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."

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

History will be made when hosts Qatar get the World Cup under way with a clash against Ecuador and head coach Felix Sanchez says "you never know what can happen".

Al Bayt Stadium will be the venue for the opening match of the tournament on Sunday and Qatar's first World Cup game.

The 2019 AFC Asian Cup champions are not expected to qualify from Group A, which also includes Netherlands and Senegal.

Sanchez is realistic over the host nation's prospects but is relishing the challenge of trying to defy expectations.

The Spaniard said: "Obviously, I'm not talking about Qatar winning the World Cup, but competing at a good level against those three teams is our challenge.

"Then this is football, and you never know what can happen."

Ecuador are 44th in the world rankings, only six places higher than Qatar as they prepare to lock horns in Al Khor.

Defender Byron Castillo was a late omission from Gustavo Alfaro's squad due to a dispute over his nationality this week.

Alfaro knows his Ecuador side are not well fancied to make their presence felt but expects them to make life difficult for their group rivals.

He said: "The World Cup is totally different from what the qualifiers are. If we are going to play the way we played the qualifiers, most likely we won't have a chance, because we are going to play against the Asian champions, against the African champions and against the Netherlands, who are in the final four in Europe. 

"They are teams that are superior to what we are, for a reason we were in pot number four in the draw, if we had been the best we would have been in pot one or two. We have to be make things difficult, we have to be the pebble in their shoe."

If history is anything to go by, there should be entertainment on Sunday, as the past four opening World Cup games have produced 17 goals at an average of 4.25 per match.

Al Bayt Stadium has been a happy hunting ground for Qatar, as they have won their three previous matches at the venue with an aggregate score of 9-0.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Qatar – Almoez Ali 

Striker Ali was the leading scorer when Qatar were crowned the champions of Asia three years ago, scoring nine goals in seven games.

That impressive tally was achieved from only 10 shots on target and was a record for a single edition of the tournament. Qatar will need him to be clinical on the biggest stage of all on home soil.

Ecuador - Pervis Estupinan 

Left-back Estupinan can make an impact at both ends of the field for Ecuador.

The Brighton and Hove Albion full-back created 22 chances during a successful World Cup qualifying campaign, more than any other defender.

PREDICTION

Ecuador are fancied to spoil the party and get off to a winning start. 

According to Stats Perform’s AI model, Alfaro's men have a 41.4 per cent chance of securing all three points, with the draw rated at 29 per cent.

Qatar have a 29.6 per cent chance of coming out on top, according to the model, in what looks like being their best opportunity to register a historic victory.

Lazio president Claudio Lotito insisted Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is "not for sale" amid growing links to Serie A rivals Juventus.

The midfielder will be playing in Qatar for the World Cup with Serbia this month, though reports in Italy suggest Milinkovic-Savic could be on the move soon after once the January transfer window arrives.

Manchester United have previously been linked with the 27-year-old, while Massimiliano Allegri's side now appear to be the frontrunners to sign the Serbia international.

But Lotito attempted to put the speculation to an end on Saturday, telling Italian newspaper Il Messaggero the Lazio star's future was not up for discussion.

"Everyone says he's going here, he's going there but he's not for sale, we know what he's worth for me and for Lazio," Lotito said. 

"We are having ongoing talks about a contract renewal."

Milinkovic-Savic has impressed in Serie A once again this year, with no Italian top-flight player managing more than his 12 assists in 2022 before the World Cup break.

Only six midfielders have registered more goal contributions in Europe's top five leagues this season than Milinkovic Savic (12), though fellow midfielder Luis Alberto has failed to impress for Lazio.

Former Liverpool and Sevilla man Luis Alberto has fallen down the pecking order under Maurizio Sarri, though Lotito says he will not let the 30-year-old leave on loan in the next transfer window.

"If he wants to leave, bring a team with money, because I really don't think about giving him on loan in January," he added. "And I haven't received any requests from Atletico [Madrid]. 

"At the moment, the situation hasn't changed compared to the summer when Sevilla were perhaps interested. 

"I will not play any games. Luis Alberto is a talented player, an added value for Lazio and a compromise can still be found. 

