The New Orleans Pelicans will be without top offensive option Zion Williamson for Thursday's game against the San Antonio Spurs due to the league's health and safety protocols.

Williamson, 22, has been the Pelicans' leading scorer this season at 25.2 points per game, and after missing the entire 2021-22 campaign, he has suited up for 25 of his team's 30 games this time around.

He will miss his sixth game of the season after triggering the league's COVID-19 protocols, and with it being the first leg of a back-to-back, he will also likely miss Friday's road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Williamson has been one of the game's most dominant forces in December, raising his usage while fellow All-Star Brandon Ingram has also been out injured, having not played since November 25.

In his nine games in December, Williamson has averaged 28.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game while shooting 62.2 per cent from the field. He is the only player this season shooting at least 60 per cent from the field (60.3) while averaging over 25 points per game.

In his absence, it will be up to C.J. McCollum to run the show against the Spurs. He is sporting his worst figures in points per game (18.7) since his second season in 2014-15, along with a career-worst field goal percentage of 41.5.

However, his 5.8 assists per game represent a career high, and he is beginning to find his scoring touch, with totals of 28, 27 and 31 in his past three outings.

As well as McCollum, it will be a golden opportunity for emerging wing Trey Murphy III, with last year's first-round draft pick having flashed intriguing potential in five 20-point games so far this season, having only posted two during his rookie campaign.

Nick Kyrgios has doubled down on the claim he will retire if he wins a grand slam next year, saying years of intensive travel have left him "exhausted".

Kyrgios enjoyed the best grand slam run of his career when he finished as runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon this year, while he also reached the last eight at the US Open.

However, the Australian questioned his future in the sport earlier this week, telling reporters in Dubai: "Hopefully I can win a slam and just retire."

Speaking to Eurosport, the world number 22 insisted that remark was serious, saying his private life had suffered due to his time spent travelling to take part in ATP Tour events. 

Asked if he would really call time on his career in the event of winning a first major singles title, Kyrgios said: "Honestly, I probably would.

"Especially being from Australia as well, there's just so much travel, so much time away from family, so much time away from friends. 

"You're just missing milestones in the family, you're just not having a normal life, really. No other tennis player that's not from Australia gets that."

Kyrgios believes few athletes can match the sacrifices he has made in his career, citing the strain caused by spending long periods away from his home country. 

"It's easy for a European or an American player to lose or win a tournament, then you take a five-hour flight back home and you spend a week there before the next event," Kyrgios said.

"Whereas as an Australian, you're doing four- to seven-month travel blocks. Honestly, I don't think it's healthy. 

"No other real athlete does that in the world, in any sport, doing seven months on your own. 

"I'm exhausted honestly. It's just stressful. The more you win, the more success you have, the more demands you have off the court. People expect more from you. 

"People are like, 'why are you complaining about it?' It's not what they think. You're living out of a suitcase at hotels, it's not like you're on holiday. 

"You've got to go to tennis courts and train. The lifestyle is quite vigorous. If it happens, I probably would [retire], to be honest."

Kyrgios has only reached the last eight at the Australian Open on one occasion, and with the next edition of his home slam approaching, the 27-year-old is less than enthusiastic.

Asked if he will feel refreshed by the time the Melbourne major begins next month, Kyrgios said: "Probably not. There is a little bit of excitement, but it's probably 95 per cent stress, five per cent excitement, to be honest."

World Rugby will introduce a countdown timer for scrums and kicks at goal from January in a bid to speed up the game.

A series of rule changes are to be enforced from January 1 following World Rugby's Shape of the Game Conference, at which ways to improve rugby union's "entertainment value" were discussed.

Under the law changes, players will have 90 seconds to take a conversion following a try and a minute to take a penalty, with kicks being disallowed if they are not taken within that time.

Meanwhile, scrums must start within 30 seconds of being awarded and line-outs must be formed "without delay", with any time-wasting resulting in a free-kick.

A statement released by World Rugby on Thursday said: "The guidelines, which are designed to assist match officials, players and coaches and to enhance fan experience, are part of a drive by the international federation to speed up the game and reflect key outcomes of the Shape of the Game Conference in November.

"With the Rugby World Cup 2023 fast-approaching, the new directives are designed to support a quicker, more entertaining game while balancing safety and spectacle."

The 2023 Rugby World Cup gets under way in France on September 8, with South Africa looking to defend the title they won by beating England in the 2019 final.

The Philadelphia Eagles will not allow Jalen Hurts to "play through" his shoulder sprain, meaning Gardner Minshew will start against NFC East rivals the Dallas Cowboys.

Hurts is among the MVP frontrunners having led the 13-1 Eagles to the NFL's best record in 2022.

They will clinch the number one seed in the NFC with another win against the Cowboys but will have to get it without their quarterback, who suffered the injury to his right shoulder in last week's clash with the Chicago Bears.

