Rohit Sharma completed a century for India on day two of the first Test against Australia – but that was just the start of the suffering for the tourists in Nagpur.
It proved to be a grim day for Australia, despite Todd Murphy, a 22-year-old Victoria off-spinner, taking five wickets on debut.
India racked up 321-7 by the close, leading by 144 after Australia were dismissed for 177 on day one at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium.
Ravindra Jadeja followed up his five-wicket haul by leading a lower-order assault on Friday, sharing in an ongoing eighth-wicket stand of 81 with Axar Patel, both men making fifties. Jadeja reached 66 not out, with Axar 52no.
Rohit had lost opening partner KL Rahul just before the close on Thursday, so he returned in the morning looking for others to provide support, and it proved to be in limited supply.
Ravichandran Ashwin fell for 23, given out lbw after a review from Australia, and Cheteshwar Pujara (7), Virat Kohli (12) and Suryakumar Yadav (8) all went cheaply as India struggled to cope with the Australian spinners. Nathan Lyon coaxed out Suryakumar with a teasing delivery the batter went after but missed, the ball clattering into off stump.
Stability at the other end finally arrived in the shape of Jadeja, who helped to put on 61 for the sixth wicket before Rohit fell for 120, perishing to the new ball, Australia captain Pat Cummins uprooting his off stump moments after Steve Smith dropped the century-maker at slip.
That left India on 229-6 and Jadeja went on to reach a gritty half-century, while Murphy completed his five-wicket haul by having Srikar Bharat (8) pinned lbw, again getting the decision on review.
Axar's arrival helped India take the game away from Australia though, and when slip fielder Smith dropped Jadeja from the penultimate delivery of the day, frustration was etched across the face of every tourist.
Rohit's Australia breakthrough
In his eighth Test against Australia, Rohit made it to three figures for the first time. He previously had five 40-plus scores, but his highest score was the 63no he managed at Melbourne in the 2018 Boxing Day Test. This was his ninth Test century in all, and his first since making 127 against England at The Oval in September 2021.
It made Rohit, at the age of 35 years and 286 days, just the second India opener to score a Test century against Australia after turning 35, with Sunil Gavaskar the first to manage the feat.
Jadeja doubles up
This marks the sixth Test where Jadeja has taken five wickets in an innings and hit a half-century. Back in action after recovering from knee surgery, he is continuing where he left off with the bat against England last July, having hit a century at Edgbaston, albeit in a losing cause on that occasion.
Eddie Howe has expressed concern for former Newcastle United and Bournemouth winger Christian Atsu amid conflicting reports over the Hatayspor player's welfare after earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria.
More than 21,000 people have died after southern Turkey and northern Syria were struck by earthquakes on Monday.
Atsu, who enjoyed five years with Newcastle after spending six months on loan at Bournemouth under Howe in the 2015-16 season, was reported to be missing in the aftermath of the tremors.
There appeared to be a positive update on Atsu when Hatayspor vice-president Mustafa Ozat said he had been "removed from the wreckage" on Tuesday, but the club remained unable to confirm his whereabouts the following day and said there was no update on Atsu's condition.
Howe had Atsu and his family in his thoughts ahead of Saturday's meeting between the winger's two former clubs, saying: "It's hugely worrying.
"I really, really enjoyed working with Christian, a great lad, great player. Our thoughts are with him and his family.
"We hope for some good news, we hope he's okay, but we're really concerned for him and his welfare this week.
"It has been difficult because there have been conflicting stories coming out about his whereabouts, so it's been very tough. I can't imagine how his family are feeling.
"But from the bottom of our hearts, we wish him well and hope there's a positive ending."
Diogo Jota could make his first appearance for Liverpool since mid-October on Monday when the Reds host Everton in the Merseyside derby, but Thiago Alcantara may miss out.
Thiago has suffered a hip flexor injury, according to manager Jurgen Klopp, and the Spanish midfielder has not trained this week as a result.
