India are worried about jeopardising their upcoming home series against England if they do end up travelling to Brisbane for the fourth and final Test on their tour of Australia, starting January 19. That is one of the key issues outlined by the team management and the BCCI in their communication with Cricket Australia this week, ESPNcricinfo understands.

Over the past few weeks, the Indian team management has expressed its reluctance to travel to Brisbane more than once, mainly because of the hard quarantine protocol put in place by the Queensland government to deal with the Covid-19 situation. And now, with Brisbane under a three-day lockdown because one person is reported to have caught the new UK strain of the virus, the BCCI and the Indian team management are concerned about the impact on the home series, which is scheduled to start on February 5.

If India travel to Brisbane, the BCCI fears the contingent might have to serve the mandatory two-week quarantine of the Indian government upon their return as well as the quarantines put in place by state governments for inbound travellers from countries with the UK strain of the virus. India are scheduled to fly out of Australia the day after the end of the Test series on January 19.

The other reason for the Indians' concern, as reported earlier, is the possibility that they would be placed under severe restrictions during the Test in Brisbane, with the Queensland government's rule forcing them to only leave the team hotel for training and the match itself.

More to follow…

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Some of the Indian players, one of them Mohammed Siraj, have complained to the Sydney Test match officials about being subjected to alleged racist abuse and foul language from sections of the crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground during the ongoing third Test against Australia. It is understood that at least four Indian players were at the receiving end of the abuse.

After the third day's play, which ended with Australia 103 for 2 in their second innings for a 197-run lead, the Indian team reported the matter to the on-field umpires. However, it could not be ascertained whether the Indian team management has officially lodged a complaint with the match officials.

More to follow…

Welcome to our live report of the third day of the Australia-India Test from Sydney. Join us for updates, analysis and colour. You can find our traditional ball-by-ball commentary here

*Most recent entry will appear at the top, please refresh your page for the latest updates. All times are local.

6.03pm local/12.33pm IST: Stumps

Australia end the third day 197 ahead, with eight wickets in hand, and both Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith looking at their pristine best as they pick apart India's insipid - and temporarily depleted - bowling attack in the final session. India's day hasn't ended too far from where it had begun in terms of the deficit, but a collapse of 6 for 49 at the end of their innings and the ease of Australia's scoring in the final session has pushed them decidedly behind in the match. The relentlessness of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood was responsible for that, as they were bowled out for 244, 94 short of Australia's first innings score, while also losing the immediate services of Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja who were both hit on their hands by bouncers and went off for scans. A long day ahead tomorrow on a progressively misbehaving pitch.

5.10pm local/11.40am IST: Leg trap today

India have stuck to their guns in terms of bowling strategy, with four fielders in the leg-side infield and a slant into the stumps. But that restrictive strategy has gone the opposite way and played right into Labuschagne's hands so far. This is his wheel on 34 off 44. Four boundaries through the square leg region tell the story. The execution of this plan hasn't gone well for India today.

4pm local/10.31am IST: Keeping low

Already three balls from Jasprit Bumrah that have kept low so far. His bowling action could be a factor there, of course, but there has been enough evidence since yesterday of the natural variations in this pitch. It also seemed to be turning a lot more, so Ashwin and Jadeja will be key in this innings. That is, whenever Jadeja returns to the field. He is currently off after being struck on the left hand while batting.

3.18pm local/9.48am IST: A lead of 94

A proper collapse from India then, losing their last six wickets for 49. One thing was clear once Virat Kohli had exited - they needed centuries from either Pujara or Rahane to post reasonably big scores. That came in the last match, it has not in this one. And once again, there's no getting away with that against Australia. They lasted over 100 overs, but run-scoring seemed easy only for a brief time at the start of Rishabh Pant's innings. It was back to the grind after lunch, and Cummins and Hazlewood bossed that period. Australia will be dreaming of a scenario where they're about 200 ahead at the end of the day with eight or nine wickets in hand.

