Ruben Amorim has said he and the first team "cannot ignore" job cuts at Manchester United and that it is their "responsibility" to improve results to help staff and prevent ticket price hikes.

United made 250 employees redundant over the summer as part of cost-cutting measures from part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and sources have told ESPN that they are considering making further cuts.

The Premier League giants have reported losses of 300m over the last three years and their financial situation has not been helped by on-pitch performance, with United failing to make the Champions League places last season. This year, under Erik ten Hag and now Amorim, has been even worse and the club are languishing in 14th in the league ahead of Sunday's game against Tottenham Hotspur.

Amorim has acknowledged that he, and his players, must shoulder the blame.

"I think it's really important for us in the first team, coaches and players, to not ignore that," Amorim said of the job losses.

"People are losing their jobs so we have to acknowledge that the biggest problem is the football team. We spend the money. We are not winning. We are not in the Champions League so the revenues are not the same. We spent a lot of money in the past and now we have to be careful with the finances so cannot rebuild the team the way we would like.

"People are losing their jobs and, of course, have that feeling of not being safe in their job. It's hard to have that feeling so it affects the environment. We cannot ignore it, we acknowledge that problem.

"I want to say the responsibility is the first team and we have to change that."

Other cost-cutting measures introduced under Ratcliffe include raising ticket prices in an effort to increase revenues, and Amorim added: "To change that, the first thing we should do is win at Tottenham. That is a small step to try to help these people, to try to not push prices of tickets higher. We are responsible for that."

In January, the club wrote to fan groups to explain what they called "difficult choices."

"If we do not act now, we are in danger of failing to comply with PSR/FFP requirements," United said in the letter.

"We are currently making a significant loss each year totalling over 300m in the past three years. This is not sustainable.

"We will have to make some difficult choices. That has included a significant reduction to our workforce as well as cuts across many areas of spend across our club."

Auburn and Alabama had never played as top-10 teams. On Saturday, the Tigers and Crimson Tide squared off as the top teams in the country and didn't disappoint.

No. 1 Auburn went on the road and beat No. 2 Alabama 94-85 in the historic matchup of in-state rivals. A rematch of the top-rated teams might be coming shortly because they meet again in Auburn on March 8. And they could face off again in the SEC and NCAA tournaments.

"All eyes in college basketball were on the state of Alabama and the SEC," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said after his team improved to 23-2 and 11-1 in the conference. "What this conference has done in men's basketball is historic."

Pearl pointed to Auburn's hot start, scoring the first nine points, as a key to winning on the road in big games.

"You've got to play well early if you're going to win on the road," Pearl said. "We played well early, and as you would expect, Alabama came storming back, and I've never heard Coleman [Coliseum] this loud. That's how the No. 1 teams in the country should act, that's how they should compete, that's how they should play. And I was really pleased with that."

Alabama coach Nate Oats noted that run as well as Auburn scoring the final seven points of the first half and six of the first eight points of the second half as pivotal moments.

The Crimson Tide rallied to tie the score after trailing by as many as 14 points in the second half but failed to complete the comeback. They never led Saturday, the first time that had happened in 87 home games under Oats.

"I thought we played pretty hard and didn't turn the ball over a whole lot," Oats said, noting seven turnovers. "Too many guys were getting 3s off that weren't supposed to be getting 3s, and they go 12-for-30 from 3."

Auburn forward Johni Broome used the stage to restate his case in the player of the year race -- one that took a hit after he missed two games due to injuries and played just two minutes in a third. Broome controlled the game Saturday, finishing with 19 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal.

"I came in trying to be aggressive, and I was kind of feeling it a little bit, so went and made some plays," Broome said.

Broome briefly left the game late in the second half due to a lower-body injury after an awkward spin move. He returned and made Auburn's final two shots from the field.

He was a dominating force from the beginning. He grabbed his 10th rebound early in the second half, securing the double-double with just under 17 minutes left in the game.