Hurts was keen to play regardless, coach Nick Sirianni suggested, having earned a first Pro Bowl selection this week.

But Minshew, who has taken snaps in three games this year and started twice in 2021, has Sirianni's backing in place of Hurts.

"Gardner will be our guy, and Gardner will be ready," the coach said. "Gardner worked his butt off for this opportunity against a really good football team. He had a great practice [on Wednesday]."

He added: "[Hurt] is disappointed because he wants to play. He's the toughest guy I know.

"But we have to do what's best as an organisation to put us in a safe spot, because he will play through anything.

"Jalen did everything he possibly could to get his body ready to go. At the end of the day, he's not going to be able to do it. He tried like crazy.

"I know he still wants to go. That's just the toughness. Jalen Hurts is the toughest player I've ever been around."

Minshew practised on Wednesday after missing the Eagles' walkthrough on Tuesday to speak at the funeral of Mike Leach, his coach at Washington State.

Former Denver Broncos running back and Super Bowl champion Ronnie Hillman has died of liver cancer at 31 years old.

Hillman led the Broncos in rushing with 863 yards and seven touchdowns in the 2015 season as the Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50, in what was Peyton Manning's final game before retiring.

Having been drafted by the Broncos out of San Diego State in the 2012 draft, Hillman went on to play for the Minnesota Vikings, San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys, racking up 1,976 career yards.

Hillman was diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer in August 2022, and it was revealed he had entered hospice care this week before passing away on Wednesday.

A statement was posted to his Instagram account, saying: "It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved son, brother and father, Ronnie K Hillman Jr.

"Ronnie quietly and peacefully transitioned today in the company of his family and close friends."

Hillman tragically becomes the second member of the Broncos' 2015 championship team to pass away, after receiving leader Demaryius Thomas' death from a seizure in 2021.

Jacque Vaughn was unaware his Brooklyn Nets side had achieved a franchise record in their blowout of the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.

The Nets routed the undermanned Warriors 143-113 at Barclays Center, putting up a whopping 91 points in the first half alone.

That tally was a record for the Nets and represented the third-best effort ever in the NBA.

Having had to come back from slow first-quarter performances in wins over the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons in their prior two games, it was a welcome change for head coach Vaughn.

"I did not [know it was a record], wow, nicely done huh?" Vaughn said.

"That's what happens when you come to work and you're ready to work from the beginning.

"I definitely consider it progress, it was definitely the message in our walk through."

Kyrie Irving was absent for the Nets due to tightness in his right calf. Vaughn was unsure if he would return on Friday to face the Milwaukee Bucks.

Vaughn said: "No update, he'll come in tomorrow [Thursday] and get assessed again, hopefully looking forward to him playing again on Friday."

Kevin Durant was in fine form against his former team, putting up 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

The Warriors were still without Steph Curry, while Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins did not feature, but Durant said Steve Kerr's side still had to be taken seriously.

"It's the Warriors - you always respect them whoever is on the floor," he said.

"They have a championship system, championship players. Steph, Klay, Wiggins out – they [still] have that next up mentality. You can't count them out, so we did a good job staying focused to start."

Ryan Tannehill looks set to miss the rest of the season as the Tennessee Titans quarterback likely requires surgery on a right-ankle injury.

The one-time Pro Bowler saw his game curtailed during Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, after outside linebacker Khalil Mack landed on his foot.

Tannehill was carted from the field before returning with his ankle heavily strapped, though he was unable to prevent the Titans slipping to a 17-14 defeat.

Reports from ESPN now indicate the 34-year-old's campaign looks to be over, with the former Miami Dolphins man set to undergo an operation for the problem.

It was a right ankle injury that ruled Tannehill out of two games following a week six match with the Indianapolis Colts, bringing Malik Willis into the fold in his place.

The reserve quarterback started in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, while the Titans have also signed Joshua Dobbs to provide additional backup.

The latter was with the Detroit Lions briefly as part of their practice squad earlier this month, after he was waived following Deshaun Watson's return to the fold at the Cleveland Browns.

Tennessee are 7-7 for the year, and sit atop the AFC South, but have not won in their last four outings to leave their postseason hopes precariously balanced heading into the final few weeks.

They play the Houston Texans on Saturday, before closing games against the Dallas Cowboys and the Jacksonville Jaguars, with the latter their main rival to top the division.

The Philadelphia Eagles lead the selections for next year's revamped 2023 Pro Bowl Games, with the all-star match moving to flag football from contact action.

The NFL leaders, who sit among the favourites for the Super Bowl with a 13-1 regular season record in 2022, have seen eight players picked for the event.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts headlines a list of Eagles names that also includes wide receiver A.J. Brown, guard Landon Dickerson, and offensive tackle Lane Johnson among others.

