Frank Vogel says the Los Angeles Lakers will show "big-picture patience" while having a "small-picture sense of urgency" after they slumped to a 107-104 defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Lakers, missing LeBron James due to an abdominal strain, opened up a commanding 19-point lead in the second quarter at Staples Center on Thursday.

Oklahoma roared back to end the Lakers' three-match winning run, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 11 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter as the Thunder secured only their second victory of the season.

Head coach Vogel says the Lakers will not feel sorry for themselves with the likes of James absent and will learn from their defeat to Oklahoma.

"We don't worry about stuff we can't control, we all want to win every game badly," said Vogel. "We want it to be perfect right now.

"We have big-picture patience but small-picture sense of urgency to get this right, right away and to win these games in the short term. We fell short tonight, it's disappointing but we'll get to work tomorrow and get better from it."

Vogel warned his players they must be consistent throughout matches after a strong first half was in vain.

"It's a long game, they are going to keep playing. Early leads don't really mean anything in the modern NBA," he added.

"You got to keep playing, we learned our lesson last week, but they made their run in the second quarter and it's a 48-minute game, you've got to play quarters."

Anthony Davis scored a game-high 29 points, claimed 18 rebounds and provided five assists as the Lakers slipped to 5-4.

Last season's NBA Finals runners-up the Phoenix Suns took down the Houston Rockets 123-111 for their third consecutive win on Thursday.

Devin Booker inspired the Suns with 27 points while Landry Shamet added 19 points off the bench in Phoenix.

Chris Paul contributed 13 assists, nine points and five steals for the Suns (4-3), who moved above .500 for the first time this season.

Paul is averaging 12.0 assists and 2.4 steals per game in 2021-22. Entering the contest, this season had marked the fifth time in the last 25 years a player has averaged at least 11.0 assists and 2.0 steals over his first six games of a season – the Suns All-Star has been responsible for four of the five, per Stats Perform.

Christian Wood (18 points and 15 rebounds) and Kevin Porter Jr. (20 points) starred but the lowly Rockets (1-7) dropped their fifth straight game.

Celtics cool red-hot Heat

The Boston Celtics (4-5) have struggled for form this season, though they made a statement with a 95-78 win over the Miami Heat (6-2). Miami – top of the Eastern Conference prior to the game – had their worst scoring performance since January 2016.

The Philadelphia 76ers (7-1) moved to the top of the east thanks to a 109-98 win at the struggling Detroit Pistons (1-7). Seth Curry produced another stellar shooting display – going nine of 14 from the field – for 23 points. MVP runner-up Joel Embiid had 19 points and nine rebounds as he collected his 3,000th career board in his 268th game – the only 76er in history to reach the mark sooner was Hall of Famer Charles Barkley (253 games).

Lakers streak snapped

Playing without injured superstar LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers (5-4) had their three-game winning streak ended after being stunned 107-104 by the Oklahoma City Thunder (2-6).

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James could be out of action for a week due to an abdominal strain.

James was ruled out of Thursday's NBA clash against the lowly Oklahoma City Thunder due to the injury.

The 36-year-old and four-time champion, who has already missed two of the Lakers' opening eight games of the season because of a sore right ankle, is facing more time on the sideline.

"Anytime LeBron's out and he's going to miss some time there's obviously concern," Lakers head coach Frank Vogel told reporters pre-game as his team eye a fourth consecutive victory.

"Hopefully this is something that's minimal, and hopefully he'll be back soon."

James has been averaging 24.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game this season, while shooting 46.7 per cent from the floor and 34.7 per cent from three-point range.

Against Houston on Tuesday, James (30), Anthony Davis (27) and Russell Westbrook (27) became the first trio of team-mates to score 27-plus points for the Lakers in the same game since January 20, 1995, when Cedric Ceballos (31), Elden Campbell (30) and Nick Van Exel (29) accomplished the feat, according to Stats Perform.

The Lakers (5-3) are currently averaging 113.4 points per game while giving up 112.6 a game. The last time Los Angeles both scored and gave up 112-plus points per game for a full season was 1967-68.

San Francisco Giants great Buster Posey surprisingly called time on his illustrious MLB career on Thursday.

Posey enjoyed a resurgence in 2021, helping the Giants to a franchise-record 107 wins and their first National League (NL) West title since 2012 before falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series (NLDS).

