Ousmane Dembele thumped in a 90th-minute winner as Barcelona beat Real Valladolid 1-0 and cut Atletico Madrid's advantage at the top of LaLiga to a solitary point.
Ronald Koeman's resurgent side had won their previous five top-flight matches but were short of their best for much of the first half, with Kenan Kodro hitting the crossbar for Valladolid.
Lionel Messi and his team-mates tried to crank through the gears in the second half but struggled to find a breakthrough, even after Oscar Plano was sent off 11 minutes from time for a cynical foul on Dembele.
The France winger would have the final word, swiping home on the volley after Ronald Araujo made a nuisance of himself on the end of Frenkie de Jong's cross - setting up next weekend's pivotal Clasico showdown perfectly.
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was back in action for the first time since Germany's humiliating 2-1 defeat to North Macedonia and he was relieved to see Kodro's header cannon to safety off the bar.
Messi won a free-kick in the 15th minute and clipped wide but the visitors continued to acquit themselves well.
Roque Mesa grazed the top of the netting with a speculative strike before Barca let the playmaker run unchallenged for around 30 yards to blast over.
Barcelona belatedly found some rhythm before the interval and Pedri linked up nicely with Messi to fire in a rasping low drive that Jordi Masip tipped against the right post.
Koeman's front three were all involved before the hour – Messi releasing Dembele to draw a brilliant low stop from Masip, with Antoine Griezmann sending an improvised diving header wide on the rebound.
Jordi Alba survived appeals for a penalty after the ball flicked off his hand inside the Barca box and Plano sliced wide on another threatening break.
A yellow card would arguably have been suffice for Plano's petulance and Valladolid buckled at the last in what felt like a huge moment in the title race.
A berth at this year's summer Tokyo Olympic games is undoubtedly on the radar of Jamaica's top table tennis players, Simon Tomlinson and Kane Watson, who both continue to show impressive form at the international camp in Broward, Florida, where they are currently in training for the Olympic qualifiers later this month in Argentina.
Amanda Anisimova, Alize Cornet and Paula Badosa all survived scares on Monday to advance through to the second round of the Volvo Car Open in Charleston.
Number 13 seed Anisimova came from a set down to beat Magda Linette 5-7 6-2 6-3 on Monday, dropping serve only once in those last two sets.
Cornet, who reached the quarter-finals of this event in 2018, needed just under three hours to overcome Bernarda Pera 4-6 6-4 6-4.
Badosa also needed all three sets to see off Varvara Gracheva, the Spaniard hitting back to prevail 3-6 7-5 6-1.
Ajla Tomljanovic and Zarina Diyas were also among those to book a place in the next round, beating Christina McHale and Natalia Vikhlyantseva respectively in straight sets.
In the other WTA Tour event, Copa Colsanitas top seed Zheng Saisai eased past Usue Maitane Arconada 6-3 6-1 and will now face Stefanie Voegele.
Wang Yafan was another Chinese player to advance in Bogota, seeing off Emiliana Arango 6-4 5-7 7-5.
Valencia president Anil Murthy has called on LaLiga to do more in the fight against racism after Mouctar Diakhaby was subjected to what he described as an "extremely serious racial insult" against Cadiz.
The top-flight meeting on Sunday – which finished 2-1 to Cadiz – was stopped for 20 minutes after Valencia's players left the field following an altercation between Diakhaby and Cadiz defender Juan Cala.
Valencia's players subsequently walked off the pitch, before returning to the field without Diakhaby, who asked to be taken off.
After the match had restarted, Valencia tweeted their version of events, stating Diakhaby had suffered a "racist insult".
Cadiz issued a statement following the game, insisting any form of racism was not tolerated.
They also added they had no doubts over the honesty of their squad, with Cala having been picked up by television cameras pleading his innocence during the game.
Cadiz coach Alvaro Cervera said: "I saw the same as you did. They left the field alongside the referee because they said that Cala had insulted one of their players.
"Cala says that at no point did he insult the opposition player."
Cadiz confirmed on Monday that Cala would address the media on the subject after training on Tuesday.
Speaking alongside Diakhaby in a video posted on Valencia's official website, Murthy said: "Yesterday, in our game against Cadiz, we witnessed a flagrant incident of racism.