Jota was taken from the field on a stretcher with a calf injury in stoppage time of Liverpool's 1-0 win against Manchester City almost four months ago, but returned to full training earlier this week and Klopp confirmed at a press conference on Friday that the 26-year-old is "in contention" to make the squad on Monday.
The former Wolves striker was pictured in training along with three other players back from injuries in Roberto Firmino, Virgil van Dijk and Arthur Melo.
"I don't know, we have to see how that looks, how [they deal] with training intensity and we'll make a decision," Klopp said regarding Firmino and Arthur, while adding about Van Dijk: "I don't think [he] is that close [to playing]."
Getting players back will be a much-needed boost for Klopp, whose team are on one of their worst runs in recent memory, winning just one of their seven games in 2023 (D2, L4).
Liverpool face an Everton side fresh off the appointment of manager Sean Dyche at Goodison Park and an impressive 1-0 win against Premier League leaders Arsenal, and Klopp is in no doubt as to the size of the task on Monday.
"Intensity is always important," he said. "We know it's a difficult game, Sean Dyche is now there and made a massive impact immediately, it was obvious. We have to prepare and that is what we will do."
Klopp refused to discuss the Premier League's decision to refer Manchester City to an independent commission for alleged breaches of financial regulations, and just wants his team to focus on getting their own season back on track.
"This is not a time we wanted to have or are we are happy to be in, but I think it's a time that we can show if we want to show that the club is really special," he said.
"The boys delivered a lot of great moments in the last few years, not all of them at the moment for different reasons are clear, but we are fighting to change the situation, but I really believe that the better you behave in your lower moments, the quicker you get in the better moments again."
Alex Killorn admitted "emotions were high" as the Tampa Bay Lightning thrashed the Colorado Avalanche 5-0 to get back to winning ways.
The Avalanche beat the Lightning in last year's Stanley Cup, taking the series 4-2 to deny Tampa Bay a hat-trick of trophy triumphs.
That made Thursday's game one that Killorn and team-mates had been looking forward to for a long time, and they made it a night to remember.
Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy achieved his first shutout of the season, while Brandon Hagel managed two goals and an assist, with Corey Perry, Brayden Point and Mikhail Sergachev also netting.
Tampa Bay had lost to the Florida Panthers and Los Angeles Kings since the All-Star Game, so there was an imperative to get back to winning ways, and they did so in grand style.
Forward Killorn said: "Tonight we played very well. It's obviously a matchup we circled at the beginning of the year with what happened last year."
The teams play again next Tuesday in Denver, the second of four road games coming up for the Lightning, who must also face the Dallas Stars, Arizona Coyotes and Vegas Golden Knights before getting back to home ice.
"For us now going on the road that was a huge game to kind of start and get momentum going the right way," Killorn said.
"We've been on the other side of that for the past couple of years. And we realised teams kind of circle us. This has been the first time where we get a chance to play the team who beat us [in the Stanley Cup], so emotions were high for sure in this game.
"They're a great team. Tonight we just had a complete game, we were very aggressive, so we look forward to seeing them later in the playoffs."
Killorn was pleased for Vasilevskiy to avoid conceding, saying: "It's a little bit of a weight off his shoulders. He's obviously one of the best goalies in the league. For him, it's going to be huge momentum going forward, and I know he's happy about it."
Head coach Jon Cooper offered a different slant, suggesting that to his mind the game was not about last year's disappointment, but about building for the rest of this campaign.
"To be honest it had nothing really to do with Colorado," Cooper said. "What it had to do with was our previous two games.
"We're going on a tough four-game trip against some of the best teams in the west, and we couldn't go out losing three in a row after the break.
"It was entirely about us and not who we were playing. We needed an effort and they gave it tonight."
Manchester United's improvement this season has been significant, there's no doubt about that.
Erik ten Hag has not only made them more disciplined, but something resembling a team identity is beginning to take shape.
The Dutchman's signings have largely been effective as well. The jury is out on Antony, though he has shown a bit more promise lately. Otherwise, however, Ten Hag gets high marks in this area.
