Islam Makhachev was able to see off the challenge of Alexander Volkanovski in the latter's home country as the Russian secured a unanimous decision to retain the lightweight title at UFC 284.
In front of an excitable crowd in Perth, Australia, both men put on a fine show in the main event as they also fought for the title of pound-for-pound best in the world.
Despite the unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46), it was an undeniably close fight, with Volkanovski getting some early shots in and denying the champion some takedowns.
After initially showing caution, Makhachev soon came to the party and eventually completed four of nine takedown attempts, and somewhat surprisingly bested his opponent in terms of total and significant strike percentage, though Volkanovski's volume was predictably higher.
"You like or you don't like, I am [the] best fighter in the world right now," Makhachev said after the win, much to the crowd's displeasure.
"I show why I'm No. 1. They have to improve more."
The Australian delighted his many fans in attendance with a late surge, but Makhachev had already done enough, particularly in the fourth round when he spent the vast majority of it on his opponent's back.
"He didn't respect my wrestling, grappling," Volkanovski said. "Maybe I didn't respect his striking enough, either. He landed some shots. Fair play to both of us."
In the co-main event, Yair Rodriguez submitted Josh Emmett in the second round to claim the interim featherweight championship with a dominant performance.
In his first ever UFC win by submission, Rodriguez – who also landed around three times as many total and significant strikes – was able to get Emmett in a triangle choke to tap the American out at four minutes and 19 seconds in round two.
James Harden said he left the Brooklyn Nets "for a reason" after he and Joel Embiid starred in the Philadelphia 76ers' win over his former team, describing his time in Brooklyn as "frustrating".
Harden scored 29 points with six rebounds and six assists on his first appearance at Barclays Center since pushing for a trade to Philadelphia last year, helping the Sixers record a 101-98 win.
The 2018 NBA MVP and 10-time All-Star was criticised for his decision to seek a Nets exit just over a year after being acquired from the Houston Rockets.
Harden was keen to get a few things off his chest after Saturday's win over Brooklyn, who are working with a new-look roster after the recent departure of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Asked if he could have foreseen a situation where both of those stars followed him through the exit door, Harden said: "Yeah. I didn't just ask to leave for no reason. It wasn't right.
"I was in a really good place in Houston. Obviously, we didn't have a chance to win a championship, but I was comfortable.
"So for me to up and leave my family, all the things I created there, to come to Brooklyn for a year and a half to try to just get up and leave, it was for a reason, you know what I mean?"
Pushed on whether the Nets could have done anything to keep him, the guard added: "Yeah, there was. Like, a lot of things.
"But it was just a lot of dysfunction, clearly. A lot of internal things that I'm not going to ever say or put in the media or anything. That was one of the reasons why I chose to make my decision.
"But now, fast-forward to this date, I don't look like the crazy one. I don't look like the quitter or whatever the media want to call me.
"I knew what was going on and I just decided, 'hey, I'm not built for this'. I don't want to deal with that. I want to play basketball and have fun and enjoy doing it. Fast-forward to today, they've got a whole new roster."
Asked to sum up his time in Brooklyn, Harden described it as "frustrating", bemoaning his lack of game-time alongside Durant and Irving after the trio only played 16 times together.
"The reason I made that decision to get out of my comfort zone, to leave Houston and do everything that I did to get out of there was to come in and play with KD and Kyrie," he said.
"That didn't happen as much as I would like to or probably the organisation wanted to. It was just something where I knew it wasn't going to change. I had to make an individual decision for the betterment of my family and my career
"It's a lot of what-ifs when you play less than 20 games together. So it's a little bit frustrating, but it is what it is. Hopefully, everybody's in a good place now and we can move on."
Joel Embiid and James Harden led the Philadelphia 76ers to a hard-fought 101-98 win against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on Saturday.
The Nets, now shorn of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, had to face another of their former stars in Harden, who had no problem showing them the kind of form he rarely displayed in Brooklyn on his first appearance there since leaving last year, scoring 29 points with six rebounds and six assists.
Embiid had an even better outing, with the Cameroonian finishing with 37 points and 13 rebounds, making 12 of his 18 field-goal attempts.
Mikal Bridges scored 23 on debut for Brooklyn after his arrival as part of the Durant deal with the Phoenix Suns, with fellow debutant Cam Johnson adding 12, while Joe Harris managed 18 points from just over 16 minutes on court.
The two players the Nets acquired as part of the Irving deal, Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie, struggled against the Sixers.
Finney-Smith made just two of his eight field-goal attempts, while Dinwiddie fared even worse with two from 10, and zero from four shots from beyond the arc.
