Joel Embiid made it clear he is only concerned about winning a championship after dominating in the Philadelphia 76ers' 126-119 victory against reigning back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.
Embiid – who has finished runner-up in each of the past two MVP votes – was spectacular on Saturday, finishing with a game-high 47 points on 18-of-31 shooting, a game-high 18 rebounds and equal game-highs with three steals and two blocks.
He outplayed Jokic, who still posted a terrific stat line of 24 points (eight-of-12 shooting), nine assists and eight rebounds, but his seven turnovers were the third-most he has had in a game this season,
It continued a remarkable campaign for Embiid, improving his league-leading scoring average to a career-high 33.8 per game, while also shooting a career-best 53.2 per cent from the field. He is shooting a career-best 86.1 per cent from the free throw line while leading the league at 10.0 made free throws per game.
When asked after the win if he feels he should be the MVP, Embiid said he is no longer concerned about the award.
"I don't know, that's up to you guys to decide," he said. "Like I told you, I'm done arguing for myself. It's all out there.
"But the focus is on winning. As long as we win, I know everything is going to take care of itself. If we keep winning, and everyone stays healthy, I've got a better chance of going out there and winning a championship."
Embiid also had his streak of five consecutive selections as an All-Star starter snapped this past week as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant and Jayson Tatum claimed the three frontcourt spots in the East.
He said he feels that is an indication that he is "not well-liked", but he is not bothered by it.
"I'm used to it," he said. "It's not the first time. I think it's more of a motivation to go out and win the whole thing – that's the only way I'm probably going to get that respect.
"I was not surprised, I think it's well documented that I'm not well-liked. That's cool. I don't know if it's because I troll a lot or that I guess I'm an a****** – but it's cool.
"I keep being me, I keep being an a******, and I keep trolling, and if people don't like it, that's their problem. But like I said, it all goes back to winning."
The 28-year-old believes winning would cure everything, and that the current 76ers roster – with a healthy James Harden – has the balance required to go all the way.
"You've got James Harden, obviously he's been playing great basketball," he said. "You've got Tyrese Maxey, Tobias has been great, P.J. Tucker... we've got a group that fits with each other.
"We'll find that out in the postseason. But I think as far as the fit, you've got everything. Everybody fits with each other, we've got shooters, we've got defenders, and we've got James Harden. So I think we've got a good chance."
The 76ers are now 32-16, sitting second in the Eastern Conference while owning the third-best record in the league.
Max Homa produced his best round of the week to erase a five-stroke deficit and win the Farmers Insurance Open with a score of 13 under.
Low scores were hard to come by on the difficult Torrey Pines South Course, with only three players posting final scores of 10 under or better, while Homa's 13 under was the worst winning score of the season so far.
Coming into Saturday's final round at seven under, Homa posted seven birdies and one bogey to shoot 66, tying the round of the day and finishing with a birdie on the last to win by two strokes.
It is the sixth PGA Tour win of Homa's career, and he now has back-to-back multi-win seasons after also collecting the opening event of the campaign at September's Fortinet Championship.
The only other player to shoot a six-under 66 in the final round was Keegan Bradley, flying up the leaderboard into outright second place at 11 under, while world number eight Collin Morikawa finished alone in third at 10 under.
Sam Ryder was the outright leader after the second and third rounds, but he ended up in a tie for fourth at nine under due to a 75 in his final trip around the course that twice hosted the U.S. Open.
Coming into the event with four wins from his previous six starts, and starting Saturday at 10 under, Jon Rahm had to settle for seventh after a two-over 74, tying with former world number one Jason Day.
Erik ten Hag is waiting for a full diagnosis on Christian Eriksen's ankle injury after the midfielder was pictured leaving Old Trafford on crutches.
The Denmark international was on the receiving end of a strong challenge from Reading striker Andy Carroll during Manchester United's 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round victory.
Carroll avoided punishment from referee Darren England for the tackle, though he was later sent off for two bookable offences.
Eriksen's injury is a cause of concern for United, with crucial Premier League clashes and a Europa League showdown with Barcelona on the horizon, and Ten Hag is waiting for a full assessment on the problem.
"It's always difficult to say so soon after the game finished, but it's an ankle [injury] and we have to see what the diagnosis is," he told a post-match press conference.
"It will be a minimum of 24 hours before we know that, and then I can say more."
