Joel Embiid had an injury scare late as the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers charged home but ultimately fell short in a 112-109 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
Embiid appeared to roll his left ankle when he tripped over teammate Georges Niang with 5:53 remaining in the fourth quarter. He writhed in pain on the ground and was attended to by a trainer before hobbling to the bench at Wells Fargo Center.
The Sixers center played the game out but limped throughout yet nailed a three-pointer to make it 105-102, before Timberwolves top scorer Anthony Edwards steadied it with his second triple of the game.
Embiid finished with 32 points, including making 18-of-20 from the free-throw line, with nine rebounds, six assists and three steals for the Sixers, who were without James Harden and Tyrese Maxey due to foot injuries.
Shake Milton added 27 points, while De'Anthony Melton made five three-pointers in his 19-point haul. Melton's three with 29.1 seconds remaining moved the 76ers within one point, before he missed a lay-up and Edwards iced the game from the stripe. The Sixers had trailed by 20 points but rallied with a 25-15 fourth quarter.
For the winners, Edwards had 25 points with five rebounds and five assists, while point guard D'Angelo Russell scored 19 points with seven assists.
French center Rudy Gobert scored eight points with 13 rebounds and Karl-Anthony Towns added 12 points with eight rebounds.
The result leaves both sides with 8-8 records, with the Timberwolves having won three straight. Embiid's 32 points means he is averaging 41.25 across his past four games.
Trae shines as Hawks win with OT buzzer-beater
Trae Young fed A.J. Griffin under the basket for a buzzer-beating two-pointer in overtime as the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Toronto Raptors 124-122.
Young took an inbound pass with 3.8 seconds remaining in overtime with scores tied, racing clear as Griffin - who is the son of Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin - got behind the defense, allowing the Hawks guard to find him wide open for a routine lay-up in the nick of time.
Atlanta hauled in a seven-point deficit with 2:36 to go in the fourth quarter, led by Young, who finished with 33 points on 12-of-21 shooting with 12 assists. Scottie Barnes had a season-high 28 points for injury-hit Toronto, who only dressed nine players.
George hurt as Clippers blow out Spurs
Paul George hit three first-half three-pointers before being ruled out with knee soreness at half-time while Kawhi Leonard's impact was limited again but the Los Angeles Clippers blew out the San Antonio Spurs 119-97.
George played 15 first-half minutes, scoring 21 minutes on five-of-eight three-point shooting, while Leonard played 22 minutes for 11 points with four assists in his second game back after stiffness in his surgically repaired knee.
Norman Powell came off the bench to score a game-high 26 points, with five-of-seven three-point shooting, as the Clippers improved to 9-7. The Clippers hit 13 first-half triples and finished with 21 for the game on 53.8 per cent three-point shooting.
All-Star Paul George was ruled out with right knee soreness at half-time in the Los Angeles Clippers' game against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
George had scored 21 points, including making five-of-eight from beyond the arc, before being ruled out at half-time, with the Clippers up 64-48.
The knee concern comes in two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard's second game back in the line-up after missing 12 games due to stiffness in his surgically repaired knee.
The Clippers reached the Western Conference Semifinals in the 2020-21 season but missed the 2021-22 playoffs after struggling with injuries, including Leonard being out for the whole campaign with an ACL injury.
Seven-time All-Star George entered Saturday averaging 23.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists.
Joel Embiid was more concerned about Philadelphia 76ers teammate Tyrese Maxey's foot injury than his own rolled ankle which saw him hobble through Saturday's 112-109 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Embiid hurt his ankle when he tripped over teammate Georges Niang with 5:53 remaining in the fourth quarter, staying grounded as he was attended to by a trainer before hobbling to the bench at Wells Fargo Center.
The Sixers center returned to the court and hit a crucial three-pointer but ran with a limp throughout, while he also hobbled at his post-game press conference.
"Hopefully, somehow it feels better, but we'll see," Embiid told reporters.
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers also did not seem overly concerned by the ankle problem lingering long term.
