Lincoln kept alive their League One play-off hopes with a crucial 1-0 victory over sixth-placed Oxford at the Kassam Stadium.

Danny Mandroiu hit the winner from the penalty two minutes into the second half after Ruben Rodrigues fouled Ben House.

They held out despite having substitute Dylan Duffy sent off for a second yellow card seven minutes from the end.

It was a must-win game for the Imps after their home defeat by Wigan at the weekend and they started the better.

Paudie O’Connor forced goalkeeper Jamie Cumming into a save with a far-post header at a corner and Freddie Draper headed wide from close in.

The visitors suffered a blow when Reeco Hackett had to go off with an arm injury after what looked an innocuous challenge.

As the half wore on Oxford settled and keeper Lukas Jensen twice saved from Tyler Goodrham and Mark Harris also went close twice as the U’s turned up the heat.

But City also looked dangerous and Draper squandered another good opportunity from eight yards.

The U’s were caught cold at the start of the second half when they conceded the spot-kick, hammered home by Mandroiu to Cumming’s left.

Cameron Brannagan added an extra dimension for United when he came off the bench and he cut in from the left to hammer a fierce drive that Jensen did well to save.

But Lincoln defended resolutely for a victory that keeps their season going.

Paris Maghoma rescued a point but a 2-2 Sky Bet League One draw with Shrewsbury dented Bolton’s hopes of automatic promotion.

The third tier’s lowest scorers twice shocked their hosts by taking the lead.

But facing a first home defeat to their visitors for 34 years, Bolton salvaged a draw when Maghoma fired home his ninth goal of the campaign after 71 minutes.

However, Ian Evatt’s side still trail second-placed Derby by three points, with both teams having two further games to play.

Shrewsbury survived an early scare when Mal Benning deflected a Cameron Jerome effort against his own post.

Shrews goalkeeper Marko Marosi – in excellent form throughout – twice denied Aaron Collins before Tom Bloxham’s surging run and excellent delivery set up Daniel Udoh’s 21st-minute opener.

Veteran Jerome equalised after 41 minutes with his first Bolton league goal and first since scoring for Luton in October 2022.

But Jordan Shipley’s stunning left-footed effort from Elliott Bennett’s corner, two minutes later, restored Town’s lead.

In the second half, Bolton battered away in vain until Maghoma’s goal salvaged a draw.

Port Vale are right up against it as they battle to avoid relegation from League One following a 2-1 defeat to Wycombe at Vale Park.

Ethan Chislett cancelled out David Wheeler’s opener for the visitors before Nigel Lonwijk scored a late winner, leaving Darren Moore’s side three points from safety with two games of the season left.

Dale Taylor could have opened the scoring for Wycombe after just 40 seconds when he pounced on a defensive error and slid the ball wide from the edge of the area.

Wanderers were ahead just three minutes later, however, when Wheeler was in the right place to blast the ball home after Connor Ripley denied Sam Vokes.

The home side responded well after the early setback and would have been level in the ninth minute had Franco Ravizzoli not made a great save to push Chislett’s effort over the bar.

It was Vale who started brightest after the break and were level just two minutes into the second half when Chislett found himself in space before slotting the ball past Ravizzoli.

The closing stages saw Vale going all out for the win with Jensen Weir coming close on a couple of occasions before Lonwijk sealed victory for Wanderers with only four minutes remaining.

Chris Martin scored his 16th League One goal of the season as Bristol Rovers claimed a late 1-0 victory over Cambridge at the Memorial Stadium.

The Rovers striker fired low into the goal after 87 minutes as he converted Luke Thomas’ cross, with the Pirates scoring at home for the first time in five games.

That goal made up for Martin’s earlier gilt-edged miss – the 35-year-old former Norwich and Derby forward was unable to convert a 33nd-minute penalty.

U’s goalkeeper Will Mannion dived to his left to stop the striker’s low, poorly-placed shot, after Paul Digby had been penalised for a foul on Scott Sinclair, as the Rovers winger attacked following Luke Thomas winning the ball just outside the Cambridge area.

The visitors threatened throughout via set-pieces, as Digby and Macauley Bonne both headed first-half corners over the crossbar.

And Mamadou Jobe went even closer when his 60th-minute header crashed off the woodwork as the defender met a Danny Andrew free-kick.

Luca Hoole cleared Liam Bennett’s shot off the line in the last minute of stoppage time to preserve Rovers’ result, after another Cambridge corner.

Steve Kerr is hoping for more of the same from "sublime" Steph Curry when the Golden State Warriors face the Sacramento Kings in the play-ins.

Curry produced a career-high 50 points to guide the Warriors to a Game 7 victory in Sacramento in the sides' most recent win-or-bust showdown.

The two-time MVP became the first player in playoff history to score 20 points or more from behind the arc and in the paint in the same game.

Asked about that performance on the eve of Tuesday's do-or-die matchup with Sacramento at Golden 1 Center, Kerr told reporters: "He's one of the great clutch players in the history of the league, we know that.

