UConn coach Dan Hurley was thrilled to have come through on his promise of doing "something big" after his team's NCAA title triumph.

The Huskies beat San Diego State 76-59 in Houston on Monday, capping their brilliant tournament with a sixth straight double-digit win, maintaining their perfect 5-0 record in National Championship games.

Of UConn's five titles, four have been won in Texas, while the last one came in 2014.

Hurley took over UConn in 2018, and said this was the vision he had sold to the university and its players.

"Obviously a dream come true for all of us," he told reporters.

"It's part of the programme, we sold the vision – I sold the vision to the university that I could put together a special group of people, a coaching staff, and unbelievable players like this, so it feels great to come through.

"This was our vision, this was our dream, this is what we said when we recruited these guys – to get together and do something big. It's just great to come through on promises made to these players and the university. It was an honour to play against San Diego State, too.

"It was probably the most physical, toughest team we’ve played this year – certainly one of the best. I've just got so much admiration for how they play and their coach, he's one of the best coaches in the country."

Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher was gracious in defeat.

He said: "First of all I congratulate coach Danny Hurley and UConn Huskies. Very deserving. They've played at an elite level the entire tournament.

"We battled, we battled back to five in the second half but gave them too much separation. We weren't at our best. We had to be at our best to win the game. A lot of that has to do with UConn."

Dutcher, though, had few complaints with how his team performed through the championship.

"I'm proud of our guys. These guys have given me everything they've had," he added.

"These guys are what it’s all about – college athletics. Good people, good students and they're really good players.

"We can feel good about the things we did. We're disappointed in the loss, but there's a brotherhood in the locker room that will never be divided by a margin of victory or not winning at all. That brotherhood is going to last a lifetime, I told them that."

UConn secured their fifth NCAA Division title on the back of double-doubles from Adama Sanogo and Tristen Newton in a 76-59 victory over San Diego State in Texas on Monday.

The Huskies capped their brilliant NCAA tournament with a sixth straight double-digit win, maintaining their perfect 5-0 record in National Championship games. It was also the fourth time UConn has claimed the national crown in Texas.

It ends San Diego State's wonderful campaign having made the National Championship game for the first time in their history.

Newton top scored with 19 points along with 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Sanogo added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Hawkins contributed 16 points. Malian big man Sanogo won the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award.

The Huskies shot 23-of-53 from the field, along with 24-of-27 from the free-throw line, opening up a 36-24 half-time lead and never looking back.

The Aztecs got within five points at 60-55 with 5:19 left in the second half, but UConn immediately responded with a Hawkins three-pointer.

Keshad Johnson top scored for the Aztecs with 14 points, while Darrion Trammell and Final Four hero Lamont Butler both added 13 points. SDSU shot six-of-23 from three-point range.

Huskies head coach Dan Hurley said: "We knew we were best team in the tournament going in and we just needed to play to our level."

UConn's triumph means they draw level with Duke and Indiana for fourth-most all-time in NCAA history, having lifted the title in 1999, 2004, 2011, 2014 and now 2023.

UConn secured their fifth NCAA Division title on the back of double-doubles from Adama Sanogo and Tristen Newton in a 76-59 victory over San Diego State in Texas on Monday.

The Huskies capped their brilliant NCAA tournament with a sixth straight double-digit win, maintaining their perfect 5-0 record in National Championship games. It was also the fourth time UConn has claimed the national crown in Texas.

It ends San Diego State's wonderful campaign having made the National Championship game for the first time in their history.

Newton top scored with 19 points along with 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Sanogo added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Hawkins contributed 16 points. Malian big man Sanogo won the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award.

The Huskies shot 23-of-53 from the field, along with 24-of-27 from the free-throw line, opening up a 36-24 half-time lead and never looking back.

The Aztecs got within five points at 60-55 with 5:19 left in the second half, but UConn immediately responded with a Hawkins three-pointer.

Keshad Johnson top scored for the Aztecs with 14 points, while Darrion Trammell and Final Four hero Lamont Butler both added 13 points. SDSU shot six-of-23 from three-point range.

