MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook posted the 200th triple-double of his career Tuesday night in a win over Memphis.

The NBA recordholder for triple-doubles reached the milestone late in a 122-110 victory.

The 36-year-old Westbrook finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists, and it took him until the final minutes to accomplish the feat.

With 1:28 left, Westbrook was one rebound shy when center Dario Saric missed a 3-pointer. Westbrook grabbed his only offensive rebound of the game.

With the Grizzlies still threatening, Saric knocked down a 3-pointer with 27.7 seconds left to preserve the Denver win.

Westbrook said he wasn't thanking Saric for the miss that led to the triple-double.

"I thank him for making the next one to close the game, which is the most important," he said.

Westbrook is 19 triple-doubles ahead of Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson, and 62 in front of Magic Johnson. His teammate -- Nikola Jokic -- is fourth with 136, followed by LeBron James at 117.

"It's a blessing," Westbrook said of reaching the milestone. "I'm truly grateful to be able to play the game [well enough] to do that. But I'm also appreciative of the ones who came before me."

Westbrook's teammates marveled at not only the number of triple-doubles, but Westbrook's longevity.

Westbrook has recorded a triple-double with six different franchises (every one he has played for), breaking a tie with Rajon Rondo and Mark Jackson for the most all time. With a triple-double in his 13th straight season, he's tied for the second-longest streak in NBA history, trailing only Jason Kidd's 17 straight seasons with a triple-double.

Julian Strawther, a second-year guard out of Gonzaga, said Westbrook is a celebrity everywhere the team goes.

"It's hard to put into words," Strawther said. "Two-hundred triple-doubles is a lot. I don't even know if I've got 200 career games."

For Westbrook, the feat capped an ideal night.

"Anytime we win and I get them, I'm always grateful for that," Westbrook said. "It's my favorite time."

ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green was critical of the Grizzlies' response to him tripping rookie center Zach Edey in Friday's win, calling out Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins for being "too emotional."

The foul, which was upgraded to a flagrant 1 the following day after a league review, occurred in the third quarter after Green lost the ball on a drive. Edey had picked up the ball and threw an outlet pass when Green's left elbow got tangled with Edey's right foot and the Grizzlies center tripped over Green's sprawled out leg.

Jenkins and Edey both said the play should've been reviewed for a flagrant foul during the game, with Jenkins intimating that Green broke a "code" in the league with the trip.

"...You run into the media crying about a foul that, c'mon bro, with your 7-3 rookie," Green said on his podcast, "The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis, published Tuesday. "So guess what you just taught your 7-3 rookie? How to be emotional and run to the media talking about a foul. We bigs, we big men. You don't run to the media talking about the foul, you a big man."

The play was ruled a transition take foul at the time and was not reviewed.

"So I know there's a code in this league, and I don't understand how that wasn't reviewed," Jenkins said after Friday's game, in refence to the foul. "Very disappointing."

Edey said the trip "definitely wasn't a basketball play."

The Warriors and Grizzlies have a history, dating to a heated Western Conference semifinals series in 2022 that the Warriors won in six games.

"You got janky Taylor Jenkins, who's a softie, goes out and at some point ... we beat y'all in the NBA playoffs because he was too emotional," Green said. "And so then his team followed that, and they follow your lead and collapse because they couldn't deal with the emotions of it. But they coach couldn't deal with the emotions of it."

Green has a history of questionable fouls, including last season, when he was suspended for hitting Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face.

On the very first day of purchasing the Phoenix Suns for a valuation of $4 billion in February 2023, owner Mat Ishbia made a blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant, pairing the future Hall of Famer and two-time NBA Finals MVP with franchise cornerstone Devin Booker.

As everyone in Phoenix hones in on a third consecutive postseason together, Ishbia told ESPN this week that he fully expects to sign Durant to a contract extension next offseason and wants the 14-time All-Star to retire as a Sun.

"[Durant] loves being in Phoenix, we love having him," Ishbia told ESPN. "He's off to an amazing start this season -- one of the MVP leaders -- and we're off to a very good start. We expect Kevin to sign an extension, be with us for the long term. We hope he finishes his career here in Phoenix.