2.22pm local/8.53am IST: Unrelenting Cummins

Cummins has now got Pujara four times out of five innings in this series, and is racking up some sensational numbers.

This series: 5 innings, 129 balls, 19 runs, 4 dismissals

And, as the graphic above will suggest, he's getting him out pretty much the same way every time. And it's almost always on the back of ridiculously patient bowling against a ridiculously patient batsman. A bit of help today with the extra bounce, but the plan has been the same all series long. Superb stuff.

Here's Gnasher on Australia's quick men:

Have Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins just turned this Test Australia's way? There has been some sensational fast bowling with the new ball. Hazlewood took advantage of a rattled Rishabh Pant after a nasty blow on the elbow from Cummins, the left hander edging to slip, then Cummins produced one of the deliveries of the series, which climbed on off stump, to take the glove of Cheteshwar Pujara who had just moved to a 174-ball half-century. It was the fourth time he had removed Pujara this series (19 runs 129 balls, four dismissals are the full numbers) with his unerring accuracy around off stump. Cummins' relentlessness is something to behold. Australia will be eyeing a very handy lead now unless Ravindra Jadeja can counterattack.

1.54pm local/8.24am IST: Best buds?

Pujara has played over 1000 balls in 25 innings against Lyon in his career, at an average of 47, and has been dismissed by him ten times.

12.32pm local/7.02am IST: Lunch

India have managed to pick up the scoring rate via Rishabh Pant at the end of that session, and on broader viewing it is not as bad a session as it might have appeared. What made it appear that way, of course, was Australia's relentless discipline coupled first with uneven bounce and then with India's own adventures. Rahane had got some runs away in the lead-up to his wicket, which was off a late cut that was always going to be risky on this wicket. It didn't rise, and he only chopped on. Vihari looked to pinch a single that he realised, very late, wasn't there. There were inside-edges pinging out of the close-in fielders' hands, floating over them, and awkward fends. By the middle of the session, there was reverse swing for Hazlewood too, something Glenn McGrath said wasn't likely yesterday when the outfield was lush. A much sunnier day today and that has helped on the reverse swing front. The immediate tool though, will be the second new ball, which is one over away.

But India also cut the deficit down by 84 with the loss of only two more wickets. Pujara found a way to score off Nathan Lyon after being completely tied up at the start of the day by the pacers. I said at the start of the day that this is the kind of surface he's grown up on in domestic cricket, and him digging in like this and getting to the second session is also very characteristic. Pant has looked assured too, in attack and defence. Can this yin and yang pair take control in the hour after lunch?

11.56am local/6.26am IST: Ponting's not surprised...

...by Josh Hazlewood's incredible fielding efforts. Here's what he said on Channel Seven:

"I'm actually not surprised. I spent the two weeks with the Aussie boys coming from the IPL in quarantine in Sydney and ran a few fielding drills. Big Josh hit the stumps more than anybody else from that mid-on, mid-off position. The most impressive thing with that bit of fielding, he was actually getting himself set, you can see he was getting set. He knew if he made that run-out he had to pick the ball up on the half-volley to be in a position to release it basically as soon as it gets into his hands. It's a brilliant piece of preparation before the throw. It hit half way up middle stump as well. It didn't just glance the stumps, middle stump flush."

11.49am local/6.19am IST: Chris Rogers on Steven Smith

Here's more from Gnasher: Everyone will now be talking about that Josh Hazlewood run out, or at least they should be, but I've just been listening to some interesting stuff from Chris Rogers on SEN Radio about Steve Smith and his mindset and finding motivation.

