Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers labelled Ben Simmons "special" after the Eastern Conference top seeds made a winning start in the NBA playoffs.

Simmons, Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid starred as the 76ers topped the Washington Wizards 125-118 in Game 1 of the first-round series on Sunday.

While Simmons only finished with six points on three-for-nine shooting, the All-Star tallied 15 rebounds and 15 assists at home to the eighth-seeded Wizards in Philadelphia.

Simmons joined Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain as the only 76ers players ever with 15 rebounds and 15 assists in a playoff game, earning praise from Rivers.

"I thought he was special," said Rivers. "Whoever he guarded struggled scoring, he created so many points for us, off the glass to three, off transition to three, creating switches that they didn’t want to have.

"He is just a treasure. He is something that you don't see a lot in this league and he has such a skill set that's so different. There's a lot of people that can't make what of him.

"All I see is his greatness and I just want him to keep doing what he's doing."

Simmons – as the 76ers eye their first championship since 1983 – added: "I just try to make winning plays and do what I can to help this team and be the point guard and run the team.

"Put guys in the right positions, run the right sets, if somebody’s feeling it, keep giving them the ball. I think overall today we did a good job of that."

Harris and MVP hopeful Embiid also flexed their muscles in front of a capped but vocal crowd at Wells Fargo Center.

A playoff career-high 37 points from Harris set the tone, while Embiid had 30 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Harris and Embiid became the first pair of 76ers to score 30-plus points in a playoff game in 31 years since Charles Barkley and Hersey Hawkins.

"Tobias, I have full faith in," Rivers said. "I said it early, I think he struggled the first couple of games, and just from the body of work, coaching them with the Clippers and knowing him and watching him what we are trying to do with him in the training camp, I just really believe it would take over at some point and it has."

Harris is bracing for a challenging playoff campaign, starting with Russel Westbrook, Bradley Beal and the in-form Wizards.

"Yesterday [Saturday] I was watching NBA games, and I was kind of surprised. I said, 'Man, all these games are really close.' It wasn't like a real big spread in any of them," Harris said. "And I think this whole playoffs, game in and game out, you're gonna see dogfights from all around the league.

"I mean, Washington, you know they've been one of the hottest teams after the All-Star break in the whole NBA, so for us, we know the power that they have and the guys that can make shots on the team. So that just adds to our focus as a group and knowing how locked in we need to be for this whole series, and that's only going to help us into where we're trying to go."

The 76ers, who were swept by the Boston Celtics in last season's first round, are dreaming big as they look to progress beyond the Conference semi-finals for the first time since 2001.

"You know we've been there," Embiid said. "And we also have a goal, and to get to that goal, we got to get through these guys. So you know, the mindset is just me, it doesn't matter if it's a week or two weeks off, it doesn't matter if we haven't played in a while. That should not be an excuse."

Brooks Koepka's fitness was a topic of discussion prior to the US PGA Championship and while he secured a share of the runners-up cheque, the four-time major winner was "super disappointed" with his performance.

Koepka went head-to-head with Phil Mickelson, who came out on top by two strokes in a stunning display that saw the American veteran become the oldest major champion in golf history on Sunday.

A two-time PGA Championship winner, Koepka signed for a two-over-par 74 as he was unable to capitalise on Mickelson's final-round 73 in South Carolina.

Koepka's short game was his downfall – the 31-year-old ended with a double-bogey, four bogeys and four birdies to finish second alongside Louis Oosthuizen at Kiawah Island.

American star Koepka has been plagued by injuries since winning back-to-back PGA Championships in 2019 and a fourth major title in three years, undergoing knee surgery in March before missing the cut at last month's Masters but his title tilt did not mask his frustration.

"Just how bad I putted the last two days," Koepka said when asked what part of the result was hard to stomach. "Three days, actually. It felt like tap-ins I was missing. Never felt comfortable, and you're not going to win if you do that.

"The thing was, Phil played great. That whole stretch when we turned after four and five and played those holes, it's into off the left for me and that's quite difficult for a right-handed player. And it suited Phil right down to the ground, and I thought he played that entire stretch from about six to 13 so well. So you know, I'm happy for him... It's pretty cool to see, and you know, but a bit disappointed in myself."

"I'm super disappointed, pretty bummed," Koepka added. "I'm not happy. I don't know if there's a right word I can say on here without getting fined, but it hurts a little bit. It's one of those things where I just never felt comfortable over the putts. I don't know why, what happened.