"There is no other way to describe it. Our player, Mouctar Diakhaby, was the recipient of an extremely serious racial insult by Juan Cala.
"Although Cala may deny it, we believe Mouctar completely. This type of behaviour should not be tolerated in football and in society in general, and we at Valencia condemn racism in any form. We fully support our player.
"There should be no doubt that Valencia will defend Mouctar Diakhaby to the fullest, and fight to ensure that such lamentable events are not repeated."
Valencia captain Jose Luis Gaya said the team had been told they would be penalised if they did not return to finish the game – a claim backed up by head coach Javi Gracia.
Murthy described Sunday's incident as a "step back in the fight against racism" and has demanded LaLiga change the rules to better protect those who suffer racist abuse.
"We spoke with LaLiga this morning to encourage them to also see their investigation through to the end," he added. "This incident cannot be left behind, and cannot be repeated with any other player for any other team.
"We are saddened that, following the incident, there was no reaction to stop the game, and that it was our players who were the ones to leave the field of play. There cannot be a lack of action in light of these types of situations.
"From now on, we would like to see some kind of reaction to change these protocols, in order to protect those who are vulnerable. If we don't change this, then it will give a bad example to everybody.
"We are proud of the reaction from our team, and we still do not understand why Diakhaby, the recipient of this racial insult, received a yellow card.
"We also do not understand why the players had to return to the pitch due to the regulations not protecting the victims and the team in such cases.
"This must change. Changes have been made in other leagues, and now the same must be done in Spain.
"We cannot turn a blind eye to something as serious as racism. It is time for a change, and Valencia will go all the way in our support of our player and the fight against racism. A step back in the fight against racism was taken yesterday."
It is safe to say Jrue Holiday enjoyed himself in the NBA last week.
The former All-Star sparkled for the Milwaukee Bucks before the weekend brought news of a four-year, $160million extension.
On the evidence of his performances since last Monday, it was a well-earned reward.
Holiday leads this week's NBA Heat Check, powered by Stats Perform data, alongside a man he might have counted as a team-mate this season.
RUNNING HOT...
Jrue Holiday
The Bucks paid a big price to get Holiday from the New Orleans Pelicans in a bid to persuade Giannis Antetokounmpo to stay. It was a move that worked in that sense and is increasingly showing its merit on the floor, too.
Milwaukee may have tumbled to third in the East this season, but they are showing signs they might finally provide a threat in the playoffs.
Holiday will be key to that, as he was during a three-game winning run last week. After starting their road trip with defeat at the Los Angeles Clippers, in which Holiday scored 24 points, the point guard tallied 28, 22 and 33 respectively in victories over the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings.
An average of 26.8 over those seven days lifted Holiday's seasonal mark from 15.9 to 17.0.
Bogdan Bogdanovic
As the Bucks desperately sought reinforcements to prove their ambition to Antetokounmpo, a deal for Bogdanovic from the Kings was reportedly struck. Instead, however, he signed for the Atlanta Hawks.
Milwaukee are certainly a more serious prospect than Atlanta, but the Hawks are belatedly finding some form with the help of Bogdanovic.
The forward had just two starts for the season until late March but has since been in the lineup for six successive games, including a run of three wins last week that started with his 28-point display against the San Antonio Spurs in which he shot 70.6 per cent from the field.
Gary Trent Jr.
Last week allowed teams around the NBA to get a good look at the players they traded for before the deadline, and the Toronto Raptors could only be pleased with Trent's output.
He averaged 23.3 for the week, albeit the Raptors only won once. Trent had a staggering plus/minus of 54 in that demolition of the Golden State Warriors.
Norm Powell, the man Trent was traded for, tallied 13.7 points across three Portland games, although the Blazers won two of them.
GOING COLD...
Victor Oladipo
While Trent has had an instant impact, the same certainly cannot be said for Oladipo.
The two-time All-Star was the Miami Heat's most notable signing as a move for Trent's new Toronto team-mate Kyle Lowry did not materialise, while LaMarcus Aldridge headed for the Brooklyn Nets after agreeing a buy out with the Spurs.
On his third team of 2021, Oladipo was averaging 20.8 points for the season prior to his Heat debut but then tallied a measly total of 14 points across his first two games as a Miami player.
