Anthony Davis says he will give LeBron James the space he needs to make the right decision on his NBA future.
The Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in a 4-1 series defeat to the Denver Nuggets, who won Game 5 108-106 on Monday.
James led the Lakers with 30 points and 11 assists and hit a pair of free throws to tie the game in the final 30 seconds.
But with 3.6 seconds remaining, Jamal Murray, who was playing through a calf strain, hit a pull-up 14-footer to condemn the Lakers to an early exit.
After the game, James said that “he does not have an answer” on his NBA future after 21 years in the league.
However, Davis is confident that James will take his time over the decision, make the correct call for himself and tell everyone else when the time is right.
“I mean, he has been in this position numerous times in his career, where he had to make a decision ultimately for himself and his family. I'll be right there supporting whatever he decides to do,” Davis told ESPN.
“It's still fresh. I mean, I'm pretty sure it's not even on his mind right now.
"But I'm pretty sure he'll come talk to me, tell me what's going on before he becomes public with the situation, just to keep me in the loop.
“Obviously, it's been a great five seasons with him. If he does decide to come back, obviously this isn't what we want to be left at, losing in the first round.
"If he does, obviously our goal is to come back and be a championship contender, stay healthy and give Laker Nation what they deserve."
The Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference finals last year, with their late-game execution proving to be the difference once again in this series.
Murray, who also hit a buzzer-beater to win Game 2, was advised to sit the game out by management due to his calf injury but proved decisive as he scored 12 of his 32 points in a fourth quarter in which the teams repeatedly traded leads.
Asked if he had debated sitting the game out, Murray said: "I came in a little earlier to see if I was going to be able to go, and I felt like I could.
"They [management] just didn't want me to risk it. They told me no.
"And I didn't say no. I didn't want to leave my teammates out there. We've been battling all season.
"Everybody's hurt at some point, everybody's going through something, and I just wouldn't be able to live with myself if I wasn't able to play this game.
"I'm just glad they listened to me - and listened to me listening to my body - and just trusting me with it."
Nikola Jokic finished with 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists, while Michael Porter Jr. concluded his impressive series with a 26-point performance for Denver.
Davis had 17 points and 15 rebounds for Los Angeles but was not involved much in the offence late while playing through a shoulder injury.
The Nuggets will continue their championship defence with a second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who advanced on Sunday by completing a sweep of the Phoenix Suns.
Denver eliminated Minnesota in the first round of last year’s playoffs with a five-game series win.
LeBron James says he "does not have an answer" on his NBA future after the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in their first-round playoff series.
The Nuggets emerged triumphant with a 4-1 series win after beating the Lakers 108-106 in an entertaining Game 5 on Monday.
Despite playing through a calf strain, Jamal Murray hit a pull-up 14-footer with 3.6 seconds remaining of a game which saw the two teams repeatedly trade leads.
LeBron hit a pair of free throws to tie the game with 26 seconds left to give the Lakers hope, but Murray drove to his left and pulled up for the go-ahead jumper over Austin Reaves.
After the painful narrow loss, LeBron was asked how he would approach any decision about Year 22 in the NBA.
"I do not have an answer to be honest, I have not given it much thought," he said, per ESPN.
"We will cross that when we need to. [I will evaluate] what's best for my career."
Asked if the Nuggets game was likely to be his last in a Lakers jersey, the 39-year-old replied: "I'm not going to answer that."
This was the earliest playoff exit in James' 17 postseason trips. The only other time he was eliminated in the first round was 2021, in a six-game loss to the Phoenix Suns.
"Tip your hat to them," James said about Denver. "Defending champions, they are a great team. Super-well coached and made the plays down the stretch to win the series.
"You give credit where credit is due, that is for sure."
Much like last year, when the Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference finals, Denver’s late-game execution proved to be the difference.
Nikola Jokic finished with 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists, while Michael Porter Jr. concluded his impressive series with a 26-point performance.
James led the Lakers with 30 points and 11 assists. Anthony Davis had 17 points and 15 rebounds but was not involved much in the offence late while playing through a shoulder injury.