"Sometimes the best players, you think they are kind of bullet proof, they have enough self-belief that they wouldn't care what other people think but actually the inspiration they get is trying to prove people wrong," Rogers said. "It's as though they work with this chip on their shoulder and they are consistently trying to prove people wrong. And if you think back to where Steve Smith came from, he was a guy who first got picked as a legspinner, and the amount of energy he has had to put in to turn himself into one of the world's best batsmen is incredible and says something about him. There's this unbelievable desire…to show people that he's one of the best batsmen in the world, if not the best batsman." Rogers then recalled a story from the 2013-14 Ashes where Smith had struggled in the first two Test and there were murmurings about his place. He and Rogers went to a hotel in Perth to catch up with some mutual friends… "He got really emotional and really vulnerable, admitted how hard he was coping with it. He was very upset. I saw a pretty vulnerable young kid. They aren't bullet proof, these guys. It's interesting what inspires him. If you look back at the first two Tests where he didn't quite perform it even seem to us, even in the last Test, that he was a bit flat, didn't have the same kind of spark. Clearly he's recognised that and he's almost 'how do I create this story that the world is against me'. It's a bit of that Jose Mourinho idea. I don't remember people saying he was out of form. It is really interesting, the best in the world, whatever sport you play, whatever you do for work, a lot of the times it's those little things that inspire you and that's what keeps driving you."

11.02am local/5.32am IST: What's on Paine's mind?

Here's Andrew McGlashan on the first hour of play and a little observation at the end of that DRS sequence:

It's been an interesting first hour to the day. Pat Cummins has made the key breakthrough in another outstanding spell to back up his work from yesterday and there has been plenty of action when Nathan Lyon is in action. Shortly after Ajinkya Rahane's wicket there was a review for a catch at short leg against Cheteshwar Pujara - reviewed by the Australians - which was turned down. Matthew Wade obstructed the view of the leg-side Hot Spot and there was no evidence Pujara had hit the ball from any other angles. At the end of the process there was clear frustration from Paine when he spoke to umpire Paul Wilson, appearing to suggest he believed there was a spike on Snicko, although the protocols appeared to have been followed correctly. Perhaps a hangover from Paine's decision when he was batting in Melbourne? It's already been an interesting match for DRS with yesterday's appeal against Rahane when he padded up to Lyon and Wilson appeared to have a change of heart as to whether a shot had been played.

10.28am local/4.58am IST: More of the same...and then a wicket

India ended their day making nine off the last ten overs yesterday, and it's generally acceptable to attribute such a scoring rate to the caution of batsmen trying to bat to stumps. In this case though, it was mostly a reminder of how good this Australian bowling attack is - and that the pitch is showing glimpses of being up and down. And there's more of exactly that in the opening half hour today. They've come with containment plans, with catchers in the leg side and a short-pitched strategy, and some balls kicking up the batsmen. Apart from one half-volley that Ajinkya Rahane has put away, Australia have given nothing away. Only 11 off the first seven overs of the day.

India's batsmen did cop some criticism for their scoring rate last evening, but Ajinkya Rahane's wicket - chopping Cummins on, a short one dipping in and getting big off the pitch - was just proof that looking to play attacking shots is just not a straightforward proposition.

9.55am local/4.25am IST: Welcome back!

Even well past the halfway stage of this series, these teams continue to set us up for the best days. A day of ten wickets yesterday, but also a day of 238 runs - figures that show that the quality of bowling has sustained. By the end of the day, Australia used the wickets of India's openers to their advantage and completely shut off scoring options for Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, who have been greeted by probably the brightest and warmest morning of the Test this morning. It's also the flattest pitch of any in the series so far. One might even argue that it's the kind of surface Pujara feasts on. It's the one thing India haven't had yet this series, a feast for their No. 3 man. He'll be well up for this opportunity today and that is challenge number one for Australia's bowlers.

After the LA Clippers blew a 22-point lead in just over five minutes to suffer another second-half collapse, Kawhi Leonard said the Clippers "just have to change."