"You can't sign a two-year extension this last summer, you can't do it based on the NBA rules. So we figured after the season we'll talk about it, take care of it.

"Kevin wants to be here, we want Kevin here. There's never been one grumbling of anything different."

Durant and the Suns bypassed a one-year, $60 million contract extension before the regular season, placing the focus on the 2024-25 campaign and allowing for the sides to pursue a two-year, $120 million maximum extension next summer. Durant is currently under contract through the 2025-26 season.

Durant, 36, is regarded among the NBA's greatest players with accolades that include two NBA championships, four Olympic gold medals with USA Basketball and a spot on the league's Top 75 list.

Durant started the season on an MVP-caliber track in his 18th season -- averaging 27.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 53.3% shooting, 42.9% from 3-point range and leading the Suns to an 8-1 start.

Durant has been sidelined since Nov. 8 because of a calf strain. The Suns have gone 1-5 in his absence.

As owner of the Suns, Ishbia has been aggressive in his retooling of the roster. He acquired three-time All-Star Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards in the 2023 offseason, traded Deandre Ayton in a deal for Jusuf Nurkic and, above all, burst through the NBA's salary cap, luxury tax and second apron limits. The Suns hired two-time Coach of the Year Mike Budenholzer in May.

Off the court, Ishbia has completed multiple renovations to the Suns' facility, built a $100 million practice building for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and on Wednesday announced he has invested $20 million to open a new club, "The Ra Ra Room," in the Suns arena.

LOS ANGELES -- After Lakers guard Dalton Knecht tied an NBA rookie record with nine 3-pointers en route to 37 points in a 124-118 win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, LeBron James wanted to clarify just how Knecht landed in L.A.

It wasn't so much the Lakers' superb scouting department that identified the 6-foot-6, 215-pound wing after an All-American senior season at the University of Tennessee as the ideal prospect to select with the No. 17 pick.

It was all the other teams who passed on him.

"They didn't 'find' DK," James (26 points, 12 assists) said. "The other 16 teams f---ed it up. Did anybody watch him? S---. They just didn't f--- it up. You don't 'find' a SEC player of the year."

And the Jazz couldn't find any effective defense to stall Knecht, who exploded for 21 points in the final 3:29 of the third quarter to double the Lakers' lead from 11 to 22 heading into the fourth.

Knecht hit four straight 3s -- the first three coming off assists from D'Angelo Russell -- and with each make, the Crypto.com Arena crowd got louder and louder.

With seemingly everyone in the building anticipating his next attempt, Knecht got Utah's Cody Williams to bite on a move and foul him beyond the 3-point line, earning three free throws. He made all three.

To cap the flurry, he hit another 3 -- again off a pass from Russell -- with 26.3 seconds left in the third, to finish 6-for-6 for the quarter.

He finished going 12-for-16 from the field, including 9-for-12 from 3, with five rebounds and a steal.

"I'm not concerned at all with Dalton in terms of meeting the moment," said Lakers coach JJ Redick, who hit nine 3s in a game just once in 940 career games -- Knecht did it in his 14th as a pro. "He's fearless. ... It's a real weapon for our group beyond just the score. It's a weapon that energizes us."

Knecht, who tied Keyonte George (Feb. 15, 2024), Yogi Ferrell (Feb. 3, 2017) and Rodrigue Beaubois (March 27, 2010) for the most 3s in a game for a rookie, mimicked a famous gesture made by Michael Jordan in the 1992 NBA Finals -- nine years before he was even born -- to soak in his success.

"Rui [Hachimura] was talking to me about I need to get a 3-point celebration," Knecht said. "I didn't know what to do. So, I just gave the shrug."

Knecht became the fourth Lakers player in team history to hit at least nine 3s, joining Russell, James (who did it twice) and Kobe Bryant (who did it four times).

The Lakers extended their winning streak to six games and improved to 2-0 in NBA Cup group play.

"We just urge him to shoot the basketball," Anthony Davis (26 points, 14 rebounds) said of Knecht. "He can do more than just shoot. But he's really good at shooting the basketball. We get mad at him when he don't shoot."