Huskies head coach Dan Hurley said: "We knew we were best team in the tournament going in and we just needed to play to our level."

UConn's triumph means they draw level with Duke and Indiana for fourth-most all-time in NCAA history, having lifted the title in 1999, 2004, 2011, 2014 and now 2023.

UConn secured their fifth NCAA Division title on the back of double-doubles from Adama Sanogo and Tristen Newton in a 76-59 victory over San Diego State in Texas on Monday.

The Huskies capped their brilliant NCAA tournament with a sixth straight double-digit win, maintaining their perfect 5-0 record in National Championship games. It was also the fourth time UConn has claimed the national crown in Texas.

It ends San Diego State's wonderful campaign having made the National Championship game for the first time in their history.

Newton top scored with 19 points along with 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Sanogo added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Hawkins contributed 16 points. Malian big man Sanogo won the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award.

The Huskies shot 23-of-53 from the field, along with 24-of-27 from the free-throw line, opening up a 36-24 half-time lead and never looking back.

The Aztecs got within six points with 5:19 left in the second half, but UConn immediately responded with a Hawkins three-pointer.

Keshad Johnson top scored for the Aztecs with 14 points, while Darrion Trammell and Final Four hero Lamont Butler both added 13 points. SDSU shot six-of-23 from three-point range.

Huskies head coach Dan Hurley said: "We knew we were best team in the tournament going in and we just needed to play to our level."

UConn's triumph means they draw level with Duke and Indiana for fourth-most all-time in NCAA history, having lifted the title in 1999, 2004, 2011, 2014 and now 2023.

The Golden State Warriors "didn't deserve to win" against the Denver Nuggets, with coach Steve Kerr lamenting a loss of focus from his team.

Golden State lost 112-110 to Denver on Sunday, with Klay Thompson squandering two game-winning three-point opportunities in the final five seconds.

The Nuggets, who were without Nikola Jokic, had led by nine points heading into the final two minutes and ultimately held on.

Golden State led 36-26 at the end of the first quarter, but their lead had been cut to three points at half-time.

Kerr pointed to the second quarter as where it started to go wrong.

"Up until the middle of the second quarter, we had total control of the game," he said. "Then we stopped playing. We lost our focus on both ends.

"We had control of the game and just handed that back to them. We gave them life and they took advantage.

"We were mindless out there and weren't tough enough, disciplined enough and ultimately didn't deserve to win."

The Warriors sit sixth in the Western Conference with just games remaining in the regular season.

Two of those are on the road, with Golden State 9-30 outside of San Francisco this season. That is the worst record by a defending champion in the history of the NBA.

"Most of the questions when we lose are about what went wrong, and you try to point the finger, but if we obviously knew what to do about it, we would do it," said Stephen Curry, who finished with 21 points in Denver.

"There's a sense of urgency on these last three games, and not only just the wins but the vibe that you create going into a playoff series.

"That does matter. We've got to come to a realisation that if we're going to win or do anything in the playoffs, this kind of game can't happen."

The New York Knicks will not "coast" after clinching their place in the NBA playoffs, assured Tom Thibodeau and Jalen Brunson.

The Knicks ended an eight-year wait to return to the postseason in 2020-21, only to take a step back last year and miss out.

But this season's team, boosted by the signing of Brunson, have long looked on course for the playoffs and punched their ticket on Sunday.

A 118-109 win over the Washington Wizards did the job, with Brunson contributing 27 points and eight assists.

The Knicks are not quite there yet in terms of locking up the fifth seed in the East, with the Brooklyn Nets 2.5 games back, but they were not looking to ease up regardless.

"We need to keep playing," said coach Thibodeau. "We want to be at our best going in."

Brunson added: "The fact that we get further on in our season is great, but we've still got a lot of work to do.

"I think first and foremost we want to finish the season as strong as we can. Even getting in the playoffs, we don't want to coast.

"We want to continue to get better, continue to find ways to make each other better and make sure we're staying focused as we're going forward. That's what’s most important."