"That performance did not surprise me because he's 'that guy'. What I remember about that game is that we extended a lead at the end of the third, I think we went into the fourth up by 12 or something and so we had timeouts saved up.

"And the conversation you're referring to I think I was telling him we can take a timeout anytime you want just to get a couple of minutes of rest. And we were able to control that fourth quarter, but he was so sublime."

Curry leads the NBA standings across the regular season for average 3-point field goals made (4.8) and is ninth overall in terms of average points per game (26.4).

If the Warriors are to stay on course for the playoffs, the four-time NBA champion will likely have a major part to play.

"I think he led the league in player efficiency this year and clutch minutes," Kerr added of what to expect from Curry. 

"We've seen him win championships, win Finals MVP. I mean Steph Curry is Steph Curry."

Mikel Arteta believes Champions League quarter-final success against Bayern Munich will take Arsenal to the next level as he told his players to “write a different story” at the Allianz Arena.

The Gunners head into Wednesday’s second leg locked at 2-2 with Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern after a thrilling draw at the Emirates Stadium last week.

Defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday has since dented Arsenal’s Premier League title bid as attention now turns to Europe once again.

Arsenal had lost seven last-16 ties in succession before returning to the Champions League this season – three times to Bayern.

Arteta, though, feels reaching a semi-final against either holders Manchester City or record 14-time winners Real Madrid would elevate Arsenal.

Asked how transformative victory would be and whether it would take Arsenal to the next level, the Spaniard replied: “Absolutely.

“It would be unbelievable. If we make it happen tomorrow and we’re in the semi-final, we’ll be in a really high emotional state with something that we haven’t achieved in 15 years and that’s the opportunity.

“All the preparation has been to achieve that. We have earned it. We have earned it for 10 months and everything we did last season, to start our journey in the Champions League after so many years.

“Tomorrow we have an unbelievable opportunity to make it happen.”

Arteta has overseen a sea change in approach to big away games this season, ripping up the recent form books and guiding Arsenal to draws at title rivals City and Liverpool.

They have lost 5-1 on their last two visits to the Allianz – but Arteta wants another memorable away performance to redress more recent history.

“We have to change it and the opportunity comes there,” he added.

“There are lots of things we can do to write our story very differently tomorrow, we know that and it is going to be about putting in a very, very strong performance collectively and individually to earn the right to be in the semi-final.

“Most of our players haven’t experienced a night like this, this is going to be the first one, they are super-motivated, they are prepared, they feel confident and it is something that tomorrow we are going to have to show against an opponent that has this experience – but we want to make it happen.”

It is likely to be the Cheltenham Gold Cup rather than a Grand National repeat that is on the agenda for I Am Maximus next season, as Willie Mullins sees his Aintree hero as the perfect candidate for the Cheltenham Festival blue riband.

It is barely a month since Galopin Des Champs enjoyed receiving the adulation of the locals after providing the master of Closutton with his fourth Gold Cup triumph and I Am Maximus appears set to be trained with the Cotswolds in mind as it was his turn to be paraded through the streets of Leighlinbridge in County Carlow on Tuesday evening.

The eight-year-old was sent off the 7-1 joint favourite for the Aintree showpiece after impressing in the Bobbyjo Chase in February and provided the perennial Irish champion with his second victory in the world’s most famous steeplechase, 19 years after he triumphed with Hedgehunter in 2005.

However, it may have to be one of his stablemates who bids to mark the 20th anniversary of that first National success with another win in Liverpool, as I Am Maximus is set to join Mullins’ swelling Gold Cup hand that includes the likes of dual winner Galopin Des Champs and high-class novice Fact To File.

“I Am Maximus is definitely a Gold Cup horse and I couldn’t see much point in going back to Aintree again,” said Mullins.

“I’ll be training him for the Gold Cup anyway.”

Mullins also gave his seal of approval to the array of alterations to the Merseyside race, which led to no fallers and the highest number of finishers since 2005 – with all of the handler’s eight-strong team leaving Aintree unscathed.

“We live in different times and nothing stays the same, everything changes,” continued Mullins.

“When you go back many years ago, the National was dead on its feet and Aintree was going to be sold and it was saved.

“You have to change and go with the present day. Today, we have a £1million National and there was a huge amount of people going to Aintree over the three days and it was special what they did – and there will be the odd tweaks and turns every now and then.”

I Am Maximus was given a masterful ride by Paul Townend, who became the first man in 94 years to win the Champion Hurdle, Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand National in the same season.

However, the son of Authorized’s seven-and-a-half-length romp over Delta Work also put Mullins in pole position to create his own piece of history and become the first Irish-based handler since the great Vincent O’Brien in the 1950s to claim the UK jumps trainers’ championship.

The 67-year-old has got a multitude of entries for Ayr’s two-day Scottish Grand National meeting, as he attempts to beat Dan Skelton and Paul Nicholls to the title, and is set to be mob-handed in the £200,000 feature after confirming a possible six runners for the four-mile marathon.

