With the league MVP seemingly down to a two-horse race between Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets big man dominated yet again as his side beat the Charlotte Hornets 113-109.
Jokic, who is following up his MVP win last season with the greatest playmaking season of any centre in the 21st century, finished the contest with 26 points (nine-of-17 shooting), 19 rebounds and 11 assists.
All five Nuggets starters scored at least 14 points, with Jokic and Aaron Gordon both finishing with a plus-minus of at least plus 20, indicating that it was Denver's mediocre bench unit that struggled enough to keep things close.
Reigning Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball was terrific for the Hornets, scoring 22 points (eight-of-21 shooting) with 11 assists and six rebounds.
Playing without star duo Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Boston Celtics pushed fellow Eastern Conference contenders Toronto Raptors all the way before ultimately losing 115-112 in overtime.
The star of the show was Raptor Pascal Siakam, who hit two clutch free throws to send the game to overtime on his way to final tallies of 40 points (17-of-29 shooting) and 13 rebounds to go with three steals and two blocks.
Despite the loss, which sent the Celtics from the one seed toppling down to the four seed, they are now 22-4 in their past 26 games dating back to the end of January.
Miami regain top spot, Barrett beats Bulls
With Boston falling out of the Eastern Conference's top seed, the Miami Heat have reclaimed it, beating the Sacramento Kings 123-100 after a recent rough stretch.
Jimmy Butler (27 points on 10-of-14 shooting) and Bam Adebayo (22 points on 10-of-16 shooting) starred for Miami, while Sixth Man of the Year lock Tyler Herro chipped in with 20 points off the bench.
Meanwhile, the flailing Chicago Bulls have now lost six of their past eight after another disappointing defeat at the hands of the New York Knicks 109-104.
R.J. Barrett continued his ascension, scoring 28 points on 10-of-24 shooting in 43 minutes.
World number two Iga Swiatek showed why she is next in line to occupy the top ranking as she comfortably handled the challenge of 14 seed Cori Gauff 6-3 6-1 to earn a spot in the quarter-finals at the Miami Open.
Swiatek, 20, will become the first Polish-born man or woman to earn the number one singles ranking when it is next updated on April 4, after Ash Barty's retirement, and she never gave Gauff a chance.
She won all eight of her service games in the match, and broke Gauff's serve four times in eight chances to rattle off five consecutive games to close the match.
After a walkover in her last fixture, Naomi Osaka was strong on her way to a 6-3 6-4 win against Alison Riske.
Both women produced break points throughout the match, but while Osaka saved seven out of eight, coming back to double-break after her slip-up in the second set, Riske could only save nine of 12.
In a clash between top-10 seeds, Danielle Collins was terrific in her 6-2 6-4 win against Ons Jabeur.
The match was decided by each woman's success on their second serve, as Jabeur had the better first serve, but could only win 31 per cent of her second serves (8-26), while Collins was an even 73 per cent on both her first and second attempts.
Daria Saville continued her march back up the rankings with a 5-7 6-4 7-5 win against Lucia Bronzetti, making it nine wins from her past 10 matches for the Australian ranked 249 in the world after recently returning from a long-term achilles injury.
Saville will play Switzerland's Belinda Bencic after she breezed past Belarus' Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2 6-3, while Petra Kvitova got the better of higher-ranked Veronika Kudermetova 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
American Jessica Pegula was nearly flawless on her way to a 6-0 first set before Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina retired due to injury, while world number six Paula Badosa beat wildcard Linda Fruhvirtova 6-2 6-3.
The Miami Masters' top seed, Daniil Medvedev, had no problems making his way past Spain's Pedro Martinez 6-3 6-4 to earn his spot in the fourth round.
Serving was the story of the match as the world number two tallied up 14 aces to his unseeded opponent's zero, and only allowed Martinez to see five second serves in the opening set, with Zverev winning all five. Overall, Zverev won 20 of 24 points on serve in the first set.
The second set was more competitive, with Martinez even breaking back after Zverev jumped ahead and looked to coast to victory, but he could not hold off the Russian down the stretch.