Knicks owner James Dolan had made public the goal of reaching the playoffs back in January, a challenge the team welcomed.

"I said it at the time: I love that the owner has great belief in the team," said Thibodeau. "That's what I want.

"Our job is to put the work in each day. But there's no trick to this, there's no magic to this, there's no shortcut to it.

"It's a great accomplishment, because it's one of the goals, one of several. It's the next step along the way.

"So, keep going, and that's where the focus is. We know how important the next game is. So, get ready for Indiana, but just keep checking the boxes as we go."

Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving concedes his side's downward spiral since his trade has been "emotionally draining" but says there is still a glimmer of hope for their playoff aspirations.

The Mavs slumped to their third straight loss with Sunday's 132-130 overtime defeat against the Atlanta Hawks, also leaving them with one win from their past eight games.

The result means the Mavs sit 11th in the Western Conference with a 37-42 record, outside the final play-in tournament spot, occupied by the Oklahoma City Thunder (38-41).

OKC suffered a 128-118 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday to keep the Mavs in contention but the clock is ticking for a franchise who had championship designs when they traded in Irving in February to play alongside MVP contender Luka Doncic.

The Mavs are a lowly 7-12 with Irving since the trade and the All-Star guard said their struggles had been "emotionally draining".

"We've just been losing tough ones, emotionally draining, but at the same time we're professionals," Irving told reporters.

"I think the fun part of it is we still have a glimmer of hope, a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel of where we can still sneak in.

“But at the same time, I’m at peace with just our effort, with spurts throughout the games. We’ve just got to be able to finish better as a team."

Mavs head coach Jason Kidd, who is under pressure to keep his job, said the team were now playing "catch-up" given their play-in predicament with three games left.

"We know the situation we're in," Kidd said. "We're playing catch-up. We've got to find a way to win and right now we're coming up short when we need to win games. Unfortunately we're not winning right now."

Irving was almost the hero against the Hawks, attempting to steal the ball off Trae Young at 130-130 in the final seconds of OT, only for the referee to call a foul.

Kidd and Irving argued the call as Young hit both of the game-winning free-throws, with the coach calling it a "wild ending".

Irving added: "I know those refs will look back on it and won't be too happy with that call. But it could’ve gone either way. I thought I was great position but that foul cost us game practically."

Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday argued Giannis Antetokounmpo should be this season's MVP and has blamed voter fatigue for why he is not the favourite.

The MVP race appears a battle of two, between Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid, but Antetokounmpo reminded everyone of his quality with his 31st 30-point double-double in Sunday's 117-104 win over the Sixers.

The win boosted the Bucks' (56-22) chances of finishing in the one seed in the Eastern Conference, pulling two games clear of the Boston Celtics (54-24) in the two spot with four games to play.

In a match-up against Embiid, Antetokounmpo finished with 33 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and three blocks and is averaging 31.1 points, 11.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists this season. Embiid had 29 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

The Greek forward is fifth overall for points per game, led by Embiid (33.0), while he is third for rebounds, behind Domantas Sabonis (12.4) and Jokic (11.9).

Holiday argued that because 2019 and 2020 NBA MVP Antetokounmpo has been elite for a long period of time, voters take his quality for granted.

"[Giannis] has been MVP too much," Holiday told reporters when asked about the MVP race. "He's been doing this too much, I feel like people get bored of it.

"It's kind of like the Bron effect. LeBron has done it so many times that people think that it's normal now. And it's not.

"He makes it look so easy. The first couple years that he got it, it's like wow, nobody can do [that] and it's still, to this day, nobody can do what he does.

"He's on the number one team, not just in the East, but in the league."

Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer echoed Holiday's sentiment, believing that Antetokounmpo is this season's rightful MVP, arguing "he does everything".

"We certainly feel like Giannis is the MVP," Budenholzer said. "Best player, best record, what he does on both ends of the court, the rebounding, the blocked shots, the defense, guarding on the perimeter.

"He does everything: play-makes, attacks, gets to the free throw line. We feel like he's in the conversation and he should be the guy."