"I spent all weekend, the weekend before working on it and it was great, and you know, just over did it. I was trying to get my hands a little lower and ended up getting my hands too far low one under and actually ended up getting further away from the ball. The last nine, I just tried to go back to what I've always done and I felt like I was hitting better putts. I just wish I would have done it sooner."

Oosthuizen – winner of the 2010 Open Championship – carded a one-over-par 73 to earn a share of second spot.

The South African recorded his best major performance since finishing tied for second at the PGA Championship in 2017.

"I feel like I'm playing my heart out to get a second major, and I do know I have the game to do it. This was close," said Oosthuizen.

"My game wasn't great on the weekend. It was better today than yesterday. So I just need to work harder on it to get myself in contention again."

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Mauricio Pochettino said he is disappointed his side missed out on the Ligue 1 title, while lamenting their hectic fixture schedule.

PSG won 2-0 at Brest on the final day of the Ligue 1 season on Sunday but leaders Lille secured the trophy with their 2-1 victory away to Angers.

The result ended PSG's run of three consecutive league titles, leaving former Tottenham boss Pochettino – who replaced Thomas Tuchel in January –  "sad and disappointed".

Pochettino pointed to the fact PSG won both the Trophee des Champions and Coupe de France, while they also reached the Champions League semi-finals after eliminating Barcelona and holders Bayern Munich.

PSG played 57 matches across a lengthy campaign where they had little time to rest after reaching last season's Champions League final, which they lost to Bayern.

"I think it's important to put everything in context and to look at what happened in January," Pochettino said post-game. "We arrived and had no time to work, but we were welcomed really well by the club and the players.

"We were playing every three days and we made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League, beating Bayern Munich and Barcelona. We won the Trophee des Champions and the Coupe de Franc, which was important for the team.

"But Paris Saint-Germain will always be disappointed when finishing in second. We need to use the experience for the future of the club and of course to change things.

"It's important for the club to improve and we believe that we can get better. We are going to work hard for that to happen."

It is only the second time in the last nine seasons that PSG failed to win the title after 2016-17, when the French capital club were edged out by Monaco.

PSG finished the season with 82 points, their lowest tally over a complete season since 2011-12 (79, second place). It is only the second time a team have reached this total or better without being crowned champions after PSG, who totalled 87 points in 2016-17 when Monaco won the title.

Pochettino said PSG dropped too many points when they should not have in 2020-21.

"It is clear that during the whole season, not just from January, we lost points that we should have never lost in normal circumstances," he said.

"Today we won but we depended on a bad result from Lille in Angers. First of all I want to congratulate Lille because always when you win a championship it is well deserved, so the first thing I have to do is to congratulate them."

Kylian Mbappe became Ligue 1’s top goalscorer for a third consecutive season – the first player to achieve the feat since Jean-Pierre Papin (five between 1987-88 and 1991-92).

It is the 12th time a PSG player has finished as top scorer at the end of a campaign (Mbappe and Zlatan Ibrahimovic three times each, Carlos Bianchi, Pauleta and Edinson Cavani twice each), equalling the record currently held by Marseille.

Pochettino added: "Of course we are disappointed, we really believed that anything could happen in Angers, but it didn't happen. I think we were professional and we won. But in the end, it wasn't enough to win the title. We are disappointed and really sad."

Tiger Woods congratulated "truly inspirational" Phil Mickelson after the American made history at the US PGA Championship on Sunday.

Mickelson defied form and age to capture the PGA Championship in history-making fashion following his two-shot triumph over Louis Oosthuizen and Brooks Koepka.

Not since February 2019 had Mickelson won on the PGA Tour, while the 50-year-old's last major triumph came at the Open Championship in 2013.

But Mickelson became the oldest major champion in golf history in South Carolina, where he secured a sixth major title and 45th Tour trophy.

Watching from the sidelines as he continues to recover from February's single-car crash, 15-time major winner and famous foe Woods used social media to hail Mickelson.

Woods wrote via Twitter: "Truly inspirational to see @PhilMickelson do it again at 50 years of age. Congrats !!!!!!!."

After reigning supreme, Mickelson – who has enjoyed a great rivalry with Woods – said: "This is just an incredible feeling because I just believed that it was possible but yet everything was saying it wasn't.