Broome and five teammates scored in double figures. Denver Jones scored 16 points, Chad Baker-Mazara and Miles Kelly added 15 points apiece, Chaney Johnson had 14, and Tahaad Pettiford chipped in 13.

Auburn starter Dylan Cardwell fouled out after playing just 12 minutes, and Baker-Mazara, who came off the bench, fouled out with just over two minutes remaining. Johnson, who averages 23 minutes, picked up much of the slack, playing 33 minutes as Auburn shot 46.2% from the field.

Auburn has nine wins over AP-ranked teams this season. Saturday's win was the Tigers' first over an AP top-two team since 1988; they had lost 20 straight such games before taking down Alabama, according to ESPN Research.

Mark Sears scored 18 points and Grant Nelson added 12 points and 12 rebounds for Alabama, which entered the day shooting 34.4% from 3-point range but made just five of its 26 3-point attempts (19.2%) on Saturday.

Oats used the loss to refocus his players for the three weeks until their next game against the Tigers.

"We're not in full control of our destiny to win the league outright, but we are in control of our destiny to at least get a tie going forward," Oats said. "We'll see the maturity and leadership we have coming in on Monday."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Dylan Larkin scored the go-ahead goal in the second period as the United States defeated Canada 3-1 in the 4 Nations Face-Off on Saturday night, wrapping up a spot in the championship game by winning a contest that started with three fights in nine seconds and was played at a blistering pace with physicality throughout.

The most anticipated game of round-robin play did not disappoint, from the fisticuffs off the opening faceoff to big hits from Charlie McAvoy on Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid and more than a few vital saves by Connor Hellebuyck among his 25. And the U.S. showed it could keep up with Canada's speed, skill and talent in the first international event with the NHL's best players in nearly a decade.

"That was one of the best experiences of my life -- just an unbelievable hockey game," Larkin said. "What a start, and credit to those guys for answering the bell. And the crowd, just a great night for our sport and a great night for this rivalry."

But it wasn't easy for the visitors. McDavid accelerated around the top defensive pair of McAvoy and Zach Werenski and roofed a backhander over Hellebuyck that few goaltenders around would be able to stop, giving Canada a 1-0 lead early in the first period.

But Canada's questions in net -- a major storyline heading into the tournament -- continued when Jake Guentzel beat Jordan Binnington 5-hole midway through the first period to tie it. And Crosby, Canada's perpetually reliable captain, made a rare mistake with a turnover that, combined with a bad line change, paved the way for Larkin to score on a 2-on-1 past the midway mark of regulation.

Binnington, wrapped around that play, made some timely stops, and Canada -- without top defenseman Cale Makar because of illness -- had plenty of chances to tie it but could not get the puck past Hellebuyck again. Guentzel scored into an empty net with 1:19 left to seal the win.

"What an incredible hockey game," U.S. coach Mike Sullivan said.

The result puts an all-world roster led by McDavid, Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon in a must-win situation Monday against Finland at TD Garden in Boston.

"Getting a win here on a Saturday night, that puts us in the finals, that's a pretty neat feeling," American forward Brady Tkachuk told ESPN's Emily Kaplan in his postgame interview. "I feel like they're a lot of unhappy people here, especially in Montreal, a place that isn't my favorite."

The U.S. has nothing to play for against Sweden in Boston on Monday night. Staying healthy will be key as the finale awaits later in the week. The game might give Sullivan a chance to rest some players, including Hellebuyck. His backups for this tournament are Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Draymond Green had just spoken for a few minutes Saturday morning about the state of the game, about how he believes it's officiated differently than it once was, how stars don't get the benefit of being stars like they did in the past.

And then the four-time champion with the Golden State Warriors was asked a simple question: Does he think the NBA game is boring?

"Absolutely," he said.

Such is the challenge that the NBA is trying to fend off right now, the notion that this era of higher-scoring games, more 3-pointers than ever before and a lack of rock-'em, sock-'em physicality like there was a couple generations ago is hurting the product.