Casemiro and Christian Eriksen have, of course, been the standout individuals in this respect. The experienced pair have brought know-how, control and general quality to the engine room, with the Brazilian also providing the destructive tendencies they long lacked.
But their excellence also highlights the significant gulf in quality to their back-ups.
United look likely to have another busy pre-season in the transfer market, but if there's one area they still need to bolster, strangely enough it's where they're arguably strongest.
A step in the right direction
That midfield trio of Casemiro, Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes is among the best of its kind in the Premier League.
While the two new arrivals have made a real impact already, quickly becoming hugely influential, that's taken some of the burden off Fernandes, who in turn has flourished.
But when you take Casemiro or Eriksen – or both, as was the case against Leeds on Wednesday and when the two tussle again on Sunday – United simply don't have the same standard or type of player.
Obviously, you can't expect a team to have two world-class options for every single position, but at Old Trafford there has to be an acceptance that they need to get as close to such depth as possible if they are to be a long-term challenger to Manchester City under Ten Hag.
Marcel Sabitzer looked fairly assured and generally promising on his first start as he filled in for Eriksen, who is out until May, during Wednesday's 2-2 draw at home to Leeds United, but Casemiro's suspension saw Fred deputise.
Fred routinely proved before this season that he isn't equipped to play as a six, so him lining up in his compatriot's position may have caused fans some stress.
In fairness to him, he didn't really fill that role at all – but then neither did anyone else. He and Sabitzer both occupied very similar positions, so United were essentially playing with two eights rather than an eight and a six.
It's no wonder they often looked outnumbered when Leeds attacked. Not only was Casemiro absent, they didn't really have anyone occupying his void.
United cannot stand still
Fred's effort certainly can't be faulted. If there's one thing he stands out for, it's his work ethic.
He ran further than any of his team-mates on Wednesday, while only Luke Ayling (24) and Alejandro Garnacho (20) engaged in more duels than his 17.
Additionally, there were nine players to register 10 or more duel involvements, and only Ayling (66.7 per cent) had a better success rate than Fred (58.8 per cent).
But it's all well and good running around lots. He didn't actually offer a great deal of defensive protection, attempting just two tackles and making one interception.
Of course, you'd not necessarily expect those figures to be through the roof in a game United largely dominated, and any lack of protection would've been forgiven had he been an effective user of the ball.
He wasn't.
The only United player (minimum 10 pass attempts) with a poorer completion rate than Fred (62.5 per cent) was Garnacho (61.9 per cent).
It was a frantic game, so it's not like being a world-class playmaker is something a player can just switch on and off.
But when United were chasing a winner, their passing seemed to get even sloppier. Fred in particular was guilty of coughing up possession in his own half on several occasions when Ten Hag's men threatened to spring a counter or a direct build-up.
Fred certainly has his uses, and Ten Hag has shown that by frequently introducing him from the bench in the second half of matches to inject a bit of energy.
But Wednesday was another reminder of how he really needs a number six behind him rather than to be the player – or one of – expected to provide control as he's like a deer in headlights against teams who press high. In a number eight role with freedom to attack, he could be a reliable option as he's technically better than many give him credit for – he cannot be the one to provide the balance, however, because he just doesn't have the composure.
United took a big step last year by finally addressing the midfield needs that had dogged them ever since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
Yet, if they are to push on from what will likely be reflected on as a positive debut campaign for Ten Hag, United cannot stand still. The signings of Casemiro and Eriksen need to be the start.
LeBron James said it felt "surreal" to see his name up in lights as the NBA all-time record points scorer, revealing the heroes who inspired his journey to the top of basketball.
The 38-year-old addressed the crowd at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night, telling them how Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant had been long-time inspirations, while hailing his mother Gloria and wife Savannah.
With 38 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, James moved to 38,390 in his regular season career, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's long-standing record of 38,387.
Coming up for 20 years as an NBA player, the former Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat star is in the fifth year of his Lakers stint.
He told of how his journey to the summit of professional sports came against all odds, being founded on his admiration for great men of basketball and the powerful women in his life.
