Fox Sports is projecting a Super Bowl record average audience of 126 million U.S. viewers across television and streaming platforms for Philadelphia's 40-22 victory over Kansas City on Sunday night.

The game was televised by Fox, Fox Deportes and Telemundo and streamed on Tubi as well as the NFL's digital platforms.

Fox's projections Monday included Nielsen's early numbers and streaming data from Tubi and the NFL. Updated and more complete numbers were expected Tuesday.

It would be the second straight year the Super Bowl has reached a record audience. The Chiefs' 25-22 overtime victory over San Francisco last year averaged 123.7 million on CBS, Nickelodeon, Univision and streaming platforms.

According to Fox, the audience peaked at 135.7 million in the second quarter.

The early data projects 14.5 million watched on streaming platforms, including 13.6 million on Tubi, where the game was available for free.

Some of the increase can be attributed to a change in the way viewers are counted. This is the first year Nielsen is measuring out-of-home viewers for all states but Hawaii and Alaska.

It was previously the top 44 media markets, which covered 65% of the country.

The ratings also include Nielsen data from smart TVs along with cable and satellite set-top boxes.

After two straight years of close Super Bowls, Sunday's game was decided in the first half as Philadelphia built a 24-0 lead.

President Donald Trump and Taylor Swift were also in attendance.

Trump was the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl, while Swift's relationship with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce keeps the pop superstar's fans interested in the NFL.

It was the third straight year the Super Bowl averaged more than 100 million viewers after a period when four of the five games before 2023 had fallen short of that number because of cord-cutting. That included 95.2 million for the 2021 Super Bowl between Tampa Bay and Kansas City, which was the game's lowest TV-only average since 2007.

The NFL playoffs averaged 35.2 million viewers the first three weekends, down 9% from last year's record of 38.5 million.

That followed a regular season that averaged 17.5 million. Though that was the sixth-highest average dating to 1995, it was a 2% decline from 2023.

MILWAUKEE -- Bucks general manager Jon Horst said trading franchise cornerstone Khris Middleton after 12 seasons in Milwaukee was "the hardest transaction" he has made as an executive, but did so to "maximize the window" for a championship.

"It's still the awesome responsibility to try to take this franchise and maximize the window that we have now as best we can," Horst told reporters Monday night, before his team's 125-111 loss to the Golden State Warriors. "What we think gives us the best chance to win, and figure out how to continue winning going forward. There's a very narrow set of opportunities that we felt that we could do that, and this was one of them."

Milwaukee traded Middleton, rookie guard AJ Johnson and a pick swap to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Kyle Kuzma, Patrick Baldwin Jr. (who was rerouted to San Antonio) and a second-round pick before last week's trade deadline. The Bucks also acquired center Jericho Sims from the New York Knicks as part of the deal.

Middleton, the franchise leader in 3-pointers, had been with the Bucks since the 2013-14 season and was part of the 2020-21 championship team. However, he missed the first 21 games of this season after undergoing offseason surgery on both ankles and has been slow to regain his form -- he's averaging his fewest points (12.6) since his first season with the Bucks and was playing his fewest minutes (23.2) since he was a rookie.

Horst said Middleton's availability did not have much impact on his decision to make the move.

"Collectively, I think we're deeper in the spots we needed to be deeper," Horst said. "This gave us an opportunity to diversify a little bit, to kind of put money and talent and roster spots in other places where I thought we needed help."

Though the Middleton-Kuzma exchange was the headliner, Horst said he did not view the deal as a comparison of the two players, but instead as a chance for the Bucks to build a more well-rounded roster.

Milwaukee also acquired Sims for more frontcourt depth and added guard Kevin Porter Jr. in a separate deal. The Bucks still have an open roster spot, allowing them to be active on the buyout market for the rest of the season.

"This isn't a Khris or a Kyle comparison, although that's the easy thing to do," Horst said. "It's the team before the trade deadline and the team after the trade deadline, and to be determined with an open roster spot, that we felt like in totality we positioned ourselves to have a better run this year. That doesn't do anything to diminish the three-time All-Star, Olympian, NBA champion, pillar in the community, everything that Khris Middleton was for this franchise for over a decade."