Medvedev will play American Jenson Brooksby in his fourth-round matchup after he won a hard-fought 6-3 5-7 6-4 struggle against 15 seed Roberto Bautista Agut.
In a razor-close contest, Brooksby was just slightly better throughout, winning 60 per cent of his service points compared to the Spaniard's 59 per cent, as well as winning 41 per cent of return points compared to Bautista Agut's 40 per cent.
Fresh off his Indian Wells Masters triumph over Rafael Nadal, Taylor Fritz kept his good form going with a 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 win against American compatriot Tommy Paul.
Fritz, who is now up to world number 13, did not have his serve broken all day, winning 81 per cent of his successful first serves (30-37), while also capitalising on the only two break points he saw.
14 seed Carlos Alcaraz only needed two sets to get past 21 seed Marin Cilic 6-4 6-4, creating nine break point opportunities to Cilic's one, which was saved.
In the late session, and in a meeting of rapidly rising prospects, 22-year-old Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic pulled off an upset 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win over 21-year-old American Sebastian Korda.
Meanwhile, three seed Stefano Tsitsipas was too much for Australian Alex de Minaur, winning 6-4 6-3 after allowing no break point opportunities in the opening set, and saving all three in the second.
The San Francisco 49ers have no plans to release Jimmy Garoppolo despite their inability to trade him, general manager John Lynch has insisted.
No secret has been made of the Niners' plans to trade Garoppolo since their 2021 season came to an end with defeat to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game.
San Francisco selected quarterback Trey Lance with the third overall pick in last year's draft, having traded the 12th overall pick and their first-round picks in 2022 and 2023 to move up to that spot.
Lance is set to take over as the starting quarterback in 2022, but Lynch did not rule out Garoppolo still being on the depth chart, having received no trade offers for the former New England Patriot.
"I don't foresee that," Lynch said when asked about releasing Garoppolo at the NFL owners' meetings on Monday.
"He's too good of a player. I don't foresee that, and I think Jimmy will be playing for us or he'll be playing for somebody else. He's too good of a player not to be."
Garoppolo remains on the Niners' roster as host of potential suitors have filled their quarterback need via other means. The Denver Broncos pulled off a spectacular trade for Russell Wilson, the Indianapolis Colts shipped Carson Wentz to the Washington Commanders and then dealt for Matt Ryan, while the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Mitchell Trubisky.
There had previously been talk of the Niners having an offer of two second-round picks in hand for Garoppolo, but Lynch dismissed such speculation.
"Not true. No," Lynch said. "Nobody ever said, 'OK, here’s our offer'. We never got to that point."
While Garoppolo's future with San Francisco remains in question, Lynch assured that All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel and Pro Bowl edge rusher Nick Bosa will be on the roster for a long time as the Niners negotiate likely lucrative contract extensions with the pair.
"We've had good communication with Tory [Dandy] who represents Deebo and Bryan Ayrault who represents Nick,” Lynch said. "We have a plan for each of those guys. We will keep those discussions private but like I've long said, those guys are going to be a part of us for a long, long time.
"They're fantastic players. They are very much at the core of who we are and they are fabulous players, fabulous people and a big part of who we are.”
The recent Jamaica Gun Club Sporting Clays tournament turned out to be a good one for the McMaster family. The tournament attracted 148 shooters from across the island to its Salt Island facility in Clarendon where the McMasters demonstrated their mastery.
In extreme heat, Ray McMaster shot a score of 92 to take the top spot by long run ahead of Chad Ziadie and Brett Thwaites, who also had scores of 92.
McMaster’s wife Wendy shot a 78 to win the Ladies' competition while their in-form daughter Aliana was second with a score of 69. Aliana’s sister Abigail finished with a score of 62 to finish in fourth place.
McMaster, who for the second time walked away with the trophy for the Highest Overall score, was thrilled at the outcome.
"Awesome, awesome, awesome! I actually didn't think the 92 would prevail," he said, revealing that he was unable to say exactly what made him victorious.
