LeBron James was quick to point out how the Los Angeles Lakers were written off earlier in the season after clinching their playoff spot with Tuesday's 108-102 overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

James scored 30 points with 10 rebounds and six assists as the Lakers rallied from a 15-point deficit to beat the short-handed Timberwolves in the NBA play-in tournament to secure a first-round series with the second seed Memphis Grizzlies.

The Lakers have endured a tumultuous campaign, having started slowly, but rallied to become the first team in nearly two decades to start 2-10 and finish with a winning record (43-39), before now clinching their playoff spot.

They revived their season with a series of trade deadlines moves, including flipping Russell Westbrook out and bringing in Rui Hachimura, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt and D'Angelo Russell. Since Westbrook exited, the Lakers have gone 19-9.

"When we were 2-10, the analytics said we had a 0.3 chance of making the postseason," four-time NBA champion James told reporters after Tuesday's win. "All you ask for is a chance.

"For us to turn around our season and give ourselves an opportunity to compete for the Larry O'Brien Trophy is all you can ask for.

"Even through ups and downs we've been very resilient. We've been able to stick with the game and find the way to gut out a win, even with slow starts or not finishing the game how we'd like to... Tonight was another instance of that versus a very, very good team."

No team has progressed past the playoffs first round after qualifying from the play-in tournament since it was introduced in 2021, but James remained hopeful of a Lakers' run.

"That's the only reason I play still, to try and put myself in a position to make championship runs," he said. "And give team-mates that have never been on a championship run something they haven’t experienced before.

"It hasn’t changed for me since about 2006 or 2007. That's been my mindset every year, how can I make a championship run? I've been successful in four of those. I've been on a lot and I want to continue those."

The Lakers should have clinched victory in regulation time after James drove to the bucket, drawing defenders before kicking out an assist to Denis Schroder for a go-ahead three-pointer with 1.4 seconds left.

But Anthony Davis gifted the Wolves three free-throws after a foul on Mike Conley, before the Lakers triumphed in OT.

"It's unfortunate that AD had a brain fart and messed his game-winner up," James told NBA on TNT with a laugh alongside Schroder.

"This is what our sport is all about, getting to April and having an opportunity to play in the postseason. We've been battle-tested all year, especially since the break, we've played some really good basketball."

Jimmy Butler admitted the Miami Heat will have to improve markedly when they face either the Toronto Raptors or the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference eighth-seed game on Friday in the NBA play-in tournament.

The Heat were beaten 116-105 by the Atlanta Hawks in the seventh seed clash on Tuesday at Kaseya Center.

A slow start from Miami saw them trail by 15 points at half-time, and they were unable to make up that deficit in the second as Atlanta eased to victory to book their place in the playoffs.

Butler scored 21 points with nine assists, but just four rebounds, and he lamented his and his teammates' inability to retrieve the ball all game, with the Hawks making 63 overall to the Heat's 39.

"We have to stay confident," Butler said. "We have to know we are capable of winning, if we start out the right way and if we rebound, obviously.

"But it's just, I don't know, shots don't go in, we foul, that's never the recipe for success with us. So come Friday, we've got to play legit the exact opposite that we played tonight.

"Rebounding was just horrendous. We didn't put body on body and they got all the rebounds, all the second-chance points. And that was the game."

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra concurred, adding: "There's probably been a little bit more than a half-dozen times, maybe eight to 10 times, where we have not rebounded where it has just been absolutely crippling, in terms of how it's hurt us.

"We definitely have to get to the film and go back to all the fundamentals. We knew coming into this game, this game would be decided [by] ball in the air, ball on the floor, and it certainly was."

Hawks center Clint Capela made an impressive 21 rebounds in the game, and Heat guard Tyler Herro – who scored 26 points – thought bad luck came into play, but admitted that could not be used as an excuse.

"The ball was bouncing their way, literally, the whole game," Herro said. "But that's not any type of excuse to why we couldn't rebound the ball.

"They beat the hell out of us on the glass, so it wasn't even close. So we can point fingers, do whatever, at the end of the day they beat the hell out of us on the boards and that's what it is."

Trae Young starred for the Hawks, scoring 25 points with seven assists and eight rebounds, and he anticipates a tough encounter with the second seed Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.

