PHILADELPHIA -- It took an extra three weeks, but Joel Embiid's regular season finally is underway.

The superstar center made his season debut Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center against the New York Knicks after missing the first nine games due to left knee injury management and then a three-game suspension for shoving a media member.

And after a predictably up-and-down performance across 26 minutes -- 13 points on 2-for-11 shooting from the field (but 8 for 8 from the foul line), plus three rebounds, five assists and a block - in a 111-99 loss, Embiid said it will time for the confidence in exploding off his troublesome left knee to return.

"It's all about confidence and trusting myself," he said. "Pushing off ... I talked about it a couple weeks ago when I talked to you guys, that's the mental hurdle that I got to get to. But I think I can still be pretty good even without that, which I'm going to get to at some point.

"I don't know when. Might be next game, might be in two games ... [but] usually get it back pretty fast, so I'm fine."

Not much is fine these days with the 76ers (2-8), who now sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference standings with a matchup against the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers on tap Wednesday. It remains to be seen whether Embiid or fellow star Paul George will play.

Previously, the 76ers have made it clear they'll plan to prioritize the health of their veteran stars over the course of the season. But that was also before their injury-riddled start, as Embiid, George (bone bruise in his left knee) and Tyrese Maxey (hamstring strain) all have been hurt.

"I think it's all about us just getting on the floor together, learning how to play with each other," Embiid said. "But health is a big thing. I'm back, PG is feeling pretty good, now we need to get Tyrese back, and once we're all on the floor, I think we're going to have a pretty good chance to win some games."

The Knicks (5-5) don't have those issues. They've had the same starting lineup -- Jalen Brunston, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns -- plus sixth man Deuce McBride available for each of their first 10 games.

And while this night began with so much attention on Embiid making his season debut, it quickly shifted to Towns - the central New Jersey native playing his first game in the rivalry -- having one of his best all-around performances as a Knick.

Towns immediately scored eight points in the opening few minutes, finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists, and set the tone with his energy at both ends throughout.

"Yeah, obviously Joel is a great defensive player," Knicks forward Josh Hart said. "But first game back, it takes you a little while to get into the rhythm. [Towns] did what we needed him to do, came out of the gate, got a couple of 3s, attacked the rim, played how we needed him to do. Set the tone early, got big rebounds and we kind of fed off of that."

Embiid hadn't played in a competitive game since the U.S. won gold at the Paris Olympics in August. He hadn't played for the 76ers since the Knicks ousted them in Game 6 of the first round of the playoffs here in April.

And against the Knicks on Tuesday night, he looked like a player who had spent significant time away from the court.

His typical touch on his jumper eluded him, and he finished 1 for 5 on 3-pointers. His face-up game, too, was a beat slow, with Towns repeatedly having success getting his hands on the ball when Embiid was trying to load up for a drive and causing him to have to reset.

And playing against Towns and a Knicks offense that often had five players outside the 3-point line, Embiid spent much of the night moving around the court trying to keep up with New York's offensive firepower.

"He was certainly rusty," 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. "Conditioning I think showed up fairly early. Seen him play through that before, kind of respond in the second half, after being on a layoff. Seemed to do it a little bit, then I thought he got kind of tired again in the fourth. But again, probably to be expected. I thought he played with some pretty good competitive spirit for what he could do out there."

Ultimately, though, the result was yet another loss for the 76ers. And while the forgiving Eastern Conference standings, where only the Boston Celtics and Cavaliers currently are over .500, gives a team like Philadelphia time to get things together, it's hoping that process can start now that Embiid has returned.

"The season's long," George said. "I do think once we get all of our pieces together we will start making strides in the right direction. We'll start to get some consistency and the chemistry will continue to take off. Right now, it's Joel's [Embiid] first game back, Tyrese [Maxey] is still out, so we've yet to see this team complete. Those are big pieces for us.

"We're all trying to do a little more than we're supposed to be doing, which is OK because we're trying to fill in big voids and big gaps, but once we're full strength I think that's when we can judge how we are."

DETROIT -- Erik Spoelstra blamed himself for a "horrendous mistake" after calling a timeout the Miami Heat didn't have with 1.1 seconds left in overtime Tuesday night, a technical foul that gave the Detroit Pistons the tiebreaking free throw.

Malik Beasley made it and the Pistons went on to beat the Heat 123-121 on the opening night of NBA Cup play.

"I made just a serious mental error there at the end," Spoelstra said. "That's on me. I feel horrible about it."

The Heat had a 121-119 lead after Tyler Herro's basket with 1.8 seconds remaining. But after a timeout, the Pistons ran a well-executed inbounds play, with Cade Cunningham throwing a lob pass that Jalen Duren slammed down.

