South Africa held their nerve in a terrific tussle to win 23-18 against a Wales side who were left to bemoan the moment a pitch invader cost them a likely try.
On a wet evening at the Principality Stadium, this game remained on a knife-edge throughout, the only points coming from the boots of Dan Biggar, Handre Pollard and Frans Steyn until Malcolm Marx crossed the Welsh line seven minutes from the end.
Elton Jantjies booted a penalty with the last kick of the contest, resulting in the five-point winning margin.
Wales had been level at 15-15 in the 63rd minute when a spectator burst onto the pitch and got in the way just as a chance to break through the South Africa defence presented itself.
Liam Williams looked to have a near-enough clear run to the left corner, but the presence of the intruder, with security staff looking to grapple him away from the action, meant momentum went and the chance was lost.
This was a thundering clash throughout, South Africa handling the early threat posed by Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit, as Biggar and Pollard kept the scoreboard ticking along.
Both sides had a player yellow-carded for persistent team infringements before the break, with Ox Nche and Rhys Carre sent to the bin, and Wales led 12-9 at the break.
The hosts nudged 15-9 ahead but were pegged back to 15-15 as South Africa rallied after a penalty from within his own half by Steyn. Wales then moved in front again after Biggar's sixth penalty, which followed moments after the intruder was escorted away, with supporters in the stands directing their anger his way.
South Africa's Makazole Mapimpi sprinted through to dot down but a TMO review picked up an offence and chalked it off. There was no denying the Boks in the 73rd minute though, when they drove irresistibly over the Welsh line, Marx grounding the ball.
Jantjies, on for Pollard, missed the conversion attempt from close to the touchline, meaning South Africa were just two points clear, but Wales could not find a response.
Close... as it was bound to be
It is now the case that 13 of the last 15 meetings between these teams have been decided by single-figure margins, with 11 of those games seeing the sides separated by six points or fewer at the final whistle.
Friend or foe?
It was unclear how or why the intruder came to be on the pitch, but Wales had every cause to be furious about the fan's presence. There was no doubt he was a distraction just as Wales got themselves into a position to threaten the try-line. Had Wales got over at that stage, there might have been a very different outcome.
Defending champion Daniil Medvedev set up a showdown with Novak Djokovic in the Paris Masters final after dismissing Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
The Russian, who downed Djokovic in the final of this year's US Open, was at his imperious best to see off Zverev 6-2 6-2 in the French capital.
He will now attempt to deny Djokovic a sixth title at the ATP 1000 event on Sunday, while seeking to etch his own name onto the trophy for a second year running.
World number two Medvedev, who overcame Zverev in the final of this event in 2020, ended the German's run of eight consecutive victories in style.
It took just 80 minutes for Medvedev to get the job done, his flat groundstrokes posing questions that Zverev had no answers to.
While Zverev did apply some pressure by forcing his rival to face three break points, Medvedev was cool under pressure as he held serve throughout the contest.
This triumph drew Medvedev level at 5-5 in the pair's head-to-head record.
He will likely face a sterner test against Djokovic, whose come-from-behind win over Hubert Hurkacz ensured he will claim the year-end number one ranking for a record seventh time.
On Sunday, he will bid to set another record by moving ahead of Rafael Nadal to reach 37 titles in Masters 1000 tournaments.
Novak Djokovic moved one step away from a sixth Paris Masters title by beating Hubert Hurkacz, guaranteeing himself the year-end number one ranking for a record seventh time.
The Serbian great is looking to get back to title-winning ways in his first tournament since September, when his hopes of a calendar Grand Slam were snuffed out by Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final.
He was pushed all the way to a deciding set tie-break by world number 10 Hurkacz, the player who beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon amid his breakout year.
But Djokovic had just enough in the tank to complete a 3-6 6-0 7-6 (7-5) semi-final victory, thumping his chest in relief and exhilaration as he got across the winning line.
On Sunday, he will bid to set another record by moving ahead of Rafael Nadal to reach 37 titles in Masters 1000 tournaments.
Saturday's success guarantees Djokovic will end the season on top of the ATP rankings for a record-breaking seventh time – Pete Sampras drops to second on the list with six years at the top.
Hurkacz broke serve in the eighth game of the first set and closed it out, only to surrender meekly in the second.
Djokovic broke to lead 3-1 in the decider, but a spirited Hurkacz recovered the break with a booming forehand into Djokovic's backhand corner in the seventh game.
