American football, its exponents are often fond of saying, is the ultimate team sport. With victory requiring 46 players spread across offense, defense and special teams to perform as close to their best as possible and frequently contingent on telepathic understanding between players executing blocking schemes, route concepts, pass coverages and pressure packages, it is tough to find a flaw in their argument.
In that sense, it is a contradiction that the quarterback position, being the most important for any team, commands so much of the attention.
Most of the focus will be on the signal-callers in Super Bowl LVII, and rightly so. Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts are making history in becoming the first black quarterbacks to face off in a Super Bowl in the Kansas City Chiefs' mouth-watering clash with the Philadelphia Eagles and are both candidates to win the MVP award on Thursday at the NFL Honors ceremony in Phoenix.
While that pair of superstars will obviously have a mammoth part to play in deciding the winner of the Vince Lombardi Trophy, so often it is the game within the game in other areas that settles the NFL's showpiece.
And there are several such granular contests that figure to have a substantial bearing on the outcome in Arizona. Here, Stats Perform digs into the numbers in examining three matchups that could decide Super Bowl LVII.
Chris Jones vs. Isaac Seumalo and Jordan Mailata
When the Chiefs have needed him most in the postseason, Chris Jones has typically delivered. Jones is in the curious position of being established as one the premier defensive linemen in the NFL but still arguably being underrated.
While so much emphasis is placed on the offensive side of the Chiefs' Super Bowl LIV comeback four years ago, Jones was the man who ensured the San Francisco 49ers could not respond with the disruption he provided up front.
In the AFC Championship Game this season, it was Jones – deployed off the edge rather than his familiar interior spot – who easily beat Cincinnati Bengals right tackle Hakeem Adeniji and brought Joe Burrow down for the key fourth-quarter sack that ended a prospective game-winning drive for the Bengals and gave the ball back to Mahomes to lead the Chiefs to a decisive field goal.
Ranked third among all defensive linemen in his aggregate pass rush and run block win rate, Jones is a versatile force who has the talent to disrupt the best-laid plans of the Eagles.
The Eagles rank first in pass block win rate and second in run block win rate, encapsulating the well-rounded nature of their ultra impressive offensive line. However, there are weaknesses, with right guard Isaac Seumalo (61.5 per cent) well below the 70.5 per cent pass block win rate average for his position and left tackle Jordan Mailata (74.3 per cent) only just above the NFL baseline of 72.9 per cent for his spot.
As such, Jones will almost certainly see snaps on the interior where he lines up against Seumalo and others where he is one on one with Mailata. Their ability to hold their own against the best defensive player on the field will go a long way to determining whether the Eagles can justify their status as slight favourites.
Travis Kelce vs. Avonte Maddox
The trade of Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins ultimately did no damage to the Chiefs' status as one of the NFL's pre-eminent modern offenses, with Kansas City leading the league in Efficiency Versus Expected (EVE) on offense in 2022.
With Hill out of the picture, Kelce has unsurprisingly served as the focal point of the attack. Arguably no two players in the NFL enjoy the same level of symbiosis as Mahomes and Kelce consistently display, the future Hall of Fame tight end continuing to confound defenses with his route-running and ability to create yardage after the catch.
His domain while generating those headaches for defenders has primarily been the slot.
Of Kelce's routes in the 2022 season, 300 have come from the slot, compared to 173 from the outside receiver position and 139 from a traditional tight end alignment.
Kelce's burn rate, which measures how often a receiver wins his matchup on a play where he is targeted, is 75.0 per cent from the slot, the seventh-best among slots with at least 25 targets. In other words, he has created separation from his defender on three quarters of his slot targets in 2022.
Shutting down Kelce is a challenge few have had much success rising to, but the Eagles have a player who is statistically the best remedy to the threat he poses in slot cornerback Avonte Maddox.
Maddox's combined open percentage allowed across man and zone coverage of 18.1 per cent is the best of any cornerback in the NFL. By that measure, Maddox is the elite at the slot corner position, and he will need to prove it for the Eagles to have any hope of containing Kelce and, in turn, the Chiefs.
Jalen Hurts vs. Chiefs' front seven
Two weeks removed from winning the AFC Championship Game on a sprained ankle, there is the question of how much of a running threat Patrick Mahomes can be in a game where even a sporadic impact from him on the ground would make a significant difference to keeping the Eagles' defense off the front foot.
While he has recently dealt with a sprained shoulder, there will be no such doubts surrounding Hurts. The Eagles will run the ball, and Hurts will be integral to their game plan in doing so.
