France ended their 18-year wait for a Six Nations victory at Twickenham with a record 53-10 bonus-point triumph on Saturday to keep their title hopes alive.

Les Bleus crossed over three times in the first half and were 24 points ahead at the midway point – the biggest half-time margin any side has had over England in the tournament.

The visitors added four more after the restart, with Thibaud Flament, Charles Ollivon and Damian Penaud helping themselves to two tries apiece, while Thomas Ramos – who started the rout – finished with 23 points to his name.

A famous victory moves France level on points with Ireland, who are away at Scotland on Sunday, while England's campaign is effectively over with one round of games to go.

France were up and running inside five minutes following a rapid break as Ethan Dumortier fed Ramos to touch down and subsequently add the extras.

Ramos added to his tally from a penalty and Flament found a gap to power over soon after as France took complete control.

Marcus Smith temporarily reduced the deficit, only for Ramos to add another penalty of his own, before Ollivon smashed through Smith on the line to add to England's pain.

England looked dejected when Ramos converted again, but they started the second half well and, after Max Malins had one ruled out, Freddie Steward used his power to dot down.

Any hope of a miraculous comeback were ended eight minutes later when Ramos knocked a kick over the top into the path of Flament to race through.

The bonus point was secured at that stage but France were far from finished, with Ollivon alert at the breakdown – unlike England's players – to reach over and double his try count.

Penaud touched down under the posts and there was still time to add another try – France's seventh of the day – in one of England's darkest days in the tournament's history.

One of the most oft-repeated phrases is that there is no offseason for NFL teams. 

It bears repeating because the league consistently validates it year after year, with the 'offseason' serving as an ever-increasing hive of activity as teams reconfigure their rosters through free agency and the NFL Draft in the hopes of putting together a winner. 

That activity was supposed to kick into high gear for 2023 NFL free agents on March 13 when the 'negotiating period' opened ahead of the new league year.

But the league is already ahead of schedule in that sense, as Tuesday’s franchise tag deadline was one teeming with headlines. 

Quarterbacks Derek Carr, Geno Smith and Daniel Jones were all signed to lucrative contracts, the latter pair remaining with the Seattle Seahawks and New York Giants, respectively.

The Giants also franchise-tagged Saquon Barkley and the Baltimore Ravens did the same with 2019 MVP Lamar Jackson, though their decision to place the non-exclusive tag on the star quarterback has only increased the doubt about his long-term future.

So much has already been resolved, or not quite resolved in the case of Jackson, yet there are still a plethora of star names at positions on both sides of the ball who will be free to talk to teams on Monday.

The news will likely come thick and fast. With that in mind, let’s look at the key storylines to follow in free agency through the prism of Stats Perform's advanced data.

Brissett and Jimmy G's value

The first major domino in the quarterback market fell on Monday when Carr was signed to a four-year, $150million deal by the New Orleans Saints.

That deal was followed in relatively short order by another, with the Seahawks retaining Smith on a three-year contract worth $105 million, and then Jones receiving $160m over four years from the Giants.

Smith, the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year, led all quarterbacks (minimum 200 attempts) in well-thrown rate, delivering an accurate, well-thrown ball on 87.0 per cent of his passes.

Yet there is evidence to suggest the Saints could have got much more value for their money by looking elsewhere at the game's most important position.

Carr receiving $37.5m annually from the Saints after the Las Vegas Raiders released him appears a somewhat bemusing move from New Orleans, especially after one of the worst statistical seasons of his career.

His well-thrown rate of 78.5 per cent was below the league average of 80.7 and trailed that of two other prominent free-agent quarterbacks – Jimmy Garoppolo (82.3) and Jacoby Brissett (84.1). Brissett's ratio was the best among quarterbacks with at least 200 pass attempts who also averaged at least 9.0 air yards per attempt.

Garoppolo and Brissett could be described as anything from high-end backup to above-average starter, but Carr's deal and the $40m a year Jones got from the Giants after a season in which he posted a well-thrown rate of 84.9 per cent should give their agents leverage in negotiations with suitors.

