Billy Donovan praised his short-handed Chicago Bulls side for coping with the "defensive pressure" applied by the Oklahoma City Thunder in Monday's narrow 111-110 triumph.
The high-flying Bulls have been faltering in recent matches and had lost six of seven heading into the contest but managed to see it out against the Thunder to improve to 29-17 for the season.
DeMar DeRozan was rested, while Lonzo Ball (bruised knee) and Alex Caruso (fractured wrist) were absent in a match where the Bulls had to withstand heavy fourth-quarter pressure.
"Two of our primary ballhandlers in Lonzo and Alex are not here," said head coach Donovan, a former Thunder coach who had a 243-157 record with Oklahoma.
"And when you get into these situations in the fourth quarter where teams turn up the defensive pressure and pick up full court, you've got to be able to handle it."
Nicola Vucevic had 26 points and 15 rebounds for the Bulls, while rookie Ayo Dosunmu put 24 for a season high and Zach LaVine contributed 23.
LaVine had not played since January 14 due to a bruised left knee and was happy to be back out on court for a Bulls side that lost by 19 points to the league-worst Orlando Magic last time out.
"It felt good," LaVine said. "I got tired of just sitting at home watching. I'm about as healthy as I can get, but it just sucks sitting at home and not being able to help."
Rafael Nadal survived a huge scare to reach the Australian Open semi-finals with an enthralling five-set win over Denis Shapovalov on Tuesday.
Nadal is two wins away from a record-breaking 21st grand slam title after enduring a four-hour epic to beat Shapovalov 6-3 6-4 4-6 3-6 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena.
A year after losing from two-sets-to-love up at the same stage to Stefanos Tsitsipas, there was almost a repeat for Nadal.
But, seemingly battling a stomach issue, the Spaniard remained alive in his bid to set the outright record for most grand slams won by a man, following a thrilling battle that lasted four hours, eight minutes.
The success saw Nadal – who will face either Matteo Berrettini or Gael Monfils in the last four – reach his 36th career grand slam semi-final and seventh at Melbourne Park, where he claimed the title in 2009.
Nadal landed the first blow with a break to love in the fourth game.
A superb forehand winner down the line got Nadal going before three wild forehands in a row from Shapovalov saw him fall 3-1 behind.
Shapovalov was unable to make any inroads against the Nadal serve, winning just five return points in a 39-minute opening set.
The Canadian was angry with chair umpire Carlos Bernardes' decision not to give Nadal a time violation between sets and the players unusually met at the net before the second game of the second set.
Nadal needed a tough hold during a 12-point sixth game and he capitalised in the next, an overhead securing the break after Shapovalov had sent a forehand well long at 30-30 to end a point he had been in complete control of.
Nadal closed out the set, but found trouble in the sixth game of the third as he faced break points for the first time after a double fault.
After saving both and holding serve, Nadal was broken at the key time – when serving to stay in the set – as Shapovalov delivered a backhand cross-court winner to extend the contest.
The momentum had well and truly swung and a double fault from Nadal saw Shapovalov break for 3-1 in the fourth set.
Approaching the three-hour mark, Nadal required a medical timeout, seemingly suggesting an issue with his stomach.
Shapovalov found himself in some trouble trying to level the match, but recovered from 15-40 to force a fifth set.
Nadal – who had been beaten from two-sets-to-love up just twice previously in his grand slam career – had to save a break point in the opening game of the decider, a volley winner to hold drawing huge cheers from the Rod Laver Arena crowd.
Instead, Shapovalov played a loose game, two wayward forehands, a double fault and a framed backhand giving Nadal a break and 2-0 lead.
Nadal, looking far more energetic, saved two break points in the third game before becoming more comfortable on serve on his way to the last four, Shapovalov smashing his racquet after match point.
DATA SLAM: Nadal overcomes major Melbourne hurdle … just
Nadal improved his record in grand slam quarter-finals to 36-9, but the last eight has often been a problem in Melbourne during his incredible career.
He is now 7-7 in Australian Open quarter-finals after surviving the Shapovalov battle, far worse than his record at the French Open (14-1), Wimbledon (7-0) and US Open (8-1).
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Nadal – 41/28
Shapovalov – 53/51
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Nadal – 8/11
Shapovalov – 20/5
BREAK POINTS WON
Nadal – 3/7
Shapovalov – 2/8
Denis Shapovalov hit out at chair umpire Carlos Bernardes in an extraordinary outburst during his Australian Open clash against Rafael Nadal.
