Mike Evans made history with his 63-yard touchdown reception in the first half of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' critical Week 17 clash with the Carolina Panthers.

The Bucs went into the half trailing 14-10, but knowing victory would clinch the NFC South and their spot in the playoffs.

It would have been much worse for the Bucs if not for Tom Brady's deep shot to Evans, which took the latter to the 1,000-yard mark for the ninth successive season.

That saw him tie Oakland Raiders great Tim Brown for the second-longest such streak in NFL history.

Only San Francisco 49ers legend Jerry Rice has a longer streak (11).

Evans already owned the longest such streak to start a career, extending his own record with a reception that the Bucs hoped would be the catalyst for a comeback in a potentially decisive game.

The Philadelphia Eagles are without Jalen Hurts for a second straight week after the quarterback failed to recover from a shoulder injury in time to face the New Orleans Saints.

The NFL MVP contender was considered a doubt for Sunday's clash, after missing his team's pre-Christmas loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

It means Gardner Minshew will start for the second match in a row in the Eagles' first game of 2023.

Hurts returned to practice earlier this week on a limited basis, taking part in sessions on Thursday and Friday, but had been expected to miss the New Year's Day encounter.

The 13-2 Eagles can clinch the top seed in the NFC and home advantage in the playoffs with a victory over the Saints at Lincoln Financial Field.

Dan Evans helped Great Britain reach the last eight of the inaugural United Cup as his 6-3 1-6 6-3 win over Albert Ramos-Vinolas decided the team's Group D tie against Spain.

Rafael Nadal's shock defeat to Cameron Norrie – coupled with Katie Swan's win against Nuria Parrizas-Diaz – put Spain 2-0 down in the best-of-five tie ahead of Sunday's action.

World number 13 Paula Badosa put them back into contention with a hard-fought 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 win against Harriet Dart, but Evans gave Britain an unassailable lead by battling past Ramos-Vinolas, recovering from a dismal second set.

Having topped Group D, Britain will face the Croup C winners – the United States, Germany or the Czech Republic – for a semi-final place on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Hubert Hurkacz doubled up to help Poland past Kazakhstan, teaming up with Iga Swiatek in the mixed doubles after beating Alexander Bublik.

Hurkacz beat Bublik 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 6-3 in just over two hours before Magda Linette overcame Zhibek Kulambayeva 6-2 6-1.

With Poland's first win in the competition secure, world number one Swiatek helped Hurkacz put the icing on the cake with a 6-3 6-4 victory against Kulambayeva and Grigoriy Lomakin.

The Czech Republic also enjoyed a fruitful day as two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova downed Laura Siegemund in straight sets to seal the team's win against Germany, but Casper Ruud was less fortunate, with Norway losing their tie against Brazil despite his success against Thiago Monteiro.

Iga Swiatek warned rivals "I'm getting stronger and stronger in my mind" as she targets another memorable season in 2023.

The world number one enjoyed a dominant 2022 as she landed eight titles, including the French Open and US Open, while also embarking on a 37-match winning streak – the longest this century on the WTA Tour – and registering 22 'bagel' sets.

Swiatek made a winning start to her 2023 campaign at the United Cup with Poland earlier in the week, beating Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva 6-1 6-3 in Brisbane.

While acknowledging she must not become complacent this year and rely on past glories, the 21-year-old feels better prepared for the season with the Australian Open just a fortnight away.

"I feel more solid, and I feel more stability as well because last year, Adelaide was my first tournament with a new coach [Tomasz Wiktorowski], so that was my main focus," she said.

"This year, I have totally different challenges, so it's really hard to compare. But I feel like I had more time to actually work on some technical stuff at home, and hopefully I'm going to be able to use it in matches.

"I just think that it's going to be pretty easy for my head to compare everything to last year. And I feel like it's not really going to be helpful.

"Last year, it wasn't perfect, but sometimes when you win tournaments, all your head can remember is those good moments and that it went so smoothly.

"It wasn't like that, but I don't really want to go into those tournaments and be held back by my previous results. I want to treat it as new chapters, so I'm going to try to do that.

"But this is the biggest challenge I'd say, and we'll see how I'm going to go with that. Usually when I had goals like that, I had ups and downs, but I feel like I'm getting stronger and stronger in my mind, so maybe I'm going to be able to control that."

