Khris Middleton suffered a hyperextended left knee in Monday's 117-103 loss to the Boston Celtics which the Milwaukee Bucks are praying is not a serious injury.

Middleton landed awkwardly upon contact with team-mate Rodney Hood attempting to rebound late in the third quarter, before limping off the court moments later after trying to play on.

Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said they would wait until Tuesday to make a determination on the severity of the injury to the 2020-21 NBA champion.

"I think we're terming it a left knee hyper-extension," Budenholzer said at the post-game news conference.

"We'll know more tomorrow but I think there's some hope it's not serious, but you've got to wait and give it time."

Middleton had four points with eight rebounds and three assists on the night, succumbing to injury after 24 minutes on court.

The 30-year-old small forward is averaging 18.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game this season. Middleton averaged 20.4 points in the Bucks' title-winning season.

The defeat to the Celtics leaves the reigning champions with an 18-11 record and third spot in the Eastern Conference.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 41 points on Friday and had a triple-double on Sunday but managed only 20 points with eight rebounds and three assists.

"I think we've got to space around him a little bit better," Budenholzer said. "Move him a little bit more. It was a tough night for us, sometimes that happens."

Budenholzer also refused to blame the Bucks' recent heavy schedule with three games in four days.

"Credit to Boston, they played well tonight," he said. "I think we weren’t at our best. Whatever the reasons are, we've got to be better."

Salzburg starlet Karim Adeyemi says he would love to one day join Barcelona but the player's agent has ruled that out in the near future.

The 19-year-old German striker has been linked with several clubs, including Barcelona along with Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund.

Adeyemi attended the Golden Boy ceremony in Turin on Monday where he claimed the web-voted prize, with Pedri winning the major award.

"Barca is a great club, it is a source of pride that they love me and of course I can see myself playing there if given the option," Adeyemi told reporters after the Golden Boy ceremony.

"Now they are feeling the departure of Messi but they will always be in the Champions League."

Adeyemi also clarified that he had not spoken to Barcelona president Joan Laporta who attended the function.

However, Adeyemi's agent Thomas Salomon came out after his player's comments, ruling out a Barcelona move in the near future.

"A few days ago we said 'no' definitively to Barca's proposal for Adeyemi," Salomon said according to Sport. "Barca is no longer an option for Karim. The best thing for him is a German club."

He continued: "They [Barcelona] made a proposal to us, but they never came to present anything to Salzburg."

Salomon did clarify that Adeyemi could potentially move to Camp Nou at another point in his career, keeping his options open.

"In two or three years we will see what can happen," he said.

Stephen Curry and his Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr both admit they regret fueling the focus around the two-time MVP breaking Ray Allen's all-time three-point record.

Curry drained five three-pointers as the Warriors defeated the Indiana Pacers 102-100 on Monday to move within two triples of breaking Allen's all-time record of 2,973 for three-point attempts made.

The Warriors guard shot at 40 percent from the field against the Pacers, including five of 15 from three-point range to finish with 26 points.

Curry has gradually closed in on the record, although Curry and Kerr both fueled the hype last week when he was 16 three-pointers off the record, when they said it was possible he could do it in one game.

The 33-year-old came out and shot six of 17 from beyond the arc against the Portland Trail Blazers in the next game, followed by three of 14 from three-point range against the Philadelphia 76ers, and admitted regret at the "extra tension" those comments created.

"Those shots I took, those first four [against Portland] I missed all four, I would shoot those whether it was Game 1, Game 82, the playoffs," Curry told reporters after Monday's shootaround prior to the Pacers game.

"That's how you approach the game. It just had a different context to it. It feels a little bit different now knowing we're right there. It will happen when it happens and I'll enjoy it when it does."

Curry added: "I realise how much work's gone into it, but there is a lot of tension and emotion. "Even from the last home game, the schedule's kind of provided a little extra emphasis, seeing if I could do it before we came on this road trip.

"But after that when I get on the floor I'm just playing basketball having a good time, trying to win games in the process. Obviously, I'd like to shoot the ball better, play better. I know that's going to happen and the record will come as a part of that, but just enjoying the process."

Kerr admitted his own regrets after flippantly feeding into the narrative when asked if Curry could break Klay Thompson's record of 14 triples in one game to go past Allen's all-time record.

"There hasn't been stress for our team," Kerr said at the pre-game news conference on Monday. "I would say it's been a slight distraction.

"I told the media in Philadelphia the other night, I fed into it because somebody asked me if Steph could break it at home against Portland with 16 threes and I said, 'Sure,' because nothing Steph does surprises me. But that fed into the narrative - he came out and took 17 threes that night, our crowd was going crazy from the very beginning. And I'm shaking my head thinking, what the hell did I just do?

