Jayson Tatum scored 31 points and the Boston Celtics held on for their seventh straight victory, 122-119 over a Milwaukee Bucks team missing two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo on Wednesday.

Derrick White had 23 points and eight assists and Jaylen Brown added 21 with eight rebounds for the league-leading Celtics, who improved to 32-3 at home and are cruising to the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Damian Lillard led the Bucks with 32 points and Bobby Portis had 24 points and 15 boards for Milwaukee, which dropped to 3-2 this season without Antetokounmpo and remained one game up on Cleveland for the Central Division lead.

Boston led by as many as 21 points but Milwaukee got the deficit down to 116-114 on Portis’ jumper with 32 seconds left.

Brown and Tatum each sank two free throws around a missed layup by Lillard and two more free throws by Tatum with seven seconds to play sealed it.

Rozier sparks Heat past Cavaliers

Terry Rozier scored nine of his 24 points in the final 84 seconds, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 14.5 left on the clock, to lift the Miami Heat to a 107-104 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Rozier converted a 4-point play before sinking a 26-footer that gave the Heat a 105-102 lead. Two free throws by Georges Niang made it a one-point game before Rozier followed with two of his own with 2.8 seconds remaining.

Darius Garland’s off-balance 3 at the buzzer failed to fall and Cleveland dropped its third straight home game despite getting 25 points and 20 rebounds from Jarrett Allen.

Jimmy Butler scored 30 points for Miami, which has won three of four following a four-game skid.

Holmgren’s big game powers Thunder

Chet Holmgren scored 35 points and matched a career high with 14 rebounds to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 119-107 win over the Utah Jazz.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 31 points to become the 13th player in NBA history to score 30 points or more in 50 games.

Jalen Williams chipped in 18 points for the Thunder, who moved into the top spot in the Western Conference, one-half game ahead of Denver.

Collin Sexton scored 25 points for Utah, which played without Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson – two of the team’s top three scorers. The Jazz have lost three straight and six of seven.

Aryna Sabalenka says her “heart is broken” following the death of her former boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov.

Former ice hockey player Koltsov, who played in the NHL for the Pittsburgh Penguins, died in Miami aged 42 on Monday in what police described as an “apparent suicide”.

Sabalenka, who is scheduled to participate in this week’s Miami Open, clarified in an Instagram story on Wednesday that she and Koltsov were no longer a couple before his death.

“Konstantin’s death is an unthinkable tragedy, and while we were no longer together, my heart is broken,” Sabalenka wrote. “Please respect my privacy and his family’s privacy during this difficult time.”

Sabalenka was pictured practising in Miami ahead of her first outing against best friend Paula Badosa, who admitted facing the Belarusian will be “uncomfortable”.

Badosa said of Sabalenka: “Yesterday I spoke with her a lot of time. This morning the same. So I know what she’s going through. I know the entire situation, what is happening.

“That for me is a little bit shocking also to go through that because at the end she’s my best friend and I don’t want her to suffer. It’s a very tough situation.

Italy coach Luciano Spalletti wants his side to embrace a more “modern” approach as he tries to spring some surprises ahead of Euro 2024.

The Azzurri face Venezuela in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, before travelling to New Jersey to take on Ecuador, and Spalletti has promised a more progressive style from the defending European champions.

He is set to field a back three and trial two attacking players behind a central striker and has made it clear he is looking for a more fluid dynamic than his side have become used to.

“We need to do something modern,” he declared on the eve of the Venezuela meeting.

“There is an openness now to being footballers who know how to interpret multiple systems within the same match.

“Before we had little time and we only focused on one system. Even when we lost, I said we would stay in that system, but now there is more time to do something different.

“We will pay attention to the behaviours in these two friendlies. As Italy we need to create something new, something strong, and we always take something away from tests like these.”