Floyd Mayweather has revealed plans for an exhibition bout in the United Kingdom in February.

Mayweather retired from professional boxing in 2017, but has since taken part in exhibition fights in places such as Japan, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The 45-year-old has never fought in the UK, but that should change within the coming weeks.

"A bout is planned in the UK for 2023," Mayweather told the Sunday Telegraph. 

"In February we're looking forward to coming here and putting on an exhibition for the fans in the UK, because I've never had a chance to come over here and fight when I was actively boxing as a professional.

"So hopefully in February I'll come over and do an exhibition if it's possible."

Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather's long-time rival, also announced on Saturday he will be taking part in exhibitions in Japan in 2023.

"I have agreed with Rizin [promotional company] to fight next year," Pacquiao said during an in-ring presentation. 

"The date will soon be announced and also my opponent that Rizin will choose. I'm open to and excited to fight a Japanese fighter."

Wimbledon's ban on Russian and Belarusian players taking part last year was unjust and changed nothing regarding the war in Ukraine, believes Aryna Sabalenka.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last February, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) barred players from both countries appearing at SW19 – a decision that saw the organisation fined by the ATP last month.

World number five Sabalenka joined the likes of Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Victoria Azarenka in being excluded, and she believes the ban was both unfair and pointless.

"This is really terrible because no one supports war – no one," Sabalenka told The Age of the ban. "I'm just really disappointed sport is somehow in politics. 

"We're just athletes playing their sport. That's it. We're not about politics. If all of us could do something [about the war], we would do it, but we have zero control.

"They banned us from Wimbledon, and what did it change? Nothing. [The Russian government] are still doing this, and this is the sad part of this situation."

The LTA is yet to say whether similar measures will be in place this year, and Sabalenka is hopeful of a return after missing the atmosphere at SW19 in 2022.

"I really missed the people because the atmosphere at Wimbledon is super amazing," she said. "You can feel these people really love tennis there, and I really miss them.

"I really hope that I'll play there, just because of the people, to feel this atmosphere. If they're going to ban us again... I don't care about Wimbledon's decision. The only thing I'll miss is the people."

Kevin Durant believes the trials and tribulations the Brooklyn Nets went through in 2022 have brought the team closer together.

The Nets finished the calendar year with an 11th straight win, with Durant putting up 23 points and Kyrie Irving 28 in a 123-106 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

It leaves the Nets heading in 2023 second in the Eastern Conference but the past year has been one of ups and downs for the franchise.

Irving endured a turbulent year, missing several games having opted not to get vaccinated against COVID-19, only returning full time when New York changed its protocols for playing.

Later in the year, Irving was also suspended for eight games when he posted on social media about a book and a movie with Antisemitic tropes.

Throw in James Harden forcing a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers and Ben Simmons' arrival the other way, a change in coach from Steve Nash to Jacque Vaughn in November, and Durant himself requesting a trade back in August, the Nets have been at the centre of blockbuster headlines.

But Durant feels the team can now look forward to establishing themselves as a major force.

"It was one of those years you reflect on and you see the turning points in the organisation," Durant said. 

"We've seen different moments that brought us together as a group. You see, at this point now towards the end of the year, you start to see us come together and perform what we've been looking to do these last couple of years, which was a solid team that plays hard every night. 

"So, we went through a lot in this calendar year, but we're looking for bigger and better things in 2023.

"When we came back for this season, the start of the season, there was a lot of talk in the summertime, but for us to bring the group back together and start the year was cool. 

"And then once Jacque became the coach and we started to move forward then, obviously that was a turning point for us. Then we had some stuff that wasn't ideal.

"Guys out the lineup, Kyrie out the lineup, James Harden demanded a trade, there was a lot of stuff that we went through. How we started from an outside perspective, the noise around our team, it's good that we can be about ball going into this new year. We're playing a solid brand right now, so that's the most important thing."

It was a sentiment echoed by Simmons, who is still attempting to hit top form after well documented injury issues.

"A lot of ups and downs," Simmons said. "I don't know. I don't know how to even sum it up. Basketball-wise I think it's been great. 

"Start of the year we had some different expectations, a lot of noise, a lot of different things going on, but I think we had a lot of poise with this season and with all the different things going on so it's been an eventful year."

The preseason uncertainty with the Nets centred on whether Irving would pick up the player option in his contract. When he eventually did so, Durant opted to stay put.

