Fourth seed Taylor Fritz said he is going to donate his first-round prize money from the Australian Open to support victims from the Los Angeles wildfires.

The fires, which began on 7 January, have killed at least 25 people and are being marked as the most destructive in the city's history.

After beating Chilean qualifier Cristian Garin to reach the third round on Thursday, American Fritz pledged his 132,000 Australian dollars (67,000) first-round prize.

"I just want everyone to stay safe, it's insane what happened," the 27-year-old said.

"I'm going to be donating my first round prize money to LA wildfire relief funds.

"It's the least I can do. Southern California is my home and LA was my home for a very long time, so I'm just doing what I can possibly do to help."

Fritz, who lost to Jannik Sinner in last year's US Open final, wrote "LA" and drew a love heart on a camera lens after his 6-2 6-1 6-0 over Garin in Melbourne.

The world number four will face French veteran Gael Monfils in the third round.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka revealed on Monday that the wildfires were just three blocks from her home.

Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Iga Swiatek also dedicated their first-round wins to LA and the firefighters who have been tackling the fires.

Having pulled out of her season-opening event in Auckland after suffering a back spasm, Raducanu had not played since mid-November before her first-round win over Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Raducanu struggled with her second serve against the Russian 26nd seed, hitting 15 double faults which she put down to a remodelled serve and early tournament nerves.

Another on her first service point against Anisimova was not an encouraging start.

Although she quickly stemmed the flow, Raducanu's serve was regularly punished by the American's explosive hitting.

But Anisimova - who reached the French Open semi-finals as a 17-year-old in 2019 and is re-establishing herself after taking a mental health break from the sport in 2023 - also had issues with her serve and handed over the opening set with a double fault.

At the start of the second set, there were further signs of Raducanu's back issue having an effect.

Afterwards, Raducanu said she had not "fully investigated" whether it was related to the back spasm.

"When you haven't played a match in so long, then to have two really physical ones, I think small niggles are going to come up here and there," she added.

"I'm just hoping that it is that."

After stretching out the area between points, three double faults handed over another break and Raducanu called the trainer when she lost serve again for 3-0.

The physiological, and perhaps psychological, boost helped her immediately.

England's extraordinary 42-37 defeat by the Wallabies in November was said to have Borthwick's side "battling to keep fans onside", according to BBC Sport's rugby union correspondent Chris Jones at the time.

Van Poortvliet, who is among five Leicester players called up by Borthwick for the upcoming Six Nations, says the public perception of the team differs greatly from those within the set-up.

And with his previous experience playing under Borthwick, having been part of the Tigers side he revived as a Premiership force, the 23-year-old is adamant that success will eventually come.

"Obviously results haven't been what we wanted in the last year, but I think it is similar to when we were almost into our second year at Tigers," Van Poortvliet said.

"He has a lot more time with us, so you get the changes quicker, but when we finished sixth in the table [in Borthwick's first full season] for half that year we were on the wrong ends of results and then by the end of the year we got more of a run together.

"It was close, the performances were there and we were just off it. And that's how I see it with England - we are so close.

"It can seem to the media or be seen by fans that you are miles off it, but it is really close and I'm sure this Six Nations we will work even harder and Steve will push us hard and keep us working on what we need to improve on.

"I have full faith that we will be able to turn those results around and be able to push forward to have a more successful campaign."

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Connor McDavid continues setting records and moving up scoring lists.

McDavid had two goals and an assist in the Edmonton Oilers' 5-3 win against the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday night, passing Jari Kurri for second all time in points in Edmonton history. McDavid, a three-time Hart Trophy winner for league MVP and five-time scoring champion, now has 1,044 points in his 10-year career and trails only Wayne Gretzky on the franchise list.

Kurri had 1,043 points in his 10 years with the Oilers, playing on a line with Gretzky for much of it. Gretzky, the NHL's all-time leading scorer, had 1,669 points in nine seasons in Edmonton.

"Quite a remarkable feat," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. "For him to go up the scoring list as quickly as he has, and within an organization that has had so many significant players. I've seen so many remarkable things from him. He's a tremendous player and great teammate. I said I wouldn't be surprised anymore just because he surprises you so often over these years, but it's a nice feat for him and the guys are very proud of him."