"I think it's a turned ankle," Rivers said. "He went back in and played, so I think he's good. Anybody who goes to the floor, I always worry."
Embiid expressed more concern for Maxey, who was hurt in Friday's 110-102 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, with an MRI scan on Saturday confirming a fractured foot which will sideline him for three to four weeks.
"It really hit me when I heard the news about him missing some time, too," said Embiid, who scored 32 points with nine rebounds and six assists against the Timberwolves.
"That's why even starting the game, I really wasn’t in the game to start the game, but that's why I was trying to really play make and try to get everybody involved and all of that."
Maxey's injury comes with the Sixers already missing James Harden (foot) and Tobias Harris (hip).
"I just felt bad for him because he puts in so much work and, he takes care of himself," he said. "Obviously, missing James to the same thing and Tobias being hurt. It does suck, but it’s next man up."
Suspended Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving verbally apologized for his recent social media post for the first time on Saturday, saying he is "deeply" sorry to the Jewish community as a return to NBA ranks looms.
The Nets listed Irving, who has been out for eight games due to a team-imposed suspension for sharing a book and film with antisemitic tropes on social media, as "questionable" for Sunday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Irving said he has been on a "learning journey" as part of his suspension and reintegration into the Nets team.
The seven-time All-Star had previously apologized on social media after the suspension was imposed on him for the "harmful impact of his conduct". Prior to that, Irving had failed to apologize for sharing the post nor unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs on numerous occasions in the immediate days after that.
"I just want to apologize deeply for all my actions throughout the time that it's been since the post was first put up," Irving told SNY. "I've had a lot of time to think. But my focus, initially, if I could do it over, would be to heal and repair a lot of my close relationships with my Jewish relatives, brothers and sisters.
"I really want to focus on the hurt that I caused or the impact that I made within the Jewish community. Putting some type of threat, or assumed threat, on the Jewish community."
The fall-out for Irving has been significant. Not only was he suspended by his team, Nike announced they had severed relations with him after a decade-long relationship and were dropping his latest signature shoe, the Kyrie 8, from its catalogue.
Irving has met with several representatives from key communities, working with the Nets, the NBA and the NBPA to move towards remediation and a resolution. His meetings included with NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who is Jewish.
"It was a learning journey to be honest with you," Irving said. "It was a lot of hurt that needed to be healed, a lot of conversations that needed to be had and a lot of reflection.
"I got a chance to do that with some great people from the Jewish community. From the Black community, from the white community - I've had so many conversations with all of our races and cultures and religious groups of people.
"Just try to find a better perspective on how we live a more harmonious life. I'm a man who stands for peace. I don't condone any hate speech or any prejudice and I don't want to be in a position where I'm being misunderstood on where I stand in terms of antisemitism or any hate for that matter for anybody in this world."
Irving called his initial reaction as self-defense when he failed to unequivocally declare he was not antisemitic during a press conference, when offered numerous opportunities, leading to the team-imposed ban, which had been indefinite without pay but for a minimum of five games.
"I felt like I was protecting my character and I reacted out of just pure defense and just hurt that I could be labeled, or I thought that I was being labeled as antisemitic or anti-Jewish, and I've felt like that was just so disrespectful to ask me whether or not I was antisemitic or not," Irving said.
"Now to the outside world, that may have been seen as a simple 'yes' or 'no'. Which rightfully so, it should've been, 'No, I'm not antisemitic. No, I'm not anti-Jewish.' I'm a person who believes we should all have equal opportunities and that we should all shower each other with love, and that should be at the forefront.
"But it wasn’t in that initial conversation, and I take my accountability and I want to apologize for that, because it came off the wrong way completely."
All-Star point guard Ja Morant is "week -to-week" after the Memphis Grizzlies confirmed he had sustained a Grade 1 left ankle sprain.
Morant had to be helped off the court in Friday's 121-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder after getting tangled with Lu Dort in the fourth quarter.