Dinwiddie thought he had forced overtime at least when a three-pointer finally went in, but it was ruled out of time after a review as Philadelphia secured the victory.
Doncic and Irving outfoxed by De'Aaron
In their first outing together for the Dallas Mavericks, Luka Doncic and Irving could not get the W as De'Aaron Fox helped the Sacramento Kings to an overtime victory.
Both Doncic and Irving spent more than 40 minutes on the court, scoring 27 and 28 points respectively in a tight game in which neither team ended a quarter with more than a two-point lead.
Fox particularly shone in the latter stages as he recorded 26 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, including six free throws in the final 18.4 seconds to help seal a 133-128 win at Golden 1 Center.
Jokic makes history, Young's assist bonanza
Nikola Jokic became only the fifth player in NBA history to record 20+ triple-doubles in a single season as he led the Denver Nuggets to a 119-105 win at the Charlotte Hornets.
The two-time MVP scored 30 points, with 16 rebounds and 10 assists, while Trae Young also had a productive game as the Atlanta Hawks beat the San Antonio Spurs 125-106.
Young provided an impressive season-high 17 assists for his team to go with his 24 points to make it a 12-game losing streak for the Spurs, their longest since 1988-89 (13).
A much-changed Los Angeles Lakers pulled off a 109-103 victory against the Golden State Warriors, with Dennis Schroder top-scoring with 26 points, while the returning D'Angelo Russell added 15 and Anthony Davis recorded 16 rebounds.
There is guaranteed to be an Argentine winner of the Cordoba Open on Saturday, while Taylor Fritz was stunned in Dallas.
Federico Coria, seeded sixth, overcame reigning champion and 2021 runner-up Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4 7-6 (7-2) after over two-and-a-half hours of action.
The world number 67, who is into his second ATP Tour-level final and is set to rise into the top 50 of the rankings, has dropped just a single set in the tournament.
Sebastian Baez, eight years Coria's junior, is aiming for his second title after winning in Estoril last year.
The 22-year-old fourth seed defeated Hugo Dellien 6-4 6-4.
This will be the fourth singles final of Baez's career, though his first on home soil.
"It means a lot, but [it brings] confidence," said Baez.
"I have my people here, my friends, my family, everything, so that is a big motivation for me."
While Coria and Baez have just five previous final appearances between them, John Isner advanced to a 31st Tour-level showdown of his career as he beat fellow American J.J. Wolff at the Dallas Open.
Playing in his home city, 37-year-old Isner came from behind to prevail 3-6 7-5 7-6 (7-4).
Isner offered up eight break points, but saved seven of them to frustrate Wolff.
"I saved a lot of break points with unreturnable serves," Isner said. "Without that I would have been dusted off the court 6-3, 6-4. I'm of course very fortunate to have that weapon in my pocket, and I needed every bit of it today.
"It was an absolute battle, so I'm pretty tired. But I'm absolutely ecstatic to be in the final tomorrow here in Dallas."
Asked how he was faring up after his long tussle with Wolff, Isner quipped: "Truthfully, it feels terrible right now. I'm 38 in April. It's not getting any easier. I started off a little slow, a little sluggish, but in the third set I actually felt the best I felt the whole match.
"I had a lot of adrenaline there at the end and I was able to hold my nerve and win. Right now the name of the game is recovery."
Isner will be the favourite in the final, after top seed Fritz surrendered a lead in a 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 6-4 loss to Wu Yibing.
Jon Rahm and Adam Hadwin provided the highlight of the third round at the Phoenix Open, where Scottie Scheffler kept hold of the lead.
World number one Scheffler carded a 68 on Saturday to maintain the two-stroke lead he held after the opening two days.
A bogey on the 13th threatened to set Scheffler back, but he recovered with a birdie on the next hole and then another on the 17th.
Yet the highlight came from Rahm and Hadwin on the Stadium Course's famous 16th hole.
With the vociferous crowd having been deprived of much excitement up until then, Hadwin – who endured a frustrating round, dropping three bogeys – planting his tee shot close to the pin, setting up a simple putt for birdie.
If that shot had the spectators on their feet, then Rahm's exceptional putt had them positively in delirium soon after, as the world number three sunk an excellent effort to on his way to a three-under 68.
Rahm moved up to T2 alongside Nick Taylor, who found timely birdies on the last two holes to head back into the clubhouse on 11 under after three rounds.
Jordan Spieth, who went round in 63 on day two, carded 69 but dropped a place to T4 along with Hadwin, with Im Sung-jae, Tyrrell Hatton, Rickie Fowler and Jason Day moving up to joint-sixth. Xander Schauffele had a disappointing round, though, and dropped three places.
