Damian Lillard acknowledged the Milwaukee Bucks must replace Giannis Antetokounmpo "by committee" when he is out, after he sat out Tuesday's win over the Miami Heat.

Former NBA MVP Antetokounmpo was a pre-game scratch on Tuesday, having suffered from swelling in his left knee during the warmups.

However, Lillard had 37 points and 12 assists as Milwaukee registered a 106-103 victory in a topsy-turvy NBA Cup game.

The Bucks squandered a 22-point second-half lead before two late AJ Green 3-pointers got them over the line, improving them to 3-0 in NBA Cup play this campaign.

Coach Doc Rivers was unable to offer an update on Antetokounmpo's condition after the game, with the Bucks now not in action until they host the Washington Wizards on Saturday.

"Giannis doesn't miss many games," Rivers said. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it was the right thing to do."

Antetokounmpo is averaging a career-high 32.4 points on 60.8% shooting so far this season, to go with 11.9 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game.

The Bucks lost the only other game Antetokounmpo has missed this season – versus the Cleveland Cavaliers on November 4.

Though he took up the mantle with a fine display on Tuesday, Lillard said it will always be a team effort for Milwaukee without their star player.

"It's always going to be done by committee," Lillard said of replacing Antetokounmpo. 

"Everybody is going to have to do a little bit more with such a hole in our lineup, but I know guys are going to look to me to step up." 

The Bucks are now 9-9 for the season after making a dismal 2-8 start, and Lillard believes things are starting to come together for the team.

"It's not something we're looking at it and celebrating, but it's the fact that we're going in the right direction by the way we're playing," he said of their improved run. 

"We're beating good teams. We're winning at home. We're winning on the road, a game like tonight, without Giannis. 

"The way we're doing it is sustainable, and it's showing that we're doing what we wanted to be doing coming into the season."

Jude Bellingham feels he is most effective playing further forward but is prepared to accommodate his big-name Real Madrid team-mates by playing a withdrawn role.

Bellingham was a key player as Madrid won LaLiga and the Champions League last season, scoring 23 goals and providing 13 assists while playing predominantly as a false nine.

Following the exit of Karim Benzema, Madrid fielded Bellingham at the tip of a midfield diamond with Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior acting as split strikers.

However, Bellingham has dropped deeper this season following the arrival of Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain, playing just 3% of his minutes as a striker or attacking midfielder, with 50% coming in central midfield and 35% off the left flank.

In 2023-24, Bellingham played 69% of his minutes in the most advanced midfield role and 7% as a traditional striker.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday's Champions League clash with Liverpool, Bellingham insisted he is happy to play any role if it contributes to positive results for Los Blancos.

"It's been like any other adaptation," Bellingham told reporters on Tuesday.

"It changes the dynamic, the style of play and the approach, but I've shown that I can play in different positions. I prefer a bit more up front, but it's not important to me.

"I'm willing to play wherever they put me and I'm not affected by the position. We always set the team up to win. 

"I joined last summer and the club lost Benzema, one of its best players. There was a gap and it was a way to compensate for this lack of goals. 

"This year we have signed one of the best players of this generation, who has scored an unbelievable amount of goals. My role is going to change and I'm totally willing to do that."

Bellingham's goal in Sunday's 3-0 win over Leganes in LaLiga was just his second in all competitions this season, though only Vinicius (six) has bettered his four assists for Madrid.

After travelling to Anfield for their fifth Champions League group-phase game, Madrid host Getafe in LaLiga this weekend.

While Ben Stokes understands the choice to put Jacob Bethell in to bat at number three has raised questions, he has affirmed England's decision-makers know what they are doing.

Bethell is 21 years old and is in line to make his Test debut against New Zealand in Christchurch on Thursday.

A left-hander for Warwickshire, he has never made a century in his senior cricket career and has never batted above number four in his 20 first-class matches.

When asked about the decision to field Bethell higher up the order than most expected, the England captain tried to allay any fears that people may have.

"You can totally understand it, but you've got to be true to yourself when you get given the opportunity to be able to make decisions," he said.

"We've always done what we feel is right for the team. It's gone in our favour quite a lot, so I think we do know what we're doing.

"We're not picking people just to wind people up. We do know what we're doing.

"We do know what we look for, and when you're in a position to make decisions you've got to do it by your standards and your means."

Bethell comes into the Test side having made 15 white-ball appearances, with plenty of excitement around his future.

He was originally due to be the backup batsman in the squad, but following wicketkeeper Jordan Cox's broken thumb, he was thrust into the team.