The Polish player staved off a match point when serving at 5-4, getting somewhat lucky when a Djokovic passing shot landed just wide.
A tense tie-break swung Djokovic's way when Hurkacz lashed a forehand into the net at 5-5, and a backhand volley from the Miami Masters champion landed just wide on match point.
In the title match, Djokovic will tackle the winner of the second semi-final between Medvedev versus Alexander Zverev.
New Zealand extended their 100 per cent winning record against Italy to 15 games as they scored a crushing 47-9 win in Rome – setting a record for the most points in a calendar year.
The visitors, who named an entirely different line-up to the side that swept past Wales last week in Cardiff, were held scoreless in an error-strewn opening 25 minutes. However, the eventual drubbing meant New Zealand took their 2021 points haul to 675, beating the previous best of 658 set in 2007 by South Africa.
Finlay Christie broke the deadlock when he scrambled in after the All Blacks pushed the Azzurri back at a scrum. Dane Coles added a second moments later as New Zealand power won out again, and the same player grabbed a third shortly before half-time too.
Italy, in action for the first time since losing all five of their games in a dismal Six Nations showing, had new coach Kieran Crowley – a former All Blacks full-back– at the helm.
A pair of penalties from Paolo Garbisi put them on the board, and he added a third after the interval to briefly trim New Zealand's lead to 12 points, but Sevu Reece bounded through tiring blue jerseys for a fourth All Blacks try just after the hour, with Asafo Aumua grabbing a late close-range double and Hoskins Sotutu dashing down the wing to pile on the points.
Richie Mo'unga missed the conversion attempt from Aumua's second try, having successfully booted the extras for each of the previous five-pointers.
New Zealand, having beaten the United States, Wales and now Italy, face two more games on their tour, against Ireland in Dublin next Saturday, followed by France on November 20 in Paris.
Derrick Rose said he is "playing with joy" after helping to spark a superb New York Knicks revival in their 113-98 defeat of defending NBA champions the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
The Knicks were slow out of the blocks at Fiserv Forum and trailed 38-19 by the end of the first quarter in Milwaukee.
But New York came roaring back, with Julius Randle scoring 32 points and finishing with 12 rebounds, while RJ Barrett had 20 points.
Rose was also influential off the bench, putting up 23 points including 10 in a second quarter in which the Knicks outscored the Bucks 37-25, while he drained a crucial three-pointer in the third shortly after a Barrett lay-up had put the visitors in front.
"I'm playing with joy. It ain't happiness, it's joy," Rose said. "I feel happiness is temporary. Joy is everlasting.
"I've been through a lot. I'm in a great place and I'm on a very talented team. I don't have to score, I don't have to score 30 points.
"I don't have that burden. I can go out there and play the game and try to affect the game by passing or just pushing the ball. So, I'm in a great place."
After being drafted first by hometown team the Chicago Bulls in 2008, Rose became the youngest MVP in 2011 at the age of 22.
However, a series of serious knee injuries hampered his progress and he left Chicago for an unsuccessful first stint with the Knicks in 2016 before also representing the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons.
Rose returned to New York in February and was a key reason for their run to fourth in the Eastern Conference last season. Now 33, he contested suggestions his performance against Milwaukee was "vintage".
"What's vintage about it? I wasn't shooting threes, not pulling off shots like I am now, if you want to say it, it's whatever," he said.
Randle had 16 points and eight rebounds in the first half and he hailed the character in the team to complete such a resounding comeback.
"It showed a lot about the character of our team," he said. "NBA games are long. What's special about our team is we fight. We have a lot of high character guys."
Head coach Tom Thibodeau hopes his side do not find themselves in such precarious positions too often, though credited the team for their resilient fightback.
"Obviously, you don't want to get down like we did, but we did," he said. "It's a long game. You've got to keep fighting and get it to a manageable number.
"Once we got going a little bit and we made a couple hustle plays, it galvanised us and gave us energy."
The Los Angeles Clippers trailed by 20 at one point in Friday's game at the Minnesota Timberwolves and their best player missed 80 per cent of the shots he attempted, yet they still managed to run away with their third straight victory.
Confidence is growing for a team that started the season in a 1-4 slump, and Friday's stunning 104-84 defeat of the Timberwolves was the latest building block.
The Clippers outscored Minnesota 57-27 after half-time, the fewest points by any team in a half so far this season, as they became the fourth team in the last 25 years to trail by 20 before winning by 20.
