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.

NEW ORLEANS -- The Pelicans outlasted the injury-depleted Dallas Mavericks 119-116 on Wednesday night after Trey Murphy III had a disputed block of Spencer Dinwiddie's layup for the lead with four seconds left.

Murphy had 24 points and 10 rebounds, capped by game-sealing free throws with two seconds left, but video replays made his block look more like a goaltend that wasn't called.

"The league wants to get it right," Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. "The referees have a tough job. They clearly did not get that right, and it cost us maybe the game."

With 15 seconds remaining and Dallas trailing 117-116, P.J. Washington got a steal near midcourt and the Mavs pushed the ball in transition. Dinwiddie received a pass as he moved toward the basket and went up for a potential go-ahead layup as Murphy trailed. The ball appeared to hit the glass before Murphy touched it, but the Mavs were out of timeouts and could not challenge.

Dinwiddie disagreed with the non-call, saying he deliberately put the ball off the backboard so the shot couldn't be blocked.

"If people follow my career, and I beat the big or whatever, and I hold it out here, I put it directly on the glass for two reasons," said Dinwiddie, who finished with 20 points. "One, I'm tall and long. I'm extending, so they have to jump over and block it.

"If you do happen to block it, it's already on the glass and I'm scoring. I've literally made a whole bunch of money doing that exact move."

Daniel Gafford scored a career-high 27 points on 12-of-13 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds for Dallas, which played without top two scorers Luka Doncic (left calf) and Kyrie Irving (back), as well as usual starting center Dereck Lively (right ankle). The Mavs have lost three straight and eight of 10.

Dejounte Murray scored a game-high 30 points, and Javonte Green added 13 points to help New Orleans (10-32) take its third victory in four games after winning just five of its first 33.

The Pelicans played without Zion Williamson (left hamstring), who was rested after playing Tuesday night in Chicago.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The second coming of David Moyes failed to inspire Everton on Wednesday as they lost 1-0 at home to Aston Villa after another toothless Premier League performance.

Villa had lost their last five away games in the league but were by far the better team at Goodison Park and took the points via Ollie Watkins' 51st-minute goal.

Moyes, back at the club he left in 2013 after the sacking of Sean Dyche last week, got a close-up view of the massive challenge he faces as Everton struggled for accuracy and ideas all night to make it one win in 12 league games, during which time they have failed to score in nine of them.

That drought never looked like lifting on Wednesday and they remain two places and one point above the relegation zone, while Villa move up to seventh, level on points with Manchester City.

Moyes is Everton's ninth permanent manager since he left the club after 11 relatively successful years to join Manchester United but, if anyone was expecting an immediate transformation in approach after the dour fare served up under Dyche, they were soon disappointed.

It was a curiously subdued atmosphere at the ground and Everton quickly slipped into their default mode this season -- cautious, careful and lacking any notable attacking intent.

It was Villa who took the initiative as Jordan Pickford saved well from Morgan Rogers, James Tarkowski made a desperate block to deny Youri Tielemans and Watkins shot wide after seizing on a poor Ashley Young backpass.

Everton managed their first attempt on goal after half an hour when Dominic Calvert-Lewin shot wide and he then had an off-balance effort cleared off the line by Boubacar Kamara.

Watkins put Villa ahead six minutes after the restart when he was left in too much space to run on to a Rogers through ball and slot low past Pickford.

The goal shook the home fans into life but Everton's players remained disjointed and inaccurate and their night was summed up in stoppage time when Calvert-Lewin, desperately short of confidence after scoring two goals all season, side-footed a bobbling ball over the bar.

"I'm under no illusions about the job I've got to do -- we couldn't score a goal tonight," Moyes said.

"We tried hard but a little bit of a mistake, a bit out of position, has cost us the game really."

The only solace Moyes could take from the night was defeats for relegation rivals Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, but he knows he will not be able to rely on that for the rest of the season if Everton are to avoid relegation for the first time in 71 years.

"The position we are in isn't as good as we'd like it. We had some really good results and good draws and were hard to play against under Sean, but we have to show more quality on the ball," he said. "That's the part I was disappointed with tonight."

It was a different mood of course in the Villa camp.

"It was a tricky match, they made it difficult and the atmosphere was top but we ground it out," Watkins said.

"We could have been a bit more clinical in the first half and it's a deserved three points. I had a chance in the first half but you have to keep going. You have to keep your mind in the game."

Villa boss Unai Emery was also a happy man. "We competed very well, we had some clear chances and conceded only one really," he said.

"We didn't have quite the same control in the second half but the clean sheet was important and it was important we ended this run [of away defeats]."

