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.

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.