England captain Courtney Lawes was left with contrasting emotions as his side succumbed to a 25-13 loss to France, who secured a long-awaited Six Nations title and Grand Slam on Saturday.
Marcus Smith's eight points from the boot and a second-half try from Freddie Steward kept England in contention, but Antoine Dupont slipped over on the hour to claim victory at the Parc des Princes.
That condemned Eddie Jones' side to three losses in the tournament for a third time under the Australian, having done so just twice in 16 editions before his appointment.
As France lifted their first Six Nations title since 2010 and sixth overall, Lawes could only hail the efforts of his team despite acknowledging the frustrations of losing out again.
"We're pretty disappointed to be honest," Lawes told ITV after the game. "We certainly had them in fitness – we felt like they were getting tired and we just failed to capitalise.
"It's on us and we've got a lot to learn from obviously. But I'm proud of the boys' effort still.
"It's hard to say straight after the game but we'll go back and iron out any kinks. It is what it is and we'd have obviously have loved to go out and get the win.
"I really thought we were going to do it at a few stages in the game but we didn't capitalise well enough.
"We really believed we could spoil the party – and I know we were capable of it because we've got the team for it. We just need to be more clinical, execute better and we can't let them off the hook that many times.
"They got so many turnovers at the breakdown and we didn't deliver there."
England ended up settling for third-place in the 2022 edition, having lost to Scotland, Ireland and France and defeating Italy and Wales.
Meanwhile, France will be eyeing World Cup glory on home turf next year after managing their fourth Grand Slam, with only Wales recording as many in the championship.
Ireland scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park was over the moon after his side's dominant 26-5 win against Scotland in the Six Nations.
The victory earned Ireland the Triple Crown after they previously defeated both England and Wales. It is the first time Ireland have beaten the other three home nations since 2018.
In a decisive showing, Ireland opened the contest with two converted tries in the first 28 minutes, opening up a 14-5 lead at half-time before adding two more tries in the run home.
Ireland's victory also put them in with a chance of winning the Championship, though they were relying on England to defeat France in Saturday's final game – a result that did not materialise as Les Bleus completed the Grand Slam with a 25-13 victory in Paris.
Gibson-Park was thrilled with the result in front of Ireland's adoring fans in Dublin.
"It's unbelievable, what a feeling to be back at home and back in front of our home fans and families," he said after helping Ireland claim their biggest Six Nations win over Scotland since 2015.
"What a moment to savour, back in front of our home fans and our families. We're chuffed man. We'll have a good night."
Antoine Dupont guided France to a long-awaited Six Nations title as they saw off England to clinch the Grand Slam with a 25-13 win at the Stade de France.
Les Bleus captain Dupont led the way in Saint-Denis with a superb second-half try to help Fabien Galthie's side end a 12-year wait for their 18th championship and sixth of the Six Nations era.
Victory over England put France ahead of Ireland in the final standings after consecutive runner-up finishes in 2020 and 2021 saw them miss out on the top prize.
A year out from a home Rugby World Cup, France look the team to beat in Europe, while questions will be asked of England ahead to those finals.
Matthew Stafford has signed a four-year, $160million extension with the Los Angeles Rams as the Super Bowl champions aim to bolster their squad for a title defence.
Stafford, who played just three playoff games in 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions, ended his first year in LA by leading the Rams to a 23-20 Super Bowl LVI win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Representing a significant upgrade on predecessor Jared Goff – who headed to Detroit as part of a trade that also saw the Lions receive two first-round picks – Stafford threw for 4,886 yards and 41 touchdowns in the 2021 regular season.
The team improved from ranking 13th in passing offense in 2020 (250.9 yards per game) to fifth in 2021 (273.1 yards).
The one-time first overall draft pick added 1,188 yards and nine touchdown passes in the Rams' successful playoff run, including three scores in the defeat of the Bengals.
Stafford's existing contract had been set to expire following the 2022 season, but the new deal added to the end of that is set to keep the quarterback in LA through 2026.