Italy were visited at their training camp by tennis player and compatriot Jannik Sinner, who is in town competing in the Miami Open, and Spalletti believes the 22-year-old should act as a inspiration for the whole squad.

“He has already been an example for a long time, since he started, since he was a kid,” said Spalletti.

“He showed us that to be on the top of the world, one must become top even in the other hours when he is not playing sport. He has the correct mentality and it shows. He knows his personality and his character very well, he knows where he wants to go.”

Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma knows Sinner well and is ready to take his lead when it comes to forging the kind of edge Italy need to get back to their best.

“He is a dear friend of mine, we talk a lot, he is an example for everyone for everything he is doing for the country,” he said.

“May he also be an example for us, for our mentality, and desire to win. These two friendlies will be able to tell us a lot, because we face two tough teams, two South American teams, broadening our experience.”

Udinese’s Lorenzo Lucca is set to get a debut opportunity in the coming days, having been promoted ahead of the out-of-favour Ciro Immobile, but may have to wait for his turn.

Genoa’s Mateo Retegui is fancied to start, with Lorenzo Pellegrini and Federico Chiesa in support.

Conor Bradley’s head could have been left spinning from a whirlwind few months but the Liverpool and Northern Ireland youngster’s feet remain firmly on the ground.

This time last year the 20-year-old was starring on loan at League One Bolton, but since breaking into Jurgen Klopp’s side before Christmas he has turned in a string of eye-catching displays for the club he grew up supporting.

He scored his first Liverpool goal in a man-of-the-match display in a 4-1 win over Chelsea in January and lifted the Carabao Cup a month later.

“I definitely didn’t think it would go this well,” Bradley said ahead of Northern Ireland’s friendly against Romania on Friday. “You dream about scoring your first goal for Liverpool but never think it will come true.

“My pinch-myself moment was probably against Chelsea when I scored and got two assists. The fans chanting my name was pretty special. I don’t think I will have a better night than that to be honest.”

Northern Ireland fans have known about Bradley’s talent since he made his debut in May 2021, and he would have more than his 13 caps but for the injury that ruled him out of their final six Euro 2024 qualifiers last year.

But his exploits with Liverpool have seen his name go global.

“I haven’t really felt it to be honest,” said Bradley. “I just try to keep doing the same things I was doing before.

“I am still the same person I was before. None of it has changed me so I just want to keep working hard and doing what I am doing.”

Michael O’Neill has praised the attitude of Bradley, who took a short break from the game in February after the death of his father Joe.

If there had been any danger of things going to his head, Bradley’s Northern Ireland team-mates would be happy to keep him in his place.

“All the lads still treat me the same, they still slag me off!” he said. “The boys have been brilliant with me since I’ve come back in.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been away with Northern Ireland, Denmark in June. I’ve missed quite a bit so I’m buzzing to be back.”

Bradley’s path from his childhood in Castlederg to Liverpool began in Gaelic football, which he kept playing until he was 16.

The Gaelic game is much rougher, but it toughened up the slender Bradley.

“There’s quite a big difference and I was getting too many yellow cards at Bolton last season with the challenges I was putting in,” he said.

“That was me getting used to League One and finding out what I could and couldn’t get away with compared to the Gaelic. It was really good for me and I loved playing it.”

O’Neill will use friendlies against Romania and Scotland to keep developing a young side with senior players including Jonny Evans, Stuart Dallas and Corry Evans still absent, and the retired Steven Davis now on the coaching staff.

With Liverpool locked in a tight title race and chasing Europa League glory, Bradley – the face of Northern Ireland’s next generation – has much to look forward to.

“The next few weeks are going to be big,” he said. “I don’t need to recharge because I want to go into these games and get two wins for Northern Ireland. I want to keep this momentum going that we’ve got with the win against Denmark (in November).

“I’m really looking forward to it, then after these two games we’ve got the (season) run-in.

“Hopefully we can do as well as we can and hopefully I’ll have a medal at the end of the season.”