Shapovalov was furious with Bernardes' decision not to call a time violation against Nadal after the Spaniard left him waiting between the first and second sets on Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday.
Nadal had taken the first set 6-3, but forced the Canadian 14th seed to wait before he could serve to start the second.
"Started the clock so long ago, he's still not ready to play. You've got to call him," Shapovalov said to Bernardes.
After Bernardes opted against doing so, Shapovalov said: "You guys are all corrupt."
Nadal and Shapovalov met at the net between the first and second games of the set in a brief discussion that eased the tension.
After Nadal led 6-3 6-4, Shapovalov hit back to take the third set 6-4 on a hot day in Melbourne.
Madison Keys is enjoying being the underdog after moving into the Australian Open semi-finals on Tuesday.
The American was too good for Czech fourth seed Barbora Krejcikova 6-3 6-2 in their quarter-final, played on a warm day in Melbourne.
Keys reached her fifth career grand slam semi-final, but first since the 2018 US Open.
Riding a 10-match winning streak after claiming just 11 victories in all of 2021, Keys is staying focused as her run continues in Australia.
"I honestly feel pretty neutral, to be completely honest with you. I have gone into every match thinking I can absolutely win any match that I'm out on the court," she said.
"I will say it's been kind of nice to be the underdog for the first time in a long time.
"It's really just not even in my head about winning and losing. It's really just going out, competing, trying to do what the game plan is.
"If that's not working going to Plan B. The rest is kind of not even getting into my brain."
The heat on Rod Laver Arena seemed to get to Krejcikova, the French Open champion taking a medical timeout late in the first set.
Krejcikova said she would learn a lot from her run after struggling with the heat on Tuesday.
"Today it was the heat with some physical conditions that started to bother me during after five games. I mean, from there on, you know, I just couldn't put it together," she said.
"Just still I didn't want to end it up. I wanted to finish match. I wanted to try to do my best. Yeah, I wasn't really able to do that. Still I think it's a really good experience and I can learn a lot from it."
Keys will play either Ash Barty or Jessica Pegula in the last four.
Chris Paul inspired the Phoenix Suns to a 115-109 victory over the Utah Jazz as the NBA leaders matched their best start to a season in franchise history.
Devin Booker top-scored for the Suns with 33 points, but it was Paul's season-high 27 that got his side out of a hole against a shorthanded Jazz.
The visitors led 87-85 at the end of the first quarter at Footprint Center and moved to 95-91 early in the second quarter as they went in search of just a third win in 10 games.
But point guard Paul stepped up for the Suns by making his first five shots in the fourth quarter, including a couple of 3-pointers, as the hosts responded with 14-2 to take the win.
Monty Williams' side are now 37-9 for the season, equalling their franchise record from 2006-07, ahead of facing the same opponents again on Wednesday.
Cavs hold off Knicks thanks to Garland
Darius Garland tied LeBron James' streak of 10-or-more assists in five straight games for a Cleveland Cavaliers player over the past decade in a tense 95-93 win over the New York Knicks.
The 21-year-old point guard recorded 12 assists in total and added a critical late 3-pointer as the Cavs held off a late charge from the Knicks, who trailed 86-71 with 9:41 left in Ohio.
Kevin Love led the scoring with 20 points, nine of those coming in just over a minute in the third quarter, as the Cavs went 10 games over .500 for the first time since the days of James in 2018.
Pelicans power past Pacers
Elsewhere in Monday's action, the New Orleans Pelicans trailed for a large portion of the game but had enough in the tank to beat the Indiana Pacers 117-113.
Josh Hart played through the pain barrier to inspire the Pelicans with 22 points and 10 rebounds, adding to Devonte' Graham's 22 points.
The Chicago Bulls put a poor run of six defeats from seven games behind them by beating Oklahoma City Thunder 111-110 in a tense encounter.
Nikola Vucevic's 26 points and 15 rebounds were nearly not enough as the Thunder, who trailed by 28 points, missed a 3-pointer through Shai Gilgeous-Alexander late on to level the contest.
Madison Keys moved into her first grand slam semi-final since 2018 with a straight-sets win over Barbora Krejcikova at the Australian Open.
Keys overcame Czech fourth seed Krejcikova 6-3 6-2 in hot conditions on Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday.
After a hard-fought 50-minute first set, Keys handled the heat the better of the two, closing out a deserved victory.
