KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs again saw the shift in Travis Kelce as they began the postseason and the star tight end became what Mahomes called "Playoff Trav."

"This is what he lives for, is playing in these moments, having the chance to make big-time plays," Mahomes said Saturday after Kelce provided almost half of the Chiefs' receptions and more than half of their receiving yards in a 23-14 win over the Houston Texans in the divisional round of the playoffs.

"He goes out there and does that, and it seems like he does it in every single playoff game.

"He doesn't let the moment be bigger than what it is. He just goes out there and executes at a high level just like he does in a regular-season game. He just does that with a little bit higher intensity."

Kelce caught seven passes for 117 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown from Mahomes in the fourth quarter. It was his first 100-yard game of the season and the ninth of his playoff career, the latter setting an NFL record.

Kelce exceeded his regular-season average for yards per game in the playoffs every year since 2020. Against the Texans on Saturday, Kelce more than doubled his season average of 56 receiving yards per game.

Kelce said he had no explanation.

"I wish it was some type of switch or something like that that I just turned on in the playoffs," he said.

Kelce was one of several Chiefs players who until Saturday hadn't played since a Christmas Day win over the Pittsburgh Steelers clinched the AFC's top playoff seed. Kelce, 35, said he felt much more refreshed for having a break of more than three weeks heading into the playoffs, and Mahomes agreed.

"It helped Travis a ton just because he's an older guy and he plays a very, very tough position on the body," Mahomes said. "It's not like he's just sitting on the couch. He's working out and kind of just taking those reps off, so for him it's just been getting himself ready to go. We've been practicing, we've been working at practice and then we go out there and he plays fast and takes his game to a new level.''

Kelce's biggest play was a 49-yard catch that set up the Chiefs' first touchdown. On it, he had 36 yards after the catch, most coming after he ran around a defender who had a shot at him right after the reception.

"It just felt good to finally make a guy miss this year,'' Kelce said.

Kelce was finally brought down at the Houston 6. Wide receiver Xavier Worthy said that early in Kelce's career the tight end would have scored a touchdown on the play. Kelce said Worthy was correct.

As far as making defenders miss, Mahomes said, "Those tacklers that tackle him in the regular season don't tackle him in the playoffs."

The Mahomes-to-Kelce touchdown pass gave the Chiefs a 20-12 lead. It was the 20th career playoff touchdown for the two, but few if any were this spectacular. Mahomes found Kelce as the quarterback was falling to the ground after being hit and seemingly about to be sacked.

Defensive tackle Chris Jones has been with the Chiefs for all of the 20 touchdown passes from Mahomes to Kelce and wasn't surprised at this one.

"Just when you think you've got them, you don't," Jones said.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. said he believes the referees were against his team in Saturday's 23-14 AFC divisional round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Texans' defense was flagged for two controversial penalties at separate points when it contacted Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Both extended Kansas City drives, leading to a crucial 10 points for the Chiefs.

"We knew it was going to be us versus the refs going into this game," Anderson said afterward.

Anderson was flagged for roughing the passer on a Mahomes incomplete pass to tight end Travis Kelce on third down during the Chiefs' second drive. Anderson appeared to hit Mahomes in the upper neck area shortly after he released the pass. That drive ended in a field goal to put the Chiefs up 6-3.

In the third quarter, Mahomes scrambled on a first down and slid while Texans defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi and linebacker Henry To'oTo'o collided with him, drawing an unnecessary roughness penalty. The Chiefs took advantage of the extra yards and capped the possession with a touchdown to put them up 20-12.

Fatukasi told ESPN he didn't remember the play for which he was flagged, and To'oTo'o said, "It is what it is."

When Houston coach DeMeco Ryans was asked about the controversial calls, he made a subtle remark. But Ryans acknowledged the "self-inflicted mistakes" sunk the Texans' chances of advancing to the AFC Championship Game for the first time in franchise history.

"We knew going into this game, man, it was us versus everybody. And when I say everybody, it's everybody," Ryans said. "Knowing that going into this game, what we were up against, we can't make the mistakes that we made. Whether it's special teams not converting our kicks. Defensively, not being where we're supposed to be in coverage. Offensively, not protecting our quarterback and keeping him clean. You married that on top of everything else that we have to deal with, it's just going to be a really tough uphill battle."

And the Texans made several mistakes. That is why even though Houston reached the divisional round for consecutive seasons, Ryans said he was "discouraged" about Saturday's outcome.