The Clippers led 85-63 with 3:15 remaining in the third quarter, only to fall in a stinging, 115-105 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Friday night at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Since the start of last season, and including the playoffs, the Clippers have lost an NBA-high eight games when leading by at least 15 points, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

"We just have to change, pretty much," Leonard said after watching Stephen Curry score 19 of his 38 points in the third quarter. "We've got to change it. We've got to get better."

With a red-hot Curry sparking the comeback in the third quarter, the Warriors overwhelmed the Clippers with a 52-18 blitz from late in the third to under two minutes left in the game.

The Clippers turned the ball over 11 times from the point that they led by 22, and their offense became stagnant. It conjured up bad memories of their collapse against the Denver Nuggets after leading their series 3-1 in the second round last postseason, when the Clippers repeatedly blew big, second-half leads to the Nuggets.

When asked if the Clippers had a long talk after Friday's defeat, Paul George said he and his teammates "demand greatness" from one another.

"We just want to -- just be great as a unit, just demand greatness out of everybody," George said. "We got to be better. All of us included. This was a team loss, more than anything. We just got to get better. We'll work on it."

"I think this is good that something like this happened for this team so early," George added. "Because fact of the matter is, we have to be a better closing-out team."

Leonard bristled when asked what the players said to one another after the blown second-half lead.

"I'm not about to tell you what we're doing in the locker room," Leonard said. "It's locker room talk."

After the Clippers' playoff meltdown against Denver, Leonard said the team had to improve its basketball IQ and know how to get out of jams when things are snowballing the wrong way.

Team owner Steve Ballmer replaced coach Doc Rivers with Ty Lue in the offseason. This season, the Clippers nearly lost big double-digit leads in the second half before holding on to beat the Los Angeles Lakers, the Nuggets and the Phoenix Suns. Lue praised his team for hanging in and continuing to fight in those victories.

But on Friday night, Lue said he thought the Clippers went away from what helped them build their big cushion while becoming stagnant on offense once Golden State turned the game.

George finished with 25 points and made 9 of 13 shots. Leonard had 24 points. But the Clippers' two stars were held to a combined four points in the fourth quarter.

The Clippers' bench was outscored 42-20 by the Warriors' reserves.

"Our third quarter was terrible as far as defense," Leonard said. "Them able to get easy looks, coming down just laying up the ball with no one there. Steph Curry did a few times.

"In that third quarter, just guys coming down and getting either open looks or just walking to the basket and laying up the ball."

On one possession in the fourth, Kent Bazemore had plenty of time to just walk up and take a wide-open 3-pointer that he buried during the Warriors' big run with 8:25 left in the contest. Clippers center Serge Ibaka could only flail his hands in frustration as the Clippers called timeout.

"We just gotta dig deep," George said when asked how the Clippers can keep blown leads from becoming a habit. "That's what it comes down to: We just gotta dig deep as a group and just rely on our team defense to help each other."

SAN FRANCISCO -- Golden State Warriors star guard Stephen Curry scored 38 points in a 115-105 win over the LA Clippers on Friday night at Chase Center, bringing his team all the way back from a 22-point second half deficit while reminding the rest of the basketball world just how much more fun the game can be when he goes off on one of his patented hot streaks.

"Pretty awesome, awesome night, considering how the first 28 minutes went," said Curry, who bounced back after being held to 13 points in Wednesday's loss to the Clippers.

The latest example of Curry's brilliance came on a night when the Warriors struggled to find any rhythm during the first half and relied on the two-time MVP to put the team on his back as he has done countless times through the years.

Curry poured in nine 3-pointers, went 13-for-24 from the field and dished out 11 assists in 36 minutes. In a week that has already featured Curry scoring 62 points against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, the latest performance was almost as impressive, given how dominant the Clippers' defense appeared to be at times early in the game.

"He's making shots that you be like, 'Whoa!'" Warriors swingman Andrew Wiggins said. "There's not a lot of shots that he can't make. As soon as he steps over half, he's a threat, so he causes a lot of attention. So when he gets rolling, you just sit back and watch and let him roll."