"I think the most important thing is we just have to settle in and it's going to happen obviously pretty soon. We just have to get into a rhythm.

"We haven't been great offensively over the last five or six games… it's more likely that he'll make more threes if our team's in a good rhythm and we're just playing."

New Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen has revealed he was graciously congratulated by both Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff following Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix triumph.

The Dutchman ripped his first-ever world championship from Hamilton's grasp after overtaking the Briton on the final lap in Abu Dhabi after a controversial late-race safety car period.

Mercedes protested twice about the circumstances around Verstappen's triumph after Hamilton appeared to be coasting to victory with an 11-second lead with 10 laps to go.

Despite that, Red Bull driver Verstappen said that Hamilton and Wolff had been gracious in defeat.

"Toto sent me a text - congratulations on the season and that I deserved to win, that was very nice," Verstappen said.

Verstappen added: "Lewis is a great sportsman in general."

He continued: "Of course it helps if you have already seven titles," Verstappen said. "That comforts him a bit. I think if it was the other way around, it would have been more painful for me because I didn't have one.

"Lewis came up to me and congratulated me. It must have been very tough in that last lap. It also shows the respect we have for each other.

"Of course we had our tough times through the season but we respect what we're doing and we were pushing each other to the limit and it has been very enjoyable racing against him."

Meanwhile, a message aired via car on-board channels has surfaced with Hamilton claiming on radio message "this has been manipulated" with four corners to go when trailing Verstappen on the final lap.

Hamilton made the remark to race engineer Peter Bonnington, angered by Race Control's handling of the safety car restart with only the five lapped cars between the seven-time world champion and Verstappen permitted to be overtaken, allowing the Dutchman a clear run in the final lap.

Former Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has agreed to replace Grant Fox as an independent New Zealand selector.

Fox will step down from the role after the Steinlager Series next year, having been a selector for a decade.

Schmidt will take up his position with the All Blacks and assist in selecting the squad for the Rugby Championship after finishing his part-time duties working with the Blues in the Super Rugby Pacific competition.

New Zealand head coach Ian Foster said Schmidt is a shrewd appointment.

Foster said: "Joe will bring a wealth of New Zealand and international experience into the role, so we are delighted to have him join us.

"He will work closely with me and ‘Plums’ [ fellow selector John Plumtree] on selections but his insights will be valuable in other areas as well, so we look forward to having him join us."

The experienced Schmidt said: "It's humbling to be involved and I'm looking forward to learning more about the players and the All Blacks environment and helping out as best I can."

Pedri is living the dream at Barcelona and hopes to lead the beleaguered club back to glory after receiving his Golden Boy award on Monday.

The 19-year-old was a landslide victor in last month's voting for Europe's best player aged under 21, beating runner-up Jude Bellingham by a record-breaking 199-point margin.

He enjoyed a breakthrough season at Camp Nou after making his debut in September and went on to feature in more games (52) than any other Barca player.

Pedri then became the youngest player to represent Spain at a major tournament during Euro 2020, finishing with more passes completed in the final third (177) than any player.

The Las Palmas academy product followed that up by travelling to Tokyo for the Olympic Games and helping his country win a silver medal. 

However, Pedri's rise to prominence has come during a difficult period for Barca, who exited the Champions League at the group stage last week and are eighth in LaLiga.

The teenager, who is currently sidelined with a niggling thigh problem, accepts it is down to him and his team-mates to turn things around.

"Being at Barcelona is a dream for me," he said. "This is the best club in the world, though we must start to show that on the pitch and lead Barca to glory, which we deserve.

"I am at the club I've always wanted to be at. For that I thank president Joan Laporta. It is a club I love and one that gives me maximum happiness."

Pedri is the first Barcelona player to win the trophy – which was awarded to Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland last year – since Cesc Fabregas in 2006.

Real Madrid midfielder Isco is the only other Spanish player to have collected the award since its inception in 2003.

Barca sports director Jordi Cruyff was also at the ceremony on Monday and said: "Pedri has personality, He has shown it at a big club with pressure. 

"He asks for the ball in difficult situations and has a great future. He deserves the award. He makes his family happy and Barcelona happy."

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski was named the Golden Man winner, meanwhile, and Barcelona's Lieke Martens collected the Golden Woman award.

The Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony will be staged along the River Seine with bumper crowds of up to 600,000 expected to attend, organisers have confirmed.

It will be the first Games to have an opening ceremony not take place in a stadium.

There will be in excess of 160 boats carrying athletes and officials representing more than 200 nations, with a six-kilometre journey between the Pont d'Austerlitz and Pont d'Iena bridges in the French capital.

