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• Wembanyama seeking recipe for success as record-breaking display fails to halt Spurs slide

  Victor Wembanyama vowed the San Antonio Spurs will continue looking for "a good recipe" after his historic performance failed to prevent his team matching their franchise-record losing run.

  At 19 years and 38 days old, the first overall draft pick became the youngest player in NBA history to post a 20-20 game, managing 21 points and 20 assists at home to the Chicago Bulls on Friday.

  However, that performance was not enough to prevent a 121-112 defeat as the Bulls rallied after the interval, with Patrick Williams, Demar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic and Coby White all managing 20 points or more for Chicago.

  San Antonio has now tied their all-time record losing streak of 16 games, while their 3-18 record is the worst they have ever managed through 21 games of a season.

  Wembanyama – whose 20-20 game came when he was four days younger than previous record holder Dwight Howard – says it is still a case of trial and error after he starred from the center position against the Bulls.

  "Experimenting in different areas of the game is always something important and interesting to me," Wembanyama said. 

  "Every game is different, but we're going to see and try until we find a good recipe.

  "When our opponents are down at half, of course they're going to try and have a reaction. We've got to expect that every time, because our first half was pretty solid, especially defensively. 

  "There are ups and downs during the game, but we've got to get our downs less and less."

  San Antonio's losing steak still stands three games short of that being endured by the Detroit Pistons, who are 2-20 after going down by a 123-91 scoreline against the Orlando Magic, their 19th straight loss.

  Franz Wagner scored 27 points and Paolo Banchero added 24 for Orlando, with the Pistons now enduring the longest single-season losing streak in their franchise history and their second-longest overall.

  Detroit previously lost 21 in a row across the end of the 1979-80 season and the start of 1980-81.

  Though Pistons coach Monty Williams acknowledged the 15-7 Magic are a tough nut to crack defensively, he wasn't happy with his team's offensive efforts.

  "They're a good defensive team but we missed a lot of open shots," Williams said after the defeat. 

  "They take away the paint, force you to play outside. We generated only 30 threes and just didn't hit a good percentage. We just had a hard time putting the ball in the basket tonight."

• Some of the key questions after Jon Rahm’s LIV switch

  Masters champion Jon Rahm has become LIV Golf’s most significant signing since it launched just 18 months ago.

  The world number three’s decision to join the Saudi-funded breakaway represents a huge U-turn and deepens the divisions in the men’s professional game.

  Here, the PA news agency looks at the background to the move and what could happen next?

  Has Rahm always been interested in LIV Golf?

  While players like Rory McIlroy openly voiced their opposition, Rahm was always more measured in his comments, making it clear he felt LIV players should be allowed to play in this year’s Ryder Cup and saying he did not blame two young compatriots David Puig and Eugenio Chacarra for cutting short their college careers to take the money on offer. However, he did pledge his loyalty to the PGA Tour in February last year, criticised LIV’s 54-hole, no-cut format and insisted he played golf to make history, not money.

  So what changed?

  The Framework Agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which bankrolls LIV, appears to have been the catalyst. All the players were blindsided by the sudden announcement of a potential peace deal on June 6, with Rahm revealing he was making breakfast when he heard the news and feared his phone was “going to catch fire” as texts and calls streamed in. A week later at the US Open, Rahm described it as a “bombshell” and admitted many players felt a “bit of betrayal from management”. That no doubt caught the attention of those in charge of LIV, who eventually made Rahm an offer that he felt he could not turn down, even if it meant risking his Ryder Cup future.

  What is the situation with the Ryder Cup?

  As long as he remains a DP World Tour member by playing in at least four regular events a season, Rahm will be eligible to try to qualify for the Ryder Cup or receive a wild card from captain Luke Donald. However, he will face fines and suspensions for playing in LIV tournaments without the required “conflicting event” releases from the DP World Tour. McIlroy has already stressed the need for Rahm to be on the team which will try to retain the trophy at Bethpage Black in 2025, leaving the DP World Tour in a potentially awkward position.

  How many more players will now join LIV?

  Plenty of names have already been linked with jumping ship, although Poland’s Adrian Meronk was quick to quash rumours suggesting he would be among them having only recently earned his PGA Tour card. A place on Rahm’s team, which has yet to be determined, would certainly be appealing financially and they would not come in for the same level of scrutiny and criticism as the two-time major winner.

  What happens next?

  Of course there remains the possibility that the Framework Agreement leads to a definitive deal between the rival factions and that players will be free to compete wherever they wish. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and PIF chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan are due to meet shortly in pursuit of a deal before the deadline of December 31, which can be extended. However, if either party walks away, with private equity potentially offering the PGA Tour alternative funding sources, the game could be split once again and face years of further acrimony and upheaval.

• Rory McIlroy expects Ryder Cup changes after Jon Rahm’s LIV switch

  Rory McIlroy believes the rules on Ryder Cup eligibility will have to be rewritten in the wake of Jon Rahm’s move to LIV Golf.

  McIlroy stated on numerous occasions that he did not think LIV players should be available for selection for this year’s Ryder Cup in Rome, where he and Rahm played starring roles in helping Europe to a convincing victory.

  However, the world number two believes the deal between the DP World Tour, PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has “legitimised” LIV and wants Rahm on Luke Donald’s side when they attempt to retain the trophy at Bethpage Black in 2025.

  “Jon is going to be in Bethpage in 2025 so, because of this decision, the European Tour (DP World Tour) are going to have to rewrite the rules for the Ryder Cup eligibility, absolutely,” McIlroy told Sky Sports News.

  “There’s no question about that – I certainly want Jon Rahm on the next Ryder Cup team.

  “I’m going to miss competing against him week in and week out. He’s got so much talent, he’s so tenacious, he’s a great team-mate in the Ryder Cup.

  “Is it disappointing to me? Yes. But the landscape of golf changed on June 6, when the framework agreement was announced and I think because of that it made the jump from the PGA Tour to  LIV a little easier for guys.

  “They let the first guys really take the heat and then this framework agreement legitimised basically what LIV was trying to do, then I think it’s made it easier now if that’s really what you want to do.”

  As things stand, Rahm will be eligible for the Ryder Cup as long as he remains a DP World Tour member, which requires him to play in four regular tournaments per season.

  He will also earn points towards qualification through major championships, but faces fines and suspensions for playing in LIV tournaments without the required “conflicting event” releases from the DP World Tour.

  In April this year, an arbitration panel ruled that the Tour had the right to sanction players for such “serious breaches” of its code of behaviour, a case sparked by 12 players appealing against fines of £100,000 and suspension from the Scottish Open for playing LIV’s inaugural event in June 2022.

  It is understood that fines and suspensions are assessed on a case-by-case basis, with former LIV player Bernd Wiesberger currently serving a ban after paying all of his fines in order to regain his DP World Tour membership for the new season.

  Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood resigned their memberships in the wake of the arbitration panel’s decision, while Henrik Stenson was sacked as Ryder Cup captain after joining the Saudi-funded breakaway.