Antetokounmpo's 31.1 points per game this season is a career best and comes at 55 per cent shooting across 62 games.

LeBron James says the Los Angeles Lakers are still dreaming about winning a championship this season after boosting their playoff hopes with a third straight win on Sunday.

The Lakers downed the Houston Rockets 134-109 to improve their record to 40-38 with four games to go, sitting seventh in the Western Conference behind the Los Angeles Clippers (41-38) and Golden State Warriors (41-38) who both lost over the weekend.

LA are ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans (40-38) holding the head-to-head tiebreaker, with the top six automatically qualifying for the playoffs, while seventh to 10th enter the play-in tournament.

Following a series of trades in February including the additions of D'Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura and Malik Beasley with Russell Westbrook departing, the Lakers have stormed into playoff contention, winning 10 of their past 14 games.

"We just want to put ourselves in the position to compete for a championship," James told reporters.

"It’s a journey and obviously we don’t have as much chemistry as a lot of other teams that have aspirations to win a championship, but we’ve been building over the last month or so.

"These last four games are very important for our team, not only wins and losses but also the chemistry side as well.

"We need to continue to build what we’ve been building over the last month or so. We'll see what happens."

James had 18 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists to match Jason Kidd for 107 career triple-doubles, which is fourth overall in NBA history.

Anthony Davis played a key role with 40 points, including 27 in the first half, with James saying his All-Star team-mate was "making magic right now".

Russell only played 15 minutes for six points, not returning after half-time due to left foot soreness but Lakers head coach Darvin Ham downplayed any major issue.

"It was definitely precautionary," Ham said. "He could have continued the game if we needed him to. The bodies we have available to us now, we just didn’t want to risk it."

The NBA-leading Milwaukee Bucks produced a statement win ahead of the playoffs led by Giannis Antetokounmpo as they defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 117-104 on Sunday.

Antetokounmpo scored 33 points with 14 rebounds, six assists and three blocks, bringing up his 31st 30-point double-double this season, as they improved to 56-22 at Fiserv Forum.

The win moves Milwaukee closer to clinching the Eastern Conference, with the Boston Celtics (54-24) in the second spot ahead of the 76ers (51-27) in third with four games to play.

Boston, who routed the Bucks 140-99 three nights ago, have the head-to-head tiebreaker on Milwaukee.

The Bucks shot at 57.5 per cent from the field, led by Antetokounmpo's 13-of-17 shooting, while Khris Middleton started strong for 19 points. Brook Lopez, Jrue Holiday and Bobby Portis contributed 21, 18 and 18 points respectively.

Middleton's hot start fuelled the Bucks' 41-26 first-quarter lead and they never looked back, with the 76ers closing to within four points in the third period, before the Bucks pulled away again as Antetokounmpo scored the final seven points of that quarter.

MVP candidate Joel Embiid scored 28 points on 11-of-25 shooting from the field with nine rebounds and five assists.

Tyrese Maxey added a team-high 29 points with six-of-seven from beyond the arc. James Harden was contained to 11 points with six assists.

Thompson spurns game-winning attempt

Klay Thompson missed two game-winning three-point attempts in the final five seconds as the fast-finishing Golden State Warriors lost 112-110 to the Denver Nuggets without Nikola Jokic.

The Warriors had rallied from nine points down in the final two minutes to earn Thompson a three-point shot for victory from Stephen Curry's pass, but his initial attempt rimmed out, before a follow-up was blocked by Aaron Gordon.

Michael Porter Jr (29 points and 11 rebounds) and Jamal Murray (26 points and eight assists) impressed in Jokic's absence.

Thompson and Curry finished with 25 and 21 points each, with the former making five-of-16 from three-point range as Golden State shot nine-of-42 from beyond the arc as a team. Golden State fall to sixth with a 41-38 record with the Los Angeles Lakers right behind them.

LeBron matches Kidd for triple-doubles

Anthony Davis scored 40 points and LeBron James recorded a triple-double as the Lakers claimed their third straight win to boost their playoff hopes, downing the Houston Rockets 134-109.

James finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists to draw level wit Jason Kidd in fourth overall (107) for most triple-doubles in NBA history. Russell Westbrook (198) has the most, ahead of Oscar Robertson (181) and Magic Johnson (138).

Davis scored 27 of his 40 points in the first half, with the Lakers improving their record to 40-38 to sit seventh in the West with four games to go. The fifth-placed Los Angeles Clippers (41-38) lost to the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday, with the two LA sides to meet on Wednesday.

Brandon Ingram said the New Orleans Pelicans proved they can contend with the best in the NBA as he continued his hot streak to earn a huge win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Ingram scored 25 points or more for the ninth straight outing, putting up 36 in a 122-114 victory that leaves the Pelicans just one game back of the sixth-placed Clippers in the West.

Getting into the top six would mean the Pelicans avoid the play-in tournament in the playoffs.

"If you want to be the best, you've got to go against the best and you've got to beat them," Ingram said. 

"That's one of the things that was in my head tonight, just trying to get this win."

Asked about his impressive form, Ingram said: "It's just manoeuvring a little bit, seeing what's open, seeing what spot I can get to on the floor, not forcing the game.

"That’s the biggest thing – seeing what's the best shot for the team, but also making sure that I stay aggressive."

Team-mates CJ McCollum and Trey Murphy III put up 19 apiece, and the former paid tribute to Ingram's ability to make the clutch shots in key moments.

"Those are I'm-just-better-than-you shots," McCollum said. 

"He's relying on his skill set and his comfort level. Regardless of analytics and what's considered a good shot, that's a great shot for him."

Kawhi Leonard put up 40 points for the Clippers, who have now lost back-to-back games.

"We just have to give credit to them as they played amazing. Ingram played great," Leonard said.

Jimmy Butler said the win is all that matters as the Miami Heat boosted their playoffs standing, while simultaneously damaging the Dallas Mavericks' own postseason hopes.

The Heat entered Saturday's contest with a three-game losing streak, but fought for a 129-122 victory at the FTX Arena.

That was despite the slumping Mavericks shooting at 61 per cent, marking only the second time the franchise has ever lost when shooting at least 60 per cent including the playoffs (30-2 all time).

Butler led the way with 35 points and 12 assists, while Cody Zeller (20 points), Kevin Love, Max Strus (both 18) and Tyler Herro (15) all contributed.

The Heat are seventh in the East, have a three-game buffer over the Atlanta Hawks for the final play-in spot, and are only a game back of the Brooklyn Nets in sixth to avoid the play-in altogether – although, due to a superior head-to-head record, the Nets only need to go 3-2 at the end of the season to hold on.

After the game Butler, said: "A win is a win. 

"I don't like the fact that they shot 61 per cent, but I do like the fact that we finally won a game."

Head coach Erik Spoelstra added: "I wouldn't necessarily have drawn it up this way."

The Mavericks, like the Heat, made the Conference Finals last season but find themselves in a real battle just to make the postseason this time around.

Defeat leaves them 11th in the West, one game back of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Luka Doncic was once again impressive with 42 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, with Tim Hardaway Jr (31) and Kyrie Irving (23) adding heftily to the tally.

But head coach Jason Kidd was not impressed with his team's performance at the other end of the court.

"Our defense was non-existent. Couldn't get stops," he said.

Hardaway Jr tried to rally his teammates, saying: "[We've] just got to play hard, play with desperation and anything can happen. Anything can happen."

Lamont Butler scored a buzzer-beating game-winner to send San Diego State into the National Championship Game where they will face Connecticut after edging Florida Atlantic 72-71 on Saturday.

Butler got downhill and hit a 17-foot two-point shot as time expired completing a remarkable 14-point second-half comeback for the Aztecs.

It was the first buzzer-beater during this NCAA tournament and only the fifth in the Final Four history.

Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher opted against calling a timeout when Nathan Mensah rebounded Johnell Davis' missed jumper with the Owls leading 71-70 with 10 seconds left, before Butler drove on and took responsibility with his buzzer-beater for the ages.