The extension guarantees Stafford $135m, according to reports, and was crucially secured before his $10m roster bonus was due on Sunday.
This should allow cap space for the Rams to further improve their roster in free agency, with another title tilt on the cards as both coach Sean McVay and superstar defender Aaron Donald appear set to return despite claims to the contrary.
The Rams have already signed Allen Robinson and Stafford will again be able to look to Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp in a fearsome offense.
Reigning NBA Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has been ruled out of the Milwaukee Bucks' road matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Bucks are calling it "right knee soreness" for the two-time MVP and one-time Defensive Player of the Year.
It will be the 12th time Antetokounmpo has missed a game due to injury this season, with the 27-year-old previously playing 59 of a possible 70 before today.
Antetokounmpo is currently third-favourite in both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year odds, averaging a career-high 29.8 points per game, along with 11.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists.
Ireland secured the Triple Crown and kept the pressure on France with a comfortable 26-5 bonus-point win over Scotland in their Six Nations finale.
Andy Farrell's men went into their final game in Dublin needing a win to maintain their hopes of edging Grand Slam hopefuls France to the title.
They did their job with an assured display against a Scotland side that will be disappointed to end the Championship with only wins over England and Italy to show for their efforts.
Ireland now need a favour from England in Paris to deny France a first title and Grand Slam since 2010.
Scotland looked dangerous during the frenetic opening exchanges but it was Ireland who established a grip on the contest.
Hooker Dan Sheehan peeled off the maul to open the scoring and the hooker twice attempted to barge over the line for his second try before prop Cian Healy eventually broke through the Scotland resistance.
A response from Scotland came courtesy of another front-row, the visitors getting a reward for finally putting over 10 phases together when Pierre Schoeman dotted down.
Outstanding covering defence from Hugo Keenan denied Stuart Hogg what looked a certain try early in the second half.
Hogg's failure to take that chance was eventually punished after Ireland's dominance of territory paid dividends, Josh van der Flier powering over to give Ireland complete command of the contest.
Ben White was sin-binned late on for a deliberate knock-on, and Ireland took advantage to secure a bonus point through Conor Murray as they sealed a first Triple Crown since 2018.
They will now hope England will provide them with more to celebrate later on Saturday.
Scotland's Dublin wait goes on
Scotland have still not tasted victory at Lansdowne Road since it was redeveloped and transformed into the Aviva Stadium.
It is now 11 wins in the last 12 home Six Nations matches with Scotland for Ireland. Scotland's only win in that run came at Croke Park in 2010.
Ireland defence stays strong
Scotland went into the game averaging the most points (2.9) per entry into the opposition 22 in the competition.
But Ireland's defence frustrated them throughout on this occasion, holding them to just one score from seven entries into the 22.
Lewis Hamilton claims Ferrari and Red Bull are "in another league" to Mercedes after the seven-time Formula One world champion qualified in fifth for Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix.
Hamilton, who missed out on a record-breaking eighth drivers' championship title last year in controversial circumstances after an absorbing battle with Max Verstappen, has previously cast doubt upon Mercedes' ability to compete in 2022.
The 37-year-old insisted that his team would not be competing for early wins at the end of pre-season testing, and impressive performances from Ferrari and Red Bull has done nothing to change Hamilton's opinion.
Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will begin Sunday's season-opener in Bahrain on the front row, either side of defending champion Max Verstappen.
With Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez fourth-fastest, Hamilton claimed that he did not expect to compete with either Ferrari or Red Bull in Bahrain, saying the two teams are "in another league".
"I'm not saying I'm relieved [with fifth place]," Hamilton told Sky Sports. "[But] I'm generally really happy with the day, given where we've been the last few weeks, [with] the struggles that we've had, the problems that we've had with the car.
"It has been a bit of a nightmare to drive, but we've kept our heads down, kept working away and I'm proud of everyone for staying positive.
"The guys ahead of us are in another league.
"I'm generally happy where we are, it's not the front row, but we will make improvements and we'll do the best we can tomorrow."
