Jayson Tatum scored 38 points including four triples as the Boston Celtics clinched their eighth consecutive victory beating the Atlanta Hawks 105-95 on Sunday.
Tatum led the Celtics' third-quarter charge as they piled on 42-23 to open up the game after trailing by 12 points early in the period.
The Celtics small forward had 10 rebounds, three assists, one steal and two blocks to go with his 38 points, while Jaylen Brown added 17 points and nine rebounds.
Trae Young starred for the Hawks, who never gave in, scoring 30 points with four rebounds and 10 assists.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 26 points off the bench for the Hawks who reached last year's Conference Finals but are 26-30 this season.
Edwards shines as Timberwolves win
Former NBA Draft first pick Anthony Edwards dominated with 37 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 129-120 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Edwards' haul included seven three-pointers along with five rebounds and four assists, overshadowing Karl-Anthony Towns (15 points, 13 rebounds, three assists).
The Timberwolves shot at 52.9 per cent from beyond the arc, making 18 triples for the game.
The Pacers, who were busy late in the trade period, were soundly beaten but new acquisition Tyrese Haliburton was impressive with 22 points, five rebounds and 16 assists. Oshae Brissett also had 22 points with 13 rebounds.
Reilly Opelka rammed 16 aces past Jenson Brooksby on the way to victory in two tie-breaks in the all-American final of the Dallas Open.
In a battle between two of the United States' brightest young men's tennis talents, neither could find a way to break the other's serve.
That meant it came down to the shoot-out of the tie-break in each set, with Opelka sealing a 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3) victory in an hour and 51 minutes.
It gives the world number 23 a third ATP title of his career, all of which have been won in America. His previous successes came at Delray Beach and the New York Open.
This indoor showpiece on Sunday was just a second main-tour final for 54th-ranked Brooksby, a player who caught the eye in a breakout 2021 campaign, and he found Opelka's serve impenetrable, as has been the case for all-comers throughout the week.
Opelka faced just one break point in the title match, the first against his serve all week, but staved that off. He had five chances against the Brooksby serve but could also not take advantage.
Rather than power, Opelka finished off the match with finesse, hitting a backhand winner after a teasing exchange. He then described 21-year-old Brooksby as "a future top-10 player" after keeping the youngster waiting for his first ATP title.
Brooksby was ranked outside the top 300 this time last year and is poised for a first top-50 breakthrough.
The champion was delighted with his own game, with Opelka saying at the trophy presentation: "I thought I played very well under pressure, especially against a great player like Jenson.
"He makes you very uncomfortable and he took me out of my comfort zone a lot of the match today. I really had to play my best tennis to get by and I barely did."
Casper Ruud collected his sixth ATP Tour title as he battled past Diego Schwartzman to win the Argentina Open for a second time on Sunday.
Ruud managed five ATP titles in 2021 and followed that up with another one in the new season as he recovered from a first-set scare to overcome local favourite Schwartzman 5-7 6-2 6-3 in Buenos Aires.
The Norwegian extended his record at the tournament to 9-0, having already lifted the trophy in 2020, after negotiating past his Argentinian opponent in two hours and 35 minutes.
Ruud, who was the top seed, had not dropped a set all week on his way to the showpiece final, but he faltered in the first set as he spurned a break point at 5-4 up, with Schwartzman holding to make it 5-5 before subsequently claiming the opener.
Schwartzman repeated the feat in his first service game of the following set, staving off four break points, but Ruud rallied at 2-2 to claim four straight games and send the match to a decider.
Schwartzman was the defending champion after ending a 13-year wait for an Argentinian winner in Buenos Aires, though it was Ruud who lifted the trophy as he overcame an early break to extend his winning streak in ATP 250 events on clay to 18.
Cincinnati Bengals tight end C.J. Uzomah will play in Super Bowl LVI despite suffering a knee injury in the AFC Championship Game.
Uzomah sustained a sprained medial collateral ligament during the Bengals' comeback win over the Kansas City Chiefs two weeks ago.
However, the tight end has been able to make a speedy recovery and was not on the Bengals' inactive list for the season-ending showpiece against the Los Angeles Rams.
During Monday's virtual media day, Uzomah said: "I'm not missing the biggest game of my life.
"I'm not missing it. That's my approach going every day into rehab."