LeBron has the option to enter the final year of his contract with the Lakers or he could become a free agent.
Also facing an uncertain future after the first-round exit is head coach Darvin Ham, who has been with the team for two years.
Ham, who is now on the hot seat, hopes the defeat will make him a better coach in the long run.
"My mind's all over the place right now," he said. "It's been a hell of a two years, though, I'll tell you that. Sitting in this seat, it's been a hell of a two years.
"A lot of good things that got done, but ultimately, you want to win that ultimate prize. I know what that feels like. I had that feeling a couple of times.
"So, you want to do everything in your power to prevent and not continue to feel this feeling we're feeling now, the feeling of defeat. So again, control what I can control, continue to grow and hopefully be a better coach for it.
"I couldn’t be more proud of our crew despite everything that happened.
"Obviously, the series didn’t go in our favor, it didn’t start the way we wanted it to, but to win that one at home, fight tooth and nail to get this one, our guys showed a lot of guts and a lot of character."
Christopher Morel hit a go-ahead home run off Edwin Diaz with two outs in the ninth inning, and the Chicago Cubs rallied to a 3-1 win over the New York Mets on Monday.
Morel’s heroics came an inning after Michael Busch scored the tying run on a fielder’s choice.
Mets starter Luis Severino carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning, when Dansby Swanson singled to left center with no outs.
Making his sixth start for the Mets, Severino threw eight innings and allowed one run with five strikeouts.
Jameson Taillon was nearly as good for the Cubs. After giving up a lead-off home run to Brandon Nimmo to open the game, Taillon allowed four hits in 7 1/3 innings.
Cubs closer Hector Neris walked two batters in the bottom of the ninth but finished the game with back-to-back strikeouts for his fourth save of the year.
Twins extend winning streak to 8 games
Max Kepler hit an RBI single in the ninth inning, lifting the Minnesota Twins to a 3-2 win over the White Sox as their winning streak reached eight games.
After the White Sox scored two runs in the first inning, Minnesota’s Carlos Santana tied the game with a home run in the second off of Chicago starter Garrett Crochet.
The teams played six scoreless innings before Byron Buxton scored from second on Kepler’s single off John Brebbia.
The White Sox got the tying run to third base in the bottom of the ninth, but Caleb Thielbar punched out Korey Lee to seal the Minnesota win.
After a rough start to the season, the Twins’ current win streak has them at 15-13, one game back of the surprising Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers.
Garver’s walk-off lifts M’s over Braves
Mitch Garver hit a two-run, walk-off home run in the ninth inning to lift the Seattle Mariners over the Atlanta Braves 2-1.
The Mariners had only four hits in a game dominated by excellent pitching, but two of those hits came in the ninth against A.J. Minter, including Garver’s game-winning blast.
The Braves carried a combined no-hitter into the eighth inning that was broken up by a Josh Rojas single. Atlanta starter Max Fried went six innings, walking two and striking out seven.
Seattle starter Bryce Miller pitched seven strong innings, allowing two hits and one run with 10 strikeouts.
Despite playing through a calf strain, Jamal Murray hit a pull-up 14-footer with 3.6 seconds remaining, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 108-106 on Monday for a 4-1 series win.
Murray, who also hit a buzzer-beater to win Game 2, was a game-time decision due to his calf injury but scored 12 of his 32 points in a fourth quarter in which the teams repeatedly traded leads.
LeBron James hit a pair of free throws to tie the game with 26 seconds left to give the Lakers hope, but Murray drove to his left with help from a high ball screen and pulled up for the go-ahead jumper over Austin Reaves.
Without any timeouts to advance the ball, the Lakers managed only a desperation heave from Taurean Prince at the buzzer which never had a chance.
Much like last year, when the Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference finals, Denver’s late-game execution proved to be the difference.
Nikola Jokić finished with 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists, while Michael Porter Jr. concluded his impressive series with a 26-point performance.