"This one hurts, because I know we're a better football team than what we showed today," Ryans said. "To go back and still have to talk about mistakes that we made in this moment, it's discouraging. Because we got to be over that at this point in the playoffs."

The Texans' special teams made critical miscues that kept them at a disadvantage for most of the contest. On the game's opening kickoff, Houston gave up a 63-yard return to Chiefs wideout Nikko Remigio, who fumbled when defensive back Kris Boyd tackled him before Kansas City running back Samaje Perine recovered the loose ball.

However, before the recovery, Boyd sprinted off in a celebratory fashion and threw off his helmet before reaching the sideline. He drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty that had the Chiefs' offense starting on Houston's 13-yard line. The defense didn't allow a touchdown, but Kansas City took advantage of the field position and nailed a field goal.

The Texans opened the second half with running back Joe Mixon scoring a touchdown. But kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn missed the extra point try that would have tied the score at 13. Fairbairn also missed a field goal attempt in the second quarter.

Beyond the special team blunders, the Texans failed to protect quarterback C.J. Stroud, who was pressured on a career-high 23 dropbacks and sacked eight times, tying a career high from Week 9 against the New York Jets.

Stroud's pressure rate of 56% is the second highest in an NFL playoff game since ESPN began tracking pressure in 2009, trailing only former Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow (63%) in 2011.

"In the playoffs, you have to win your one-on-ones," Ryans said. "That's what the game always comes down to. You have to man up and own your one-on-one. You have to have some pride in who you're blocking to get it done, to give the quarterback a chance to throw the football."

Stroud was able to use his legs to survive some of the pressure, as he rushed for 42 yards and converted on a couple of third downs.

"Just being a competitor, trying to put my team in positions to win," Stroud said. "There's times where I probably shouldn't have done that and just throw the ball away. So, it's a balance, and I think I tried my best to do that today, and I think I made a lot of plays in general today."

Still, whenever Kansas City blitzed, the Texans struggled to find answers. Stroud was blitzed on 10 of his 18 fourth-quarter dropbacks (56%), including a stretch of seven consecutive ones. Stroud was 3-of-8 for 41 yards with two sacks in the fourth quarter when blitzed.

The gaffes the Texans made were too much to overcome, as they became the first team to outgain their opponent by 100-plus yards (336-212) while not turning the ball over and lose a postseason game. Previous such teams were 49-0 in the playoffs, according to ESPN Research.

"Can't continue to shoot ourselves in the foot and then not overcome it and expect to win," Stroud said.

DETROIT -- The Washington Commanders no longer are just a feel-good story. They're now a threat to win a title in one of the most unlikely seasons in franchise history.

The Commanders earned a spot in the NFC Championship Game with a 45-31 victory over the Detroit Lions on Saturday. Washington (14-5) will play the winner of Sunday's game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams (3 p.m. ET, NBC).

It's the first time the organization has reached the NFC Championship Game since the 1991 season. Last week, it won its first playoff game since the 2005 season.

The Commanders did it with an offense that punted only once and gained 482 total yards against a team that had gone 15-2 in the regular season.

Quarterback Jayden Daniels, once more, starred. He threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 52 yards. The offense scored 38 points and received another seven thanks to a pick-six by safety Quan Martin.

The Commanders accomplished this feat one year after going 4-13 and making massive changes to its front office, coaching staff and roster. From 1992 -- the year after Washington won its last Super Bowl -- until 2023, the organization posted the NFL's fourth-worst winning percentage.

Before this season, the franchise had not posted a winning record since 2016. But the Commanders have exorcised one ghost after another.

Here are the most important things to know from Saturday night for both teams:

Washington Commanders (14-5)

QB breakdown: Rookie or not, Daniels does not get flustered. Playing in his most hostile environment as a pro, and facing numerous blitzes, he stayed composed -- as he has all season. Daniels threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns. His best work came under pressure. In the first half, Daniels threw for 160 yards against the blitz, completing 7-of-9 throws. His season high in a game vs. the blitz was 177 yards against the Eagles in a Week 16 win. On Saturday, Daniels also completed two passes on fourth down for 19 yards and two first downs.

Surprising performance: Washington's defense. The Commanders allowed 31 points and 521 yards, but they made plays on defense. Washington intercepted four passes and had a strip-sack that led to a touchdown. Safety Quan Martin had a pick-six in the first half while corner Mike Sainristil intercepted a pass in the end zone late in the first half with Detroit in field goal range.