The 23-year-old is averaging 28.6 points and 7.1 assists per game this season for the Grizzlies, who are already without Desmond Bane, who will be re-evaluated in two to three weeks due to a Grade 2 sprain of his right big toe.
"After further evaluation, it was determined that Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant suffered a Grade 1 sprain of his left ankle during the November 18 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder," the franchise announced on Saturday.
"Morant's return to play timeline will be week-to-week, and updates will be provided as appropriate."
The Grizzlies are scheduled to face the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, with Kyrie Irving potentially returning for the home side at Barclays Center.
Memphis are also due to play the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday and the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.
Meanwhile, ESPN have reported that Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey will miss three to four weeks with a small fracture in his foot revealed by an MRI from Friday's 110-102 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Patrick Rodgers and Ben Martin produced excellent third rounds to share the lead heading to the final day of the RSM Classic at St Simons Island in Georgia.
Rodgers and Martin carded rounds of 64 and 65 respectively as the tournament moved entirely to the par-70 Seaside Course, having been split between that and the par-72 Plantation Course on the opening two days.
After a bogey on the second hole on Saturday, Rodgers made seven birdies, including four in a row from the 13th to the 16th holes to move 14 places up a busy leaderboard from his starting position.
Rodgers, 30, has yet to claim a PGA Tour-level title and lost in a play-off on the second hole in the 2018 RSM Classic to Charles Howell III.
Martin, whose last and only PGA Tour title was in 2014, would have had the solo lead but bogeyed the par-four 18th hole, blemishing his six-birdie round which was bogey-free until that point.
The American pair of Rodgers and Martin reached 14 under overall, to lead by one from three players including Canadian Adam Svensson, who began at the 10th and enjoyed the round of the day, carding an eight-under 62 with six birdies on his back nine and an eagle on the par-five 15th hole.
Andrew Putnam, who had been in a three-way joint lead at the halfway mark, also stood at 13 under with Svensson and Sahith Theegala.
Seven players were a further stroke back at 12 under, including Brian Harman, Taylor Montgomery and Harry Higgs, the latter who had been alongside Putnam in the lead after two days and rallied during his third round after three bogeys in his opening five holes.
The other halfway leader, Cole Hammer, dropped down the leaderboard to a tie for 17th after a two-over 72 that included bogeys on the third and fourth holes, along with a double bogey on the fifth.
A late penalty from Ross Byrne gave Ireland a 13-10 victory against Australia, as their 12th home win in a row came despite the absence of captain Johnny Sexton.
The fly-half was removed from the starting line-up just minutes before kick-off due to injury, but the hosts emerged triumphant from a low-scoring affair.
An early Nic White try for Australia was disallowed by the TMO for a neck roll, with a Jack Crowley penalty sending Ireland into the break with a 3-0 advantage after Bernard Foley was guilty of missing a kick of his own.
The second half began in similar low-scoring fashion, Jamison Gibson-Park seeing an Irish try disallowed as Mack Hansen's foot was in touch before his pass, with Foley then levelling the scores with a penalty.
A first try finally came in the 67th minute, with Bundee Aki going over on his return from an eight-game suspension, but the visitors responded five minutes later through Jordan Petaia.
Three minutes from the end, Byrne kept his nerve from 45 metres to split the posts and seal the win for the hosts.
Casper Ruud swept through to a showdown with Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals, making light work of Andrey Rublev to reach the trophy match.
The 23-year-old Norwegian has enjoyed a stunning season, reaching two grand slam finals, and his 6-2 6-4 semi-final dismissal of Russian Rublev was impressively authoritative.
After Ruud coasted through the opening set, the occasion fell wholly flat when Ruud broke serve in the first game of the second, and did so again in the third game.
Rublev sat shaking his head at his chair in the break between games, also shrugging his shoulders towards his support team and looking lost for ideas.
He only began to make an impact after slipping 4-0 behind, and at 5-2 he broke Ruud's serve to narrow the gap and give the Turin crowd hope the contest could take off.