James led the Lakers with 30 points and 11 assists. Anthony Davis had 17 points and 15 rebounds but was not involved much in the offence late while playing through a shoulder injury.
The Nuggets will continue their championship defence with a second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who advanced Sunday by completing a sweep of the Phoenix Suns.
Denver eliminated Minnesota in the first round of last year’s playoffs with a five-game series win.
Thunder complete sweep of Pelicans
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams each scored 24 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 97-89 win over the New Orleans Pelicans and secure a four-game series sweep.
The youngest team ever to secure a conference’s No. 1 seed, the Thunder answered questions about play-off inexperience by easily securing their place in the second round, outscoring New Orleans by an average of 15.8 points per game.
Oklahoma City trailed 71-70 to start the fourth quarter but held the Pelicans to 18 points in the final frame.
Williams scored 11 of his points in the fourth quarter, including his own 8-0 run that put the Thunder up 93-82 with 3:08 remaining.
The Pelicans played the series without Zion Williamson due to a hamstring strain, with Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum failing to rise to the challenge.
Ingram shot under 35 percent from the field during the series and was 2 of 14 in Game 4. McCollum had 20 points on 9-for-16 shooting Monday but was just 7 of 29 from 3-point range in the series.
Celtics rout Heat for 3-1 series lead
Derrick White scored 38 points, and the Boston Celtics overcame an injury to Kristaps Porzingis to beat the Miami Heat 102-88 for a 3-1 series lead.
Porzingis exited with 2:27 remaining in the second quarter with right calf tightness and did not return. Al Horford started the second half in Porzingis’ place.
White, who is better known for his defensive contributions, went 8 of 15 from 3-point range en route to his 38 points, a career high for both the regular season and post-season.
Bam Adebayo led the way for the Heat with 25 points, 17 rebounds and five assists.
Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited (SVREL), operators of Caymanas Park, have called for a review of Rule 44 (iii) enforced by the Jamaica Racing Commission (JRC) following the cancellation of two races during the April 27 race meet at Caymanas Park.
In a press conference on Monday addressing the abandoned races, SVREL Executive Chairman Solomon Sharpe expressed frustration with the rule, highlighting its potential impact on the racing industry.
"This rule, unique to Jamaica, imposes a strict five-minute limit after the published post time for races at Caymanas Park," Sharpe stated. "It fails to account for various factors that can delay race starts and penalizes all stakeholders when races are abandoned, affecting punters, jockeys, grooms, trainers, owners, promoters, and the government."
Last year, Caymanas Park contributed over $260 million in combined taxes to the government's coffers. Sharpe urged the JRC to engage SVREL in discussions on Rule 44, emphasizing the need for constructive dialogue to address the rule's impact.
"We were not consulted during the initial discussions on this rule, and now, with two races abandoned in a single race day, our concerns have materialized," Sharpe explained. "SVREL is open to collaborating with the JRC to review and refine this amended rule."
Representatives from the Grooms Association, Jockeys Association, and the United Racehorse Trainers Association echoed SVREL's concerns and supported the call for a review of Rule 44.
Sharpe concluded by appealing to regulators, stakeholders, and the public to support the growth of the horseracing industry in Jamaica. "Horseracing has immense potential in Jamaica and can become a significant foreign exchange earner. Realizing this potential requires collaboration among all stakeholders."
SVREL has been operating Caymanas Park since March 2017 after the government divested the property. With investments exceeding J$4 billion in product enhancements and innovations like the Mouttet Mile, which boasts the largest purse in the English-speaking Caribbean, SVREL remains committed to advancing the horseracing experience in Jamaica.
Rugby League Jamaica concluded its U14 and U16 High School 13-a-side Championships on Friday, April 26, at Campion College. In U14 action, five-time defending champions Calabar High faced off against BB Coke High, whilst in U16, Calabar battled last year’s beaten finalist, Cedar Grove Academy, for top honours.
In the U14s, Calabar overcame a spirited BB Coke outfit 8-4, to grab their sixth consecutive hold on the trophy. Jahir Brown scored both tries for the winners, whilst Tyrell Scott got the consolidation try for BB Coke.