Zach LaVine
Oladipo's is not the only switch yet to prove profitable, with the Chicago Bulls making a big move to bring in Nikola Vucevic to pair fellow All-Star LaVine.
But LaVine, previously scoring 27.9 points in 2020-21, averaged an underwhelming 20.0 last week.
No player in the NBA saw a greater decrease in their made shots from three-point range - 3.5 previously but just 1.3 last week - and LaVine was among three Bulls in the top five in that unwanted table (also Vucevic and Lauri Markkanen).
DeAndre Jordan
Like LaVine, Jordan was not on the move ahead of the deadline. But he was still negatively impacted.
When Aldridge chose Brooklyn over Miami, the Nets center - already struggling to hold off surprise star Nicolas Claxton - saw his opportunities decrease further.
Jordan played in only two of his team's four games last week, appearing for less than 12 minutes in each and averaging 1.5 rebounds down from 7.5 for the season.
Pep Guardiola is primed for Manchester City's showdown with Erling Haaland and Borussia Dortmund, suggesting even a blind person could see the Norwegian's talents.
City host Dortmund in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday, with Haaland unsurprisingly one of the main topics of conversation.
The Norway star has been in lethal form ever since joining Dortmund in January 2020 and boasts a remarkable haul of 10 goals in six Champions League outings this term, including two in each of their meetings with Sevilla in the last round as the German's narrowly progressed 5-4 on aggregate.
Since then, reports linking Haaland with Europe's biggest clubs have been frequent, as Barcelona and Real Madrid seemingly positioned themselves as interested parties following meetings with his agent Mino Raiola.
While City – whom his father Alf-Inge Haaland played for – have been rather more coy on the matter, few strikers have been focused on as much as Haaland with respect to potential replacements for Sergio Aguero following last week's announcement of his end-of-season departure.
After all, in the spell since Haaland scored a 23-minute hat-trick on his Dortmund debut, his 49 goals across all competitions has been bettered by only Robert Lewandowski (67) and Cristiano Ronaldo (52) among players in the top five leagues. City's leading scorers in the same period are Raheem Sterling (24) and Gabriel Jesus (22).
Guardiola appreciates Haaland is a fine talent, though he would not be lured into making any grand statements about a potential future for him at City.
When asked if Haaland was the sort of player who could command a transfer few of over £100million, Guardiola said: "I don't know, it's a question for Dortmund, his agent.
"I understand completely why people ask about Haaland, of course he's an exceptional striker, but it's not appropriate for me to talk about a player for another club.
"All I can say is he's an exceptional striker. The numbers speak for themselves. A fantastic player, that's all."
On those "numbers", Guardiola was pressed for an opinion on how City might be able to stop Haaland, given his conversion rate of 33.6 per cent is better than any other player in the top five leagues with 20 goals or more since his Dortmund bow.
For comparison, Bayern Munich's Lewandowski – widely regarded as the best striker around – has converted 27.8 per cent of his chances over the same period.
"The striker who scores goals, they are going to score when they are in our box," Guardiola continued. "If they're far away from our box, they have fewer chances. It's a question of mathematics.
"Not just Haaland. [Jamie] Vardy, [Sadio] Mane, Aguero, all the strikers, they want to be there [in the box] as much as possible. This is the best way is to avoid [conceding].
"In that age to score that amount of goals is not easy to find in the past, honestly, so I think he's 20 – the numbers speak for themselves.
"He can score right [foot], left, on the counter-attack, in the box when you dominate, headers. He's a fantastic striker, everyone knows it.
"A blind guy could realise he's a great striker. It is not necessary to be a manager to realise that."
Keeping Haaland quiet will surely go a long way to ensuring City finally get past the quarter-finals, having been knocked out at this stage in each of the past three seasons, losing four of their five games at this point.
Melbourne City left it late to overcome Wellington Phoenix 3-2 and climb into second place, while an early Lachlan Wales strike saw Western United down Newcastle Jets 1-0 in Monday's other A-League match.
City's six-match winning run was halted by Western United last time out, but they hit back at WIN Stadium to move to within two points of leaders Central Coast Mariners with a game in hand.
Tomer Hemed equalised for Phoenix after Curtis Good had headed City in front from six yards, but Jamie Maclaren restored the visitors' lead with a powerful strike across Oliver Sail.