He has made good on that promise and will provide Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow with an extra weapon to add to an already impressive list.
Uzomah caught a career-high five touchdown passes during the regular season and averaged over 10 yards per reception for the third time in four seasons.
There was talk Sean McVay could ride off into the sunset after Super Bowl LVI, but both he and counterpart Zac Taylor are set to stick around as head coaches for the long term.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Sunday that Rams coach McVay and Bengals coach Taylor are in line to receive contract extensions from their respective teams once the dust settles on Sunday's clash at SoFi Stadium.
McVay has two seasons remaining on his deal, while the 2022 campaign is the last year of Taylor's current contract.
There had been reports that 36-year-old McVay, who has previously expressed a desire not to coach into his 60s, could step away from coaching at the end of the season, with talk of a potential move into broadcasting.
Such suggestions appear to have been erroneous, as the indication is now that he will continue a head coaching career in which he has reached the playoffs in all but one of his five seasons in charge of the Rams.
McVay also looks set to be tied to the quarterback that has led his team back to the Super Bowl for the long term.
Indeed, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported the Rams are set to hammer out a contract extension with Matthew Stafford, whom the Rams traded a pair of first-round picks to acquire in the offseason.
Stafford's contract expires at the end of next season but, regardless of whether he gets the job done on home turf, the Rams are poised to reward him for a campaign in which he set franchise records for completions (404), passing yards (4,886) and touchdowns (41).
England are still a work in progress and can improve on the back of their morale-boosting 33-0 win over Italy, according to star performer Marcus Smith.
Following last week's 20-17 loss to Scotland, England got off the mark with their first win of the 2022 Six Nations, achieved in emphatic style in Rome.
Smith scored the first of England's five tries at Stadio Olimpico and assisted another in a standout display from the fly-half.
It is the third time Smith has both scored and assisted a try in a Test match for England, while overall he now has eight try involvements in seven Tests.
The 22-year-old beat six defenders against Italy, which is the most by an England fly-half in the Six Nations since Jonny Wilkinson's eight against Ireland in 2002.
Despite impressing in a much better all-round performance from coach Eddie Jones' team, Smith believes there is more to come ahead of hosting Wales in two weeks' time.
"We have loads to work on. We are still learning on our journey, but we will enjoy tonight and get back on the horse tomorrow," he told ITV Sport.
"We put a big emphasis on today – we were very disappointed after Murrayfield. Eddie [Jones] spoke about the next job and we have put ourselves back in it with that win.
"I've never played here before. There was a special atmosphere, with loads of England fans having come out. We had to put a show on for them.
"We were a bit scrappy and credit to Italy, but to score 33 points is always nice."
Jamie George crossed twice after Smith had opened the scoring, to give England a 21-0 lead at half-time – their joint-biggest ever in an away game in the Six Nations.
Elliot Daly and Kyle Sinckler extended England's lead in the second half as they achieved just a second nilling of the opposition in the competition, the other coming against Scotland in 2014.
Reflecting on a job well done by his side, head coach Jones said: "It was a good performance from us. We started the game well, got a bit of a flow, started the second half well, and defended well at the end.
"Italy are a tough team and they keep coming. If we were a bit tidier with some of our work, some running lines, it could have been a big score.
"[Italy] have played New Zealand and France and in the first halves been in the game – and they were not in the game today.
"Marcus did well, Harry Randall did some good things at the start and [Alex[ Dombrandt had a really solid game."
England have now won all 23 of their Six Nations matches against Italy and are the only side the Azzurri have never beaten in the championship.
Indeed, Italy have lost 34 matches in a row in the Six Nations in an unwanted record streak stretching back to 2015.
The Azzurri's ill-discipline, as well as some individual errors, once again cost them against England in a match in which they conceded 12 penalties.
Home skipper Michele Lamaro was left to bemoan some sloppy play from his side in their latest loss.
"We're obviously disappointed again," he said. "Discipline was a big point for us last week [when losing to France]. We had to improve this week, and we didn't really perform in that scenario.
"We have to get better in discipline, especially in the first half when we conceded too many penalties. Obviously if you concede them to 30-40 metres each time, it becomes difficult to defend.
"Last week our exits were not that good, this week our discipline wasn't pretty good. Obviously in defence we have to put something on, and I think we can improve a lot."