The three-time World Series champion and seven-time All-Star, who opted out of the coronavirus-shortened 2020 campaign, was among a number of Giants players to enjoy a rejuvenation this term.

Posey boasted his best SLG (.499) and OPS (.889) since the Giants were crowned world champions in 2012, while the 34-year-old's 18 home runs were his most since his 19-homer campaign six years ago.

However, the future Hall of Famer – the first catcher in MLB history to hit .300 or better in his final year – announced his retirement, citing family and the physical toll of the game.

"I want to do more stuff from February to November with family," Posey – the 2012 NL MVP – said in a news conference. "Physically, it's much harder now. It's hard to enjoy it as much when there is physical pain that you're dealing with.

"It was getting to the point that things that I was enjoying were not as joyful anymore."

"I've been blessed to play in a league that has the most talented baseball players in the world," Posey added. "It's a fraternity that I've watched from afar from the time I was five years old until I arrived in September 2009.

"And one of the greatest benefits that comes along with that is that you get to meet a lot of great teammates that have a lot of similar interests as you do. ... I feel very fortunate to have made some of those friendships over the years. I look forward to them lasting for years to come."

Posey said: "The last week to 10 days I've been thinking, 'How do you thank a fan base?' And the Giants fan base is more than just fans, it's a community. And that sense of community is something we as players could feel in the ballpark when we took the field each night.

"I also hope it's worked the other way -- I hope over the years that you've been able to see that our team has a sense of pride that we've all taken in coming together each night and each day, working hard with a common goal and pushing each other along the way."

Alexander Zverev was given a thorough examination of his Paris Masters credentials by Grigor Dimitrov, but the fourth seed progressed nonetheless to reach the last eight.

Zverev, who last in last year's final, saw match points slip from his grasp in the second set as Dimitrov levelled the match, however, he eventually prevailed on Thursday.

World number one Novak Djokovic benefited from a walkover, while Daniil Medvedev also moved through to the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 event.

Zverev outlasts Dimitrov

Olympic Games gold medallist Zverev had to dig deep for his 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 win over former world number three Dimitrov.

It was Zverev's seventh win on the bounce, but he was well aware of just how deep he had to dig to see off a resilient Dimitrov.

"Incredible match," Zverev, who won a fifth tour title of the year last week at the Vienna Open, said afterwards. "Grigor is playing very high-level tennis and I had to leave everything out there.

"I think it was a very high-level match and it could have gone both ways, especially the third set. I am happy with how things went in the end."

Djokovic moves through without playing

There was no such ordeal for top seed Djokovic, however.

Djokovic – a 20-time grand slam champion – received a walkover after Gael Monfils was advised not to continue with the tournament due to an adductor issue sustained in his previous win over Adrian Mannarino.

Taylor Fritz awaits five-time Paris champion Djokovic after the American saw off 10th seed Norrie 6-3 7-6 (7-3), while Casper Ruud will tussle with Zverev.

Ruud's emphatic 6-2 6-1 demolition of Marcos Giron clinched a historic achievement for the 22-year-old – who became the first Norwegian to qualify for the ATP Finals at the end of a breakthrough year in which no player can better his five tour-level titles.

Hubert Hurkacz did his chances of joining Ruud in Turin no harm as the Polish seventh seed – who holds the last automatic qualifying berth – fought back to defeat Dominik Koepfer 4-6 7-5 6-2 and set up a meeting with James Duckworth, who beat Alexei Popyrin 7-6 (8-6) 6-4.

Second seed and US Open champion Medvedev was another who had to come from behind before ultimately seeing off Sebastian Korda 4-6 6-1 6-3.

He will go up against Hugo Gaston, who became the first French qualifier to reach the Paris Masters quarter-finals since 1990 with his win over Carlos Alcaraz.

Australia and Switzerland secured their spots in the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup and will go up against each other for a place in the final.

Belarus proved no match for Australia, who got the job done across their two singles matches on the day in the Czech Republic.

Storm Sanders got the ball rolling as she comfortably saw off Yuliya Hatouka 6-3 6-3 in the first contest of the day in Group B.

Ajla Tomljanovic was made to work a little harder by Aliaksandra Sasnovich as she lost the first set but eventually rallied to overcome her opponent 4-6 6-2 6-3.