Andy Murray outlasted a wilting Matteo Berrettini to advance to the second round of the Miami Open.

The former world number one wrote on the court-side TV camera that there is ‘life in the old dog yet’ after pulling off an impressive comeback victory.

He has had plenty of joy in Miami since making his debut 18 years ago, winning in 2009 and 2013, and is dreaming of one more shot at glory on his swansong appearance.

Murray was facing the possibility of a first-round exit as he lost the opening set but he fought back and when Berrettini, playing his first ATP Tour match since the US Open, suffered dizzy spells he pounced to seal a 4-6 6-3 6-4 success.

The Italian is coming back from lengthy injury problems, which showed later in the match, but he started well by breaking Murray in the opening game, sealing it with a blistering forehand down the line.

Murray, 36, missed two chances to break back at 3-2 and that proved crucial as Berrettini’s monster serve allowed him to see out the first set.

The second set saw an improvement and Murray’s chance came in a marathon sixth game as he broke on the third attempt with a sweet forehand return.

Berrettini’s health took a turn for the worse when he was about to serve at 2-5 as he suffered a dizzy spell and needed to use his racket as a crutch to stop him collapsing.

Doctors checked his blood pressure and after a long break, the Italian was able to continue, but Murray soon sent it to a decider.

When the Scot won another 12-minute game on Berrettini’s serve in the opening game, the writing was on the wall.

Murray played some clever tennis, running his weary opponent side to side as the former Wimbledon finalist continued to suffer.

He did have to fight back from 0-40 down midway through the decider and that ended Berrettini’s challenge as Murray won for just the fourth time in 2024.

Jack Draper earlier put in an assured performance to beat Taro Daniel and reach the second round.

The Briton, ranked number 42 in the world, overcame his Japanese opponent 6-3 6-2 in 69 minutes to set up a second-round meeting with 22nd seed Nicolas Jarry.

Looking to bounce back from a disappointing first-round exit in Indian Wells, Draper was by far the superior player against the world number 78 in Florida, hitting 25 winners and had a 97 per cent success rate on his first serve.

Susie Wolff has filed a criminal complaint against the FIA over a controversial inquiry into her last year.

The F1 Academy boss and her husband, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, were the subject of an investigation into claims of an alleged conflict of interest.

The probe arose in December after a report in Business F1 magazine claimed that other team principals were concerned Toto Wolff was benefiting from information shared by his wife.

Two days after the FIA announced its compliance department was “looking into” the allegations, the federation said it “can confirm that there is no ongoing investigation in terms of ethical or disciplinary inquiries involving any individual”.

At the time, Susie Wolff vehemently denied the allegations – calling them “intimidatory and misogynistic”.

And on Wednesday, Wolff wrote on social media: “I can confirm that I personally filed a criminal complaint in the French courts on the 4th of March in relation to the statements made about me by the FIA last December.

“There has still not been any transparency or accountability in relation to the conduct of the FIA and its personnel in this matter.

“I feel more than ever it is important to stand up, call out improper behaviour and make sure people are held to account. Whilst some may think silence absolves them from responsibility – it does not.”

The FIA has been approached for a comment.

Jason Roy and David Warner were overlooked in The Hundred draft as Andrew Flintoff kick-started a West Indies rush by snapping up Nicholas Pooran with his first pick.

Roy was released by Oval Invincibles after a modest past couple of seasons and a £100,000 base price plus his expected participation in Major League Cricket, which has a minor schedule clash with The Hundred this year, seems to have put off potential bidders.

England’s 2019 World Cup-winning opening batter was not the only big name snub as Australia left-hander Warner, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson and Pakistan’s Babar Azam were also unsold.

Instead, there was a distinct Caribbean flavour at the outset of the men’s draft as five of the seven buys in the top-tier £125,000 bracket went on big-hitting Windies stars.

