin on the counter in the 78th minute, with Willian breaking clear and playing in Roger Guedes, whose attempt on goal was parried into Maycon's path for the rebound and finish.
Boselli brilliance puts Estudiantes in box seat
Estudiantes took a commanding lead in Group C on Tuesday, claiming a 2-0 win at home to RB Bragantino.
Augustin Rogel broke the deadlock for Estudiantes in the 54th minute, heading in from close range before Mauro Boselli's spectacular lob over Cleiton in the Bragantino goal only three minutes later.
Los Pincharratas moved to seven points after three games, ahead of Bragantino, who are joined on four points by Nacional following their 2-1 win away to a 10-man Velez Sarsfield.
Shares spoiled in Group D
Independiente del Valle and Atletico Mineiro played out a 1-1 draw in Quito, to share top spot in Group D after three games.
Hulk opened the scoring in only the seventh minute with recent Selecao callup Guilherme Arana providing the assist.
The Negriazules kept applying pressure and eventually got a deserved equaliser via Junior Sornoza five minutes after the restart.
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