Organisers said there will be 80 giant screens, with tickets for the lower part of the bank but free entry for the upper parts.

The closing ceremony will take place at the gardens of the Trocadero that overlook the Eiffel Tower.

"The Games is a unique, once-in-a lifetime experience," said Tony Estanguet, head of the organising committee.

"We want people to feel it. [The boats] will pass along the iconic landmarks of Paris - Notre Dame, the Orsay and Louvre museums, the Pont Neuf [Paris's oldest bridge], the Pont Alexandre III, the Grand Palais, the Eiffel Tower.

"It will be the first time people have free access to the opening ceremony, and not just in a stadium. It will also be a popular event."

The Paris Games take place between July 26 and August 11.

Dani Alves is ready to begin "the most important challenge" of his career when he makes his second debut for Barcelona in Tuesday's exhibition match with Boca Juniors.

The 38-year-old re-joined the club on a free transfer last month following his departure from Sao Paulo in September over a contractual dispute.

Alves, who played 391 times for Barca in his first trophy-laden spell at Camp Nou, cannot be officially registered for the Catalan giants until the January transfer window opens.

However, the Brazil international is in line to represent Blaugrana on Tuesday when they face Argentine giants Boca Juniors in the Maradona Cup in Riyadh.

Speaking at a pre-match news conference on the eve of the friendly, Alves said: "I'm feeling nervous after not being able to play and represent the club for so long.

"The most important challenge of my career has come, because of how the situation happened and the position the club is in.

"But challenges are for those who do not fear them. We will all do our best for this club and for this badge."

Alves won 23 trophies in eight seasons with Barca before departing in 2016 for spells with Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Sao Paulo, where he spent two years.

The club the veteran full-back has returned to five years on is a long way off competing for major honours. 

Barca exited the Champions League at the group stage last week and are eighth in LaLiga after 16 matches, but Alves is hopeful he can help the Catalans return to the top.

"We're used to seeing Barcelona at the top but we know there's a problem," he said. "We cannot hide from it, but instead look for a solution as soon as possible.

"When I arrived the first time a transformation had to be made. The situation is different but it's done and we will write a new chapter to get Barca where they are used to. 

"We have to recover the winning feeling because we live for winning. We have to change the streak. In football, there are good and bad streaks, though this is lasting a bit longer."

Barca have named a 28-man group for the meeting against Boca, with Alves joined by the likes of Gerard Pique, Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho and other first-team stars.

The timing of the game, with league matches against Elche and Sevilla to come over the next eight days, has raised questions.

But while Xavi accepts the distance travelled is not ideal, he believes it is important to respect Maradona, who died from a heart attack aged 60 last November.

"These are club circumstances and is something that was previously agreed," he told reporters in Saudi Arabia. "For us it's an honour to be here representing Barcelona.

"We are paying homage to one of the best players in history. It's an honour and a privilege and it will be an emotional occasion."

Hinting at changes to the side that started the 2-2 draw with Osasuna on Sunday, Xavi added: "It will be a test for the players that don't usually play and a chance to see players that haven't played so much. We want to be at our best."

The Chicago Bulls' next two NBA games have been postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak.

It was announced by the Bulls on Monday that 10 of their players and additional members of staff are in the league's health and safety protocols.

The NBA confirmed Chicago will not face the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday or the Toronto Raptors two days later.

Ayo Dosunmu and Stanley Johnson took the list of Bulls players unavailable due to entering the protocols to seven for a 118-9 defeat to the Miami Heat on Saturday.

The games against the Pistons and the Raptors will be rearranged.

Ex-Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has accused Mercedes of looking like bad losers in the aftermath of the controversial ending to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that saw Lewis Hamilton pipped to the title by Max Verstappen.

An immense battle for the drivers' championship concluded in the most dramatic of circumstances on Sunday with Verstappen passing Hamilton on the final lap after the safety car had been deployed.

With the two neck-and-neck heading into the season finale, it looked as though Hamilton would retain his title having built up a healthy advantage over his rival.

However, there was a late twist when the Williams of Nicholas Latifi crashed into the barriers four laps from the end, with Verstappen pitting for fresh tyres as the wreckage was cleared in order to try to get a shot at Hamilton.

Such an opportunity presented itself when race director Michael Masi controversially ruled lapped cars could overtake the safety car before it headed in to leave one last lap of racing between the contenders.

It was Verstappen who proved triumphant, with Mercedes left furious with Masi, who told Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff: "We went car racing."

Amid Red Bull's celebrations, Mercedes lodged two complaints, claiming Verstappen had overtaken Hamilton before the safety car had pitted and opposing Masi's decision to allow the lapped cars to pass.

Ruling body the FIA dismissed both challenges, but Mercedes could yet appeal against the second of those.