"To be down 20 on the road and come back and win by 20, just shows a lot about our team – about our character, our resilience, not giving up," Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters. "We could’ve easily gave in by winning Wednesday’s game and kind of giving into this game, but our guys kept fighting and kept competing, and that’s what you love to see."
On the heels of a 126-115 win in Minnesota on Wednesday, the Clippers got by on a poor shooting night by making sure the Timberwolves shot even worse.
Los Angeles limited the home team to 34.8 per cent shooting from the field, including a stunning 17 of 52 (32.7 per cent) showing from three-point range, while out-rebounding Minnesota 62-42 and forcing 21 turnovers.
In a normal game, stats like that would have produced a far more lopsided win, but the Clippers needed every bit of that defending Friday.
Paul George made just four of 20 from the field and the Clippers knocked down only six of 28 shots from three-point range (21.4 per cent).
George and his team-mates ended up doing most of their damage from the free-throw line, where they had 32 attempts to Minnesota's seven. George made 13 of 14 from the line to account for the bulk of his 21 points.
"My guys, they get all the credit tonight," George said. "They kept us alive, they kept me going, it was a group effort."
Reggie Jackson added 20 points and Ivica Zubac contributed 14 points and 14 rebounds for Los Angeles.
"I thought Big Zu was a force down low in the paint tonight," Lue said. "I thought Zu was phenomenal."
The Clippers (4-4) return home to face the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday.
Undeterred by a dreadful first quarter, the New York Knicks stormed back for a 113-98 road win against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
Trailing the defending NBA champions 38-19 after the opening period, the Knicks found their rhythm behind Julius Randle's game-high 32 points.
Derrick Rose came off the bench to score 23 and RJ Barrett added 22 for the Knicks as they improved to 6-3 overall and 4-1 on the road.
"Obviously, you don't want to get down like we did, but we did," Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters. "It's a long game. You've got to keep fighting and get it to a manageable number. Once we got going a little bit and we made a couple hustle plays, it galvanized us and gave us energy."
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points and Grayson Allen 22 for the Bucks, but Milwaukee's other three starters combined for just 15 points as the champs shot 40.2 per cent from the field and were out-rebounded 59-37.
The Bucks (4-5) have lost four of their last five games and are 1-4 at home.
Clippers fight back to down Timberwolves
The Los Angeles Clippers mounted an impressive comeback of their own, trailing the Minnesota Timberwolves by 21 at one point before rallying for a 104-84 victory. Paul George had 21 points, 11 rebounds and four assists to lead the Clippers (4-4), while Karl-Anthony Towns had 20 points and eight rebounds for Minnesota (3-5).
Kevin Durant's 29 points and 10 rebounds lifted the Brooklyn Nets (6-3) to a 96-90 road win against the Detroit Pistons (1-8). First overall draft pick Cade Cunningham's shooting woes continued as he went six-for-17 from the field but the rookie led the Pistons with 17.
Stephen Curry made just five of 15 shots from the field, all but two of those attempts coming from three-point range, but the Golden State Warriors (7-1) still rolled to a 126-85 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans (1-9) thanks to 26 points from Jordan Poole.
Morant misfires in loss to Wizards
Ja Morant has been one of the NBA's most effective scorers so far this season but the Washington Wizards (6-3) shut down the Memphis star in a 115-87 rout of the Grizzlies (5-4). Morant entered the game averaging 27.0 points and shooting 52.2 per cent from the field but made just four of 17 shots Friday on the way to an 11-point night.
Formula One has re-affirmed its commitment to China, announcing Saturday that its deal with the Chinese Grand Prix has been extended through 2025.
The Shanghai race has not been contested since 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The stop was omitted from the 23-race F1 calendar for the 2022 season that was announced last month, with the series saying it would return as soon as possible.
F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali echoed those sentiments in Saturday's announcement of an extended deal.
"While we are all disappointed we could not include China on the 2022 calendar due to ongoing pandemic conditions, China will be restored to the calendar as soon as conditions allow and we look forward to being back with the fans as soon as we can," Domenicali said in a release.
Lewis Hamilton won the last race there and has been victorious in six of the 16 editions of the event, four more than any other driver.
New York's newly elected mayor has no plans to change the city's coronavirus vaccination mandate, saying it is up to the NBA and Kyrie Irving to find a solution that will get the Brooklyn Nets star back on the court.