The advanced data surrounding accuracy suggests the two former New England Patriots may have been better options for the Saints. Their numbers and level of performance from last season should encourage teams interested in QBs like the Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans and New York Jets (Will Aaron Rodgers leave the Green Bay Packers?), though recent movements may mean neither is as affordable as might have previously been anticipated.

Meyers and Slayton set for paydays

The receiver options in free agency are limited, with most of the intrigue at that spot surrounding a man who did not play last season: Odell Beckham Jr.

Beckham missed all of last year as he remained unsigned while recovering from the torn ACL he suffered in Super Bowl LVI. 

Somebody will take a chance on Beckham this offseason given his pedigree, but the more eye-opening paydays may go to two more unheralded names.

Jakobi Meyers and Darius Slayton are each coming off impressive seasons. Meyers ranked 15th in combined open percentage (46.2) across man and zone coverages among wide receivers with at least 100 matchups and got open on 59.0 per cent of his man matchups. Only four wideouts with a minimum of 25 man matchups won a higher percentage.

The Giants were actively shopping Slayton last offseason, but his ability to create separation was a huge factor in their return to the playoffs.

He finished the year with a 69.0 burn percentage, which measures how often a receiver won his matchup with a defender strictly on plays where he was targeted. And his average of 13.5 burn yards per target ranked fifth among wideouts with at least 50 targets.

Given Beckham averaged 10.8 burn yards per target in his last season in the league and will not have played a game in over 18 months by the time the new season rolls around, handing Meyers or Slayton a large deal and backing them to continue their ascension may be a more astute move than betting on OBJ.

Should Schultz reset the market?

Arguably the biggest prize among the pass catchers is tight end Dalton Schultz, who may well reset the market at that position after the Dallas Cowboys elected not to use the franchise tag on him.

Darren Waller of the Raiders is the league's highest-paid tight end, earning an average of $17m per year.

Schultz could surpass that, but there is statistical evidence to suggest teams should be wary of paying him more than the NFL's established elite at the position.

His burn rate of 65.7 per cent was sixth among tight ends with at least 50 targets, trailing Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, Dallas Goedert and George Kittle. He also was fifth in burn yards per route (2.3) behind Kelce, Andrews, Kittle and Kyle Pitts.

But he only finished with five touchdowns in his 15 games and his burn yards per target average of 9.5 was only just above the average of 9.4.

By paying up for Schultz, a team will be putting their faith in him to eventually rise to the level of Kelce and Kittle. The reality is it will be very tough for him to replicate their all-round impact and cap space may be better spent elsewhere in a year when the draft class at tight end is strong.

Offensive tackle overpays

Speaking of possible overpays, let's talk about the offensive tackle market. Top-tier offensive tackles usually do not make it to the market, but two bonafide starters are set to.

Orlando Brown Jr. could cash in after the Kansas City Chiefs opted not to franchise him in the wake of their Super Bowl victory, while former San Francisco 49ers starting right tackle Mike McGlinchey is also primed for pastures new.

The 49ers do not have the salary cap space to pay McGlinchey the top-of-market money he could receive and that is probably for the best.

His pressure-allowed rate of 8.7 per cent was slightly better than the average of 8.9 for players with a minimum of 100 snaps at right tackle, but he was also credited with giving up nine adjusted sacks (including the playoffs). Only five right tackles gave up more, three of whom played more pass protection snaps than McGlinchey.

McGlinchey provides consistently solid play, but his ceiling is quite low. With Brown, the level of consistency could certainly be called into question.

He allowed a pressure rate of 9.9 per cent (the average for left tackles with a minimum of 100 snaps was 8.9) and was in the bottom half of the league in both pass-block win rate (63.9 per cent) and run-block win rate (63.7 per cent).

Those numbers are an indication of why a Chiefs team who have done an excellent job of quickly developing young players were willing to let Brown test the market a year after trading star receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins. And both he and McGlinchey come with 'buyer beware' stickers.

Edge rush bargains available

While the top tackles in the class could be considered fool's gold, there are some potential bargains to be had for those teams looking to add edge rushers in free agency.

Marcus Davenport only managed half a sack in the 2022 season for the Saints, but he was actually one of the better players at his position in terms of generating pressure.