Spoelstra quickly and angrily stormed onto the court and motioned for a timeout.

"There's really no excuse for that," Spoelstra said. "I'm 17 years in. We had talked about it in the huddle, I knew that we didn't have anything. I just got emotional and reactive on that and I made just a horrendous mistake there at the end. It's a shame."

Spoelstra has won two NBA championships, was an assistant coach on the U.S. team that won an Olympic gold medal this summer, and was the overwhelming choice of executives who responded in the NBA.com GM Survey as the NBA's best coach, earning 69% of the vote.

But he made a rookie mistake Tuesday that negated a brilliant performance by Herro, who scored 40 points and made 10 3-pointers.

"You don't want it to come down to a mental error like that," Spoelstra said, before a lengthy pause. "Yeah, you would have just liked to see this go double overtime. That's the kind of game it felt like. It deserved to go double OT and not have somebody get in the way of that, and unfortunately even as a veteran coach I got in the way of that."

LOS ANGELES -- Fernando Valenzuela, the Los Angeles Dodgers pitching ace who helped the team win the 1981 World Series, died of septic shock last month, according to his death certificate.

TMZ first obtained the document Tuesday. Valenzuela died Oct. 22 at age 63, a few weeks after stepping away from his job on the Dodgers' Spanish-language television broadcast and days before the Dodgers began their run to the team's eighth World Series championship. No cause of death was provided at the time.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's office listed septic shock as the immediate cause of death. It is a life-threatening condition that occurs when organs malfunction, leading to dangerously low blood pressure. Each year, at least 350,000 people in the U.S. die of the condition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The medical examiner listed decompensated alcoholic cirrhosis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis cirrhosis as underlying causes. Also listed as a significant condition contributing to Valenzuela's death was "probable" Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rapidly progressive brain disorder.

The document also shows Valenzuela was cremated. A public Mass was held last week at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles.

NEW YORK -- The Winnipeg Jets made NHL history with their 6-3 victory at the New York Rangers on Tuesday night, becoming the first team to win 15 of its first 16 games in a season.

"You play at MSG, you've got to put on a show," said center Mark Scheifele, who scored two goals in the win. "It feels amazing. Obviously, it's been a great start for us, but tonight's over. Enjoy the win. And then back to work."

The Jets' start has been nothing short of remarkable. They became the fourth team since 1967-68 to lead the NHL in goals for and against per game through their first 15 games. They've scored five or more goals in half their games. Their 73 goals this season are the third most by a team in its first 16 games over the past 30 years.

With their win at the Rangers, the Jets moved to 7-0-0 on the road. The 36 goals they've scored away from Winnipeg are the most in NHL history for the nine teams that have won their first seven road games.

"We had talked about banking points at the start of the season. We've got a very tough division. I don't think I quite drew it up this way, but certainly the guys have earned every inch of it," said head coach Scott Arniel, who was promoted from associate coach in the offseason.

Kyle Connor scored twice, while Gabriel Vilardi and Vladislav Namestnikov added goals. Connor Hellebuyck made 33 saves for the Jets, many of them critical stops against the Rangers to maintain his team's momentum. Hellebuyck is now 12-1-0 on the season and outdueled the Rangers' Igor Shesterkin (five goals on 32 shots) in a battle of favorites to win the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender.

Connor said he felt that the Jets' forecheck benefitted from the Rangers pressing offensively.

"I think they, for lack of better words, were cheating for offense in certain areas. They were going past our defensemen at times, and we were able to keep pucks in and make 'em pay," he said.

Rangers coach Peter Laviolette simply felt the Jets executed better.

"I don't think we were pressing. When you're playing a team that's firing offensively and the execution isn't where it needs to be, it can turn around on you pretty quickly," he said.

Scheifele scored 57 seconds into the contest before the Rangers' Will Cuylle tied it at 13:07 of the first. Vilardi put the visitors ahead on the power play at 8:58 before Alexis Lafreniere tied the game again at 12:51 of the second. Connor put the Jets ahead for good at 16:03 of the second. Scheifele scored again 1:08 into the third -- his ninth of the season -- before Kaapo Kakko narrowed the deficit to 4-3 just 32 seconds later. Namestnikov scored his fifth at 13:08, and Connor completed the scoring into an empty net with 20 seconds to play.

"It's coming from all areas of our team, top to bottom. Everybody's involved in it, and that's what makes it so dangerous, so lethal," Connor said of the Jets' offense. "It's not just a one-trick pony. If one line has an off night, we usually have two or three going."

The Jets continue on the road with games at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday and the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Saturday.

Connor said the team understands the history it's making but isn't allowing it to be a distraction.