Victory for United keeps the club in contention across all competitions this season and the performance of Antony caught the eye, having provided the assist for Casemiro's opener.
Ten Hag had called for more from the pre-season signing following the midweek EFL Cup win against Nottingham Forest and, while he has seen progress, feels there is still more to come.
"I have some experience with him. We have to challenge him and if you challenge him he can adapt, adjust his game, that is what we have to do, definitely," he added.
"He has to be more variable, more dynamic, but also he needs his team-mates and his team-mates around him. But also [needs to know] how to use your team-mates.
"He has to work on that, but he is investing in that at the moment, and you see the progress. But still I think there is a lot of room for improvement."
Myles Turner has decided against becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season after signing a two-year, $58million extension with the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.
Turner, 26, was playing in the final year of his four-year, $80m rookie extension, and he will now add two more years at essentially the same salary ($20.9m next season, $19.9m in 2024-25).
The Pacers were able to secure Turner on two more relatively affordable seasons after deciding to capitalise on their extra cap space this campaign. His new deal includes a $17.1m increase on his salary for the current season – increasing it from $18m to $35.1m – which is the largest re-negotiation bump in league history.
It indicates a surprising change of heart for Turner, who had been open about his desire to leave via trade or free agency, but has instead found himself flourishing with a career-best season on a Pacers team seemingly already finished with their rebuild.
Turner previously shared how he was unhappy with his role as a supporting piece while All-Star Domantas Sabonis patrolled the interior – often spending entire offensive possessions standing in the corner spacing the floor.
However, with Sabonis being shipped to the Sacramento Kings this past season in exchange for point guard and rising star Tyrese Haliburton, Turner has found himself in a featured role, and he has taken full advantage.
The six-foot-11 defensive anchor has always been an elite shot-blocker, sitting top-five in blocks per game (2.4) for the seventh consecutive campaign after leading the league in the 2018-19, 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.
But it is his offense that has taken the biggest leap with Sabonis out of the picture, posting career-highs across the board.
Turner is averaging career-highs in field goal makes (6.3) and attempts (11.6), three-point makes (1.6), three-point percentage (39.1), free throw makes (3.3) and attempts (4.3), rebounds (7.9) and points (17.5).
He has played in 42 of a possible 51 games this season, and is looking like he has turned the corner physically after only managing 42 appearances in the entirety of this past season and 47 games in 2020-21.
The Pacers are 24-27, sitting ninth in the Eastern Conference, although they are only 1-9 since Haliburton suffered an injury against the New York Knicks on January 11, having not played since.
Jurgen Klopp defended himself from criticism amid a difficult season for Liverpool as he insisted he did not become a "bad manager overnight".
Liverpool are ninth in the Premier League at the season's halfway point, trailing leaders Arsenal by 21 points and fourth-placed Manchester United – who have played a game extra – by 10.
It is a far cry from last season when they entered the final weeks of the campaign with the possibility of winning four trophies.
They ended up with an FA Cup and EFL Cup double, losing out to Manchester City in the Premier League and Real Madrid in the Champions League final.
Liverpool have been badly impacted by injuries throughout the season, while some key players have struggled for form.
A lot of the criticism is falling at the feet of Klopp, but he spoke defiantly ahead of Sunday's FA Cup fourth-round clash with Brighton and Hove Albion.
"I didn't become a bad manager overnight," Klopp told reporters. "I was never as good as people probably said or not as bad as some people might think.
"But imagine if you [the media] were here today talking to another coach of Liverpool because last season we'd won all four trophies and I said, 'See you later, [I'm going on] holiday!'.
"Imagine if you saw a different [manager] and he has to explain these things and he tells you how it is. Nobody would listen!
"They'd say last season was great and this year is not great – so go!
"You have to have wide shoulders and really just take it. It's tough, I'm sorry, but we will go for it with all we have to get out of it and then play in a way that the people can't wait to go to the stadium again.
"Hopefully we can get through this together and get much closer again. From there we all know anything can happen.
"So far, we've not given the fans much this season, but we are still in two cup competitions, and we'll not give up in the league. Why should we?
"Other teams are doing really well and we respect them a lot, but we want to beat them and I will see how we can do that at Brighton."
Klopp does not want to blame Liverpool's problems entirely on their injury woes, though at the very least he believes they would be much closer to the top four had the likes of Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota not missed the majority of the season up to now.