"Obviously, Boston is a really good team," Young said. "But I haven't really looked too far ahead. I mean, obviously I watched them all year. They've been playing really well. But I was really focused on tonight and making sure we won."

Young also referenced Butler's comments from earlier in the week when he said he thought the Heat would get the win, adding: "I know Jimmy guaranteed a dub, so I was really focused on making sure that didn't happen."

Butler praised Young after the game, saying: "He's a hell of a player. He makes all the right reads. Obviously, he's a big time shot-maker, and he even got eight rebounds, so I don't think we took too much away [from] them tonight."

The Tampa Bay Rays extended their season-opening winning streak to 11 games with Brandon Lowe homering for the fourth straight game in a 7-2 triumph over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.

The relentless Rays moved closer to history with the win where starter Shane McClanahan put in a strong display fanning nine batters across five innings allowing two hits and one run.

Tampa Bay are within reach of matching the best-ever MLB start since 1900, which is 13 wins held by the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers and the 1982 Atlanta Braves.

The Rays continued their dominant ways, after Monday's 1-0 win over the Red Sox, with an 83-20 run differential across those 11 games.

Brandon Lowe, Yandy Diaz, Isaac Paredes and Josh Lowe all homered for the Rays, who were 5-0 up after five innings.

Diaz and Brandon Lowe hit back-to-back solo homers with two out in the fifth inning to open up the 5-0 lead.

Tampa Bay have 29 homers across 11 games, which is a joint majors record through 11 games alongside the 2000 St Louis Cardinals.

Mountcastle rips franchise record in O's rally

Ryan Mountcastle hit a grand slam and a three-run homer to tie a franchise record nine RBIs to fire the Baltimore Orioles to a 12-8 win over the Oakland Athletics.

The A's led 7-3 in the fifth inning before Mountcastle led the rally with a three-run blast at the bottom of the same inning to bring it back to a one-run game.

Mountcastle produced his grand slam in the seventh with a 456-foot homer to left field, after Austin Hays, who had four hits, singled to drive in Gunnar Henderson.

The O's first baseman went three-for-four with two runs and nine RBIs, while Grayson Rodriguez sent down six strikeouts but allowed six hits, four walks and five runs in his home debut.

Cordero and Cole star in Yankees triumph

Franchy Cordero blasted a three-run homer and Gerrit Cole rallied after the Cleveland Guardians' fast start as the New York Yankees prevailed 11-2 to improve their record to 7-4.

Cole gave up two runs and three hits in the first inning but responded with six scoreless innings, finishing with three strikeouts, allowing only five hits.

Cordero's 368-feet blast opened up a 6-2 lead as the Yankees piled on five runs in the third inning, with Anthony Rizzo going two-for-three for two RBIs while Aaron Judge went two-for-five with one run.

Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison is confident about re-signing Kyrie Irving despite the side's disappointing late-season slide that saw them miss the playoffs.

The Mavs endured a 7-18 run to end the season, missing the play-in tournament altogether with an 11th-place finish in the Western Conference.

That came after they traded in Irving in February to become a championship contender. The All-Star guard quickly asserted he would not discuss a contract extension publicly following the trade.

Irving is eligible to sign for as much as $272 million over five years at the Mavs, or around $202m for years at another franchise, leading to questions about his future.

Harrison met with Irving on Monday for his exit interview after the Mavs' season ended on Sunday.

"I think the things that he said along the way about how he feels here, how he feels appreciated, how he feels accepted and allowed to be himself - those are the things that he said kind of consistently," Harrison said.

"That's what gives me the optimism that he wants to be here."

The Mavs struggled for synergy in their backcourt with Irving alongside Luka Doncic following the trade, leading to talk that the star-studded pairing is not worth persisting with.

"I think the two work together," Harrison said. "I think Luka and Kai work together.

"I think when we have that talented of a player - that talented of two players - I think they work together.

"I really think it's the players around them… kind of knowing their role with having those two guys out on the floor at the same time. I think that's the thing that we need to work on."

Harrison was also bullish about Doncic's long-term future, with the Slovenian offering assurance after Sunday's game saying he is happy in Dallas.

"Well, I take his words for it," Harrison said. "He says he wants to be here.

"He's under contract, so I don't go to sleep at night worried about, 'is Luka going to be a Maverick?' Because he is a Maverick, and he's under contract.