Former England captain Flintoff, having been appointed Northern Superchargers men’s head coach in November in his first official role since returning to cricket, plumped for Pooran, who was bought for 2million US dollars (around £1.56million) in this year’s Indian Premier League auction.

After finishing bottom of the pile last year, the Superchargers had the first chance to fill up their squads at an event hosted at the Shard on Wednesday and Flintoff also added Daniel Sams for £100,000, Tom Lawes for £50,000 and Graham Clark for £40,000 to his roster.

London Spirit offered £125,000 deals to Andre Russell and Shimron Hetmyer while Rovman Powell and Kieron Pollard are set to receive the same remuneration from Trent Rockets and Southern Brave respectively.

As there is no schedule clash between The Hundred and the Caribbean Premier League this year, many teams have stocked up on proven Windies talents.

Welsh Fire paid £125,000 for Tom Kohler-Cadmore as did Birmingham Phoenix for Pakistan quick Naseem Shah, while England duo Ollie Pope and Dawid Malan were purchased for £50,000 by Oval Invincibles and London Spirit respectively.

Mark Wood was also conspicuously overlooked at a reserve price of £100,000 for a tournament scheduled to start on July 23 and run to August 18, although England stringently manage his workload and it seems likely the express quick will be involved in a Test against the West Indies starting on July 26.

Those who were disregarded in the draft could still feature this year, swapping in for anyone who drops out at their base price limit or higher. For example, Shaheen Shah Afridi went to Welsh Fire for £100,000 but if he was unavailable, the Cardiff-based team could select Roy or Wood as a replacement.

A total of 75 spots were filled, including 26 for the overseas contingent, across both drafts. In the women’s draft, Birmingham Phoenix retained England wicketkeeper-batter Amy Jones as their first pick.

With vaunted Australia stars Meg Lanning, Ashleigh Gardner and Beth Mooney all in the reckoning, it was a curious selection from the Phoenix, who added another two wicketkeepers to their ranks in Richa Ghosh and Seren Smale.

Mooney, the world’s number one T20 batter, was chosen by Manchester Originals while former Australia captain Lanning, who announced her international retirement late last year, was also in the top women’s pay bracket of £50,000 and is set to join England skipper Heather Knight at London Spirit.

Gardner and Annabel Sutherland also got top whack with Trent Rockets and Northern Superchargers respectively, as did Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu at Oval Invincibles and India’s Smriti Mandhana at Southern Brave.

Jemimah Rodrigues, Deandra Dottin and Suzie Bates were among the high-profile players not to get deals.

Wes Brown is confident Manchester United teenager Kobbie Mainoo possesses the temperament to take his rapid ascent to the England squad in his stride.

The 18-year-old was this week called up by England boss Gareth Southgate for the friendlies against Brazil and Belgium, just four months after making his first Premier League start as Erik ten Hag’s side won 3-0 away to Everton.

Midfielder Mainoo has gone on to make 20 appearances this season and 44-year-old Brown, who has personal experience of coming through the youth ranks at United before going on to play for England, does not expect the youngster to get carried away by his remarkable rise.

“You can see from the way he plays that he’s very calm,” Brown told the PA news agency as he helped promote United’s July friendly against Rangers in Edinburgh.

“I don’t think he’ll let all the other stuff get to him, and that’s a good trait to have. He’s just thinking about football, and when you first come in that’s all you do think about.

“But since he’s come in he’s taken it upon himself to give himself the type of responsibility on the pitch that a lot of young players wouldn’t usually do.

“He’s been calm with the ball, and even when he comes under pressure, the way he gets out of that and passes the ball forward causes teams problems.”

Brown – who made more than 300 appearances for United under Sir Alex Ferguson – is still involved at Old Trafford in an ambassadorial role and would love to see Stockport-born Mainoo make a late surge for Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad.

“He’s someone the club have always held in high regard,” said Brown. “The way injuries have gone this season, it’s possibly forced their hand to put him in, but he’s also had to earn it.