Promising trend: Receiver Dyami Brown has been huge in the postseason. On Saturday, Brown caught six passes for 98 yards after catching five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown in the wild-card win over Tampa Bay. His speed mattered Saturday as he caught passes for 42 and 38 yards to set up scores. During the regular season, Brown caught 30 passes for 308 yards and a touchdown. -- John Keim

Next game: NFC Championship Game vs. Eagles or Rams (3 p.m. ET, Sunday, Jan. 26)

Detroit Lions (15-3)

Fans at Ford Field were stunned after a season with such great promise ended with a five-turnover performance in the loss to Washington. The teams combined for 52 points at halftime, which matched the highest-scoring first half of any game since the 2019 divisional playoffs between the Chiefs and Texans, per ESPN Research. But that number largely reflected on Detroit's defense, which struggled badly to contain rookie Daniels and the Washington offense all game.

Detroit starting cornerback Amik Robertson suffered an elbow injury on the defense's second play of the game and didn't return, compounding the unit's issues.

QB breakdown: Jared Goff threw three interceptions, including his first pick-six this season, and lost a fumble. He also briefly exited the game in the second quarter to be evaluated for a concussion after absorbing a big hit during Martin's interception return for a TD. Goff finished 23-for-40 for 313 yards with a touchdown, 3 interceptions and the fumble.

Silver lining: Second-year running back Jahmyr Gibbs continued his ascent into NFL superstardom. He finished with 14 carries for 105 rushing yards as well as six catches for 70 receiving yards. He scored two touchdowns and flashed the moves and burst that made Commanders defenders miss throughout the game. He set franchise marks with five career postseason TDs and 22 total this season.

Describe the game in two words: Big letdown. After a record-setting regular season in which they set a franchise mark for wins (15) and secured the 1-seed, the Lions got outplayed by Washington. Injuries to key defensive players finally appeared to catch up to them. The Lions couldn't seem to overcome the losses of CB Carlton Davis, DT Alim McNeill, DE Aidan Hutchinson and LB Malcolm Rodriguez -- all starters -- against Washington's high-powered offense. -- Eric Woodyard

The first UFC pay-per-view event of the year will be headlined by ESPN's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, as Islam Makhachev puts the UFC lightweight title on the line in a rematch against Renato Moicano at UFC 311 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.

Makhachev has been nearly perfect in the Octagon, winning 15 of his 16 UFC fights. His lone loss was against Adriano Martins at UFC 192 in October 2015. Most recently, Makhachev beat Dustin Poirier by fifth-round submission to retain the belt at UFC 302 last June.

Moicano took the fight on late notice, after Arman Tsarukyan withdrew due to injury.

In the co-main event Umar Nurmagomedov, Makhachev's training partner, challenges Merab Dvalishvili for the men's bantamweight title.

Also on the card, former light heavyweight champions Jiří Procházka and Jamahal Hill faceoff in what could be No. 1 contender fight and Kevin Holland squares off with former One Championship title holder Reinier de Ridder.

Brett Okamoto, Andreas Hale, Jeff Wagenheim, and Dre Waters highlight everything happening in and around the UFC pay-per-view event.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Golden State Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green both limped off the floor in a 122-114 win over Washington, and Green's status is in doubt moving forward as he will undergo an MRI on Sunday.

Curry suffered a left ankle injury in the final 1:05 and left the game to head back to the locker room before the final buzzer sounded. Curry, who had 26 points, says he plans on playing against the Boston Celtics on Monday.

"Feels great," Curry said of his ankle in the locker room. "See you on Monday."

Green's status for Monday appears doubtful. He left the game just three minutes into the first quarter and was shortly ruled out for the game after that with left calf tightness. He would return to the bench but could be seen walking with a noticeable limp.

Coach Steve Kerr said Green will undergo an MRI to see the severity of the injury.

"Steph told me he doesn't think it's serious," Kerr said. "They will both be day-to-day for now.

"We don't really know [with Green]. We will have to wait and see what the MRI shows tomorrow. Just kind of assess him the next couple of days and figure out what's next."

The Warriors (21-20) have been banged up. Curry has been playing with an injured thumb on his shooting hand and has had to manage pain in his knees for much of the season.

Green just returned from a three-game absence due to illness and a back issue and now could be looking at missing more time. Green, the team's defensive leader and connector on offense, averaged 8.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists entering Saturday's game.