His pressure rate of 23.6 per cent was 10th among edge rushers with at least 100 pass rush snaps.

Sixth on that list was Arden Key, whose decision to sign a one-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars did not pay off as his sack number dropped from 6.5 in 2021 with the 49ers to 4.5 last season. 

Yet Key's 25.5 per cent pressure rate indicates he can be a very dangerous weapon for defensive coordinators to wield. Still only 26, Key has plenty of room to grow and realise the potential that was obvious during his college career at LSU.

Davenport and Key are not likely to command hugely lucrative contracts. The axiom goes that you can never have too many pass rushers, and adding either of this duo would be a wise move by general managers eyeing extra help on the defensive front.

Who can Philly keep?

Having re-signed edge rusher Brandon Graham to a one-year deal, the Eagles still have 18 players set to enter unrestricted free agency, giving Philadelphia a huge challenge as they try to keep the core of a Super Bowl roster intact.

Among that group are two starters on the much-vaunted offensive line, starting running back Miles Sanders and backup Boston Scott, five defensive linemen (including starting defensive tackles Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave), both starting linebackers and starting safeties, and starting cornerback James Bradberry.

To put it mildly, that is quite the list. And with a little under $4m in cap space to play with, the Eagles are going to have to get creative to retain many of those players.

The question is: Which players should they prioritise?

Future Hall-of-Fame center Jason Kelce could yet retire. If he does not, the Eagles have a difficult decision to make. Kelce's aggregate win rate across pass blocking and run blocking of 83.5 per cent was second among all offensive linemen last season. However, he is 35 and the Eagles drafted his successor, Cam Jurgens, last year.

On the other side of the trenches, it could be very tough for them to keep both Cox and Hargrave, and it is easy to make a case for either one.

Cox had the higher aggregate win rate in pass rushing and run defense. His 40.1 per cent win rate was vastly superior to Hargrave's 34.4 per cent, but the scales tip firmly in Hargave's favour when it comes to the pass rush. Hargrave won 43.8 per cent of his rushes compared to 33.0 for Cox. 

In 2023, the edge goes to players who more consistently impact the passing game. That is Hargrave, but the league-wide recognition of his abilities may make him too expensive to keep.

Further back in the secondary, there are two standout names who should be high on Philadelphia's list of in-house targets to re-sign. 

Bradberry is one after he finished 15th among all starting corners with a combined open percentage-allowed across man and zone coverage of 25.3. 

Safety Marcus Epps may have been unable to prevent Travis Kelce from finding the endzone in the Super Bowl, but he was ninth for all defensive backs by the same metric, posting an open percentage-allowed of 20.2. 

Some of the higher-profile names may depart, but keeping Epps around would be a shrewd and important bit of business.

Dean set to cash in

Bradberry will be one of the top cornerbacks in a free-agent class that has plenty of depth, but Jamel Dean is arguably the top prize at that position.

The 26-year-old Dean was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' best corner in 2022, ranking 10th among corners with a combined open percentage-allowed of 24.3.

In addition, he finished 12th among outside corners with a burn-allowed rate of 44.1 per cent.

Simply put, Dean has already established himself as one of the better young corners in the NFL by doing an excellent job of preventing receivers from creating separation against him.

And with the Buccaneers in a dire salary cap position, he will have the opportunity to cash in with a new team.

With a track record of impressive play on his resume as he enters what should be his prime years, Dean could soon be one of the highest-paid defensive players in the NFL.

Cincy's safety dance

The Cincinnati Bengals are set to see safeties Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell hit the open market. They will likely only re-sign one after drafting Dax Hill in the first round last year.

Bates was a second-team All-Pro in 2020 and has served as a key cog on the Cincinnati defense, but Bell's greater versatility could make him the choice. 

Bell played 627 snaps as a deep safety last season as the Bengals suffered an agonising AFC championship game loss, but he also played over 100 snaps at both box safety and nickel corner. Additionally, he spent time at outside corner, both linebacker spots and on the edge.

By contrast, Bates played 78.5 per cent of his snaps as a deep safety. The only other position where he played more than 100 snaps was at box safety.