“It’s never been an ambition because one does not have those ambitions, they are not real,” he said of his tittle bid.

“We find ourselves in this position and hopefully we will go close and I suppose now that we are so near, you want it more when you are so near.

“We’ve done lots of entries and I would say Mr Incredible will run and Macdermott will run in the big one at Ayr and hopefully we will have two or three to go with them.

“At this point in time, we’ve just got plenty of entries and we will see how the horses are during the week before we send them on their way.”

Kyle Walker is set to return as holders Manchester City bid to reach the Champions League semi-finals for a fourth successive year against Real Madrid on Wednesday.

The England right-back has missed the treble-winners’ last five matches after suffering a hamstring injury on international duty last month.

Walker played a full part in City’s final training session before they host Spanish giants Real in the second leg of their quarter-final tie at the Etihad Stadium, which will begin with the aggregate score 3-3.

Manager Pep Guardiola said: “He’s been training good. I don’t know if from the beginning or from the bench, but I think he will be with us tomorrow.

“It is incredibly good news for many reasons. You know the physicality is massively important and in football it is how you challenge your opponent. Everyone knows the quality Kyle has.”

Walker did not travel to Spain for last week’s pulsating first-leg draw at the Bernabeu Stadium but was an unused substitute for the 5-1 thrashing of Luton on Saturday.

Team-mate Bernardo Silva has welcomed the potential return of the City skipper.

The midfielder said: “He is very important because we know Kyle has controlled some of the best players in the world and always does a phenomenal job when he plays.

“He’s our captain and he’s a player who, in the last few years, has played against players like Vinicius, (Kylian) Mbappe and Neymar and has defended against them like nobody else.”

Jude Bellingham admitted joining Real Madrid last summer was a “no-brainer”.

The England midfielder opted for the Spanish giants amid interest from a host of Europe’s top clubs after three highly-impressive seasons with Borussia Dortmund.

The 20-year-old Birmingham academy product has hardly looked back since, netting 20 times in an outstanding debut campaign at the Bernabeu Stadium that has catapulted him into the game’s elite.

Bellingham, speaking at a press conference ahead of Real’s Champions League clash with Manchester City on Wednesday, said: “I had good chats with loads of clubs – including Dortmund – and my family were great in helping me chew up that information.

“It’s difficult while you are still in the season to take in the information and process it and still have to play at the weekend or in the Champions League.

“I had conversations with other teams but when Madrid came in it was a no-brainer really. The size of the club, the project, the plan going forward, the chance to play with such amazing players.

“I just jumped at it. That’s why I made my decision.”

Bellingham has no doubt his game has developed considerably since joining Real and he puts a lot of that down to the influence of veteran manager Carlo Ancelotti.

He said: “I think the sign of a good manager is when he can make you believe that you’re a bit better than maybe you thought you were before.

“I think he fills me with that confidence every day, in training and in the game. Not only that, but he’s a top person. He makes you feel comfortable.”

Real are locked in a ferocious battle with holders City to advance to the semi-finals after an enthralling 3-3 draw at the Bernabeu last week.

City are now regarded as the favourites due to their home advantage – and the fact they thrashed Real 4-0 at the same venue last season – but Bellingham is taking no notice of predictions.

He said: “That’s just the impression from the outside, the feeling from everyone else.

“I’m not a gambler and I’ve never been to the bookies, so I don’t know about betting favourites and things like that.

“But I do know that we’re a pretty good team ourselves. They’re the treble winners, they’re an amazing team but we’ve got some brilliant players.

“There’s external noise, but internally, we’re confident.”

Blake Griffin has dunked in an NBA game for the last time.

The six-time All-Star announced his retirement on social media on Tuesday after a 14-year pro career.

The first overall pick of the 2009 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, Griffin missed the entire 2009-10 season with a broken patella in his left knee sustained in the preseason.

He made an immediate impact the following year, however, winning the 2010-11 Rookie of the Year Award, the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest and was named to the first of five consecutive All-Star teams while playing for the Clippers.

A three-time All-NBA Second Team selection and a two-time All-NBA Third Team pick, Griffin made his final All-Star Game appearance in 2019, with the Detroit Pistons.

The 35-year-old spent the 2023-24 season out of basketball as a free agent.

Griffin's best season came in 2013-14, when he finished third in MVP voting with averages of 24.1 points per game, 9.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists to help the Clippers capture the Pacific Division title.

In his final NBA season, Griffin averaged career lows of 4.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 41 games for the Boston Celtics in 2022-23.

Though injuries slowed him in recent seasons, Griffin, who also played for the Brooklyn Nets, still averaged 19.0 points per game and 8.0 rebounds in 765 career games.

One of basketball's top dunkers, Griffin may be best remembered for winning the Slam Dunk Contest by dunking the ball after jumping over a parked car on the floor at his home-court in Los Angeles.