Hurts and the Eagles have, for the entirety of the season when the starting quarterback has been healthy, done an outstanding job of keeping defenses guessing with a diverse run game built around the zone-read and the read-option.
That presents a rather large problem for the Chiefs, whose primary weakness on defense is – you guessed it – against the run.
The Chiefs rank 17th in run defense EVE, with their performance in that metric dropping to 24th against the rush in neutral situations – when the offense could realistically either run or throw the ball.
Philadelphia's offense thrives by creating doubt in the defense over what is coming in neutral situations, excelling at doing so to the point in the NFC Championship Game where San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner – who represents the gold standard at his position – was left stationary for key plays as indecision superseded his usually outstanding instincts.
Kansas City's linebackers are not on the same level as Warner, with starters Nick Bolton and Willie Gay Jr. both below the average in run defense win rate (17.7 per cent) for the position.
Their fallibility in that regard is something the Eagles will endeavour to attack time and again in pursuit of their second Super Bowl. It will take an intelligent and likely more measured approach from a defensive front known for its aggressiveness and an exceptional display of awareness from the Kansas City linebackers for the Chiefs' defense to avoid a long and very painful evening on the biggest stage.
Steve Wilks will be hired as the San Francisco 49ers' new defensive coordinator.
The move was reported by ESPN and NFL Network on Tuesday as the 49ers moved quickly to replace DeMeco Ryans.
With Ryans as DC, the 49ers fell painfully short of this year's Super Bowl following a remarkable run of misfortune that saw the team robbed of four quarterbacks through injury by the end of the NFC Championship Game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Ryans' impressive work saw him land the Houston Texans' head coaching job, leaving the 49ers with a hole to plug on Kyle Shanahan's staff.
Shanahan is turning to Wilks, who was available after the Carolina Panthers hired Frank Reich as their new head coach.
Wilks had been the Panthers' interim coach last year, taking over after Matt Rhule was fired and finishing the season with a respectable 6-6 record.
Rhule's final game as coach, with Wilks his defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach, was a defeat to the 49ers.
Wilks described himself as "disappointed but not defeated" when the Panthers instead hired Reich for the 2023 season.
But if Wilks has ambitions of landing another top job, his new role with the 49ers looks a good fit.
Ryans' predecessor Robert Saleh also departed for a head coaching role with the New York Jets.
Before his 12 games at the helm of the Panthers, Wilks had a single season as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2018, when they were a miserable 3-13 in the 49ers' NFC West.
Buffalo Bills co-owner Kim Pegula is recovering from suffering a cardiac arrest last June, but "where she ends up is still unknown".
American tennis star Jessica Pegula, the world number four, provided an update on her mother's condition in a long Players' Tribune article on Tuesday.
The five-time grand slam singles quarter-finalist revealed her sister, Kelly, saved their 53-year-old's mother live by giving her CPR after their father woke up to her going into cardiac arrest nine months ago.
Kim, co-owner and president of both NFL franchise the Bills and NHL team the Buffalo Sabres, is back at home and doctors are "blown away" by her "miracle" recovery.
She is, however, suffering from significant expressive aphasia and significant memory issues and the family have come to the realisation that she is unlikely to resume her roles with the Bills and Sabres.
Jessica revealed that three months before her mother fell ill, her sister had decided to learn CPR.
She wrote: "Kelly called me one day and said she was going to get her CPR certification as a requirement for a job she wanted. I said: 'No way, I have been meaning to do that but haven't gotten around to it.”
"She relayed to me how nervous she was about it and hoped she passed the class. I remember her telling us what she was doing in our family group chat, and my mom even responded: 'Nice Kells! Now if we have a heart attack, you can revive us.'"
She added: "Today, my mom is still in recovery, and although it is the same answer every time someone asks me, it is true, she is improving every day. She is dealing with significant expressive aphasia and significant memory issues.
"She can read, write, and understand pretty well, but she has trouble finding the words to respond. It is hard to deal with and it takes a lot of patience to communicate with her, but I thank God every day that we can still communicate with her at all. The doctors continue to be blown away by her recovery, considering where she started, and her determination is the driving force of that."
Jessica was a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open last month, having been considering whether she should call time on her career.
She stated: "Suddenly, I went from 'Let's celebrate top 10 in the world' to 'Do I need to start thinking about my career after tennis a lot sooner than I thought?' 'Does my dad and family need help?' 'Maybe I should just go back to school and work for the family.'
"I am 28 and I take pride in being able to handle every situation thrown at me, but this was A LOT."