"I hope that others find that inspiration. It might take a little extra work, a little bit harder effort, but gosh, is it worth it in the end."

Donovan Mitchell will miss Game 1 of the Utah Jazz's Western Conference first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies due to an ankle injury.

Mitchell has been sidelined since spraining his right ankle on April 16 and the NBA All-Star was ruled out of Sunday's playoff opener having expected to face the Grizzlies.

Jazz guard Mitchell has missed the past 16 games for Utah, who clinched sole possession of the best record in the NBA for the first time in their history after finishing 52-20 in the west.

Mitchell has been averaging career highs in points (26.4), assists (5.2) and three-point percentage (38.6) this season.

The Grizzlies won through to the playoffs after eliminating the Golden State Warriors in overtime in Friday's play-in game.

Ligue 1 champions Lille had just two players named in the competition's Team of the Season, with runners-up Paris Saint-Germain represented by five.

It was an incredible season for Christophe Galtier's Lille, who had finished fourth in the shortened 2019-20 campaign.

A talented squad full of vibrant, youthful attackers – albeit spearheaded by veteran campaigner Burak Yilmaz – clinched Ligue 1 title number four for the club on Sunday, with their success confirmed when they beat Angers 2-1 on the final day of the season.

PSG finished top in the previous three seasons since Monaco's Kylian Mbappe-inspired win in 2016-17.

Indeed, it is only the second time since 2012-13 that the capital club has not won the title… Not that you would know it when looking at the Team of the Season as announced by the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) following the conclusion of the season.

The Parisians dominate the XI with five players: Keylor Navas, Marquinhos, Presnel Kimpembe, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.

The only two Lille players to be included in the selection were left-back Reinildo Mandava and Benjamin Andre.

Yilmaz in particular will have every right to be disappointed by his exclusion, with the veteran Turkish striker only outscored by Cristiano Ronaldo (29) among players over the age of 35 across Europe's top five leagues.

His penalty on Sunday, which ultimately proved to be the goal that sealed Lille the title, was his 16th in Ligue 1, a haul bettered by only Mbappe, Monaco's Wissam Ben Yedder and Lyon star Memphis Depay.

Yilmaz is performing well in excess of his expected goals (xG) figure of 9.97. A positive differential of 6.03 is the sixth-best in the elite divisions behind Robert Lewandowski, Marcos Llorente, Son Heung-min, Luis Muriel and Lionel Messi.

Similarly, goalkeeper Mike Maignan may feel a slightly hard done by, his 21 clean sheets two better than anyone else across the top five leagues.

Although, using the xGOT (expected goals on target) conceded model, Navas (8.1) is one of the three goalkeepers in Europe's top leagues to have prevented more goals than Maignan (5.8).

Either way, Lille may not even notice the team has been announced as they look set for a long night of celebrations at the end of a momentous campaign.

Rory McIlroy acknowledged there is still plenty of room for improvement in his game after finishing off his work at the US PGA Championship with a final round of 72.

The world number seven came into the tournament with many fancying him to challenge, victory at the Wells Fargo Championship earlier in May suggesting he was returning to form at just the right time.

However, an opening 75 left him with work to do and he was never able to get into contention at Kiawah Island. A bogey at the 18th hole on Sunday saw him end on five over par, meaning the wait for a fifth major goes on.

For McIlroy, the key focus moving forward is finding greater consistency with his driver, having felt it has not been right "for a long time".

Asked to sum up his play on Sunday, he replied: "More of the same, very average.

"I couldn't really get anything going and it was a day where you had to get off to a fast start. The first few holes were playing a lot easier than they have done and I didn't do that, just sort of got stuck in neutral.

"I still have a way to go with everything. I just need to figure out a driver, as well. I just haven't driven the ball as well as I know that I can for a long time, and that's really the foundation of my game."

McIlroy won the US PGA Championship at the same venue in 2012, leading plenty to tip him to produce a repeat result nine years later, particularly coming after his recent success at Quail Hollow.

The man himself, however, was baffled at his status as favourite prior to the tournament, with his game "exposed" by the tricky conditions at the Ocean Course.

"I didn't understand those high expectations," he said. "It was good to win at Quail Hollow, a course that I've always played well on and am comfortable on.

"I didn't feel like playing well here nine years ago was going to automatically make me play well again, and I felt like coming in here there was still parts of my game that I needed to sharpen up, and obviously those parts were exposed this week in the wind and on a tough course."

Kylian Mbappe suggested he wants to see Paris Saint-Germain's board take action in the transfer market after Lille pipped them to the Ligue 1 title.

Mbappe scored his 27th top-flight goal of the campaign in a 2-0 win at Brest on Sunday, but Lille saw off Angers 2-1 to claim glory by a point.

PSG lifted the Coupe de France last week but had their Champions League ambitions ended by Manchester City in the semi-finals at the start of this month.

Mbappe is out of contract at the end of next season and told Canal Plus he would like to see some changes to Mauricio Pochettino's squad.

"I cannot say what needs to be done, I am just a player, but I think that people have seen, everyone has seen," he said.

"When everyone sees, it is easier to draw conclusions, but there is no problem. We lost the title, but now we have to concentrate on the future."

This followed Mbappe's pre-match comments where he challenged PSG to prove they can make a decisive step towards Champions League success, having lost last season's final 1-0 to Bayern Munich.

"Everyone knows how profoundly attached I am to the club. I have always been very thankful towards the president, my different coaches," he said.

"What I want, is to win, feel like I am somewhere where I can win, where there is a solid project around me. The footballing project is essential.

"I want to feel like I am part of a team that is going to do something [in the Champions League]. Then, it is up to us to show what we can do… We are talking with the club, we will see what happens.

"In any case, I have always been happy here and I have had four exceptional years here.

"We are very clear with the club. The club knows my relationship with it, this city, this country. We are going to do things in the way they should be done, in one way or another."

Even if there are issues to address with the PSG collective, Mbappe retained his status as Ligue 1's top scorer for a third consecutive season.

"Finishing top scorer three seasons in a row is an immense source of pride," he added

"I am very happy. Now, I think is not the time to show my joy. We have to remain calm.

"We are going to calmly go home and prepare well for the national team [at Euro 2020] now."

Napoli parted ways with head coach Gennaro Gattuso on Sunday after the club missed out on qualification for next season's Champions League. 

Shortly after a 1-1 draw with Hellas Verona at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona that consigned Napoli to finishing fifth in Serie A, president Aurelio De Laurentiis confirmed Gattuso's exit. 

Napoli went into the weekend in fourth position but were leapfrogged on the final day by Juventus, who were 4-1 winners at Bologna. 

Gattuso, whose contract expires at the end of June, has been linked with Fiorentina among other Italian clubs.

"Dear Rino, I am happy to have spent almost two seasons with you," tweeted De Laurentiis. 

"Thanking you for your work, I wish you success wherever you go. A hug to your wife and children too." 

Napoli took the lead against Verona through Amir Rrahmani in the 60th minute – a club-record 50th home league goal this season – but Marco Faraoni ensured the spoils were shared. 

It spelled the end of Gattuso, who took over in December 2019 following the dismissal of Carlo Ancelotti. He led Napoli to glory in the Coppa Italia and a seventh-place finish in Serie A last season. 

Napoli were surprisingly eliminated from the Europa League last 32 by Granada and missing out on Champions League qualification saw the club opt against a renewal.

Gattuso won 46 of his 81 games as Napoli boss, giving him a win percentage of 56.8 - better than Rafael Benitez (52.7 per cent) and Ancelotti (52.1 per cent) but worse than Ottavio Bianchi (56.9 per cent) and Maurizio Sarri (66.2 per cent). 

Cristiano Ronaldo made history on Sunday as the Juventus star finished the season as the leading goalscorer in Serie A.

The 36-year-old was an unused substitute as Juve beat Bologna 4-1 away to snatch a Champions League spot from Napoli, who were held by Hellas Verona.

Despite missing a league game for just the fifth time in 2020-21, Ronaldo finished on 29 goals, five more than his nearest rival, Inter striker Romelu Lukaku.

Ronaldo has become the first player to finish as the top scorer for a season in Serie A, LaLiga and the Premier League.

The Portugal star won three Pichichi trophies while at Real Madrid – in 2010-11, 2013-14 and 2014-15 – and won the Premier League golden boot with Manchester United in 2007-08.

Only Lionel Messi (30) and Robert Lewandowski (41) have scored more top-flight goals this season than Ronaldo among Europe's top-five leagues.

Ronaldo has scored 81 Serie A goals in 97 appearances since joining Juve from Madrid in 2018, at least 10 more than any other player in that time.