Steph Curry was hailed as the "greatest sixth man ever in the playoffs" after a 34-point performance from the bench that made that case.

Two-time NBA MVP Curry is working his way back from a foot injury and has been kept out of the Golden State Warriors' lineup for their first two games against the Denver Nuggets in the first round.

The Warriors have won both, though, and Curry had a huge role to play in Game 2, scoring 34 points in just 23 minutes on 12-of-17 shooting to earn a plus/minus of 32.

"Jesus," said Draymond Green when he looked at the stat sheet. "Steph plus-32... that's incredible. Wow."

It was only Curry's fourth playoff appearance from the bench, and his 34 points still fell short of the 40 he scored against the Portland Trail Blazers in his first such appearance in 2016 – the most by any player coming off the bench in the postseason since at least 1985-86.

He has averaged 29.5 points across those four games, another record over that period.

The performance against the Blazers came in 37 minutes, however, with this latest display against the Nuggets the best performance by a bench player in 25 minutes or fewer. Only Paul George – 35 against the Dallas Mavericks in 2020 – has scored more in 25 playoff minutes as a starter.

"I'm back," Curry bellowed at one stage, later explaining: "In the first game, I didn't really feel normal, like I had the real flow. Then the first half [of Game 2] I had a little pep in my step and my body felt good.

"I was able to get to some spots, and when you make certain shots, it feels a little different. It feels a little bit more normal and more emotion comes out. It was a nice feeling."

Meanwhile, Jordan Poole, starting in Curry's place, followed up his 30 points in Game 1 with 29 in Game 2. Klay Thompson added 21.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone said: "You have three guys that are capable of putting up 30, 40 points.

"Jordan Poole had 30 points in Game 1, he had 29 tonight. Steph Curry is the greatest sixth man ever in the playoffs. They bring a guy off the bench like that, 34 points, five threes... and then Klay Thompson."

The Warriors have an issue now, Green acknowledges, working out how to get all three guards into the same lineup.

"We're not going to keep Steph in the sixth man role, forget that," he said. "But saying that, ultimately, Jordan is probably going to have to start, too.

"Ultimately, we've got to figure a bunch of stuff out. It's a good problem to have, a great problem to have."

Green was happy to let Steve Kerr "figure that one out", but the coach is very pleased with Curry's attitude to returning to action on the bench.

"Steph is Steph," Kerr said. "You don't need to sell him on anything.

"He's very unique. He's incredibly humble and incredibly arrogant on the floor – humble off the floor, arrogant on the floor. It's a great combination. Anything that is going to help the team he's all for."

Jalen Brunson is in line for "a lot of money" next season, according to Jason Kidd, after leading the Dallas Mavericks to a vital Game 2 win over the Utah Jazz.

Brunson was again leading the offense for the Mavericks at home to the Jazz as superstar Luka Doncic remained out with a calf injury.

Doncic's involvement moving forward is still uncertain, meaning the Mavericks needed a team-mate to step up – and Brunson certainly did that with a career-high 41 points in the 110-104 victory that levelled the first-round series.

Playing alongside the ball-dominant Doncic, Brunson's usage rate has been just 20.4 per cent across his regular season career, but he has had to take control through two games.

After shooting nine-of-24 from the floor in Game 1, including one-of-three from beyond the arc, Brunson found his range on Monday.

The point guard set career highs in field-goal attempts (25, tied with a regular season game also against the Jazz) and makes (15) and three-point attempts (10) and makes (six).

"He didn't wait," coach Kidd said. "He took up the space and was aggressive from the jump ball. We talked about it earlier: don't wait, get to your spot and do what you do best.

"I thought he ran the team extremely well. He found spots to score and he made plays."

Brunson is in the final year of his rookie contract and will be an unrestricted free agent following the playoffs, putting him in a strong negotiating position on this form.

Asked what money his player could expect to make, Kidd replied: "A lot, a lot. He's going to make a lot of money. I don't know if he needs an agent, but I'm going to put my name in the hat.

"But it's not just what he did tonight and it's not what he's going to do going forward, he has already done the work this season. He's shown he deserves to be paid. He does his job at a very high level and he's a winner.

"Hopefully he can pay me for that, what I just said.

"He's a great young man and I'm very lucky to be able to coach him."

Brunson was not alone in finding joy from three, as Maxi Kleber shot eight-of-11, contributing to 47 attempts from the Mavericks.

On the defensive end, meanwhile, Dallas held the Jazz to 29 attempts after only 22 in Game 1. Utah averaged 40.3 three-point attempts in the regular season, the second-most in the NBA.