Cedar Grove then won their maiden U16 title with a clinical defensive display, holding off Calabar 14-2. Elvis Simms led the victors with eight points from two tries with support from Steven Constantine with a try while Nathan Brown kicked a goal for two points. Derone Plummer kicked a goal to give Calabar their only points.
Commenting on his team’s performance in both finals, Oshane Edie, head coach of Calabar said, “Our U14s are a new young group who just started playing, it’s a great result to get the win and bodes well for the future. Throughout the season Devontae Molar and Amore Anderson were good for us, their exceptional play along with their teammates gave us the victory. As for our U16s, they had a good season, but I think we were a bit overconfident in the finals and paid the price. Overall, the rugby league programme at Calabar remains strong and is looking good for the future.”
Cedar Grove’s winning coach Antonio Baker attributed victory to hard work stating, “Winning the U16 crown is a culmination of years of work that has finally paid off. We’ve been close on several occasions before, including past year, when we were beaten finalists, but this season our focus was spot on, and we are happy for the school.”
In other action on the day, Kingston College snatched 3rd place over Campion College 6-4. Armani Burnette with the try for the winners and Donnoy Harris kicking a goal. Meanwhile, Josah Bennett bagged Campion’s lone try.
In Girls action, BB Coke won the final 9-a-side tournament of the school year, Grove Academy 16-8 and 16-4 in a best of three clash.
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Madison Keys is through to the quarter-final of the Madrid Open for the first time in her career after rallying to a 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-4 win over Coco Gauff on Monday.
The 29-year-old trailed 5-2 in the first set and 4-2 in the third set but rallied in both to come from behind to beat the number three seed.
Despite winning the second set, Gauff struggled to find her rhythm, suffering from 13 double faults, including two in the final game.
Keys will face former Madrid Open champion Ons Jabeur for a spot in the semi-final after the number eight seed overcame Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.
Data debrief: Keys reaches new milestone
Having lost in the first round in seven of her nine previous trips to the Spanish capital, Keys has now bettered her previous best finish in Madrid - a third-round showing in 2016.
Keys hadn't won three matches in a row since reaching the US Open semifinals last year.
Madison Keys is through to the quarter-final of the Madrid Open for the first time in her career after rallying to a 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-4 win over Coco Gauff on Monday.
The 29-year-old trailed 5-2 in the first set and 4-2 in the third set but rallied in both to come from behind to beat the number three seed.
Despite winning the second set, Gauff struggled to find her rhythm, suffering from 13 double faults, including two in the final game.
Keys will face former Madrid Open champion Ons Jabeur for a spot in the semi-final after the number eight seed overcame Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.
Data debrief: Keys reaches new milestone
Having lost in the first round in seven of her nine previous trips to the Spanish capital, Keys has now bettered her previous best finish in Madrid - a third-round showing in 2016.
Keys hadn't won three matches in a row since reaching the US Open semifinals last year.
Travis Kelce has been instrumental to the Chiefs' success over the past few seasons and will remain in Kansas City for the next few seasons.
The four-time All-Pro tight end and the Chiefs have agreed to a two-year contract extension, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.
Terms of the extension were not disclosed, but Rapoport reported Monday that the deal will make him the NFL's highest-paid tight end.
Kelce is currently under contract through 2025, so the new deal will keep him in Kansas City through 2027 after his age-37 season.
The 34-year-old Kelce is Kansas City's all-time leader in receiving yards with 11,328 yards, while ranking second in receptions (907) and second in receiving touchdowns (74). He is just 10 catches away from passing Tony Gonzalez as the franchise's all-time leader in receptions and three TD catches away from surpassing Gonzalez's record in that category.
A third-round pick by the Chiefs in 2013, Kelce saw his NFL record streak for a tight end of consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards end at seven in 2023, when he finished with a team-high 984 yards. His 93 receptions were also the most on the Chiefs, and he had five touchdown grabs.