A disappointing start to the season, which followed a first-round sweep to the Boston Celtic's in the 2021-22 playoffs, signalled the end for Nash in November, though.

But Irving credits the arrival of Vaughn as the catalyst for the Nets hitting their stride.

"He gives you an ease. When you come into the locker room nothing's forced, he's not too high or too low," Irving said.

"He's just holding himself to a high standard, exemplifying what a leader should look like. So as our head coach, as our leader, I've been able to learn some things from him.

"And that's just being able to have relationships with everybody and being able to get the best out of everybody. 

"And that's been a lesson for me; I felt like this year was just learning how to get the best out of everybody instead of trying to do it all yourself or trying to overthink the game. 

"We've got good pieces in that locker room, a good coaching staff. The level of play should raise and it should get easier."

Jason Kidd hailed the "incredible" Luka Doncic for "bailing out" the Dallas Mavericks in their win over the San Antonio Spurs on New Year's Eve.

The Slovenian superstar had his third 50-point game of the season as the Mavericks held on for a 126-125 road win to close out 2022 on a high note.

Having led by 17 points, it was a frantic closing minute for Dallas with Doncic typically at the centre of the action.

Tre Jones intentionally missed the second of two free-throw attempts after being fouled by Mavs forward Davis Bertans, but Doncic himself purposely missed a couple with only 1.5 seconds remaining in order to prevent the Spurs from having an opportunity to make a game-winning play.

Mavs head coach Jason Kidd was particularly impressed with that game management, saying: "Not easy to win here. 

"But, again, Luka was incredible. He bails us out again by missing the free throws. As much as he wanted to make those free throws down the stretch, [it was] so that they didn't have time to set up a play."

The records continue to rack up for Doncic, who had 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists when the Mavs defeated the New York Knicks in overtime on Tuesday.

His average of 35.1 points in the month of December represented the highest scoring average in any month in Dallas' franchise history, while he also became the first NBA player to have 250 points, 50 rebounds and 50 assists in a five-game span.

"It's incredible," said teammate Christian Wood. "In my seven years in the league, I've never seen anybody do what he's able to do. He's on an incredible run. 

"He's playing like an MVP. Clearly one of the best players in the league."

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had, tongue-in-cheek, said Doncic would be kept under the 50-point mark.

With a smile on his face Doncic said that was not fuel for the fire, adding: "No, I just wanted to get a win."

Popovich himself talked up his team's performance despite narrowly falling short against Doncic.

"Yeah, we had a good team effort and individual effort on him, but he's an amazing player," Popovich said. "His IQ is off the charts. 

"So, we would rather win than lose like everybody else in the world, but [I'm] really proud of their effort and the way they just kept going even after we got down whatever it was."

The Mavericks start 2023 fourth in the Western Conference with a 21-16 record and begin the new year against the lowly Houston Rockets on Monday.

By contrast, the Spurs (12-24) have the second-worst record in the conference. They face the Brooklyn Nets next time out.

The New Orleans Saints will receive a boost for Sunday's trip to take on the Philadelphia Eagles with the return of four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore.

Lattimore, 26, last played in the Saints' Week 5 victory against the Seattle Seahawks, where he suffered an abdomen injury that cost him 10 weeks of action.

He will return to a Saints team who have struggled to a 6-9 record, but are riding a two-game winning streak and still have everything to play for, sitting only one game behind the 7-8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the race for the NFC South with two fixtures remaining.

Lattimore will be joined by a second big inclusion for the Saints as first-round draft pick Chris Olave is also expected to make his way back from a hamstring injury he suffered in Week 15 against the Atlanta Falcons, according to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport.

Olave, a 22-year-old receiver, has 940 receiving yards this season – 460 more than any other Saints player.

The Eagles are expected to be without starting quarterback and MVP candidate Jalen Hurts for the second week in a row, although he has now returned to the practice field.

The Georgia Bulldogs will face the TCU Horned Frogs in the CFP National Championship on January 9 after prevailing in a pair of close semi-finals on New Year's Eve.

In the first of the two semi-finals, third-ranked TCU took on the two-seed Michigan Wolverines and produced the second-highest scoring playoff game since the inception of the new format in 2014.