"Analytics will say if you're shooting threes and the other team's shooting twos, you have a great chance of winning," Kidd said. "It's just mathematics."

Still, the coach is not getting carried away ahead of going on the road for Games 3 and 4.

"We did what we had to do, and that was to win tonight. We were only focused on tonight," he said.

"Game 1 was over, there was nothing we could do. Now we can rest and get ready for Game 3, understand what's in front of us, what's coming.

"It's going to be a hostile environment; they play extremely well at home. We have to stay together, and we've shown that.

"After Game 1, it's easy to go our separate ways, but all season we've been saying this: after bad performances, we tend to bounce back. It's nothing different; it's basketball and we bounced back.

"Now we have to find a way to do what they did, and that's just win one game [on the road]."

Freddie Freeman said his emotions were "all over the place" as he hit his first home run for his new club, the Los Angeles Dodgers, against his former team in a 7-4 win against the Atlanta Braves.

Freeman spent 12 seasons with the Braves, earning five All-Star appearances and an MVP trophy in 2020, and faced them for the first time on Monday since signing a six-year, $162million deal with the Dodgers this past offseason.

In his first at-bat, from just the second pitch he saw, he blasted a home run over the fence at left-center, and later scored a second run when he was brought home by Trea Turner's base-clearing double in the fourth inning.

"Obviously there's just a lot of emotion going on right now," Freeman said afterwards. "But a lot of good emotion.

"I’m just happy to be able to see all the guys. We won a championship together last year, so that's what we're all talking about over there.

"I love every single person on [the Braves'] side of that field – but I do hope they don’t do good for these next three games.”

When asked if the game represented some closure for Freeman, he insisted that was not the case.

"I don't know if any of us are really looking for closure," he said. 

"I had a great 12 years; I'm not trying to close anything. I'm just trying to move on, obviously. 

"But I had so many great memories with the Braves, with the guys over there. That's always going to be there, I think."

He added: "As the game went on, there were a couple smiles here and there from staff members and people I spent a lot of time with.

"It's just a special day, one I'll always remember."

Joel Embiid told reporters he is sick of the Toronto Raptors complaining about foul calls after the Philadelphia 76ers won 112-97 on Monday to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.

Embiid finished with a game-high 31 points on nine-of-16 shooting and hit as many free throws (12) as the Raptors attempted as an entire team.

The 76ers also received another terrific performance from ascending guard Tyrese Maxey, who had 23 points (eight-of-11 shooting) with nine rebounds and eight assists, while James Harden chipped in with 14 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Speaking with post-game media, Embiid said he knew the Raptors would try to raise the physicality in Game 2, but he wanted to beat them to the punch, earning a technical foul 90 seconds into the action.

"I didn't really want them to set that [physical] tone," he said. "I wanted myself and us to set that tone. That's why I picked up that early technical foul.

"On defense, I just wanted to make sure the refs to let us know how physical they wanted the game to be, so that's when [OG Anunoby and I] started pushing each other and got techs.

"I knew that was their game plan, I knew that was going to be their adjustment, but I wanted to be the first one to bring the physicality."

After such a physical contest, Embiid said he was tired of hearing Raptors coach Nick Nurse complaining about the refereeing and shared what the exchange was between the two late in the fourth quarter.

"[Nurse] is a great coach, what he has been able to accomplish, I have always been a big fan, but I told him, respectfully, to stop b****ing about calls," he said.

"If you triple-team somebody all game, they're bound to get to the free throw line. If you go and push them and hold them. I feel like every foul was legit, and there probably should have been more, honestly.

"I got a lost of respect for all these coaches, but I feel like they have self-awareness about when they say this kind of stuff [about] whether the referees are not calling [fouls] any more. It's also to motivate their guys to go out and play better and really put it in the referees' hands to not call it.

"But when the fouls are as obvious as they were tonight – they put me on the floor a few times – and to me, this is where it gets interesting to me. I'm like, cool, I'm going to come back with more power.

"I think that's part of the reason I got a few offensive fouls, too. If you're going to be physical, I'm going to come back with more power and make you stop me and make it more obvious if the refs don't want to call it. 

"I think [coaches] do it because they have to, but they don't actually believe it. If you watch the clips, every single foul is a foul."

76ers coach Doc Rivers also acknowledged his side expected a more physical approach from Toronto and shared the advice he gave his star player.

"No, Jo, you be the dominant guy," he said. "[Embiid] is the most dominant player in the league.

"They wanted to muck the game up and play physical. I just told our guys to just play through it."