Felix Auger-Aliassime finally won a first ATP Tour title after impressively dealing with Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets in Rotterdam on Sunday.
The Canadian had lost all of his previous eight finals on the tour, not even clinching a set in any of them, but he found the winning formula this time as he beat Tsitsipas 6-4 6-2.
Auger-Aliassime made an emphatic start, breaking Tsitsipas in the very first game and from that point there was no looking back.
The 21-year-old's aggressive style of play had Tsitsipas on the back foot almost throughout and, after claiming the first set, he saw things out with admirable confidence.
He raced into a 5-1 lead in the second set and there were never any signs of nerves on his part, as he avoided facing a single break point over course of the full match.
Auger-Aliassime, who was beaten by Gael Monfils in the 2020 Rotterdam final, said: "It has not been the smoothest road since my first final three years ago.
"It is an amazing day for me to get my first title and especially here. I played my first ATP main draw here a couple of years ago [in 2018], so it is right I won my first title here.
"I have a lot of good memories playing here in front of you, so thank you for making it a special week for me that I will remember for the rest of my life.
"It is the happiest day of my career, and hopefully it is the first of many to come."
Tsitsipas accepted he lost to the better player on the day, bemoaning his struggles when serving.
The world number four won 74 per cent of points on his first serve and 33 per cent on his second – both figures were dwarfed by Auger-Aliassime's 93 per cent and 69 per cent, respectively.
"He played a really good match, producing really good shots and serving well the whole match," Tsitsipas said.
"I wasn't able to serve well at all today. He played very well."
Anett Kontaveit clinched the WTA St Petersburg Ladies Trophy title, fighting back to win an enthralling three-set final against world number seven Maria Sakkari on Sunday.
The Estonian, ranked ninth in the world, won her sixth career singles title after recording a tense 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 win over her Greek rival, in a clash between the tournament's top two seeds.
The victory means Kontaveit leads Sakkari for head-to-head victories, winning seven of their 13 meetings to date, and stretched the champion's remarkable run of indoor wins to 20 matches.
She was made to suffer before recording her first title of 2022, winning the eagerly awaited clash after a gruelling three hours of tennis.
Sakkari struck the first blow, winning a tense opening set as she targeted a first WTA 500 title of her career.
Kontaveit responded strongly and forced a decider by winning a tight second via a tie-break.
Greek top seed Sakkari found herself one service game from victory after a strong start to the third set, before Kontaveit's counter-attack arrived.
Kontaveit rallied after going 5-3 down by registering consecutive breaks, before comfortably seeing out her final service game, and has now won five of her last six singles finals.
Jamie George scored two first-half tries as England cruised to a 33-0 bonus-point victory against Italy at Stadio Olimpico for their first win of the 2022 Six Nations.
England fell to a late 20-17 loss to Scotland in their opening match but any risk of back-to-back defeats to begin a campaign for the first time since 2005 never looked likely.
The visitors crossed over three times in the first half, with George at the double after Marcus Smith had opened the scoring inside nine minutes.
Elliot Daly and Kyle Sinckler further punished sloppy Italy, who have now lost each of their past 34 matches in the Six Nations and have still yet to beat England in the competition.
Italy took a shock early lead in last week's loss to France, though they were on the wrong end of an early try against England as Smith linked up with Max Malins and dived over.
England did not have to wait long for a second try, with George burying his way over from close range to finish off a move he started from a lineout.
Maro Itoje had a try ruled out for obstruction, but England were out of sight before half-time as George collected Smith's offload and grounded after dodging a couple of tackles.
Daly, brought on for Jack Nowell in the first half after the wing failed a head injury assessment, added a fourth for England when racing in down the left early in the second half.
England introduced Ben Youngs for the scrum-half's 114th cap, equalling Jason Leonard's Test record, while Ollie Chessum was handed his senior debut.
Italy pushed hard for a consolation try without finding one, and it was left to Sinckler to have the final say with a simple finish following a costly Leonardo Marin error.
Joe Burrow is used to overcoming adversity. His career has been defined by doing just that.
Recruited to Ohio State after a stellar high school career, Burrow never achieved his ambition of being the starting quarterback for the Buckeyes, who preferred to give first J.T. Barrett and then Dwayne Haskins the reins to their offense. His response: transfer to LSU and win the National Championship in the 2019 campaign, using his final year in college to put together one of the finest quarterback seasons ever produced at that level.