The 29-year-old remains unvaccinated and is therefore ineligible to play home games at Barclays Center or games at the New York Knicks' Madison Square Garden.
Under current city restrictions, people in New York must have at least one coronavirus vaccine to enter indoor arenas, and mayor-elect Eric Adams told CNN on Friday the policy will remain in place when he takes office January 1.
"New York City is not going to change their rule," Adams said. "It is up to the NBA and Kyrie to come to a full understanding on how to keep him on the Nets and to continue to look at all of our athletes that are coming here. Again, I think the NBA and Kyrie [are] going to come to a conclusion on this."
Asked about Adams' remarks after the Nets' 96-90 road win against the Detroit Pistons on Friday, Brooklyn head coach Steve Nash said he was not surprised.
"I didn't expect the mayor to change the mandate," Nash told reporters. "We've just got to focus on our team. If we could have Kyrie back, we'd all be ecstatic, but we focus on our team, we keep building, we keep growing and hopefully we'll be a really good team at the end of the year."
After a sluggish start to the season, the Nets have won four in a row and sit at 6-3 following Friday's victory.
Irving would be eligible to play in most road games but the Nets said three weeks ago that Irving would not be with the team in any capacity until he can be a full participant.
The seven-time All-Star has played just 74 regular season games in two years since joining the Nets, missing long stretches due to injury issues and personal reasons.
Last year, on the same team as high-profile team-mates Kevin Durant and James Harden, Irving scored 26.9 points per game. That dropped to 22.7 points in the playoffs as he was again restricted.
Serena Williams says the hamstring injury that forced her out of Wimbledon in the first round is "better" and she plans to play at the 2022 Australian Open.
The site of her last grand slam crown in 2017 will be Williams' next chance to equal Margaret Court's record of 24 career slam titles.
The 40-year-old tore her hamstring while playing Aliaksandra Sasnovich at SW19 in June and recounted the injury in an appearance Thursday on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
"I was actually winning and I went for a shot and I heard this noise and I was like ‘oh no’," Williams said. "I felt it but I felt like 'OK, let me just keep trying', but it was bad and I was like, ‘oh man’.
"I love the grass, it’s something special walking out at Wimbledon, wearing all white and being on the green grass [but] it just wasn’t for me this year.”
The injury kept Williams out of the US Open, where she has not won since 2014 but reached the semi-finals in 2020 and the final in 2018 and 2019.
While disappointed to miss her home slam, which she has won six times, Williams told Kimmel her recovery is on track and she "definitely" expects to play in Australia in January.
"The hamstring is better," she said. "It took a long time. It took forever, but it's much better now."
Williams is a seven-time champion in Melbourne, the most of any woman in the open era.
Novak Djokovic says he has room to improve despite easing past Taylor Fritz in straight sets to reach the semi-finals of the Paris Masters.
The world number one is competing in his first tournament since his dream of winning a calendar Grand Slam was ended by Daniil Medvedev in September's US Open final.
After beating Marton Fucsovics in three sets and then benefiting from a walkover against Gael Monfils in the last 16, Djokovic made light work of Fritz in Friday's quarter-final.
He sent down eight aces and was successful with 72 per cent of his first serves that landed on his way to a 6-4 6-3 victory.
However, Djokovic lost his serve on three occasions and, while happy with his overall display, the Serbian feels like there is more to come from his game in the French capital.
"I was absent from the tour for two months coming into this tournament," he said. "The last competitive match I played was in the US Open final, compared to the other guys playing one or two events prior to Paris.
"I knew that I needed to start well, with good intensity and put in a lot of hours on the practice court. But it's different when you play points in a competitive match.
"I am pleased with the way I played against Fucsovics and again today, though I did have ups and downs. I am not entirely pleased with the way I closed out the sets.
"I backed myself up with good returns and read Taylor's serve very well to get into rallies. I closed out the last couple of service games well and that's a positive."
Djokovic is aiming to win the Paris Masters for a record-extending sixth time in his bid to end the year as world number one for a record seventh occasion.
The Serbian will contest his 71st career Masters 1000 semi-final – four short of Rafael Nadal's record – against Hubert Hurkacz, who saw off James Duckworth 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 7-5.
With that victory, the world number 10 clinched the final singles spot at the ATP Finals in Turin later this month.