The win booked Keys a first major semi-final since the 2018 US Open and fifth of her career, with either Ash Barty or Jessica Pegula awaiting her.
After claiming just 11 match victories in 2021, Keys is on a 10-match winning streak, although she was challenged by Krejcikova, particularly early on.
A pair of break points went begging for Keys in the second game before she dug herself out of a 15-40 hole to hold for 2-1.
Keys held after a gruelling 18-point fifth game, one which looked set to be hugely important, after saving four break points.
Another lengthy game followed as opportunities, this time for Keys, came and went before Krejcikova sent a forehand wide to hand the American a 4-2 lead.
Krejcikova took a medical timeout at 2-5, but there was no stopping Keys taking the first set in 50 minutes.
The unforced errors continued to come from Krejcikova and a tame backhand into the net handed Keys a break in the opening game of the second set.
Looking increasingly weary, Krejcikova was broken to love in the third game, although the French Open champion did get one of those breaks back immediately.
Krejcikova continued to fight, but Keys powered away, breaking for 5-2 on her way to the last four.
DATA SLAM: Keys lands top-five win
Keys, the 2017 US Open runner-up, held an 8-20 record against top-five ranked opponents, and 2-6 at grand slams, heading into her meeting with Krejcikova.
The American at least improved that record and deservedly so, getting the better of Krejcikova.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Keys – 27/21
Krejcikova – 12/28
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Keys – 11/1
Krejcikova – 2/4
BREAK POINTS WON
Keys – 4/12
Krejcikova – 1/8
The Green Bay Packers' key decision-makers are united in their bid to bring Aaron Rodgers back next year, Matt LaFleur says.
Rodgers' future will again be debated after the Packers' season ended on Saturday with defeat to the San Francisco 49ers.
The 2020 NFL MVP pushed for a move away from Green Bay last year before eventually returning and enjoying another stellar campaign.
But the Super Bowl once again proved beyond Rodgers, who has not returned to the big game since the Packers' title triumph in February 2011.
Rodgers is 7-9 in the postseason in that time and, despite himself underwhelming in the loss to the 49ers, might now wonder if this team will ever get over the hump.
The Packers, for their part, want Rodgers to come back.
LaFleur confirmed on Monday his desire to have the QB return was shared by the rest of the organisation, despite the saga surrounding his future at the start of the season.
"Every conversation that I've been involved in with Gutey [Brian Gutekunst, general manager] and Russ [Ball, director of football operations] and Mark [Murphy, team president], we're all on the same page there," the coach said. "There's no debate."
LaFleur added of Rodgers: "I want to be respectful of his process, whatever he needs to go through to make the best decision for himself.
"And certainly we would love for him to be a Packer and be a Packer to the day he decides to retire."
Rodgers has played 213 games for the Packers, throwing 449 touchdown passes – ranking fifth all time in the NFL and first for Green Bay, ahead of Brett Favre (442).
Tom Brady has not yet made a decision on retirement, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will give the quarterback "all the time he needs".
The Bucs' season ended on Sunday with a dramatic Divisional Round defeat to the Los Angeles Rams, going down 30-27 after Brady had led his team back from 27-3 down to tie the game.
But talk before the game had suggested it could be Brady's last if Tampa lost, as transpired.
The 44-year-old told his Let's Go podcast that he will be making any decision together with his family, refusing to rule out the possibility of quitting the NFL after seven Super Bowl triumphs.
"Playing football I get so much joy from. I love it," Brady said on the podcast. "But not playing football, there's a lot of joy in that for me also now, too, with my kids getting older and seeing them develop and grow.
"So all these things need to be considered and they will be."
After two outstanding years with the Bucs, Brady said he would only continue if he was operating at "a championship level".
The veteran QB surely still represents Tampa's best possible option under center, but coach Bruce Arians insisted on Monday he would give Brady time.
"I haven't talked to him yet," Arians said. "He'll take all the time he needs and we'll see."
The Bucs had won the championship at the end of the 2020 season and brought the entire team back for a title defence, but an ageing group could not deliver again.
There will be no "rebuild", though, as Arians responded to that suggestion: "No, I think it's just a reload, like it is every year.
"For us, free agency will be our guys. We'll see how many we can get back and build the team from there. I always look forward to that part of it and the draft.
"Each year is so different and so new. Last year, to get everybody back, that was amazing. I doubt we can do that again this year, but we're still going to give it our best."
Tight end Rob Gronkowski, a team-mate of Brady's with the New England Patriots and then the Bucs, insisted his future was not necessarily linked to the QB's.