It may have been a down season by his standards, but he was still named to his ninth Pro Bowl team and once again produced in the play-offs.
In helping Kansas City defend its Super Bowl title and secure its third Lombardi Trophy in the last five seasons, Kelce caught 32 passes for 355 yards with three touchdowns in four play-off games. In the Chiefs' 25-22 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers in February's Super Bowl, Kelce had nine receptions for 93 yards,
In addition to being one of the most prolific tight ends in NFL history and a core member of the Chiefs' recent dynasty, Kelce has gained enormous popularity in the last year due to his relationship to pop icon Taylor Swift.
Rafael Nadal battled to victory over three hours on the court against Pedro Cachin at the Madrid Open on Monday to seal a 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 win to reach the last 16.
The former world number one looked back to his best as he cruised through the opening set but was pushed hard in the second by Cachin.
Nadal came from behind to level at 5-5, but Cachin eventually sealed the set on his third set point.
The Spaniard then rallied in the third set, cutting down on his errors to regain control and advance to the fourth round at a tour-level event for the first time since 2022.
Nadal is one step away from booking his place in a 10th consecutive quarter-final in Madrid and will face Jiri Lehecka on Tuesday in the next round after the 30th seed overcame Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro in two sets.
Daniil Medvedev overcame a stern test against Sebastian Korda at the Madrid Open on Monday, fighting back from the brink of defeat to seal a 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win and reach the last 16.
The world number four was staring at an early elimination when Korda took the opening set and put himself within two points of victory on two occasions, at both 5-4 and 6-5 up in the second.
However, Medvedev twice held firm on his own serve to force a tie-break, and the pair exchanged mini breaks before the 2021 US Open champion seized control to take it 7-4.
Medvedev's performance was error-strewn in parts, but he found more consistency in the third set, claiming the all-important break eight games in after repeatedly testing Korda's forehand.
Medvedev will now face Alexander Bublik for a place in the quarter-finals on Tuesday after the 17th seed overcame Ben Shelton in three sets.
Data Debrief: Medvedev overcomes awkward opponent
Medvedev has not always had things all his own way against Korda, who eliminated him from the Australian Open and the Shanghai Masters in 2023.
Prior to Monday's match, he was 23-2 versus American players since the start of 2021, with both losses coming against Korda. However, having also beaten Korda en route to the Indian Wells Open final last month, he seems to have put that hoodoo behind him.
Anthony Joshua expects to return to Wembley Stadium for his next fight in September, with either Zhilei Zhang or Deontay Wilder lined up as his opponent.
Joshua stopped Francis Ngannou in the second round in March, his fourth straight win since suffering back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022.
His last two fights have been held in Saudi Arabia, but as he inches closer to a shot at regaining the titles he lost to Usyk three years ago, he is eyeing a return to his native London.
"It'll be some date between September 20 and September 25. Whenever they tell me there's a date, you know I'll be ready 100 per cent," Joshua told TalkSport of his next fight.
"It's going be in London, Wembley Stadium, this is what I'm being told. If this is what they say, they usually stick to their word."
Pushed on possible opponents, he said the result of Zhang's upcoming bout with Wilder – who was scheduled to face Joshua in March only for those plans to be derailed by a shock defeat to Joseph Parker – will be decisive.
"On June 1 in Saudi Arabia, they've got Filip Hrgovic versus Daniel Dubois and Zhilei Zhang versus Deontay Wilder. Out of that pool, that's who I'll be fighting."
On Wilder, Joshua added: "If he looks good, that'll reignite that flame that he had. Boxing is all about perception, so I pray he does his thing and Zhang does his thing, and I'm ready."
There has also been plenty of talk about Joshua facing Tyson Fury in an all-British tussle in recent years. The WBC heavyweight champion faces Usyk in a huge unification bout next month, and with a two-way rematch clause present in their deal, they are likely to face off twice before the year is out.
When those obligations have been met, Joshua will be waiting, saying: "I know the fans want that big fight with Fury, but he's got his obligations with Usyk.