There was nothing to separate the two in terms of performance in zone coverage, which made up the bulk of their coverage snaps. Both Bates and Bell finished the season with a zone open-allowed percentage of 21.6.

However, Bell's multiplicity may carry more value in a league in which being able to disguise coverages is a significant advantage.

Bates' best fit is with a team that plays a lot of single-high safety coverage. Though the Bengals' most common coverage in 2022 was Cover 3, they did also play a large amount of two-high coverages, often leaning on Tampa 2 and Cover 4.

As such, do not be surprised to see the Bengals hang on to Bell and leave Bates to try to find a place he can continue to thrive in a league pivoting away from schemes that suit him best.

Warren Gatland saluted the "excellent" Rhys Webb after the Wales scrum-half marked his international return with a man-of-the-match display against Italy.

Starting in his first Test since October 2020 - and first Six Nations match for six years - Webb played an instrumental role as Gatland's side prevailed 29-17 in Rome to claim a welcome first win of this year's tournament.

The Ospreys scrum-half assisted two of Wales' four tries in their bonus-point victory. His clever kick bounced kindly for Rio Dyer to go over early on, before his quick burst paved the way for Taulupe Faletau to cross in the second half.

Gatland felt Webb "played outstandingly well" during an important triumph for the visitors, who would have slipped outside the top 10 in the world rankings for the first time with defeat at Stadio Olimpico.

"His decision-making was excellent, he didn't force anything and kept us on the front foot," the Wales coach told S4C.

"I thought we deserved to win and with the bonus point which was great. 

"There's still a massive amount of growth in this team in terms of them going forward. A lot of players will have learned a lot about themselves - it wasn't a bad Italian side.

"The second half wasn't as good as the first. It would be nice to be in the coaching box and think the game wasn't going down to the wire, but the boys scrambled well."

Flanker Jac Morgan added: "We've worked hard over the last few weeks, and it's nice to get the win."

Wales' campaign will conclude with a match against France in Paris next week.

Jerry Kelly became the oldest player to ever make the cut at The Players Championship as the American scraped through to the final round.

At the age of 56 years, three months and 16 days, Kelly ensured he would stick around for the full weekend at TPC Sawgrass.

The PGA Tour confirmed that as a new age record for its flagship tournament.

Kelly only just made it though, with rounds of 74 and 72 putting him two over par. At one stage, the cut looked like falling at one over, but that changed on Saturday when second rounds resumed after weather disruption curtailed Friday's action.

Madison-based Kelly won two PGA Tour events in 2002 and a third in 2009, but he has had greater success on the senior PGA Champions tour. There, he has totted up 11 titles since 2017, on the way to helping his career prize-money reach $40.25million.

Wales claimed a much-needed first victory of this year's Six Nations after seeing off Italy 29-17 in Rome.

Warren Gatland's side arrived at Stadio Olimpico having only scored three tries in the tournament, but Rio Dyer, Liam Williams and Taulupe Faletau all crossed as they also earned the bonus point.

The result brought welcome relief for Wales, who could have lost their top-10 status in the world rankings with defeat in what was the likely wooden spoon decider.

Meanwhile, Italy continued their dismal record on home soil, where they have now suffered 25 successive defeats since beating Ireland 10 years ago.

Owen Williams kicked Wales in front and extended their lead to 10 points in the ninth minute when Rhys Webb's punt bounced fortuitously for Dyer to cross.

Tommaso Allan reduced the deficit but Liam Williams put the visitors back in control, the full-back evading five challenges before going over.

The hosts looked to respond and Juan Ignacio Brex was just unable to ground after a brilliant break from Paolo Garbisi. 

Wales subsequently pulled further clear as they were awarded a penalty try when Lorenzo Cannone collapsed the maul after Ken Owens drove his side over the line.

Despite the numerical disadvantage after Cannone was sin-binned, Italy made a bright start to the second half with Sebastian Negri collecting Allan’s punt to touch down.

But their momentum was halted when Pierre Bruno was also sent to the bin for a dangerous challenge on Wyn Jones, the winger fortunate to escape a red card after narrowly avoiding contact to the head.