"Honestly, we know what we're doing, but we don't take too much stock in it. It's move on to the next one. It's 'How can we improve, how can we be better?'" he said. "I think that's what made us successful to this point. Nobody's satisfied. We won 15 here, but I just think that speaks to leadership not getting comfortable. Still a lot of season left."

NORMAN, Okla. -- The University of Oklahoma's president and athletic director gave football coach Brent Venables a vote of confidence on Tuesday after the school's board of regents meeting.

The Sooners are 5-5 overall and 1-5 in league play during their first season in the Southeastern Conference. Venables, in his third season, has a 21-15 record overall.

"We all get emotional over during the course of a season," Oklahoma president Joseph Harroz Jr. said. "What's unwavering is the commitment to him. This is a new era for us, but it's also a new era for college athletics, and there's going to be a lot of adjustment, and there's going to be a lot that takes place. As far as my commitment to coach Venables, it's 100 percent."

Venables took over after Lincoln Riley left for USC following the 2021 season. The Sooners went 6-7 in Venables' first year, losing the Cheez-It Bowl to Florida State.

Behind quarterback Dillon Gabriel, the Sooners bounced back last season to go 10-2 in the regular season. But Gabriel decided not to play in the Alamo Bowl, which the Sooners lost to Arizona. Gabriel transferred to Oregon, and he has the Ducks ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25.

The Sooners brought in new offensive and defensive coordinators this season, and the defense has improved under Zac Alley.

But the offense struggled under Seth Littrell, who was fired last month after a loss to South Carolina.

Jackson Arnold began the season as the starting quarterback, lost the job to Michael Hawkins Jr. then won it back. Arnold has been mistake-prone at times. His fumble was returned for a touchdown in the final minute for the decisive score in Missouri's 30-23 victory on Saturday.

The Sooners' top receivers have been out for most of the season, and the offensive line has been poor while also fighting through injuries.

"Obviously, the season thus far has not gone as we'd hoped or planned," Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione said. "We're mindful that we haven't met the Oklahoma standard for 2024. That said, we truly believe in coach Venables and our team and are completely focused on both supporting them and looking at all of the ways to address the needed improvements now as soon as possible as well as in preparation for next year."

Oklahoma has a bye this week before hosting No. 10 Alabama and closing the season at No. 22 LSU.

PITTSBURGH -- The Washington Capitals have reunited with veteran center Lars Eller.

Washington sent a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2027 third-round pick to the Penguins on Tuesday for Eller, who spent seven seasons with the Capitals and helped the team win its first Stanley Cup in 2018.

Eller, 35, had four goals and three assists in 17 games with Pittsburgh. He was in the second season of a two-year deal he signed with the Penguins in the summer of 2023.

Eller has 182 goals and 227 assists in 1,053 games with Montreal, Washington, Colorado and Pittsburgh. He remains a dependable two-way player and penalty killer and is rejoining a Washington team off to a hot start in the competitive Metropolitan Division. The Capitals enter play Wednesday at 10-4-0, good enough for third in the division behind Carolina and New Jersey.

"We are excited to welcome Lars back to our organization," Capitals general manager Chris Patrick said. "This move enhances our depth at the critical center position. Lars is a versatile player that we are confident will strengthen our team's depth and competitiveness."

The move could be the first of several for Pittsburgh, which enters Wednesday only two points clear of the bottom of the Eastern Conference. The Penguins were routed 7-1 by Dallas on Monday night, a game in which the Stars poured in six goals in the first period.

Evgeni Malkin apologized Tuesday for the team's performance.

"I want to say sorry to the fans," Malkin said. "They [watched] a really bad game. I hope we, together, find a good way, win tomorrow and start building the team better."

Pittsburgh general manager Kyle Dubas has tried to straddle a line that keeps the team competitive in the twilight of the careers of franchise icons Sidney Crosby, Malkin and Kris Letang.

The team's wobbly start highlighted by the struggles of goaltender Tristan Jarry and a porous defense -- the Penguins are tied with Montreal for a minus-21 goal differential, the worst in the league -- could lead to more substantial changes. Dubas has been intent on trying to beef up the team's prospect pool, and sending out Eller for two picks down the road is another step in that direction.

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Sam Bennett, the Florida Panthers' second-leading scorer this season, was scratched from the lineup for Tuesday night's game against the New Jersey Devils because of an upper-body injury.

Bennett had nine goals and six assists through Florida's first 15 games. His 15 points trail only Sam Reinhart on the team so far this season and represent by far his best start to a season.

Bennett's previous best through 15 games came two seasons ago, when he had 10 points.

It's unclear when the injury occurred, and Panthers coach Paul Maurice said after the team's morning skate Tuesday that he anticipated no lineup changes for the game other than Spencer Knight starting in net over Sergei Bobrovsky.