“Once he’s got in, he’s been one of the best players in the team, if not the best. Gareth obviously sees the potential in him, and I think it’s good for him that he’s put in with the (England) boys to see how he reacts in training, and he might even get a game as well.

“With the confidence he has for such a young age, and the way he’s playing, he’s definitely earned the right to be in the squad.

“If you were looking at him right now, you would say yes (he could go to the Euros), but international football is very different.

“Hopefully Gareth sees something in him that makes him think he’s worth taking a chance on. It’s happened in the past with other young players and they’ve done really well.”

Mainoo’s latest eye-catching display came in Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final victory over Liverpool as United continued their upturn in form since the turn of the year.

“Sunday was one of the best games I’ve been at at Old Trafford and if they get another performance against Coventry in the semi-final, they could be in another final, which would be excellent,” said Brown.

“In the league, other teams dropping points has given us a slight opportunity (of a top-four spot) but it will take a run of wins to keep putting the pressure on.

“The confidence coming out of Sunday will help massively. We’re not the finished article but if we can go into games with that same attitude, belief and work-rate, I thin you’ll see a good few more points on the board.”

Jack Draper put in an assured performance to beat Taro Daniel and reach the second round of the Miami Open.

The Briton, ranked number 42 in the world, overcame his Japanese opponent 6-3 6-2 in 69 minutes to set up a second-round meeting with 22nd seed Nicolas Jarry.

Looking to bounce back from a disappointing first-round exit in Indian Wells, Draper was by far the superior player against the world number 78 in Florida, hitting 25 winners and had a 97 per cent success rate on his first serve.

A run of nine points out of 10 midway through the first set allowed him to assume control, sealing a decisive break with a searing crosscourt backhand.

He served out the set with a flurry of aces and he was soon knocking on the door in the second, missing break points in the opening game.

Draper made his move at 1-1 with a backhand pass which Daniel left and then saw land on the line.

A second break put him on the verge of victory and he saw it out with an impressive hold, taking match point with a crunching forehand.

Night Raider enhanced his Classic credentials with a bloodless victory on the Tapeta at Southwell.

An impressive nine-length winner over the track and trip on debut in December, Karl Burke’s colt was sent off the 1-4 favourite for his second start, with connections eyeing a shot at the Qipco 2000 Guineas.

Sent immediately to the front by Daniel Tudhope, he had most of the seven-strong field covered rounding the turn for home and once shaken up with two furlongs to go scorched to a most impressive success, with Charlie Hills’ 93-rated Cogitate five-lengths adrift in second.

With 2000 Guineas odds ranging between 20-1 and 33s prior to his run in the Boost Your Acca At BetMGM Novice Stakes, the son of Dark Angel was trimmed into 14-1 by Paddy Power and Coral post-race, with Sky Bet even shorter at 10-1. The Aidan O’Brien-trained City Of Troy is the red-hot favourite.

He will now have one final tune-up for his Newmarket objective on May 4, with the Spigot Lodge handler nominating a trip to the Rowley Mile next month for either a conditions event or a racecourse gallop to bank some further experience.

“He’s a horse of huge potential, we know that and he’s not fully wound up by any stretch of the imagination,” Burke told Sky Sports Racing.

“His weight was identical to first time out and all of ours improve for their first time out. Nadir who leads him up said he has taken more of a blow tonight than he did the first time. He was a second and a half faster this time and I don’t know if that is down to ability or the track riding faster.

“I don’t think I would take 8-1 (about the Guineas), but the 40-1 I had a couple of months ago is a bit better! Lets hope he is an 8-1 shot and he’s obviously a very good horse and his future is in front of him. The Guineas isn’t the be all and end all for him and he’s a horse with a big future.”

On a further outing before the Guineas, he added: “He may have been on grass at the beginning of his two-year-old career, but he certainly wouldn’t have been on grass in the last 10 months or so.