"He has to accept the coach's choices and Sarri can be more understanding because every player has a different character. They can't all have the same mental strength as Pedro."

Keylor Navas will be fit to face Spain in Wednesday's World Cup Group E opener, says Costa Rica assistant manager Ronald Gomez.

Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Navas has not featured for Christophe Galtier's side in Ligue 1 this season, acting as deputy to Italy's Gianluigi Donnarumma.

A lower-back issue for Navas raised fears the 35-year-old would not recover in time for Qatar, before Costa Rica's sole World Cup warm-up game scheduled for Thursday against Iran was cancelled.

The former Real Madrid keeper will still be capable of featuring against Spain, though, according to Luis Fernando Suarez's assistant Gomez.

"We already know all about Keylor Navas, we won't doubt him now as we know his capacity," Gomez said on Saturday. 

"He has had some pain in his back, but it is already solved, so we now expect him to play in the matches and offer what he has always given to us, which is reliability and good management of games."

The experienced Suarez will go to a third edition of FIFA's top competition with a different nation, but has come under some scrutiny for selecting 37-year-old Bryan Ruiz.

Gomez assured Ruiz was selected on merit, though, after doubts were cast on the choice to pick Costa Rica's second-most capped player.

"Everybody knows him. We all know what Bryan represents to this national team and our football history," Gomez added. 

"He is here deservedly, and the coach is right in selecting him here in order to [give him the chance to] retire from the national team, for whom he has given so much, because of the story he has had in our football and the international football star he has been.

"He deserves to be here, he's earned it, it is not a gift from our coach. He has the quality, although we will have to see how many minutes he is capable of playing. But for me, to bring Bryan here is perfect."

Suarez's side have won just two of their last 13 games at the World Cup (D5 L6) and are without victory in their last six at the tournament (D4 L2) – their longest winless run.

Yet, three of Costa Rica's five wins at the World Cup have come in their opening game, as they prepare to face Luis Enrique's talented Spain.

Robert Lewandowski dreams of scoring his first World Cup goal as Poland look to atone for previous failings in FIFA's top tournament.

Lewandowski remains one of world football's elite marksmen after scoring 18 goals in all competitions this season – only Erling Haaland (23) and Kylian Mbappe (19) have more in Europe's top five leagues.

The Barcelona forward is also Poland's all-time top scorer with 76 strikes in 134 appearances, though he is yet to find the net at a World Cup.

Poland failed to qualify in 2010 and 2014 before scoring just two goals at Russia 2018 amid a group-stage exit – and Lewandowski is out to right the wrongs of previous disappointment.

"I think about the last World Cup for sure," the 34-year-old told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"To score at a World Cup would be a huge dream and I'm going to do everything for this dream. I hope in this World Cup it will happen."

The striker contributed to 13 goals in Poland's World Cup qualification campaign (nine goals, four assists) – more than twice as many as any of his international team-mates.

Poland will hope to cast aside their poor record in Monday's opener against Mexico, having only started one of their eight previous World Cup campaigns with a win (D3 L4), beating Argentina 3-2 in 1974.

A meeting between two familiar foes will follow in Group C on November 30 as Lewandowski faces Blaugrana legend Lionel Messi with Argentina.

"I will be happy to have this opportunity to play against Argentina and Messi – he changed football forever," the former Bayern Munich forward added.

"I am glad for everything I have achieved and these memories for the World Cup, so now is the time to enjoy."

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.

The Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings face off in Week 11 in a potentially pivotal NFC clash, and history says it will be a tense game that goes down to the wire.

Having stunned the Buffalo Bills in overtime last week, the 8-1 Vikings are only behind the Philadelphia Eagles in the race for the top seed in the NFC on the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Philadelphia's loss to the Washington Commanders on Monday gave hope to the 6-3 Cowboys that they can catch the Eagles in the NFC East.

To bolster their hopes of doing so, the Cowboys will need to come through what will likely be a closely fought contest in Minneapolis.

The last six regular-season games between the Cowboys and Vikings have all been decided by four points or fewer, the longest streak between any two NFL teams since the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers had a six-game streak from 2008 to 2010. The last teams to do so in seven straight meetings were the Carolina Panthers and Washington from 1998 to 2009.