"Whatever Tom does Tom's going to do," he said. "I'm sure that he needs time to himself, too, to see where he's at at this stage. We'll see in couple of weeks where I'm at."
The Los Angeles Lakers are set to welcome Anthony Davis back from injury against the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday.
Davis has been upgraded to probable for the game at Barclays Center, having been out for almost six weeks with an MCL sprain.
The return of the eight-time NBA All-Star boosts a Lakers team toiling at 23-24 in eighth place in the West.
Davis has played just 27 games this season and only 15 alongside LeBron James.
Despite LA's poor stretch, which began with Davis in the team, going 13-14 with him in the lineup, James has excelled.
In 20 games without Davis this year, James has averaged 32.7 points, taking on added responsibility with third man Russell Westbrook struggling.
The Lakers will hope both Davis and the rest of the team can now rediscover their best form to recover a title push this season.
Sean Payton is yet to confirm to the New Orleans Saints whether he will remain as head coach for the 2022 season.
Payton has been at the helm in New Orleans since 2006, but reports in recent days have suggested he is far from certain to return next year.
In their first season since Drew Brees' retirement, the Saints marginally missed the playoffs with a 9-8 record.
It still marked another fine coaching performance from Payton, who had his team evacuated early in the year due to a hurricane and later had to deal with a number of coronavirus and injury absences.
Jameis Winston, promoted to a starting role at quarterback in Brees' place, tore his ACL in October following a promising 5-2 start in which he threw 14 touchdown passes and only three interceptions.
Payton, who is under contract through 2024, has a 152-89 regular-season record – the 13th-best of all time (minimum 100 games) – while he is 9-8 in the playoffs, winning Super Bowl XLIV.
The Saints hope he will further improve those totals next season, although owner Gayle Benson knows little more than New Orleans fans at this stage.
"We don't know," she told FOX 8 NOLA on Monday. "You know, who knows? We'll find out soon enough, I guess.
"I don't think any of us know. But he'll let us know soon enough."
George Ford is back in the England squad ahead of the upcoming Six Nations as Eddie Jones awaits an update on captain Owen Farrell, but Jonny May is out.
Farrell has endured an injury-hit season so far and suffered a setback in training last week, with his club Saracens revealing he was set to see a specialist about the unspecified issue.
While he is all but ruled out of the Six Nations opener against Scotland on February 5, England are yet to confirm if Farrell can return after the Calcutta Cup clash.
Nevertheless, Ford is back in the selection to make up for Farrell's absence against Scotland, with the Leicester Tigers fly-half seemingly set for his 78th cap.
Ford has not played for England since the 32-18 Six Nations defeat to Ireland last March, with Marcus Smith's emergence nudging him down the pecking order, but he has the chance to stake his claim once again.
Also in Monday's squad update, England confirmed May has withdrawn from the squad with a knee injury, while Courtney Lawes – initially one of the favourites to deputise as captain in Farrell's stead – must sit out training this week because of head injury protocols.
Nick Isiekwe has joined up with the squad as cover for Lawes, while Elliot Daly is in for May.
Mercedes hope they will be prepared for the 2022 Formula One season, in which technical director James Allison is forecasting "a terribly painful year" for teams who get their car "really badly wrong".
F1 is belatedly introducing its game-changing new regulations in the coming year, shaking up the sport after an epic 2021 season.
The 2022 car has been designed with the aim to end the dominance of any one team and ensure closer racing.
Mercedes, whose Lewis Hamilton was agonisingly pipped to the title by Max Verstappen in the previous campaign, will expect to again be at the forefront of a title tussle, but Allison recognises some outfits will be caught unaware.
The price for making mistakes this year is a significant one, he believes.
"Everyone in our team, and everyone in every other team, will have done our level best to try to find a design and an approach that will be a happy match to this new regulation set," Allison said in a video posted by Mercedes.
"And we'll all get to find out together at the start of this season, in the races that unfold from there, exactly how that shakes out.
"I would imagine, given that the cars are so new and so different, that one or two cars on the grid will have got it really badly wrong. And they will have a terribly painful year.
"I would imagine that all of us to some degree will have left things on the table that we just didn't anticipate. And we will look at other cars and think, 'Oh, why didn't we think of that?'
"Then we'll be scrambling around to try to get that idea onto our car as fast as possible, so that we can claw our way, from whatever position we land in that first race, forwards. Or, if we're lucky enough to be in front, to keep the attacking wolves behind us.