Five thousand six hundred and seventy-one passing yards, 60 touchdowns and just six interceptions proved more than enough to convince the Cincinnati Bengals he was deserving of the number one overall pick in the 2020 draft.
There was concern that decision would not be vindicated when, in Week 11 of the 2020 season against the then-Washington Football Team, Burrow tore multiple knee ligaments, ending his rookie season prematurely.
It was no secret that Burrow endured his struggles in training camp as he attempted to put the mental and physical pain of that devastating injury behind him, but any doubts that existed in the summer have long since been extinguished by a season in which he has continually thrived in adversity and excelled in the most significant moments.
No NFL quarterback was more accurate in the regular season, Burrow's well-thrown percentage of 85.7 the best in the league among quarterbacks with at least 200 attempts, and no quarterback fared better under pressure. He delivered an accurate, well-thrown ball on 80.1 per cent of his 156 pass attempts under pressure, putting him tops for quarterbacks with a minimum of 50 such attempts. His nearest challenger was Ryan Tannehill (76.5) while the average was 70 per cent.
Burrow does not just excel at being accurate under pressure, he also does a remarkable job of escaping it, his leap out of the clutches of Chris Jones in the fourth quarter one of the defining images of the Bengals' stunning comeback against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
When the odds appear stacked against him, Burrow changes the calculus, and he is the reason why you'll find many in Los Angeles expecting him to spoil the Rams' party and lead Cincinnati to victory in Super Bowl LVI on Sunday.
Kevin Clark, senior NFL writer at The Ringer, is among those selecting Cincinnati to pull off the upset because of Burrow.
"I think it's going to be close, and when that happens it becomes situational football, it becomes third and eight, what's your best play? Who's best equipped for that? For me, that's Joe Burrow," Clark told Stats Perform this week.
"I was leaning Rams because I just believe in talent, a lot of times I say 'there's more blue-chip guys on this roster, I'm picking them' but when I started to look at it, I realised the difference wasn't that great. The Bengals just beat the Chiefs, and they did a nice job against the Chiefs. The idea that the Bengals are some Cinderella story plus Joe Burrow, I don't agree with that."
No quarterback in the NFL with at least 100 attempts on third down in the regular season had a better completion percentage in those situations than Burrow (72.5) while he also led the league in passing plays of 50 yards or more (12) despite his arm strength being a tick below the level of some of his superstar contemporaries.
"I was just reading a book that his college coach wrote, and they were saying in his junior year in training camp he didn't separate himself because his arm just wasn't that strong. You go from that to leading the NFL in 50 plus yards receptions, it's remarkable, it's unbelievable," added Clark.
"I think that's a testament to getting the ball out quickly, knowing exactly where the ball is gonna go, any quarterback can go throw 50 yards, it's whether you can throw 70 yards. If you're in the NFL you can get there and so Burrow, using all of his arm strength, but then you look at what he's able to do with just vision, the placement, it's all there and it's rendering the lack of arm strength quite frankly meaningless.
Burrow's success in overcoming his own supposed physical limitations is also giving his coach, Zac Taylor, freedom to be more aggressive. The Bengals were third in the NFL this season in fourth-down conversion success rate (65 per cent) and the confidence Taylor can afford to have in his quarterback could tilt the coaching matchup with Sean McVay in his favour.
Clark explained: "I think that McVay is obviously a much better coach than Zac Taylor, I think Burrow has liberated Zac Taylor in a way that gives him cover, almost like if you remember with the Ravens and Lamar Jackson a few years ago where the Ravens were getting very aggressive because they had Lamar Jackson, and if there was any question in the media about why this person went for it, the answer was just always Lamar Jackson.
"Joe Burrow is that kind of player where it's fourth and four, they're gonna go for it. I think in the coaching matchup Burrow makes a difference because he's the kind of guy who's going to go over there and say 'coach we're going for it on fourth down' and Zac Taylor is smart enough to say 'this guy's driving the bus I'm gonna let him do it'".
Taylor confirmed as such during the Bengals' media availability on Friday, the Bengals' desire to involve Burrow in the process on gameday and in the offseason allowing both coach and quarterback to feel more comfortable.