But Stokes was relaxed about him coming in, explaining that he had full faith in his ability.

"Beth's got the capability to be able to go out there, bat three and hopefully impact the game, like he has done throughout the summer in the white-ball team," he said.

Inter Milan head coach Simon Inzaghi was pleased with the performance of his team after a 1-0 victory over RB Leipzig sent them top of the Champions League standings.

The goal that decided the match came from opposition defender Castello Lukeba, who put through his own net in the 27th minute, although Inter dropped off in the second half and managed just one shot on target.

RB Leipzig also had more of the ball in the second half, though the home side stood firm and maintained their record of being the only team in the tournament yet to concede a goal.

"We are satisfied, we knew the importance of tonight's match," Inzaghi told Sky Sports.

"We were playing against a valuable team, who until Sunday had the best defence in the Bundesliga. We played a great game, we were always balanced and it's not easy with them.

"It's a shame we didn't score the second goal, but the team suffered relatively little."

 Denzel Dumfries misfired when presented with a good chance just after the restart and Henrikh Mkhitaryan thought he had doubled Inter's lead in stoppage time, but the goal was ruled out for a foul in the build-up.

"There is clearly satisfaction, but to get into the top eight we still need a small step," Inzaghi said.

Inter are in first place after five matches, with second-placed Barcelona and third-placed Liverpool still to play on Wednesday trailing them by a point.

With the top eight teams in the competition bypassing the two-legged play-off to go straight into the round of 16, there is a clear motive to finish as high as possible.

"We've had an excellent run, four consecutive victories and five games without conceding a goal," Inzaghi added.

"I was afraid of tonight's game, but the team is mature and knew not to be influenced by Leipzig's zero points."

Vincent Kompany admitted he did not fully understand the new Champions League format after Bayern Munich's 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain boosted their hopes of progression.

Kim Min-jae's first-half strike was enough to guide Bayern past PSG, who had winger Ousmane Dembele sent off for two bookable offences early in the second half.

It was the Bundesliga leaders' third victory in five matches under the Champions League's new format, lifting them to 11th in the 36-team table with nine points. 

They are one point away from the top eight, which brings automatic qualification for the last 16. Teams nine through 24 will take part in play-offs to join them in the new year.

"I don't look at the table because, honestly. I don't yet understand it," Kompany told a press conference. "It will look good if we win a few more matches.

"What's important is to reach our goal. If we win our remaining games we have a chance to make the top eight.

"I'm obviously happy. Our pressing in the first half was very good. The discipline was there. We could have scored perhaps one or two more goals, but the result is good.

"We are on the right track but working to become even better."

Bayern have now beaten PSG eight times in the Champions League, with only Real Madrid (11 versus Bayern) and the Bavarians themselves (10 against Barcelona) winning more games against a single opponent in the tournament's history.

They are also unbeaten in each of their last 33 home games in the Champions League's group stage (31 wins, two draws).

That is the joint-longest such run in the competition's history, with Barcelona also going 33 without defeat at home between November 2009 and November 2020.

They will have a chance to break that record when they host Slovan Bratislava on matchday eight, following trips to Shakhtar Donetsk and Feyenoord.

Pep Guardiola refused to single out any of his Manchester City players for criticism but admitted their 3-3 Champions League draw with Feyenoord was "difficult to swallow."

Though City ended the longest losing streak of Guardiola's managerial career on Tuesday, they are now six without a win after squandering a three-goal lead at the Etihad Stadium.

It was the first time a team coached by Guardiola had failed to win a game when leading by three goals in his career, in what was his 942nd match in the dugout.

City are also the first team in Champions League history to be leading by three goals as late as the 75th minute and fail to win.

The result comes on the back of a humiliating 4-0 Premier League defeat to Tottenham on Saturday, and Guardiola said his players were well aware of their shortcomings.

"It was not necessary to say anything to the players, they know it perfectly," Guardiola said. 

"It is what it is, difficult to swallow now. We give away especially the first one and after we are not stable enough."

A brace from Erling Haaland and a goal from Ilkay Gundogan had City cruising before Anis Hadj Moussa pulled one back for Feyenoord in the 75th minute when he pounced on a terrible back pass from Josko Gvardiol.

Another sloppy pass by the 22-year-old led to Santiago Gimenez making it 3-2 seven minutes later, before David Hancko equalised for the Dutch side in the 89th minute.

"He is so young, he'll learn," Guardiola said of Gvardiol, who looked distraught after Feyenoord's second goal. 

"I'll be so wrong if I point specific things at him. He's a fantastic player, a fantastic boy and more than ever must be helped."