"It was clear it would be difficult, but with lesser injuries I think we can agree we could easily have had at least five points more," he added.
"Okay, that still wouldn't make a brilliant season, but we would be fighting for the Champions League. That's a normal season.
"But injuries to decisive players have made it an especially average or bad season so far, and you cannot just replace them.
"On top of that, if you don't have time to train and you have three days until the next game, it's not like you can invent football in those one and a half sessions."
Fashionista Serge Gnabry has been told to smarten up his act by Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn.
After a dressing-down from sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic, the fallout continued on Saturday after Gnabry's trip to Paris Fashion Week on his recent day off.
Salihamidzic branded Serge Gnabry "amateurish" after the Germany forward returned from Paris to put in a disappointing display in the Bundesliga draw against Koln on Tuesday.
Rather than spending his downtime in Paris last Sunday, Salihamidzic felt Gnabry should have been resting between games to ensure he was in his best condition to turn on the style for Bayern.
Gnabry was only a substitute for Saturday's game with Eintracht Frankfurt. It was the third game in succession where Bayern have been held 1-1, seeing their Bundesliga lead whittled down to one point.
Kahn, speaking ahead of the game, said the best way for a player to answer any critics would be to ensure their on-field performance was unimpeachable.
"If I know that it's not the best time, then I have to go on the pitch, score three goals and be the best man. That would be my answer to a topic like that," Kahn told German broadcaster Sky, addressing the Gnabry situation.
Bayern's players had plenty of time off after the World Cup, where Gnabry was a member of the Germany squad that tumbled out at the group stage.
"We now simply expect performance – and we demand it," Kahn said. "We discussed this with Serge. Hasan spoke to him and made it clear. I think he understood."
Tyson Fury is eagerly awaiting his return to the ring as an undisputed heavyweight clash with Oleksandr Usyk edges closer.
Victory for Fury against Derek Chisora in December opened the door for the British boxer and Ukrainian star Usyk to finally go head to head.
While yet to be officially confirmed, it is widely expected a bout will be scheduled in the coming months, though Fury could offer no further updates on the matter when he spoke on Saturday, saying he was in the same boat as his fans.
"I'm fantastic. I've had a good Christmas and New Year. I've been training, and we're just waiting on an announcement," Fury told Sky Sports.
"I'm in limbo like the rest of the world. I'm not interested in who, what, where or when. I just want to fight and that's it."
Earlier on Saturday, Fury's co-promoter Bob Arum announced he expects a venue for the undisputed clash to be decided in the next week.
"I think both of the fighters have agreed to the fight, I think the question is where the site will be," Arum said. "That will be sorted out hopefully next week and we'll have an announcement shortly.
"If the fight goes to the Middle East it will be sometime after Ramadan, and if the fight is in the UK it will be the beginning of April."
Before the Gypsy King returns to the ring, half-brother Tommy Fury will face off against Jake Paul next month in Saudi Arabia in a fierce grudge match.
While Paul splits opinion, and his move to boxing from the social media world has drawn plenty of criticism, Tyson Fury warned his younger sibling that he will face a capable opponent.
"I think he's a decent boxer. A lot of people think he's just a YouTube person who doesn't know how to box, but I've actually seen him training and I've actually seen his fights and I think he's decent," Tyson Fury said.
"He's like a novice professional. He's only had six fights so he's exactly as good as he should be at this stage. He's not an Olympic boxer, but then again neither am I."
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag acknowledged Casemiro's attacking output has taken him by surprise after the Brazilian scored twice in Saturday's 3-1 FA Cup win over Reading.
United booked their passage to the fifth round thanks to the straightforward victory at Old Trafford.
Despite the ultimately routine nature of the win, it took United 54 minutes to break Reading's resistance – the breakthrough came via Casemiro's impudent scoop following Antony's incisive pass.
Casemiro then got a second four minutes later, his long-range strike taking a slight deflection en route to the bottom-right corner, with Fred getting the third with a cheeky flick.
It was just the latest in a series of exceptional performances from Casemiro since his reported £60million move from Real Madrid in August, the brace taking him to four goals for the season.
Add to that his five assists, and Casemiro's nine goal involvements for the campaign is the fourth-most in the United squad, while he also ranks fourth for open-play chances created (28).