Wales capitalised with the extra man to secure the bonus point, Webb bursting away before offloading for Faletau to go over. 

Italy had the final word, Brex crossing after a neat move but, despite a late rally, they could not deny their opponents victory.

Rory McIlroy missed the cut at The Players Championship on Saturday and pointed the finger at his off-course political workload, saying: "I'd love to get back to being a golfer."

The Northern Irishman, a talisman for the PGA Tour, has been a strong and vocal opponent of the LIV Golf series that has attracted a host of the world's leading players.

With LIV being a Saudi-backed series, questions have been asked about why players would sign up for a tour that critics consider an attempt at sportswashing due to that country's human rights record.

McIlroy has been working closely with top-level golf officials to improve the appeal of the US-based PGA Tour, with a revamped calendar for 2024 set to include eight additional no-cut tournaments, which it is hoped will prove attractive to anyone with wavering support.

Having an eye on the business side has affected his golf, though, the 33-year-old believes, and McIlroy bowed out at TPC Sawgrass after a delayed finish to the second round, which was affected by bad weather on Friday.

McIlroy agreed after his round when asked if it was fair to say the added responsibilities had taken their toll.

"Yeah, it is fair. I'd love to get back to being a golfer," he said. "It's been a busy couple of weeks, and honestly it's been a busy six or eight months.

"But as I said at the start of the week, everything has sort of been announced now, and the wheels have been put in motion, so it should obviously quieten down from here."

He followed an opening 76 with a 73 in round two, missing the cut by three shots at the flagship tour event.

McIlroy said his week had been "just very blah".

"You just have to be really on to play well here," he added. "If you're a little off, it definitely magnifies where you are off. It's a bit of an enigma. Some years I come here, and it feels easier than others. It's just a tricky golf course."

McIlroy said he would head to Augusta for "a couple of days" next week to familiarise himself with the Georgia course ahead of the Masters, which begins on April 6.

"I actually don't feel like I'm playing that badly at all," said the world number three. "A few miscues here and there, I putted it off the sixth green yesterday, and just stuff that was a little untidy here and there. But I hit the ball okay."

Canadian Adam Svensson held the 36-hole lead on nine under par after a 67, with American Scottie Scheffler second following a second-round 69, putting him two behind. Four players shared third on six under ahead of the third round getting under way: Ben Griffin, Min Woo Lee, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Collin Morikawa.

Mikaela Shiffrin found it "very hard to comprehend" becoming the greatest skier of all time after her sensational record-breaking 87th FIS Alpine World Cup victory in Are on Saturday.

A day after equalling the great Ingemar Stenmark's haul of 86 World Cup wins with a giant slalom triumph, the legendary American moved out on her own in Sweden.

The 27-year-old was a class apart in the slalom event, continuing her dominance to make history.

A blistering first run of 50.93 seconds gave her a commanding lead and she was even quicker second time around, clocking 50.84 to win by almost a second.

Shiffrin said: "Very hard to comprehend that thought. My brother and sister-in-law are here, I didn't know they were coming. That made it so special. Holy c***.

"To the whole team, especially all the people who have helped me this whole season and my whole career, all the people who are reaching out know, it’s pretty incredible, I just want to say thank you for that."

There appears to be no stopping Shiffrin, who will head to the World Cup Finals in Soldeu, Andorra next week knowing she has achieved what has never been done before.

Shiffrin's big moment came 11 years after she won her first World Cup race.

Wendy Holdener was second, with Anna Swenn Larsson third in her homeland.

Austin Reaves saluted the "super talented" D'Angelo Russell following his successful return in the Los Angeles Lakers' 122-112 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

After missing six games with a sprained ankle, the guard scored 28 points as the Lakers notched up their seventh win in nine outings.

Russell, who had nine assists and five rebounds, was five-for-five shooting in the fourth quarter, racking up 16 points for the Lakers, who are only a game-and-a-half behind the fifth-placed Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference.

"He's just super talented," said Reaves, who also contributed 18 points. "The shots he was hitting in the fourth, it was ridiculous.