"Growing up in a small town of Akron, Ohio, in an underprivileged single-parent household, only child, you feel like you're never going to make it out," James said.
"You feel like the statistics are built up against you, you feel like the system is built against you to not succeed, you feel like there's no way you're going to have an opportunity for your dreams to become a reality, and I didn't allow those moments to deter me from my dreams.
"I had dreams every day of playing in the NBA, I had dreams every day of being an inspiration to so many people.
"I had dreams of one day being able to throw no-look passes like Magic Johnson, to be able to shoot fadeaways like Michael Jordan, to be able to have a cross-over like Allen Iverson, to be able to have an afro and jump in a dunk contest like Kobe Bryant.
"I looked up to so many athletes and so many people along my journey, and they gave me the inspiration and allowed my dream to not die.
"I always felt it was my job and my responsibility to come out and play the game at a high level and be as great as I can be, because there is a kid in the inner city somewhere that's looking for inspiration and is going to need it and maybe get it from me."
James sat out the Lakers' 115-106 home loss to the high-flying Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night, making his speech before the game.
With his mother and wife with him on the court floor, James said: "As I look up at this jumbotron and seeing the 'NBA all-time leading scorer', it's so surreal to me. But the one thing I know for sure is I never cheated a game of basketball and I would never cheat in a game of basketball because it's given so much to myself, given so much to my family.
"My beautiful wife is the real MVP if you want to be completely honest, she's the all-time leading scorer. My family is everything to me, and you guys [in the Lakers crowd] over the last five years have become family to me as well.
"Every night I step on the floor, I understand I truly have a huge responsibility and understand what it means to represent the Los Angeles Lakers when I step on this floor, so thank you so much."
In one sense, Jurgen Klopp can rest easy: his Liverpool legacy won't be defined by this aberration of a season.
He will always be the manager that returned the Reds to the summit of English football as Premier League champions, with a Champions League title cementing his place in club legend.
Last season almost saw Klopp lead Liverpool to a sensational quadruple, but 2022-23 is proving a sorry sop of a campaign.
Seven and a half years into his reign, Klopp might be surviving on goodwill at present. Fortunately for the former Borussia Dortmund boss, that is in abundant supply, but this drifting ship needs to be turned around and he knows it.
Here's the crux: Liverpool have played seven games in 2023 and made a wretched mess of most of them. They have won only once, and now an eight-game run lies ahead of them that looks critical to their hopes of salvaging anything from the season.
Unless Klopp's team perk up their ideas during this run, the manager might consider walking away. Perhaps he might even be pushed. That sounds like wild talk, given all he has achieved, but Liverpool are going backwards at an alarming rate.
Ahead of Monday's derby against Everton, Stats Perform looks at this unfolding crisis.
What's the state of play?
It's grizzly. Liverpool sit 10th in the Premier League after 20 games and have been eliminated from the FA Cup and EFL Cup, knockout competitions they won last season.
They came through the Champions League group stage, but Real Madrid stand in their way of going any further. Madrid, remember, beat Liverpool in last season's final, and while Carlo Ancelotti's team are certainly not firing on all cylinders this season, they sit second in LaLiga.
Klopp's mood has unsurprisingly not been as buoyant as in previous campaigns, and the crotchety way he has dealt with some reasonable questions from reporters of late has pointed to the strain this might all be taking.
He might turn this all around of course, as six months of underachievement does not undo all his previous work, but football is a results business and the FSG owners expect the club to be performing on and off the field.
There is a sense of gloom about Liverpool, defeats to the likes of Brighton and Hove Albion and Wolves no longer comes as surprises, and something has to change sharpish.
Stats Perform AI gives them just a 15.6 per cent chance of finishing in the top four. They are likelier to finish in eighth or ninth place (a combined 16.6 per cent), according to that data modelling.
Can Klopp rise again?
Liverpool are winless in their four Premier League games so far in 2023 (D1 L3), and have scored just once. They have only endured a longer winless run at the start of a calendar year once in the Premier League era – a five-game stretch in 2017 (D3 L2).