McDavid's second goal was of the highlight variety. He shot the puck from a tough angle, lifting it over Minnesota goalie Filip Gustavsson without much room.

McDavid didn't speak to reporters after the game. He was involved in a collision with Minnesota forward Marcus Johansson in the second period in which McDavid's elbow hit Johansson in the face. There was no penalty called, but it drew the ire of the Wild.

Barcelona midfielder Gavi says Lamine Yamal is the best player in the world after Lionel Messi following the teenager's devastating showing in Wednesday's 5-1 Copa del Rey win over Real Betis.

Yamal scored one, created two and had another goal ruled out for offside as Barça eased into Monday's quarterfinal draw.

The 17-year-old has now scored nine times this season and laid on 13 assists for his teammates in 24 appearances.

"Yes, he is," Gavi told reporters when asked if Yamal is already the best player in the game. "Well, after Lionel Messi, he's the best."

Yamal, who led Spain to European Championship success last summer, finished eighth in the Ballon d'Or last year and also claimed the Kopa Trophy and the Golden Boy award, prizes given to the best young player in the world.

He has long since established himself as a regular in Barça's first team, clocking up over 70 appearances already, and was a nuisance for Betis all night on Wednesday.

After Gavi had opened the scoring, Yamal's brilliant lobbed pass set up Jules Koundé for Barça's second. The winger then set up Kounde again, only for the goal to be ruled off for offside after a lengthy VAR check.

Yamal thought he had added Barça's third after the break, only for a VAR review to once again cancel out the effort for offside, before a brilliant solo run from the edge of his own box led to Raphinha scoring.

Substitute Ferran Torres scored Barça's fourth before Yamal finally got his goal, finishing well after being fed by Fermín López. Vitor Roque, on loan at Betis from Barça, scored a late consolation from the penalty spot.

"You know, Gavi's very emotional, so I say yes as well," Barça coach Hansi Flick said in a news conference when asked if he agreed with Gavi's take on Yamal. "You can see it. I think in great matches you see big talent and he's showed it many times. He's on a really good way. But we have to take care about him."

After a disappointing end to 2024, Barça have now started 2025 with four straight wins, including Sunday's 5-2 demolition of Real Madrid in the Spanish Supercopa final.

Flick wants his players to now take that form into LaLiga, where they have fallen six points behind leaders Atlético Madrid and five behind Real.

"For us, today was very important after the big win against Real Madrid," the German said. "It was very good to see how all the team come back because we travel [back from Saudi Arabia] and we train only yesterday.

"So it's good to see this, how we play today, the performance from the beginning. We controlled the game and this is really great to see how they do.

"The big goal [is to play like this in LaLiga]. We are looking match to match, of course Saturday is the next one against Getafe. We want to play and be ready for that and win."

LOS ANGELES -- Speaking for the first time since the Southern California wildfires forced him and his family to evacuate their home last week, LeBron James acknowledged Wednesday that the fires -- which have burned through 60 square miles and killed at least 25 people -- have taken a mental toll.

"I have a couple of dear friends that have lost their homes in the Palisades," James said after the Los Angeles Lakers' 117-108 win over the Miami Heat. "Obviously, my heart goes out to all of the families, all across not only the Palisades, but all across L.A. County and all the surrounding areas because of the fire. ... It's been a lot of emotions. Kind of been off. Personally, I've been off.

"I've just been completely off for obvious reasons, but hopefully things are contained or continue to be contained. And hopefully, at some point, we can start to push forward and move forward and put it behind us and rebuild our city, rebuild this beautiful city."

His team has also not looked like the group that was seemingly building momentum just a couple of weeks ago, winning eight out of 11 games and fortifying its roster by trading for a coveted 3-and-D wing in Dorian Finney-Smith.

L.A. had lost three games in a row and was trailing the Heat by 12 at halftime when James checked his phone in the locker room during the break.

A family friend sent him a clip of a young girl sitting courtside in a replica James No. 23 jersey who was overcome with emotion when the Lakers star acknowledged her in the first quarter.