"You've only got a handful of guys that take those shots in that situation. So, shout-out to him. [It's] good to have him back. We're looking to keep it rolling."

"I was just flowing, honestly," Russell added. "Obviously, this is my first game back and just itching to get back on the floor.

"So, to get back out there and perform and be back out there with those guys - they were playing at a high level - and to be able to contribute to that was just fun. I couldn't help but smile."

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk's teams have told the World Boxing Association (WBA) they have reached an agreement for a heavyweight unification fight.

A proposed mouthwatering battle between WBC champion Fury and WBA-Super, IBF, WBO and IBO strap-holder Usyk has been shrouded in doubt as the two parties were unable to settle on terms.

Alex Krassyuk, Usyk's promoter, revealed Fury had rejected a 60-40 purse split in favour of the winner for a bout at Wembley on April 29.

Usyk then put the ball back in "greedy belly" Fury's court by agreeing to the Briton's demand for a 70-30 split, provided he immediately donates £1million to warn-torn Ukraine as they continued to do their talking over social media rather than around the table.

But the WBA later provided an encouraging update, stating assurances have been made that an agreement was reached ahead of Friday's deadline.

"WBA President Gilberto Mendoza received confirmation from Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury's teams that there is an agreement to make the unification fight," the WBA tweeted. "They request time to work on the contracts to close the deal."

Joel Embiid was hailed as the "MVP" and "big-time player" after holding his nerve to snatch a last-gasp victory for the Philadelphia 76ers over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Embiid landed the decisive basket with 1.1 seconds to go at Wells Fargo Center on Friday, securing a 120-119 triumph.

There were chants of 'MVP' from the crowd for the six-time NBA All-Star, who scored 39 points as the Sixers rallied from 21 points down in the first half to take their record for the season to 44-22.

James Harden, who finished with 19 points, said of his team-mate Embiid's game-winning moment: "Something that he works on every day. That's why he's MVP of the league this year."

Portland star Damian Lillard felt the Trail Blazers gave a great account of themselves and doffed his cap to Embiid.

"It was a good performance," Lillard said. "We played really well on both ends of the floor. The game felt good, just how we played on both sides.

"We were on a string defensively. Our presence on the ball. Our presence in the paint, and we gave ourselves a really good chance to win the game.

"They just made a big-time shot from a big-time player."

Philadelphia have won five of their six games this month and sit third in the Eastern Conference.

Head coach Doc Rivers: "It wasn't our night until 1.1 seconds, when you think about it. We stayed at it. We were looking for everything and just couldn't get going, man. We looked like we were in mud in the first half on both ends.

"That's a hell of a win for us because we didn't have a lot, and you could see it."

A 34-point haul for Anfernee Simons was in vain for the Trail Blazers, who slipped to 31-36.

Aryna Sabalenka showed exactly why she is ranked second in the world as she dominated her opening match of the Indian Wells Open on Friday against Evgeniya Rodina.

Belarus' Sabalenka needed just 66 minutes to defeat the Russian 6-2 6-0, taking advantage of her first-round bye to book her spot in the third round against Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko.

Tsurenko had to come from behind against the in-form Donna Vekic, fresh off her Monterrey Open title last week, but that big effort may have had the Croatian with heavy legs as she ran out of steam 2-6 6-2 6-2.

It was a strong day for the Ukranians as 27th seed Anhelina Kalinina beat the Czech Republic's Linda Fruhvirtova 4-6 6-4 7-5, and she will next face Greece's Maria Sakkari.

Sakkari, the seventh seed, had to deal with adversity after a poor first set against Shelby Rogers, coming back to win 2-6 6-4 6-0.

Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic lost her Swiss showdown against Jil Teichmann 3-6 6-3 6-3, while Veronika Kudermetova got the better of her Russian compatriot Anna Blinkova 6-3 6-4.

The second-highest ranked American in the field, Coco Gauff, had no issues dispatching Spain's Cristina Bucsa 6-2 6-4. But it was tougher work for America's top hope Jessica Pegula as she was pushed all the way by recent Merida Open champion Camila Giorgi, before prevailing 3-6 6-1 6-2.