When asked if he was surprised by Casemiro's impact in this regard, Ten Hag told ITV: "Yes. We know he's a great player. The midfield at Madrid with Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, it was great…
"I think he's capable of that [being an attacking threat]. We see offensively he's a part, and he enjoys it when he can come in [to the attack].
"What I like is dynamic football with variations and many positional switches, so we have to make the opponents think, so we can make the most."
United captain Harry Maguire credited the midfielder with having a transformational effect in several aspects.
"He's done what he was brought in to do," Maguire said. "He's a phenomenal player, he has been throughout his career. You don't win what he's won without being a top player.
"He's improved the team, improved the morale and improved the performance, and it's great to have him."
Ousmane Dembele is expected to miss a run of important games for Barcelona after suffering a strained thigh in their LaLiga win over Girona on Saturday.
The French winger, described by coach Xavi as Barcelona's "most important player in one-on-one situations", may struggle to be back in time for the Europa League play-off first leg against Manchester United, which takes place on February 16 at Camp Nou.
Barcelona have yet to give an official estimate of how long Dembele faces on the sidelines, but local reports have suggested it may be a three-week absence.
The injury took some of the shine off an eighth win in nine LaLiga games, in which Dembele's replacement off the bench, Pedri, scored the only goal.
Dembele made way after 26 minutes and underwent checks before visitors Barcelona embarked on their short journey home.
Barcelona announced on their website: "Tests this evening on Ousmane Dembele have revealed that he has strained the rectus femoris muscle in his left thigh. It means he is sidelined until he can recover from the injury."
Xavi said of Dembele's blow: "It's a shame because he is an important player."
Dembele has eight goals and seven assists for Barcelona this season, with those combined 15 goal involvements bettered only by Robert Lewandowski's 27 (22 goals, five assists) among Xavi's squad.
Barcelona have LaLiga games against Real Betis, Sevilla and Villarreal before the United game.
Julian Nagelsmann urged Bayern Munich to return to form swiftly after a 1-1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt extended the Bundesliga leaders' "results crisis".
Randal Kolo Muani struck in the second half to cancel out Leroy Sane's opener and extend the defending champions' winless run in the Bundesliga.
Bayern have been held to three consecutive 1-1 draws since the league resumed after the World Cup and winter break, and they sit just one point ahead of Union Berlin at the summit.
With a Champions League showdown against Paris Saint-Germain just over two weeks away, poor form is a cause of concern and Nagelsmann went as far as to dub the situation a "crisis".
"In order to be able to play big games, you have to play the small ones in such a way that you are in a good run from the psychology point of view," he said after the game.
"We don't have too much time before the big games to get into this run. So, we must start at some point - the first step is always the hardest. It's a result crisis.
"The acceleration of the game was not good at all. In all three games, the opponent defended deeply.
"We also had a lot of situations today where we can use the very good players in spaces, but we played it almost exclusively on the wing.
"The opponent can adapt well to this. We should have done a lot more. There are a lot of points we really could have done better."
Thomas Muller, captain for the draw against Frankfurt, assessed the situation similarly and declared the performances are not good enough for a club of Bayern's stature.
"Frankfurt made it difficult for us. But the situation is as it is. We have to do better," Muller told Sky.
"Drawing three times – that's not possible, we're Bayern Munich. It is clear that we are dissatisfied, that we do not win three times in a row. It's brutally annoying."
Manchester United had to be patient but eventually cruised to a deserved 3-1 FA Cup win over Reading on Saturday thanks in part to Casemiro's brilliant brace.
The Royals, managed by former United midfielder Paul Ince, frustrated the Red Devils in the first half at Old Trafford, but Erik ten Hag's side simply had too much quality in the end.
Marcus Rashford's disallowed goal in the 35th minute would have been a just reward for United, but a breakthrough was just a matter of time and came via Casemiro's lovely finish.
He then added a long-range second, before Fred's outrageous flick finished Reading off following Andy Carroll's dismissal for two bookings, with Amadou Mbengue's late header a mere consolation.
United were dominant right from the start, with Reading struggling to get out of their half.
Bruno Fernandes went close a few moments before Rashford seemingly ended the visitors' resistance, but his header was ruled out for offside against Wout Weghorst.
Reading then wasted the best chance of the half as Junior Hoilett robbed Tyrell Malacia in the box and forced David de Gea into a vital stop.
United capitalised on that let-off just after the break.