At 5-4, it was briefly tense, but Ruud served for the match for a second time and this time made it count, sealing victory with a brilliant backhand winner to become the first Scandinavian finalist at the ATP Finals since Stefan Edberg in 1990.
Ruud will overtake Rafael Nadal and end the year at number two in the ATP rankings should he carry off the title on Sunday; however, he has a 0-3 career record against Djokovic. Djokovic earlier battled past Taylor Fritz by winning a pair of tight tie-breaks to earn a straight-sets victory in the first of Saturday's semi-finals.
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Ruud – 10/0
Rublev – 9/0
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Ruud – 20/0
Rublev – 19/1
BREAK POINTS WON
Ruud – 4/4
Rublev – 1/1
Lewis Hamilton is looking forward to a final race in the Mercedes W13 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, admitting it is a car he never wants to drive again.
Having fought Max Verstappen all the way for the title last year, only losing in controversial circumstances in the final moments of the season at the Yas Marina Circuit, Hamilton has not been a threat in 2022 as the Red Bull star waltzed to a second consecutive championship.
Instead, Hamilton was battling with 'porpoising' issues early in the campaign and, after some respite from the issue following the mid-season break, he saw those problems emerge again in Saturday's qualifying session.
Mercedes' campaign has been a frustrating one for Hamilton, and he is eager to bring his spell at the wheel of this particular car to a close.
"We definitely weren't expecting to see such a big gap, but we are losing 0.6secs on the straight," Hamilton told the BBC.
"Kind of reminiscent of some of the previous races before, like Austin. And bouncing is back, so that's not been easy.
"I am looking forward to the end of Tuesday, which is the last time I have to drive this thing. I don't ever plan to drive this one again. It won't be one of the ones I request to have in my contract.
"We have some downforce. We just need a much more efficient car and everybody in the team knows exactly what are the problems and where we have gone wrong, so I'm pretty confident they are not going to build the next car with any of those characteristics."
A disappointing showing in qualifying leaves Hamilton fifth on the grid for Sunday's race, ahead of team-mate George Russell. It makes the experienced Briton highly likely to finish the 2022 season without a race win – which would be the first time in his career he has gone without.
Team principal Toto Wolff has insisted the lack of a win is not something that has been in the mind of Hamilton.
"He says that the one victory a year isn't really a record that bothers him," Wolff said. "If I'm trying to put myself in his shoes, where I was before Brazil, it didn't particularly bother me whether we would win a race this season, because all our eyes are already on next year.
"But having won one, it felt pretty good. At least nobody could say you didn't win a race."
Russell got that win last week, with Hamilton taking second place.
Looking at setting up seven-time champion Hamilton for a title tilt in 2023, and banishing this season's winless run, Wolff said: "I don't think this particular record is an important one for him, but we need to provide him with a car next year in which he can fight for victories and championships. That's most important and he knows that."
Hamilton heads into next season, his last contracted campaign with Mercedes, level with Michael Schumacher for the most career world titles in Formula One.
Sunday's Abu Dhabi race sees the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez on the front row, followed by the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, with the Mercedes cars occupying row three.
Daniel Ricciardo has explained his decision not to pursue a race seat in Formula One for 2023, as he closes in on a non-racing role with Red Bull.
The Australian is poised to rejoin the team he left in 2018 in a position that may include reserve, promotional and simulator duties, with Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix being his last with McLaren.
Although not confirmed, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has stated that Ricciardo will be joining the team, with Christian Horner welcoming the potential return of the driver on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
A non-racing role with Red Bull does not necessarily mean Ricciardo's time on the F1 grid is over, though he feels it was the right move in order to take a break from competition.
"I knew that I wanted some time off next year from a race seat and just from competition," he told Motorsport.com.
"It's obviously been pretty tiring the last couple of years with the struggles, so it was pretty clear to me shortly after the summer break that that was what I wanted, and what was going to be best for me.
"So then it was: 'Okay. What's the next best thing?' And the more I thought about it, to obviously be involved to some degree with a top team, that was obviously the preference.