"We took with the number one pick so there's obviously some special traits, we know he's a winner, he's a champion," said Taylor.
"We wanted to make sure that we built this thing around him and how he could feel most comfortable. I think that when a player like that, who prepares like he does and sees the game, really from a coach's perspective, he should be involved in everything we do, and that's opinions on other players that we're adding to the team, that's scheme and game plan, that's adjustments that we make over the course of the game, he's earned that.
"Any time he's involved, he tends to make it work really well. And so I don't think that there's any egos on our staff that say no, we've got to do it the way that the coaches want it done. I want him to feel comfortable on game day, because when he feels comfortable, he plays at a really special level."
Comfortable with how the team operates, at ease in the spotlight and always calm under pressure, Burrow has even earned the blessing of the original 'Joe Cool', Joe Montana, to take that nickname. In what could be the warmest Super Bowl ever, Burrow's composure may turn the heat on the home favourite Rams.
Ryan Fox recovered from a shaky start to the final round to seal a wire-to-wire victory at the Ras Al Khaimah Classic.
The 35-year-old led by six shots heading into Sunday's action at Al Hamra Golf Club but saw that cut to just two at one point.
However, Fox managed to hold his nerve and carded a final-round three-under-par 69 for 22-under overall, enough to finish five shots ahead of Ross Fisher in second.
The victory is Fox's second on the European Tour, and his first in a 72-hole format, having previously triumphed in a Super 6 tournament in Perth three years ago.
Ranked 211th in the world, the New Zealander led the way from start to finish and was glad to have avoided what at one point looked like being a remarkable collapse.
"Relief is the main emotion," Fox said. "It was a bit of a struggle today. Sleeping on a six shot lead, I did not sleep well last night.
"A couple of guys came at me early and I had that nervous feeling inside my stomach all day, but I'm happy with how I played. I hit some great shots coming down the stretch."
Fox parred the first three holes but somehow missed from just two feet to bogey the par-three fourth – a first indication that nerves were perhaps beginning to creep in.
He responded with a birdie only for another bogey to follow at the sixth, allowing Justin Harding, Robert MacIntyre and Pablo Larrazabal to close the gap significantly.
Larrazabal was within two shots when rolling in a 25-foot putt at the 11th, though Fox soon got his act together and ended strongly with three birdies on the back nine.
"I just kept plugging away and there were a few big momentum putts on the back nine," Fox said.
"There was one on the 10th for par and then that birdie putt on 12 which kind of kicked-started everything.
"I got away with the tee shot there, but thankfully the hole got in the way with my putt. It looked good all the way and it just gave me that bit more of a buffer."
Larrazabal fell away to finish on 69 for the day, seeing the Spaniard end in a tie for third with Zander Lombard, with Fisher in second after birdying four of his first eight holes.
LeBron James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA's all-time leading points scorer in combined regular season and play-off history in the Los Angeles' Lakers loss to the Golden State Warriors.
The four-time NBA MVP led the scoring for the Lakers in Saturday's 117-115 defeat at Chase Center with 26 points, while also adding 15 rebounds and eight assists in another impressive display.
In doing so, James extended his streak of 25 points or more to 22 games and took his career points tally to 44,157, overtaking former Milwaukee Bucks and Lakers great Abdul-Jabbar's previous high of 44,149.
However, the achievement was bittersweet for the 37-year-old as it came in a narrow defeat for his side, with Klay Thompson grabbing the headlines thanks to his season-high 33 points.
"It's hard for me to speak on it now because I hate doing anything when it comes in a loss," James said. "And we had an opportunity to win a big game tonight."
Reflecting more widely on his career to date, James added: "I've been appreciative of the opportunity to play this game at the highest level.
"I love the game of basketball. I love being a part of the NBA and being able to inspire so many different sets of generations. I guess, it's a pretty big deal.
"In all my career, any time I've been linked with some of the greats, I've always just been in awe."
James still has work to do if he is to finish his career as the highest-scoring player in the regular season, as he trails Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928) with 36,526 points.
He has won four NBA Championships, four NBA MVP awards, four NBA Finals MVP awards and two Olympic gold medals with the United States in an illustrious career.
After hitting another milestone, Warriors pair Thompson and Steph Curry were among those to laud evergreen James.
"It's wild to think about how many games he's played, how long he's been doing it. The longevity of it all is legendary," Curry said.