In a week full of great performances, Curry's scoring barrage left teammates and coaches in awe again. It was Curry who sparked a 64-40 second-half run by the Warriors that earned the team its most impressive win of the season.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr had to chuckle a little while describing how Curry got rolling when things appeared so dim for his team.

"Number one, because he's Steph Curry," Kerr said. "There's not too much you have to say beyond it's just who Steph is. He's been doing this for many, many years and one of the reasons he's a two-time MVP and he's a phenomenal basketball player. And usually with Steph when he has a tough game he bounces back [in] the next one. That's part of his character, part of his competitiveness. He found something out there, he found some openings, and got himself going."

Curry went on such a tear heading into the fourth quarter that Kerr said his assistant coaches came to him with an idea to start the fourth: They wanted to keep him in the game at the start of the quarter, a move that doesn't usually happen for a player who has grown accustomed to a similar substitution pattern through the years.

The change continued to help open the floor for the rest of his teammates and gave them confidence that they could come all the way back from such a large deficit.

"I mean you got a guy that's hot like that, it takes a lot of pressure off for everybody at that point," Clippers swingman Paul George said. "Guys play harder. They got a guy who at any point can get hot and is an obvious offensive threat from anywhere on the court. It just fuels the whole team. They want to make extra plays, they want to keep their guy hot, keep the ball in his hands. And then it just gets to a point where they get comfortable, they get confident, the basket is just big for them. So I think that is what happened tonight."

To put Curry's recent play into more context, he is now 141-39 in his career when he scores 30 or more points. That's a .783 win percentage and is the third-best all time among 78 players to record at least 100 3-point games. The only players who have a better percentage are Larry Bird and Hal Greer, according to Elias Sports Bureau research.

"If I can create shots and create momentum scoring the basketball, there's probably going to be some more attention my way," Curry said. "And they know that I'm going to try and make the right play at all times and get going and get guys opportunities. For us, we just can't get in our feelings like we did in the first half, myself included, in terms of if it's not clicking that we kind of lose our energy a little bit. So that's on everybody, but that's on me obviously in terms of just keeping my foot on the gas pedal no matter what's happening in the game."

Curry's latest scoring spree had Warriors personnel almost shaking their heads in collective disbelief after the game.

"Sometimes, I've got to remember that I'm his teammate," Warriors forward Eric Paschall said. "I'm so used to watching it on TV. Sometimes I got to remember like, 'Hey, hold on. You're playing with Steph.' But sometimes you don't want to sit there and watch. I'm not going to lie."

On top of Curry's performance, the Warriors ended their night with a joyous moment when Curry and the rest of the roster handed the game ball to longtime scorekeeper Fred Kast.

Kast, who has worked for the team for 57 years, got a picture with the Warriors players and made one final basket under the rim with Curry by his side.

"That was such a cool moment," Kerr said. "It's just remarkable when you think about how many basketball games Fred has seen, and how much he's committed to the Warriors organization. Going back to working games at the Cow Palace. It was so beautiful to see him out there. He was genuinely thrilled to be on the court with the guys. They signed the game ball, gave it to him. It was really a beautiful moment. It's the stuff that happens in sports that I think that pulls us all towards basketball, towards competition. All the people around the team who help and who are passionate about the game, are a part of all this. It was beautiful."

ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk contributed to this report.

An already depleted Indian squad has been stretched further with injuries to Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja during the team's first innings in the Sydney Test.

Pant, hit on the elbow, did not take the field in Australia's second innings, and went to the hospital for scans. Jadeja, who received a blow to the thumb, didn't take the field either and though he was initially present at the SCG on the third afternoon, he too was taken to the hospital for scans. Jadeja had earlier missed the T20I series with a concussion and a hamstring injury.

Coming into the Sydney Test, India had already lost Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and KL Rahul to injuries, and Virat Kohli to paternity leave. During the Covid-19 pandemic, it is not possible to fly in replacements should a side need them.