"But it's not done. So that's why I haven't come out and confirmed it, because that's still the truth: it's not done. But I can obviously look you in the eye now and say it's the most likely option at this stage."
Ricciardo also feels this is the right move to assess where he wants to go long-term, giving him the ability to decide without affecting his week-to-week performances on the grid.
"Honestly, I think that's also in a way the beauty with this," he said. "It'll either fuel the fire and make me hungry and more motivated than ever, or it will actually be like 'oh, this is the right thing for you', and in that case then I must be really happy.
"Because as much as you go through highs and lows of racing, I'm still very happy with life, and am privileged to live a good one. So if next year I'm not interested in coming back, then I must be doing some really cool s***."
England scored three tries in the final eight minutes to fight back from 18 points down and earn a barely believable 25-25 draw against New Zealand on Saturday.
The All Blacks led by 14 points inside 10 minutes and extended that lead further in the second half, yet somehow they missed out on a seventh successive victory.
Beauden Barrett was yellow carded in the 71st minute and that proved a huge moment as replacement Will Stuart crossed over twice either side of Freddie Steward in a remarkable finale.
After England fans attempted to drown out the Haka, Dalton Papali'i got New Zealand off to a flyer as he intercepted Jack van Poortvliet's pass and ran in unchallenged.
Codie Taylor added a quickfire second try when bundling over from a lineout towards the corner, with Jordie Barrett successfully converting for a second time.
Owen Farrell, making his 100th appearance for England, and Marcus Smith registered a penalty apiece for England either side of three more points from the boot of Barrett.
But Caleb Clarke popped the ball to Ioane after a cross-kick caught England cold, and he ran three-quarters the length of the pitch to round off an impressive New Zealand move.
A drop goal from Beauden Barrett put New Zealand 19 ahead, only to then get sin-binned for failing to release Marcus Smith.
Stuart drove over the line in the immediate aftermath and Steward did likewise two minutes later after being fed by Ben Youngs.
England looked like falling just short of a memorable comeback, but Stewart had other ideas as he powered over in the final seconds, allowing Smith to convert and level up.
James Tedesco pinpointed the "special bond" within the Australia squad as the driving factor for Saturday's Rugby League World Cup triumph.
Australia captain Tedesco crossed over for two tries, as did Latrell Mitchell, in a 30-10 victory over Samoa as the Kangaroos cruised to a 12th world crown at Old Trafford.
The Australians have won their last 19 matches on English soil in the competition, in which they have reached every final since 1957, and Tedesco lauded the unity between his side after victory.
"It is pretty unbelievable. This group of blokes came over here six or seven weeks ago and we've got such a special bond," he told BBC Sport.
"COVID-19 has killed us for three years, not being able to play for our country, but we came here early and got along straight away.
"We created that connection from the start and wanted to work hard for each other."
Samoa missed the chance for a second-half fightback after Angus Crichton was fortunate to only be sin-binned for a high tackle on Chanel Harris-Tavita.
Cameron Murray extended the lead despite the one-man disadvantage as late tries for Brian To'o and Stephen Crichton proved a mere consolation for Samoa, who were playing in their first World Cup final.
Australia head coach Mal Meninga says he never had any doubts his side would hold off Samoa's advances to secure more silverware.
"It's fantastic. It's one of those games and you sit up there," Meninga said. The first half was expectational, we did what we needed to do.
"In the second half we scrambled well, a man down but we still scored points. It's what you do, you work for each other. I wasn't nervous, I'm confident in this footy team.
"Defensively, we only had 12 against a Samoa side who threw everything, I was still comfortable."
Meninga hailed the "exceptional" Tedesco as a "worthy man of the match" before praising the togetherness of his World Cup-winning side.
"They're committed to each other. There is respect and humility for our jersey, for the opposition," he added.
"We brought our best game tonight. We've had a long year but have been rewarded for effort tonight. What a way to finish our 2022 season."
Australia captain James Tedesco scored two tries as the Kangaroos cruised to their 12th Rugby League World Cup crown with a 30-10 victory over Samoa on Saturday.