Six NFL teams have at least five players selected for the Pro Bowl, which will take place on February 5 at the Las Vegas Raiders' Allegiant Stadium, a week out from Super Bowl LVII.

Hurts will start for the NFC selection against Patrick Mahomes, with the Kansas City Chiefs man headlining a seven-strong selection from his franchise in the AFC group.

Other teams well represented include the Dallas Cowboys with seven, the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers with six and the Minnesota Vikings with five.

The league previously confirmed Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald had made his ninth consecutive Pro Bowl, despite injury struggles that have curtailed his campaign

He is joined by Travis and Jason Kelce, who become the first pair of brothers to earn simultaneous selection for a record fifth time.

The two teams will be coached by a set of siblings in former Super Bowl winners Peyton and Eli Manning too, with the duo having earned 18 Pro Bowl selections between them in their playing days.

Boston Celtics interim head coach Joe Mazzulla insists he is not concerned about his side's form despite slumping to their fifth loss from six games in Wednesday's 117-112 loss to the Indiana Pacers.

The Celtics were blown away 71-43 in the first half against the Pacers, eventually falling to their third straight loss despite a second-half rally led by Jayson Tatum with 41 points.

"I'm really not concerned about that, in the sense that I think it's the first half that we really got outplayed from an effort standpoint," Mazzulla told reporters.

"It would be more concerning if we didn’t play a completely different style in the second half. We just have a choice to make, what team do we want to be? The team from the first half or the team from the second half?"

The result means Boston slip to a 22-10 record overall, sitting second in the Eastern Conference behind the Milwaukee Bucks (22-9), who also lost on Wednesday to the third-placed Cleveland Cavaliers (22-11).

"I don't really get concerned," Mazzulla said. "We are where we are. You have to rely on who our guys as people and the process of what we're trying to build.

"We're not playing well. Up until this point we have competed defensively and it was an offensive issue. In moments like this it's important to trust your guys. Because they've been through a lot, they've had moments like this, they've had bounce back.

"We're going through a hard stage but that's part of the NBA. It's also hard when you play the way you did at the beginning of the year and at such a high standard. We need to learn to set that standard as a habit."

The Celtics closed several times in the final quarter but Mazzulla rued their start, particularly the first quarter where the Pacers piled on 42 points.

"We just didn't play with a great sense of urgency, didn't play with awareness and didn't play with a sense of details," Mazzulla said.

New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier says they are "back on track" after ending their six-game skid with a hard-fought 4-2 win at the Florida Panthers on Wednesday.

The Devils had gone 0-5-1 since beating the Chicago Blackhawks at home to December 6 to slump to a 21-9-2 record and second spot in the Metropolitan Division coming into Wednesday's game.

But Jesper Bratt scored twice, with Yegor Sharangovich scoring the go-ahead goal midway through the third period with Tomas Tatar adding an empty-netter, while Mackenzie Blackwood made 34 saves.

"That one felt good for sure," Hischier told reporters. "We put in the work. We came in late on back-to-back and came out to play.

"It was a full team effort. That one definitely feels good and puts us back on track."

Two-goal hero Bratt had endured a four-game pointless drought prior to getting an assist against Carolina on Tuesday.

Sharangovich was another to find form, having broken a nine-game goalless drought with his ninth of the season, tipping in Jonas Siegenthaler's point shot after Florida led 2-1 going into the third period.

"That was real important. We needed a win," Devils head coach Lindy Ruff said.

"We've played several really good games inside this and couldn't find ways to get the puck in the back of the net.

"To come out and get a couple goals in the third period, a real good goal by Jesper and get some traffic in front and a re-direction by Shara, it was real important."

The Brooklyn Nets scored the third most first-half points in NBA history on their way to a 143-113 rout of the short-handed Golden State Warriors at the Barclays Center on Wednesday.

The Nets led 91-51 at half-time, which was also a franchise record first half, led by Kevin Durant who scored 21 of his 23 points before the main break as they claimed their seventh straight win.

The result compelled the Warriors to back-to-back 30-point losses for the first time since 2001 and extended their poor road record to 3-16, leaving them 15-18 overall.

Brooklyn's 46-17 quarter-time lead, which equated to a 29-point differential, was the largest in any period this NBA season.

The Nets were ruthless in the first half, capitalizing on turnovers from the Warriors, who were without Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins and playing the second game in a back-to-back after losing 132-94 to the New York Knicks on Tuesday.

Brooklyn, who were without Kyrie Irving due to calf tightness, also matched a franchise record with nine players reaching double-figure scoring, including Edmond Sumner (16), Royce O'Neale (14) and Ben Simmons (10).

James Wiseman offered some positivity for Golden State, with 30 points from 28 minutes off the bench, while Jordan Poole struggled on four-of-17 shooting with seven turnovers.