Hamilton, who won last year's Bahrain Grand Prix after starting second on the grid, said his task for Sunday would be to ward off pressure from those behind him, including his former Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who will start his first race for Alfa Romeo in sixth.
"These guys [the Red Bull and Ferrari drivers] will be going ahead," Hamilton added.
"We are not in the fight with them, they were a second ahead of us yesterday. My battle is with the guys behind us.
"Of course, I'll try to be as fast as I can and get ahead, but their performance was quite a bit ahead of us."
Mercedes are looking to win a ninth consecutive constructors title this term, with Red Bull last winning the title back in 2013.
Dan Biggar could not hide his bitter disappointment following Wales’ shock 22-21 defeat by Italy in the Six Nations.
The skipper was earning his 100th cap, becoming only the seventh Welshman to achieve the feat, while Alun Wyn Jones became the first player to reach 150 Test appearances for a single nation, but their big days were marred in Cardiff.
Edoardo Padovani barged over late on to hand Italy a first victory in 37 attempts in the Six Nations.
Meanwhile, Wales suffered consecutive home defeats in the competition for the first time in 15 years, and Biggar pulled no punches when assessing his side's performance.
"It's probably the toughest interview I've had to do, simply not good enough," he said.
"We've said in the huddle now that's probably the last chance for a lot of players.
"We were chasing as high as we could get and from the get go, we weren't quite at it and you get punished.
"Too many boys not quite up to speed, we were second to loose balls and balls in the air.
"It's really disappointing that something that we pride ourselves on that requires no talent is work ethic."
By contrast, counterpart Michele Lamaro lauded his team-mates after their long-awaited win, their first Six Nations success since 2015.
"It's just unreal. I couldn't believe it," he smiled. "I want to stay with my family and team-mates and celebrate with them because we deserve it and we worked so hard to get here.
"It's the first step of our long process that we just started. I think just being in the moment until the end took us to the win."
Charles Leclerc warned his Formula One rivals there is more to come from himself and Ferrari after he took pole at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Ferrari have impressed in testing as F1 heads into a new era, with significant changes to the aerodynamics of the cars, a freeze on engine development and alterations to tyres hoped to lead to more competitive racing.
The signs were encouraging, predominantly for those cars using Ferrari power units, across the three sessions of qualifying in Sakhir.
Ferrari's form in testing carried through to Saturday's shoot-out for pole, with Leclerc leaving it late to leapfrog team-mate Carlos Sainz and secure his place at the front of the grid for Sunday's race.
Leclerc's time of 1:30.558 gave him his second pole in Bahrain and the 10th of his career.
Defending world champion Max Verstappen (1:30:681) managed to split the Ferraris, with his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez (1:30:921) behind Sainz (1:30.687) in fourth.
Mercedes may have to temper expectations of again contending for the drivers and constructors' championships, their struggles illustrated by Lewis Hamilton qualifying fifth and new team-mate George Russell coming ninth.
"It feels good. The last two years have been incredibly difficult for the team," Leclerc said afterwards, referencing Ferrari's consistent underachievement in recent years.
"We were quite hopeful that this new opportunity for us was an opportunity to be back in the front and I think we have worked extremely well as a team to find ourselves again in a position to fight for better places."
"I wasn't completely happy with my driving but managed to do that lap in Q3."
Asked if there is more he and the team can do, Leclerc replied: "Of course there is, also from the driving point it's completely different compared to last year. There's definitely much more to come hopefully from us.
"We were pretty sure that Red Bull was going to be quicker than us in qualifying, a little surprised that wasn't the case.
"I will still stay cautious. The pace is there, but the race is long and we need to stay on it."
Describing his performance, Verstappen said: "I think it was a bit hit and miss. Q2 seemed quite good but Q3 it was more of a struggle to get the balance together.
"We have a good race car, which at the end of the day is the most important.
"Here you want to be good in qualifying of course but you also really want to make sure your car is working for the race, because the tyres are really struggling a lot more there and it's a bit different to some other tracks."
Sainz expressed satisfaction despite missing out on pole.