"To be in that position where you've played that many games, you've been in so many different play-off runs, won championships and done it year after year, there is no real end in sight.
"That's a pretty special accomplishment. He's probably got his eyes set on the 'real' scoring title. It's crazy to think about."
Thompson added: "I don't know how much longer he has, maybe it's two years, maybe it's three. But NBA fans should appreciate it while they're watching such an amazing player."
James has a team-high 1,159 points this term for the Lakers, who are 26-31 following their loss to the Warriors, at an average of 29 per game across his 40 outings – only Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid (29.5) has averaged more.
Indeed, James' 29-point average is his best since 2009-10 when finishing with 29.7 through 76 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Klay Thompson shot a season-best 33 points, marking a major milestone in his recovery from long-term injury, as the Golden State Warriors narrowly edged the Los Angeles Lakers 117-115 on Saturday.
Thompson has been slowly building up his game time since returning from consecutive ACL and Achilles injuries that left him on the shelf for two and a half years, and recently bumped it up to 30 minutes per game, which allowed him to top score against the Lakers.
The 32-year-old shot five-of-nine from beyond the arc, with Stephen Curry (24 points, five rebounds, eight assists) taking a backseat. LeBron James managed 26 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for the Lakers.
"After not feeling that feeling for a few years, don't take a 30-ball lightly in this league," Thompson said after the win at Chase Center.
"I know that is always in me, but these things happen naturally. If I can play to do that every fourth quarter, I would. It's the flow of the game. Great things happen with time.
"It was really inspiring for myself. There were so many long days in this building, so many long days doing those tedious things. That is something that I wasn't used to prior due to my ability to play nightly. Now that I am able to do that, it inspires me to keep going.
"I am not satisfied. It felt really freaking good, though."
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was effusive in his praise of Thompson after the victory that takes his team to 42-15 for the season.
"[He was] phenomenal," Kerr said. "Just took one game at a time when we desperately needed him. With our offense kind of struggling to [find] a groove, and he got hot and took over the game."
Curry – who uncharacteristically managed just one three-pointer from eight attempts on the night – was also impressed with Thompson's efforts, saying: "It's still early in his comeback, but every night is a step in the right direction. To have that energy, that confidence in himself, nothing else matters in that moment."
Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant was relieved to come through the "noise" surrounding James Harden after his blockbuster trade to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Sixers signed up Harden and Paul Millsap this week from the Nets, sending Seth Curry, reserve center Andre Drummond, Ben Simmons and two first-round picks the other way.
Harden had last January forced his way out of the Houston Rockets to move to Brooklyn and team up with Durant and Kyrie Irving, but the Nets' 'Big Three' played just 365 minutes together across 16 games in the regular season and playoffs.
Although the Nets went 13-3 in that time, Harden and Irving were each absent for three games of the seven-game series against eventual champions the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2020-21 postseason.
Injury problems have persisted this season, while Irving has missed 10 games due to not having had the COVID-19 vaccination, and the Nets were on a 10-game skid when the Harden trade went through.
Durant insists Harden does not owe an explanation after growing "unhappy" in Brooklyn.
"James doesn't have to explain anything to anybody," he said before Saturday's 115-111 loss to the Miami Heat. "He's his own man. He makes his decisions on his career by himself. He doesn't owe anybody an explanation, and I wasn't looking for one.
"I'm just glad that we got this thing done and now we're able to move forward and get some of this noise away, and I'm sure he would feel the same way. But from around our team and around our group, there's noise about what may happen. So I'm glad we can push through that.
"I think once a person gets to that decision of 'I'm unhappy,' I think he's gone through a lot of steps to get there. So, no matter what I say or try to convince someone - I'm not saying I did this, but this is just my theory on this - no matter what I say or do to try to convince someone to change their mood from being unhappy to happy, I think that's when I'm pretty late to the party.
"He's made his decision. I'm sure people make their decision before they get to that mode of being unhappy. I didn't have any conversations with James up until then. I thought everything was solid. I don't do any convincing. I'm sure you make those choices and decisions on your own as an individual. Me as a friend, I just have to accept it."
Harden saw his new team move to 34-22 with an impressive 103-93 defeat of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Joel Embiid continued his MVP form with a triple-double, making a minimum of 25 points for the 31st game in a row, and he believes Harden's arrival will only help him perform better.