At the end of the game the crowd booed City, who dropped to 15th in the 36-team standings on eight points, two points adrift of the top eight, who qualify automatically for the last 16.

"They come here not to remember the success in the past, but to see the team win," Guardiola said of City's supporters.

"Of course they are completely right to express what they feel. Of course (they are) disappointed."

Guardiola's side next face one of their toughest tests of the season when they visit Premier League leaders Liverpool on Sunday. A loss would leave City 11 points adrift of the Reds.

Asked if he could lift his players for a mammoth challenge, Guardiola said: "We have to, we have to. It's my job." 

Damian Lillard had 37 points and 12 assists, and the resurgent Milwaukee Bucks squandered a 22-point second-half lead before beating the Miami Heat 106-103 in an NBA Cup game on Tuesday night.

Brook Lopez scored 13 points and Bobby Portis had 11 for the Bucks, who have won five in a row and moved back to the .500 mark (9-9) for the first time since they were 1-1.

Milwaukee played without superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, a late pregame scratch because of swelling in his left knee.

The Bucks (3-0 in Cup play) also moved a half-game ahead of Detroit (2-0) in the East Group B standings.

Jimmy Butler scored 23 points for Miami, which got 18 from Tyler Herro, 17 from Terry Rozier and 16 from Bam Adebayo. The Heat tied the game at 96-96 on a layup by Butler and got within one point on three occasions later, but never led.

The Heat, who were outscored 60-30 from 3-point range, fell to 1-2 in Cup play.

AJ Green made back-to-back 3-pointers for Milwaukee in the final minutes, both coming immediately after Miami scored to get within one. His late 3s gave Milwaukee leads of 101-97 and 104-100.

Durant, Beal return as Suns cruise

Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant each scored 23 points and the Phoenix Suns celebrated the healthy return of both players with a 127-100 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Devin Booker led the way with 26 points and had 10 assists as the Suns snapped a five-game losing streak.

Beal had missed the past five games while Durant had missed seven in a row - both players were sidelined by a strained left calf.

Beal made 10 of 15 shots, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range.

The Lakers were led by Anthony Davis, who scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. LeBron James added 18 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists as Los Angeles lost its third straight.

The Suns outscored the Lakers 36-18 in the third quarter, turning a tight game into a 98-78 advantage. Booker had 11 points during the run, while Jusuf Nurkic had 10.

Booker made three consecutive shots during the Suns' 14-2 run midway through the third quarter, helping push the lead to 86-72.

Phoenix is 9-1 when Durant is in the lineup and 1-6 when he's not.

Rockets outlast Wolves in OT

Alperen Sengun had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, Fred VanVleet added 27 points and 11 assists, and the Houston Rockets pulled out a 117-111 overtime win against the Minnesota Timberwolves in an NBA Cup game.

Dillon Brooks added 22 points for Houston, which improved to 3-0 in the competition and clinched West Group A and a spot in the NBA Cup quarterfinals.

Anthony Edwards had 29 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, which has lost three in a row. Julius Randle scored 21, while Naz Reid had 19 off the bench.

Rookie Rob Dillingham, the No. 8 pick in the draft out of Kentucky, had his best game of the season, helping to fill the void left by point guard Mike Conley, who missed his third straight game with a left great toe sprain. Dillingham had 12 points and season highs with seven assists and five rebounds.

With 15 seconds left in regulation, Sengun got a pass on a drive to the basket for a potential layup, but Rudy Gobert came across for the block to keep the score tied. Edwards’ jumper on the other end was off the mark and the game went to overtime.

Houston shot 15 of 37 from 3-point territory, including 10 of 18 in the first half to build its lead.

In the latest installment of the rich get richer, the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and left-hander Blake Snell are in agreement on a five-year, $182 million contract, pending a physical, according to a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations.

Snell, who turns 32 next month, is a two-time Cy Young Award winner who spent last season with the San Francisco Giants, going 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 20 starts.

He had a 6.31 ERA at the All-Star break after a limited spring training, but over his final 12 games, he posted a 1.45 ERA with 103 strikeouts in 68 1/3 innings, including a no-hitter at Cincinnati on Aug. 2.

Snell won the 2023 Cy Young while pitching for the San Diego Padres and entered free agency. He didn’t have a team by spring training, so he landed with the Giants on a two-year, $62 million contract with an opt-out after the first year, which he exercised.

Durability is a concern with Snell, who has thrown more than 129 1/3 innings just twice in nine major league seasons. He also has a lifetime 4.1 walks per nine innings average and rarely pitches deep into games with only one career complete game.