"It's going to be quite a rush and definitely something that's going to keep us all from having too much sleep for the whole of the season."
George Russell is joining Hamilton at Mercedes this year, replacing Valtteri Bottas after impressing with Williams.
Anthony Joshua insists he "ain't signed no contract" amid reports he has agreed to step aside for Tyson Fury to face Oleksandr Usyk in return for £15million.
The alleged agreement was reported by The Telegraph on Sunday, claiming Joshua would forego a rematch with Usyk for the three heavyweight title belts he lost to the Ukrainian in September.
Such a move would allow Usyk to instead take on Fury in a huge unification bout.
Promoter Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports he has a meeting planned with Joshua to discuss "a number of proposals and options", but the British fighter has dismissed talk of a £15m deal.
Indeed, Joshua, describing himself as "the man who handles my business", also revealed frustrations at some of the reporting around his situation.
In widely reported quotes, he said: "You know what's bad about all these interviews I see?
"I see certain interviews that quote what I said, and I think to myself: 'I ain't done no interviews. Where did this person get this information from?'
"I'm hearing people saying, 'AJ accepts £15m to step aside'. I ain't signed no contract, I ain't seen no contract.
"I'm the man in control of my destiny, I'm a smart individual and I make calculated decisions every step of the way."
Kaia Kanepi surprised even herself by holding her nerve to eliminate second seed Aryna Sabalenka in a final-set tie-break and reach Australian Open quarter-finals for the first time.
The world number 115 edged a topsy-turvy battle 5-7 6-2 7-6 (10-7) on Margaret Court Arena to set up a meeting with Iga Swiatek in the final eight.
With Monday's impressive comeback win, Kanepi has now completed a clean sweep of reaching the quarter-finals of all four majors, making her the 15th active player to do so.
But after squandering four match points in the 10th game of the deciding set, Kanepi admits she struggled to keep her nerves in check when the match went the distance.
"I thought I was going to lose it after the match points I had on my serve," said the 36-year-old, who finished with 30 winners and 30 unforced errors.
"It was really difficult to come back. I don't know how I managed to do it.
"I was really tight. My hand was shaking when I started serving. I didn't make any first serves in, and that added to the pressure.
"It was quite crazy. I think I would be more happy if I won after two, three match points. It was really close that I lost the match. I feel a bit exhausted right now.
"The Australian Open was the only quarter-final grand slam I was missing. Given my age, I didn't actually believe I was going to do it. I'm really happy."
After sealing a 14th career victory over a top-10 opponent, with her second win in a row against Sabalenka, Kanepi is now relishing Wednesday's battle with Swiatek.
That will pit the youngest and oldest remaining players left in the draw against each other, with 20-year-old Swiatek having earlier defeated Sorana Cirstea in three sets.
"I haven't watched her, I never played her, and I don't know how her ball feels, so we'll see when I play her," Kanepi said of her next opponent. "What I expect is to play good."
Kanepi is one of six Australian Open quarter-final debutants remaining, with top seed Ash Barty and Madison Keys the only two to have previously reached this stage.
Cayman Islands’ Aaron Jarvis created history on Sunday when he became the first golfer from the Caribbean to win the Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) that concluded at the Teeth of the Dog Golf Course in the Dominican Republic.
UFC boss Dana White is hopeful Conor McGregor's latest comeback is on the horizon.
The Irish superstar fractured the fibula and tibia of his left leg in a first-round defeat to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 last July.
McGregor, who claimed he started that fight in Las Vegas with multiple leg fractures, has been recovering after undergoing surgery.
White told TMZ he is optimistic the 33-year-old will be back in the Octagon before too long.
He stated: "I think so, yeah. He's doing all the right things with his leg. I'm hoping he can come back this summer."
McGregor has been beaten in three of his past four bouts, with Poirier consigning him to back-to-back losses.
He revealed a plan for his return back in November.
"I will be full mixed martial arts sparring by April. Easily! By then a return will be imminent. But I must be patient. I will beat this!" McGregor tweeted.
The Buffalo Bills face an offseason where they must continue to work to find a way to beat Patrick Mahomes after being left sick to their stomach by his incredible late heroics in the NFL Divisional Round.
Buffalo appeared destined to knock off the AFC's dominant power in Kansas City, striking what looked to be the decisive blow when Josh Allen found Gabriel Davis, who reeled in his fourth touchdown catch of the game to set a postseason record, to give the Bills a 36-33 lead with just 13 seconds left as an incredible weekend of playoff matchups saved its most remarkable for last.