World number three Stefanos Tsitsipas has left the Indian Wells Masters without a win after a shock 7-6 (7-0) 4-6 7-6 (7-5) loss to Jordan Thompson on Friday.

Tsitsipas, the second seed with Novak Djokovic not present, received a bye through to the second round, and he showed some rust with three double faults in the opening set. 

Thompson capitalised, with an incredible 21 winners to only two unforced errors in the first set, and he closed it out with 15 winners and four unforced errors in the deciding frame for the biggest win of his career.

The Australian will now meet Chile's Alejandro Tabilo in the third round after he upset 32nd seed Maxime Cressy in a gruelling 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (15-13) triumph.

Meanwhile, it was smooth sailing for third seed Casper Ruud in his 6-2 6-3 victory over Diego Schwartzman, and a similar story for fifth seed Daniil Medvedev in his 6-4 6-3 result against Brandon Nakashima.

Alexander Zverev, the 12th seed, had no issues in his 6-3 6-1 domination of Pedro Cachin in 77 minutes, and 13th seed Karen Khachanov also took exactly 77 minutes to see off Oscar Otte 6-3 6-3.

England's 10th seed Cameron Norrie breezed past Tung-lin Wu 6-2 6-4, while Italy's 20th seed Matteo Berrettini suffered an early 7-6 (7-5) 0-6 6-3 exit at the hands of Japan's Taro Daniel.

In the late window, after a lengthy weather delay, 14th seed Frances Tiafoe won his all-American showdown against Marcos Giron 6-2 6-2.

Joel Embiid did his MVP chances no harm on Friday as he carried the Philadelphia 76ers to their fourth win in a row with a 120-119 home win against the Portland Trail Blazers.

It was looking like Portland's night early on as they built a 71-50 lead approaching half-time, led primarily by the hot-shooting Anfernee Simons on his way to a team-high 34 points on 13-of-22 from the field.

But from that point on they were outscored 70-48 in a true game of two halves, although the 76ers still found themselves down 11 going into the final period.

The driving force behind the comeback was Embiid, who re-entered the game with 6:33 remaining and his team down 110-98. He scored nine of his game-high 39 points in the final six minutes – matching Portland's scoring efforts as a team down the stretch.

He finished 13-of-20 from the field and 13-of-18 from the free throw line, adding seven rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals in a dominant two-way masterclass.

James Harden chipped in a near triple-double in support, scoring 19 points (six-of-14 shooting) with nine rebounds and eight assists.

With the win, Philadelphia improved their record to 44-22, just 1.5 games behind the Boston Celtics (46-21) in the race for the second seed in the East as the Milwaukee Bucks (48-18) pull away in front.

Portland fell to 31-36, leaving them 13th in the West and 1.5 games outside of the play-in tournament placings.

Jokic's triple-double winning streak comes to an end

The Denver Nuggets had been unbeaten in the 25 games this season Nikola Jokic had tallied a triple-double, until the San Antonio Spurs upset them 128-120.

The loss was not the fault of the reigning back-to-back MVP, as he scored a game-high 37 points (14-of-24 shooting) to go with 11 rebounds and 11 assists, but he lost his top offensive wing in the third quarter when Michael Porter Jr was ejected.

San Antonio had six players reach double figures, led by Keldon Johnson's 23 points (eight-of-17 shooting), eight rebounds, six assists and two steals, while Tre Jones was a game-high plus/minus of plus 21 off the bench after contributing 14 points (five-of-seven), eight assists and three steals.

Denver remain six games clear atop the Western Conference.

Nets survive in overtime

The playoff-bound Brooklyn Nets have won four of their past five after emerging victorious 124-123 following an overtime scare on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Brooklyn made it to the fourth quarter with a nine-point lead, but scored only 17 points in the period to allow Minnesota back into the game, and Naz Reid completed the comeback with a clutch game-tying three-pointer to beat the buzzer.

But led by Mikal Bridge's 34 points (13-of-24) and Spencer Dinwiddie's 29 (11-of-24) with 11 assists, the Nets narrowly prevailed in the extra five minutes, with Dorian Finney-Smith's go-ahead three-pointer proving the difference.