"I'm quite happy with the progress I've made throughout the weekend," he said. "To be even fighting for the pole position was good news for me.
"Charles has been ahead the whole weekend and he deserves the pole position."
Provisional Classification
1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:30.558
2. Mex Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.123s
3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.129s
4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0.363s
5. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +0.680s
6. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) +1.002s
7. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) +1.250s
8. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +1.637s
9. George Russell (Mercedes) +1.658s
10. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +1.780s
Reigning MotoGP world champion Fabio Quartararo says he felt the best he has for "a long time" after storming to pole position in qualifying for Sunday's Indonesian Grand Prix.
The 22-year-old edged out Jorge Martin with a lap of 1:31.067 on Saturday, securing a place at the front of the grid for the first time since the Catalan Grand Prix in June last year.
Quartararo's compatriot Johann Zarco will join the duo on the front row after posting a personal best time on his final lap, with Brad Binder and Enea Bastianini, the latter fresh from his maiden MotoGP victory in Qatar two weeks ago, both doing likewise to qualify as fourth and fifth fastest.
Six-time world champion Marc Marquez, meanwhile, crashed twice and will start from 14th as Honda experienced problems with their tyres in the heat.
"I felt great, finally on one lap, it's a long time since I felt so good," Quartararo, who came a disappointing ninth in Qatar, told reporters.
"Here I felt good from FP2 when I put in the soft rear and actually in FP4, I'm super happy because I made 15, 14 laps in a row and the pace was really good.
"I think it was the most important thing to make those laps in a row and see the consistency of the tyres.
'I'm pretty happy, I expected much more drop from the rear and I feel great."
"With our bike we struggle quite a lot to overtake and then I think you need to play a little bit with the pressure before the start," he said, as reported by Autosport.
"But in this kind of track, where it's hot, it's always better to start at the front than on the back.
"So, I feel like it's a great track to start from the front row and let's see how my start goes."
Provisional classification
1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 1:31.067
2. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) +0.213
3. Johann Zarco (Ducati) +0.311
4. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) +0.366
5. Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing) +0.437
6. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) +0.440
7. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) +0.499
8. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) +0.515
9. Jack Miller (Ducati) +0.647
10. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +0.656
11. Fabio di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing) +0.762
12. Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha) +0.507
Edoardo Padovani scored a last-gasp try as Wales' Six Nations campaign ended with a shock 22-21 defeat against Italy at the Principality Stadium.
Josh Adams had appeared to spare the blushes of the lacklustre when he crossed 11 minutes from time to put Wales ahead.
Kieran Crowley's Italy looked set for a 37th successive defeat in the competition at that stage, but there was to be one final twist in Cardiff.
Ange Capuozzo burst away from the tiring Welsh defence and offloaded to Padovani, who went in under the posts before Paolo Garbisi converted to complete a remarkable victory.
Patrick Mahomes welcomed the arrival of a new Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver to target after JuJu Smith-Schuster secured a one-year, $10.75million deal.
Smith-Schuster announced his departure from the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday.
The one-time Pro Bowler had spent his entire NFL career to date with the Steelers, with 323 catches for 3,855 receiving yards and 26 receiving touchdowns across 63 games in five seasons.
Taken in the second round in the 2017 NFL Draft, Smith-Schuster was an instant hit with seven receiving TDs in each of his first two seasons, including a pair of 97-yard scores – becoming the first player in NFL history to have multiple offensive TDs of that distance or more.
There were 1,426 receiving yards in 2018, before a step back in 2019 was followed by a career-high nine receiving TDs in 2020.
Limited to five games by a shoulder injury while the Steelers toiled on offense with the retiring Ben Roethlisberger still at quarterback, Smith-Schuster's only score last season was his first career rushing TD.
Paired with Mahomes, though, the 25-year-old can feel confident he will get his career back on track in Kansas City.
Wideout Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce will remain Mahomes' primary weapons, targeted on 28 per cent and 25 per cent of their routes respectively last season, but there is room for another option after Sammy Watkins left following the 2020 campaign. Byron Pringle departed this offseason in free agency and Mecole Hardman has yet to live up to his second-round draft status.