Early National League Rookie of the Year favourite Seiya Suzuki continued the remarkable start to his MLB career on Monday with another two hits in the Chicago Cubs' 4-2 win against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Suzuki, 27, was named National League Player of the Week in his first full week in the majors, and with his first of two hits on Monday, he tied Akinori Iwamura for the longest hitting streak by a Japanese player to start their career at nine games.

He is also the first Cub to hit safely in the first nine games of their career (with an official at-bat) since 1943. He sits fifth in the majors in batting average (.429) and is tied for fourth in home runs (four).

Of the Cubs' four runs, Suzuki scored two, as he was driven in by a Patrick Wisdom two-run homer in the second inning, before getting hit by a pitch in the seventh inning, eventually coming around to score again off an Ian Happ hit.

With the Cubs up 3-2 in the eighth inning, Frank Schwindel gave Chicago a little breathing room with a solo home run for the last score of the game.

Despite the loss, it was a terrific performance on the mound for Rays Cy Young candidate Shane McClanahan, striking out nine batters in six innings, allowing only four hits and no walks for one earned run.

Yelich grand slams for Brewers

Leading 2-1 in the fourth inning, Christian Yelich stepped up to the plate with bases loaded and slogged a massive 429-foot grand slam to give the Milwaukee Brewers their 6-1 final score against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Brewers starting pitcher Eric Lauer was excellent, striking out five batters in six innings, conceding only one run and six baserunners in the process.

Freeman goes deep against old friends

After spending the first 12 years of his MLB career with the Atlanta Braves, Freddie Freeman hit a home run against them in the first inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers' 7-4 home win against his visiting former team.

From just the second pitch he faced against his old side, Freeman hammered it for a 386-foot home run to center field for the early lead.

The Braves rallied in the sixth frame to get Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw out of the game with seven strikeouts and four earned runs through five complete innings, but it was not enough to deny the Dodgers their seventh consecutive win to move to the best record in the majors at 8-2.

Tom Brady knows he cannot play forever but feels for now there is "still a place for me on the field".

Legendary NFL quarterback Brady is returning for another year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers despite announcing his retirement earlier in the offseason.

The seven-time Super Bowl champion has a single season remaining on his contract in Tampa.

Brady is 44 and will be 45 by the time the 2022 season starts. Only two quarterbacks have played in the NFL at a greater age, and Brady will surpass Steve DeBerg (44 years and 342 days) when he next takes to the field.

George Blanda's record (48 years and 95 days) remains some way ahead, however, especially as Brady acknowledges the end of his extraordinary 318-game career is nearing.

"I knew my body, physically, could still do what it could do and obviously I have a love for the game," Brady told ESPN, explaining his return. "I think I'll always have a love for the game.

"I do think physically I'll be able to do it. I just felt like there was still a place for me on the field.

"At the end of the day, I just love the competition on the field, and last year was a very bitter ending to a season and we've got to make a lot of corrections to try to improve and put ourselves in a better position to succeed moving forward.

"I know I don't have a lot left, I really do. I know I'm at the end of my career. I wish you could go forever, but it's just not [possible] and football comes at too high of a cost now. My kids are getting older and it's just getting harder and harder to miss these things.

"But I wanted to give myself and my team-mates and our organisation another incredible opportunity to accomplish something that we'd all be very proud of."

Jalen Brunson scored a career-high 41 points to carry the Dallas Mavericks to a 110-104 home victory, tying their series against the Utah Jazz at 1-1.

With the Mavs missing Luka Doncic for the second straight game due to injury, Brunson scored 15 of their first 18 points as the two sides went into quarter-time tied at 24. It stayed neck-and-neck until a 7-0 run late in the second quarter gave Utah a seven-point lead at the long break.

Dallas' Maxi Kleber hit one three-pointer in each of the first two quarters, but caught fire in the second half, going three-for-four from long range in the third term and repeating that effort in the fourth quarter to finish with 25 points off the bench.

Kleber's biggest shots were back-to-back bombs to turn a 98-96 deficit into a 102-98 lead, which Dallas never relinquished, on the way to finishing eight-of-11 from three, while not attempting a single a two-point field goal.

Brunson finished an incredible 15-of-25 from the field and six-of-10 from three, and added eight rebounds, five assists and two turnovers.

For Utah, Donovan Mitchell top-scored with 34 points on 13-of-30 shooting, while Rudy Gobert grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked two shots.

The series heads to Utah next for Game 3 and Game 4.

76ers too much for Toronto

Despite strong first and fourth quarters for the Toronto Raptors, they went down 112-97 against the Philadelphia 76ers to fall down 2-0 in the series.