"Obviously, if that changes, then we'll have to reevaluate it. But I think our job really to keep Luka happy, if you will, is surrounding him by the right players to help him win. And I think Luka's a talent that deserves that."

New York Yankees offseason acquisition Carlos Rodon is dealing with back tightness along with a left forearm injury further delaying his return.

The 30-year-old left-hander joined the Yankees from the San Francisco Giants in December on a six-year, $162 million contract.

But Rodon is yet to debut for the Yankees due to a forearm injury which he suffered in spring training, remaining on the injured list.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed on Tuesday prior to their 11-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians that Rodon also had another issue holding him back.

"Rodon has back tightness. It's kind of delayed his next live [session] which was supposed to be yesterday/today," Boone told Talkin' Yanks.

"So it's probably going to be a few days. ... Elbow-wise, he's doing great. We'll see how the next couple days are there. But we're getting there."

Rodon was an All-Star in 2021 with the Chicago White Sox and in 2022 with the Giants, coming sixth in NL Cy Young Award voting last season.

Luciano Spalletti wants Pep Guardiola and Paolo Maldini to know he is chief among their biggest fans, with the Napoli boss seeking to make peace with both men.

Speaking on the eve of his team's Champions League quarter-final against Milan, Spalletti stressed his recent spat with Rossoneri sporting director Maldini was no reflection of his admiration for the legendary former defender.

He also stressed he had no problems with Guardiola after recent toing and froing through the media.

Manchester City head coach Guardiola hailed Napoli as Europe's top team when the Champions League quarter-final line-up took shape, but that praise was palmed away by Spalletti.

The Napoli boss saw it as a ploy – "a game to build us up, so they can knock us down" – but he stressed on Tuesday he also recognised it as a compliment.

That was after Guardiola reacted on Monday to Spalletti's remarks by saying: "I don't want to talk about Napoli because the manager will be grumpy with me. So sensitive in Italy."

This time, Spalletti looked to calm the narrative.

"I learned a lot from Guardiola," Spalletti said. "Everyone has learnt something from Guardiola. For me, Guardiola is like [Jurgen] Klopp, [Roberto] De Zerbi, all the amazing managers.

"Guardiola, Klopp and De Zerbi are among the football managers I always look at. So if my expression was misunderstood by Guardiola, I'm sorry because I'm truly happy when a manager like him says good words about Napoli.

"It would take me days and days to appreciate Guardiola's former Barcelona."

A tunnel dispute involving Spalletti and Maldini was picked up by television cameras before the second half of Napoli's shock recent 4-0 home loss to Milan in Serie A.

He was quoted as describing Maldini's behaviour as being "disrespectful" shortly after the event.

According to Spalletti, that April 2 incident could be written off as "just standard chat" or a "small fight".

Napoli's 64-year-old coach even said he has a Maldini shirt on his wall at home and was "totally OK with him".

Zion Williamson is waiting to "feel like Zion" before he returns for the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Pelicans have qualified for the play-in tournament despite being without superstar Williamson since January 2.

A hamstring injury has kept the former first overall pick on the sideline, with setbacks frustrating both the player and his team.

His return date is still unknown on the eve of Wednesday's nine-10 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, with the Pelicans still two wins from the playoffs.

But Williamson was at least back at practice and appearing before reporters on Tuesday to say: "Physically, I'm fine.

"Now, it's just a matter of when I feel like Zion. I know the atmosphere I'd be entering based off the playoff experience. So, now, it's just a matter of when I feel like Zion."

Williamson, who described the past three months as "very frustrating", said "things have got a lot better".

Yet he still could not outline exactly what was required to "feel like Zion" and get back on the court for a team who at one stage before his injury threatened to contend.

"I don't feel like there are any specific benchmarks for being Zion," Williamson said.

"It's just a matter of when I feel like myself – just feeling like myself and knowing that I can go out there and have a big impact for my team."

"It's a little bit of a mental battle, because you know when I re-aggravated back in February, it was tough.

"So, when I go to make certain moves, there is that hesitation. Sometimes there's not and sometimes there is.

"And I understand the magnitude of these games coming up, and I don't want to be out there hesitating or doing something that may affect my team in a bad way."