She was also hit hard by seeing Damar Hamlin collapse on the field while playing for the Bills last month.
"Then in January we came to some bizarre, messed-up, full circle moment." she wrote. "Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field during the Monday night game against the Cincinnati Bengals. My stomach sunk because it felt like the exact same thing all over again."
Last year's French Open women's doubles runner-up continued: "It has been a tough year, but at the same time I feel lucky and blessed. I am thankful she is still with us when other families may not have been so lucky.
"That she even had a chance at recovery when the first week in the hospital seemed so dim. Thankful for the doctors that aided in her recovery. Thankful that she is now home, that she gets to watch the Bills, Sabres and my tennis matches. She never watched my matches before, because she got too nervous. Now she watches all of them.
"Thank you to the Buffalo community for your patience. I know you have wanted answers and it took us a while to get there, but it finally felt like it was time. Thank you to everyone who has respected privacy and shown me and my family tremendous support throughout this ongoing journey."
Richard Cockerill will leave his role as England forwards coach after the Six Nations, while Richard Wigglesworth and Aled Walters will join Steve Borthwick's team.
Cockerill stepped in as Red Rose interim head coach after Eddie Jones was sacked in December and retained a role on Borthwick's staff following his appointment as the Australian's successor.
The 52-year-old will be on the move when the Six Nations concludes next month, though, after taking up an offer to become forwards coach of Top 14 side Montpellier.
Borthwick removed Matt Proudfoot and Martin Gleeson from their roles as assistants after he took charge as he started a shake-up, bringing Kevin Sinfield with him from Leicester Tigers.
The England head coach has returned to his former employers once again to recruit Wigglesworth and Walters.
Wigglesworth took over as head coach of the Tigers on a temporary basis following Borthwick's departure for the England job.
The former Red Rose fly-half will become an assistant coach under Borthwick at the end of the season, when Walters will take up his new position of head of strength and conditioning,
Walters was part of the management team that won the 2019 Rugby World Cup with South Africa and will attempt to help England lift the trophy in France this year.
Valtteri Bottas believes Alfa Romeo must "aim for better" this year in Formula One, as the team look to put a disappointing 2022 season behind them.
The former Mercedes driver made the move to the Italian constructor last year after several successful years in the sport, but struggled to deliver on the track.
Though he picked up a number of sturdy finishes, the Finn failed to notch a podium and finished 10th overall, while team-mate Zhou Guanyu came home in 18th.
Speaking at the launch of their new C43 car, though, Bottas is looking to build on a sixth-place constructors' championship finish last term in his sophomore season with the team.
"We need to achieve more, it's simple as that," he said.
"We always need to aim for better, aim for higher, the whole team, and myself included.
"We always need to keep improving, that's what drives us, so, [we are] expecting better consistency, more points, better results. How to get there, that’s the tricky bit."
After several years near the top of the sport with Mercedes, Bottas acknowledged Alfa Romeo presented a different set of challenges
"It's definitely been interesting," he added. "In this team, I feel like my role has been very different to what I've ever had, really, in Formula One.
"It's a really open situation in the team and I love to know always as much as I can.
"The development of the car balance throughout the whole of last year has gone into the right direction.
"That work continues, and we'll see with this new car. I think hopefully everything is in an even better place in those situations, and we [will] keep working hard."
Emma Raducanu will win more grand slams according to Monica Puig, but the ex-Olympic champion warns she must be given time to figure out what her game is going forward.
The Briton shot to tennis stardom with victory at the 2021 US Open, setting a record for the fewest majors played (two) before winning a title.
But a frustrating run of injuries and poor form across 2022, which also included numerous coaching changes, has seen her plummet to number 80 in the WTA rankings and fail to reach the third round of a slam since her famous triumph.
Puig, who won women's singles gold at Rio 2016, believes Raducanu still has the skill to reach the top again, but needs to focus on court matters first and foremost.
"I saw her many times courtside during the US Open when she did win that title and she is a very talented player," Puig told Sky Sports.
"Physically, she's still very young.
"She still needs time to develop and time to find out who she is as a tennis player, who she is as a person.
"I can sympathise with her because when I won the Olympics, it came out of nowhere. I can only imagine [what it was like] coming from the UK where something like that is so big."
Puig added: "Absolutely [she can still win grand slams]. She's still young. It's a matter of time.
"We're always seeing generational changes with players like myself and Serena Williams having now stepped away.
"She is going to be in that circle of names that are going to be a force to be reckoned with.
"She just needs to settle, find her ground and take the pressure and expectation off.