The Australians had little difficulty in sweeping aside their opponents, who were playing in their first final after beating hosts England to reach the trophy match.
Latrell Mitchell crashed over after 14 minutes before Tedesco and Liam Martin – the latter after a video review – added tries in a prosperous first half for Australia at Old Trafford.
Nathan Cleary only added the extras to one of those first-half tries, though, before Angus Crichton was fortunate to only be sin-binned for a high tackle on Chanel Harris-Tavita after the interval.
Cleary found Cameron Murray to extend 12-man Australia's lead before a delicate Josh Addo-Carr kick teed up Crichton, though the video referee ruled out the try after the latter failed to ground the ball.
Brian To'o finally responded for Samoa with 20 minutes remaining, but any hopes of a fightback were stifled when Tedesco broke through for his second score.
Stephen Crichton managed a late consolation before Mitchell bundled over for his second try, as Australia eased to a 19th straight World Cup match win on English soil to secure more silverware.
The Washington Commanders are placing running back JD McKissic on injured reserve due to a neck injury that rules him out for the remainder of the season.
In his third year in Washington, McKissic has seen his season draw to a premature close due to a neck problem for the second campaign in a row, NFL Network reported.
While not starting a match this season, McKissic has appeared eight times and secured 268 scrimmage yards – 95 on the ground and 173 from receiving.
The former Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions man has missed the last three weeks due to the injury, including the surprise win against the previously unbeaten Philadelphia Eagles in Week 10.
Another win is expected for the currently 5-5 Commanders this week against the 1-7-1 Houston Texans.
The Commanders currently sit outside of the playoff places but remain in the hunt as they look to feature in the postseason for only the second time since 2016.
Novak Djokovic sealed his place in the final of the ATP Finals after edging past Taylor Fritz 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (8-6) in Turin on Saturday.
The Serbian, who is bidding to equal Roger Federer's record of six ATP Finals titles, overcame Daniil Medvedev in a bruising three-hour contest on Friday, and he was again made to work hard for victory against spirited American Fritz.
Djokovic struck first in the opening set with a break to love in the fifth game, yet Fritz responded immediately to level at 3-3.
A tie-break was needed to separate them after that, with Djokovic's superb forehand winner sealing the first set in style.
Fritz broke Djokovic in the opening game of the second set, but a simple missed backhand from the American helped his opponent break back to make it 5-5.
That set the stage for a high-quality tie-break, which Djokovic ultimately won to claim victory in one hour and 54 minutes.
"I had to fight to survive," Djokovic said on court afterwards. "I didn't feel very reactive today or very comfortable.
"I knew coming into today's match from yesterday's gruelling battle against Medvedev it would take me some time to adjust and find the dynamic movement I need against Fritz, who is one of the best servers on the tour.
"I am very pleased to have overcome this one as I don't think it was one of my best days with my tennis, but I managed to hang in there."
Should Djokovic beat Casper Ruud or Andrey Rublev in Sunday's final, he will claim the largest payday in tennis history, with $4,740,300 up for grabs for sealing the trophy undefeated.
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Djokovic – 4/1
Medvedev – 15/1
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Djokovic – 21/19
Medvedev – 31/26
BREAK POINTS WON
Djokovic – 2/2
Medvedev – 2/2
Max Verstappen was thrilled to join team-mate Sergio Perez in locking out the front row at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for Red Bull, following a week of controversy.
Championship winner Verstappen attracted criticism in Sao Paulo last week after refusing a team order to let Perez pass on the final lap.
Lack of teamwork was not an issue in Saturday's Abu Dhabi qualifying, however, with Verstappen helping Perez to second place, while securing for himself a third consecutive Yas Marina circuit pole position.
"It was a bit up and down qualifying, started off quite well, Q2 was a little bit more messy, I don't know why. I couldn't quite get the grip together," Verstappen said.
"In Q3 it all felt a bit more normal, though we had a bit of a scare as the car turned off before the first run, so we had to reboot everything.