It was a similar story for world number one Rory McIlroy, who bogeyed on the fourth, seventh and 17th, as well as double-bogeying the 14th. His round of 70 leaves him on three under for the week, 10 behind Scheffler.
Sam Burns was the big mover of the day as he leapt up 28 places thanks to a stunning 64, matching Scheffler's effort from Friday.
Burns struck five birdies and eagled the 13th, and is part of a five-strong group tied for 11th at eight under.
LeBron James will miss his second consecutive game with soreness in his left ankle.
James became the NBA's all-time leading points scorer this week, breaking the record against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.
Yet the 38-year-old sat out Thursday's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks and will not feature on Saturday against the Golden State Warriors.
It marks the 13th missed game this season for James, though it appears to be a primarily precautionary move.
Medical imaging on the affected area has not shown any significant damage other than general wear and tear, according to Lakers coach Darvin Ham.
"We're grateful that things came back clean and good," Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said on a conference call on Saturday.
The Lakers are expected to have newcomers D'Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley and Davon Reed available to face the Warriors.
Mo Bamba, who was also acquired at the deadline, will finish serving his four-game suspension stemming from an altercation in a February 3 game between the Orlando Magic and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
James ranks seventh in the league in scoring (30.2 points per game) and his absence leaves a huge void for Los Angeles, who are 13th in the Western Conference and facing an uphill climb to make the playoffs.
The Kansas City Chiefs' decision to trade Tyreek Hill this offseason was greeted by many with understandable bemusement.
With Hill sent to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a 2022 first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick, two fourth-round picks, and a 2023 sixth-round pick, the Chiefs lost the player who, save for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, struck the most fear into the hearts of opposing defenses.
How could the Chiefs' offense be as devastating without him? Surely the Chiefs and head coach Andy Reid had a plan?
Turns out they did, and it wasn't to spend either of their two first-round picks on a wide receiver. The Chiefs opted for defense in the form of Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis, instead filling the void with a pair of veterans in Juju Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and a second-round pick in Skyy Moore.
Moore is quicker than fast and, though Valdes-Scantling was the de-facto deep threat for Aaron Rodgers in the Green Bay Packers' offense, neither can claim to boast anywhere close to the explosive speed Hill possesses.
And yet the Chiefs' offense has actually been more explosive than it was in the 2021 season, suffering no drop-off as Kansas City surged to the number one seed in the AFC and has since overcome injuries to quarterback and receivers alike to progress to Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
The Chiefs racked up 249 plays of 10 yards or more in 2021, but that number has jumped to 257 in 2022. On top of that, the Chiefs finished first in the NFL in Stats Perform's Efficiency Versus Expected (EVE) metric on offense.
While much credit must go to All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce – who ended the regular season with 1,338 receiving yards and a career-high 12 touchdowns – and head coach Andy Reid for finding joy running three-tight end formations, there is no doubting the influence of Kansas City's reconstructed receiver corps.
Smith-Schuster ended the year with 933 receiving yards, carving out a role as a dependable possession receiver who – according to Stats Perform data – won his matchup with a defender on a play where he was targeted 74.5 per cent of the time (the average is 60.2).
Valdes-Scantling has been an effective big-play threat, averaging 16.4 yards per reception in the regular season and, though Moore has not had the impact some may have envisaged, sporadic contributions from in-season trade acquisition Kadarius Toney – a former first-round pick of the New York Giants – and Justin Watson have helped ensure the Chiefs have continued to thrive throwing the ball.
How has everything coalesced so effectively for the Chiefs' new-look receiver group? In the view of Mahomes, their success is a tribute to the effort they have each shown since arriving in Kansas City.
"Just a lot of hard work. The guys work their tail off every day," said Mahomes of his receivers.
"It's a tough place to be to learn a whole new playbook and really execute and get better and better throughout the season and have no drop-offs, those guys have done that since OTAs and gotten better and better and that's what's got us in this position, so I'm excited for those guys to go on the world stage and showcase what they've worked all year for."
Kelce similarly praised the way Smith-Schuster and Co. have attacked the challenge, while also hailing Reid for identifying players who could slot seamlessly into an offense that was built heavily around Hill.
"The wide receiver group this year has been absolutely unbelievable," said Kelce. "Being able to come in year one and master this offense the way they have – this isn't an easy offense to figure out – it's just been cool to see the professionalism on top of the leadership that's been brought into this building for a lot of the young guys that are still in that room.
"There were just a lot of specific Tyreek routes, man, routes that only that guy could run. Hats off to coach Reid for creating those routes for the strengths of the guys that are in the building now.
"This offense has had one of its best years, and it's not by surprise, it's not by accident, there's a lot of guys in that room that have the strengths and the abilities to go out there and have success and I'm happy they're going out there and having it."