Since going into the starting lineup three games ago for Hachimura, who is dealing with an ankle injury, Knecht is averaging 26 points on 63.6% from the field and 61.5% from 3.

"I know he's capable of doing that," Austin Reaves said. "And honestly, I expect him to do it multiple more times this year."

(Editor's Note: This feature has been updated slightly following news that Pep Guardiola is close to signing a new one-year contract as Man City manager.)

Change is coming at Manchester City. The question is how much, and how soon?

Omar Berrada (to Manchester United) has gone, and Txiki Begiristain (stepping down) will do the same at the end of the season. Two of the key architects of an unprecedented era of success at the Etihad Stadium are out, while the futures of two more, Ferran Soriano and Pep Guardiola, are up in the air.

Together, the four of them -- Berrada as COO, Begiristain as director of football, Soriano as CEO and Guardiola as head coach -- have helped turn City into the predominant force in English football and one of the best club sides in Europe. What happens next is largely down to whether Guardiola decides to follow Begiristain and Berrada in the summer, or opts to extend his stay in Manchester for a little longer.

Guardiola has a contract until the end of the current campaign and has insisted for months that he hadn't made up his mind about what to do next. "It's not true, I can promise you that had I made a decision on whether to stay or to leave [City], I would tell you," he said in October. "I don't even know. But anything can happen in life."

On Tuesday, news broke that Man City and Guardiola have worked out the details of a new one-year deal, but the backdrop of uncertainty around Guardiola so far this season has had an impact. With club play set to resume this weekend, Man City have lost four games in a row for the first time since 2006. The Premier League champions in six of the past seven seasons are struggling; it's the first time Guardiola has lost four consecutive games as a coach.

Injuries have played a part -- particularly Rodri's season-ending knee surgery -- but there is also a growing feeling around City that this is suddenly a club and a team in transition. Where do things stand around Man City right now ahead of a critical run of games?

The uncertainty around Guardiola and his future

City bosses insist Guardiola has been telling the truth about his future and that the 53-year-old former Barcelona boss was genuinely weighing up his options. Until positive conversations with Guardiola during the international break, club bosses Begiristain, Soriano and chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak remained in the dark. They didn't want to put pressure on Guardiola out of respect for what he has achieved since arriving from Bayern Munich in 2016, but there was also an acceptance that they will need time to plan ahead -- particularly if they have to pick a replacement.

Club sources have told ESPN that contingency plans are in place, with due diligence being carried out on a number of potential candidates including Xabi Alonso, who has been on Real Madrid and Liverpool's radar after a fantastic season with Bayer Leverkusen in 2023-24.

City, according to one source with familiarity of the situation, had expected Guardiola to let them know his decision between the November international break and January. Tuesday's news fit that timeline. Guardiola's past two contract extensions -- in 2020 and 2022 -- were signed in November, partly to ensure that any uncertainty didn't drag into the second half of the season.

Overall, City may have avoided a situation post-January where Guardiola's future overshadows their push for trophies in the final months of the season. Sources close to the club insist Guardiola understood that better than anyone, and that he wouldn't have wanted his players to have any distractions while they challenge again for the Premier League and Champions League.

Despite the run of poor form, City are still second in the Premier League table, five points behind Liverpool, and 10th in the Champions League group phase table, two points away from the top eight and an automatic bye into the round of 16. Four straight losses in all competitions haven't prompted any panic, particularly with the next two league games against Tottenham (at home on Saturday) and Liverpool (at Anfield on Dec. 1) offering the opportunity to immediately get the season back on track.

"I will not delay any action knowing that I'm creating a problem for the club," Guardiola said in October. "If I feel I'm a problem for the club right now I will take a decision as quickly as possible. But I don't have that feeling. They understand the reasons I have."

For obvious reasons, City want Guardiola to stay. He has won 15 major trophies in eight seasons, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League. He won a domestic treble in 2019 and matched Manchester United's continental treble in 2023. This season, City are aiming to become the first English team to win five top-flight titles in a row. Beyond that, there's nothing left to achieve. Guardiola's City have already set records that might never be broken and in that respect, he might have to find a different motivation to stay on.