Hurkacz is the second Polish player to qualify for the event after Wojtek Fibak in 1976. It also means only European players will feature in the ATP and WTA Finals for the first time ever.
Saturday's other semi-final in Paris will be contested between Djokovic's US Open conqueror Medvedev and Olympic gold medallist Alexander Zverev.
Home favourite Hugo Gaston eliminated Pablo Carreno Busta earlier in the tournament but was always likely to face a tougher task against Medvedev.
So it proved, with the qualifier going down 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 in a match that saw Medvedev hit 13 aces to his opponent's one.
"When the atmosphere is against you, you need to face it," Medvedev said. "You need to try to win, no matter what.
"Even when it is against me, I think, 'I will try to beat my opponent and the crowd' because there is no other choice."
Zverev kept his momentum going with a 7-5 6-4 win over Casper Ruud in Friday's final contest, as he made it eight wins on the bounce.
The German held serve throughout, while breaking his opponent twice, to remain on course for a sixth final of 2021.
Veronika Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova propelled a Russian tennis squad into their first Billie Jean King Cup final since 2015 as they sealed a 2-1 victory over the United States.
The Russians will meet Switzerland in the trophy showdown on Saturday, after Olympic champion Belinda Bencic defeated Ajla Tomljanovic to secure an unassailable 2-0 lead for the Swiss over Australia.
While Switzerland did not need a doubles decider, the Russian team, who are competing this week as Russian Tennis Federation, did.
Samsonova, who clinched her maiden singles title on the WTA Tour earlier this year, put them ahead in their tie against the USA, downing 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens 1-6 6-4 6-3.
Yet the USA hit back through Danielle Collins, who defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-7 (9-11) 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 – a contest that lasted two hours and 42 minutes in Prague.
Momentum was with the 18-time champions, but the Russians recovered in the doubles, with Samsonova and Kudermetova ultimately having little trouble in seeing off Shelby Rogers and Coco Vandeweghe 6-3 6-3.
Bencic saw off Tomljanovic to confirm Switzerland's place in the final, with Jil Teichmann having earlier overcome Storm Sanders 6-0 6-3.
Russia dominated this event, previously known as the Fed Cup, in the mid to late 2000s, winning four out of five editions from 2004 to 2008, but they have not triumphed since. Switzerland recorded their best result when a team featuring Martina Hingis finished second to Spain, way back in 1998.
England captain Owen Farrell has tested positive for COVID-19 and is a major doubt for the upcoming clash with Tonga.
The 30-year-old has gone into isolation after receiving a positive PCR test result and is absent from England's training session on Friday, but he still has a chance of featuring on Saturday, according to the Rugby Football Union.
England confirmed that - aside from one member of support staff - all their other players and staff had returned negative test results on Thursday, and Farrell will be tested again.
The England skipper was set to start the Autumn Nations Series opener at fly-half, with George Ford not named in the squad and Marcus Smith struggling with an injury.
If Farrell is unable to feature, George Furbank is the most natural replacement, although Henry Slade could also move across to take his spot.
The Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers are headed in different directions once more this season, with the Sixers' win on the road on Thursday defined by two young players at different stages in their development.
Philadelphia claimed a 109-98 victory, their fifth straight triumph, in Detroit despite having to use an eight-man rotation for the second successive game.
The shorthanded 76ers were without Furkan Korkmaz because of a wrist injury and former Pistons forward Tobias Harris was again sidelined due to COVID-19 protocols.
Seth Curry racked up 23 points while Tyrese Maxey continued to excel filling the void left by Ben Simmons as he finished with 20 points.
Maxey, playing on his 21st birthday, produced a pivotal third-quarter effort, his nine points in the period giving the 7-2 Sixers the lead after they had trailed 66-63 half-time.
"I wasn't ready to be doing that when I was 21, that's for sure," Curry said. "But once you get out there, everyone is the same age.
"He's been growing a lot, he’s been learning. Coach is tough on him. I know at times a lot of us veterans are tough on him, yelling at him, trying to get the ball, or expecting a lot out of him, but he's taking it in strides, not complaining about it, and he's putting in the work.
"He's competing and I'm glad he’s rolling with us."
"He was great," said coach Doc Rivers of Maxey. "He looked at me and I'm like 'What're you looking at me for? I don't have anybody'. You're the youngest, it's his birthday today, I figured use it and so he did."
Maxey, in his second season in the league, was an efficient eight of 12 shooting, but Pistons rookie Cade Cunningham was not as clinical, though he did post 18 points and 11 rebounds.