Having such success may be a tough ask against an Eagles defense that allowed only 4.8 yards per pass play in the regular season, the fewest in the NFL.
But, even if the Chiefs' offense cannot produce the explosive plays to propel them to a second Super Bowl title in four seasons, the receiving group they have constructed has already emphatically expelled all doubts about Kansas City's decision to move on from their superstar wideout.
President of the Jamaica Gymnastics Association, Nicole Grant, is excited about the association’s ongoing partnership with Supreme Ventures that, she hopes, will help Jamaica conquer the world of Gymnastics in the future.
The Supreme Ventures Gymnastics Classic and National Trials will take place at the Jamaica School of Gymnastics in Kingston from February 11-12.
The juniors will be vying for one spot at the Junior World Championships scheduled for March 25-April 3 in Antalya, Turkey.
The seniors will be vying for five spots at the Pan Am Championships scheduled for Medellin, Colombia from May 22-29. The Pan Am Championships will serve as a qualifier for this year’s Pan Am Games scheduled for October 6-October 22 in Santiago, Chile as well as the World Championships scheduled for Antwerp, Belgium from September 29-October 8. This year’s World Championships will be used as a qualifier for next year’s Paris Olympics.
For the second year in a row, Supreme Ventures, through the connection made by the Jamaica Olympic Association, has signed on as the sponsor for the event, something that Grant is very thankful for.
“We have always been in a partnership with the Jamaica Olympic Association as we are affiliated. In Jamaica, we are a minor sport so the JOA has really helped us form these kinds of partnerships,” Grant said ahead of day one of the trials on Saturday.
“They connected us with Supreme Ventures and they were quite happy with what they saw last year. We did not disappoint them and, as a result, they have come on board for the second year in a row to work with us,” she added.
When asked what she expects from the athletes on display this weekend, Grant encouraged them to show spirit, noting that winning does not mean you will make the respective teams.
“I expect the girls to do the best that they can and show us what they have. Show us how they can fight because when you go out to major competitions you must have that fight,” Grant said.
“We want to see that. You do not necessarily have to win for us to select you. We have a selection process that we use but we want to see what you have to offer or what you are capable of,” she added.
Warren Gatland suggested he might need to get tough on his Wales players following their dismal Six Nations defeat to Scotland.
Wales suffered a second straight loss to start this year's Six Nations campaign as they went down 35-7 at Murrayfield.
It was Gatland's first defeat to Scotland in the tournament since 2001, when his Ireland team lost 32-10, having won all 10 of his previous matches against them as Wales head coach.
Gatland omitted experienced trio Alun Wyn Jones, Taulupe Faletau and Justin Tipuric out of his starting line-up for Saturday's meeting, yet despite some promising play either side of half-time, Wales lost for a 10th time in the space of 12 Tests, suffering their heaviest away defeat to Scotland in the process.
With the defeat following a 34-10 reverse on home soil to Ireland, Gatland hinted there will be no holding back as he and his coaches search for a turnaround ahead of hosting England on February 25.
He told BBC Sport: "We were okay in the first half and could have gone in ahead at half-time. Some of the things that affected us last week, our discipline, giving penalties away, and not being accurate, that was the most disappointing factor [again].
"We had six minutes in their 22, and have come away with bugger all, so we need to have a good hard look at ourselves – we need to get better, and probably be a bit tougher on the players.
"We were beaten by the better team today, congratulations to Scotland – I thought they played exceptionally well. Finn Russell was outstanding.
"Some of the young boys really stepped up and we were pleased with their performances."
Scotland, meanwhile, have started a Six Nations campaign with back-to-back victories for the first time.
The last time they won their opening two matches was back in 1996, when only five teams competed in the tournament, though Gregor Townsend sees plenty of scope for improvement if his side are to continue their run against reigning champions France.
"We'll be confident, winning really helps. We had a really good week where we weren't easy on the players as coaches, but the players weren't easy on themselves," he told BBC Sport.
"We had two tough physical sessions and there were areas we had to improve from Twickenham. The challenge only gets stronger.
"This display, while encouraging, will have to go up another level if we want to win in Paris."
George Turner went over in the first half for Scotland before he was sent to the sin-bin, with Ken Owens crossing for Wales while the hooker was off the pitch.
Wales should have scored a second try on the cusp of half-time, only for Rio Dyer to fumble an easy chance, and Scotland made them pay with four tries in the second half to secure an emphatic bonus-point win.
"It was [a complete performance] in the second half. The first half, we didn't get our game going," Townsend said.
"We didn't get through first two phases on enough occasions. Wales were competing hard at the breakdown, slowing our ball down or winning the ball back, but we did build a score which was pleasing.