As part of the move, the Bucks got below the second apron of the collective bargaining agreement, which gives Milwaukee more flexibility to improve its roster. Horst acknowledged that as an added perk but not the driving force behind the trade.

"We believe that this gives us a better chance to win this year," he said. "It happens to also put us under the second apron, which gives us some benefits going forward. There's no question. And we'll hopefully maximize those benefits. But that wasn't the intent."

"This isn't a Khris or a Kyle comparison, although that's the easy thing to do. It's the team before the trade deadline and the team after the trade deadline ... that we felt like in totality we positioned ourselves to have a better run this year. That doesn't do anything to diminish the three-time All-Star, Olympian, NBA champion, pillar in the community, everything that Khris Middleton was for this franchise for over a decade."

Bucks GM Jon Horst

Even though Horst did not want to put all the focus on Kuzma, he still praised his skill set and versatility. Kuzma, 29, is averaging 15.0 points and 5.9 rebounds on 41.6% shooting. He has not been as efficient as Middleton, who was shooting a career-high 51% from the floor, but Horst said the Bucks valued Kuzma's other skills as ways to elevate Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.

"Kyle's a great ball mover, his assist numbers and box score stats may not always show his impact, but he just passes to move the ball," Horst said.

"He's up there with Giannis in terms of effectiveness and efficiency and frequency and transition. There's a big gap between Giannis and the rest of our team and that statistic. ... We're at our best ... playing fast. So another player that can get out and go with a ball. He still is a scorer, shooter that I think has upside. At 29 years old, I think we strongly believe that he's in his prime.

"We can see better basketball from Kyle Kuzma than we have the last couple of years. We believe that, in our system, playing with these guys."

The Charlotte Hornets have been in contact with the NBA as they explore options to dispute the Los Angeles Lakers' failed physical assessment of center Mark Williams, sources told ESPN on Monday night.

The Hornets are considering their next steps and weighing avenues to challenge the Lakers' evaluation process or seek alternative resolutions with the league office, sources said.

Williams was traded last week for Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2030 pick swap and Los Angeles' 2031 first-round pick. But two days after the trade deadline passed, the deal was rescinded after Williams' failed exam.

Williams' physical showed multiple issues, sources said. The center has missed 60% of the Hornets' games over his three seasons in the league, most notably for separate back and foot injuries.

Because the deadline passed, the trade was not amended to account for whatever new medical information the Lakers might have discovered in their evaluation of Williams.

The players involved returned to their original teams but have yet to play; Knecht, Reddish and Williams were all ruled out Monday.

In a statement Saturday night, the Hornets said they are "excited" to welcome Williams back to the team.

DALLAS -- With emotions from the Luka Doncic trade still raw, multiple fans were ejected in the second half of the Dallas Mavericks' 129-128 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday at the American Airlines Center due to violations of the NBA's code of conduct, according to a team spokesperson.

Each instance prompted boos from the crowd. Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont, whose family purchased the majority share of the franchise from Mark Cuban last season, also was loudly booed when he returned to his courtside seat with 2:56 remaining in the third quarter.

Two of the fans held large poster board signs that read, "FIRE NICO" -- a reference to Dallas general manager Nico Harrison. One of those men was seen mouthing "fire Nico" on the arena video screens earlier in the game before the camera quickly panned out.

"In the first incident, the guest brought in a sign that broke the following rule included in the NBA Code of Conduct: Clothing, garments or signs displaying explicit language, profanity or derogatory characterization towards any person(s)," Mavericks vice president of corporate communications Erin Finegold said in a statement released to reporters.

Harrison has been subjected to harsh backlash since agreeing Feb. 2 to the shocking blockbuster deal that was built around sending five-time first-team All-NBA selection Doncic, 25, to the Los Angeles Lakers and bringing 10-time All-Star big man Anthony Davis, 31, to Dallas.

Approximately 1,000 people protested outside the American Airlines Center before Saturday's home win over the Houston Rockets. "Fire Nico" and "sell the team" were common themes for chants and T-shirts.

Harrison, who did not attend Saturday's game, was in the arena Monday night but did not sit in his usual seat in the lower bowl of the stands.

