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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.

• 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."

• Coco feels the Heat as Jimmy Butler watches Gauff win at Miami Open

  Coco Gauff loves the inner "dog" in Jimmy Butler's basketball game and hopes the Miami Heat star saw plenty to admire about her own tenacity as she made a positive start at the Miami Open.

  Winning 6-4 6-3 against Canadian Rebecca Marino got Gauff off the mark at this fortnight's WTA 1000 tournament, with the 19-year-old American very much at home in Florida.

  Butler was watching at courtside, and the 33-year-old was so close Gauff could hardly ignore his presence.

  "I mean, he was right next to my towels. I had no choice but to see him," Gauff said.

  Gauff is a fan of the Heat, so to be watched by six-time NBA All-Star Butler was flattering for the teenager.

  She is a high achiever herself, reaching the French Open final last year and setting up camp in the WTA top 10 rankings, so there was mutual respect, and the pair met up after Thursday's match.

  "It was really cool because I love watching the Heat, they're my team. He has just that mentality, that dog in him, something that I really admire a lot," Gauff said. "I always do that when I'm on the court, but I was, like, I hope he sees that in me."

  Gauff also spoke about having met players from the Buffalo Bills, the NFL franchise owned by world number three Jessica Pegula's parents.

  "They might have been here for Jess, but I'm glad they stayed to watch my match," Gauff said.

  Pegula beat Katherine Sebov in the match directly after Gauff's clash on the Stadium court.

  Gauff said it was a "privilege" to be watched by fellow sports stars.

  "I think it means more than maybe an actor or singer watching me, because it's like, as an athlete, finding the time to appreciate other sports is really hard," she said. "For them to want to do that, especially for a sport like tennis, which generally most of them don't understand, is really cool."

  Gauff next faces Anastasia Potapova, the Russian player who beat Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk at the last-64 stage.

  That match was notable largely for Kostyuk's refusal to shake hands afterwards with Potapova, a player who earlier this month was warned by the WTA for wearing a Spartak Moscow jersey at Indian Wells.

  Russian and Belarusian players are competing under a neutral flag on the WTA Tour this season, amid the continuing invasion of Ukraine.