"I don't know but I just come out and do the same exact thing, come out and execute. For one, the breeze wasn't blowing too much and I think that helped with the course. Shooting is like that, you just come out and everything happens for you on the day. I must say I am happy that I prevailed but the score could have been better but I am very happy."
Wendy, meanwhile, was equally chuffed at her triumph.
"I feel really good. My confidence level is going back to where it was. I was struggling back in several shoots before and I worked on my weakness and I have discovered how to correct it so right now I am in a good place, just to work on it a little bit more so I can always be on top," she said.
The top three shooters in the various classes were as follows:
A Class: Brett Thwaites 92, Shaun Barnes 91 (LR) and Jordan Thwaites 91 (LR);
B Class: Najeeb Haber 79, Craig Davis 77 and Evan Thwaites 76;
C Class: Nathan Chin 90, Paul Burke 82 (LR) and Ricky DuQuesdnay 82 (LR);
D Class: Gordon Bucknor 87, Justin Samuda 83 and Richard Todd 80;
E Class: Noah Vaughn 81, Matthew Grant 77 (LR) and Carlton Davis 77 (LR);
Hunters or Beginners: Kashka Jones 72 (LR), Lucas Thomson 72 (LR) and Anthony Ayoub 72 (LR);
Ladies: Wendy McMaster 78, Aliana McMaster 69 and Tara Brown 67;
Juniors: Nathan Chin 90, David Wong 87 and Mark Desnoes 82;
Sub Juniors: Christopher Lee 50.
Two shooters, Noah Vaughn and Kashka Jones were promoted to D Class and E Class respectively after winning their respective classes on the day.
Erik Spoelstra returned to the Miami Heat ahead of their game against the Sacramento Kings on Monday.
Head coach Spoelstra missed Saturday's 110-95 loss to the Brooklyn Nets for personal reasons, with assistant coach Chris Quinn filling in.
However, Miami confirmed that the 60-year-old was back with the team for the meeting with the Kings at FTX Arena.
Ahead of Monday's game, the Heat (47-28) had the second-best record in the Eastern Conference but sat below the Boston Celtics. The Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers were half a game back in a tight top four.
Playing a role in managing LeBron James' legacy has contributed to this being the toughest season Frank Vogel has experienced as an NBA coach.
The Los Angeles Lakers have significantly underperformed in 2021-22 and sit 10th in the Western Conference – the final play-in spot – with eight regular season games to play.
Injuries have limited Anthony Davis to just 37 appearances, while LeBron James has missed 19 games and they have only played together 21 times. Russell Westbrook has also struggled to show why LA paid such a high price to acquire him from the Washington Wizards.
The Lakers were considered one of the favourites to win the championship this season but are in very real danger of missing out on the playoffs entirely.
Although Davis, who has been out with a foot injury since February 16, was a full participant in Monday's practice, James sat out due to an ankle injury sustained in Sunday's defeat to the New Orleans Pelicans – a game in which the Lakers blew a 23-point lead.
Vogel felt the injury situation was typical of the team's season and cited having a part to play in ensuring James enjoys a strong finish to his career as a factor in making it so tough for him to navigate.
Asked if it had been his hardest year as a coach, Vogel replied: "I would say probably, just because of the expectations we've had.
"We've had too many really difficult nights and I think there's an element of being a part of managing LeBron's legacy in these final years of his career.
"You wanna just give him the best opportunity to have team success throughout that, so when we haven't won at the level that we wanted to it's been challenging. And the losses have been heavier. But we've been able to continue to mend and rebuild our team psyche and keep a belief in what we can be. Obviously this last injury [to James] hurts that.
"But we had a good day today. We came in and we got really positive feedback and work on our film session, had a live practice session which we haven't had in quite some time, and hopefully we can still get a W tomorrow [Tuesday, against the Dallas Mavericks] and finish strong."
Anthony Davis completed his first full practice since sustaining a foot injury last month and is listed as doubtful for Tuesday's game against the Dallas Mavericks.
Lakers star Davis went down with three minutes remaining in the second quarter of the 106-101 victory over the Utah Jazz on February 16 and has not played since.
Los Angeles have gone 4-12 in their 16 games since then but head coach Frank Vogel revealed Davis is nearing a return to the floor – though he expects it to take him some time to get back up to speed.
"Positive sign. He went through full practice. Did all of our drill work and some live scrimmaging," said Vogel.
"We're at a point now where it's really about how he responds to that and the level of soreness he has coming out of his first live work. He'll also be listed as doubtful for tomorrow.
"He's got to get his legs under him – that's the biggest thing. When you have a foot injury like this it's not as easy to do all your running and stay in shape like if you had a wrist injury or something like that, so that's definitely going to take time.
"And because of that you have to be more cautious with the return to play. Because if you throw him out there and he doesn't have his wind, then the injury becomes compromised or you overcompensate in some way and you don't want that.
"So there's definitely going to be a stretch here when we get him back where he's still getting his legs under him."
LeBron James, who was absent for two of the games Davis missed, is also doubtful to face the Mavericks due to a left ankle injury sustained in the 116-108 defeat to the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, which saw the Lakers blow a 23-point lead.
"He definitely has some swelling from the ankle sprain and we'll list him as doubtful tomorrow. He stayed back from practice today to get some treatment on it," said Vogel.
Davis and James have only played together 21 times this season and Vogel said it was typical of the campaign that the wait to pair them may be prolonged by the latter's injury.
"It's been that type of year. Definitely snakebitten with trying to get those guys on the floor together. I think it's 17 or 18 games for the season [that James has missed] and it looks like it could be more than that now," said Vogel.
"It's out of our control. It's unfortunate, but we have to lock in and again, like we've done all season, shift our identity on the floor with regard to who's in and who's out."
The Lakers are 31-43 on the season and occupy the final play-in spot in the Western Conference with eight regular-season games remaining.
The 2024 NFL Draft will be held in downtown Detroit, the league announced on Monday.
One of the most anticipated events on the sporting calendar, the three-day event will take place around the Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza site.
This year's draft will be held in Las Vegas next month, with Kansas City hosting the 2023 edition.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said: "The draft has become a prominent offseason event across the country, and we are excited to work with the [Detroit] Lions and their partners to bring the 2024 NFL Draft to the Motor City.
"With the help of Visit Detroit, the Detroit Sports Commission, and the City of Detroit, the Lions' passionate fan base and all visitors will be treated to an incredible three-day experience."
Claude Molinari, president and CEO of Visit Detroit, added: "Visit Detroit is looking forward to working with our partners in the hospitality community to welcome enthusiastic football fans from across the country who will make our city a pigskin pilgrimage stop.
"Hosting the draft is another exciting win for Detroit, and it will deliver a powerful economic impact and highlight the vibrancy of our region."
Ivan Lendl insists Andy Murray can still compete for grand slam titles after re-joining the Scot's coaching team for a third time.
Lendl has teamed up with Murray in order to prepare the two-time Wimbledon champion for his home grand slam this summer, with the 34-year-old skipping the clay-court season to enhance his chances of being at his best on the grass.
Murray won all three of his grand slam titles, Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016, and the US Open in 2012, under Lendl's guidance, but has not reached a grand slam quarter-final since 2017, undergoing two hip surgeries during that time.
Lendl, who himself won eight grand slams during a glittering playing career, cited Rafael Nadal's victory in January's Australian Open as evidence that class remains permanent, and expressed confidence in Murray's ability to follow his lead.
"You are asking this [whether Murray can compete] with a straight face after what Rafa [Nadal] has done in Australia," Lendl said after watching Murray's second-round defeat to Daniil Medvedev in Miami.
"They are just like bulldogs, and they want to do things because they haven't been done before.
"If they set their mind to it then they can achieve amazing things.
"Rafa said he wasn't even sure he's going to be able to play again [after his own injury problems], then he goes and wins the Australian Open. So yes, these guys can do it.
"I would say grass is probably Andy's best surface.
"[For] a lot of the players, it's their worst surface. That would obviously increase his chances."
Murray made his first ATP final since 2019 earlier this year, losing in straight sets to Aslan Karatsev in the final of the Sydney International in January, and is 85th in the ATP world rankings.
Baker Mayfield is still waiting to learn where he will play next season, with the Cleveland Browns so far unable to agree a trade for their former starting quarterback.
Mayfield remains on the Browns roster, despite the team trading for Deshaun Watson and also bringing in a new back-up in Jacoby Brissett.
That leaves a former first overall pick with a fully guaranteed $18.9million salary set to sit on the sideline in 2022.
It is anticipated Mayfield will ultimately leave the Browns and find a home elsewhere, but he and the team are having to stay patient.
Coach Kevin Stefanski explained: "I think everyone understands the situation and we're hoping that it is resolved soon.
"It's a unique situation. We've got to see how it plays out. I think all of us would love an answer yesterday, but that's not the reality of it."
Mayfield has been the Browns' starter since he was selected in the 2018 NFL Draft, making 59 starts (60 games) in four seasons.
It looked as though Mayfield was going to deliver on his promise after the 2020 season, in which he tossed only eight interceptions to his 26 touchdown passes and led the 11-5 Browns to the Divisional Round and a narrow loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
But there was regression in an injury-plagued 2021, with Mayfield's 13 picks meaning his career total of 56 is the highest in the league across the past four seasons.
The Browns instead controversially turned to Watson, as Mayfield requested a trade.
Victoria Azarenka says she regrets beginning her Miami Open match against Linda Fruhvirtova after retiring during the second set of the third-round encounter.
The former world number one blamed an "extremely stressful" time in her personal life for the withdrawal, calling her decision to play a "mistake" and pledging to learn from the incident.
Azarenka was trailing 6-2 3-0 against 16-year-old Czech Fruhvirtova when she abruptly ended the match, having earlier shouted "why am I here?" at her coaching team.
The two-time Australian Open champion also broke down in tears after her third-round defeat to Elena Rybakina at Indian Wells earlier this month, deleting her social media accounts in the aftermath.
Via a statement released after her retirement from the tournament, the Belarusian said she should not have gone onto the court to face Fruhvirtova, blaming an "extremely stressful" time in her personal life for the incident.
"I shouldn't have gone on the court today," the 32-year-old said.
"The last few weeks have been extremely stressful in my personal life.
"[My] last match took so much out of me, but I wanted to play in front of a great audience as they helped me pull through my first match.
"I wanted to go out there and try but it was a mistake. I always look forward to the challenge and pressure of competition but today it was too much.
"I have to and will learn from this."
As a Belarusian, Azarenka has had to compete as a neutral player since her country's regime helped enable the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the participation of sportspeople from the two countries being a subject of intense discussion.
Serena and Venus Williams attended the Academy Awards on Sunday as Will Smith took home the Best Actor prize at this year's Oscar ceremony for playing their father in the biographical drama King Richard.
The Williams sisters, widely considered two of the sport's pre-eminent players with 30 grand slam singles titles between them, were executive producers on the film, which charts their meteoric rise.
King Richard was nominated for six Oscars in total, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress, for Aunjanue Ellis who plays the pair's mother Oracene Price.
It was not without controversy, however, after Smith – who takes on the role of the sisters' father Richard in the film – struck presenter Chris Rock for a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, shortly before accepting his honour.
"This night has been surreal," 23-time major winner Serena wrote on Instagram following the ceremony. "To spend it sitting next to my sisters meant more than anything.
"I am so grateful to The Academy for making this an unforgettable night, and to Will Smith for bringing this story to the big screen and honouring my family. This will always be a night to remember."
Smith overshadowed his own victory though following his altercation with comedian Rock.
He apologised to the Academy during his subsequent acceptance speech, in which he was tearful, while praising Richard Williams as a "fierce defender of his family".
"I want to say thank you to Venus and Serena and the entire Williams family for entrusting me with your story," he stated. "I want to apologise to the Academy. I want to apologise to all my fellow nominees.
"This is a beautiful moment and I'm not crying for winning an award. It's not about winning an award for me. Thank you for this moment and thank you on behalf of Richard and Oracene and the entire Williams family."
Egan Bernal has returned to the road for the first time since his horrific crash in January.
The 25-year-old, who won the 2019 Tour de France and the 2021 Giro d'Italia, was treated in intensive care after hitting a parked bus at high speed while on a training ride in Colombia in January.
Bernal required multiple surgeries after sustaining a fractured vertebra, a fractured right femur, a fractured right patella, chest trauma, a punctured lung and several fractured ribs.
The Colombian revealed in a social media post later that month that there was a "95 per cent chance" of him being paralysed or killed during the incident, but has now been pictured on the road in a tweet from the official INEOS Grenadiers account.
"The best Monday motivation we could ever hope for, Egan Bernal is back on the bike," INEOS tweeted.
"The happiest day of my life," he wrote on Twitter.
"After 2 months and 20 broken bones, here I am, and I want more! See you on the road!"
Former cyclist Chris Hoy, one of Great Britain's most successful Olympians, told Stats Perform earlier this month that he expects Bernal to recover, though knows it will be a long way back.
"I guess it's always hard to tell just how bad an injury or how bad mentally a big crash can affect athletes and with social media, you're always trying to portray the best possible side and the positive side all the time," said Hoy.
"But there is no doubt that no matter how well he's doing now, it will have been a huge struggle to get past the physical injuries and the psychological scars as well from such a horrible accident.
"He is a fierce competitor, all the other team-mates who know him say that if anyone can, he can, and I think the cycling community is hoping that he will get back to his very best and be able to compete on the biggest stage. But, you know, it's not a small challenge that he's facing, but we'll have to wait and see."
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have reaffirmed their concern over Formula One racing in Saudi Arabia.
A Houthi missile strike that hit an Aramco facility 10 miles from the Jeddah circuit during the first practice on Friday sparked concern over the safety of the race.
The Saudi energy and chemical company is also a sponsor of F1, as well as a principal sponsor of the Aston Martin team.
Amid criticism of the Saudi regime's human rights record and fears for their safety, there was serious concern over a driver boycott of Sunday's race.
However, the event went ahead as planned, with reigning F1 champion Max Verstappen beating Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton, who qualified 16th, finished down in 10th, but the seven-time world champion was simply happy that the paddock could finish the race and leave the country.
"I am so happy the weekend is done," Hamilton said.
"I am so happy everyone is safe, I am just looking forward to getting out. I just want to go home."
Red Bull's Verstappen confirmed the drivers will be looking to take their concerns over the future of the race further.
"We had a lot of guarantees that of course it would be safe but after this weekend all the drivers together, we will speak with F1 and the team bosses to see what is happening for the future," he said.
"Of course, I am relieved [to have got through the weekend," added McLaren's Lando Norris.
"It is a nervous place to be and you are going to have these nerves."
Scottie Scheffler is still coming to terms with his new status as the number one golfer in the world after victory in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play final on Sunday.
The 25-year-old was still waiting on his first PGA Tour win at the start of February but has sensationally come out on top in three of his five entries since.
His latest triumph, secured with a 4 and 3 win over Kevin Kisner in Austin, made him the 25th man to lead the Official World Golf Ranking since its inception in 1986.
Scheffler moved to 3 up by the sixth hole and scarcely looked in trouble throughout, ultimately sinking a putt for par on the 15th to claim victory.
Displacing Spain's Jon Rahm at the summit and with his family watching on from the side, the American acknowledged afterwards he was yet to truly realise the magnitude of his new status.
"[It is] pretty cool to do that in front of my family," Scheffler said. "They've supported me so much along the way, and I really don't know what to say about that.
"I don't feel like number one in the world. I feel like the same guy I was four months ago, and I hope that doesn't change. Yeah, I don't feel any different."
Scheffler came second in last year's WGC Match Play, losing 2 and 1 to Billy Horschel in a painful defeat that has since played on his mind.
"[There was] definitely a lot of emotion coming off the green," he said. "It's been kind of a crazy past few months.
"I got my first win in Phoenix, and then I guess this is my third now, and golly, what a long week.
"I really don't know how to describe the emotion. I've thought about winning this tournament ever since last year.
"It left kind of a poor taste in my mouth, getting so close and ultimately coming up short. So it feels really good to finish the job this time around."
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes Ferrari are a challenger for this year's Formula One drivers' and constructors' titles, despite Max Verstappen's victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Following his DNF in the season opener in Bahrain, Verstappen bounced back to claim the 25 points in a tightly contested race.
With Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz on the podium in both races, however, Ferrari have opened up an early 40-point lead in the constructors' championship. Leclerc has also added to his respective first and second-placed finishes with two bonus points from fastest laps.
According to Horner, it is a sign of their legitimacy and strength this season.
"Ferrari have got a great car, they've got great drivers," he told Sky Sports. "It was a really tough battle. If that's what we're set for the rest of the season... from what we've seen in the first two races, it's been epic.
"They're all competitive teams. Ferrari are a big team, they've been a sleeping giant for a couple of years. They've got great strength in depth. It was just a great motor race. We enjoyed it, it was good hard racing between the drivers, and let's see what happens in Australia."
In the second consecutive race this season, Verstappen and Leclerc were locked in a thrilling wheel-to-wheel battle, with the defending champion seeing off the Ferrari challenge in Jeddah this time.
Horner praised the reigning world champion's race management, with Verstappen well placed to hold off Leclerc's late charge, while also saving some words for fourth-placed pole-sitter Sergio Perez.
"It was a very patient race from Max," Horner said. "He looked after the tyres for the end of the race there, and then after the last safety car, he really went for it.
"[Sergio] has driven brilliantly all weekend. He got that pole, his race pace was great, and he's just got unlucky with track position with the safety car. We've seen that happen sometimes."
The F1 season resumes in April with the Australian GP in Melbourne.
Mattia Binotto enjoyed "a great spectacle" as Charles Leclerc battled with Max Verstappen in Jeddah – despite Ferrari coming off second best.
For the second week running, Leclerc and Verstappen were at the forefront of the race.
This time, however, Verstappen's Red Bull did not fail on him, allowing the defending champion to earn his first win and points of the season in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
As in Bahrain, where Verstappen had failed to make his passes stick, Leclerc initially looked to have a tactical edge, braking in front of the DRS line to beat his rival on the straight on one lap before nipping in front when the Dutchman attempted to do the same the following time around.
Eventually, however, Verstappen worked it out, getting ahead and staving off a last-gasp challenge to cross the line first.
Ferrari team principal Binotto was unable to celebrate successive victories following the Bahrain one-two but again had two cars on the podium, with Carlos Sainz in third, and simply enjoyed seeing Leclerc in position to challenge Verstappen.
"Red Bull and Max did a fantastic race. I think Max drove very well," Binotto told Sky Sports.
"It has been a great spectacle to see those two guys battling for the first positions. It has been a great – not good but great – race. I think it's what we're looking for.
"For us to be competitive, to be there, to fight, it was at least our objective to start the season. We can be very pleased. In two races, from 88 points total available, we scored 78, so this can only be a good start to the season.
"I think [Leclerc] drove very well, and he's very smart, and those two guys are very strong.
"He's got a lot of talent and he's proven again that he can fight with Max at the level. They've been fighting since when they were kids, and now they're fighting here at the first position in F1.
"It's very, very good for F1, a fantastic start to the season."
Albert Pujols has reportedly agreed a deal to return to the St. Louis Cardinals.
According to ESPN's Aidan Gonzalez, the future Hall of Famer signed a one-year, $2.5million contract to return to the club where he made his name and possibly bookend his career.
Once the 42-year-old completes his physical, Pujols will officially return to the Cardinals, where he won three National League MVPs, made nine All-Star Game appearances and claimed two World Series titles between 2001 and 2011.
He subsequently spent nine and a half seasons with the Los Angeles Angels before ending last year on the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Back in St. Louis, Pujols appears set to play in a part-time role, as a designated hitter against left-handed pitchers and as a late-game pinch-hitter.
In his MLB career to date, Pujols has tallied 3,301 hits, 679 home runs and 2,150 RBIs in 21 seasons.
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