Manchester City played like a team ready to win the Champions League as they swatted aside Bayern Munich, according to Owen Hargreaves.

City beat Bayern 3-0 in the first leg of their quarter-final tie, with Pep Guardiola seeing off his former side to put one foot in the last four.

Guardiola and City have consistently come up short in the biggest moments in this competition since they first linked up in 2016.

There have been multiple collapses, while their only run to the final ended in defeat to current Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel, then in charge of Chelsea.

But Hargreaves, who played for both City and Bayern, saw something different in Tuesday's performance at the Etihad Stadium.

"That's how you win the Champions League," the former midfielder said on BT Sport. "They were absolutely brilliant.

"Defensively, that was a completely different Manchester City. They were flawless."

Ex-Bayern striker Mario Gomez, in his role on Prime Video, was similarly impressed by a City team who "have everything".

"They have a goalkeeper [Ederson] who suits this team perfectly, defenders where you can see they love to go into every duel," Gomez said.

"They have strategists who set the rhythm, one-on-one players on the wing who change every situation, and they have a killer up front [Erling Haaland] who scores goals out of nothing and then even hits wonderful crosses.

"I think if Bayern don't manage the miracle in the second leg, we've seen the Champions League winners today. This team can also suffer – they have everything."

Simone Inzaghi feels his Inter team must repeat their first-leg performance at San Siro after a 2-0 victory at Benfica left them in the ascendancy of their Champions League quarter-final.

Inter headed into Tuesday's contest at Estadio da Luz on a dismal run of form, failing to win in their last six in all competitions.

But second-half goals from Nicolo Barella and Romelu Lukaku mean they are in the driver's seat as they look to get past Benfica and reach their first Champions League last four since they last lifted the famous trophy in the 2009-10 season.

Inter must first ensure they see out the quarter-final, though, and Inzaghi urged his team to replicate their strong first-leg display to seal their progression on home turf next Wednesday.

"I am very satisfied with the match played by the boys," Inzaghi told reporters at his post-match news conference. "We are enjoying the evening and we know we have taken the first step towards the semi-final.

"We will have a return match against a demanding team that was previously unbeaten [in this season's Champions League]. The boys were good; we deserved this victory. But in the Champions League we know that the result is not closed.

"Benfica are a quality team, very strong. We know we have an advantage in the second leg. We will have to repeat the match we played in Lisbon in Milan."

Inter's second-half showing was much better than their first, accumulating just 0.11 xG (expected goals) in the opening 45 minutes while managing only two touches in Benfica's box.

Barella's fine header to put them 1-0 up in the 51st minute was the visitors' first attempt on target, and Inzaghi blamed his team's hectic recent schedule for their lacklustre start, explaining: "Let's not forget that it's the fourth game in a few days, the third in six.

"The calendar is almost impossible, but we are Inter and in these two years we have never left anything behind. We know that there are objective difficulties due to tiredness, but I have tried to alternate a lot. We needed fresh faces."

Inzaghi has faced much criticism for Inter's poor recent form, with the Nerazzurri's failure to pick up maximum points in their last four Serie A matches, suffering three defeats during that time, leaving them out of the Champions League places.

The Inter head coach is focusing on his team, rather than outside noise, saying: "I'm used to it – criticism is part of the job. The important thing is to get answers from my players.

"Despite what was said, I was serene and calm. Sometimes you have to be clear-headed; you have to watch the games and leave aside the results."

Pep Guardiola recognised Manchester City's 3-0 win against Bayern Munich was "a really, really good result" but stressed the job was not yet done.

A first-leg demolition of the German champions means City would have to capitulate woefully in Bavaria next Wednesday to miss out on a semi-final place.

This City team are on a nine-game winning streak and have hit at least three goals in seven of those victories, easing into a spectacular stride as the end of the season approaches.

Goals from Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland – whose 45th of the season put the seal on the win – left Thomas Tuchel's Bayern in a desperate position ahead of the rematch.

Guardiola, a former Bayern head coach, made a point of complimenting the Bundesliga giants, who had their best spell of the game early in the second half but were ultimately put away ruthlessly.

He called on City to finish the job by winning in Munich.

"Of course, when you are there you realise how good they are as a team, Bayern Munich," Guardiola told BT Sport.

"During 55, 60 minutes it was a tight, tight game and in a lot of moments they were better than us."