Antony's disguised pass found the run of Casemiro, whose impudent scoop left Joe Lumley well beaten.
Teed up by substitute Fred, Casemiro netted again four minutes later as his first-time 30-yard effort found the bottom-right corner via a slight deflection.
Carroll saw red after a couple of wild challenges, and a minute later Fred made it 3-0 with a sensational backheel from Fernandes' cross.
Mbengue pulled one back with a powerful header, though United's victory was never in doubt.
Son Heung-min welcomed his return to goalscoring form after hitting a brace in Tottenham's FA Cup victory at Preston North End.
A second-half double in Saturday's 3-0 victory brought an end to a barren run for Son, who had scored just once in 13 appearances.
Spurs had struggled during that stretch, falling behind in the hunt for a top-four finish in the Premier League and seeing speculation mount over the future of Antonio Conte.
An FA Cup trip to Deepdale offered a break from that pressure, however, and Son flourished leading the line.
Back amongst the goals, Son feels the result can provide a boost ahead of next Sunday's league showdown against Manchester City.
"I needed the goals for my confidence. It was really important, they were from the kind of positions where I like to shoot," he told BBC Sport.
"In the first half I had a couple of chances, they were on target and the keeper made a good save. The second half, they went in.
"The goals were needed, as an attacking player you always need goals, it doesn't matter how good you are playing or how bad you are playing.
"The most important thing is to get that goal. I think today it was important that I could help the team and get into the next round, I'm very happy.
"When you look at the scoresheet, it looks like a comfortable win but the FA Cup has never been comfortable. We suffered a lot away from home, the lads did an amazing job.
"There's a lot of talk about our performances and how we are playing. We are focused, we're doing what we have to do and we know what we have to improve.
"We have so much space to improve, so this game could bring us some really good energy for next weekend."
Son's goals were his first in the FA Cup since he netted against Southampton in February 2020. Indeed, each of his last four strikes in the competition have come in the fourth round.
Spurs, meanwhile, have now progressed beyond the fourth round for a fourth straight season, their longest such run in the FA Cup since 1979 to 1983, though they have been knocked out in the fifth round in the previous three campaigns.
Harry Kane remained on the bench on Saturday – it was the first time he has not featured in a Tottenham game since October 2021, ending a run of 68 successive appearances.
Son Heung-min's dazzling double and a debut goal from Arnaut Danjuma sent Tottenham through to the FA Cup fifth round with a 3-0 victory over Preston North End.
South Korea international Son curled the opening goal from 25 yards in the 50th minute to break Preston's resistance at Deepdale.
Antonio Conte's visiting side dominated throughout but mostly found clear-cut opportunities difficult to come by, though Son struck again in fine style to put them in control.
Danjuma, off the bench for his first Spurs game, rubbed salt in the wounds of the Championship side with a late third.
Danjuma added icing on the cake in the 87th minute, scuffing Kulusevski's pass into the Preston net to cap a comfortable win.
Bayern Munich were held to a third successive 1-1 Bundesliga draw after Randal Kolo Muani struck to earn Eintracht Frankfurt a point at Allianz Arena.
Julian Nagelsmann's side drew with RB Leipzig and Cologne in their first two games back after the mid-season break, but Leroy Sane's 34th-minute strike had them on course for victory on Saturday.
That was until Kolo Muani fired home a little over 20 minutes from time to deny the reigning champions, whose lead at the top has now been cut to just one point.
Union Berlin's win over city rivals Hertha Berlin earlier in the day leaves them hot on Bayern's heels, while Leipzig and Freiburg are two and three points back respectively.
Kevin Trapp produced a double save to deny Joshua Kimmich and then Thomas Muller, but the latter pulled the ball back for Sane three minutes later to sweep home an opener.
Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano headed wide from close range and Trapp kept out Sane's next effort as the hosts pressed for a second.
But unlike on the opening day of the season, when they were five goals up by half-time in a 6-1 win over Eintracht, Bayern lacked a finishing touch.
That proved costly as, from Eintracht's first on-target attempt, Kolo Muani fired across Yann Sommer after powering past Upamecano.
Bayern brought on Serge Gnabry – among the substitutes after being criticised for attending Paris Fashion Week – but Eintracht looked the more likely to find a late winner late on as Rafael Santos Borre's deflected effort flew just wide after Evan Ndicka's close-range attempt was blocked.
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