It meant the two countries' doubles meeting was a dead rubber – Belarus at least took the opportunity to avoid a 3-0 annihilation as Sasnovich teamed up with Lidziya Marozava in the 6-4 6-4 defeat of Olivia Gadecki and Ellen Perez.

In Group D, Switzerland and the Czech Republic claimed one victory apiece in the singles – Marketa Vondrousova had too much for Viktorija Golubic in a 6-4 6-2 success that gave the Czechs the upper hand.

But Belinda Bencic levelled things up despite the unenviable task of facing world number three Barbora Krejcikova, emerging with a 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 success.

Bencic was then involved in the doubles decider as well, getting the better of Lucie Hradecka and Katerina Siniakova with Jil Belen Teichmann, their 6-3 6-3 win sealing the semis spot for the Swiss.

The Russian Tennis Federation – who eliminated defending champions France on Wednesday – and the United States are due to contest the other semi-final.

Defending champions Wales are set to be without captain Alun Wyn Jones for the Six Nations due to a shoulder injury.

Jones was ruled out of the remainder of the Autumn Nations Series, as he requires surgery due to the damage done in a crushing 54-16 defeat to New Zealand last weekend.

Wales head coach Wayne Pivac does not expect the most capped player of all time to play any part when the holders bid to retain their Six Nations title next year.

Pivac said on Thursday: "I don't think he'll be available for the Six Nations.

"You learn a lot about the worth of people when they're not there. I think a lot of people take Alun Wyn for granted – he's always been there and got seniority.

"That leadership is really important. The essence is on others to step up and take that role on."

Jones, who astonishingly recovered from a shoulder injury to captain the British and Irish Lions in South Africa, is in the twilight of his career at the age of 35.

Pivac believes the inspirational towering lock, who won a world record 149th Wales cap in the loss to the All Blacks, can play in the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.

"The intention is always to see if Al can get to the World Cup. I think it's a realistic goal personally," the New Zealander said.

"You've just got to see him in training and when he's playing, the efforts he puts in. I don't see anything going anywhere near backwards in terms of his performances.

"A bit of time off, we spoke about this before Al left camp. It's not ideal for him. We're all looking forward to him playing 150 Test matches for Wales, but that is still a goal and I'm sure he'll get there."

Pivac has made six changes to the starting XV for the showdown with South Africa at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, with Ellis Jenkins replacing Ross Moriarty (shoulder) in what will be his first Test for three years after recovering from a knee injury.

Dan Biggar returns at fly-half, while wing Louis Rees-Zammit, centre Nick Tompkins and prop Rhys Carre also start and Jonathan Davies takes over as captain.
 

Wales team: Johnny McNicholl, Louis Rees-Zammit, Jonathan Davies (captain), Nick Tompkins, Josh Adams, Dan Biggar, Tomos Williams; Rhys Carre, Ryan Elias, Tomas Francis, Will Rowlands, Adam Beard, Ellis Jenkins, Taine Basham, Aaron Wainwright.

Replacements: Bradley Roberts, Wyn Jones, WillGriff John, Ben Carter, Seb Davies, Gareth Davies, Gareth Anscombe, Liam Williams.

Gael Monfils has withdrawn from the Paris Masters due to an adductor problem, handing world number one Novak Djokovic a walkover into the quarter-finals.

Djokovic has played only once on the ATP Tour since losing the US Open final to Daniil Medvedev on September 12.

That defeat at Flushing Meadows ended Djokovic's hopes of achieving a calendar Grand Slam, though the Serbian has returned to action for the final few weeks of the 2021 season.

With the ATP Finals coming up, Djokovic headed to Paris looking to regain the title he claimed in his last appearance in the tournament back in 2019. He needed three sets, but overcame Marton Fucsovics 6-2 4-6 6-3 in his first match.

He has won the Paris Masters on five occasions and is the top seed this time around, with defending champion Medvedev seeded second. 

Monfils, seeded 15th, beat Miomir Kecmanovic and Adrian Mannarino en route to the last 16, but confirmed to the media on Thursday that he had been advised not to continue.

Djokovic will face the winner of Cameron Norrie, who recently triumphed at Indian Wells, and Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals.

The field has already been cleared of third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who retired hurt when facing Alexei Popyrin on Wednesday.

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers hailed Joel Embiid for taking an "Alonzo Mourning approach" with his decisive block on DeMar DeRozan in a 103-98 win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.