"He's going to make the game easy for all of us, especially me," said Embiid. "I don't get a lot of easy shots. I have to work for most of them. I hope he's going to make my game easier."
Kyrie Irving is holding out hope that New York City's vaccination mandate will eventually get overturned enabling him to play home games for the struggling Brooklyn Nets.
Irving scored 29 points, including 20 in the final quarter, as the Nets suffered their 11th straight defeat on Saturday, going down 115-111 to the Miami Heat.
The point guard will be unavailable for the Nets' next three games, as they are all at home at the Barclays Center where he cannot play due to his vaccination status.
"I still wish I could be out there at home," Irving told reporters after the game.
"Some people say it's as simple as, 'hey, go get this, go get the shot.' No, it's not as simple as that for me in my life, but ultimately still praying for a better outcome."
The defeat means the Nets slip perilously close to going below .500 with a 29-27 record.
Brooklyn also traded out James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers this week, while star forward Kevin Durant is still out injured. The Harden trade did mean the Nets landed Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond.
Irving said he felt no guilt for being unable to play home games as the Nets continued to slide.
"There's no guilt that I feel," Irving said. "I'm the only player that has to deal with this in New York City because I play there.
"If I was anywhere else in another city then it probably wouldn't be the same circumstances. But because I'm there, we have [mayor] Eric Adams, we have the New York mandate, we have things going on that are real-life circumstances that are not just affecting me. So you ask me these questions, I don't feel guilt.
"I'm just living my life as best I can just like everybody else that missed these last two years. I didn't have a plan in place while all this was going on, didn't know.
"The NBA and the NBPA made it very clear that there would be things that I would be able to do to work around this. And that's off the table. So you tell me if I'm just alone out here or do I have support from everybody else that's dealing with the same thing?"
Israel Adesanya has retained his UFC middleweight title after defeating Australian Robert Whittaker by unanimous decision in their re-match at UFC 271 on Saturday.
The Nigerian, who boasts an imposing 23-1 record, triumphed 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 to remain undefeated in the middleweight decision which he has dominated.
Adesanya had defeated Whittaker in a second-round knockout at UFC 243 in 2019 but the Australian put up a much better fight this time around with new tactics.
Whittaker took down Adesanya several times throughout the bout, also the champion found an edge by landing punches and kicks to his opponents' face, legs and ribs.
Adesanya started the better, before Whittaker took him down in the second round, landing several punches to the face, but the champion managed to escape his hold and respond with a few blows.
Whittaker again took down Adesanya in the fourth round, attempting to lock in a choke as he rode his back, but he managed to break free.
The Australian continued to try take down Adesanya whose ability to escape was critical to holding his victory, along with his attacking punches and kicks.
"I knew he was going to bring everything because last time I took everything away from him," Adesanya said after the bout. "I'm the big dog in this yard so he couldn’t take me down at all."
Whittaker felt like he had done enough to claim victory and admitted he was surprised by the judges' decision yet gracious in defeat.
"I was surprised with the decision," Whittaker said. "I started off rocky in that first round. I felt like I had it after that. It is what it is.
"I'm happy I fought my heart out. I'm gutted, I thought I did enough, I thought I took that."
Adesanya's next opponent may be third-ranked Jared Cannonier (15-5) who knocked out Derek Brunson in the second round of their middleweight bout earlier on Saturday. Cannonier said after the fight that he wants a chance against Adesanya.
Tuivasa knocks out KO king Lewis
In the co-main event, Tai Tuivasa claimed victory over Derrick Lewis with a second-round knockout in the heavyweight division.
Tuivasa extended his run of wins by knockout to five, responding after being taken down twice in the first round by landing a decisive elbow to Lewis' face.
“That’s the king of knockouts,” Tuivasa said afte the bout. “But like I said, I’m young... and I’m taking over now.”
The Australian moves into contention for a title shot against Francis Ngannou.
The Philadelphia 76ers made a statement as Joel Embiid piled on a 40-point triple-double as they won 103-93 over the Cleveland Cavaliers without new acquisition James Harden on Saturday.
Embiid scored 40 points with 14 rebounds and 10 assists for the Sixers, who improve to 34-22. It was only Embiid's fourth career triple-double.