Arena security has been strictly enforcing NBA rules limiting the size of fans' signs since the trade.

Two men, including one who wore Doncic's Slovenian national team jersey, were ejected late in Monday's contest after a shouting match with Cuban, who was in his regular baseline seat by the Mavericks' bench.

"Shut the f--- up and sit the f--- down!" Cuban yelled, according to footage a fan showed to ESPN.

Cuban told ESPN that the fans, whose seats were approximately 20 rows behind him, were yelling, "Fire Nico!" while the Mavericks were shooting free throws and again during a critical possession late in regulation. Cuban said he did not curse until the fans pointed and shouted at him, although he did not know what they said.

"In the second incident, the fan wore a T-shirt that also broke the rule [cited] and was also intoxicated, disruptive and uncooperative, all listed in the NBA Fan Code of Conduct," Finegold said in the statement.

Other fans told ESPN that one of the ejected fans wore a T-shirt that depicted a woman's face with a clown nose. They could not clearly identify the woman.

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd did not hold a postgame news conference, as required by league rules.

Dallas guard Klay Thompson said he could "understand [fans'] frustration because Luka was that great and he was homebred here." Thompson said he did not notice the fans being ejected but that their emotional reaction to the trade does not bother him.

"It's not our job to get deflated because people are upset," Thompson said. "Our job is to convince them that there's really great days ahead, not just for this year but for the next few years.

"I mean, people are going to say stuff, and that's understandable. I was a fan, still a fan. If I didn't agree with a trade, I'd probably voice my opinion too. That's the beauty of sports. You go there to yell and be rambunctious sometimes."

Mavericks star Kyrie Irving said he felt that Dallas fans have "graduated from hate to anger to the cycle of emotions ... and then the passion."

"You just got to give everybody grace," Irving said. "To see the emotions come out like that over basketball, that just shows you that basketball is not just a game to certain people. It's a spiritual experience. It's a connector piece, and they watch their favorite players and they want to see them forever. So, I run the side of just understanding where people are coming from."

LOS ANGELES -- Before the Los Angeles Lakers tipped off Monday night and Luka Doncic made his debut for the franchise that traded for him then waited -- along with a fervent fan base -- more than a week for the 25-year-old basketball prodigy to appear in the lineup, LeBron James had a message to deliver.

"Luka, be your f---ing self," James said during the pregame huddle, picked up by the ESPN telecast. "Don't fit in, fit the f--- out. Be yourself."

When asked about the moment, having booked a 132-113 win over the Utah Jazz his first time wearing the purple and gold uniform for game action, Doncic was sincere.

"For him to say something like that just feels amazing," Doncic said after scoring 14 points in 24 minutes, playing for the first time since Christmas Day when he was with the Dallas Mavericks. "It gives me confidence. And after that speech, it was chills. I was just happy to be a part of it."

He wasn't the only one smiling.

There was a euphoric atmosphere at Crypto.com Arena, with the sold-out crowd finding 18,997 gold No. 77 T-shirts lining their seats and Doncic's preferred Serbian music pumping out of the sound system while he launched deep pregame 3s and fans held up their phones to record his every move. Doncic's former Mavs running mate Dirk Nowitzki, whose last season in the league coincided with Doncic's first, made the trip to support him, sitting in the stands with Doncic's father, Saša.

"He came out ... and obviously the place went crazy," Austin Reaves said. "It was awesome. I thought the energy from that point forward was great. His introduction in the starting lineup was one of the loudest I've heard since I've been here."

James propped up his new teammate there, too, texting the 6-foot-6 guard earlier in the day to say he would do whatever Doncic wanted. And so, when Lakers public address announcer Lawrence Tanter rattled off L.A.'s starters, he saved Doncic for last, a gesture usually reserved for James.

"He let me have my moment, so I really appreciate it," Doncic said. "I mean, today, he lent me this one. But from now on, he'll be the last."

It didn't take long for Doncic to impact the game, finding center Jaxson Hayes for an alley-oop dunk just 50 seconds in, playing for the first time in nearly seven weeks because of a strained left calf muscle.

"I was a little bit nervous before," Doncic said. "I don't remember the last time I was nervous before the game. But once I stepped on the court, it was fun. And just being out there again felt amazing."