"They're working on it but I've just got to stay focused, stay disciplined, steamroller through opponents and get closer and closer to having a fight with Fury. Hopefully that'll be in London as well."
The Dallas Cowboys are bringing back two-time NFL rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott after the sides agreed to terms on a deal Monday.
Dallas selected Elliott with the fourth overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, and he won the NFL rushing title as a rookie (1,631 yards) and again in 2018 (1,434).
After a contract holdout prior to the 2019 campaign, Elliott landed a $90million, six-year extension and wound up rushing for 1,357 yards that season.
He only surpassed 1,000 yards on the ground once from 2020-22 before being released in March 2023 and signing a one-year contract with the New England Patriots.
Elliott ranks third in Dallas franchise history with 8,262 rushing yards behind all-time NFL rushing leader Emmitt Smith (17,162) and Tony Dorsett (12,036).
He is also third in team history with 68 rushing touchdowns behind Pro Football Hall of Famers Smith (153) and Dorsett (72).
Elliott, who will turn 29 years old in July, ran for 642 yards and three touchdowns in 17 games with New England last season.
Tony Pollard led Dallas in 2023 with 1,005 rushing yards before signing with the Tennessee Titans in March.
England international Billy Vunipola has confirmed he has been fined after an incident which saw him arrested in Mallorca on Sunday, with his club Saracens set to launch an internal investigation.
On Monday, widespread reports claimed Vunipola had been tasered by Spanish police in the early hours of Sunday morning, with an altercation taking place after he left a club in Palma.
Saracens later confirmed they were aware of an incident and said they would deal with it internally.
The number eight, who was born in Australia but has represented England 75 times, later released a statement of his own via his club, denying that any violence took place and confirming the police investigation was now closed.
"I can confirm I was involved in an unfortunate misunderstanding when I was leaving a club in Mallorca on Sunday, which got out of hand," that statement read.
"Contrary to media reports, there was no violence, no fight and I did not threaten anybody at any stage, with bottles or chairs or anything else.
"I was charged with resisting the law and, following an 'express trial', I have paid a fine of €240. The Spanish police investigation is now closed, and I am flying back to the UK today.
"I will obviously cooperate with the Saracens internal process and unreservedly apologise for any inconvenience to all involved."
Iga Swiatek continued her march towards back-to-back Madrid Open finals by crushing home favourite Sara Sorribes Tormo in straight sets in the last 16 on Monday.
The world number one – who lost to Aryna Sabalenka in last year's final – made a poor start as Sorribes Tormo surprisingly broke her serve in the opening game, but that only spurred her into action as she dominated from there.
Swiatek broke back immediately and reeled off 12 straight games to advance 6-1 6-0, going one better than her 6-1 6-1 win over Sorana Cirstea in the last 32.
On clay, Swiatek has now won nine of her 55 WTA 1000-level sets by 6-0, with that remarkable rate of 16.4 per cent being the highest of any player to have played 10 or more sets in the format's history (completed matches only).
Swiatek will face Beatriz Haddad Maia in the last eight on Tuesday, with the Brazilian upsetting Maria Sakkari 6-4 6-4 to reach her first quarter-final at the event.
Data Debrief: Swiatek unstoppable on clay?
Swiatek's meeting with Haddad Maia will represent her 14th quarter-final in 18 WTA events played on clay, meaning she has reached that stage on 77.8 per cent of her appearances on the surface.
Since the turn of the century, only two players have a higher rate of quarter-finals reached on clay – Martina Hingis (85.7 per cent, 12/14) and Justine Henin (80.6 per cent, 25/31).
Ons Jabeur cruised into the Madrid Open quarter-finals on Monday, spending just over an hour on court in a statement 6-0 6-4 win over ninth seed Jelena Ostapenko.
Jabeur, who won her first and so far only WTA 1000 title in Madrid in 2022 then missed last year's tournament through injury, made it nine wins in a row in the Spanish capital to book a last-eight meeting with either Coco Gauff or Madison Keys.