He said the second goal from Bernardo Silva "helped a lot", coming in the 70th minute, moments after Bayern brought Sadio Mane off the bench.

"We made some changes and our pressing was more effective," Guardiola added.

"With the ball we were better too, and I'm happy for the result, but I lived three years in Munich. I know the Bayern Munich mentality, I know the quality they have.

"It's a really, really good result, but we have still the second leg to play. The players know it. It's not necessary to tell them here in front of you, tomorrow, or before the game, how difficult they are. They know it. [Bayern] are a really good team, but we're going to take the mentality to play, to play, to play, and to try to win the game."

The breakthrough goal from Rodri in the 27th minute was a majestic strike from the Spanish midfielder, worth the wait as he opened his Champions League goals account in his 44th match in the competition.

A curling left-footed strike from 25 yards, it arced gorgeously into the top-left corner.

"What a goal, yeah," said Guardiola.

But the defensive work from his team was equally pleasing. With Kyle Walker again only a substitute, the combination of John Stones, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake kept Bayern goalless, Ederson making a string of saves in the second half from lively former City winger Leroy Sane.

"Of course how they defended, the back four today, Manu, John, Ru and Nathan, they were amazing," Guardiola said. "They had the quality to defend against these threats."

Benfica are capable of overturning their 2-0 first-leg deficit against Inter by scoring three goals at San Siro, according to midfielder Chiquinho.

Nicolo Barella's 51st-minute header and Romelu Lukaku's penalty in the 82nd minute earned victory in Lisbon, ensuring Inter are big favourites to advance from the Champions League quarter-final tie.

Benfica outshot Inter (12 to nine) and finished with a higher expected goals value (1.7 compared to 1.6), yet they now have it all to do in next week's return fixture in Italy.

But Chiquinho remains confident the Primeira Liga leaders, who lost for just a fourth time all season – two of those losses coming in the past five days – can still progress.

"We knew it was going to be a difficult game against a team with quality," he told CNN Portugal. "The game was even. We had our opportunities to score and we didn't.

"Inter managed to score twice, but nothing is lost. We're going to Milan and we're going to do our best to win.

"If they've scored two goals here, we're also able to go there and score two or three. That's why we're going there, and we're going to give it all we've got."

Benfica finished above Paris Saint-Germain and eliminated Juventus in the group stage, which they went through unbeaten, before thumping Club Brugge 7-1 in the last 16.

The Portuguese side are now without a victory against Inter in four encounters, drawing one and losing three of those.

Substitute Lukaku put the seal on Inter's latest triumph on Tuesday with his late penalty at Estadio da Luz, awarded after Joao Mario handled Denzel Dumfries' cross.

However, Benfica head coach Roger Schmidt felt his side should also have been awarded at least one spot-kick by English referee Michael Oliver.

"Losing at home is of course not perfect, but it's just the halfway mark," he told Eleven Sports. "You always have to believe in yourself.

"We had our moments and were unlucky with the penalty. We could have had one or two in our favour. They were more effective than us and next week we must try the same.

"We stayed in the game and the players gave everything. We created chances but conceded a second goal from the penalty spot. That's the story of the game."

Thomas Tuchel "fell in love" with Bayern Munich in a damaging 3-0 defeat to Manchester City he described as "a lot of fun" on Tuesday.

Bayern's hopes of advancing to the Champions League semi-finals look to be in tatters following a one-sided scoreline in their last-eight first leg in Manchester.

City were undoubtedly deserving winners, with Opta counting four big chances to Bayern's one.

But the Bundesliga giants bossed 56 per cent of the possession as City were forced to play without the ball; only on four occasions under Pep Guardiola have they seen less of the play.

That might have been the source of Tuchel's optimism then, as the man who led Chelsea to a 2021 final victory over City revelled in a loss that will likely cost his new side.

"I don't agree with the result at all," he told Prime Video. "We were punished in phases in which we were the better team. We were simply brutally punished today.

"I thought our performance was very good until 2-0. I don't want to talk down the result; I saw a very good performance until the 70th minute.

"I think we deserved at least one goal and gave away one or two too many. I think our players were lacking a bit in confidence and form. Of course, the result is bitter for us.

"I fell in love with my team a little today, the way they performed. Even if sounds strange, that was a lot of fun."