"Remember the reason why you started playing tennis in the first place. It's because of the love of the sport."
Anthony Joshua will face Jermaine Franklin to prepare for further bouts against orthodox fighters, with Eddie Hearn wanting him to move away from southpaws.
The Briton will face the American at The O2 in London on April 1 in his first fight since falling to a second consecutive defeat against Oleksandr Usyk.
The two-time world champion is looking to build his form back up after his pair of stinging losses against the Ukrainian, with the 29-year-old Franklin his first test.
In part, the latter has been chosen to offer a taste of orthodox fights for Joshua, with Hearn hoping for future bouts against Deontay Wilder, Dillian Whyte and Tyson Fury to follow.
"Really, it came down to the style," Hearn told Matchroom.
"I think AJ's coming off the back of two fights against a southpaw, the best southpaw in boxing, in Oleksandr Usyk, and wanted an orthodox fighter.
"The training team really sort of looked at it and said [that] if we're gonna go and fight [Deontay] Wilder, Dillian Whyte, Tyson Fury, there's no point in us going back and fighting a southpaw."
Franklin has 21 wins from 22 professional fights, with his only loss coming against Whyte in November last year.
Joshua had just one career loss before he faced off with Usyk originally in September 2021, losing his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles in the process.
He then failed to claim revenge in the rematch in August in Jeddah, dropping him to a 24-3 professional record.
Jalen Hurts believes he and Patrick Mahomes will be "uplifting the next generation" in Sunday's Super Bowl, the first time both starting quarterbacks will have been African Americans.
Philadelphia Eagles signal caller Hurts will be making his Super Bowl debut, while Mahomes has featured twice before, experiencing both winning and losing.
Ahead of the State Farm Stadium showpiece, both men were in demand at Monday's Opening Night, with Hurts confident he can cope with the pressure of the big occasion.
"It's been what it's been my whole career," the 24-year-old said. "I ain't worked this hard to stay the same. I've put the work in to have opportunities like this, so it'll be a fun one.
"As a team we've come a long way. I don't want to make this about me. I want to make this about the work we've put in. We want to go out there and prepare to play our best game, when we need it most."
His role and the battle with Mahomes will be under the spotlight, however much Hurts does not want to make the narrative about his own performance.
Doug Williams became the first black quarterback to win the Super Bowl in 1988, when he led the then Washington Redskins to victory over John Elway and the Denver Broncos.
Now Hurts and Mahomes take centre stage, and Hurts said: "It's historic. Think about all the rich history in this game. To be a part of such a historic moment is special.
"There's so many quarterbacks before me, including Pat, that laid the foundation for me to have this opportunity. Seven African American quarterbacks to play in this game and now the first time for two to go head-to-head, and that's uplifting the next generation of quarterbacks.
"That four-year-old, five-year-old kid back in Houston, back in Philly, back in Texas, Louisiana, wherever across the world, regardless of what someone may say or have an opinion about you, you can do it.
"I value the platform I have, I'm sure Pat does, as well. We just want to inspire the next people."
Hurts said Philadelphia, who won their lone Super Bowl in the 2017 season, would be ready to add a second.
"We're coming to finish the job we set out to do," he said.
"We definitely respect our opponent. They're a really good team. They play good on both sides of the ball and special teams, and we want to go out and what we've done the entire time: to try to play clean football and play together, most importantly."
Justin Rose was relieved to secure his place at The Masters after victory at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am helped him end a four-year wait for a trophy.
The Englishman carded a final round of 66 to secure an 18-under triumph by three strokes, earning his 11th overall victory on the PGA Tour.
Having last won a prize at the Farmers Insurance Open in January 2019, his success in California helped both end a drought and secure a spot at Augusta.
Ensuring his card to The Masters and May's PGA Championship had been imperative in Rose's mind, but he acknowledged it was sweeter to earn it with silverware.
"Augusta has definitely been a big part of being on my mind," he said. "I thought the simple way to approach it was [to] try to play my way into the top 50 in the world.
"My intention was to come out and play solid and earn some points and claw my way up the World Rankings and make it that way.
"This is a better way to make it, by winning a tournament. It's funny how you, by winning, earn the points and everything takes care of itself.
"[It is] a big relief from that point of view to be able to plan a little bit more of the run into Augusta now. To have the luxury now is unbelievable."
Rose is also in contention to return to the Ryder Cup fold, having missed the cut for selection in 2021, though he stresses he is not even entertaining thoughts of it yet.
"The way where I've been with my game, I've had to be quite selfish and just focus on me and focus on my improvement and what I need to do to start playing better golf," he added.
"I haven't even entertained what the Ryder Cup looks like for me, other than I want to be there. Obviously I would love to play my way onto the team."
Chelsea have hired the All Blacks mind coach who introduced a "no d***heads" policy as Graham Potter looks to turn the Blues into winners.
Heavy investment in players since Todd Boehly came in as owner has not yet been followed by success on the pitch, with Chelsea a disappointing ninth in the Premier League.
Thomas Tuchel was sacked in September and his replacement, Potter, is battling to prove he can be the coach to deliver strong results and trophies to Stamford Bridge.
Now Gilbert Enoka is heading to the London club after making an impressive impact in rugby union with New Zealand over the past 20 years.
Enoka, who stepped up from being mental skills coach to become leadership manager with New Zealand, will join up with Chelsea on what New Zealand said was a "short-term consultancy basis".
The incoming expertise should be a boost to Potter, with the widely acclaimed Enoka having been part of an All Blacks set-up that won Rugby World Cup titles in 2011 and 2015.
Chelsea have spent around £600million on new players in the past two transfer windows, without their sprees having had any obviously positive effect on results, and installing a positive mindset appears to be what they are looking at achieving.
Enoka revealed in early 2017 how his famous policy functioned within the New Zealand ranks, saying: "A d***head makes everything about them.
"We look for early warning signs and wean the big egos out pretty quickly. Our motto is, 'If you can't change the people, change the people'."
Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni acknowledges his Kansas City Chiefs exit under Andy Reid left him with a "chip on your shoulder" ahead of their Super Bowl LVII encounter.
The two will face off on Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Arizona, with the former set to face off against the team he started his NFL coaching career with in 2009.
Sirianni worked his way through the ranks to become receivers coach with the Chiefs but exited the role in 2013 after Reid arrived as head coach, having brought assistant David Culley with him.
Though he has no issue with how his departure was handled by Reid, Sirianni still looks upon his departure as motivation to get the better of his opposite number years later.
"Do you always have this little chip on your shoulder? Sure, yeah, you do," he said. "But that's who I am as a coach and as a person.
"I want to make sure I'm working my butt off to get as good as I possibly can. You hold on to some of those things.
"Did I want to leave Kansas City? No. My future wife was from there, she had a nice teaching job, she had all her friends there, her mom and dad were a half-hour down the road.
"Of course I didn't want to leave there. But when I look at it, God's always put me in great positions and guided my paths. I know I don't say stuff like that all the time, but I know he has."
Sirianni subsequently joined the San Diego Chargers, holding a number of positions he became offensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts.
He posted a 9-8 record in his first year in charge of the Eagles in 2021, before bettering that with a 14-3 finish this season to set them on the path to Super Bowl LVII.
Patrick Mahomes never wants to experience the sour taste of defeat in a Super Bowl again, as the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback prepares to face the Philadelphia Eagles.
Mahomes was MVP when the Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV three years ago, but a year later they were outgunned by Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Last season saw Kansas City edged out by the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game, so they missed out on the biggest game of the year.
This time they are back in the spotlight in Phoenix, raring to go at Glendale's State Farm Stadium, and Mahomes underlined the highs and lows of the Super Bowl as he looked back on his mixed bag of experiences.
"The win is amazing," said Mahomes. "It's one of the best moments of your entire life. You take away all the positives from that.
"But that loss, that stings. That motivates you for years. That's what it's done for me. It's motivated me to be back in this game again. I want to make sure that I can have that winning feeling and not that losing one because that losing feeling is one you'll never forget."
He said the Eagles possess "one of the best defensive lines in history", and with both teams managing NFL-best 14-3 records in the regular season it is clear Sunday's match will see the two best teams of the year duke it out for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Ahead of Super Bowl LVII, Mahomes spoke at Opening Night, saying: "The motivating factor is to be the best.
"You're in the biggest game of your life, and you want to go out there and make memories with your teammates. I think the biggest motivating factor is to step on that field and try to be the best. We know we have a great challenge in the Philadelphia Eagles, so it'll be a great game."
There will be a first sight of two African American quarterbacks going head to head in a Super Bowl, with Mahomes facing Jalen Hurts.
"It's special," Mahomes said.
"I have a lot of respect for the guys who came before me and laid the foundation. To play against a guy like Jalen – a genuine, great dude who has worked his tail off to be in the position that he's in – it's going to be a special game and a special moment for a lot of kids to watch."
Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn wants Kyrie Irving to succeed despite his departure from the team, after he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks.
The guard made the move from New York to Texas ahead of Thursday's deadline after threatening to leave as a free agent at the end of the season.
It has been an unsettled campaign for Irving with the Nets, having been suspended for eight games after posting a link on social media to an antisemitic film.
But Vaughn, who has picked up Mavericks pair Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith in return, had nothing but kind words to say after his exit.
"My interactions with Kai have always been positive," he said after the Nets slipped to a 124-116 loss against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday.
"I enjoyed coaching him. I want him to succeed. I'll keep it that simple. We've had some ups and downs along the way. I've also seen the young man score 60 points.
"I've also seen him bring his kids into the locker room. I've also seen him grow as an individual and be a better teammate than when I first met him.
"For me, I'm going to always look at the good in people and want the good in people. I want him to succeed. He's no longer with us, but I appreciate his time."
Irving, who will link up with three-time All-NBA Team guard Luka Doncic in Dallas, will be out to help push the Mavericks into the championship race.
The team sit fifth in the Western Conference with a 29-26 record after a 124-111 win over the Utah Jazz and face the Clippers next on Wednesday.
Klay Thompson was hailed by Stephen Curry after a masterclass in three-point shooting for the Golden State Warriors, draining 12 from behind the arc against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It was only the seventh time in NBA history that a player has made at least 12 threes in a game, and Thompson joins team-mate Curry as the only ones to accomplish it twice.
Thompson holds the outright record of 14 three-pointers in an NBA game, achieved in 2018 against the Chicago Bulls, but this time 12 was plenty as the Warriors scored a crushing 141-114 win over the Thunder.
"That boy gooooood!" Curry wrote on Twitter.
Curry is out for the foreseeable with knee ligament damage, so the onus falls on the likes of Thompson to step it up for the 28-26 Warriors, last season's champions who sit seventh in the Western Conference.
Thompson put together a 27-point first half at Chase Center, finishing the game with 42 points on 15-of-22 shooting, including a 12-of-16 record from long range.
The 32-year-old Thompson is no strange to such big individual efforts. He has hit at least 10 threes on eight occasions across his NBA career, and he had an inkling something special was one before this game began.
He said, quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle: "Every pregame when I’m doing my little warm-up I flip a kettle bell to see if it lands upright, and tonight it did. So I knew it was going to be a good one."
Thompson savoured what he achieved, saying: "It felt great, but what felt even better was the 43 team assists we had and only 16 turnovers.
"I think that was the indicator of how the night went. It has to be the most we've had all season and the ball was humming. And when we do that we're at our best. And for me, I'm a huge beneficiary of when the ball is moving."
The 42 points was Thompson's second-biggest haul of the season, beaten only by his huge 54-point game on January 2 against the Atlanta Hawks.
Coach Steve Kerr said: "That was probably the most fun I've had watching our team all year."
He praised the "magnificent" Jordan Poole, who had a career-high 12 assists and added 21 points.
"It was one of the best games I've ever seen him play, he was so under control," Kerr said.
"Klay was dominating with his shot, but Jordan was controlling the game, just running the show and taking care of the ball. Then he started scoring in the second half when that presented itself. He was brilliant all night."
Jayson Tatum made sure the Boston Celtics would be just fine without Jaylen Brown as he drew praise from the opposition after defeating the Detroit Pistons 111-99 on Monday.
Brown was a late withdrawal due to illness in the hours leading up to tip-off, while the All-Star was joined on the sideline by reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart as he recovers from an ankle injury.
It was shaping up to simply not be the Celtics' night as Tatum reached half-time with as many fouls (three) as made field goals, but they were kept afloat by an inspired shooting performance from rookie Sam Hauser.
In his first NBA start, Hauser made five of his six three-point attempts in the first half, while Derrick White had 15 points by the long break on his way to a terrific stat line of 23 points (eight-of-17 shooting), seven rebounds and seven assists.
Hauser cooled off significantly in the second half – not hitting another shot the rest of the way – but Tatum came out in the third quarter on fire and helped the Celtics jump ahead by 20 with 18 points in the period.
Tatum ended up with 34 points (11-of-24 shooting), 11 rebounds and six assists, and Pistons head coach Dwane Casey said afterwards that there is a feeling of inevitability when facing the MVP candidate.
"You hope that he doesn't keep going, or get going," he said. "We tried to trap him, get the ball out of his hands, and he made good decisions.
"You know at some point, he’s going to be a superstar… I watched those guys grow, they had the same growing pains as our young players did, and to see where they are now should be motivation for our young players."