Eighth seed Jabeur only needed 68 minutes to see off the former French Open champion, not dropping a game in a 21-minute opener in which she won 88 per cent of first-serve points.
Ostapenko improved in the second set, breaking back immediately after losing serve in the opening game, but Jabeur got the crucial break to go 5-4 up before serving the contest out.
Data Debrief: Jabeur dominates on the clay
Jabeur's win sealed her third quarter-final appearance at a WTA 1000-level event on clay since 2020. Only world number one Iga Swiatek (four) has reached more during that span.
A dominant start did the trick for the Tunisian on Monday, as she became the first player to take an opening set 6-0 against a top-10 ranked player in Madrid since the 2021 final, when Aryna Sabalenka did so in her victory over Ashleigh Barty.
Jalen Brunson will not spend too long thinking about his 47-point haul in Game 4 against the Philadelphia 76ers as he looks towards the second round of the playoffs.
The New York Knicks took a 3-1 lead in their first-round series thanks to a 97-92 victory on Sunday.
Brunson inspired the Knicks with a stunning 47-point performance, while he also chipped in with 10 assists.
But with the Knicks just one win away from progressing, Brunson is not resting on his laurels.
"I'll look back when I retire," Brunson said.
"Seriously. It's great right now, it helped us get a win.
"But it's not going to do anything for us going forward."
Brunson's haul was a franchise record, as he surpassed Bernard King (46) for the most points scored in a playoff game for the Knicks.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said: "I think we learned that throughout the course of the season. Jalen has played at such an incredibly high level all season long, and we can play off that.
"We have a little bit of everything. And the rebounding has been terrific. Everyone questioned the rebounding with Josh [Hart] at the power forward. We've been the best rebounding team all year. Everyone questioned Jalen being a leader.
"We have a lot to prove. It takes four to win a series, that's what we have to focus on."
The Sixers are staring down the barrel of an early exit, but Joel Embiid, who finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds, does not believe the pressure is on Philadelphia.
"One at a time," said Embiid. "We know we're good enough. We didn't make shots, so we just got to keep trusting ourselves.
"We got no pressure. We're the seven seed, down 3-1, a lot of guys are hurt.
"I don't know why we would feel the pressure. So we should just go out there and go out and play our best basketball and one at a time, win one, come back home, win another one and then Game 7 over there. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Yeah. No pressure."
Luka Doncic believes he has let Kyrie Irving down in the first four games of the Dallas Mavericks' first-round series with the Los Angeles Clippers, which is level at 2-2 after they dropped Game 4.
Doncic had a triple-double with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists at American Airlines Center on Sunday, but he shot just 10-of-24 from the floor while struggling with a knee issue as the Mavs lost 116-111.
It looked like being a far more resounding defeat when the Clippers went 31 points up midway through the second quarter, but Irving scored all 40 of his points after that to drag Dallas back into it.
However, Paul George and James Harden enjoyed big fourth quarters to deny the Mavs a third straight win and leave the series in the balance ahead of Game 5 in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
After the defeat, Doncic said he had given his fellow Mavs star too much to do, saying: "I've just got to help him more.
"I feel like I'm letting him down, so I've got to be there. I've got to help him more. He's given everything that he has, and he's been amazing for us the whole series."
Doncic has averaged 29 points through the series but has shot just 38.6 per cent from the floor and made 26.5 per cent of his 3-point attempts, while he was exploited on the defensive side on Sunday as George and Harden each had 33 points.
The MVP finalist, however, is refusing to use the soreness in his right knee as an excuse, saying: "It's hurting, obviously.
"But it shouldn't be an excuse, man. I just came out and was a little sloppy, so I've got to be way better than that."
The Clippers announced Kawhi Leonard is out indefinitely due to right knee inflammation ahead of Game 4 but Dallas failed to take advantage of his absence, leaving Los Angeles in buoyant mood with home-court advantage back on their side.
"We dug ourselves in a hole," Irving said. "There's no time to complain about it or look to each other for any excuses. It was just time to get it going.