They turned it around that time and won nine of their next 14 league games (D3 L2) to secure a fourth-placed finish, but such lofty heights look beyond them this season. Those competing for the Champions League places are all in a healthy state, and Liverpool are spluttering like a sick hound.
Winning the Champions League looks like the only route for Liverpool to get back into UEFA's most lucrative club competition next season. Winning the Champions League also looks a million miles beyond them.
A reset of some sort is needed, and implementing that in the middle of the season is desperately difficult.
Fellow mid-table toilers Chelsea have brought in a mental skills expert from the New Zealand rugby team, in the hope he will coax the best out of a talented group, and Liverpool might also consider a jolt from an outside influence.
Liverpool's next eight games are treacherous. After Everton, they travel to fourth-placed Newcastle United, and then comes the Anfield first leg against Madrid.
Four Premier League games follow, with trips to Crystal Palace and Bournemouth sandwiching home games against Wolves and Manchester United. Then comes the Madrid second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
If Klopp picks up a good handful of Premier League wins and gets past Madrid, it's happy days again. But if not...
If Klopp goes, then who comes in?
Every sturdy operation needs a succession plan in mind, in boom times and bad, so Liverpool will have firm ideas about the type of manager they would be targeting next.
When they hired Klopp in October 2015, he was unmistakably a rising star of the coaching world, a two-time Bundesliga winner and a Champions League runner-up. Many clubs had looked at him, and Liverpool's decision to take the plunge paid off handsomely.
There are certain names that spring to mind when it comes to out-of-work bosses who could fancy Liverpool: Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Enrique. Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone might be seeking a fresh start at the end of this season.
Then there are the Liverpool favourites who have dipped a toe into coaching but would only be contenders on a wing and a prayer: Xabi Alonso and former Reds captain Steven Gerrard.
Klopp's assistant Pep Lijnders might enter the conversation, too, if a change happens.
Yet maybe Liverpool will be seeking a figure more in the 2015 Klopp mould, a coach on the rise who can point to experience and success, and precious few scars.
Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton has beaten Liverpool twice this year, while Brentford's Thomas Frank dished out a 3-1 defeat to the Reds, and their respective sides sit sixth and seventh.
Eddie Howe at Newcastle is probably out of reach, and that factor alone puts Liverpool's decline into black and white.
The fixtures are coming thick and fast on multiple fronts for many Premier League teams as European football returns, meaning plenty of tinkering from managers between games.
Add into the mix an array of January signings being eased into the sides, selecting a team of guaranteed starters is becoming increasingly difficult.
But fear not as Stats Perform, using Opta data, has picked out four players who not only look certain to start this weekend but – crucially – also earn plenty of points.
Keylor Navas (Fulham v Nottingham Forest)
Paris Saint-Germain loanee Navas needed no time at all to settle in at Nottingham Forest as he kept a clean sheet on his debut in last week's 1-0 win over Leeds United.
The Costa Rica international made four saves against Leeds – only Hugo Lloris and David Raya (both five) made more while keeping a clean sheet in the last round of games.
Forest have now kept four clean sheets in their past six league matches, while opponents Fulham have failed to score in any of their past three top-flight outings.
Craig Dawson (Southampton v Wolves)
Dawson is another who made a fast start to life at a new club, with the centre-back scoring and keeping a clean sheet on his debut against Liverpool in a 3-0 win for Wolves.
That was Dawson's 20th Premier League goal – always a handy asset for a defender – including at least one in each of his eight top-flight seasons.
Wolves will be hopeful of building on a return of two shutouts in their past three league games when they face bottom side Southampton, who are averaging 0.8 goals per game.
Harvey Barnes (Leicester City v Tottenham)
Leicester midfielder Barnes has scored one and assisted another in his past two Premier League outings, taking his tally to seven goals for the campaign.
The one-cap England international is only two goals short of matching his best tally in a single season in the competition, set in 2020-21 with nine.
Having found their scoring touch with six goals in their past two league games, Leicester appear good value to net against Tottenham, who will have back-up Fraser Forster between the posts.
Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City v Aston Villa, and Arsenal v Manchester City)
Whether he starts both games remains to be seen, but the fact City have two league matches in the next week means you have double the chance to score points with Mahrez.
He was unable to make a difference in the loss to Spurs, though he has still been involved in six goals in his past six league games for City (three goals, three assists).
Only Marcus Rashford (eight) and Erling Haaland (seven) have been involved in more Premier League goals since the World Cup than the City winger.
The Phoenix Suns went down 116-107 against the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday, but nothing could dampen their spirits after securing a trade for Kevin Durant.
In the lead-up to the trade deadline, the Suns sent Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and four unprotected first-round draft picks to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Durant, sending shockwaves throughout the league.
In an instant, Phoenix became the favourites in the Western Conference, boasting the league's best offensive duo with Durant and 26-year-old All-NBA First Team talent Devin Booker, while retaining elite point guard Chris Paul and franchise center Deandre Ayton.
Speaking to the media after Thursday's loss, Paul referenced Durant's famous "I'm Kevin Durant – y'all know who I am" interview when discussing the immense impact he can make on the Suns.
"What did KD say in that interview one time? What did he say? Y'all know who he is," Paul said.
"So you add him to the – who is that that the Harlem Globetrotters play against all the time? The Washington Generals. You add him to them and they're going to be nice. You know what I mean?
"KD is different, man. He different. That's why he is who he is. He's been doing it in this league for a long time. We got to see what it is."
More than anything, Paul said he is looking forward to sharing his love for the game with another future Hall-of-Famer.
"He's one of the best players to ever play the game," he said. "Just to know how he approaches the game, his nickname's 'Easy Money', just somebody who loves the game like that.
"I think that's what brought me and Book closer together because he just loves to hoop. And KD, he just loves to hoop. So I'm excited about the process of building this team."
When asked if he feels Durant is happy about the trade, Paul said "I mean, he ain't mad", before adding some context.
"But it's also a lot for him," he said. "He's been there in Brooklyn for a while. I think that's the thing, I get it, it's definitely exciting – but there's a lot that goes into this stuff, man.
"Obviously guys are changing teams, but guys got their families. [Mikal Bridges] and Cam [Johnson]'s settled in Phoenix. KD done built a whole business and he's a big figure there in Brooklyn, New York.
"It's a lot to deal with, so I think everybody's got to figure it out. It just happened."
Ayton was asked if he felt the trade gave them a realistic chance at the championship, and he was not bashful in his response.
"Damn right," he said. "You're damn right. That's how I feel.
"We've been in situations where a team threw everything at us to stop us even though we didn't have the right pieces on the court... knowing what these teams can throw at us, we're ready for it man.
"It's going to be real fun because it's so many pieces, golly. It's trouble, and it's fun, because it's about time. We got the firepower for real, and you can feel it."
Head coach Monty Williams shared that enthusiasm, having previously spent time with Durant as part of Team USA's 2016 Olympic team.
"I think it's more than a lift," he said. "I think it's a jolt, if that makes sense. Just because of, not just who he is as a player, but his love for the game.
"I think the guys are going to see something that they may not have seen before as far as his approach and how much he just loves to play basketball.
"I think if he could hoop every day, 24/7 he would do that and I think that's who we are. So to be able to have someone like that in your gym, but who's also ultra talented, and one of the best to ever do it, I think it's going to not just compliment what we do, it's gonna uplift and give us a bit of a jolt."
However, Williams also acknowledged the tough side of trades, sharing the pain of saying goodbye to players he has watched grow up.
"There's a human side to all of this that you have to deal with," he said. "It was an emotional day talking to those guys.
"I got to see them before they took off and it was emotional. Those two are near and dear to my heart. They literally are like my family."
The Suns sit sixth in the West with a record of 30-27, and they will be anxiously awaiting Durant's debut some time after the All-Star break as he recovers from a knee injury.
The Brooklyn Nets are off to a winning start after trading away both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant at the trade deadline, defeating the Chicago Bulls 116-105 with their new-look line-up.