"On the flip side, the second half we were getting the opportunities and they led to tries. That's an outstanding win for the group because Wales have been a top team for a number of years. To come away with any win is pleasing, one with a bonus point sets us up well."
Maxime Cressy sprang a shock by beating top seed Holger Rune to reach the Open Sud de France final, where Jannik Sinner awaits him.
Paris-born American Cressy won 7-5 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-4) in a little over two and a half hours, countering 10 double faults with 15 aces on his way to victory.
Rune, the Danish 19-year-old who sits ninth in the world rankings, had won his three previous matches against Cressy, including a second-round clash at the Australian Open last month, but he could not extend that dominance at the indoor event in Montpellier.
It means Cressy faces second seed Sinner, a player he lost to at a low-level tournament in Lexington in 2019, their only past meeting.
Sinner beat 18-year-old French wildcard Arthur Fils in Saturday's first semi-final, ending the teenager's eye-catching run with a 7-5 6-2 victory.
Fils had beaten Richard Gasquet and Roberto Bautista Agut on his way to the last four but found world number 17 Sinner was more than his match.
Last year saw Sinner reach just one ATP final, taking a title on clay in Umag, after making it through to five title matches in the 2021 season.
He had his best year at the grand slams, however, reaching quarter-finals at three of the four majors.
Cressy recognises the threat posed by the Italian, saying in an on-court interview: "Jannik Sinner is an incredible player, just like Holger Rune and everyone else in the tournament. I believe you've just got to bring your 'A' game every time and I'm really looking forward to it."
Competing well in France has been pleasing for Cressy, who is set to climb from 51st in the rankings and into the top 40 on Monday.
"I lived and grew up here, and I'm extremely happy," Cressy said.
Scotland captain Jamie Ritchie said "we have got a lot more in us" after Gregor Townsend's team routed Wales 35-7 at Murrayfield.
Wales were no match for their hosts in Edinburgh on Saturday, as Scotland cruised to a bonus-point win that sees them join Ireland at the top of the Six Nations standings.
George Turner went over in the first half but Ken Owens crossed for Wales, who should have gone into the interval on the back of a second try, only for Rio Dyer to squander a golden opportunity.
Scotland made Wales pay – Finn Russell combining twice with Kyle Steyn before Blair Kinghorn and Matt Fagerson drove through late on.
Their winning margin of 28 points marks Scotland's biggest victory over Wales in Test rugby, with the only other time they have beaten them by more than 20 points coming back in 1924.
Next up is a trip to reigning champions France on February 26, and Ritchie is hoping for more from his side at the Stade de France.
"It wasn't perfect but we did enough to get the job done," he told BBC Sport.
"We have belief that if we play to our best we can beat any team. It wasn't perfect today, we've got a lot more in us. We're looking to improve when we go to Paris, definitely."
Saturday's match marked the first Test at Murrayfield since the death of Doddie Weir, who passed away in November.
Scotland were presented the Doddie Weir Cup for their victory, and Ritchie said: "We're delighted and I'm glad to be holding Doddie's trophy.
"The first game here without him, we miss him so much, I'm just glad we have our hands on this. We're so delighted, I'm a bit all over the place at the moment – a bit emotional. I'm glad I could do this for [Weir's widow] Kathy and the boys."
Russell was the star of the show for Scotland, teeing up three of their tries and kicking 10 points.
He has now provided 10 try assists in nine Test matches for Scotland since the start of 2022, more than any other player from a Tier One nation in that period.
"I was just doing my job – making other boys look good," Russell joked after becoming the first Scotland player to register a hat-trick of assists in a Six Nations game.
"It showed the continuity in the squad. The boys were all on the same page and it allowed us to attack how we did today."
Scotland have won back-to-back games to start a Six Nations campaign for the first time, with the last time they had managed to triumph in their opening two games of the Championship coming in 1996, when it was the Five Nations.
Russell added: "Great game, great result for us. We knew we'd struggled before after the first games to back it up, and I think the boys put in a good performance today, which was great to have back here at Murrayfield."
Wales have lost their opening two games, conceding at least four tries in each match. It is the first time they have done so in back-to-back Six Nations Tests in the same year.
"When you're winning and you have that momentum, it's hard to lose. The flip side to that is the same," said captain Owens, with Wales having won just twice in their last 10 Tests.
"We've got to work hard next week. There's plenty of experience but plenty of youngsters coming through. There's new coaching staff, new players coming in, we just need to work hard.
"Turn the corner hopefully, against England, we've got to grind out a win, find a win and build that momentum. There are positives there. People are going to say there isn't but we believe in what we're trying to achieve, we work hard and try to deliver."