He becomes the latest addition to the star-studded Dodgers, who gave out the first mega deal of this offseason following Shohei Ohtani's $700 million, 10-year contract last winter.

Snell joins a rotation that already features Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Ohtani.

Aaron Rodgers has yet to decide if he will retire after this season, but if he does play in 2025, he would like to stay with the New York Jets.

Rodgers addressed his future during his regular appearance on the “The Pat McAfee Show,” after rumours had surfaced that he was feuding with the Jets’ front office amid a disappointing season.

“I don't even know if I want to play yet, but New York would be my first option,” Rodgers said of his plans for 2025.

The four-time MVP shot down reports by The Athletic that he hoped to play for another team next season.

“That's 100% false,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers, who turns 41 next week, is having an unimpressive statistical season while the much-hyped Jets have lost seven of their last eight games.

With disappointing results on the field, the Jets fired general manager Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh midway through the season. Rodgers’ future may be determined more by New York’s new leadership than the future Hall of Famer himself.

“When you're 40, going on 41, you're obviously at the end of your career,” he said. “... Obviously, if it's New York, they have to want me to be here. And then the new GM, new staff all have to want me to be with the Jets.

“And then body-wise, I have to see how I'm feeling and if I want to sign up to go back to the grind and all that, but it feels good. I'm healthy now.

“It's not as much fun when you're dealing with rehab all the time. So, if I can stay healthy the rest of the year and play the way I want to play, and everybody feels good about bringing me back, then there's a decision there. And if not, then there's all the other options. I think, at this point, I'm open to everything and attached to nothing. So, it's a good place to be.”

Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich told reporters on Monday that Rodgers is “absolutely” the Jets’ starter for Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks, denying rumours that New York could bench or release him.

Rodgers, who missed nearly all of last season due to a torn Achilles tendon, said that his two seasons in New York have been “frustrating and difficult” but maintained his positivity about his experience with the Jets.

“These have been two of the most important years of my life and two of the best years of my life,” Rodgers said.

Sheffield United went back to the top of the Championship following a 3-0 victory over Oxford United at home on Tuesday.

The result was a fifth victory in six matches for Chris Wilder's side, whose only dropped points in that sequence came in a 2-2 draw away to Coventry City last Saturday.

Callum O'Hare got things going for the Blades by scoring his first goal for the club on 10 minutes, before Tyrese Campbell doubled their lead with his fifth strike in six matches.

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi added the third in the second half, and they have now won seven in a row at Bramall Lane without conceding. They lead second-placed Burnley by two points, while Oxford are 18th and two points above the relegation zone after picking up one win in 12.

Elsewhere, Norwich City got their play-off charge back on track with a 6-1 victory at home to Plymouth Argyle.

Borja Sainz helped them on their way with a hat-trick, taking his tally to 15 goals in 19 appearances in all competitions this season.

While the score was 2-1 at half-time, a second-half capitulation leaves Wayne Rooney's side just two places and two points above the relegation zone with teams below them to play on Wednesday.

Burnley got themselves back in second with a 2-0 victory over Coventry at Turf Moor.

Jeremy Sarmiento and CJ Egan-Riley both scored in the second half to give Scott Parker's side three points, while Coventry are 17th and two points off the relegation zone.

As a result of Burnley's result, Sunderland slipped to third in the table after missing the chance to maintain their lead at the top of the table.

Regis Le Bris' side were held to a goalless draw at home to West Brom in a game that had just two shots on target. As a result, the Baggies remain seventh in the table, level on points with sixth-placed Middlesbrough having played a game more.

Charles De Ketelaere was the driving force for Atalanta in their commanding 6-1 win over Young Boys in the Champions League.

De Ketelaere scored twice and provided three assists as Atalanta – last season's Europa League champions – moved into fourth place in the standings, two points behind leaders Inter.

Star of the show De Ketelaere teed up Mateo Retegui for a ninth-minute opener, though Silvere Ganvoula quickly responded for Young Boys.

It was the first goal conceded by the visitors in the competition this season, but the rest of the half was controlled by Atalanta.

De Ketelaere scored his first in the 28th minute when a corner was flicked to him, and he managed to squeeze in a low shot on the turn.

The Belgium international then set up Sead Kolasinac with a throughball from midfield, and the former Arsenal defender calmly slotted home.

De Ketelaere capped off a dominant first half with his third assist, setting up Retegui once more.