The Cameroonian center's points haul included a highlight-reel dunk, a one-handed throw-down over Jarrett Allen late in the first half.
Embiid also made four of five three-pointers, going at 50 per cent from the field, while he added three steals in an outstanding game as they wait on Harden to be cleared medically to debut.
Klay hits season-high
Klay Thompson scored a season-high 33 points, marking a major milestone in his recovery from long-term injury, as the Golden State Warriors won 117-115 over the Los Angeles Lakers. Thompson shot five-of-nine from beyond the arc, with Stephen Curry (24 points, five rebounds, eight assists) taking a backseat. LeBron James had 26 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for the Lakers.
The Chicago Bulls, sitting second in the Eastern Conference, overcame a sluggish start as DeMar DeRozan scored 38 points with six rebounds and five assists, while Nikola Vucevic added 31 points and 15 rebounds in a 106-101 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Luka Doncic scored 45 points with 15 rebounds and eight rebounds in a losing cause as the Dallas Mavericks went down 99-97 to the Los Angeles Clippers, while the table-topping Phoenix Suns won their fourth straight with a 132-105 win over the Orlando Magic led by Devin Booker's 26 points and Chris Paul's 15 assists.
Nets slump to 11th straight loss
Kyrie Irving led a late Brooklyn Nets charge that fell short as they went down 115-111 to the Miami Heat. Irving scored 29 points, including 20 in the final quarter, with five rebounds and five assists as the Nets slumped to their 11th straight defeat. Bam Adebayo had 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Heat who have won five in a row.
The top two seeds Casper Ruud and Diego Schwartzman will face off in the Argentina Open final after the latter won two matches on Saturday to progress at his home event.
The Argentine world number 14 had to overcome countryman Francisco Cerundolo 6-3 2-6 5-7 earlier on Saturday after their quarter-final had been interrupted by rain on Friday evening.
The match was tied at 1-1 in the third set when rain intervened, with Schwartzman triumphing when play resumed to earn a semi-final date with third seed Lorenzo Sonego.
Schwartzman would later beat Sonego 7-5 3-6 6-2 in almost three hours on a busy day for the 2020 French Open semi-finalist.
World number eight Ruud progressed with a routine 6-3 6-3 victory over Argentine sixth seed Federico Delbonis.
At the Dallas Open semi-finals, Reilly Opelka and John Isner broke the record for the longest tiebreaker on the ATP Tour since 1990.
Second seed Opelka triumphed over fellow American Isner but it was not easy, winning 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (24-22).
Opelka sent down 39-21 aces across the match, earning a spot in the final against fourth seed Jenson Brooksby who beat Marcos Giron 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-5).
Sam Ryder admitted he is still coming down off the adrenaline after his exhilarating hole in one on the 16th hole at the Phoenix Open on Saturday.
Ryder, who had endured a difficult round which included four bogeys and a double bogey, landed the ace, ushering in wild scenes of celebration from the packed onlooking crowd.
Play had to be halted for 15 minutes as debris was cleared off the course after the crowd splashed drinks and threw beer cans in the air in a raucous celebration of a rare feat.
The 32-year-old American became the first player to hit a hole in one on the 16th at Scottsdale since Francesco Molinari in 2015. Ryder is also the 10th player to achieve the feat.
“Still kind of coming down off the adrenaline,” Ryder told reporters, “But, yeah, it was pretty crazy.
"It's got to be number one. Nothing compares to that... it was a blur. I can't describe it."
Ryder hit a 124-yard tee shot which spun left and into the cup for the ace, re-living it afterwards.
"[Chris Kirk] hit a really good shot in the middle of the green, so I kind of got a little bit of feel off of what it was playing," Ryder explained. "It was just one of those things I was talking to my caddie, and it just ended up being a perfect 54 degree wedge.
"The club - everything always plays a little shorter in there, adrenaline or whatever it is, it's just, it always plays shorter. I just told him, 'it's just got to be that, doesn't it?' And he's like, 'that's all I ever thought'.
"We just talked through it a little bit and I was looking just out to the right and wanted to come down around his ball and maybe it was an accidental one-yard pull or something. It didn't look like it was moving too fast on the camera when I saw it, but in the air it just looked perfect."
Despite the hole in one, Ryder is eight strokes off the pace, sitting at six-under-overall ahead of the final day on Sunday.
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