Minnesota have made a habit of winning close games in 2022. Indeed, seven of the Vikings' eight victories have been by one score.

And, even if the Cowboys do take a double-digit lead against the Vikings, they cannot be sure of it being safe.

Dallas gave up a 14-point lead against Green Bay Packers in Week 10 and lost in overtime. That snapped a Cowboys streak of 195 consecutive wins when leading by 14+ points entering the fourth quarter (including postseason). It was the longest such run in NFL history.

Now the Cowboys face a Vikings team that has overturned a fourth-quarter double-digit deficit to win three times in 2022, tying the 1980 Miami Dolphins, 2000 New York Jets, 2003 Indianapolis Colts and 2011 Detroit Lions for the most such victories in a single season.

Dallas will be looking for a significantly better performance in pass defense this week, having allowed a success rate through the air of 52.2 per cent against the Packers. Only six defenses allowed a higher rate of successful plays in Week 10.

If they fail to improve on their struggles in the loss at Lambeau Field, it figures to be a long day for the Cowboys' defense against arguably the top receiver in the NFL.

Justin Jefferson produced an astonishing 10-catch, 193-yard display in the win over the Bills, including his phenomenal fourth-down catch that kept the Vikings' hopes alive in the fourth quarter.

He has 814 receiving yards over his last six games, the most in a six-game span in Vikings history and the most by any NFL player over a six-game span in a single season since Antonio Brown had 868 in 2015.

The level to which the Cowboys are able to restrict his ability to add to that tally may have a significant bearing on whether Dallas can put themselves in the mix to be top dog in the NFC.

Novak Djokovic finished with a perfect group-stage record at the ATP Finals after beating Daniil Medvedev 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-2) in a lengthy three-hour contest on Friday.

Djokovic – who is bidding to equal Roger Federer's record of six ATP Finals titles – sealed his spot in the last four by beating Andrey Rublev on Wednesday, but he was in no mood to do the already-eliminated Medvedev any favours in Turin.

The 21-time grand slam winner dominated the opening set, winning 89 per cent of points behind his first serve and hitting several outstanding cross-court forehand winners.

Djokovic began the second set in similar fashion, but saw his standards dip when he returned to the court following a long stoppage at 5-5.

The rejuvenated Medvedev forced a tie-break with a delightful drop shot before taking advantage of a rare double fault from Djokovic to level the match. 

With the exhausted Djokovic visibly shaking ahead of the decider and his semi-final against Taylor Fritz looming, the Serbian's commitment to Friday's dead rubber could have been called into question, but he found a second wind to take the match away from Medvedev.

Djokovic was on the ropes when he saw his serve broken for the first time in the tournament nine games into the third set, but he hit back immediately and then forced another tie-break. 

The Serbian was back to his exquisite best from there on as he sealed the win by hitting a huge forehand winner down the line, though the drawn-out nature of his victory could yet play into Fritz's hands.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Djokovic – 9/3
Medvedev – 16/2

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Djokovic – 53/43
Medvedev – 47/35

BREAK POINTS WON

Djokovic – 2/6
Medvedev – 1/6 

Robert Lewandowski harbours no ill will towards Poland's World Cup adversary Lionel Messi following the duo's battle to land the 2021 Ballon d'Or.

Messi saw off fierce competition from Lewandowski to capture his seventh Ballon d'Or last year, despite the Poland striker scoring 58 goals to Messi's 34 in club action in 2021.

In the aftermath of that triumph, Messi called for Lewandowski to be handed the 2020 Ballon d'Or, with the prize not being awarded after the COVID-19 pandemic impacted football that year.

With Poland set to face Argentina in their third group-stage match at the World Cup later this month, Lewandowski says he does not resent Messi for claiming the prize.

Asked whether he would shake hands with Messi to clear the air ahead of the teams' meeting, Lewandowski said: "I don't exactly understand the question.

"Why not? Why would I need to shake hands? Between me and Messi, everything is fine. I have nothing [bad] with him, I never had.

"Leo Messi is in great shape. At Barcelona, you can see everywhere he's a legend."