“The idea was to go to the Guineas with a racecourse gallop at the Craven meeting – I don’t want to go a mile or go for the Craven itself and if we went for the seven-furlong race at Newbury (Greenham), that only gives us two weeks before the Guineas – or there is a seven-furlong conditions race for horses that haven’t run more than twice, and I have to speak to connections, but if we do go anywhere, I would be pointing that way.

“Danny just said there he could do with another run. He’s still green in front and was lugging away up the straight. Another run is probably the right way to go.

“Laurens was pretty good in her first two runs, but he’s a lovely horse with a great temperament and there’s a lot of scope there, so we’ve just got to look after him, do the right thing by him and hopefully he reaches his full potential.”

Burke also provided an update on fellow Clipper Logistics-owned three-year-old Fallen Angel, with the daughter of Too Darn Hot disputing favouritism in places for the Qipco 1000 Guineas.

Off the track since landing the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh, she is poised for a racecourse gallop before the opening fillies Classic of the campaign.

“There’s another six weeks to get a horse there and that is a long time in a racehorse’s life,” added Burke.

“She’s in great heart at the moment and great form and we’re probably ahead of schedule of where we need to be.

“The plan is probably to go to the Craven meeting for a racecourse gallop and that will hopefully tee her up for the Guineas.

“I was quite keen to go for the Fillies’ Mile, Steve Parkin her owner was the opposite and put her away, and as it turned out the very heavy ground the Fillies’ Mile was run in would not have been ideal so it was the right decision to put her away.

“She had a good rest, went back to Brampton Court and come back looking fantastic. She’s filled her frame, she was always a big filly, but she has filmed her frame nicely. She’s very strong and she’s in great shape.”

Burke also said he was feeling “fit and well” after completing a course of chemotherapy.

He explained: “Chemo finished on December 16 and that wasn’t much fun, as anyone who has been through it knows.

“Since then every week has felt better. We had a good holiday, went away and I’m feeling fit and fell, all good.”

Kobbie Mainoo says a place in England’s Euro 2024 squad is the end goal after the Manchester United teenager’s whirlwind rise continued with a first senior call-up.

Long considered a future Old Trafford star, the 18-year-old midfielder has established himself as key part of Erik ten Hag’s side since returning from an ankle ligament injury sustained in pre-season.

Mainoo produced a man-of-the-match display as he made his first Premier League start against Everton in November and received his maiden England call-up just 114 days later.

Initially named in the under-21s set-up, he was promoted to the senior squad for the friendlies against Brazil and Belgium fresh from United’s jaw-dropping 4-3 FA Cup quarter-final win against Liverpool.

“It’s been a pretty mad couple of days,” Mainoo told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“Sunday obviously was a great game and a great win, then to get called up to the under-21s obviously I was excited to come.

“Then getting down here and realising that I was with the first team was amazing.

“I was shocked and happy and it’s been a whirlwind of emotions.”

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Mainoo was told he would be going up to the senior side for training, but assumed they just needed a player for the session until he spoke to Gareth Southgate’s assistant Steve Holland.

The Stockport-born midfielder’s family were “buzzing” when he called to tell them good the news as his ascent continues apace.

“The games have been coming so fast at United I’ve not really had the time to think about it,” he said of the potential of a senior England call-up. “I have not really thought about it too much.

“Obviously I knew the international break was coming up, so thought about it a bit but, still, we had so many big games that I couldn’t really take my eye off the ball.

“But now I’m here, obviously I am taking it all in and it’s been amazing.”

Mainoo says his goal for the March meet-up are straightforward, saying “good training camp and two wins”.

Making his England debut is the personal goal on top of that as he tries to prove to Southgate that he is worthy of a place on the plane to Germany.

“Yeah, I think that’s the end goal for the season, to get into that squad,” Mainoo said.

“But obviously I’ve got to focus on club football in the meantime, and hopefully that’ll figure itself out.”