With less than 10 seconds left and the 76ers leading 102-98, DeRozan drove to the bucket for a dunk that would have ensured a tense finale but was blocked by Embiid. It was a play that Rivers labelled "game-saving" and likened to a move by Miami Heat great Mourning.

Embiid has not been at his best this season, averaging 21.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. He finished this game with 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists but stood up when it counted.

"Big play at the rim. Really big play," Rivers told reporters after the game. "I love when bigs go after dunks. Half these guys in the league won't go after it because they are worried if they get dunked on.

"I love the Alonzo Mourning approach. I thought Joel took it. Going after DeRozan, that's a big play, that's a game-saving play."

Seth Curry top-scored for the Sixers with 22 points, shooting nine from 14 from the field, including a clutch two-pointer to put them 102-98 up.

The result improved Philadelphia, who are still without Ben Simmons, to 6-2 and completed a run of four home games with four wins.

The 76ers were also missing starters Tobias Harris (COVID-19) and Danny Green (hamstring), making their run of victories more impressive having been 2-2 after a 112-99 loss to the New York Knicks.

"It was huge. We talked about it after the New York game. We had a four-game home stand, we had to win them all," Rivers said.

"We obviously didn’t know we'd have all these guys out. The fact we still won them all with all these guys out was pretty cool."

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr revealed Stephen Curry had been unwell in the lead-up to Wednesday's 114-92 win over the Charlotte Hornets where the guard was below his usual standards.

Two-time NBA MVP Curry led the league for points coming into the game but managed to score only 15, with Jordan Poole top scoring for the Warriors with 31 points including seven three-pointers.

Curry, who also had eight rebounds and nine assists, shot six from 15 from the field and three from 11 from three-point range.

"Steph has been under the weather the last couple of days," Kerr told reporters after the game. "Clearly was not himself.

"He still almost came out of the game with a triple-double because he's Steph. Jordan really picked up the slack."

Gary Payton II also contributed strongly to make up for Curry's lesser output, including an left-handed emphatic dunk.

The 28-year-old point guard finished with 14 points, five rebounds and three steals, with Kerr stating he is doing enough to be considered for the starting rotation.

"He dominated the game while he was out there," Kerr said. "He changed everything with his defense and activity. He is an electric athlete.

"I couldn't be happier for Gary. I think about how hard he worked to get to this point, just clawing his way to a roster spot.

"It's taken him about five years of bouncing around the league. He deserves this."

Meanwhile, Klay Thompson was seen shooting around pre-game for approximately 15 minutes as he continues his recovery from a long-term Achilles injury where it is anticipated he will return around Christmas. Thompson is yet to be cleared for full practice but this appeared a positive step forward.

Thompson has not played since the 2018-19 season when he suffered an ACL injury, but had averaged 21.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

Seth Curry and Joel Embiid led the way as the shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers beat the high-flying Chicago Bulls 103-98 in a battle of the Eastern Conference contenders.

The 76ers (6-2) were without starters Tobias Harris and Danny Green, in addition to disgruntled Ben Simmons' ongoing absence, but still outlasted the Bulls in Philadelphia for their fourth successive win on Wednesday.

Curry posted 22 points, including a crucial late jumper with 10.7 seconds remaining, while the returning Embiid put up 18 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and a big block during the closing stages to deny DeMar DeRozan (joint season-high 37 points).

The 76ers – boasting an eight-game winning streak over the Bulls, their best run against the Chicago franchise since March 1984 – shot 42.9 per cent from three-point range as they swept their four-game homestand for the first time since February last year.

Chicago (6-2), who have emerged as a contender in the east after landing DeRozan, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso in the offseason to go with Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, overturned a double-digit deficit to level the game in the fourth period but could not complete the job.

Durant fuels streaking Nets

The Brooklyn Nets made it three wins in a row thanks to a 117-108 victory against the Atlanta Hawks and Kevin Durant's 32 points. Durant is averaging 28.3 points, a career-high 8.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists while boasting a career-best 59.2 per cent field-goal percentage.

Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic had 34 points and 11 rebounds, but missed a shot on the buzzer to send the game to overtime as the Denver Nuggets went down 108-106 at the Memphis Grizzlies.

Paul George leads the league in scoring and the Los Angeles Clippers star was behind the team's 126-115 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves with 32 points.

Jordan Poole's second career 30-point game (31 points) led the Golden State Warriors to their sixth win in seven games, a 114-92 success against the Charlotte Hornets.