Poland will begin their Group C campaign against Mexico on Tuesday, with Lewandowski looking to score his first World Cup goal after failing to find the net at the 2018 tournament in Russia.

The Barcelona striker contributed to 13 goals in Poland's World Cup qualification campaign (nine goals, four assists) – more than twice as many as any of his international team-mates.

Czeslaw Michniewicz's side will hope to cast aside their poor record in World Cup openers against Mexico, having only started one of their eight previous campaigns at the tournament with a win (D3 L4), beating Argentina 3-2 in 1974.

Belgium's final warm-up match before the World Cup ended in defeat as Mostafa Mohamed and Trezeguet struck to earn Egypt a 2-1 victory in Kuwait.

Mohamed took advantage of an uncharacteristic mistake from Kevin De Bruyne to fire the Pharaohs into the lead, before Trezeguet scored a minute after half-time to put them two goals to the good.

Lois Openda reduced the deficit with a close-range finish, but they could not find an equaliser as Roberto Martinez's men fell to a second consecutive defeat.

The defeat exposed¬ serious defensive deficiencies for Belgium ahead of their trip to Qatar, where they are hoping to better their run to the semi-finals at the 2018 World Cup.

Belgium hit the bar within 10 minutes when Michy Batshuayi rattled the woodwork, though replays later showed the former Chelsea man was clearly offside.

After Thibaut Courtois twice denied Trezeguet, Arthur Theate sent a long-range curler looping onto the top of the net.

Mohamed gave Egypt the lead, capitalising on De Bruyne's poor touch before side-footing beautifully into the bottom right corner from outside the box.

Mohamed El Shenawy then made a big stop to save Yannick Carrasco's fierce drive and preserve his side's lead heading into the interval.

Egypt doubled their lead moments after the break, Trezeguet latching onto Mohamed Salah's excellent throughball before rifling home as Belgium continued to look shaky at the back.

Martinez's men screamed for a penalty when half-time substitute Openda was felled by Ahmed Hegazy, but a VAR review decided not to award a spot-kick.

Belgium pressed to pull a goal back but they struggled to break though Egypt's resolute defence, with Youri Tielemans firing well over from range almost out of frustration.

They did find a goal back through Openda when he was picked out by a superb Carrasco cross, but they could not kick on and find an equaliser.

There are no more perfect teams in the NFL, just some very good ones.

The Philadelphia Eagles lost their 100 per cent record against the Washington Commanders on Monday, and will look to bounce back in Indianapolis in Week 11.

The New York Jets return from their bye week looking to continue to surprise, though they have a tough trip to the New England Patriots to contend with, while the Minnesota Vikings host the Dallas Cowboys in another enticing clash.

Stats Perform has taken a look at some of the more interesting numbers ahead of these and other big games on Sunday.

Philadelphia Eagles (8-1) @ Indianapolis Colts (4-5-1)

Philadelphia possessed the ball for just 19 minutes and 36 seconds of game time in the loss to the Commanders. It was their lowest time of possession in a game since another loss to Washington in Week 4 of the 2015 season (18:52).

Jalen Hurts rushed for a touchdown last week, giving him 20 in his career. At 24 years and 99 days old, he became the second-youngest quarterback in NFL history to reach 20 rushing touchdowns, trailing only Cam Newton (23 years, 199 days).

Matt Ryan had a 39-yard rush in last week's win over the Las Vegas Raiders, the longest run of his career. It was the longest rushing play by a Colts quarterback since Jim Harbaugh ran for 41 yards in Week 4 of the 1994 season.

With a win, Jeff Saturday would join Jim Caldwell (2009) as the only Colts head coaches to win the first two games of their careers.

New York Jets (6-3) @ New England Patriots (5-4)

The Patriots have won 13 consecutive games against the Jets, winning every meeting since the beginning of the 2016 season. That is tied for the longest active win streak against a single opponent for any team (the Chiefs over the Broncos).

The Jets entered their bye week with a 20-17 win over the Bills in which they had 136 net passing yards. They are 5-0 this season when having 250 or fewer passing yards in a game compared to 1-3 when they have more than 250.