"We're very pleased and very happy that both cars are on the front row. Of course, we want to win the race, but we also want to finish second with Perez in the championship, so that's a great start for tomorrow.
"It always sounds great, today was amazing, I still expect it to be a good battle tomorrow but at least we have two cars there, so we can do what we want."
Perez specifically mentioned the teamwork conducted with Verstappen, who finished 0.228 seconds in front of the Mexican.
"I didn't make the final step in Q3, especially in the first run, so we were a bit behind, but it's good to lock out the front row tomorrow. Max did a great job for me, we worked as a team really strongly in that final run," Perez said.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was third quickest, clocking in just 0.04 seconds behind Perez, and team-mate Carlos Sainz took fourth on the grid.
"It's the place we deserve, Red Bull were stronger," said Leclerc. "We are still in quite a good position, it's going to be close to Perez for sure.
"I'm sure we can work with Carlos, I have no doubt in that, we'll try to maximise the team result. Red Bull is a bit stronger on a Sunday, so it's going to be tricky, but hopefully we can do it and get second place in the championships."
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto remains "pretty relaxed" after discussing his future with chairman John Elkann amid claims the Italian could be sacked.
Reports in Italy this week suggested Ferrari were moving to appoint Alfa Romeo's Frederic Vasseur to replace Binotto, who has been in the Formula One role for four seasons.
In that period, Ferrari have struggled to compete with dominant Mercedes and Red Bull teams, though Binotto's team could finish second in the constructors' championship this year.
Ferrari sit 19 points clear of third-placed Mercedes heading into Sunday's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with Binotto far from fearing for his future with the Italian constructors.
"Obviously it's not down to me to decide, but I'm pretty relaxed," Binotto told reporters on Saturday after Ferrari talked down exit reports earlier in the week.
"The reason why I'm relaxed is that I always [have] open, frank and constructive discussions with my bosses, with my chairman, not only in the short term but the medium and the long term.
"When these speculations were out, I had a chat with my chairman John Elkann.
"We discussed openly what was the best way to move forward, and we decided to release a statement was maybe the best way to close any speculation and clearly show that speculation is totally with no foundation."
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have helped a resurgence this season for Ferrari, who went winless in 2020 and 2021 but have won four races in 2022.
Monegasque driver Leclerc appeared an early contender for the title before Max Verstappen and Red Bull ran away with the drivers' and constructors' championships.
Despite erroneous pit decisions, reliability issues with the car designs and mistakes from their drivers, Binotto offered a positive outlook on Ferrari's performance but said there was room to improve.
"Yes, there are still a lot of things that we need to progress, weaknesses have been shown," he said.
"But I'm pretty sure that as we did in the past, we will review, we will try to address them."
Three weeks ago, the New York Jets looked to have their best shot to beat the New England Patriots for a long, long time.
The end result of their home game with their hated AFC East rivals: a 22-17 win for the Patriots that would have been more emphatic if not for a Zach Wilson touchdown pass with under two minutes remaining.
It was a defeat that marked the Jets' 13th successive loss to the Patriots, who have won every game in this matchup since the beginning of the 2016 season.
The Patriots' run of dominance over the Jets has them tied for the longest active win streak against a single opponent for any team (Kansas City Chiefs over Denver Broncos).
However, after recovering to beat the Buffalo Bills the week after and then seeing the Bills lose at home to the Minnesota Vikings, the Jets are second in the AFC East at 6-3, just one game in the win column behind the Miami Dolphins.
With the Dolphins on bye, a win for the Jets on the road against the Patriots this week will move them to the top of the AFC East at 7-3. Lose, and the Jets may find themselves bottom of the pile at 6-4.
Their ability to finally overcome the Patriots could define how far the Jets go in an unexpectedly successful 2022 campaign to this point.
But can they finally get over their arch nemesis?
History clearly says no. The Jets have not beaten New England in Foxborough since a 34-31 overtime win in the 2008 season.