Wellington equalised for a second time before the hour through skipper Ulises Davila, who curled a delightful low shot into the bottom-left corner from 20 yards – the seventh goal they have scored from outside the box in the 2020-21 A-League season.
But Melbourne went away with the three points in Wollongong thanks to substitute Marco Tilio's late header following some good link-up play out on the right to make space for Connor Metcalfe's cross.
It was an early goal that proved the difference in Monday's early kick-off between Jets and Western United, with winger Wales slotting Dylan Pierias' throughball into the bottom-left corner after just 36 seconds to make it goals in back-to-back games.
That was the first goal the visitors had scored in this fixture at the fourth attempt and was the earliest they have netted in their A-League history, putting them on course for a maiden victory against the Jets.
Craig Deans' side attempted 20 shots in the remainder of the game, but just two of those were on target as they fell to a sixth loss in a row to remain second bottom of the division, while United are up to seventh with games in hand on the top six.
Eden Hazard will not be rushed back for Real Madrid's Champions League quarter-final first leg against Liverpool on Tuesday, insists Zinedine Zidane.
Hazard has been plagued by injuries since joining Madrid from Chelsea for €100million in June 2019.
He has made just 36 appearances and 29 starts across all competitions in that time, scoring only four times.
The 30-year-old returned from injury in March but then missed the Champions League last-16 second leg against Atalanta with a damaged hip flexor – a development Zidane described as "inexplicable".
That injury kept him out of the Belgium squad for the recent international break and Zidane says he has no intention of playing Hazard against Premier League champions Liverpool if he is not 100 per cent fit.
"Eden has to be calm," the Madrid boss told a media conference on Monday. "We never risk the return of a player if he is not well.
"We will do things little by little and we will see when he will be with us. At the moment it is like that.
"I need all my players to be available and fit. I like my players to be fit and in good health. I don't like seeing players out injured. We have had a lot of players out injured this season.
"I hope to have Eden back soon. I hope to have a fully fit squad come the end of the season."
Tuesday's clash will be the first between the sides since the 2018 final, which Madrid won 3-1 to seal a third consecutive Champions League trophy.
Los Blancos have won the first leg in eight of their last nine Champions League knockout ties, while they have claimed victories in their last three matches against the Reds in the competition.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, however, has won each of his last five games at the quarter-final stage of the Champions League, including all four of his games at this stage while in charge of the Reds.
Zidane is an admirer of what Klopp has achieved at Anfield, but says he is not interested in copying the German's methods.
"Klopp is a great manager, he has been coaching for a long time," he added. "He's got a great CV and has done superbly at Liverpool.
"I don't have to look at what he does and copy him. Everyone has their way of going about things but I look at all the managers.
"I looked and learned when I was going to be a manager and, of course, I analysed Klopp."
Liverpool will need to be particularly wary of Madrid talisman Karim Benzema, who has scored four goals in his three Champions League appearances against them.
He is level with Didier Drogba as the player to have scored the most against the Reds in the competition.
Benzema should lead the line on Tuesday and Zidane has attributed his success to the understanding he has developed with his team-mates.
"All the players who are here know how to play and have earned the right to be in this squad, they are the best," he explained. "They all understand Karim well and Karim the others. There is a lot of chemistry between them."
Juan Cala will speak to the media on Tuesday following allegations of racism by Valencia's Mouctar Diakhaby, his club Cadiz have confirmed.
Sunday's LaLiga meeting between the sides – which finished 2-1 to Cadiz – was stopped for 20 minutes after Valencia's players left the field following an altercation between Diakhaby and Cala.
Gabriel Paulista and Kevin Gameiro attempted to defuse the situation before Diakhaby explained his version of events to referee David Medie Jimenez.
Valencia's players subsequently walked off the pitch, before returning to the field without Diakhaby, who asked to be taken off.
After the match had restarted, Valencia tweeted their version of events, stating Diakhaby had suffered a "racist insult".
Following the game, Cadiz issued a statement on their club website, insisting any form of racism was not tolerated.
However, they also added they had no doubts over the honesty of their squad, with Cala having been picked up by television cameras pleading his innocence during the game.
Posting on their official Twitter account on Monday, Cadiz confirmed Cala will address the media following training on Tuesday.
Youssoufa Moukoko's record-breaking season is over after suffering ligament damage in his foot, Borussia Dortmund have confirmed.