Players aged 23 and younger have gained 2002 yards from scrimmage for the Jets this season, the most in the NFL (next most is the Colts with 1336). That is already the most scrimmage yards for the Jets by players 23 and under since the 1990 season (2452).

Jakobi Meyers leads the Patriots with 457 receiving yards this season, one of five New England players with 200+ receiving yards this season. Only the Green Bay Packers (six) have more players with at least 200 receiving yards in 2022.

Dallas Cowboys (6-3) @ Minnesota Vikings (8-1)

Last week was the Vikings' third win this season after trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter, tying the 1980 Dolphins, 2000 Jets, 2003 Colts and 2011 Lions for the most such wins in a campaign in NFL history.

Justin Jefferson has 814 receiving yards over his last six games, the most in a six-game span in Vikings history and the most by any NFL player over a six-game span in a single season since Antonio Brown recorded 868 in 2015.

With his 81-yard rushing touchdown last week, Dalvin Cook has now had a rush of at least 65 yards in five straight seasons, level with Derrick Henry (2017-21) for the longest streak by any player since the 1970 merger.

Last week's loss to Green Bay snapped the Cowboys' streak of 195 consecutive wins when leading by 14 or more points entering the fourth quarter (including postseason), which had been the longest streak in NFL history.

Elsewhere...

The Buffalo Bills take on the Cleveland Browns having had at least 100 rushing yards and 300 total yards in 16 straight games, including postseason, the third-longest streak in the Super Bowl era behind the Seattle Seahawks (19, 2014-15) and the Vikings (18, 2002-03).

The Detroit Lions will need to stop Saquon Barkley, who had a career-high 35 rushing attempts for 152 yards in the New York Giants' 24-16 win over the Houston Texans last week. His 35 rushes were the most in a game by any NFL running back this season and the most by a Giant since Joe Montgomery had 38 against the Jets in 1999. 

Ahead of facing the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has completed 76.8 per cent of his passes over his last four games, the fourth-highest by any QB over a four-game span in a single season in NFL history (minimum 140 attempts, excluding overlapping spans) behind Peyton Manning (78.8) and Philip Rivers in 2013 (78.3), and Sam Bradford in 2016 (77.9).

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2, 27-24. Since 2018, six of the nine games between the Chiefs and Chargers have been decided by seven points or fewer, tied for the third most of any matchup since then (Bears-Lions and Texans-Colts, seven each).

Ben Simmons says people underestimate how hard it is to return from back surgery following his first double-double in almost 18 months in the Brooklyn Nets' 109-107 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday.

Simmons, who was traded from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Nets in February, enjoyed his best scoring game since his switch, with 15 points along with 13 rebounds and seven assists in 32 minutes.

The double-double was the Australian's first in the NBA since June 14, 2021, having not played at all last season before undergoing back surgery in May.

The much-maligned Simmons has struggled for impact upon his return to playing this season, averaging 5.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.6 assists, but Thursday was a breakthrough.

"People make it seem like I had a sprained ankle or something," Simmons told reporters. "I had back surgery, that’s not easy to come back from.

"I take it day by day, I stay locked in, I stay focused and continue to build, myself, my body and my game."

Simmons has missed games this season due to injury and soreness, but he is building some momentum after making 11-of-13 from the field in his past two games, where he has posted double-digit scores.

"I'm coming," Simmons said with a grin. "I'm getting there, it's taking a little bit of time. My team-mates have got my back, my coaches."

Kevin Durant, who top scored for the Nets with 35 points, hailed the impact made by his team-mate Simmons.

"He was incredible tonight," Durant said. "I thought he did a good job of commanding the offense, commanding the team on the defensive side of the ball. He controlled the game and was able to get us back into it."

Simmons has been criticised for his free-throw shooting in the past but made three-of-four from the stripe, all coming in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter with the game up for grabs.

"We had no doubts when he walked up there," Durant said. "I felt like we all were confident, just how he was playing. I felt super confident when he went up there, so three-from-four, crunch time like that. That was key for us. We needed those.

"He shot them like he was confident. He ran back down the court like he knew they were going in. When he's playing aggressive like that, when he's downhill, he did it all for us tonight. I'm excited for him because this is the type of the game that we all needed to see.