The first overall pick missed 13 of his 17 field goal attempts and is 17.9 per cent from the field for his first three games for the 1-7 Pistons having missed preseason and the start of the season with a sprained ankle.
Yet Cunningham believes he is progressing even after another poor shooting display.
"I feel a lot more comfortable with the ball, but I obviously haven't been efficient shooting in my first three games," he said.
"I didn't have a training camp, but the guys are supporting me and they keep getting me the ball."
Pistons center Isaiah Stewart added: "We're telling him to just keep shooting the ball. The shots he's missing right now are shots we've seen him make a lot. Those are going to turn into points pretty soon."
Frank Vogel says the Los Angeles Lakers will show "big-picture patience" while having a "small-picture sense of urgency" after they slumped to a 107-104 defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Lakers, missing LeBron James due to an abdominal strain, opened up a commanding 19-point lead in the second quarter at Staples Center on Thursday.
Oklahoma roared back to end the Lakers' three-match winning run, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 11 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter as the Thunder secured only their second victory of the season.
Head coach Vogel says the Lakers will not feel sorry for themselves with the likes of James absent and will learn from their defeat to Oklahoma.
"We don't worry about stuff we can't control, we all want to win every game badly," said Vogel. "We want it to be perfect right now.
"We have big-picture patience but small-picture sense of urgency to get this right, right away and to win these games in the short term. We fell short tonight, it's disappointing but we'll get to work tomorrow and get better from it."
Vogel warned his players they must be consistent throughout matches after a strong first half was in vain.
"It's a long game, they are going to keep playing. Early leads don't really mean anything in the modern NBA," he added.
"You got to keep playing, we learned our lesson last week, but they made their run in the second quarter and it's a 48-minute game, you've got to play quarters."
Anthony Davis scored a game-high 29 points, claimed 18 rebounds and provided five assists as the Lakers slipped to 5-4.
Last season's NBA Finals runners-up the Phoenix Suns took down the Houston Rockets 123-111 for their third consecutive win on Thursday.
Devin Booker inspired the Suns with 27 points while Landry Shamet added 19 points off the bench in Phoenix.
Chris Paul contributed 13 assists, nine points and five steals for the Suns (4-3), who moved above .500 for the first time this season.
Paul is averaging 12.0 assists and 2.4 steals per game in 2021-22. Entering the contest, this season had marked the fifth time in the last 25 years a player has averaged at least 11.0 assists and 2.0 steals over his first six games of a season – the Suns All-Star has been responsible for four of the five, per Stats Perform.
Christian Wood (18 points and 15 rebounds) and Kevin Porter Jr. (20 points) starred but the lowly Rockets (1-7) dropped their fifth straight game.
Celtics cool red-hot Heat
The Boston Celtics (4-5) have struggled for form this season, though they made a statement with a 95-78 win over the Miami Heat (6-2). Miami – top of the Eastern Conference prior to the game – had their worst scoring performance since January 2016.
The Philadelphia 76ers (7-1) moved to the top of the east thanks to a 109-98 win at the struggling Detroit Pistons (1-7). Seth Curry produced another stellar shooting display – going nine of 14 from the field – for 23 points. MVP runner-up Joel Embiid had 19 points and nine rebounds as he collected his 3,000th career board in his 268th game – the only 76er in history to reach the mark sooner was Hall of Famer Charles Barkley (253 games).
Lakers streak snapped
Playing without injured superstar LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers (5-4) had their three-game winning streak ended after being stunned 107-104 by the Oklahoma City Thunder (2-6).
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James could be out of action for a week due to an abdominal strain.
James was ruled out of Thursday's NBA clash against the lowly Oklahoma City Thunder due to the injury.
The 36-year-old and four-time champion, who has already missed two of the Lakers' opening eight games of the season because of a sore right ankle, is facing more time on the sideline.
"Anytime LeBron's out and he's going to miss some time there's obviously concern," Lakers head coach Frank Vogel told reporters pre-game as his team eye a fourth consecutive victory.
"Hopefully this is something that's minimal, and hopefully he'll be back soon."
James has been averaging 24.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game this season, while shooting 46.7 per cent from the floor and 34.7 per cent from three-point range.