Yet 13 seconds proved more than enough time for Mahomes to thwart the Bills again, driving the Chiefs down to the Buffalo 31-yard line to set Harrison Butker up for a 49-yard field goal to force overtime.
And Mahomes then ensured the Bills will be stewing over their inability to close the game out until the start of the 2022 campaign as the Chiefs won the overtime coin toss and sealed victory with an eight-play drive capped by his eight-yard touchdown throw to Travis Kelce, whose superb catch sealed a 42-36 triumph that will go down in NFL folklore.
While Bills fans will understandably want to extinguish the memory of a painful defeat, McDermott, having seen his team defeated by Mahomes and Co. in last year's AFC Championship Game, must now reflect on an astonishing late turnaround and determine how they can stop the quarterback who continues to haunt them.
McDermott said of Mahomes in his post-game media conference: "That's the reality of our situation, and we’ve got to continue to work to beat him.
"Give him the credit. He made a couple plays down the stretch. That’s what great players do. They make big plays in big moments in big games.
"The game came down to, pretty much, 13 seconds. I think they all feel the same way I do; we're all sick to [our] stomach and it hurts. We worked really hard to get here.
"I know the fans are disappointed. I wish I could take that off of them, take it off the team. But we can't."
Asked about the bizarre decision to send the kick-off after Davis' fourth touchdown out of the endzone for a touchback rather than taking time off the clock by kicking it in play, McDermott replied: "We talk about a lot of things. I'm just going to leave it at execution and it starts with me."
Allen, meanwhile, echoed McDermott's sentiments after once again being left to take in the agony of another loss to Mahomes, whose game-winning connection with Kelce marked the fifth and final lead change following the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter.
"It was tough to be in that moment," Allen said. "I have a lot of respect for Pat. He throws a winning touchdown, and he comes straight over and finds me.
"To be in that situation and to do that, that was pretty cool of him. Obviously, it just sucks the way it happened. We wanted to win that game and had our opportunities.
"I was taking it all in and holding on to that feeling and making sure that we don't feel like this again. Back-to-back years in the same spot, it's tough to take in, but it's part of the game; it's part of the learning process.
"We've got to use this and figure out how to be better and how to accomplish what we want to accomplish."
Rory McIlroy believes playing patient golf will be the trick to succeeding once more in a major.
The former world number one is a four-time major winner, but the last of those victories came in 2014 at the PGA Championship.
McIlroy has enjoyed plenty of success since then, winning such as the Tour Championship twice, the Wells Fargo Championship twice, the DP World Tour Championship and the Players Championship.
While a fifth major success has eluded him, the 32-year-old is confident his chance will come again if he remains in the right mindset.
"I haven't won a major in the last seven years but I've basically won everything else," he told BBC Sport.
"I've won the Players Championship, I've won FedEx Cups, I've won Race to Dubai, I've won World Golf Championships, I've won national opens. You know, I've done a lot in the past seven years.
"That hasn't included a major championship but I've played good enough golf in those seven years to win one and I'm staying as patient as I possibly can and, as I say, just giving myself chances.
"I don't think there's anything I should or could do differently. I think the one thing that's held me back, especially in the majors over the last few years, is just getting off to slow starts.
"Opening up at Augusta with a 72 or a 71 and not shooting that 67 or 68 that puts you right in the thick of the tournament from the very start.
"I can't go into the first round of a tournament or on a Wednesday night under pressure to try and shoot a good score. I just have to go out there and let it happen.
"Historically when I've got myself up there early in a tournament I've been able to stay there and capitalise on that start."
McIlroy also believes the depth of quality rivals he faces has made the challenge of winning another major even greater.
"I think I haven't given myself enough chances," said the world number eight.
"I think if I'd have had more chances and realistic chances, just putting yourself in those positions, the more comfortable you are going to feel up there.
"If you keep knocking on the door, one of those doors is going to open for you.
"I had a chance at Carnoustie in 2018, played the final group with Patrick Reed in 2018 at Augusta, tied for the lead with nine holes to go at the US Open last year at Torrey Pines.
"I've had a few chances and just haven't capitalised. I think players are getting better and better.
"When I last won back in 2014 I'd never heard of [Open champion] Collin Morikawa, I'd never heard of [world number one] Jon Rahm.
"A lot of these guys coming through are playing unbelievably good golf. I don't just have to beat five guys."
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