Walker's woes

There is plenty of hype around the New York Knicks, especially after bringing Kemba Walker to Madison Square Garden. However, the four-time All-Star had a game to forget in the 111-98 loss to the Indiana Pacers. Walker made just two of his 11 shots, while missing all five of his three-pointers for four points.

Kevin Durant believes star Brooklyn Nets team-mate James Harden is in good shape and his slow start to the season is due to establishing some continuity.

Harden contributed 16 points, 11 assists and four rebounds in the Nets' 117-108 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, as he continues to build towards his best former after rehabbing a hamstring injury during the offseason.

The former NBA MVP is down on his usual scoring output – averaging 18.3 points this season, his lowest since ending his third year in the league averaging 16.8 in 2011-12 – prior to the midweek clash – compared to his career average of 25.1 points per game.

Harden got to the line once against the Hawks, while 11 of his 14 shots from the field were from three-point range.

Durant pointed to the fact Harden only joined the Nets from the Houston Rockets in January before battling injuries, playing together only 11 times last season, meaning they are still establishing continuity and cohesion.

"I think he's in good shape. I think he's playing well," Durant told ESPN after the championship-chasing Nets' third straight win. "It's a matter of us getting used to each other, figuring out line-ups and that stuff takes time.

"Continuity, we don't have a lot from last year. We're trying to build on that.

"Controlled the game from the point guard position, made shots when we needed to, it's a good win."

In contrast to Harden's form, Durant dominated with 32 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Another former MVP, Durant has scored 20-or-more points in each of his last 21 games for the Nets and has been a key reason the Nets have started 5-3 with Kyrie Irving absent and Harden regaining form.

Durant is averaging 28.3 points (most since his final season with the Oklahoma City thunder in 2015-16), a career-high 8.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists while boasting a career-best 59.2 per cent field-goal percentage. If he maintains this level, the Nets superstar would join LeBron James as the only non-bigs to average 25 points per game on 55 per cent shooting in the last 35 seasons.

"I know we're all trying to get better as the season goes on," Durant said. "I'm not looking at the rest of the team like they've got to catch up.

"It feels like we're all growing and learning and figuring each other out every single day. It's good to see that development in real time. We'll keep grinding, that's all I've been saying."

Von Miller may have to wait to make his Los Angeles Rams debut, with head coach Sean McVay wanting to "ease him back in" after an ankle injury.

Miller, 32, joined the Rams from the Denver Broncos in a blockbuster trade on Monday, which significantly boosts McVay's 7-1 side and their NFL Super Bowl prospects.

A Super Bowl winner and MVP, Miller arrived in Los Angeles on Tuesday and underwent a physical and onboarding but sat out practice on Wednesday, ahead of Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans.

Miller missed the Broncos' Week 8 game due to an ankle injury suffered against the Cleveland Browns in Week 7, putting his availability to face the Titans in doubt.

"He'll do some limited work off to the side, just getting a feel for where his ankle is at. He hasn't been with us," McVay told reporters about Miller on Wednesday.

"Want to be smart, want to be able to ease him back in. We'll see what that looks like a day at a time."

McVay said the eight-time Pro Bowler was eager to play for his new team.

"Oh yeah, he's going to do everything in his power to try to play," McVay said. "But I think there's an element of let's take it a day at a time and let's be smart, let's get a feel for how he's doing, but this guy is an elite competitor and he definitely wants to be able to do that."

Miller has a pressure rate of 24.8 per cent, which was well above the pre-Week 8 average of 17.2 per cent for edge rushers.

McVay also revealed quarterback Matthew Stafford and receiver Robert Woods should both face the Titans, despite not practicing on Wednesday.

"We're fairly banged up so we're going to take a little bit more modified approach to practice this week," McVay said, adding later, "it's more about just being smart, being safe."

The Rams beat the Houston Texans 38-22 on the road last week after leading 38-0 heading into the fourth quarter. They are one of two teams (also the Dallas Cowboys) to score at least 20 points in every game this season, according to Stats Perform.

Meanwhile, the Rams have scored points in every half dating back to Week 13 in 2019 – their streak of 58 consecutive halves is the second-longest active streak (Baltimore, 135), per Stats Perform.

The Titans (6-2) will be without running back Derrick Henry, who underwent foot surgery on Tuesday.