Moukoko became the youngest player in the Bundesliga's history last November when making his debut the day after his 16th birthday.
The Germany youth international had long been considered a big prospect at Dortmund, having set a number of records in the club's academy despite generally playing several age groups up.
Even before he turned 16, Moukoko was training with the first-team and he soon followed up his Bundesliga record by also becoming the Champions League's youngest-ever player (16 years, 18 days).
Edin Terzic handed him a first Bundesliga start after replacing the sacked Lucien Favre, and he subsequently became the German top-flight's youngest scorer a few days later in a 2-1 defeat to Union Berlin.
He is by far the most junior player to have featured across Europe's top five leagues this term (16y, 136d) – Tottenham's Dane Scarlett is the second youngest (17y, 12d).
There are also only four players who are still teenagers that have bettered his haul of three league goals – Florian Wirtz and Ansu Fati have four, Bukayo Saka has five and Arnaud Kalimuendo is out in front on six.
But Moukoko will not be adding any more to his tally this term, owing to a foot injury.
A brief statement released on Twitter read: "Youssoufa Moukoko is out for the rest of the season with a ligament injury in his foot.
"Get well soon, boy!"
Moukoko suffered the injury ahead of Germany's European Under-21 Championship group stage match against Hungary.
While it was initially thought the issue would only keep him out of Germany's following two games, it turned out to be rather more serious.
Dortmund look likely to miss out on Champions League football next season, with BVB fifth on 43 points, trailing Eintracht Frankfurt by seven points with as many matches left.
Borussia Dortmund do not have an "alternative plan" should Erling Haaland leave the club, but they would listen to an "exceptional" offer for Jadon Sancho, according to managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke.
Norway international Haaland is in high demand after netting 49 goals in 50 appearances for Dortmund, attracting interest from the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and Manchester United.
He has scored 21 goals in 22 Bundesliga games this term, adding another 10 from six games in the Champions League, a competition in which he tops the scoring charts.
Haaland's agent, Mino Raiola, is reported to have been in contact with a number of clubs as speculation over the 20-year-old's future grows.
But, according to Watzke, the Bundesliga outfit are not prepared to envisage life without him.
"We do not have a parallel plan," he told Goal. "We will discuss this in peace with Erling, his father and his advisor Mino Raiola.
"We also want him to be happy to stay with us, to score goals for BVB next year with conviction. There is no alternative plan."
Another player heavily linked with a move away from the club is England international Sancho.
Manchester United were reported to be close to a deal for the 21-year-old before the start of the 2020-21 season, but Sancho stayed in Germany.
He has played 31 games across all competitions this term, scoring 12 goals.
While Watzke expects a quiet off-season following the turmoil inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic, he said the club would not dismiss a significant bid for Sancho.
Asked what the likelihood of Haaland and Sancho both playing for Dortmund next season is, Watzke responded: "I'm not getting involved in probabilities, it's no good.
"Jadon Sancho has been with us much longer than Erling Haaland. We'll have to speak to Jadon, too. If there is an exceptional offer, we will discuss it with the player and the agent, as always.
"Nonetheless, I am very sure that the transfer market will only run to a very limited extent this summer. Especially with the really big clubs, you can see what kind of wounds coronavirus has inflicted. They are not small ones that heal within two weeks."
Dortmund travel to Manchester City for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash on Tuesday.
New York has long been starved of NBA success but now has two teams making strides in 2020-21.
The Brooklyn Nets have made plenty of noise as they have claimed a share of first place in the Eastern Conference, led by the 'big three' of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden.
But the New York Knicks, the city's favourite team, are also in playoff contention with a .500 record.
On Monday, the two teams go head-to-head at Barclays Center – and Durant, Irving and Harden could all feature for just the eighth time this season.
The Knicks will have their work cut out as they try to stop their star-studded neighbours.
TOP PERFORMERS
Brooklyn Nets - Kyrie Irving
Durant is likely to be seen as the Nets' difference-maker in the biggest games, while Harden, the third man in the 'big three', has established himself as an MVP contender. He cannot afford many more nights off.
But as both players recover from hamstring injury – Durant is "an outside possibility", Harden's absence is "just caution" - it will likely again be Irving's turn to carry the team, showing their remarkable depth.