Mackie Samoskevich slotted into the forward lines in Bennett's spot.

In his 11th NHL season, Bennett has exactly 300 points -- 146 goals and 154 assists -- in 630 games with Calgary and Florida. He also had seven goals and seven assists in Florida's run to the Stanley Cup last season.

The Panthers play host to New Jersey again Thursday night and host Winnipeg on Saturday.

Tennessee starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava is in concussion protocol and his status for the game against No. 12 Georgia is undetermined, sources told ESPN.

Iamaleava left Tennessee's win over Mississippi State last week with an apparent head injury. He did not return to the sideline for the second half, as he remained in the locker room and then walked out onto the field for the postgame with a towel over his head.

While his status for Saturday is uncertain, there's been some positive signs from Tennessee this week. He did dress and practice on both Monday and Tuesday, and on Monday Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said that Iamaleava was in "great shape" to play in the game on Saturday.

Heupel added that the SEC injury report, the first of which comes out on Wednesday night, will continue to update Iamaleava's status for the weekend.

Whether or not Iamaleava will play looms large over the game for No. 7 Tennessee. He's thrown for 1,879 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. He was replaced by senior Gaston Moore against Mississippi State, and Moore threw for 38 yards on 5-of-8 passing as Tennessee nursed a 20-7 halftime lead.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart called the unknown at quarterback "a dilemma," and said he found the Bulldogs "trying to prepare for kind of two guys, because philosophically I don't know how they'll approach it with the other quarterback."

ESPN's Mark Schlabach contributed reporting.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Even after a strong 2023 campaign and a training camp in which he was consistently one of the best players on the field, San Francisco 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir was in no rush to sign a big-money contract extension until he could solidify himself as one of the league's best at his position.

As it turned out, it took only nine more games for that to happen, as Lenoir and the 49ers reached agreement on a five-year, $92 million contract extension, a source told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler on Tuesday.

The deal comes in the midst of a season when Lenoir has emerged as one of the Niners' best -- and most versatile -- young players, even on a roster with plenty of star power. Through those nine contests, Lenoir has 53 tackles, a forced fumble and two interceptions. He has allowed a passer rating of just 66.5 when targeted as the nearest defender, according to Next Gen Stats.

Lenoir also recovered a blocked field goal and raced 61 yards for a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5.

He has done all of that despite bouncing between outside corner and playing in the slot when the Niners go into nickel packages. It's a double duty he began taking on toward the end of the 2022 season before fully embracing last season, when he played 570 snaps at outside corner and 311 in the slot, allowing a minus-4.7 EPA (expected points added), 80.1 passer rating and just one touchdown when targeted.

Despite starting this season on the final year of his rookie contract and the Niners' desire to sign him, Lenoir told ESPN in August he wasn't in a hurry to sign an extension because he was "at the point where I'm trying to be one of the top guys in the NFL as far as the corner position, the nickel position, just somewhere in the top where a lot of people starting to recognize me and remember my name."

When asked about the possibility of signing an extension before he would hit free agency, Lenoir didn't dismiss the idea but made it clear he wanted to prove he deserved to be paid among the top corners in the league.

Lenoir's new deal averages $18.4 million per season, which places him 12th among cornerbacks and represents a significant pay raise for the 2021 fifth-round pick out of Oregon. He is making $3.116 million in base salary this season with a cap charge of $3,187,217.

While the timing of Lenoir's deal might be a surprise, there have been signs pointing toward the 49ers hoping to get something done before the offseason so they can clear the decks for a forthcoming payday for quarterback Brock Purdy.

Coach Kyle Shanahan even seemed to hint at the end of October that something might be brewing.

"He is exactly what you want a 49er to play like," Shanahan said then of Lenoir. "He started out really well, made a couple mistakes early on as a rookie and lost his confidence just a little bit, I thought, his rookie year. Then that second season, the way he came back in the offseason, kind of just possessed to get that job back, and he's kind of owned it ever since. He's been a stud for a while to me, and he gets better each year. He's having a hell of a year."

Lenoir is the latest in a line of homegrown middle- to late-round draft picks to ink lucrative contracts to stay in San Francisco, including linebacker Fred Warner (third round) and tight end George Kittle and linebacker Dre Greenlaw (fifth-rounders), with Purdy presumably next up.

With Lenoir in the fold, the Niners still have plenty of other big-name players set to be unrestricted free agents in the offseason. It's a list that includes fellow starting cornerback Charvarius Ward, safety Talanoa Hufanga, guard Aaron Banks and Greenlaw.

But the Niners made it clear Tuesday that keeping Lenoir was a top priority.