Ange Postecoglou said he hopes his Tottenham players are hurting after their 2-1 defeat to Arsenal on Wednesday and labelled the performance "unacceptable."

Spurs took the lead against Arsenal in the 23rd minute thanks to a goal from Son Heung-Min.

But they went into the break 2-1 down, after Gabriel's header off a corner deflected in off Dominic Solanke for an own-goal, and Leandro Trossard scored what proved to be the winner in the 44th minute.

Postecoglou made two changes at the break, taking off Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma for James Maddison and Brennan Johnson, but it wasn't enough to get Spurs back into the match.

The defeat leaves Tottenham 13th in the Premier League and post-match, Postecoglou did not hold back in his criticism of the performance.

"It was not good enough -- especially the first half," Postecoglou said. "[We were] Way too passive, we let Arsenal take control of the game. Really disappointed with the way we were without the ball, we allowed them to dictate the tempo and we paid the price.

"We just didn't play anywhere near our identity. We are aggressive with and without the ball, but tonight in that first 45 we were too passive. That's unacceptable."

Postecoglou would not be drawn on a moment of controversy in the first half where Arsenal equalised off a corner that should've been given as a Tottenham goal kick.

"I don't want to talk about referees, It's how things are going at the moment," he said. "We were nowhere near where we want to be."

Despite Postecoglou seeing both his 18-year-old players Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall playing the full 90 minutes, the Australian coach didn't want their performances to bring any silver lining to the defeat.

"I want them disappointed -- this can't be accepted by anybody in the club," he said. "We are asking big jobs [of them] but I hope they're hurting as much as anybody else in terms of us not being able to deliver."

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has praised the attacking performance of his teammates in the north London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur, saying they could have scored 10 goals in the 2-1 triumph.

Mikel Arteta's team came from behind to beat Spurs in a typically entertaining contest at Emirates Stadium, with all three goals coming in a first half that saw the visitors take the lead before a four-minute salvo saw an own goal from Dominic Solanke and a low drive from Leandro Trossard put Arsenal ahead.

Arsenal spurned several chances in the second half to extend their lead, and speaking to TNT Sports after the game, Rice said the win could have been considerably more comfortable and added that he needed no extra motivation for the game against his team's biggest rivals.

"We are unlucky we didn't score 10, that's the feeling," the England international said. "We don't need a message, playing Spurs, if you can't get up for that then you shouldn't be playing football. We could have had another five or six and that is the disappointing thing.

"Tonight meant more than anything. From the first minute, the first 45 was pure domination, you can tell it was a derby."

Arsenal are now four points behind league leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.

Spurs, meanwhile, are languishing in 13th after suffering their 11th Premier League defeat in 21 games this term.

Brazil superstar and Al Hilal attacker Neymar is in preliminary talks with three MLS sides, including Chicago Fire FC, over a proposed move, sources have told ESPN.

A source added that at present, Inter Miami isn't among the teams bidding for Neymar, and new Herons manager Javier Mascherano recently said that it would be "impossible" to add the Brazilian to the Miami roster given the restrictions MLS currently has in place.

However, sources with ESPN in Brazil have tempered expectations over a move to MLS for Neymar and added that he is still holding out hope of signing with former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in South Florida.

Neymar, 32, has endured a difficult spell with Al Hilal since joining the Saudi Arabian club from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2023 for a fee of $97.6 million. He suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee while on international duty shortly after joining Al Hilal.

Neymar made his return to the field last October, but a subsequent hamstring injury has kept him from making more of a contribution this season. All told, he has made only seven league and cup appearances, and he scored one goal, in an AFC Champions League group stage match against Nassaji Mazandaran, on Oct. 3, 2023.

Even without Neymar, Al Hilal won the Saudi Pro League last season.

The former Barcelona star's contract runs through June of 2025, meaning he can begin negotiating with other teams on a new contract. Neymar remains one of the biggest names in the sport thanks to his exploits alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez while with Barca from 2013-17.

During his time with the Catalan club, he was part of sides that won a UEFA Champions League crown, two LaLiga titles, and three Copa del Reys. He later moved to PSG in 2017 and won five Ligue 1 titles, three French Cups and two League Cups.

Neymar began his professional career with Santos in 2009, leading them to a Copa Libertadores triumph in 2011 in which he scored in the second leg of the final, a 2-1 win over Peñarol.

At the international level, Neymar has appeared 128 times for Brazil, scoring 79 goals. He was part of the Brazil side that won the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, which Brazil hosted, but has also been unavailable on a regular basis in recent years due to injuries.