"We fell short, but this is a consistent thing in this series so far where Kawhi doesn't play and we're just dealing with a barrage of James Harden and Paul George getting off."
For the first time in two decades, the Minnesota Timberwolves have won a playoff series.
The Timberwolves are the NBA's first team to advance to the conference semifinals after defeating the Phoenix Suns 122-116 on Sunday to complete a first-round sweep.
Minnesota reached the Western Conference second round for the first time since 2004 by recording the first play-off sweep in franchise history.
Anthony Edwards led the way with 40 points, and had a thunderous dunk with just over 2 minutes remaining to help kickstart the Timberwolves' celebrations.
Edwards had a quiet first half before erupting after half-time, scoring 31 points in the final two quarters. He hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and had 16 points in the final period to help third-seeded Minnesota pull away.
He finished with seven 3-pointers, and also added nine rebounds and six assists, while Karl-Anthony Towns had 28 points and 10 boards.
The Timberwolves played the final 1:41 without their coach after Mike Conley collided with Chris Finch on the sidelines.
Finch went down hard, appearing to injure his right knee, and had to be helped to the locker room.
Minnesota, who will face the winner of the Denver Nuggets-Los Angeles Lakers series, prevailed despite a 49-point performance from Devin Booker.
Booker was 13 of 21 from the field and made 20 of 21 free throws, while Kevin Durant added 33 points on 12-of-17 shooting.
The rest of the Suns combined for 34 points on 36.1 per cent shooting, as Phoenix suffered their first playoff sweep since 1999.
Brunson's historic performance leads Knicks over 76ers
Jalen Brunson is in the record books and the New York Knicks are one win away from a trip to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Brunson scored a playoff career-high 47 points - the most ever by a Knicks player in a post-season game - in a 97-92 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Brunson made two free throws with five seconds remaining to seal the win and surpass the franchise record of 46 points scored by Bernard King in 1984.
With the victory in Philadelphia, the second-seeded Knicks grabbed a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.
New York have the opportunity to eliminate the 76ers in Game 5 back home at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
Brunson, who added a game-high 10 assists, struggled with his shot in the first two games of the series in New York, but found his touch in Philadelphia.
After totalling 46 points on 29.1 per cent shooting in Games 1 and 2, Brunson had 39 points on Thursday, followed by his record-setting performance in Game 4 while shooting 50.8 per cent.
OG Anunoby added 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks, while Josh Hart played a big role despite missing all seven of his field-goal attempts by grabbing 17 rebounds.
Joel Embiid led the 76ers with 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, while Tyrese Maxey scored 23.
Philadelphia were undone by their struggles from long range, shooting 27.3 per cent on 3-pointers (9 of 33) after making 48.4 per cent of their shots from beyond the arc in their Game 3 win.
Clippers hang on after blowing lead of 31 to even up Mavs series
The Los Angeles Clippers emerged with a 116-111 victory over the Mavericks in Dallas to even up their first-round series at 2-2.
The fourth-seeded Clippers looked like they would roll to an easy win, as they led by 31 points midway through the second quarter, but the Mavericks came storming back to set up a thrilling final few minutes.
After Kyrie Irving hit an off-balanced layup with 2:15 remaining to put Dallas ahead 105-104 - the Mavs' first lead since they were up 8-7 less than five minutes into the game - Paul George responded with an incredible fadeaway 3-pointer from the corner and James Harden followed with a driving floating jump shot to put Los Angeles back up by four points.
George and Harden each finished with 33 points, and between them scored all the Clippers' final 18 points in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter.
Irving had 40 points on 14-of-25 shooting and Luka Doncic had 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his fourth career play-off triple-double, but was clearly bothered by a sore right knee and misfired on eight of his nine 3-point attempts.
Before the game, the Clippers announced Kawhi Leonard is out indefinitely due to right knee inflammation.
With the Game 4 win, however, Los Angeles improved to 2-0 in this series in games without the two-time NBA Finals MVP.
In this series, each team has won once on their opponents' court. Game 5 is Wednesday in Los Angeles.
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