While his shot was rusty -- he went 5-for-14, including 1-for-7 from 3 -- and he was on a minutes restriction, there was an instant chemistry between Doncic and his new teammates.

L.A. punctuated a dominant first half with a half-court outlet pass from Doncic to James that set up an easy layup and put the Lakers up by 22 points.

"I thought our three main guys did a nice job of playing off of each other," Lakers coach JJ Redick said, referencing James, Doncic and Reaves. "Sometimes you can have agendas in a game. I felt like this for our group was a no agenda game beyond winning a basketball game and playing the right way."

Reaves scored 22 points with 9 rebounds and 4 assists. James led all scorers with 24 points, adding 8 assists, 7 rebounds and 7 turnovers. He exited the game early in the fourth quarter after a collision in the lane and did not speak after the game, other than to tell a few reporters he would see them in Salt Lake City for the Lakers' next game Wednesday.

Redick said "the plan" would be for both Doncic and James to play in that game, L.A.'s last before the All-Star break.

L.A. didn't let the fanfare of the night or the task of integrating Doncic into the lineup slow down its momentum, leading by as many as 34 points and winning for the 12th time in the past 14 games to leapfrog the Houston Rockets for No. 4 in the Western Conference standings.

"Since I came here, I just wanted to play with them," said Doncic, who watched from the sidelines as the Lakers beat the Clippers, Golden State Warriors and Indiana Pacers while he finished rehabbing his calf strain. "Every game I saw, they played amazing, very connected, and for me, it was just I want to be there with them."

Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka embraced Doncic after the game as he made his way from the tunnel to the locker room. Pelinka's triumph of a trade with the Mavs got Doncic to L.A. in the first place.

"It's a new team. New everything," Doncic said. "But the way they helped me, teammates, Rob, [Lakers chief executive officer and governor Jeanie [Buss], it was just a lot of support for me. You could see when I came to the arena, I saw all the Luka jerseys. It was just a surreal feeling."

The New York Yankees and veteran reliever Tyler Matzek have agreed on a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training, sources told ESPN Monday night, adding another experienced left-hander to the bullpen mix on the eve of camp after the team officially re-signed Tim Hill over the weekend.

A top-shelf reliever over three seasons for the Atlanta Braves, including during their 2021 World Series run, injuries have limited the 34-year-old Matzek to 11 appearances over the past two years.

The former first-round pick missed the entire 2023 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery in October 2022. He returned to post a 9.90 ERA in 10 innings over 11 games through May 4 last year before he was placed on the injured list and didn't appear in another game.

Atlanta traded Matzek to the San Francisco Giants in July to offset salary in a deal for outfielder Jorge Soler. He was released a month later and re-signed by the Braves on a minor league deal, pitching in four games for the organization's Triple-A affiliate before he reached free agency.

Between 2020 and 2022, after overcoming a case of the yips with the Colorado Rockies that pushed him to independent league baseball for two seasons, Matzek recorded a 2.92 ERA in 132 games as a key contributor in the Braves' bullpen.

While Hill, who signed a one-year, $2.85 million contract after a strong 2024 season, is a ground ball specialist from the left side, Matzek missed bats at a high rate when healthy, recording a 27.4% strikeout rate from 2020 through 2022 with a fastball in the mid-90s.

Hill remains the only left-handed reliever on the Yankees' 40-man roster. Brandon Leibrandt and Jayvien Sandridge are the other lefties slated to report to spring training as non-roster invitees.

British number two Cameron Norrie beat American Zachary Svajda in straight sets to reach the Delray Beach Open second round.

Norrie, the 2022 winner, needed 90 minutes to seal a 7-5 6-4 win over the world number 169.

The players traded breaks of serve in a tight first set played in hot and humid conditions in Florida.

A powerful forehand down the line gave Norrie a crucial second break, with the 29-year-old comfortably holding serve to take the set.

With an equally tight second set level at 4-4, Norrie could not convert five break points in a mammoth eighth game before finally taking the sixth.

He then took the second of two match points on his serve to set up a second-round meeting with French second seed Arthur Rinderknech or Canada's Gabriel Diallo.