LONDON -- Arsenal came from behind to beat north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday and closed the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool to four points.

Son Heung-Min gave Spurs a 25th-minute lead against the run of play after his shot from the edge of the box deflected off William Saliba and past Gunners goalkeeper David Raya. Arsenal responded 15 minutes later when Gabriel Magalhães tried to meet Declan Rice's corner at the back post, only for Radu Dragusin's header to hit Dominic Solanke and find a way past Antonin Kinsky.

Tottenham goalkeeper Kinsky, making his league debut after a 12.5m move from Sparta Prague, endured a shaky first half and was culpable in failing to stop Leandro Trossard's low drive from outside the box a minute before the break, which turned out to be the winner.

A tense second half followed in which Arsenal created the better chances before Spurs defender Pedro Porro hit the post deep into stoppage time, but Mikel Arteta's side secured a win which takes them above Nottingham Forest into second place. Leaders Liverpool, however, still have a game in hand: their rearranged Merseyside derby against Everton on Feb. 12. -- James Olley

Arsenal chip away at Liverpool's lead...

Liverpool's 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest a day earlier will only have given Arsenal more motivation here, if any was required for the visit of their fierce local rivals. Last time Liverpool dropped points -- against Manchester United on Jan. 5 -- Arsenal had already been held at Brighton & Hove Albion.

This match week, however, they took full advantage.

Self-belief had wavered a little in these parts after successive cup defeats to Newcastle United and Manchester United and, while this was far from the complete performance, they got a precious victory, which turns up the pressure on Arne Slot's side ahead of the Reds' tricky trip to Brentford on Saturday. -- Olley

... yet striker doubts persist

Despite the result, Arsenal were once again not at their best in front of goal.

They ended with an expected goals figure of 1.70 -- significantly down on their games against Newcastle and United -- requiring an own goal from a set-piece and a goalkeeping mistake to beat Spurs. Arteta shuffled his forward line here, handing a rare start to Raheem Sterling -- just his third in the league since signing on loan from Chelsea last summer -- while Trossard occupied the left flank with Gabriel Martinelli dropped to the bench.

Judgements should not be overly critical on a night where Arsenal showed spirit and fight to get themselves over the line, but their overall play in the final third did little to silence longstanding concerns that they may need to sign another player to bolster their forward line this month. Kai Havertz endured another unconvincing night in goal, while Sterling was better without the ball than with it. The clamour to sign a striker this month would have grown exponentially had their failed to win here and while they avoided that fate, the conversation will undoubtedly continue.

Set-pieces came to the rescue for Arteta's side once more: Arsenal have scored four league goals from corners against Tottenham since the start of last season -- the most any team has netted against an opponent in this period. -- Olley

Kinsky's Premier League baptism of fire

It's been quite the introduction for Kinsky to Tottenham life. Having joined on Jan. 5, he'd already kept clean sheets for Spurs in their Carabao Cup semifinal against Liverpool and on Sunday in their FA Cup third round match at Tamworth. But on his Premier League debut, the North London derby was a different kind of challenge for Kinsky, and a proper acid test of his mentality and composure. He had Havertz constantly hustling every touch he took, ensuring he was forever rushed as he sought to play out from the back.

While his distribution was largely sound, he was caught twice by Havertz as he dawdled on the ball. While he did well on their constant bombardment of corners into his six-yard box, for Solanke's own-goal he was trapped by a teammate as he looked to punch clear. The Czechia under-21s star would have hoped to have got at least a glove on Trossard's strike in the 44th minute as it threaded through his out-stretched arms.

But to his credit, Kinsky stuck to his guns. In the second half he saved superbly off Martin Odegaard to keep Arsenal's lead at a single goal. He looks a shrewd signing by Spurs, and able competition for Guglielmo Vicario as their first-choice keeper continues his recovery from a fractured ankle, but this was a mixed performance from him. -- Tom Hamilton

Is Son still Spurs' main man?

As Tottenham searched in vain for an equaliser in the final throes of the match, their talismanic forward and club captain Son watched on from the bench. It was jarring to see him substituted in the 78th minute for Richarlison.

For so long Son has been irreplaceable at Spurs, and rightly so. He's a club legend, a wonderful player, and someone who can turn the balance of the match in a blink of an eye, but his substitution suggests he's no longer untouchable. It started so well for Son, as he opened the scoring for Spurs after 25 minutes with a deflected effort. It was his first Premier League goal since mid-December, when he scored in their 5-0 dismantling of Southampton.