On that day, Brett Favre was the quarterback for New York while Matt Cassel was under center for the Patriots in place of an injured Tom Brady.
The Jets' hopes of ending their wait for a road win over the Patriots may hinge on current signal-caller Wilson avoiding Favre-esque gunslinging tendencies.
Back in Week 8, the Jets outgained the Patriots by nearly 100 yards, averaging 6.7 yards per play to New England's 3.8.
However, they were hamstrung by a tragicomedic three-interception showing from Wilson, who displayed a baffling aversion to throwing the ball away when there were no receiving options open.
For the season, Wilson has thrown 10 turnover-worthy passes, accounting for 6.67 per cent of his throws, the fourth-highest ratio among quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts.
Against the Bills, however, he did not throw a single interceptable pass, Wilson responding to his coaches' message of accepting a throwaway as a positive play.
In that 20-17 win over Buffalo, the Jets emerged victorious by relying on the formula they will likely need against New England, one which involves their quarterback staying largely within the structure of the offense and making sensible throws to a group of playmakers that have the talent to do damage, even in a matchup with an impressive Patriot defense.
That formula is reliant on the Jets' defense putting Wilson and the offense in advantageous positions. It did just that in Week 9 and the numbers suggest they should do so again in a matchup with Patriots signal-caller Mac Jones.
Jones' pickable pass rate of 7.41 per cent is the worst in the NFL (min. 100 pass attempts) and he struggles significantly when pressured, delivering an accurate ball just 71.4 per cent of the time under duress (the average for quarterbacks with at least 25 such attempts is 73.1%) and throwing a turnover-worthy pass on five of his 49 attempts under pressure this year.
The Jets' defense ranks second in the NFL by pressure rate (44.1 per cent) and, though the Patriots possess one of the better pass-blocking lines in the league, New York will surely look to lean on their fearsome defensive front to wreck New England's gameplan and significantly ease the burden on Wilson by creating turnovers that tilt the field in their favour.
New England's defense ranks third in defensive pressure rate and the Patriots will surely employ a similar approach in the hope of inducing another meltdown from Wilson, who has spent much of the season playing behind a banged-up offensive line.
But if Wilson is careful and decisive with the football, the Jets, as they showed in a home game with the Patriots that could have been markedly different if not for his turnovers, have the talent edge on both sides of the ball to dominate the Patriots statistically and on the scoreboard.
The Jets drafted Wilson in part because of the incredible improvisational skills he displayed in college at BYU. Those have not translated effectively to the NFL, however, and their hopes of finally ending a tortuous wait for a win over the Patriots may depend on Wilson's success in curbing his creative tendencies.
Zach LaVine conceded he had a poor night against the Orlando Magic but questioned the decision to leave him off the court in the closing stages as the Chicago Bulls lost 108-107 on Friday.
DeMar DeRozan top scored with 41 as the Bulls fought back in the second half after trailing by 14 at half-time, but the hosts ended up throwing away a four-point advantage with 20 seconds left.
Two-time All-Star LaVine had a night to forget, scoring four points from over 25 minutes on the court as he made just one from 14 field goal attempts, leading to him being left out in the last few minutes by coach Billy Donovan.
"I got to do a better job at the beginning of the game to make my shots, but you play a guy like me down the stretch," LaVine after the game. "That's what I do.
"Do I like the decision? No. Do I have to live with it? Yeah. Be ready to put my shoes on and play the next game.
"Just ask [Donovan] what his decision was, what made him think that way.
"Obviously, he wanted to go with some other guys out there, I wasn't having the best night shooting, but it's a tough one."
Donovan also cut a frustrated figure after the home defeat, and insisted it was a specific call for the situation in-game.
"I feel like my job, my responsibility in those moments is to try to make the best decisions for the team," Donovan said. "And I thought that was the best decision at the time.
"To me, I don't look at it as anything else but the one-off game where this is what was going on. I know he wanted to be out there.
"There's probably not very many games in his career where [LaVine] hasn't been out there in those moments, but that group was playing well and it gave us a chance."
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