In an up-tempo first quarter where both sides were making shots, Fred VanVleet was the early standout, hitting four of his seven three-point attempts to head into quarter time with 14 points and his Raptors leading 33-32.

For the next two quarters, it would be all Philadelphia, out-scoring the Raptors 63-38 over the second and third frames to take full command of the contest, peaking at a 95-66 lead with 30 seconds remaining in the third.

The 76ers' intensity dropped in the last as the game was essentially won, which allowed Toronto to pull the margin back to 11 points with 6:30 to play, but that would be as close as things got as a Tyrese Maxey three and a string of free throws kept Philly's lead in the teens as the clock winded down.

Joel Embiid was the best player on the floor, scoring 31 points on nine-of-16 shooting (12-of-14 free throws) with 11 rebounds, while Maxey was unstoppable for the second game in a row, scoring an efficient 23 points on eight-of-11 shooting and adding nine rebounds with eight assists.

Tobias Harris also earned a mention with his 20 points and 10 rebounds, while O.G. Anunoby was the lone bright spot for the Raptors, scoring 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting and flashing some intriguing ability as a primary scoring option.

Toronto will host Game 3 and Game 4 of the series, with unvaccinated players unable to enter Canada, which means Matisse Thybulle will not travel with the 76ers.

Poole party for the Splash Brothers

After scoring a team-high 30 points in Game 1 against the Denver Nuggets, Jordan Poole was at it again in the Golden State Warriors' 126-106 win in Game 2.

While he did not top-score this time around, Poole was arguably the Warriors' best player through the first three quarters, racking up 27 of his 29 points up to three-quarter time as his side led 101-81 heading into the last.

Poole has emerged as the third 'Splash Brother' this postseason, with the original two also enjoying big games on Monday, as Stephen Curry scored a game-high 34 points in 23 minutes off the bench, while Klay Thompson chipped in with 21.

For Denver, MVP favourite Nikola Jokic was ejected in the fourth quarter for his second technical foul after accumulating 26 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes.

After 12 seasons in the MLB, former Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta has officially announced his retirement.

Arrieta, 36, only spent five seasons with the Cubs after arriving in 2013, but was spectacular at his peak.

He won the 2015 NL Cy Young award – finishing sixth in MVP voting that season – leading to a 2016 season where he earned his only All-Star appearance and led the Cubs to their first World Series in 108 years, breaking the league's longest drought.

In the World Series against Cleveland, Arrieta was at the top of his game, going 2-0 in his two starts with an ERA of 2.38 to cement his legacy with the club.

He started his career with the Baltimore Orioles, and signed a three-year, $75million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies after his Cubs success, before finishing up his career with the San Diego Padres.

Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been named the first guard since Gary Payton in 1996 to win Defensive Player of the Year.

Smart, 28, was the best defensive player on the best defense in the NBA (allowing 106.2 points per 100 possessions) as the Celtics beat out the Golden State Warriors (106.6) and the Phoenix Suns (106.8).

The primary source of his defensive value comes from his ability to fully unlock Boston's switching defense, seamlessly switching onto centers and power forwards and holding his own down low when big men try to post him up.

Smart was expected to have to compete for votes with teammate Robert Williams III, who has been a revelation on the defensive end this season, but the Celtics still maintained their quality late in the season when Williams was out with injury.

Of players this season to play at least 20 games, and average at least 20 minutes, Smart is top-10 in steals and defensive win shares.

The two other finalists for the award were Phoenix's Mikal Bridges, and the Utah Jazz's Rudy Gobert.

Luka Doncic is officially out of Game 2 of the Dallas Mavericks' first-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz.

Doncic suffered a calf strain in the very last game of the regular season which forced him to miss Game 1, and while there was not much optimism about his chance to return for Game 2, the Mavericks were determined to give him every chance to prove his fitness.

Listed as doubtful, Doncic participated in shootaround and was not ruled out until 90 minutes before tip-off.

The three-time All-Star averaged 28 points, nine rebounds and almost nine assists this season, and his absence is a crushing blow for the Mavericks.

The Jazz won Game 1 in Dallas 99-93, and can take a commanding two-game lead, before heading back to Utah for Game 3 and Game 4.

Amir Khan claimed to have been robbed at gunpoint in Leyton, east London on Monday.

The 35-year-old former unified light-welterweight world champion, who won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics, detailed the incident in a tweet.

Khan said he was with his wife Faryal Makhdoom when they were approached by two men who demanded his watch. He noted that both he and his wife were unharmed.