Sources inside the club have told ESPN that club chiefs were hopeful he would sign an extension in 2022 because he hadn't yet won the Champions League. That has since been ticked off, along with the Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.

Speaking after becoming world champions in Saudi Arabia nearly a year ago, Guardiola said the success had "closed a chapter" for him. Visibly tired and emotional, it sounded to those in the room like a resignation speech without the resignation. Those closest to him thought he appeared exhausted after clinching a record fourth successive title in May, and the prevailing feeling around the club was that he would only stay for one more season.

The same sources have told ESPN that, at that time, there was concern about whether Guardiola would be ready for a longer than usual preseason tour of the United States. But when Guardiola arrived with the team in New York in July, the same sources were pleasantly surprised at how energised he appeared. It prompted a feeling that maybe it wasn't a foregone conclusion that he would leave in the summer of 2025 and that -- potentially -- he could sign a new deal.

Begiristain out, Viana in next summer

Losing close friend and ally Begiristain within the executive structure of City Football Group (CFG) is a big blow. Begiristain, who was instrumental in hiring Guardiola at the Etihad, initially signalled he wanted to leave in 2019 when he turned 55 but was convinced to stay on. Guardiola has known about the decision for a while but has admitted it will have an impact. "A part of me is leaving too," he said.

Guardiola even cited Begiristain's influence when he extended his contract in 2020.

"One of the reasons I extended my contract two times is because Txiki is here," he said. "We work together incredibly well. When we win, we try to analyse why. When we lose we try to analyse why. We don't judge the other one. We both work for the best for this club."

The practical impact of Begiristain's departure is being played down by City sources because the 2025 summer transfer window will already be planned out. Begiristain and Guardiola will work together to identify areas of the squad that need to be improved, alongside input from Begiristain's replacement, Hugo Viana.

Viana won't officially arrive from Sporting Lisbon until the summer, but he will work with Begiristain during a "transition period." Once he gets settled in the role, Viana's job is to keep fine-tuning a squad that's been among the best in Europe for nearly a decade.

He has the benefit of a core of young players under the age of 25 including Phil Foden, Josko Gvardiol, Jérémy Doku, Savinho, Rico Lewis and Oscar Bobb. However, there are several aging stars who need to be replaced. Kyle Walker, John Stones, Bernardo Silva, Mateo Kovacic and Ilkay Gündogan are all 30 or over. Ederson (31) nearly moved to Saudi Arabia in the summer, while Kevin De Bruyne (33) is out of contract at the end of the season.

There are also doubts about the long-term futures of Erling Haaland and Rodri, two key figures in their primes. Haaland is settled in Manchester and has a contract until 2027, but City staff are well aware of his ambition to one day play in Spain for either Real Madrid or Barcelona. Real Madrid have been linked with a move for Rodri, although some sources have speculated that the Spanish giants have done themselves no favours with the way they handled the City's midfielder's Ballon d'Or win.

Having learned that Rodri would beat their winger, Vinícius Júnior, to the top prize, Real Madrid boycotted the ceremony. It was noted by City sources that a year earlier, Haaland, who finished second in the voting, not only attended the event, but also publicly congratulated the winner, Lionel Messi.

What happens next?

Sources with awareness of the discussions have told ESPN that the two most important factors for Guardiola as he decides his future are the opinion of his family, and whether he believes the players are still responding to him after nine years together.

Signing a one-year extension -- confirmed on Tuesday as being close to completion -- will take him to 10 years at the Etihad, something the club would be keen to celebrate. It would also mean Guardiola could slip away quietly in the summer of 2026 -- one dominated by the World Cup in the U.S., Canada and Mexico -- instead of having to deal with the inconvenience of the expanded Club World Cup this summer.

Sources close to City have told ESPN that a potential handover between managers would be far easier in 2026 than in a 2025 summer shortened by the tournament in the United States. By then, City are also likely to know the final outcome of the Premier League's 115 charges.