The Horned Frogs looked set to coast through for a chance at their first National Championship since 1938 after their second pick-six of the game gave them a 34-16 lead late in the third period, but there would be plenty of points still to come.

In fact, the 44 combined points in the third quarter was the most ever in one quarter of a playoff game, and two quick touchdowns from Michigan cut the margin to 41-38 early in the fourth period.

Michigan got the ball back with 45 seconds and no timeouts, needing a touchdown to produce an incredible comeback win, but the TCU defense rose to the occasion and got the turnover-on-downs to escape 51-45 winners.

The second game was somehow even more dramatic, with defending champions Georgia scoring the game-winning touchdown with under one minute remaining to defeat the Ohio State Buckeyes 42-41.

Ohio State quarterback and likely top-five NFL Draft pick C.J. Stroud was excellent, completing 23 of his 34 passes for 348 yards, four touchdowns and no turnovers, but it was not enough.

Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett is now one game away from leading the Bulldogs to consecutive titles, matching Stroud stride-for-stride as he completed 23-of-34 for 398 yards, three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown, including the game-winning pass to Adonai Mitchell with 54 seconds on the clock.

San Francisco Giants executive Farhan Zaidi confirmed it was a "difference of opinion on the medical review" that caused the franchise's $350million free agent deal with Carlos Correa to fall apart.

Correa, 28, sent shockwaves through the league when he agreed to a 13-year free agent deal with the Giants, only for the signing to be called off three hours before the scheduled introductory press conference.

With San Francisco off the table, Correa and agent Scott Boras moved on to the New York Mets, agreeing to a 12-year, $315m contract – which has still not been finalised as they tackle the same medical issues that scared away the Giants.

In his first interview since the debacle, Zaidi made an effort to insist those risks are simply a part of the free agent game.

"I was on the phone with Scott Boras on the Monday that we did Carlos' physical right when his plane landed," he said. "So any suggestion that this was an 11th-hour thing is just not accurate.

"As soon as we had information, we shared it. We have a good working relationship with Scott Boras and his agency."

Zaidi confirmed the Giants and Correa's camp had "a difference of opinion on the medical review" – with ESPN's reporting adding that it is regarding an ankle injury and subsequent surgery on the issue back in 2014.

The Giants were also considered the favourites to land the top free agent on the market, but reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge shunned them to return to the New York Yankees on a nine-year, $360m deal.

As a result, Zaidi himself became a target online of disgruntled Giants fans, and he admitted that is hard to get use to.

"It's always a little jarring when you open up your Twitter app just to see what's happening in the world and your name is trending," he said. "That's generally not a good thing.

"At the end of the day I understand it comes with the territory. We have fans that really care, really are invested in this team and at the end of the day our job is to just put a compelling, fun team to watch on the field.

"This is baseball, I feel really fortunate to be in this job, I love it. I love the responsibility that comes with it, and part of my responsibility when things don't go your way is to support and lift other people up and not dwell on the negatives."

The Giants ended up addressing their outfield need with former Seattle Mariner Mitch Haniger on a three-year, $43.5m deal, as well as New York Mets left-handed bat Michael Conforto for two years and $36m.

Luka Doncic scored more than 50 points for the third time in his past five games to carry the Dallas Mavericks to a 126-125 victory against the San Antonio Spurs on New Year's Eve.

It was the sixth consecutive win for the Mavericks, which has coincided with a scintillating stretch of play from their Slovenian superstar.

Doncic scored 51 points against the Spurs on 18-of-29 shooting, adding nine assists, six rebounds and four steals. It came just four days after Doncic became the first player in NBA history to post a 60-point, 20-rebound, 10-assist game in a dramatic comeback against the New York Knicks.

The 23-year-old, who has a Rookie of the Year and three All-NBA First Team selections from his first four seasons, is mounting a charge for his first MVP, and has put together arguably the best five-game stretch of his career.

In his past five games, Doncic is averaging 45.6 points, 11.2 rebounds and 10.2 assists, and in the process he has overtaken Joel Embiid in the race for the scoring title, now at 34.2 points per game for the season.

Christian Wood was strong in a supporting role against the Spurs, scoring 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting. In his eight appearances since finally being injected into the starting line-up, Wood is averaging 19.0 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocks while shooting 50.5 per cent from the field and 38.2 per cent from deep.

The Mavericks are now 21-16 and have jumped up to fourth place in the Western Conference.