"I think everybody else on the outside, basketball fans in general, was loving it and couldn’t wait to see this type of performance from him. We expect that from him every night."

Royce O'Neale tipped in the game-winner with 0.7 seconds left as the Brooklyn Nets edged the Portland Trail Blazers 109-107 to improve their overall record to 7-9 on Thursday.

Kevin Durant, who finished with a game-high 35 points, missed his turn-around jumper but O'Neale was on hand with a tip-in to help the Nets snap their two-game skid.

Durant went 13-of-22 from the field with eight rebounds, three assists and a block, clocking up his 26,000th career NBA point along the way, becoming the 19th player to achieve that feat.

The Nets got strong contributions off the bench as Yuta Watanabe added 20 points with seven rebounds, while Ben Simmons had a double-double with 15 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.

Game-winner O'Neale, who was in the starting line-up, had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for the game.

The victory comes after Durant's stinging public criticism of the Nets' starting quality in the continued absence of the suspended Kyrie Irving, who may return for Sunday's game with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Damian Lillard top scored for Portland, who fall to 10-5, with 25 points along with 11 assists. Anfernee Simons added 24 points and Jusuf Nurkic had 17, including a three-point play to tie the game up with 6.5 seconds to go.

Kawhi returns as Clippers shoot down Pistons

Kawhi Leonard had minimal impact on his return after 12 games out as the Los Angeles Clippers rallied from a 12-point deficit to win 96-91 over the Detroit Pistons.

Leonard scored six points with five rebounds and four assists after not playing since October 24 due to knee stiffness. The two-time NBA Finals MVP, who was in the starting lineup, shot two-of-eight from the field.

Reggie Jackson scored a team-high 23 points in a low-scoring game, while Ivica Zubac pulled down 18 rebounds with nine points.

Kings remain hot as Fox fires

The Sacramento Kings improved to 8-6 with their fifth straight victory, winning 130-112 over the San Antonio Spurs.

De'Aaron Fox scored a team-high 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting along with eight assists, while Malik Monk added 26 points off the bench. Spurs guard Devin Vassell top scored with 29 points, including four triples.

The Kings' five-game win streak is their first since the 2020-21 season, while it comes after they started the season 0-4, winning eight of their past 10 games.

Aaron Judge has capped his historic season after being crowned the AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) ahead of Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday.

St Louis Cardinals slugger Paul Goldschmidt was also voted the NL MVP, beating out Manny Machado of the San Diego Padres and teammate Nolan Arenado for the award.

Judge's MVP, the first in his career, came after he broke the single-season Yankees and AL home-run record, reaching 62 to surpass Roger Maris Sr's 61 – set 61 years ago in 1961. He became the fourth major league player to hit 62 or more homers in a single season.

The Yankees outfielder led the AL in home runs (62), RBIs (131), slugging percentage (.686), on-base percentage (.425), OPS (1.111) and total bases (391), while he chased an AL Triple Crown down the stretch, but ultimately fell short as Minnesota Twins' utility Luis Arraez (.316) won the batting title.

Judge received 28 first-place votes for 410 points, ahead of Ohtani (280) and Houston Astros' Yordan Alvarez (232).

The 30-year-old already had two top-five MVP finishes on his resume, in 2017 and 2021, winning Silver Slugger awards in both years.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said: "I’m grateful that I got to witness it first-hand and share in his magical year, especially given how much respect I have for him as a player and as a person."

Goldschmidt looked like the NL MVP since the All-Star break, batting .317 while leading the NL in OPS (.982) and slugging percentage (.578).

The Cardinals first baseman's 35 home runs finished one off his career-high, set in 2013 and equalled in 2017, giving him his seventh season with at least 30 dingers.

Goldschmidt won the MVP with 380 voting points, ahead of Machado (291) and Arenado (232). It is the sixth time in 35-year-old Goldschmidt's career that he has finished in the top-six for the award.

"I think definitely as you age, you have to adapt, and that's some of what I've tried to do. I've tried to get ahead of it," Goldschmidt told MLB Network. "I think it was my best season."