Pant's wicketkeeping gloves were taken up by Wriddhiman Saha, a substitution made possible by a recent amendment in the playing conditions allowing wicketkeepers to be replaced by other wicketkeepers. However, should Pant not be available to bat in the second innings, Saha won't be able to replace him.

Pant was hit in the elbow when trying to pull pat Cummins, but the ball kept low and skidded on to miss the bat. It took a long time and attention from the physio to put Pant back up, but it was apparent he was struggling during the brief time he spent at the wicket after the injury.

Jadeja was hit on the left thumb as he fended at a rising delivery from Mitchell Starc. Commentators on air speculated if he had dislocated his thumb, but he, too, carried on batting after treatment from the physio.

Should the duo not be available for the next Test, Saha will have to play, but there is no allrounder to replace Jadeja in the squad. India might be forced to look at an extra batsman - Mayank Agarwal in all likelihood - or the spinner Kuldeep Yadav.

Recently, Sri Lanka went through similar struggle with injuries in South Africa. Their coach Mickey Arthur tweeted: "This is a very real concern for touring teams in Covid times, bowlers under a lot of stress as conditioning is not what it should be due to bubble restrictions and quarantine.....we paid the price for it in South Africa!"

The NBA is teetering on the season's second coronavirus-related game postponement, as the Philadelphia 76ers await the league's ruling on the submission of a contact-tracing report of several players who shared close proximity to guard Seth Curry, sources told ESPN.

The Sixers' list of seven players placed in the health and safety protocol based on close recent contact to Curry -- who tested positive for the coronavirus -- could leave them short of the league-mandated eight players required to start Saturday's 3 p.m. ET game against the Denver Nuggets in Philadelphia.

The Sixers also had one staff member test positive Friday, according to sources.

For now, the Sixers are down to six available players: All-Star forward Ben Simmons, centers Dwight Howard and Tony Bradley, rookie guards Tyrese Maxey and Isaiah Joe and guard Dakota Mathias.

The Sixers await the league's evaluation of the circumstances surrounding those seven players' individual cases to discover if it is possible that at least two of them could be cleared on Saturday to spare a postponement. The NBA's contact-tracing guidelines could determine different clearances for different players, including isolation periods anywhere from zero to seven days.

After it was learned that Curry had returned a positive test for COVID-19 early in the Sixers' loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night in New York, Curry was hustled off the floor and into isolation, sources said.

The 76ers were required to await the results of Friday testing at the team's hotel in lower Manhattan before finally boarding a series of separate buses at around 11 p.m. ET on Friday for the drive back to Philadelphia, sources said.

The Nuggets flew into Philadelphia on Friday without talented young forward Michael Porter Jr., who continues to be sidelined under health and safety protocols for an indefinite period of time, sources said.

The Houston Rockets-Oklahoma City Thunder had an opening night game postponed when the Rockets had only seven eligible players.

NEW ORLEANS -- It was little brother's night on Friday inside the Smoothie King Center -- and almost a historic one too.

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball nearly became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double, as he posted 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in a 118-110 win over the New Orleans Pelicans and big brother Lonzo Ball.

LaMelo, at 19 years, 139 days, would have passed Markelle Fultz (19 years, 317 days) to become the youngest ever to accomplish the feat.

The victory for the youngest Ball sibling against his big brother was even sweeter considering LaMelo helped the Hornets come back from an 18-point deficit to do so. His assist to Gordon Hayward with 3:44 to play helped give Charlotte a four-point cushion.

The performance was reminiscent of Lonzo's second career game for the Los Angeles Lakers, when he also nearly became the youngest player to post a triple-double (29 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists). On Friday, Lonzo, now 23, finished with just five points, three assists, two rebounds, one block and one steal.

LaMelo said it was "cool" to be able to share the floor with his brother but that he also was happy his team was able to get the win. He noted that he wasn't scared of the moment on national TV, either.

