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• Doncic fined $35,000 for money gesture directed at officials

  Luka Doncic has been fined $35,000 after making "an inappropriate and unprofessional gesture" towards an official.

  With just 1.7 seconds to go of the 127-125 defeat to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, the Dallas Mavericks star rubbed his fingers together at a referee, appearing to reference money.

  One piece of fortune for Doncic was that he was not given a technical foul for the gesture, with the Slovenian just one shy of the 16 required for a one-game suspension.

  However, the NBA confirmed on Friday that Doncic will be fined for the incident.

  Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wrote on Twitter after the game that they will protest what he called the "worst officiating non-call mistake possibly in the history of the NBA".

  Dallas' objections are based on a referee call that led to Warriors center Kevon Looney scoring an uncontested dunk to make it 90-87 from a Jordan Poole inbound pass with 1:54 left in the third quarter following a Mavericks timeout.

  The Mavericks believed they had possession of the ball, and so were not in position for the inbound, with Cuban claiming that was due to a miscommunication by the referees.

• Morata's pride at Spain captaincy as De la Fuente seeks strong start

  Alvaro Morata has been named Spain's new captain ahead of Luis de la Fuente's first match in charge, with the new coach seeking the "security and confidence" of a strong start.

  It is all change for Spain following the 2022 World Cup, with previous skipper Sergio Busquets retiring and De la Fuente replacing Luis Enrique as boss.

  Morata is left as the most experienced player in the former Spain Under-21 coach's first squad and was confirmed as captain ahead of their first Euro 2024 qualifier against Norway on Saturday.

  "It's a pride and a joy," Morata said in a news conference. "I'm looking forward to things going well and winning. I'm here to help the younger ones."

  The Atletico Madrid striker has been enthused by what he has seen from De la Fuente so far – and he believes he is not alone in that sense.

  "I have been with different coaches and I see everyone very excited," Morata added. "He likes to give affection to his players and work hard.

  "We all have to win from playing and competing. The ticket for a European Championship and a World Cup is not easy, and we are all clear about what is important for us and that we have to always be at these tournaments."

  De la Fuente is "enjoying and living an incomparable experience", but he knows the importance of the result against Norway.

  "Any project has to start well," the coach said. "It's not all about getting off to a good start, but I'd like to.

  "It would give us more security and confidence. We are sure of that."

  Spain's hopes of that first win have been boosted by the absence of Norway's superstar striker Erling Haaland, out with a groin injury.

  De la Fuente added: "I'm very sorry for any footballer's injury. It is the ugly face of this sport. We also have injuries.

  "That said, to say I'd like to see Haaland on the field tomorrow would be lying."

• March Madness: 'It was like a Rocky fight' says Kansas State star Nowell after breaking assist record

  Markquis Nowell said the back-and-forth clash between the Kansas State Wildcats and the Michigan State Spartans in Thursday's Sweet 16 round at the NCAA Tournament was "like a Rocky fight."

  Nowell starred as the Wildcats won 98-93 in overtime, recording 19 assists to break the tournament record for a single game.

  The five-foot-eight guard has 64 points, 42 assists and 11 steals in his three outings so far, with the last division one college basketball or NBA player to reach all of those numbers over any three-game span being Allen Iverson in 2005.

  "It was like a 'Rocky' fight," Nowell said about the game, which saw 16 lead changes and neither team ever holding a double-figure lead.

  Nowell's 19 assists were complimented by 20 of his own points, joining Chris Paul and James Harden as the only players from either division one college basketball or the NBA in the last 10 years to put up a game of at least 20 points, 15 assists and five steals.

  And he attributed his success to his team-mates, with the Wildcats setting up an Elite 8 clash with the Florida Atlantic Owls on Saturday.

  "We're at our best when we're sharing the ball, passing the ball around the perimeter and different guys is getting into double figures in the scoring category," Nowell said. "I wouldn't have 19 assists if they didn't make any shots."

  He produced a stunning alley-oop pass to Keyontae Johnson late in the game, and Johnson heaped praise on Nowell, especially after sustaining an ankle injury during the second half that still did not slow him down.

  "He's our starting point guard," he said. "His IQ, his feel for the game, he brings everybody confidence, and when he came back... everybody saw how he was trying to fight through his injury, and we just wanted to fight back for him."