Against Houston on Tuesday, James (30), Anthony Davis (27) and Russell Westbrook (27) became the first trio of team-mates to score 27-plus points for the Lakers in the same game since January 20, 1995, when Cedric Ceballos (31), Elden Campbell (30) and Nick Van Exel (29) accomplished the feat, according to Stats Perform.
The Lakers (5-3) are currently averaging 113.4 points per game while giving up 112.6 a game. The last time Los Angeles both scored and gave up 112-plus points per game for a full season was 1967-68.
San Francisco Giants great Buster Posey surprisingly called time on his illustrious MLB career on Thursday.
Posey enjoyed a resurgence in 2021, helping the Giants to a franchise-record 107 wins and their first National League (NL) West title since 2012 before falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series (NLDS).
The three-time World Series champion and seven-time All-Star, who opted out of the coronavirus-shortened 2020 campaign, was among a number of Giants players to enjoy a rejuvenation this term.
Posey boasted his best SLG (.499) and OPS (.889) since the Giants were crowned world champions in 2012, while the 34-year-old's 18 home runs were his most since his 19-homer campaign six years ago.
However, the future Hall of Famer – the first catcher in MLB history to hit .300 or better in his final year – announced his retirement, citing family and the physical toll of the game.
"I want to do more stuff from February to November with family," Posey – the 2012 NL MVP – said in a news conference. "Physically, it's much harder now. It's hard to enjoy it as much when there is physical pain that you're dealing with.
"It was getting to the point that things that I was enjoying were not as joyful anymore."
"I've been blessed to play in a league that has the most talented baseball players in the world," Posey added. "It's a fraternity that I've watched from afar from the time I was five years old until I arrived in September 2009.
"And one of the greatest benefits that comes along with that is that you get to meet a lot of great teammates that have a lot of similar interests as you do. ... I feel very fortunate to have made some of those friendships over the years. I look forward to them lasting for years to come."
Posey said: "The last week to 10 days I've been thinking, 'How do you thank a fan base?' And the Giants fan base is more than just fans, it's a community. And that sense of community is something we as players could feel in the ballpark when we took the field each night.
"I also hope it's worked the other way -- I hope over the years that you've been able to see that our team has a sense of pride that we've all taken in coming together each night and each day, working hard with a common goal and pushing each other along the way."
Alexander Zverev was given a thorough examination of his Paris Masters credentials by Grigor Dimitrov, but the fourth seed progressed nonetheless to reach the last eight.
Zverev, who last in last year's final, saw match points slip from his grasp in the second set as Dimitrov levelled the match, however, he eventually prevailed on Thursday.
World number one Novak Djokovic benefited from a walkover, while Daniil Medvedev also moved through to the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 event.
Zverev outlasts Dimitrov
Olympic Games gold medallist Zverev had to dig deep for his 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 win over former world number three Dimitrov.
It was Zverev's seventh win on the bounce, but he was well aware of just how deep he had to dig to see off a resilient Dimitrov.
"Incredible match," Zverev, who won a fifth tour title of the year last week at the Vienna Open, said afterwards. "Grigor is playing very high-level tennis and I had to leave everything out there.
"I think it was a very high-level match and it could have gone both ways, especially the third set. I am happy with how things went in the end."
Djokovic moves through without playing
There was no such ordeal for top seed Djokovic, however.
Djokovic – a 20-time grand slam champion – received a walkover after Gael Monfils was advised not to continue with the tournament due to an adductor issue sustained in his previous win over Adrian Mannarino.
Taylor Fritz awaits five-time Paris champion Djokovic after the American saw off 10th seed Norrie 6-3 7-6 (7-3), while Casper Ruud will tussle with Zverev.
Ruud's emphatic 6-2 6-1 demolition of Marcos Giron clinched a historic achievement for the 22-year-old – who became the first Norwegian to qualify for the ATP Finals at the end of a breakthrough year in which no player can better his five tour-level titles.
Hubert Hurkacz did his chances of joining Ruud in Turin no harm as the Polish seventh seed – who holds the last automatic qualifying berth – fought back to defeat Dominik Koepfer 4-6 7-5 6-2 and set up a meeting with James Duckworth, who beat Alexei Popyrin 7-6 (8-6) 6-4.
Second seed and US Open champion Medvedev was another who had to come from behind before ultimately seeing off Sebastian Korda 4-6 6-1 6-3.
He will go up against Hugo Gaston, who became the first French qualifier to reach the Paris Masters quarter-finals since 1990 with his win over Carlos Alcaraz.
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