The club is refusing to comment on what sanctions might come its way, but there's a sense among those around Guardiola that he might want to stay in the immediate aftermath of the verdict to help the club deal with any potential punishment. City feel indebted to Guardiola, but Guardiola also feels the same about the club for providing the environment to be so successful.

Whatever happens, Guardiola's reign is coming to an end at the end of the 2025-26 season. City should get one more year before he moves on, potentially into international football, but what comes beyond that is anyone's guess.

Argentina striker Lautaro Martinez scored in the second half to secure a 1-0 home win against Peru in South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday.

Martinez scored 10 minutes after the break, capitalising on a fine cross from Lionel Messi to fire home a half-volley into the top-right corner.

The Inter Milan striker's 32nd international goal moved him level with Diego Maradona in fifth spot in the country's all-time scoring charts.

The World Cup holders lead the CONMEBOL standings with 25 points, five clear of Uruguay who play later in the day at Brazil. Peru are bottom of the 10-team table with seven points after 12 games.

The top six qualify automatically for the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

BOSTON -- Before the Cleveland Cavaliers put their perfect 15-0 start to the season to the test Tuesday night at TD Garden against the defending NBA champion Celtics, Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson was asked what he hoped to get out of the game.

"We want feedback," Atkinson said. "More feedback. Hopefully we'll see this team down the road and down the road in an important game. On the other hand, I don't want to blow this game out of proportion. It's that balance, but it's more anxious to see where we are. And we all know our schedule has not been the hardest.

"We're playing an elite team -- the top team in the league. So I just can't wait to get some feedback from the game."

Over the next 48 minutes, Atkinson got his wish. The result? Boston, despite a stellar push from Cleveland after halftime, had enough to hold off the Cavaliers 120-117, ending Cleveland's unblemished start.

The loss left the Cavaliers tied for the second-longest winning streak to begin a season in NBA history -- though undoubtedly earning Cleveland some respect in the process.

Respect, however, doesn't always translate to wins. And after spending almost a month with a zero in the loss column, Cleveland now has a number there thanks to a 33-point, 12-rebound, 7-assist effort from Jayson Tatum, one of six Celtics to score in double figures.

Boston went white-hot from beyond the 3-point arc, going 22-for-41 from deep, as the Celtics -- who led by as many as 21 -- held off a charge from Cleveland in the second half as the Cavaliers pounded away in the paint.

If these teams meet again in the playoffs next spring -- as they did in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season -- the matchup probably will be one split along the same battle lines as Tuesday with the Celtics trying to dominate the 3-point line and the Cavaliers attempting to do the same in the paint.

In this one, both teams got what they wanted. Boston shot 14-for-22 from deep in the first half -- the single-best 3-point shooting half by the Celtics in the past 25 years, with a minimum of 20 attempts. The Celtics, however, shot 22-for-45 from inside the arc, whereas Cleveland was 36-for-64 from 2, including owning a 60-36 edge in points in the paint.

It was a parade of trips to the rim by Cleveland in the third quarter, in particular, that allowed Atkinson's team to get back in the game, as the Cavaliers scored 22 points in the paint in the quarter alone -- as many as Boston had in the game to that point.

By then, the celebratory mood at TD Garden early gave way to a bitterly competitive one -- complete with the crowd roaring in applause and dismay in ways that would've felt at home if this had been a continuation of last spring's playoff series. That included the physicality with which both teams played, and the lack of fouls called in spite of it.

Ultimately, though, Boston had enough to hold off Cleveland's comeback, with a key Payton Pritchard 3-pointer with 5:31 remaining putting Boston up 107-100, creating enough separation to ensure Cleveland's perfect start came to a close.

For his part, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said he was looking at this game as an opportunity for his Celtics (12-3) to shore up specific things that have troubled them lately -- individual defense and positioning, and rebounding, in general.

How did that work out? Boston won the rebounding battle 42-41, despite playing against the combination of Evan Mobley (22 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists) and Jarrett Allen (10 points, 11 rebounds) throughout, and with Kristaps Porzingis still recovering from offseason surgery.

Boston's individual defense, meanwhile, had a huge impact on Darius Garland, who had only eight points on 3-for-21 shooting.