Ryan Porteous feels the last 18 months have “catapulted” him to a level where he is at home on the international stage and ready to excel for Scotland at Euro 2024.

The 24-year-old was first called up to the national squad in November 2019 but had to wait until a Nations League match against Ukraine in September 2022 to make his debut.

Since that night in Krakow, when he helped secure a spirited goalless draw, Porteous has become a mainstay in Steve Clarke’s defence, accumulating nine caps and starting eight of the last nine competitive matches.

Porteous feels his status within the squad has also been aided by the fact he has been playing regularly in the English Championship for the past 14 months after moving from boyhood club Hibernian to Watford in January 2023.

“I think it came at a good time for me, the move and my debut,” he said. “It catapulted me a little bit and made me feel more comfortable within the group and more comfortable within myself.

“I didn’t feel like I needed to show anything to anyone in particular but maybe just to myself to give me that peace of mind that I could do it.

“Everyone’s always learning but I’m still at an age where hopefully I’m just going to get better, and I need to keep doing that.”

Porteous, who earned a reputation during his time at Hibs for being rash and hot-headed in terms of his approach to defending, feels moving away from home last year has helped him mature as a footballer and a person.

“I think the move came at a good time,” he said. “It’s been an up-and-down season for Watford but I’m really enjoying it.

“Off the park, I’m down there myself a lot of the time but I think it brings you on as a person meeting new people from different cultures, especially within the changing room, where a lot of different languages get spoken as well. I think it’s brought me on a lot over the last 14 months.”

Porteous has got himself in prime position to be part of Steve Clarke’s 23-man squad for the Euros but, with fellow right-sided centre-back John Souttar now back in contention after his injury troubles, the former Hibs man is taking nothing for granted.

He is viewing the friendlies against Netherlands in Amsterdam on Friday and Northern Ireland at Hampden next Tuesday as an opportunity to further enhance his claims for a seat on the plane to Germany.

“It’s been quite a quick 18 months since I’ve been starting games for Scotland and I’ve really enjoyed it,” said Porteous.

“I feel comfortable in there but nobody’s place is safe. You need to keep showing it in games and in training and for your club.

“Steve’s always been loyal to me, even when I wasn’t playing for the national team, he was still calling me up to squads and kind of developing me behind the scenes.

“It’s always good to repay someone that’s shown a lot of faith in you. Over the last qualifying campaign, I played my part in helping us to get there so hopefully I’ve repaid a little bit of that faith and showed him that I can be involved (at the Euros). There’s still a long way to go (before selection) though.”

With the Euros now less than three months away, any injury picked up in the weeks ahead could prove damaging, but Porteous – whose fellow Scotland defenders Aaron Hickey and Grant Hanley are battling to get fit for the summer showpiece – is adamant he will not change his approach to protect himself.

“I don’t think you can think about that too much,” he said. “I’ve got important games coming up for Watford so I’m going to be fully committed in every game I play.

“Touch wood, I’ve been fit and healthy for the last few years so hopefully that continues.”

The Phoenix Suns signed Isaiah Thomas to a 10-day contract on Wednesday, bringing the two-time All-Star guard back to the NBA for the first time since 2022.

Thomas joins Phoenix after playing in four games with the Salt Lake City Stars in the NBA G League, averaging 32.5 points and 5.3 assists.

The 60th and final pick of the 2011 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings, Thomas has appeared in 550 regular-season contests with 10 teams and averaged 17.7 points to go along with 4.8 assists per game.

He earned All-Star selections in 2015-16 and 2016-17 while with the Boston Celtics and was voted second-team All-NBA in 2016-17,

Thomas previously played for the Suns in 2014-15 and averaged 15.2 points and 3.7 assists in 46 games before being traded to Boston in February 2015.

Phoenix (39-29) enters Wednesday’s visit from the Philadelphia 76ers in eighth place in the Western Conference.