Atalanta's fifth, and De Ketelaere's second, arrived 11 minutes after the restart as he drilled in a low shot from the edge of the box, with some help from a deflection, and Lazar Samardzic made it six in stoppage time.

Data Debrief: King Charles 

De Ketelaere became the eighth player to be directly involved in five goals in a single Champions League match.

He is the first Belgian to do so and the first for an Italian side.

De Ketelaere is just the third player to assist three goals in the first half of a Champions League game, after Ryan Giggs for Manchester United against Roma in April 2007 and Carlos Martins for Benfica against Lyon in November 2010.

This was, unsurprisingly, Atalanta's biggest margin of victory in a major European match, while the 6-1 defeat was Young Boys’ joint-biggest home defeat in such competitions, along with their 5-0 loss to Hamburger SV in November 1960.

Mikel Arteta revelled in a statement win in the Champions League after Arsenal's 5-1 defeat of Sporting CP.

Sporting, who are under new leadership following Ruben Amorim's departure to Manchester United, were in second place in the standings heading into matchday five, following their 4-1 demolition of Manchester City earlier in November.

Yet the Portuguese team were no match for City's Premier League rivals Arsenal on Tuesday, as the Gunners blew Sporting away in Lisbon.

Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Magalhaes put Arsenal 3-0 up by half-time, and though Goncalo Inacio pulled one back for the hosts, Bukayo Saka's penalty and a late finish from Leandro Trossard completed the rout for Arteta's side. 

"I'm very happy, it is a big result against a big opponent," Arteta said, having seen Arsenal accumulate 3.89 expected goals, their most on record for a match in the competition (since 2013-14).

"We wanted to make a statement. I felt a really good energy before the match, but you have to put it into practice.

"The first half was exceptional and gave us the platform to win the game. We were really clever and efficient in the way we attacked them. It is an important win for us.

"The atmosphere was changing [when Sporting scored], they had belief, but after that we showed our personality to get on the ball again, to defend deeper if we needed to and the fourth goal changed it again.

"We have to enjoy it, playing in this competition against these sorts of teams. I was pleased with how the performance flowed."

Arsenal had been in a mini-slump of three games without a win before a 3-0 victory over high-flying Nottingham Forest in the Premier League this past weekend.

Backing up that victory with another dominant display is something they will have to do all season long if they are to be successful, according to Arteta.

"We need the consistency, if you want to be going for championships then you have to win and win again. Today was a different type of game but we handled it well and let's move on now," he said.

Arsenal are next in action on Saturday when they travel to West Ham in the Premier League.

Julian Alvarez backed himself to score with the direct free-kick that opened up the floodgates in Atletico Madrid's 6-0 rout of Sparta Prague.

Atletico claimed their third Champions League win of the season in style on Tuesday, and Alvarez's brilliant free-kick opened the scoring after just 15 minutes.

The Argentine doubled his tally just before the hour, with Marcos Llorente and substitute Antoine Griezmann - on his 100th Champions League appearance - also scoring before Angel Correa got in on the act with a brace of his own late on.

The dominant performance, which saw Atletico rack up an expected goals (xG) total of 3.15, moved them up to 13th in the standings.

Alvarez was certainly happy with Atletico's biggest-ever away winning margin in a major European competition, surpassing a 5-0 win over Kayseri Erciyesspor in the UEFA Cup in October 2007.

"A great game, lots of goals, so I'm very happy. We needed it," Alvarez told Movistar Plus.

"I was confident that I was going to score with that free-kick, I think it was a great goal that opened the game and helped us to keep on winning.

"It was a matter of time and minutes to fit all the pieces together. Little by little the whole team is feeling better. We have to continue on this path and keep working. The group is doing very well so we're going for more."

Alvarez scored what was only the fourth direct free-kick goal by an Atletico player in the Champions League, and the first since Sergio Aguero netted against Chelsea in November 2009.

Having lost two of their previous four matches in the competition, the resounding victory also provided reason for coach Diego Simeone to celebrate.

"Anything that means winning makes me happy. If the team has the chance to keep playing like this and scoring goals, so much the better," he said.

"We kept taking the game where we wanted it to go, we accumulated chances and Julian's goal from a free kick was a great goal."

Alvarez made a slow start to life at Atletico following his move from Manchester City, but has picked up form since the end of September and is now on nine goals in all competitions.

"Julian is a player with the highest level, who has played for River Plate, Manchester City and Argentina," Simeone added.

"He is going from strength to strength since joining us, and we expect the best from him.

"He is young, there is good hope for the present and the future. Hopefully, we can accompany him so that he can continue to grow."