Ecclestone said Mercedes ought to let the issue rest.

Speaking to Stats Perform, he said: "It's always been the same. The funny thing is the winners laugh and the losers have to make their own arrangements, and that's how it is. 

"It's no good being a bad loser. I'm sorry to say, the problem at the moment is Mercedes look a little bit like that, which is not what they are like and they shouldn't even make it look as if they are bad losers. 

"In the end what happened, if you really want to analyse it properly, you can say the world championship came down to one lap. It was the last lap of the race where two guys were on the track with nobody there. In fact, Lewis was a little bit lucky as he started that lap before Max, but in the mean, they were there racing each other, and Max came out in front. 

"Nobody should really, really complain. I don't know whether people did complain at the beginning where Lewis got a little bit of an advantage when he went past Max not on the track, and Max was actually on the track. I thought there was going to be some sort of a reprimand about that. 

"Nothing happened, which is okay. They should get rid of all the silly regulations in Formula One. 'Don't go over the white line, don't do this and don't do that', and when the lights go off, the guys are racing on their own, and they're racing."

Ecclestone added that he had no issue with the decision made by Masi.

"A couple of times this year I've thought that the race director was a bit stupid with one or two things he did, when he had plenty of time to think," he said.

"But in this case, I would have no complaints at all because he was there with a few seconds to make up his mind what to do and it took four hours of Mercedes' team with a lawyer to decide who was right and who was wrong. 

"It's difficult to say that the race director should take four hours to do the same thing. Even then, they haven't come back with the right decision, according to the stewards, so we'll have to wait and see. 

"You need a race director and you need one person to be in charge, and if the person isn't doing a good job over a period of six months or whatever, then get rid of him.

"But that's not the case in his case. He hasn't done a bad job throughout the year. He's made one or two which look like mistakes, but probably if you closely analyse them they probably wouldn't have been mistakes anyway."

Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann is hopeful Joshua Kimmich's declaration that he is ready to take a COVID-19 vaccine will draw a line under the matter.

Kimmich made headlines in October when he explained he was not willing to receive his first dose due to what he perceived as a lack of research into possible long-term effects.

The 26-year-old has not featured for Bayern since November 6 after twice being forced to isolate due to being a close contact of someone who tested positive for coronavirus.

He was then infected with COVID-19 himself and was last week ruled out until 2022 due to an issue with his lungs.

Kimmich confirmed in an interview with ZDF on Sunday that he is now in a position where he feels ready to get vaccinated.

Nagelsmann, who was himself struck down by the illness, is pleased with Kimmich's announcement but insisted he did not sway the midfielder's decision.

"I think it's good that he faced the media. A lot has been reported about him in the last few weeks," Nagelsmann said on Monday. 

"I gave him my opinion, but in the end his conviction was a result of talks with other people at the club. I rather try to work on the pitch."

Nagelsmann, who has been regularly questioned on the topic over the past two months, added: "I think it's funny I'm still being asked! 

"When the year 2021 comes to an end, I hope that we will be able to deal with the pandemic subject more briefly because we can master the situation."

Bayern will be without Kimmich for their final two Bundesliga games of the year, while Jamal Musiala is also doubtful to face Stuttgart on Tuesday and Wolfsburg next weekend.

Musiala has scored in Bayern's last two games, including the decisive strike to see off Mainz 2-1 on Saturday, but a broken hand could keep him out of action until 2022.

"That depends on the pain," Nagelsmann said ahead of the trip to Stuttgart. "He has a splint and could theoretically play, but it's a pain issue. 

"We'll see how he moves today. We'll have to wait a few days and take another X-ray to see how to proceed with the treatment, whether it will be surgical or conservative."

Nagelsmann confirmed Leon Goretzka and Corentin Tolisso are also fitness doubts for Tuesday, but Marcel Sabitzer has returned to training and may be part of the squad.

Bayern have won 66 of their 104 Bundesliga matches against Stuttgart – no other team in Bundesliga history has won so often against a single opponent.  

The Bavarian giants have won 17 of their last 18 league meetings with Stuttgart, with the only exception being a 4-1 loss in May 2018.

Pellegrino Matarazzo's side have taken seven points from their last three games, however, and Nagelsmann is not anticipating an easy game in midweek.

"In terms of the table, they are not quite as good as they were last year," he said. "But it is incredibly difficult to prepare to face them.

"Their coach, who I know well, is a mathematician and that's how he approaches games. You cannot prepare for the way they will set up."

A draw for Bayern at Mercedes-Benz-Arena will ensure they sit top of the Bundesliga at the halfway point for the 15th time in the 16 seasons since the introduction of three points for a win.