Superstar Mahomes certainly appears eager to link up with Smith-Schuster, quickly welcoming his signing on social media after the new man posted: "#ChiefsKingdom Let's Go!"
"Turn me up brotha!!!" Mahomes replied, to which Smith-Schuster said: "Can't wait to get after it my boy!"
Smith-Schuster had earlier posted a message thanking the Steelers fans, saying: "To all of Steelers Nation. Thank you for taking me in and making me a part of the family from the moment that I was drafted. You all took me in so quickly, and I really needed it.
"I was a wide-eyed 20-year-old who was sent to the east coast away from my family for the first time in my life, and you made me feel right at home, despite all of the loneliness I should have felt.
"These have been the best five years in my life. I owe so much to the fans who embraced me and who made playing on Sundays in Pittsburgh so special.
"It was an honour to wear the black and gold for you all! I love you! JuJu."
Michigan edge rusher David Ojabo suffered a torn Achilles at his pro day on Friday, according to reports, likely ending his hopes of selection in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Ojabo had been widely viewed as a first-round prospect having enjoyed a breakout junior season with the Wolverines.
He recorded 11 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, and forced five fumbles in 2021 as Michigan reached the College Football Playoff.
However, Ojabo now faces the prospect of potentially falling to day two of the draft, after ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the nature of his injury on Saturday.
While doctors expect a full recovery, Ojabo is set to face around six months out of action.
That means he would miss all of his prospective NFL team's preparations for the 2022 season and likely the start of the new campaign, which begins on September 8.
The next date of Mike Krzyzewski's Duke farewell tour sees him face a familiar foe in Michigan State coach Tom Izzo on Sunday.
A record-breaking sixth NCAA Tournament encounter between the pair was secured after both Duke and Michigan State won their first-round matchups on Friday – Krzyzewski's second seed beating Cal State Fullerton 78-61 while Izzo's number seven outfit scraped past Davidson 74-73.
It is fitting that the final March Madness of Krzyzewski's 42-year Duke career should see him again take on Izzo, with their sixth coaching clash passing the previous benchmark of five.
Until now, that record was held jointly with two other coaching duos: Roy Williams and Bill Self, and Eddie Sutton and Denny Crum.
'Coach K' and the Blue Devils are 12-3 against Izzo's Spartans and 3-2 in the NCAA Tournament, with Duke's most recent March Madness victory in the series coming en route to the 2015 championship.
However, another win for Izzo – himself 27 years in at Michigan State – would conclude both Krzyzewski's bid for a sixth national title and his career, stopping him just short of 100 NCAA Tournament wins; his 98 as of Friday are already a record.
Either way, Izzo is delighted just to get the chance to test himself against one of basketball's greatest names one last time.
"I like the game, I just don't like the record in that matchup over the years," Izzo said. "I've got to be his favourite coach because he's beaten us like a drum.
"I didn't want to look ahead and dream of the matchup, because you get a chance, one more time, to play against maybe the all-time great, as they say about LeBron [James] or they say about Michael [Jordan].
"In the coaching world, the 'GOAT' is the team we'll play, and it's been earned. It's not been given. It's been earned.
"And you know, I'm going to try my hardest to see if we can get one more on the positive side of that thing, but every time we've played it's been a game I looked forward to."
Michael Masi acted in "good faith" in how he handled the controversial end of last season's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with "human error" leading to the rules surrounding lapped cars not being applied properly, the FIA has said.
Masi was last month removed as Formula One race director following a "detailed analysis" of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen dramatically beat Lewis Hamilton to the drivers' championship last season.
Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the final lap of the final race, denying his rival a record-breaking eighth title.
However, the Red Bull star was only able to stage that late recovery after Masi let the cars between the pair – running first and second but separated by a series of lapped rivals – pass a safety car and allow one lap of racing.
Verstappen, on fresher tyres, prevailed, prompting a protest from Hamilton and Mercedes.