"I didn't really know how big it was," Butler said who was mobbed by teammates and coaches. "We're going to the national championship. That's not things many people do."

After trailing 40-33 at half-time, SDSU found its defensive grip to work its way back into the contest, with Matt Bradley scoring 21 points with six rebounds.

Alijah Martin top scored for FAU with 26 points including three triples along with seven rebounds.

The Aztecs will face UConn who accounted for the Miami Hurricanes 72-59 with forward Adama Sanogo outstanding with 21 points including two three-pointers and 10 rebounds.

UConn advanced to their fifth National Championship game, with the Huskies having not lost to a non-conference opponent this year and winning all five NCAA games by double digits.

Huskies guard Jordan Hawkins overcame illness to contribute 13 points, while Miami's Isaiah Wong scored a team-high 15 points on four-of-10 shooting with their offense blunted, going at 32.3 per cent from the field as a team.

Luka Doncic scored 42 points with 10 rebounds but it was not enough for the Dallas Mavericks who suffered their sixth loss from their past seven games 129-122 to the Miami Heat on Saturday.

The win was much needed for Miami, who improved to 41-37 to be seventh in the East, with Jimmy Butler top scoring with 35 points and 12 assists at FTX Arena.

The Heat snapped their three-game skid but it left the Mavs' perilous playoff hopes worse off, falling to a 37-41 record, remaining 11th in the West.

Dallas are a game back from Oklahoma City (38-40) in the race for the final play-in spot, with the Thunder owning the head-to-head tiebreaker too.

Doncic tried his best with 42 points on 17-of-25 shooting with two triples along with 10 rebounds, eight assists and two steals. That was the Slovenian's 14th 40-point game this season.

Kyrie Irving added 23 points and eight assists, while Tim Hardaway Jr drained six three-pointers in his 31 points with six rebound and seven assists.

Yet all that was not enough for Dallas who shot at 61 per cent as a team, after Miami piled on 44 first-quarter points, leaving the Mavs to lament their defense. Miami's 76 first-half points was the third most in franchise history.

Center Cody Zeller offered good support to Butler with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Kevin Love and Max Strus both added 18 points and Tyler Herro contributed 15.

Ingram stars as Pels continue playoffs push

The New Orleans Pelicans moved above the Los Angeles Lakers and into the seven spot in the Western Conference with a crucial 122-114 over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Kawhi Leonard scored 40 points for the Clippers, who fall to sixth in the West, but Brandon Ingram maintained his fine form with a game-winning display.

Ingram scored 36 points on 13-of-23 shooting with four rebounds and eight assists, while Jonas Valanciunas added 23 points with 12 rebounds.

Leonard shot 15-of-28 from the field with four-of-eight from beyond the arc with eight rebounds and four assists, while Russell Westbrook contributed 24 points with nine assists.

The Pels have won seven of their past eight games to shoot into playoffs contention in the West with a 40-38 record, while the Clippers are 41-38.

Gregg Popovich is among those to have been entered into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, it was announced on Saturday.

The San Antonio Spurs coach has won five NBA titles and more games than anyone else in the history of the league, with 1,363 regular season victories and a further 170 in the postseason.

Headliners joining Popovich in the class of 2023 are Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade, as well as two players who played under 'Pop' in San Antonio, Tony Parker and Pau Gasol, and his former assistant and San Antonio Stars player Becky Hammon.

Popovich is coming towards the end of his 27th season with the Spurs, sitting in 14th place in the Western Conference with a record of 19-58.

In better days though, Parker won four championships with Pop at the Spurs, while Gasol makes it more for his success with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won two titles.

Dallas Mavericks legend Nowitzki won the 2011 championship and is sixth in the NBA's all-time scoring list, while 13-time All Star Wade won three titles during his 13 years with the Miami Heat.

Hammon – a six-time WNBA All Star – worked under Popovich in San Antonio between 2014 and 2022 before becoming head coach of the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA.