The Brooklyn Nets showed how they plan to approach their playoff rotation in a 118-107 home win against the Cleveland Cavaliers to leapfrog into the seven seed with one more game to play.
In a game considered a must-win for the Nets to avoid the much more difficult Play-In Tournament setup for teams who finish ninth and 10th, Brooklyn cut their rotation down to eight players while Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Bruce Brown all played at least 39 minutes.
Seth Curry and Andre Drummond filled out the starting five, while Kessler Edwards, Patty Mills and Nic Claxton came off the bench, with LaMarcus Aldrige, Blake Griffin and rookie Cam Thomas out of the mix.
Durant went on to finish with a game-high 36 points on 11-of-20 shooting (four-of-six from long range, 10-of-10 from the free throw line) to go with five assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block, while Brown had 10 rebounds, eight assists and four blocks to go with his 18 points (six-of-12 shooting).
With the win, Brooklyn is now in position to host their first Play-In Tournament game – likely against the Cavaliers – with the winner entering the playoffs as the seven seed, while the loser gets another chance to play for the eight seed.
Most Improved Player contender Darius Garland was spectacular for the Cavs, scoring 31 points on 12-of-24 shooting, but the loss means his side has now lost eight of their past 10, and have been sputtering without injured center Jarrett Allen.
Overall, the Cavaliers are 43-38 this season, but just 8-17 in games Allen has missed.
No stoppin' Obi Toppin
It was a career night for New York Knicks cult figure Obi Toppin as he scored a career-high 35 points in his side's 114-92 away win against the Washington Wizards.
In only his eighth start of the season, the former first-round pick shot 14-of-22 from the field, including six-of-nine from deep, while fellow fan-favorite Immanuel Quickley was terrific off the bench, scoring 23 points (nine-of-18 shooting) with 10 assists.
Siakam shines, Heat hang on
Pascal Siakam seems destined to receive All-NBA honors this season after another great performance lifted his Toronto Raptors to a 117-115 win against the Houston Rockets.
In his past 10 games, Siakam is averaging 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists while shooting 53 per cent from the field, and improved those numbers with 29 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists against the Rockets.
Meanwhile, the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks played their shortened playoff rotations, and Trae Young's 35 points and eight assists was not enough as the top-seeded Heat prevailed 113-109 at home.
World number 18 Reilly Opelka is through to the semi-final of the US Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston after defeating qualifier Gijs Brouwer 6-3 7-5.
The giant American, who measures in at six-foot-11, was terrific in the opening set, winning 84 per cent of his successful first serves (16-19) and allowing no break point opportunities.
The second set was much more competitive, as Brouwer broke first to go up 3-1, but Opelka answered instantly and then grabbed the match-winning break when 6-5 up to avoid a tie-breaker.
Opelka will face a fresh Nick Kyrgios in the semi-final after the Australian was gifted a walkover win against Michael Mmoh due to injury.
In a clash between two top-five seeds, world number 29 Christian Garin got the better of world number 13 Taylor Fritz 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-3.
What made Garin successful in the first and third sets was his return game, winning more than half of his return points in those sets combined (26-51).
Fritz had chances to get back into the game, but Garin saved 11 of 14 break point opportunities, including six of seven in the deciding third set.
Garin will play American John Isner in the semi-final after Isner triumphed in a three-set battle against Frances Tiafoe 6-4 2-6 6-3.
Isner's trademark serve was inconsistent, and abandoned him in a grim second-set performance, winning just 11 of 21 service points on his way to getting broken twice to allow Tiafoe to force the match into a third frame.
In Isner's two successful sets, he won more than 80 per cent of his first serves (35-41), and allowed no break point opportunities in the third.
Belinda Bencic has beaten world number three Paula Badosa 2-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 to move on to the semi-finals of the Charleston Open.
Bencic, the 10th seed, appeared overmatched early on as she won less than half (12-25) of her service points in the opening set, getting her serve broken twice.
But as Bencic found her rhythm with her serve – winning 77 per cent of her first-serve points in the second set (24-31) – she wrestled the momentum away from Badosa, dominating the tie-break before breaking in the opening game of the third frame.
Bencic will face Ekaterina Alexandrova in the semi-final after the Russian dominated Magda Linette 6-0 6-2.
For the match, Alexandrova won 62 per cent of her points on serve (28-45) and 62 per cent of her points on return (26-42).
Fourth seed Ons Jabeur needed just 64 minutes to get the job done 6-3 6-2 against Anhelina Kalinina, winning 81 per cent of her successful first serves (29-36).
Jabeur will play 15th seed Amanda Anisimova in the semi-final after the American cruised past compatriot Coco Vandeweghe 6-1 6-2.
It was not a perfect performance from Anisimova, but she saved all five break points that she faced to never allow her opponent to get close.
Meanwhile, in Bogota at the Copa Colsanitas, top seed Camila Osorio is through to the semi-final after defeating Elina Avanesyan 6-1 6-4, where she will meet Laura Pigossi.
Scottie Scheffler admitted to having some fortune after windy conditions that had caused many players to struggle on day two of the Masters died down for him later in his round of 67.
The world number one established a five-shot lead at Augusta after shooting a five-under round for the day, a total matched only by Justin Thomas on Friday.
Scheffler sits well ahead of the chasing pack, with previous overnight leader Im Sung-jae, Charl Schwartzel, Shane Lowry and reigning champion Hideki Matsuyama all on three under par.
Speaking after his round, the 25-year-old exclaimed his happiness with his game, saying: "I feel like my game is in a good spot. I've done a good job managing my way around the golf course the last two days, and I've made some really nice up and downs and key putts that have kept my rounds going.
"I've kept my cards pretty clean for the most part, which is nice."
When asked about the pressure of holding the lead at Augusta, Scheffler added: "If anything, it gives me more confidence. Once I saw that I took the lead at one point today, and my first thought was to just keep trying to build it just because I feel like I'm playing well.
"That will be the goal going into tomorrow, just to keep putting myself in good positions, execute shots, and as long as I'm committed to everything, everything should be fine. The rest really isn't up to me."
Scheffler was among many players to comment on the windy conditions, but did admit that after it had died down, it allowed him to make a strong finish, birdieing four of his last seven holes.
"To be completely honest, the front nine was such a grind," he said. "The wind was crazy. There was some times where we saw the sand blowing up out of the bunkers out there. It was ridiculous.
"I think we were a little bit fortunate that it did die down a little bit towards the end of the day. It was still gusty, but you were able to find some spots where, for instance, on 16 I almost didn't even play any wind. We were definitely fortunate in that sense, but we were also playing in some pretty aggressive winds at the beginning of the round."
The Cleveland Browns have signed backup quarterback Josh Dobbs to a one-year deal as the situation with starter Baker Mayfield remains foggy.
Mayfield has requested a trade away from the Browns, but it is reported the franchise has no intention of dealing the former number one draft pick prior to this year's NFL Draft.
The franchise have moved on from Mayfield as their starter, trading a massive package of draft picks to the Houston Texans to acquire Deshaun Watson, and the signing of Dobbs – reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter – may indicate there is no intention to force Mayfield into a backup role.
It is understandable why the Browns would be hesitant to part ways with their primary signal-caller for a weak trade offer, as they went 0-16 in the season before he arrived, and have won no fewer than six games in the four seasons with Mayfield under center, including an 11-5 season and a trip to the playoffs in 2020.
After trading away three first round picks, plus two more later round picks, the Browns will be hoping a quarterback-hungry team comes calling on draft night as there is arguably no quarterback prospect in this year's class who profiles as a better prospect than Mayfield.
Dobbs has only attempted 17 passes in the NFL since being drafted in the fourth round in 2017, and has never started a professional game.
World number one Scottie Scheffler leads the Masters by five shots after a strong showing on a windy second day at Augusta.
Scheffler carded a five-under 67 to move to eight under for the tournament, ahead of four players in the chasing pack on three under.
After a woeful start to his second round, bogeying four of the first five holes, Tiger Woods recovered to card 74 for the day, tied for 19th on one over par, at least ensuring he will be back for the weekend.
The leader heading into the second round, Im Sung-jae, was unable to repeat his Thursday heroics but remains in the mix after his round of 74 left him among those tied for second with Charl Schwartzel, Shane Lowry and reigning champion Hideki Matsuyama.
Several big names did miss the cut, with Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka finishing on six over par after two rounds, Xander Schauffele on seven over, Justin Rose eight over and Bryson DeChambeau 10 over.
Shot of the day
An honourable mention to Woods and Lowry for tremendous second shots at 10, but there can only be one winner on Friday as Stewart Cink pulled off a crowd-pleasing hole-in-one at the 16th.
The 48-year-old ultimately missed the cut, finishing on seven over par, but hitting his tee shot on 16 to the right of the hole, only for the ball to roll back and into the cup led to the appropriate whooping from the fans and hugging from Cink's caddie, who also happened to be his son Reagan.
Player of the day
Lowry impressed with his four-under round for the day, but there is no looking past Scheffler, who dominated day two in Augusta.
The 25-year-old made seven birdies for his five-under round of 67, the joint-best of the day with Justin Thomas, following his 69 from Thursday and giving him a big lead going into Saturday.
Scheffler was already in the lead when he put his foot on the accelerator after the turn, making birdies on four of his last seven holes.
Chipping in
Collin Morikawa on Tiger: "I've never heard roars like that [on Thursday]. Especially at Augusta when everything kind of echoes a little bit more. I think we were walking down six, and [Dustin Johnson] and I heard that Tiger I think made birdie, and you can hear that. There's nothing like it."
Schwartzel on his mindset: "I think that's where I've been going wrong. Mind is too active, and I really worked hard in staying in the present and just trying to execute a golf shot and not to worry about what can go wrong because I've been playing too much golf thinking of what can go wrong."
Cink on whether he would be getting his son Reagan, who also caddied for him on his birthday, a present: "I already got him the hole-in-one. That's the extent of my birthday present. I gave him the ball. That should be enough, right?"
A little birdie told me
- Scheffler's five-stroke margin ties the largest 36-hole lead in Masters history.
- Woods maintains his 100 per cent record of making the cut at the Masters (22 out of 22). He has secured a top five place in 57 per cent of his previous 21 appearances (12), winning the title on five occasions.
- Cink's hole-in-one was the 34th in Masters history, though 16 is by far the most popular hole for aces at Augusta, with 24 being made there.
Tiger Woods said he needs "to go out there and handle my business" as the five-time Masters champion recovered from a dreadful start to his second round.
It is a surprise that Woods is competing this week, and while a fairytale tournament victory looks beyond him – with world number one Scottie Scheffler leading the chasing pack by five shots on eight under – he is pleased to have at least secured his place for the weekend's action at Augusta.
Woods was champion at the Masters most recently in 2019, when he ended a run of 11 years without a major title.
However, his second round on Friday got off to a woeful start as he bogeyed four of his first five holes, with his comeback threatening to turn sour as he flirted with the projected cut score of four over par.
Woods soon turned things around, though, and despite two more bogeys on 11 and 12 he followed up with two birdies and four pars to finish with a round of 74 and on one over par overall, meaning he kept up his 100 per cent record of making the cut at Augusta.
The 46-year-old has now made the weekend on 22 occasions at the Masters, which is the only major in which he has always made the cut as a professional. He has secured a top-five finish in 12 of those previous 21 appearances.
Five-time Masters champion Woods conceded the wind had been an issue early on, saying: "It was blustery. It was windy. It was swirling all over the place.
"I hit a couple shots that I got a couple of bad gusts and also made a couple of bad swings on top of that. Then on four, I ended up in a divot. It was just like 'okay, what else can go wrong?'"
When asked how he was feeling, Woods laughed and replied: "Well, I don't feel as good as I would like to feel. That's okay.
"As I said, I've got a chance going into the weekend. Hopefully I'll have one of those light bulb moments and turn it on in the weekend and get it done. You've seen guys do it with a chance going into the back nine. If you are within five or six going into the back nine, anything can happen.
"I need to get myself there. That's the key. I need to get myself there.
"Tomorrow will be a big day. It's going to be cool. It's going to be tough. Again, the wind is supposed to blow again and tough scoring conditions. I need to go out there and handle my business and get into the red and get myself a chance going into that back nine on Sunday."
Rory McIlroy endured a "really tough" day in the Georgia wind after carding another round 73 to sit on two over par after two rounds at the Masters.
The weather really put the "gust" in Augusta on Friday as several players struggled with the conditions, though McIlroy looks to have made the cut, projected to be four over.
The Northern Irishman made three birdies, three bogeys and one double bogey as he found himself unable to make a move on the leaders.
Speaking after his round, McIlroy said of the conditions: "Tough, really tough. It's gusty, it's hard to commit to a number and say 'okay, it's 170, it's really playing 200', and committing to it because the wind's just going up and down.
"It's a tough challenge, being okay with hitting to 30 feet and getting within two shots and making pars, that's been the name of the game today."
The 32-year-old hit a bogey at 10 before double bogeying the 11th to drop to four over par, but was able to birdie two of the last seven to potentially rescue his week.
"That was a soft couple of holes on 10 and 11, giving away three shots," he added. "And then to play the last seven in two under was really nice. I hit the ball very well coming in, felt like I left a couple out there too, I had a few chances, but it's just one of those days that even the 10 footers are difficult because the wind's gusting.
"One of those days that unsettles you a bit and puts some doubt in your mind, and that's where golf can become difficult."
A number of high-profile players are likely to miss the cut, with Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka on six over par after two rounds, Xander Schauffele on seven over, Justin Rose eight over and Bryson DeChambeau 10 over.
David Goffin moved within a match of his first ATP Final in over a year after fighting back to beat Roberto Carballes Baena 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-0 at the Grand Prix Hassan II.
The former world number seven saw off the Spaniard in a three-set quarter-final to book his place in the last four, 14 months on from his last title in the Open Sud de France.
Goffin, ranked 74th in the world and unseeded for the event in Marrakech, was forced to fight across a gruelling first set, which Baena edged out in a tie-break.
But he fought back to level things in the second before sweeping through the third set unanswered.
Goffin will face Argentine Federico Coria following the latter's 6-7 (1-7) 6-1 6-4 comeback win over Richard Gasquet.
Elsewhere, Alex Molcan's run continued after the Slovakian won 4-6 6-3 6-4 against Botic van de Zandschulp following his last-16 victory over top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
He will now face Laslo Djere in the last four after the Serbian overcame Italy's Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets.
Tiger Woods set off on his second round at Augusta with the wind blowing and the world watching as the five-time Masters champion looked to stay in contention.
After an opening one-under-par 71, Woods said he was "right where I need to be" at his comeback tournament, explaining he would require "lots of ice baths" before returning to action on Friday.
That is because his body is continuing to recover from the serious car accident in February 2021 that left him with major leg and foot injuries.
It is a surprise to many that Woods is competing this week, but he said ahead of the tournament that he believed he could win again, and Thursday's impressive round showed that was not merely bravado.
He teed off at 13:42 local time (18:42 BST), taking the driver off the tee and finding a large fairway bunker. From there he failed to hit the green, with Woods then unable to get up and down for par, rolling in for a bogey that nudged him back to level par.
The 46-year-old was champion at the Masters most recently in 2019, when he ended a run of 11 years without a major title.
He has 15 majors to date by his name, three behind record holder Jack Nicklaus.
Woods is playing his opening two rounds with Chile's Joaquin Niemann, who had a sparkling three-under 69 on Thursday. Louis Oosthuizen was part of the group but shot a 76 on day one and pulled out injured before the second round.
South African Charl Schwartzel won at Augusta in 2011 and made a significant move on Friday as a three-under 69, following an opening level-par 72, nudged him to within a shot of the lead, which was held by another former Masters winner in Danny Willett.
Willett made a birdie at his second hole of the day and stood at four under for the tournament early in his second round after an opening 69 on Thursday.
Im Sung-jae began at five under but slipped back to three under with three holes of his round remaining.
Australian Cameron Smith, who tied second at the Masters in 2020 and has two wins on the PGA Tour already this year, had a bizarre opening round on Thursday, with his four-under-par 68 bookended by double bogeys on the first and 18th holes.
The eight birdies he recorded between those calamitous holes pointed to Smith being a contender again this year.
Smith, 28, began on Friday with a dropped shot at the first, an improvement on how he got on in the opening round at the same hole but a blow nonetheless as it knocked him back to three under.
LeBron James' season is over, the Los Angeles Lakers have confirmed.
The NBA great has had the second most productive campaign of his storied career in terms of points per game, though the Lakers have had a year to forget, failing to reach the playoffs or even next week's play-in tournament.
LeBron sprained his ankle in a defeat at the New Orleans Pelicans in late March, and the Lakers confirmed on Friday that he will not play in either of their final two games against the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Denver Nuggets.
The Lakers' tweeted: "LeBron James' left ankle was recently reassessed by the team's medical staff, and it was determined that due to the ankle sprain James suffered in a game on March 27th, he will miss the remainder of the 2021-22 NBA season to allow for continued healing and an expected full recovery."
The 37-year-old ends the campaign having played 56 games overall, averaging 30.3 points per game, only the second time he has averaged over 30 in a season (31.4 PPG for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2005-06). Only Joel Embiid (30.4) averages more in the league this season.
LeBron averaged 8.2 rebounds per game, 6.2 assists and brought three-pointers into his arsenal more than ever, hitting a career-high season average of 2.9 successes and 8.0 attempts per game.
He also became the first player in NBA history to record more than 10,000 career points, rebounds and assists.
Novak Djokovic could face Carlos Alcaraz for the first time after the Monte Carlo Masters draw put the world number one and the teenage revelation on course to clash in the quarter-finals.
The draw for the tournament that begins on Sunday served up the appetising prospect of a tussle between the reigning French Open champion and a player many expect to enjoy huge Roland Garros success.
Alcaraz, 18, last week became the youngest men's champion at the Miami Open, and he has soared to number 11 in the ATP rankings after sitting outside the top 100 at this time 12 months ago.
He won an ATP 250 tournament on clay last year in Umag, and an ATP 500 on the surface in Rio de Janeiro in February, but earning a Masters 1000 hard court title in Miami highlighted the scale of Alcaraz's rapid improvement.
Both he and Djokovic will receive a first-round bye in Monte Carlo, and they must then win twice to set up a meeting at the last-eight stage.
Alcaraz may have to beat the in-form Indian Wells champion Taylor Fritz in the third round, with Marin Cilic and Sebastian Korda also potential early opponents for the young Spaniard.
Djokovic will not be taking a quarter-final place for granted, either. If he navigates his opening match, the Serbian could face a dicey third-round clash with Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut or the player to whom he lost at the last-16 stage last year, Britain's Dan Evans.
Rafael Nadal is absent after suffering a stress fracture of a rib during his Indian Wells final defeat to Fritz.
Lewis Hamilton conceded that any optimism for the Australian Grand Prix had been quashed after Ferrari again dominated Mercedes in practice in Melbourne.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton was fortunate to edge onto the podium in Bahrain's season opener, with Mercedes' problems with their new W13 design well-documented.
More problems followed for the 37-year-old and his team in Saudi Arabia, where Hamilton fell to his first performance-related Q1 elimination since 2009 and Mercedes failed to make the top five on the grid for the first time since the 2013 Italian Grand Prix.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff warned not to expect any "magic fix" for their new W13 car 'porpoising' – bouncing at high speed – and not racing at the optimum height, and the practice sessions at Albert Park have left much to ponder.
Hamilton and team-mate George Russell finished well behind a Ferrari one-two of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in the first practice, and things did not improve in the second session when Russell was 11th quickest and Hamilton a lowly 13th.
Both Mercedes drivers were again well behind Leclerc, and Hamilton, who finished more than one and a half seconds off the pace, accepted Sunday will be a struggle.
"I feel good, I feel okay. It was just a difficult session," he told Sky Sports. "You go in very optimistic, you make changes, and it doesn't seem to be wanting to improve.
"We made some changes going into FP2; FP1 was better, and FP2 ended up being a bit harder, so it's tricky. I don't think it'll be tricky to find our way back, there's just not a lot we can do. This is the way it is, so we just have to drive with it.
"We're trying to push, trying to catch, and even when you do a decent lap, it's 1.2s down."
Russell, who is fourth in the drivers' championship despite not making the podium in his opening two races, echoed Hamilton's frustrations.
"We're not in the position that we want," Russell said. "There's quite a few midfield cars ahead of us, and we're quite a long way off the pace. We need to work hard tonight and understand the limitations [of the car].
Asked if he was still enjoying driving, Russell added: "Driving is always cool, [but] you enjoy it more when you're on top of the timesheet!
"When you think you've done a good lap and then you look at the timesheet and see that you're down in P11, it's not where we want to be as a team. It's all about results."
Karolina Pliskova believes Ash Barty could return to tennis following her surprise retirement in March, but the Czech acknowledged she could not relate to the decision as she "likes the game too much".
Barty became just the second player to call quits on their playing career when ranked as world number one, after Justine Henin, with a shock announcement last month.
The 25-year-old cited a lack of "physical drive and emotional want" to compete despite claiming her second grand slam title at the Australian Open just two months before.
However, just as Henin did after retiring, former world number one Pliskova has a feeling that Barty, who defeated her in the 2021 Wimbledon final, may also return to the court in future.
"I was shocked because I'm not really on Twitter because I don't want to get too much information for myself," Pliskova told the WTA on Barty's retirement.
"But somebody messaged me and said, 'Oh, did you see the news?' It was 11:00 in the evening in Miami. I was like, 'No, no, did somebody cry again or something?' They said, 'No, no, Ashleigh, she stopped.' I'm like, 'No way, that's not possible. Tell me the reason.'
"I understand everybody's different. For me, it's not understandable at all because I just like the game so much. But I understand somebody maybe suffers, somebody doesn't like to travel.
"She basically won everything that she wanted to win, I suppose maybe she had no motivation. If you hate this tennis life and it's not what you always wanted to do, I think it's good to stop.
"But I was surprised and shocked. I thought she was a really good number one for our sport and she was there for a while. Of course now, Iga [Swiatek] is a really good player, but I just thought Ashleigh was a good person and she had good charisma. I'm going to miss her.
"But you never know. I think maybe she's going to come back. And then she's just going to be 27."
Meanwhile, Pliskova is focusing on her comeback as she continues to recover from a freak gym accident that resulted in a broken arm, which delayed the start of her new campaign by two months.
The 30-year-old, who has reached two major finals, made an encouraging return as she defeated Ukraine's Katarina Zavatska at Charleston Open but fell to Ekaterina Alexandrova on Friday.
"It was tough because people who follow tennis or me, they know I don't really have injuries," she added. "Even if I feel something, I still play. I never skip anything, not even practice or a tournament.
"The only break I had was this Covid break and I don't think that helped me. This injury was a bit more serious because I could not use my arm. I had a cast for a month or two. So it was quite a difficult time.
"I think things are going quite well. I just try to take the positives out of it, that I'm able to play after a couple months. It's been too long for me because with the offseason together, I missed four or five months.
"I know I'm not the player which can have five months at home and then I come in and win a tournament. I need some time to go through the feelings and the matches. I know it's going to take time, but just happy to be back."
McLaren driver Lando Norris believes the struggles of Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton are reassuring for Formula One.
Hamilton squeezed onto the podium in Bahrain in the season opener despite ongoing questions following a series of design changes by his team to comply with new regulations for the 2022 season.
However, he then succumbed to his first performance-related Q1 elimination since 2009 in Saudi Arabia as Mercedes failed to make the top five on the grid for the first time since the 2013 Italian Grand Prix.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has since acknowledged that instant solutions would not be found for their new W13 car 'porpoising' – bouncing at high speed – and not racing at the optimum height.
And Norris believes it is refreshing for the rest of the grid to see the usually dominant Mercedes well behind Ferrari, who hold a 40-point lead over Red Bull in the constructors' championship after two races.
"In a way it is nice to see that Mercedes don't always have success," Norris told The Daily Mail. "It shows that even when you have had that success, you can still get things wrong. It is easy to get things wrong.
"Much as I hate to say it, it is good to see Ferrari up there. And it is reassuring for other teams to know it is still possible. If it were just Mercedes and Red Bull again, it would be so predictable.
"With Lewis you are seeing the challenge of one of the best drivers competing in a car that is not the best. We will see a different side of Lewis, compared to the last decade.
"But I don't think you can say it is all about the car, rather than Lewis' ability. He has still been against very good drivers, such as Fernando [Alonso] in his first year, and then went on to achieve what everyone expected of him.
"I just don't believe in the last few years he has had quite the challenge that he could have had, or maybe that he had against [Nico] Rosberg. Perhaps we will see that against George [Russell, Hamilton's new team-mate].
"I don't think anything takes away the driver he is."
Norris has endured a similarly tough start to his season with McLaren, finishing almost a minute behind winner Max Verstappen in Jeddah, but he feels he made the right choice to join his new team.
"I see a lot of stories saying I have made the wrong decision," he added. "But that is not the case. I am happy. I have all the faith in the world that we can still achieve good things in the next few years and if I had to make the decision again, I would still do what I did.
"There were chances to go to other teams, but I am playing the long game."
The 22-year-old, who is 10th in the drivers' championship, will hope he can kick-start McLaren's 2022 campaign at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on Sunday.
George Russell believes Mercedes have the potential pace to challenge Ferrari and Red Bull for race wins this season, but not at this weekend's Australian Grand Prix.
Russell finished a lowly 11th in Friday's second practice session in Melbourne, adding further anguish to what has been a challenging opening to the 2022 Formula One season.
He and Mercedes team-mate, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, only claimed respective fourth and third place finishes at the season opener in Bahrain after Red Bull had to retire both cars.
Finishes of fifth and 10th for Russell and Hamilton respectively in Saudi Arabia provided a clearer reflection of where the once-dominant Mercedes team is in the 2022 pecking order, amid new regulations.
"We do believe there is a solution and we do believe there's a lot of lap time on the table once we optimise that," Russell said.
"It's more optimism and excitement. We're not here scratching our heads, not understanding why we're off the pace. We absolutely know why we're off the pace and we know what we need to work on to improve that.
"We're a long way behind Ferrari and Red Bull. It's going to take time and we just have to be disciplined and patient because we are so far behind and because of the cost cap, we can't afford just to throw things at it and trial and error at race weekends."
The extra week between the Saudi Arabian and Australian Grands Prix has not rectified the extreme porpoising issues Mercedes cars have experienced at high speeds so far, relative to other teams.
A higher downforce setup would significantly impact the car's speed and performance, meaning a balance must be struck, something rival teams have been quicker in achieving.
Russell, who signed for Mercedes upon the expectation he would be challenging for race wins and ultimately the driver's title, believes the team must be patient.
"We need to trust the process and bring the upgrades when we have total faith and confidence they will do as we expect," he said. "And that will be a number of races before we start seeing that."
Rory McIlroy will hope to build on an encouraging start on day two at The Masters and claimed his first-round one-over 73 was the "worst I could have shot".
The Northern Irishman headed to Augusta National searching to complete the elusive career grand slam for an eighth attempt, and sits six shots behind leader Im Sung-jae after the opening round on Thursday.
Slow starts have often been McIlroy's problems at the majors, but he felt his "negative" approach paid dividends as he opted for a more conservative route around Augusta.
Four-time major winner McIlroy was satisfied with his first outing as he looks for a first major title since the PGA Championship in 2014, and believes his one-over-par round did not do his efforts justice.
"I am encouraged with how I played. I don't really care where I am at on the leaderboard, it doesn't matter," the 32-year-old said.
"I hit the ball well from tee to green in the most part, I am pleased with that [although] I want to work on my putting.
"I think I hit 12 fairways and 14 greens and just didn't really get a lot out of the round. I hit a lot of greens in the middle and made a lot of easy pars.
"I had a putt at 14 to go two-under for the round with a par five to play but I three-putted that and halted any momentum I had. I think that's the worst I could have shot, I felt I played really well.
"The course is in incredible shape for the amount of rain we have had, so I am looking forward to dry conditions over the next three days."
McIlroy, who is tied for 31st place after his three bogeys cancelled out two birdies, is set to get back in action at 15:45 BST on Friday with playing partners Brooks Koepka and Matthew Fitzpatrick.
While he had no difficulty in parring the first hole on the opening day, McIlroy believes the nerves of that initial tee shot at The Masters never fade away.
"The hour or two leading up to that first tee shot there are nerves and anxiety," he added. "Once you get the first tee shot out of the way it is business as usual.
"I usually envision, 'what's the worst place I could hit it off the tee?' I then think, 'okay, I could probably make four from there'. That is how I settle myself down."
MVP favorite Nikola Jokic became the first player in NBA history with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a season in the Denver Nuggets' 122-109 home win against the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday,
He had 35 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and five steals in his game-winning performance.
For the season, Jokic is eighth in the league in points per game (27.0), second in rebounds per game (13.7) and eighth in assists (7.9).
Out of players who average at least 20 minutes per appearance, Jokic is 12th in usage (30.9), which measures the percentage of his team's possessions that end with him shooting or turning the ball over while he is on the court.
Of the league's top 100 players in usage rate, none are shooting better than Jokic's 66.1 True Shooting percentage, which weights three-point shots, two-point shots and free throws to produce a single number.
Only 12 players have a better True Shooting percentage than Jokic, and of those players, Montrezl Harrell has the highest usage, at a role-player number of 19.8.
The Denver big man is also the only non-guard in the top 15 in assist percentage, coming in at sixth (38.8) and trailing only Luka Doncic, Trae Young, Chris Paul, James Harden and Dejounte Murray.
As Nuggets teammate Bones Hyland put it: "Dude is really great at basketball."
Hyland was not the only Nuggets representative to shower Jokic with praise when talking with the media after their win, with coach Michael Malone highlighting that he believes the MVP race has been decided.
"The MVP isn't even a competition," he said.
"There's other great players. I'm not saying they're not great players. But what Nikola Jokic has done this year – with this team – everything we've had to go through, is just incredible.
"He was good last year, and he's even better this year."
Even Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins was at a loss for how to deal with the threat he poses.
"We threw a lot at him,'' he said. "He's the MVP for a reason. He's nearly impossible to guard.
"He's going to beat you from inside, outside, playmaking. He played at a really high level tonight.''
Meanwhile, Jokic said he was content to let his play do the talking, saying "if that's enough [to win MVP], it's enough… if not, you cannot control that.''
Tiger Woods looked in good health in his return to The Masters, but it is Im Sung-jae who stands alone atop the leaderboard after the first round at Augusta National.
In Woods' first competitive round since The Masters in 2020, the legend finished with three birdies – on the sixth, 13th and 16th – as well as two bogeys, on the eighth and 14th holes.
South Korea's Im produced the round of the day, birdieing the first three holes on his way to five birdies, two bogeys and an eagle on 13 to finish at five under.
Smith, who recently won The Players Championship, finished one shot off the lead and outright second at four under, despite bookending his round with double-bogeys on both the first and the 18th, with eight birdies in between.
World number one Scottie Scheffler nearly went bogey-free, but a slip-up on 18 saw him finish two shots off the pace at three under.
It was a similar story for Dustin Johnson, who birdied four of his first 10 holes before dropping a shot on the 17th to finish tied with Scheffler, as well as Chile's Joaquin Niemann and England's Danny Willett in a tie for third.
Patrick Cantlay and Canadian Corey Conners highlight the small group tied for seventh at two under, while Tony Finau, Webb Simpson and former runner-up Will Zalatoris are one further back, tied with Woods for 10th.
A decorated group finished at even par, including Hideki Matsuyama and Sergio Garcia, as well as Victor Hovland, who had five birdies, three bogeys and a double-bogey.
A pair of big names shot 73 for a one over finish in Collin Morikawa and Rory McIlroy, while plenty of notable stars were a further shot back.
Bookmakers' favourite Jon Rahm was uncharacteristically off his game, with four bogeys and two birdies to finish at two over along with Max Homa, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott.
Brooks Koepka was two under through nine holes, but three consecutive bogeys on 11, 12 and 13 drained his confidence, eventually finishing three over.
Bryson DeChambeau, Louis Oosthuizen and Justin Thomas had a day to forget at four over.
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