While that bid failed, there has remained a great deal of discussion around the decision-making of Masi, who was replaced by two men in Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas.
But, in confirming the result of the race and 2021 F1 world championship as final, the FIA insisted Masi had not acted with any malice.
In a summary of the findings of its report into the race, an FIA statement read in part: "In combination with the objective to finish under green flag racing conditions applied throughout the 2021 season, the report finds that the race director was acting in good faith and to the best of his knowledge given the difficult circumstances, particularly acknowledging the significant time constraints for decisions to be made and the immense pressure being applied by the teams.
"The results of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the FIA Formula One World Championship are valid, final and cannot now be changed. In accordance with the rules, Mercedes made a protest to the stewards after the race, seeking to change the race classification.
"The stewards dismissed the protest and Mercedes then had an opportunity to appeal that decision to the FIA International Court of Appeal, but did not do so. There are no other available mechanisms in the rules for amending the race classification.
"The process of identifying lapped cars has up until now been a manual one and human error lead to the fact that not all cars were allowed to un-lap themselves.
"Due to the fact that manual interventions generally carry a higher risk of human error, software has been developed that will, from now on, automate the communication of the list of cars that must un-lap themselves. In addition, the 2022 Formula One Sporting Regulations have been recently updated to clarify that “all” and not “any” cars must be permitted to un-lap themselves.
"This process of identifying lapped cars has been reviewed as part of the recommendations previously announced by the FIA President in his statement of 17 February 2022, which also includes the creation of FIA Remote Operations Centre, the integration of a new and extended team to run trackside operations as well as a review of the interactions between teams and Race Control during track running."
Joel Embiid will keep playing through the pain as the Philadelphia 76ers push towards the NBA playoffs.
The five-time All-Star scored 32 points as the Sixers scored a 111-101 win against the Dallas Mavericks in their latest assignment, complementing 24 from James Harden.
A back problem is causing Embiid to feel the strain as he leads the team towards the postseason, but coach Doc Rivers believes the 28-year-old can stand the physical toll for now.
At 43-26 following Friday night's win, the Sixers are three games behind the Miami Heat, who lead the Eastern Conference, while the Mavericks are fifth in the Western Conference at 43-27.
Embiid added eight rebounds and tied a career-high with five steals, then offered some insight into his fitness state.
"I'm OK," he said. "I've just got to keep pushing. What, 13 more games? We're almost there. Then we will figure out the rest later. I'm fine. We've just got to keep pushing."
He added: "We did a really good job tonight. I think the activity we all had, especially the guys at the top of the zone, was huge, recovering, doing what they do best. It was good to see."
Despite the back bothering him of late, Embiid has played 19 consecutive games, only once dipping under 22 points in that stretch (19 points against Boston Celtics on February 15).
"He's just playing through everything," coach Rivers said, quoted in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
"I go back to the same thing. He's in great shape. Conditioning allows you to play through injury, allows you to play through pain, and he's doing that."
Russell Westbrook was hailed a "big-time player" by LeBron James after sinking a clutch three-pointer to force overtime in the Los Angeles' Lakers win over the Toronto Raptors.
The much-maligned Westbrook forced a turnover off a Raptors inbound with 0.4 seconds remaining at Scotiabank Arena and drained a triple to tie the game at 116-116.
Inspired by 36-point James, who scored 19 of those points in the fourth quarter and overtime, the Lakers claimed a 128-123 victory to snap a three-game losing streak.
Westbrook has endured a frustrating first season in Los Angeles, who lost 12 of their previous 15 games, with Friday proving to be a rare highlight for the one-time MVP.
"I was actually looking at his feet when he was getting close to the three-point line," James said of Westbrook's key intervention.
"I saw him step on the three-point line and then slide his foot back before he released it. It was big-time IQ there on his part and a big-time shot by a big-time player."
Westbrook registered his 10th triple-double of the season with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as the Lakers picked up a first road win in 12 attempts.
The 33-year-old now has 1,241 points for the season, which is second only to James (1,542) among Lakers players.
He has 23,098 across his career, meanwhile, and the former Houston Rockets and Washington Wizards point guard has never lost faith in his own ability.
Asked how he has managed to cope with criticism aimed his way this season, Westbrook told reporters: "I got 23,000 points... How about that?
"Throughout this whole process, throughout the year, ups and downs, the good and the bad, I lean so much on my faith.
"It's very important that I stay faithful and truthful to that because eventually it will all work out, and nights like tonight was the reason why I stay just true to my faith."
With his 36 points on Friday, James is 20 away from passing Karl Malone as the second-highest points scorer in NBA history. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leads the way with 38,387.
Iga Swiatek defeated Simona Halep 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 at the Indian Wells Open on Friday, progressing to the final and extending her winning streak to 10.
The Polish world number four came back from a break down in each set - as well as saving two set points in the first-set tiebreak - to level her head-to-head record with Halep at 2-2.
After taking out the WTA 1000 tournament in Doha last month, Swiatek has not had it all her way this week in California. Aside from a 6-1 6-0 trouncing of Madison Keys, the 20-year-old had to fight from a set down in her opening three matches.
Following a tight first set, Halep won three games in a row to take a 4-2 lead, but it was here Swiatek started to open up on return of serve.
She was ultimately able to capitalise on Halep's second serve, winning 14 of a total 21 points when given a second look, to earn five service breaks for the match.
Swiatek is now at least guaranteed to reach a career-high world number three ranking with, and a win in the final would move her to number two, only behind Ashleigh Barty.
She will meet Maria Sakkari in the final on Sunday, who broke down in tears after her hectic 6-2 4-6 6-1 win over Paula Badosa in the late match.
Despite Badosa having a higher first-serve rate than her opponent in the first set at 53.9 per cent, Sakkari was all over the second serve, winning nine out of a total 12 points.
After powering through the first set with flat hitting, the Greek world number six lost momentum in the second and forced play with rushed shot selection after getting broken early.
She still managed one of the shots of the match in trying to save that break of serve, scrambling across court to hit an underarm pass down the line.
Badosa kept her composure on serve to take the second set, winning 21 out of 29 points at an improved 72.9 per cent. Sakkari regrouped and exhibited her unique court coverage, however, taking the win after getting an early break.
Sakkari immediately broke down in tears afterwards, upon making her first WTA 1000 final and defeating the defending champion at Indian Wells.
Joel Embiid and James Harden scored a combined 56 points as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Dallas Mavericks 111-101 on Friday.
Going 11-for-20 from the floor, Embiid scored 21 of his 32 points in the first half, including a fadeaway three on the buzzer to give the Sixers a 58-53 lead at the interval.
Luka Doncic put up a double-double of 17 points and 10 assists but was held to 25 per cent from the floor and 20 per cent from the perimeter, in a poor shooting night.
At 43-26, the Sixers are now three games behind the Miami Heat, the Eastern Conference leaders, while the Mavericks are fifth in the Western Conference at 43-27.
Westbrook lifts Lakers to overtime win in Toronto
Russell Westbrook's three-pointer at the end of regulation propelled the Los Angeles Lakers to a 128-123 road win over the Toronto Raptors in overtime.
With 10.3 seconds remaining, the much-maligned Westbrook forced a turnover off a Raptors inbound before draining a contested triple from the wing, to tie the game at 116-116.
Both sides remain firmly placed in play-in calculations, though, with the Lakers ninth in the Western Conference at 30-40, while the Raptors are seventh in the East on 39-31.
Short-handed Hawks snap Memphis win streak
Without their two scoring leaders, the Atlanta Hawks secured an important win at home to the Memphis Grizzlies, emerging 120-105 victors.
In John Collins and Trae Young's absence, Bogdan Bogdanovic came up big with a season-high 30 points, while Delon Wright and Clint Capela also added 18 each.
Despite 29 points from Ja Morant on 11-for-23 shooting, the Grizzlies had a four-game win streak snapped, but still hold the NBA's second best record at 48-23.
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