"Just had my watch taken off me at gunpoint in east London, Leyton," Khan's tweet read.

"I crossed the road with Faryal, luckily she was [a] few steps behind me. [Two] men ran to me, he asked for my watch whilst having a gun pointed in my face. The main thing is we're both safe."

Khan returned to boxing after a long hiatus in February for a clash against rival Kell Brook, losing via sixth-round knockout in Manchester.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was shocked when his top wide receiver, Tyreek Hill, was traded away to the Miami Dolphins.

In his six seasons in Kansas City, Hill caught 479 passes for 6,630 yards and 56 touchdowns, emerging as arguably the most dangerous receiver in the entire NFL with his unique speed and explosiveness.

Hill signed a three-year, $54million extension with the Chiefs in 2019, but after recent extensions and signings – including a 10-year, $450m contract for Mahomes, and a four-year, $80m deal for defensive lineman Chris Jones – it appeared unrealistic that Kansas City would be able to afford his demands while adhering to the salary cap.

In March, the Las Vegas Raiders made Davante Adams the highest-paid receiver in league history with a five-year, $140m deal and six days later, Hill reset the market after being traded to the Dolphins for five draft picks, including a first and second round pick this year.

Hill's four-year deal has him earning an average of $30m per year, which is a number usually reserved for quarterbacks.

Speaking to the media on Monday as the Chiefs began their offseason program, Mahomes said that while he knew it was a possibility, he was still shocked to see Hill leave.

"My initial reaction was a little bit of shock,'' he said.

"Even though you knew this was a possibility, [losing] a guy you had played with and built a friendship with over the last six years, it was definitely something [where] you didn't want him to leave more for being able to hang out in the locker room and do that stuff more than the actual on-the-field stuff.

"But you're happy for him. Obviously, he got a great contract, he's back where he has a house in the offseason around a lot of his family. I wish the best for him."

As for the problems Hill's departure creates for the Chiefs, Mahomes conceded they will have to do things a little differently.

"We've just got to keep rolling," he said. "That's just how it is in this league. 

"It's a business as much as it is about friendships. We know in order to have success in this league we have to keep evolving and keep getting better. 

"So I got with those new receivers as quickly as possible and tried to build that [chemistry] so we could have success when we get going this year.

"We'll have to find production in different ways than we did last year, because Tyreek was such a big part of our offense.

"I think you've seen in games when we haven't had Tyreek, or we haven't had certain people, other guys have stepped up and made plays happen, and I expect that to happen this year, as well.''

Emma Raducanu has revealed the responsibility for her new-found affinity for Tottenham lies predominantly with her Spurs-obsessed support team.

Social media has been abuzz on Monday with photos and videos of the 19-year-old US Open champion training in a Tottenham jersey ahead of the Stuttgart Open.

The shirt even had her name and the number 10 emblazoned across the back, suggesting a particularly strong connection with the north London club. But it is not quite as it seems.

Raducanu, who was born in Toronto but raised in south-east London, said she has been heavily influenced by those close to her – although the presence of star duo Harry Kane and Son Heung-min was also a consideration.

"My whole team basically are big Spurs fans and I feel like they're egging me on," Raducanu told reporters.

"They're desperately trying to get me behind them! I don't necessarily follow football much, but I feel like now, because of them, I'm feeling some sort of connection.

"I loved following the Euros last year and watching Harry Kane, who's obviously the England captain, and Son, I'm a big fan of him as well. So yeah, I like to dabble."

Raducanu is seeded eighth for her first-ever tournament on clay this week and will begin her campaign against Storm Sanders on Wednesday.

While Raducanu's immediate aim is undoubtedly building momentum, she sees this tournament as a chance to make a statement on a surface she believes will be her strongest in the long term.

"It's going to be an exciting clay season," she added. "I'm not sure how it is going to go. I keep telling everyone around me that one day clay is going to be my surface and I still believe that.

"I think game-wise on clay, especially when you're playing outside, you definitely need to be a lot more patient and build the point.

"You can't just hit a big shot, whereas on a hard court, you might be able to get a weak shot straight away. You really need to build the point a lot more, which takes a lot more energy and physical demand.

"You just have to be more crafty, I think, and I think it's a good lesson, especially for someone younger like me, to develop more skills. 

"I'm looking forward to spending more time on the clay as the years go by because I do like sliding and moving on it, and it's just about again being able to repeat over and over."

There were two first-round matches played in Stuttgart on Monday, with Liudmila Samsonova claiming a double bagel when beating Chloe Paquet 6-0 6-0, while Ekaterina Alexandrova defeated Shuai Zhang 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (8-6).