In his first appearance since arriving as the key piece back from the Dallas Mavericks in return for Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie looked right at home as he delivered a game-winning performance.
Dinwiddie – who spent five season with the Nets from 2016-2021 – was clearly the focal point of coach Jacque Vaughn's offense. He started, led the team with 39 minutes played, and posted team-highs in points (25), assists (six) and steals (four) with a plus/minus of plus 25.
The only player with a better plus/minus was fellow former Maverick Dorian Finney-Smith, who was plus 32 in his 35 minutes, scoring nine points and grabbing nine rebounds after immediately stepping into a key role.
Brooklyn were without both Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, who they acquired from the Phoenix Suns in return for Kevin Durant, and when interviewed during the game, Bridges said they hope to debut in their new colours on Saturday against the visiting Philadelphia 76ers.
For the Bulls, Zach Lavine was impressive with a game-high 38 points on 16-of-25 shooting, although he did not contribute much else, with one point, one rebound, no steals or blocks, and four turnovers.
With the win, the Nets improved their record to 33-22, and they now sit 3.5 games clear of the play-in race, comfortably in the fifth seed for the time being.
Orlando's depth delivers Denver demise
The Orlando Magic reserves dominated the Denver Nuggets' bench to pull out a 115-104 home win against the Western Conference leaders.
It was another typical masterclass from reigning back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic, scoring 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting with 12 rebounds and six assists, but the Nuggets lacked further firepower in the absence of Jamal Murray, who troublingly missed his third game in a row with knee inflammation.
Denver were plus eight in Jokic's 38 minutes, but were outscored by 19 in the 10 minutes he was on the bench.
Orlando were led by a terrific Cole Anthony showing, coming off the pine to score 17 points with seven rebounds and seven assists, while Bol Bol had 17 points in 15 minutes.
Giannis too big, too strong for undermanned Lakers
LeBron James was out and the Los Angeles Lakers' new arrivals were also not ready as Giannis Antetokounmpo carried the Milwaukee Bucks to a 115-106 victory.
The Lakers should have their newly constructed line-up when they next take the floor – having acquired Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley and D'Angelo Russell at the deadline while shipping off Russell Westbrook – but Anthony Davis' 23 points and 16 assists was not enough against the Bucks.
Antetokounmpo controlled proceedings with a game-high 38 points on 14-of-23 shooting, adding 10 rebounds and six assists, while Khris Middleton looked like his All-NBA self with 22 points (10-of-18) off the bench.
Top seed and world number eight Taylor Fritz made a winning start to his Dallas Open campaign on Thursday, eliminating Jack Sock 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
In an all-American showdown, Fritz played a near-flawless match, converting 91 per cent of his accurate first serves into points while not allowing Sock a single break point opportunity.
Fritz will face seventh seed Marcos Giron in the quarter-final after the American defeated Germany's Oscar Otte 6-4 6-3, while the USA's John Isner also advanced past Germany's Daniel Altmaier 6-3 7-6 (7-1).
Earlier in the day, Serbian fourth seed Miomir Kecmanovic was upset by Ecuador's Emilio Gomez 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 to earn a crack at Isner in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, the top seed fell at the Cordoba Open as red-hot 21-year-old Juan Manuel Cerundolo shocked his Argentinian compatriot Diego Schwartzman 7-6 (8-6) 6-1.
It continues a remarkable run for Cerundolo – the defending champion in Cordoba – who has begun 2023 with 14 wins from his first 15 matches, while his older brother Francisco Cerundolo also advanced with a 6-3 3-6 7-5 win over Federico Delbonis.
If the two brothers both win their next two matches, they will meet in the final.
Mikal Bridges first heard he had been traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Brooklyn Nets during a FaceTime call with former team-mate Damion Lee.
Bridges had spent his entire five-season career in Phoenix, before the NBA All-Defensive First Team selection found himself the centrepiece of a trade for future Hall of Fame superstar Kevin Durant.