Golden State is already without Jonathan Kuminga, who has been out with an ankle injury since Jan. 4. Guard Brandin Podziemski has been out with an abdominal injury and Kyle Anderson did not play on Saturday with a glute injury as well.

Since opening the season with a 12-3 start, the Warriors have been in a slump. Saturday's win was their second in a row but only their ninth victory in the last 26 games.

The Warriors face Boston on Monday afternoon before playing at Sacramento on Wednesday. They return home to face the Bulls on Thursday and the Lakers on Saturday.

BOSTON -- Dyson Daniels hit a short jumper in the lane with just over a minute left in overtime and Onyeka Okongwu made two free throws with 11 seconds left, lifting the Atlanta Hawks to a 119-115 victory over the Boston Celtics on Saturday night.

Trae Young led Atlanta with 28 points and 12 assists, and Daniels finished with 23 points. Jaylen Brown had 24 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for Boston, who was missing centers Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis.

The Celtics had a 90.3% chance to win, per ESPN Analytics, when they were leading 103-100 with 20.1 seconds to go after a technical free throw from Jayson Tatum. But a Jrue Holiday turnover followed by a pair of costly fouls on Young helped send the game to overtime.

After the game, Holiday took responsibility for the loss, saying his "execution needs to be better."

In the extra frame, things got heated between the two teams after Tatum and De'Andre Hunter got into a tussle going for a rebound. The pair had to be separated. Officials didn't issue any technicals, which was important because Tatum had received one in the second quarter.

Tatum finished with 23 points after coming into the game listed as questionable with a left shoulder strain. He shot 7 of 21 overall and missed two shots late in regulation and overtime.

The shooting struggles extended to the entire team, as Boston finished 15 of 52 on 3-pointers. The Celtics are 1-7 in their last eight games when shooting 30% or worse on 3-pointers; four of those games have come in January.

The Hawks, meanwhile, improved to 4-1 against the Celtics and Cavaliers this season.

The Associated Press and ESPN Research contributed to this story.

Collins became Melbourne Park's pantomime villain on Thursday when she said fans who heckled her were contributing towards "the Danielle Collins fund" and she would use her prize money on a trip to the Bahamas.

Against Keys, there were cheers when Collins made her first double fault and, at the end of the first set, the chair umpire reminded fans to respect both players.

But Collins, who was also hampered by a knee injury and had to take a medical timeout, said it is important to "bring some entertainment" to the sport.

"I don't have a big ego when it comes to this stuff, I don't care what some guy sitting in his basement is writing about me," she added. "I'm just trying to enjoy my life and have fun.

"You can't please everybody. Earlier in my career I was more concerned about what people think and I was much more guarded about my personality.

"Maybe with age comes an attitude of being yourself and accepting who you are. I'm proud of myself, I've gotten to the point where I really don't care anymore about what people who aren't important to me think."

Collins will now be taking that trip to the Bahamas and added "a lot of my friends have asked if they're going to be invited on the yacht".

Lucky losers are players who lose in qualifying at a tournament but receive a place in the main draw if someone withdraws through injury or illness.

Lys had her bags packed and a flight booked after losing in the final round of qualifying, but a place in the draw opened up when Russia's Kalinskaya pulled out on Monday before her first-round match.

Lys was on site receiving treatment from the physio when the withdrawal was announced and was given 10 minutes' notice before she took to court to face Australian Kimberly Birrell.

Despite being worried about the lack of preparation time, she came through 6-2 6-2 - and moved her flight to Sunday.

That flight will have to change again, with Sunday spent preparing for a match against five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek on Monday.

"Right now I think after the press conference we're going to go and try to change it a little bit further," Lys said.

"It's actually really funny. We just picked a date. We're like: 'OK, Sunday's six days away. We're just going to pick Sunday.'

"I'm glad we have to change it now."

When she does eventually fly home, she will be doing so at least A$420,000 (210,342) richer - a marked difference on the A$50,000 (25,300) Lys thought she would be taking away after losing in qualifying, and a boost to her career earnings of $798,163 (655,413).

Lys has competed in all four majors but her best performance at a Slam before this was a US Open second-round appearance in 2023.

She is the sixth lucky loser to make the last-16 of a Grand Slam in the Open era but the first to do so in Melbourne. None have ever gone past the fourth round.

"Obviously I'm very happy to be making it to second week. I feel like second week was always such a dream for me," Lys added.