Belinda Bencic breezed through to the Abu Dhabi Open final after a commanding 6-2 6-3 victory over Beatriz Haddad Maia on Saturday.
The world number nine, who is yet to drop a set this week, is into her second WTA final of 2023, having triumphed in Adelaide last month.
Haddad Maia arrived in the clash fresh from winning each of her previous six encounters with top-10 opponents, including her quarter-final victory over Wimbledon champion and Australian Open finalist Elena Rybakina.
But the Brazilian had already spent almost eight hours on court in this event prior to this contest, in which Bencic dropped just five games on the way to wracking up her 11th win of the campaign – the joint-most on the WTA Tour alongside Melbourne winner Aryna Sabalenka.
She will play number eight seed Liudmila Samsonova in Sunday's final after the Russian defeated Zheng Qinwen 6-4 1-6 6-4.
After being edged out in the first set, Zheng responded to motor through the second and seemed to have the momentum going into the third, but Samsonova showed impressive resolve to see off three break points against her, before taking her first on match point.
At the Linz Open, top seed Maria Sakkari is out after going down 3-6 6-3 6-4 to sixth seed Petra Martic in a match that lasted over two and a half hours.
The Croatian will play Anastasia Potapova in the final after the number eight seed claimed yet another three-set victory this week to see off Marketa Vondrousova 6-1 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 and secure her fifth WTA final appearance.
Scotland's winning start to the Six Nations continued as they swatted aside Wales 35-7 at Murrayfield.
Having lost to Wales in the second round in 2021 and 2022, Gregor Townsend's side had little trouble in ending that run on Saturday, despite the early loss of Stuart Hogg to a head injury.
Warren Gatland had won his previous 10 Six Nations matches against Scotland while in charge of Wales, and matters might have been different for the visitors had Rio Dyer finished a routine chance.
Scotland made their luck count, Kyle Steyn twice combining with Finn Russell, who claimed another assist as Matt Fagerson rounded off the scoring after Blair Kinghorn's superb try had sealed the bonus point.
A pair of Russell penalties put Scotland 6-0 up inside 15 minutes before George Turner bundled his way through – the game's first try awarded after a TMO check.
Turner made a costly error three minutes later, with the hooker sin-binned for a high lunge on George North, and Wales captain Ken Owens swiftly made his side's numerical advantage count, with Dan Biggar adding the extras.
Dyer looked sure to claim Wales' second try on the stroke of half-time, only to fumble with the line at his mercy.
Wales sustained the pressure after the restart, but Hogg's replacement Kinghorn relieved the stress on Scotland's line with a superb break, and the hosts soon restored their cushion – Russell brilliantly picking a gap before flicking a backhand to Steyn two yards out.
The Russell-Steyn combination was on song again before the hour, with the winger latching onto a pinpoint cross-field kick to dive over in the corner as Scotland capitalised on Liam Williams' booking.
Kinghorn capped off a sublime team move to ensure Scotland joined Ireland at the top of the standings, with Fagerson adding further gloss in the final minutes.
Ireland boss Andy Farrell hailed the "astonishing" attitude of his players after they halted France's winning run and stretched their own streak to a record 13 consecutive home victories.
France had won 14 on the bounce before arriving in Dublin, but they went down 32-19 at the Aviva Stadium, with the hosts bagging a bonus point after tries from Hugo Keenan, James Lowe, Andrew Porter and Garry Ringrose.
It was a performance that showed why many made Ireland favourites for the title from the get-go, as they followed up victory over Wales last weekend with another impressive display.
They head the world rankings and showed that standing is merited, with Farrell delighted, albeit saying he felt Ireland should perhaps have won by a heavier margin. All the same, the 13-point cushion was the most Ireland have beaten France by in the championship since a 25-6 success in March 1975.
Farrell told ITV: "It was a huge game and rightly so it was billed that way, because it was two great teams going at it, with the French unbeaten record and us going for our home record.
"It all gets thrown into the pot, but at the end of the day it's a victory in the competition we want to do well at, and we'll look at that performance and be unbelievably proud of it.
"The fight and the spirit that we had was astonishing at times, especially in that last 10 minutes.
"Garry Ringrose's try, he was dead on his feet, and then Bundee Aki coming back and dropping on loose balls and James Ryan kept getting up off the floor and taking the ball in for us. I could keep going on."
Farrell added: "The fighting spirit was great, but at the same time I thought we played some good stuff in the first half and should have come away with a few more points, and maybe again in the second half we should have come away with a few more points.
"That's not being greedy, because we got a bonus point, so we've got to be very happy with that, but at the same time we left a few things out there.