Pistons point guard Killian Hayes added: "A guy like that, you give him any opportunity, he’s going to take it. He didn't make a three-pointer in the first half, and then he hit one and he's hard to guard. A guy like that, you can't let him get going."
Meanwhile, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla decided to focus on his role players, highlighting his belief in Hauser and big-man Robert Williams III after the latter became the first Boston player to ever record 15 points, 15 rebounds and two steals in less than 30 minutes of action.
"I thought [Hauser] was great in the first half," he said. "The decision [to start him] – I just trust his work ethic, and I trust his mindset, so I thought it was a good opportunity for him to play and get us in a different flow on the offensive end.
"When he's in, our off-ball creativity is there, our after-action is there, and our early-offense spacing is there. I thought he would help that – and I watch him work every day. All those guys, I know they're always ready.
"[Williams] is getting more assertive offensively, but we're getting more organised about how we can use him – he's not just a guy who's going to stand under the basket and get offensive rebounds.
"We need him to be a great screener against different coverages, consistently. We need him to be a playmaker in the seam versus the blitz, and we need him to create two-on-ones for us.
"I thought we did a really good job of making a point of emphasis to get him the ball and make him a playmaker to kickstart our two-on-ones – we need that from him."
With the win, the Celtics improved their league-best record to 38-16, one game ahead of the Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks.
Patrick Mahomes' injured ankle is "definitely better" than before the AFC Championship Game as he prepares for his third Super Bowl appearance on Sunday.
Mahomes helped the Chiefs reach a third Super Bowl in five seasons by helping Kansas City defeat the Cincinnati Bengals in the Conference Championship on January 29.
It was a case of the MVP frontrunner overcoming the odds, knocking off a Bengals team that had stunned them at the same stage last season despite playing on a sprained ankle he suffered in the Divisional round win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Mahomes will now go against a vaunted Eagles defense in a mouth-watering Super Bowl LVII clash at State Farm Stadium in Arizona.
And he goes into the game seemingly in much improved shape.
Asked about his ankle at Super Bowl Opening Night in Phoenix on Monday, Mahomes replied: "It's definitely better for sure.
"You never know until you get into the game, but it's definitely better than it was this time last week before the game.
"I'll play through all the injuries that the trainers let me play through."
He then joked: "[Tight end] Travis Kelce hurts my feelings like every single day and I still play so I'm still going to play through it and try to get a win."
Mahomes threw for 5,250 yards and 41 touchdowns in the regular season, marking the second time in his already glittering career he has surpassed 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in the same season.
The Eagles represent arguably his biggest test yet, though, their defense the best in the NFL by yards per play allowed. In two playoff games, Philadelphia's defense has given up a combined 14 points.
Brooklyn Nets spark plug Cam Thomas almost outdueled the Los Angeles Clippers' All-Star duo by himself before ultimately going down 124-116 on Monday.
Thomas, 21, set a new career-high on Saturday with 44 points in a win against the Washington Wizards, and he eclipsed that figure with 47 on 15-of-29 shooting against the Clippers.
In doing so, he became the youngest player since LeBron James to reach 40 points in back-to-back games.
The second-year guard hit seven of his 11 three-pointers after going four-of-five against Washington, capitalising on the increased opportunity created by the departure of Kyrie Irving in a trade to the Dallas Mavericks.
Thomas scored more than double his closest team-mate – Edmond Sumner with 23 points – but the combination of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George ended up pulling it out down the stretch.
The Clippers trailed 107-99 with six minutes remaining, before closing the game on a 25-9 run, including nine of Leonard's 24 points. The two-time NBA Finals MVP added six assists and four rebounds while shooting eight-of-17.
George was slightly better with 29 points on 10-of-20 shooting, and center Ivica Zubac was important with 19 points (six-of-nine), 12 rebounds and three steals.
The win was the Clippers' eighth from their past 10 games, improving their record to 31-26 and strengthening their grip on the Western Conference's fourth seed. The Nets sit fourth in the East at 32-21.
Mavericks get a taste of the future
Third-year guard Josh Green and rookie Jaden Hardy appear poised to assume expanded roles after both set new career-highs with 29 points in the Dallas Mavericks' 124-111 road win against the Utah Jazz.
Green, 22, has been on an upward trajectory since being selected 18th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, and with the Mavericks shipping away two players for Irving, there are minutes up for grabs.
He shot 10-of-17 from the field as he blew past his previous career-high of 23 early in the last period, while Hardy also made his case for more playing time as he matched Green's 29 points (eight-of-12) for a new career-high of his own. Green finished with a gaudy plus/minus of plus 39 in 37 minutes, while Hardy was plus 23 in 26 minutes.