The Nets, who have won 11 of their past 12 games, improved to 20-12, while the Warriors end their six-game road trip with a 1-5 record but can look forward to an eight-game home stand.

Knicks win streak over after Siakam domination

The New York Knicks' eight-game winning streak was ended by the struggling Toronto Raptors as Pascal Siakam scored a career-high 52 points in a 113-106 win.

Siakam scored 34 through the second and third quarters, shooting 17-of-25 from the field along with 16-of-18 from the free-throw line as the Raptors halted their own six-game losing run.

Fred VanVleet added 28 points for Toronto, while Julius Randle scored 30 with 13 rebounds for the Knicks, with R.J. Barrett draining four triples in his 30-point haul.

Mitchell's Cavs down Giannis' Bucks

Not even a trademark Herculean Giannis Antetokounmpo performance was enough for the Milwaukee Bucks, who went down 114-106 to Donovan Mitchell's Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Greek forward scored a season-high 45 points with 14 rebounds, four assists and two blocks as the Bucks rallied in the fourth quarter but fell short.

Mitchell was key for the Cavs with 36 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals, while Darius Garland added 23 points and Jarrett Allen had 19 points with eight rebounds.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr concedes his side have hit "rock bottom" after conceding a massive 91 first-half points in their 143-113 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.

The Nets' first-half haul was the third largest in NBA history, while the result condemned Golden State to back-to-back 30-point losses for the first time since 2001, having lost to the New York Knicks 132-94 on Tuesday.

The reigning champions were without Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins for the defeat, which leaves the Warriors at 15-18, with an abysmal 3-16 road record, ending their six-game road trip with just one win.

"Our spirit is fine," Kerr told reporters. "Our energy is good. The guys are committed.

"We're just right now at that point that pretty much everybody goes during in an 82-game season, most teams anyway, [where] you hit rock bottom with injuries, schedule, fatigued, whatever it is.

"You take it on the chin, the whole key is how you respond to that. I have no doubt our guys will respond but we've got to clean up the execution. Turnovers are a killer."

The Warriors trailed by as much as 44 points at the Barclays Center, with the Nets leading 91-51 at half-time.

Golden State gave up 21 turnovers for the game, with shooting guard Jordan Poole responsible for seven of those, finishing the game with 13 points on four-of-17 shooting.

"You can't play defense recovering from a turnover so that was the biggest issue to start the game," Kerr said.

"We were just trying too hard to make plays and getting out of control and then they made everything. They were phenomenal in the first half. I think they were 13 from 19 from three."

On Poole, Kerr added: "He forced it tonight. He got in a rush. We're going to live with Jordan's mistakes. He's a young player, he's still learning a ton. He's a great talent.

"Really proud of his development, but the development continues. Part of that development is having the best guy on him with Steph Curry out."

James Wiseman, who was second overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, offered a bright point for the Warriors with 30 points from 28 minutes off the bench, having had an indifferent season to date.

"James did a great job tonight," Kerr said. "It was fun to see him let loose and get some minutes and make the most of it. He did a lot of good things offensively… But when you lose by 30, it's small consolation."

Kevin Durant top scored for the Nets with 23 points with seven rebounds, five assists and four steals, while Kyrie Irving was absent with calf tightness. Ben Simmons contributed 10 points with four rebounds and eight assists.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott knows the NFC top seed may be out of reach but wants his side to "make a statement" against the 13-1 Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday.

The Eagles sit atop the NFC East ahead of the Cowboys, with a 10-4 record, with the Minnesota Vikings (11-3) and the San Francisco 49ers (10-4) among the only other contenders for the NFC top seed with three games to play. Dallas must beat Philadelphia to remain in contention to usurp them.

The Cowboys, who are assured of a playoffs spot, allowed a season-high 40 points in their loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 15 and Prescott was eager to see a response against a fellow contender.

"If anything, it's about making a statement to ourselves," Prescott told reporters.

"It's about, as you look at the season, we've had some games where we played really well and some games where we bit ourselves in the foot and had some games where we didn't and we lost.

"This is about putting our best foot forward, putting our best effort out there and proving it to ourselves in all three phases that we're a hell of a team and we can go get it done against one of the best teams in the league whether they're in our division or not."

The Eagles beat the Cowboys 26-17 in October at Lincoln Financial Field when Prescott did not play due to a thumb injury. Dallas have gone 6-2 since Prescott's return.

"I think everybody in this locker room is looking forward to this rematch in that sense," Prescott said.

"When you play a team that's a division rival, understanding the long history that comes with these two teams, understanding that they're playing their asses off. They're having a hell of a season.

"For them to be in our division and that they control the destiny in winning the division right now, yeah, you just want to get in and get another shot and make sure you put your best foot forward in doing so."

The Eagles may be without QB Jalen Hurts after he hurt his throwing shoulder late in the third quarter of their 25-20 win over the Chicago Bears.