"So we're onto the next one, and it's Italy away and the same points are up for grabs."
Farrell was delighted Ireland got to 13 wins in a row at home for the first time, and doing so against a France side he rates so highly was doubly pleasing.
It was his first win over France, who had beaten Ireland in their most recent three encounters, and Farrell said: "I'm sure there'll be many battles down the line as well."
Keenan got Ireland's opening try, bursting through a hole in the French defence, but it was Lowe's score that particularly caught the eye.
He dived over in the corner, with most of his body in touch, and replays appeared to indicate it was a legitimate score after TMO checks.
It was a moment of acrobatic brilliance at high speed. Subsequent angles appeared to hint Lowe may have grazed the grass outside the playing area with a boot, but the try stood.
"He's useful out on that wing, the big lump," said Keenan. "It's brilliant for him and a great team performance."
Delighted to see off Les Bleus, Keenan added: "It was a long time coming. We've had a few tough losses and learnt from those. It was the one we were focusing on, so it's brilliant we got there."
Ireland halted France's 14-match winning run with a thrilling 32-19 victory in Dublin as Andy Farrell's remarkable team made a big Six Nations statement.
It had been France's longest ever streak of victories, but last season's Grand Slam champions were outscored four tries to one at the Aviva Stadium, with Hugo Keenan, James Lowe, Andrew Porter and Garry Ringrose going over for the hosts.
In a battle between the top two in the world rankings, Ireland showed why they are number one.
Despite conceding an early penalty, the men in green had threatened the try line before cleverly tearing a hole in the French defence to allow Keenan to dash through to score.
Captain Johnny Sexton added the extras, but Thomas Ramos booted his second penalty of the afternoon to trim Ireland's early lead.
France added an exquisite try to power ahead, with Damian Penaud collecting the ball inside his own 22, charging through midfield and feeding Anthony Jelonch, before accepting a return pass and sprinting through to score.
Ireland hit back, Lowe delivering what looked to be an astonishing finish in the left corner.
The diving Lowe dotted down with one hand on the ball and most of his body out of play. A TMO check ruled he was off the ground, with Penaud's attempt to bundle the wing into touch failing to prevent the try. Further replays cast doubt on whether it should have been awarded.
Sexton failed to convert, then France's Uini Atonio was sin-binned after an ugly and high barge into Rob Herring, who departed for a head injury assessment.
Ireland capitalised on their extra man, Porter marking his 50th cap by crashing in from close range, and Sexton gave Ireland a 19-13 lead. Ramos struck a long-range penalty to reduce the deficit, but three more from Sexton made it 22-16 at the break.
Ross Byrne, on for the injured Sexton, slotted a penalty in the 60th minute to extend Ireland's lead, but Ramos hit back with a drop goal.
The game was Ireland's when Ringrose bustled in down the left to score and secure the bonus point. Their championship and Grand Slam prospects are looking up, with two wins from two, while France must dust themselves off and recover from this jolting setback.
Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali says Andretti's approach to gaining access to the grid is "not smart", adding other teams hold an interest in joining.
Andretti, partnering with General Motors brand Cadillac, expressed their desire to become F1's 11th team last month, though their potential addition would not occur until 2026 at the earliest.
The response of other F1 teams to Andretti's announcement was lukewarm, with the team's desire to base themselves within the United States – rather than in Europe alongside the rest of the sport – sparking concerns.
Team owner Michael Andretti has been vocal in his bid to join the sport, accusing existing teams of "greed" over an apparent unwillingness to further split existing prize funds.
F1 boss Domenicali is not convinced those tactics will reap rewards, telling Sky Sports: "First of all, we are very welcoming of everyone that is bringing value to the racing.
"I think we need to respect everyone. There are people like Michael Andretti being very vocal about their will to enter Formula One.
"But in my view [it is] not smart to say that teams are greedy.
"There are others that are much less vocal that would like to come into Formula One, so there is a process to respect and we will make sure together with the FIA that the process will be respected."
Andretti's bid for entry immediately attracted support from FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, though he has since stepped away from the day-to-day supervision of F1 after a series of conflicts with teams.
Paul George is keen to see the Los Angeles Clippers work out a deal for Russell Westbrook as "we need a point guard".
The Clippers traded Reggie Jackson and John Wall away at Thursday's deadline, while Westbrook ended a difficult spell with the Los Angeles Lakers as he was traded to the Utah Jazz.
Sixth in the Western Conference, the Clippers were beaten 119-106 by the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday to fall to 31-28.
Speaking after the defeat – in which he surpassed 16,000 career points – George outlined his desire to be reunited with Westbrook, who was a team-mate on the Oklahoma City Thunder and could seek a buyout from the Jazz.