For the rest of his time on the field, he was hovering on the halfway line, looking to counter, but Spurs' transitional play was let down by their midfield constantly coughing the ball up. He had just 24 touches of the ball -- his second lowest total in the league this season, just exceeding the 18 he managed in 33 minutes against AFC Bournemouth. Eventually his number was held up, and in his place Richarlison failed to make a dent on the left-flank as Spurs treaded the tight-rope of pushing for an equaliser while trying to nullify Arsenal's counter-attack.

Son's substitution means he has completed just one Premier League match for Spurs in their last eight -- on that occasion he played the full 90 as Tottenham fell 4-3 at home to Chelsea. -- Hamilton

Pressure on Postecoglou remains

It is difficult not to have a degree of sympathy with the injury problems Ange Postecoglou is contending with at Tottenham. Robbed of both first choice centre-backs, two left-backs and two goalkeepers, Spurs' patched up defence was always prone to looking vulnerable.

But this is a result that leaves Tottenham in 13th place after an 11th league defeat of the season. Only the three teams in the relegation zone -- Wolverhampton Wanderers (13), Leicester City (13) and Southampton (16) -- have lost more. Postecoglou has two cup competitions to fight for -- and the prospect of a Carabao Cup semifinal second leg next month against Liverpool, in which they hold a first-leg lead, should insulate him from any immediate danger, but there will surely soon come a point when the pressure will begin to build on the Australian.

They are now 14 points off fifth place -- which is likely to be enough to secure UEFA Champions League football -- and just eight points above the relegation zone. Results have to improve, even accounting for the mitigating factors. Like Arsenal, Spurs are also under pressure to act in the market, but for a completely different reason. -- Olley

Bill Belichick's first coaching staff at North Carolina continues to come together.

Longtime NFL special teams coach Mike Priefer and veteran SEC offensive line coach Will Friend are expected to finalize deals to join Belichick's staff, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

After coaching for nearly a decade in college, Priefer moved to the NFL in 2002 and was a special teams coordinator from 2006 to 2022. He is noted in Cleveland Browns history as serving as the head coach in a January 2021 wild-card victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is the franchise's only postseason win since the 1994 season. Priefer stepped in for Kevin Stefanski, who watched the game at home with COVID.

Priefer was the special teams coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs (2006-08), Denver Broncos (2009-10), Minnesota Vikings (2011-18) and Browns (2019-22). He brings ties to the Naval Academy, something he shares with Belichick and his family. Priefer is a Navy graduate and served as a graduate assistant there.

Friend worked last season as Western Kentucky's offensive coordinator. He brings strong recruiting ties in the South, having worked at Georgia, Tennessee, Auburn and Mississippi State as the offensive line coach. He has also worked as the offensive coordinator at Colorado State and WKU.

Friend has a long history of developing linemen for the NFL.

With Priefer and Friend, there are six known members of Belichick's staff, which includes longtime NFL coach Freddie Kitchens as the offensive coordinator and veteran NFL coach Stephen Belichick as the defensive coordinator.

The hires line up the objectives of Belichick, who has stressed that he wants to run the Tar Heels like a NFL program.

Before taking the UNC job, Belichick told ESPN's Pat McAfee that if he were to run a college program, it would be a "pipeline to the NFL for the players that had the ability to play in the NFL."

He added: "It would be a professional program. Training, nutrition, scheme, coaching, techniques that would transfer to the NFL. It would be an NFL program at a college level and an education that would get the players ready for their career after football."

EL SEGUNO, Calif. -- Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said Wednesday that he will have a cardiac ablation this offseason and hip replacement surgery.

Harbaugh, 61, briefly left the Chargers' Week 6 game against the Denver Broncos after a flare-up with atrial flutter, a type of arrhythmia that causes the heart to beat at an abnormally high rate. Harbaugh wore a heart monitor for two weeks during the season.

Harbaugh went to the locker room, where paramedics treated him. He had an electrocardiogram scan and, eventually, they got his heart back to a normal rhythm. Harbaugh returned in the first quarter and coached the remainder of the game. Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter was the interim head coach while Harbaugh was out.

In 2012, Harbaugh had his last flare-up. It came when he was coaching the San Francisco 49ers in a game against the Chicago Bears on "Monday Night Football," when he felt an irregular heartbeat but finished coaching the game and saw doctors afterward.

As for his hip replacement, Harbaugh walks with a significant limp now because of his hip, which will be corrected with the surgery.

Harbaugh has said previously that he wouldn't consider retiring because of his health issues.

"It would take my heart stopping for me not to be out there on the sideline," Harbaugh said in October.