The point guard leads Brooklyn in total points, scoring 27.7 per game – the best mark of his career and one which puts him eighth in the NBA among all players.
Irving had a game-high 34 points when these teams last met in March, a 117-112 Nets win.
New York Knicks - Julius Randle
First-time All-Star Randle has led the Knicks' improvement this season and he has been talking a big game ahead of this clash.
The forward responded to talk of Brooklyn's 'big three' by suggesting New York have a "big 15", of which he is undoubtedly the star, averaging 23.0 points and 10.7 rebounds this year.
Randle will certainly not be short of motivation.
He had 33 points in the game last month, just shy of Irving's total, and had to be held back from the officials after a late three-pointer was ruled out due to an incorrect traveling call.
KEY BATTLE - BROOKLYN BIGS TO BOSS BIG APPLE?
It is not just the Nets' superstar talent the Knicks have to worry about, as there is also a mismatch at center.
Third-year big man Mitchell Robinson was set for a breakout year in New York, seemingly contributing to the team's decision not to push harder for a buyout signing as Andre Drummond went to the Los Angeles Lakers.
But Robinson, posting 8.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals, fractured his right foot, leaving the Knicks with Nerlens Noel (4.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.1 blocks) and Taj Gibson (5.0 points, 5.0 rebounds) as their primary options at the five.
Meanwhile, Brooklyn have a whole array of possibilities at the position, led by buyout signings and former All-Stars LaMarcus Aldridge and Blake Griffin but also including DeAndre Jordan, Jeff Green and surprise performer Nicolas Claxton (7.9 points, 1.3 blocks).
HEAD TO HEAD
The Nets are 2-0 in this season's series, also beating the Knicks in January, and Monday's game could see a significant power swing.
The all-time record stands at 101-100 in the Knicks' favour, giving Brooklyn the opportunity to pull ahead for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
The Washington Nationals will start their MLB campaign against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday after last week's scheduled opening series against the New York Mets was called off due to coronavirus issues.
The Nationals were set to host the Mets at Nationals Park on Friday, but the game - and subsequent series - was postponed after four players tested positive for COVID-19.
In addition to those four, there are seven further players and two staff members still undertaking quarantine as part of contact tracing.
General manager Mike Rizzo said "the majority" of the players in quarantine were on the Nationals' 26-man roster, while "several" were not.
They plan to fill those roster vacancies from an alternate training site where more than 30 players have been participating in daily training sessions.
The planned first game against the Braves, set for Monday, also will not go ahead, but the Nationals will return to action on Tuesday.
"We want to do everything we can to nip this thing in the bud right here, right now," Rizzo told reporters.
"So, I think that's being taken very much into consideration when we're talking [about] the next couple of days.
"They [the players] really want to get back into the routine of baseball, and they want to work out and get the blood flow [going] again. I think they're very excited about getting back on the field."
The Braves were swept 3-0 in their opening series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Frank Vogel offered his injury-hit Los Angeles Lakers "no excuses" as they were blown out by the Los Angeles Clippers without LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
James is out with a high ankle sprain, while a calf issue continues to keep Davis sidelined.
With new signing Andre Drummond then also ruled out due to a toe injury on his Lakers debut, Vogel was short-handed heading into Sunday's meeting with the Clippers.
But the title-winning head coach still was not impressed by what he saw in a 104-86 loss.
Montrezl Harrell, a former Clipper, led the Lakers in scoring with 19 points, but only fellow center Marc Gasol, who played fewer than 18 minutes, reached double-figures among the starting five.
The reigning NBA champions shot a disappointing 40 per cent from the field, their joint-second worst mark of the season.
Vogel said the Lakers would have to "improve with our offensive execution" and did not accept the injuries to James and Davis as mitigating factors.
"There's no excuses here," he added. "The guys that are playing have what it takes to get the job done, it's that simple."
The team's 86 points were a season low, yet it was also the fifth time in eight games – going back to the meeting with the Atlanta Hawks in which James went down – they have failed to reach 100.
Forward Kyle Kuzma, who had six points on awful two-for-10 shooting, said: "Defensively, we'll be all right. We'll compete, challenge most opponents.
"But offensively, we've got to find ways to play together and put points on the board. You can't win games scoring in the 80s and 90s."
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