"If there's somebody out there, Russell," George said when asked if the Clippers should bring in a point guard. "If it makes sense, and obviously it goes with our team, we're all for it.
"We need a point guard. But [at] the same [time], I think we're good as well. If nothing happened, we got enough in this locker room to be able to make it work.
"But it would definitely improve our team if we had that traditional point guard to get us in things and make the game easy. So, hopefully, Russell sees this, and we figure something out."
Westbrook averaged 15.9 points, 7.5 assists and 6.2 rebounds on the Lakers this season, but Marcus Morris claims he could "play freely" and "be dangerous" at the Clippers.
"I'm campaigning, too, for him then," said Morris.
"He hasn't had an opportunity to play on a team where he could be himself and be able to play freely. Playing with the Lakers, it's like media, media, media.
"And from the outside looking in, like every time something bad went wrong – Russell Westbrook. Nobody else was really getting no blame, and it just kept spiralling down.
"But we accept him [with] open arms. Let him be himself. We need the personality, we need the veteran. He's been in the playoffs a lot of times, been to the championship.
"I want him to come. I think that you can't kill a wounded dog. You give him an opportunity to come back, it could be dangerous."
Luka Doncic is hoping to play alongside Kyrie Irving for the first time on Saturday, calling his new team-mate "probably the best ball handler ever".
Doncic was forced to sit out the Dallas Mavericks' 122-114 win at the Sacramento Kings on Friday with a heel injury, but is hopeful of featuring in the second game of a double-header against the Kings.
Irving – who joined the Mavs from the Brooklyn Nets ahead of this week's trade deadline – recorded 25 points and 10 assists at Golden 1 Center, with Dallas scoring 45 points in the first quarter to take control.
The Mavericks traded Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie for Irving, and Doncic was sorry to see his former team-mates leave, but is excited to see what Irving can bring.
"We'll obviously miss them here, but Kyrie's Kyrie, man," he said prior to Friday's game.
"NBA champion. Probably the best ball handler ever in the game. Amazing player, and he's going to be fun to play with.
"I never played with a guy like Kyrie, so it's obviously going to be a work in progress. But I think it's going to be fine. We both can play on the ball.
"For me, I think it's going to be a learning process, for sure. Outside of my first season, I didn't play off the ball. But with a guy like him it's going to be different."
On his recovery from injury, the Slovenian added: "Hopefully [Saturday] I can be back. Still painful. But it's way better every day."
The feeling appears to be mutual, as Irving said after Friday's victory: "I'm excited to see what that looks like with Luka out there.
"I'm constantly out on those breaks, so as much as we can make the game easier for each other and keep the pace going, that would be a benefit for us.
"But I'm looking forward to seeing what that looks like with Luka out there and me running the wing, just shooters getting to their spots, and then if we don't have anything, just settling in the half court, we got some great options out there."
The Milwaukee Bucks made it 10 wins on the bounce as they beat the Los Angeles Clippers 119-106, though Jrue Holiday had to be reminded of the fact.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was again the star of the show at the Crypto.com Arena, scoring 35 points along with eight rebounds and six assists, while Brook Lopez recorded 15 rebounds to go with his 22 points.
Antetokounmpo has scored 373 points during the successful 10-game period, the second-most points during a 10-0 stretch in NBA history, behind only Wilt Chamberlain, who had 416 as a rookie in 1959-60.
Asked after the win about the growing number of influential overseas players in the NBA, the Greek was glowing in his praise for his fellow international stars.
"It's been incredible," he told reporters. "It doesn't really matter where you're from right now, guys can come and compete and win games, guys can carry teams, you can be a franchise player.
"I feel like when I came in 10 years ago it was kind of hard, you saw I think only Dirk [Nowitzki] but now it's way more, from Luka [Doncic], to [Nikola] Jokic, from [Joel] Embiid, from [Pascal] Siakam, me, [Rudy] Gobert, both of the Bogdanovic's [Bojan and Bogdan], you see guys that are stepping up and helping their team win.
"People before set the path for us... and we have to set the path for the next generation, for people from overseas that 'you can come to the NBA and be that guy'."
Meanwhile, Holiday – who ended the game with 19 points – admitted he had not even realised he and his team-mates had won 10 in a row.
"There's a point in the season when things get repetitive, and winning has been," he said after the victory, emphasising the calm focus the Bucks have had in the last few weeks.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer was pleased with his team after they followed up wins on the road over the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers with another against the Clippers.
"The guys' focus has been good, we're obviously in a good rhythm, it's good," he said.
"Now we have a couple of days without a game, catch up on our bodies and things like that so it was a very good road trip for us."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