"I think as a league now, we look so deep into analytics, and you hear people saying out loud, we want a 3 or a layup. Don't be shooting too many midrange jumpers," Milwaukee guard Damian Lillard said Saturday. "You hear that, and I think it just kind of takes away the originality of the game, I would say. It's meant to be played at three levels. It's meant to be played a certain way.

"But it's a copycat league that we play in, and you can't have everybody playing one way, a successful way and you playing a different way. You've got to get in line with what's working to win, and right now that's what it is."

On the one hand, the NBA is about to enter a new series of broadcast and streaming deals that will generate at least $76 billion, about three times more than the last deal -- so interest still obviously exists, even though ratings are down from a few years ago in a stat that the league freely acknowledges. Player salaries are bigger than ever, the league keeps setting attendance record and merchandise keeps flying off shelves.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver points to all that, and more, as proof that the state of the game is, he believes, "excellent."

"We're paying a lot of attention to it," Silver said. "I'm never going to say there isn't room for improvement. We'll continue to look at it and study it. But I am happy with the state of the game right now."

But the NBA keeps hearing the question about the on-court product. And Green is among those that think issues exist. He cited an interview he recently saw where the late Kobe Bryant, who died in 2020, called the game "accidental basketball."

"It's all penetrate and pitch," Bryant said in that interview. "You may make the shot, you may not."

Said Green: "He couldn't have been more right."

Green talked about a recent Golden State game against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, and how it was "refreshing" to go against a thinker like James -- who is notorious for finding weaknesses and exploiting them.

"Every possession is some type of chess move," Green said. "You don't get that today in the NBA, often. ... You don't just get that on a regular basis. It's just who can run faster, who can hit more 3s, it's no substance. I think it's very boring."

And for a team like the Warriors -- with proven champions like Green and Stephen Curry, along with a champion coach in Steve Kerr -- the run-and-shoot-all-the-time game isn't exactly the preferred game plan.

"You want to be one of the teams that aren't playing an accidental game," Green said. "That's the challenge."

SAN FRANCISCO -- NBA commissioner Adam Silver says he believes the Dallas Mavericks had no "ulterior motives" behind their decision to trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers and that the franchise's fans should have faith in the team in the wake of the shocking deal.

"I have absolutely no knowledge or belief there were any ulterior motives," Silver said during his annual news conference before All-Star Saturday night festivities at Chase Center. "There's no doubt in my mind that the Dumont and Adelson families bought that team to keep it in Dallas. I have no doubt whatsoever that they're committed to the long-term success of that franchise.

"In terms of the Dallas fans, all I can say to them is, again, time will tell whether it was a smart trade, but I think they should believe in their organization. Their organization truly made a trade that they believed was in the best interest of the organization, and in many cases, again, it doesn't mean they were right or wrong, but it's very difficult to put yourself in their shoes. They are living with the situation. They have a philosophical belief on what's necessary ultimately to win championships, and I'm not in a position to second-guess that."

Silver said he was surprised when Dallas sent Doncic to the Lakers for a package led by fellow All-NBA star Anthony Davis.

Other than the general managers of both teams -- Nico Harrison in Dallas and Rob Pelinka in Los Angeles -- virtually everyone else was stunned by the deal, which came together shortly after the Lakers had one of their best performances of the season in a blowout win over the New York Knicks two weeks ago.

Silver said he likes Doncic, whom he first met while Doncic was playing for Real Madrid, and is empathetic to Mavericks fans about the deal. But he also believes Harrison and team owner Patrick Dumont deserve the benefit of the doubt.

"In terms of anger with the fan base, I'm empathetic," Silver said. "I understand it. Dallas was in the Finals last year. I've already said this before: I like Luka very much. ... It seems genuinely, truly authentic that he was stunned and disappointed. You could see it in his body language.