"Not at all. I've been in this for a minute now," LaMelo said after the victory. "I had ESPN games since I was a kid. So it was all normal."

Charlotte coach James Borrego said LaMelo played "free and easy" throughout the game.

"That's kind of what we expect of him," Borrego said postgame. "It's like he's done this before, he's been there before. He's not fazed by the moment. I'm just proud of him. He's a fantastic player. He energizes our group. He brings us great confidence, a swagger that we need, at times. I thought he was fantastic tonight."

As Lonzo put it Thursday, it was the first "real" game the two ever had played in against each other -- outside of some 2-on-2 or 3-on-3 games in the backyard of their home while kids.

Since LaMelo comes off the bench for the Hornets, their first on-court action together on Friday didn't come until he checked in at the 6:38 mark of the first quarter. The two guarded each other for only a handful of possessions, but baby brother did manage to get the best of Lonzo a couple of times, as he wrapped around Lonzo for a layup midway through the second quarter and ended the third with a deep 3-pointer with his brother on him.

"It was just a side step and I pulled the 3," LaMelo explained.

Prior to the game, Borrego was asked to compare the two, who were the first brothers to each be selected in the top three picks of the NBA draft.

"I think they are leaders out there," Borrego said. "They've got great vision. You can tell they know the game at a high level. I think that's the common thread, is that they both understand the game at a high level and their teammates like playing with them. I think that's the biggest thing."

LaMelo became the second-youngest Hornet to record a double-double, with only Michael Kidd-Gilchrist doing it at a younger age.

No matter the outcome, Friday night's game was a realization of a lifelong dream for the siblings.

"When we were younger, we always talked about it," LaMelo said Thursday. "We always knew we were going to the league. Now the time has finally come. We're both excited."

Scottie Scheffler is making his first trip to Maui this week, but he is doing so without an old friend.

Scheffler is using a new 3-wood at the Sentry Tournament of Champions after he cracked his longtime Nike VR Pro Limited Edition model on the driving range last Saturday at Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas.

“I had my wife pick up about 10 3-woods from the house that were all backups and she brought them to the range and we found something that could work for the week,” Scheffler said after shooting 7-under 66 Friday at Kapalua.

Scheffler, who plays a variety of brands throughout his bag, eventually settled on a Callaway 3-wood. It has big shoes to fill, though. Scheffler had used the Nike 3-wood, which came out in 2011, for the better part of seven years, putting it away only for a few years in college.

Until Thursday, he had played every professional round with the club. It helped him top the Korn Ferry Tour points list in 2019, earn PGA Tour Rookie of the Year honors last season and crack the top 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking late last year.

“The way that the club setup it was really square, it was really clean, not a lot of loft so I was able to flight it down pretty easily and it was softer than the new 3-woods and for me that's important,” Scheffler said. “And when I wanted to hit it far, I just teed it up a little higher, hit it higher on the face. I got to know the club really well and for me I knew exactly what I needed to do with it each time.”

Three Dallas Mavericks rotation players remained in Denver when the team returned from its trip after one of them tested positive for COVID-19, sources confirmed to ESPN.

Point guard Jalen Brunson, forward Dorian Finney-Smith and shooting guard Josh Richardson are listed as out for Saturday's home game against the Orlando Magic due to the NBA's health and safety protocols.

The Athletic was first to report the positive test.

The injury report does not specify which of the players tested positive. The other two are sidelined due to contact tracing, which requires players to quarantine for seven days before being cleared to return if they continue to test negative for the coronavirus, meaning they will miss a minimum of three games.

All three of the players played extensive minutes in Thursday's overtime win over the Denver Nuggets. Richardson and Finney-Smith, both starters, played 41 and 36 minutes, respectively. Brunson played 19 minutes off the bench.

Reserve guard Trey Burke did not travel to Denver due to an illness, but that was not related to COVID-19, according to coach Rick Carlisle.