"Thank goodness that I actually looked at my phone at halftime, or I wouldn't have even seen the reaction when I waved to her in the first half," James said after the game. "I waved to her, and then I got back to play. So, to have that type of connection with someone, where they can have that type of reaction, I think that's what it's all about. And I've always tried to be a role model and someone that kids can look up to. ... Try to make them proud and want to come see me play or if they're not able to see me play, hopefully some of the things that I do off the floor continue to inspire them."

Perhaps it was the connection James needed to switch back on.

He scored 15 of his 22 points after halftime -- including seven straight in the fourth quarter to stretch L.A.'s lead from two with 3:51 remaining to nine with 1:52 to go -- and the Lakers held on to beat Miami.

"His comfort level closing the basketball game is obviously very high," said Lakers coach JJ Redick -- one of James' friends who lost their homes in the Pacific Palisades.

On Monday, the first game the Lakers played following a six-day layoff because of the fires, L.A. lost 126-102 and was outscored by 33 points in the second half by the San Antonio Spurs. At shootaround in preparation for the Heat game, Redick said, he challenged his entire team to provide better leadership in their own way. L.A. responded with a team effort, with James one of six players to score 14 points or more in the win.

James said the Lakers' performance against Miami, and more games like it in the future, is something he wants Los Angeles to be able to draw some positivity from.

"I hope that by us going out on the floor and us playing the way we played tonight -- not the way we played against San Antonio -- but the way we played tonight and hopefully the next few months or whatever it is, years, until the city is back up, that we as a Lakers franchise and the players that are playing for the Lakers give a sense of hope and pride and excitement," James said. "Sports has always given people an opportunity to kind of just like temporarily forget about whatever they may have been going through. And us being such a big part of the L.A. community -- along with a lot of other sports teams, but we know how important the Lakers is to the community -- hopefully we can provide that to a lot of families."

After the final buzzer, James beelined over to the girl sitting courtside before she and her family exited the arena. He took off one of his I Promise wristbands and placed it on the girl's wrist and crouched down on one knee so his 6-foot-9 body would fit in the frame next to her while they posed for a photograph.

"I think it will be something that hopefully she will never forget," James said. "I'm happy to be a part of her life now and that small little moment, but such a bigger moment. And hopefully she brags about it in school."

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Kawhi Leonard scored 23 points, James Harden added 21 and the LA Clippers had the largest margin of victory in franchise history, routing the Brooklyn Nets 126-67 on Wednesday night.

The Clippers broke the team margin mark of 50 against Oklahoma City on April 10, 2022. It also was the worst loss in Nets' history, eclipsing a 52-point defeat to Houston on Oct. 18, 1978.

The Nets were without Cam Thomas, Cameron Johnson, D'Angelo Russell and Ben Simmons, among others.

"They were missing a few of their starters," Leonard said, "so when guys come in and you're [not] really knowing [the] offense or defense, it could get like that. ... So it's understandable."

LA's largest lead was 64 points midway through the fourth quarter, despite coach Tyronn Lue emptying his bench late in the third quarter.

"When you see a loss like this, a lot of things went wrong," Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said. "Obviously, the energy and competitive spirit was not there, plain and simple. But right now, the only thing I can do is support my guys."

Leonard logged a season-high 24 minutes as he took part in his fourth game since coming back from a knee injury.

"It felt good, but like I said before, I'm taking my time and just because [I'm] making shots [doesn't] mean anything -- to me, at least," he said. "It's about how I'm moving and feeling and, like I said before, I was feeling well in the first few games and still going to be a moving progress for me."

Jalen Wilson led the Nets with 16 points and Day'Ron Sharpe had 12. Brooklyn has dropped five of six.

"It's definitely frustrating. I feel like we've been getting beat by a lot lately, if I'm being honest. We're getting some guys back. We've just got to keep fighting," Nets center Nic Claxton said.

"You feel like you're not doing your job, honestly. We've all got a lot of pride. We've all got to be better. You can't lose like this, though. That can't happen."

Norman Powell added 18 points for the Clippers, who led 58-35 at halftime before opening the third quarter with by scoring the first 13 points en route to a 29-3 run. At the end of the quarter, LA had a 102-51 advantage.

ESPN's Baxter Holmes and The Associated Press contributed to this report.