"Having said all that, I also am sympathetic to the Mavericks organization. I've known Nico Harrison for a long time from his prior tenure at Nike, and I've gotten to be close to Patrick Dumont, our new governor in Dallas. I can say one thing for sure: Whether or not history will ultimately judge this as a smart trade, they did what they thought was in the best interest of their organization."

Silver touched on several other topics, including:

After Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez won their arbitration ruling against Glen Taylor in their quest to purchase the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier this week, Silver said he doesn't "see any reason why" the two won't be approved by the NBA board of governors.

Silver also said he and the league are waiting to see whether Taylor appeals the arbitration decision.

"I think, though, that A-Rod, certainly Marc Lore, are well-known to the league at this point," Silver said. "They've already been vetted and approved as minority owners. I think they understood that the league had no role in this arbitration. That was something they had agreed to as part of their purchase agreement.

"I think now that the arbitration has been resolved, they will -- as I said, Glen Taylor has a decision to make. If he chooses to appeal it, obviously we will wait until there's finality as to that process, and if he doesn't, we will move forward right away and continue the remaining part of our vetting process and then it will go to the governors for a vote."

Asked if Lore and Rodriguez would get the team if Taylor doesn't appeal, Silver said: "The only reason I'm not going to answer that is that I don't want to turn the board of governors role into a rubber stamp. That is a decision they need to make. We should conclude the vetting process. I know Marc and Alex understand that. That's a process that every governor in this league has gone through.

"I will say standing here today, I don't see any reason why it won't be approved, but again, we need to follow the process."

For the sale to go through, at least 23 of the 30 owners have to approve -- a decision that could happen as soon as the end of March.

After Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu created the lasting moment from All-Star Weekend a year ago with their 3-point shooting battle, many expected the event would return this year in the Bay Area, particularly with Curry playing for the Warriors and Ionescu being from Northern California.

That did not happen, however.

Silver said everyone involved felt it would be "forced" to repeat it and that the "magic" from last year's event was gone.

"It just seemed like coming back here, as exciting as it might have been, that this just wasn't the right time to do it," Silver said. "There's no more to it than that. They're both friends. They're wonderful people. I'm sure there's a part of them that recognizes they may be disappointing people, but I think they all felt, and I agreed with them, that it just didn't feel right in the moment.

"We looked at different permutations and ways to do it, and as I said -- I'll be the first one to say, at the end, it just felt forced. It lost that special feeling that it had last year."

The Lakers were involved in another recent consequential transaction, initially trading for Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams, but Los Angeles rescinded the deal after Williams didn't pass the team's physical.

Silver said the Hornets have not filed a formal protest. He added that although rescinded trades don't happen often, he doesn't anticipate a change in the rules regarding deals.

"We understand that in the back-and-forth of teams and trades that to the extent we can reduce uncertainty, that's a positive thing, and obviously, I mentioned before that for players who are involved in trades, how disruptive it can be," Silver said. "I am sure it's equally disruptive to think you have been traded then not to have been traded, disruptive for the player, disruptive for their teammates.

"We'll look at it. I'd say it's one of those areas when it comes to the health and well-being of our players, medical science, there have been incredible developments, and this is a rule sort of as interpreted now, hasn't changed for many decades at the league office."

Silver addressed the state of the game as he has done several times over the past few months.

This time, Silver said he was happy with the current product, adding that though the league is looking at things, there's no need to make a change.

"I think the state of the game is excellent," he said. "I think it's the media's role, the fans' role, it's perfectly appropriate to be critical of the game, and I find it very helpful. I'm not one of those people who said I don't read criticism. I try to read it all, frankly, and we try to absorb it at the league office.

"Many great ideas have come from outside this league. Even some of the things that we've done recently over the last several years. Things like a play-in tournament, things like the in-season tournament, which became known as the NBA Cup. I can't claim those were original ideas. Those were things, whether we saw other leagues doing that, media talking about them. So we've made plenty of tweaks over the years.

"We're paying a lot of attention to it. I'm never going to say there isn't room for improvement. We'll continue to look at it and study it, but I am happy with the state of the game right now."