It was reported by The Athletic that Green and Hardy were off-limits in the Irving discussions, and they are justifying that stance right away as the keys to Dallas' first win this season without Luka Doncic in the line-up.
Klay winds back the clock
Chase Center fans were treated to a vintage Klay Thompson performance as the Golden State Warriors sharpshooter put together a 27-point first half during a 141-114 demolition of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Thompson shot 10-of-14 from the field and hit seven of his nine three-point attempts in the first half, before going on to finish with 42 points on 15-of-22 shooting, including 12-of-16 from long range.
It was only the seventh time in NBA history that a player has made at least 12 three-pointers in a single game, and Thompson now joins team-mate Stephen Curry as the only players to accomplish it twice. Thompson has hit at least 10 threes on eight occasions, and he owns the single-game record as the only player to make 14.
Jack Sock is through to the second round of the Dallas Open after prevailing 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 6-4 in a tough opening test against Ilya Ivashka.
Belarus' Ivashka is ranked over 50 spots higher than Sock, but he is in some torrid form, with Monday's loss his sixth in a row.
Sock snapped his own three-match losing streak, and he did so despite committing 10 double faults, coming up clutch in break point situations by saving 15 of Ivashka's 18 opportunities.
Meanwhile, 21-year-old Argentinian Juan Manuel Cerundolo booked a meeting with compatriot and top seed Diego Schwartzman after beating Pablo Andujar 6-4 1-0 (retired) in the first round of the Cordoba Open.
The rising Cerundolo now boasts a 13-1 record since the beginning of the new year, while it was Andujar's fifth loss in a row.
In an all-Spanish showdown it was Bernabe Zapata Miralles emerging victorious 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 7-5 against Roberto Carballes Baena, while Serbia's Dusan Lajovic defeated Peru's Juan Pablo Varillas 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.
The last match of the night saw Italy's Luciano Darderi handle France's Hugo Gaston 6-4 6-3, with Darderi now set to face fourth seed Sebastian Baez.
Jason Kidd is extremely bullish about the Dallas Mavericks' chances in the playoffs after acquiring mercurial superstar Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.
In the biggest trade of the season so far, the Mavericks sent Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round pick and two second-rounders to the Nets in exchange for Irving and depth forward Markieff Morris.
The move means the Mavericks are the only team with two players named as starters in this year's All-Star Game, with Irving receiving his eighth selection overall after putting up averages of 27.1 points, 5.3 assists and 5.1 rebounds while playing in 40 of Brooklyn's first 51 games.
Dallas made a surprising run to the Western Conference Finals this past season with Jalen Brunson as Luka Doncic's number two, and Kidd was not shy about calling the move from Brunson to Irving an upgrade.
"When you look at Ky, nothing against [Brunson], but Ky is at a different level," he said. "This gives us another weapon. Someone is going to be free. Someone is going to have the advantage."
Doncic's usage rate of 37.6 per cent is the second-highest in the league behind Philadelphia 76ers centrepiece Joel Embiid (37.8 per cent), and Kidd said the addition of Irving should help that number come down to a more sustainable level.
"When you look at [Doncic's] usage, it's at 99.9, so it has to come down," he said in jest. 'It's going to come down – and that's a healthy thing. It's not a bad thing.
"He'll be stronger in the fourth [quarter], the team will be better. Then the trust between the two – it's going to take some time to get that rhythm and trust, but Ky is about winning.
"We're still going to preach defense, being able to get stops, but there's going to be nights where we're going to try to make you feel uncomfortable on the offensive end with scoring 130 or 140.
"Some nights, you're going to have to use the offense as your defense, but Ky's going to compete on the defensive end. Luka's going to compete on the defensive end.
"But when you look at the offensive end – can we put pressure on the opponent, and are they going to be comfortable to be able to score that many points?"
Kidd referenced Irving's track record as a champion with the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, where Irving hit the game-winning three-pointer over Stephen Curry in their Game 7 victory on the road.
"You look at his journey at other stops, he's won where he's gone," he said. "We feel that the talent and his abilities to make us better are something that we needed.
"We feel that getting him is going to help put us in a position to win a championship."
Irving's former team-mate on the Nets Theo Pinson will be a familiar face in Dallas, and he said he is excited to see how teams decide to guard the dynamic duo.
"Pick your poison," he said. "It's one of those things where I don't know what you do, personally – I really don't.
"You can trap Luka all you want now. We swing it to another killer. It's going to be fun to watch."
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