Nets make it 11 in a row

The Brooklyn Nets remain the hottest team in the league after rattling off their 11th consecutive win, defeating the Charlotte Hornets 123-106.

Kyrie Irving led the way offensively with 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting, while Kevin Durant was similarly efficient for his 23 points (nine-of-15). Defensively, Nic Claxton was the anchor, blocking six shots while also hitting six of his seven field goal attempts.

After starting the season 1-5, the Nets are now 24-12, and trail only the Boston Celtics (26-10) in the Eastern Conference.

Morant takes bragging rights in 2019 Draft showdown

The New Orleans Pelicans selected Zion Williamson over Ja Morant in the 2019 NBA Draft, and they received a glimpse at what could have been as Morant guided the Memphis Grizzlies to a 116-101 triumph.

Morant scored a game-high 32 points on 13-of-22 shooting, adding eight assists and two steals, while Wiliamson could only muster 20 points on six-of-16 shooting and a career-high nine turnovers.

Having only played in 18 of the Grizzlies' 34 games, Jaren Jackson Jr does not qualify for the official league leaderboards, but his six blocks against the Pelicans raised his average to 3.0, comfortably clear of league-leader Brook Lopez (2.6).

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle gushed over his two top players after Myles Turner and Tyrese Haliburton helped extend their winning streak to three games.

The Pacers ended the year on a high as they beat the Los Angeles Clippers 131-130 on the road in the opening game on New Year's Eve.

It continued an impressive run of scoring form, putting up 129 points in a victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, before notching 135 points to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.

Against the Clippers, Turner proved nearly unstoppable. The man who has led the league in blocks per game on three separate occasions was an offensive force, scoring a team-high 34 points on 11-of-17 shooting, hitting all 10 of his free throws.

He also hit a pair of three-pointers, dished three assists and snatched two steals, and while it was all Turner for the first three quarters, it was the Haliburton show late.

Haliburton reached the fourth quarter with just six points to his name, before exploding for 18 in the final period alone, finishing with 24 points (eight-of-13 shooting), 10 assists, seven rebounds and four steals.

In his postgame media appearance, Carlisle spoke about how exciting it is to watch his young stars excel in a playoff type of atmosphere.

"Myles Turner was spectacular in this game," he said. "He didn't get many rebounds, but he neutralised the boards – he kept their big guy off the boards.

"He was clutch all night, he punished them on the inside when they went small, he made big free throws, big and-ones – he played huge in this game.

"Tyrese’s fourth quarter was a monster. 18 [points] in the fourth, made just about every play you could imagine. Really just breathtaking stuff to watch. 

"The building was absolutely alive. Today was another opportunity to play a playoff-caliber game during the regular season. [The Clippers] were loaded up, they had all their guys, and they really came to play. We had to put together a monster game to beat them – and we did."

When asked about Haliburton and his growth into a true team leader since arriving in a trade from the Sacramento Kings, Carlisle compared him to another young playmaker he has coached – Luka Doncic.

"[Haliburton] is a basketball savant-type guy," he said. "People like him, people like Doncic, people like Reggie Miller, they sense when their time is coming.

"He's resourceful, and he finds ways to help our team get the ball in the basket. Sometimes it's not him – sometimes he makes the play that leads to the bucket, or the pass that leads to the pass.

"But his will to win is spectacular for a young player, and he really is grasping everything that there is to grasp about the opportunity that he has here, and the responsibility that he has here.

"It's amazing to watch him continue to grow, grow and grow every single game."

Haliburton himself spoke of the challenge of facing a team that dominated the interior last time they met, and pointed out why Turner is such a mismatch problem for teams who like to play small.

"Last time we played these guys [Ivica] Zubac had a great game – almost 30 and 30," he said. "So as a competitor, and as a competitive team, we wanted to respond the right way.

"We attacked him early, we felt like we were getting after him… he's a tough guy to keep off the glass, but we were able to do that successfully.

"We made them play small, which is to our advantage, because we still feel we can run with a big on the floor because 'MT' runs so well.

"We felt like we dictated pace tonight, and usually when we dictate pace, we win games."

It is the fifth win from the Pacers' past six outings, improving their record to 20-17 to occupy the six seed in the Eastern Conference, while the Clippers (21-17) are sixth in the West.