Along with Bridges, the Suns sent fellow promising young wing Cam Johnson and four unprotected first-round draft picks to the Nets in exchange for Durant, who had alerted Brooklyn prior to the season of his wish to be traded to Phoenix.
The trade did not eventuate when Durant asked for it, but things broke down quickly in the past week after Kyrie Irving forced his way to the Dallas Mavericks, leaving the Nets with a decision to make about the future of the franchise.
Despite Durant still having another three years on his contract, the Nets pulled the trigger, and by completing the move after midnight, the news already reached Bridges before he could be alerted by the Suns or his management.
"My boy Damion Lee, we were at the hotel and he FaceTimed me," Bridges told ESPN during the Nets' home game against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday.
"You could tell he was upset, he was saying 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry about this and that' – I'm like 'what are you talking about?'
"He was like 'you haven't seen? You got traded to Brooklyn for KD'. I was like oh man, I went to Twitter and saw it, that's when I tweeted, and then my agent called me a couple of minutes later."
It is not the first time Bridges has been shocked by a trade. He was originally drafted 11th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers – his hometown team, where his mother also worked – before being traded minutes later on draft night to the Suns.
However, he said he knew it was a possibility this time, and he understands why the Suns would make the move.
"It's crazy, man. It's part of business, but life goes on," he said. "Coach Monty's always said 'you ain't get sent off to war, so you'll be alright'.
"I'm just excited for the opportunity. I kind of had a feeling since the summer, when KD wanted to go to the Suns, that I knew me and Cam were probably the two guys who would go.
"You kinda look at it, and yeah, I get it. I get it, man. He was one of my favourite players growing up, and I know how incredibly talented he is, so I get it."
Bridges said he is aiming to make his debut for the Nets on Saturday, when the 76ers come to town.
Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes has his sights set on a second Super Bowl title on Sunday, and he will go into Sunday's clash with the Philadelphia Eagles as a two-time MVP.
Mahomes and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will face off at State Farm Stadium, having long since been seen as the two frontrunners for the MVP award.
A late-season shoulder injury damaged Hurts' hopes, while Mahomes made history with his tremendous production.
Despite seeing star wide receiver Tyreek Hill traded to the Miami Dolphins in the offseason, Mahomes threw for over 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in a single season for the second time in his career.
In doing so, he joined Tom Brady and Drew Brees as the third quarterback with multiple seasons with 5,000 or more passing yards, while only he and Brees have more than one season with 5,000 yards and 40-plus touchdowns.
Achieving such a feat made Mahomes the obvious choice for MVP, the 2017 first-round pick reclaiming the award he won in 2018 after his first full season as a starter, in which he threw for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns.
But Mahomes winning the MVP may not be a good omen for the Chiefs' Super Bowl prospects.
No NFL MVP has won the Super Bowl in the same season since Kurt Warner in 1999, however, if anybody can end that run, it is Mahomes.
Half the field still need to complete their opening round, but Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin raced around with the early group to take a share of the lead into Friday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Taylor had a rollercoaster of a round, posting a one-over front-nine after an eagle, a double-bogey and a bogey, before flying home with six birdies on the back-nine to finish at five under.
He is joined by Canadian compatriot Hadwin as the only players to finish rounds of 66, but there is a strong chasing pack who were unable to finish that will look to snatch the round-one lead on Friday morning.
World number six Xander Schauffele is one stroke off the lead at four under, although he has finished his round, while joining him in a tie for third are former world number one Jason Day (through 10) and American Jim Herman (through 13).
The red-hot Jon Rahm will have his sights on the top, sitting at three under with five holes to play, as will both Max Homa and Keegan Bradley who are also at three under with six holes to play.
Major champion Matt Fitzpatrick is joined by Tony Finau, Sam Burns and Im Sung-jae in the group who completed one-under rounds, while Jordan Spieth posted an even-par 71.
Justin Thomas (one over through 12) will have a chance to still finish his first round under par, while Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay and Cameron Young will all be trying to fight their way back into contention after finishing two over.
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