BOSTON -- After Nikola Jokic scored 43 of Denver's 99 points in what ultimately was a 112-99 loss to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, Nuggets coach Mike Malone said Jokic's teammates need to do more to support their superstar center.

"It's not running out of gas," Malone said, referring to Jokic scoring just four of those 43 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday night. "He needs help. ... We're playing a back-to-back [Wednesday], and every night Nikola goes out there and literally puts this team on his back. He just needs some guys to step up and help him."

The Nuggets -- who played Tuesday without three starters (Gary Harris, Will Barton and Paul Millsap) and two more rotation players (sixth man Monte Morris and wing PJ Dozier) -- didn't give Jokic much against the Celtics. It almost didn't matter, as Jokic made all six shots in the first quarter for 15 points, before adding 14 in the second quarter and 10 more in the third.

But after re-entering the game in the fourth, he looked tired, and missed a few clean looks that could've gotten him within range of a second 50-point game this season as he continues to make himself one of the frontrunners for the MVP award.

It was not nearly as enjoyable of a night for the rest of the Nuggets. Jamal Murray shot well, finishing with 25 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, but he committed a career-high 9 turnovers -- more than half of Denver's 17 giveaways.

And while point guard Facundo Campazzo was impressive in his first career start, finishing with 15 points and eight assists in a game-high 40 minutes, the rest of the Nuggets were a combined 8-for-23 from the field, including 0-for-15 from 3-point range.

"Jamal tried to get it going but he can't have nine turnovers on the road as our starting guard," Malone said. "And he knows that. Other guys have to find ways to contribute. But it speaks to how well Nikola is playing. He leaves it all out there every night. That's why he's an MVP candidate, obviously, but it can't be just one guy in this league. You need others to step up and contribute, and hopefully we get that [Wednesday] night."

Murray and Jokic went out of their way not to criticize their teammates who were playing, which included first-round picks Zeke Nnaji and R.J. Hampton, saying that they believe the players on the court are good enough to win.

And in Murray's case, he shouldered the blame for the loss.

"Very winnable game," Murray said. "It really don't matter so much who is out there. It's just the little details that hurt us a little bit ... I put this game on me because I don't think I've ever had nine turnovers. [That's] nine plays, nine possessions we could've had back."

It was a particularly ugly game for Denver's starting forwards, Michael Porter Jr. and JaMychal Green. They combined to go 1-for-15 from the field, including 0-for-7 from 3-point range, in a total of 53 minutes.

Porter is now a combined 2-for-18 on 3-pointers the past three games.

"I can't make shots," Malone said. "That's one thing I can't do from the bench. I mean, Michael Porter rebounded the ball, but right now, in the last five, six, seven games, he's really struggling to make shots, especially from the 3-point line. We know he'll bounce back. He's too good of a shooter not to. He's just got to make sure, when shots are not going in, what else can I do to help my team? JaMychal Green, same thing. He's getting good looks, had a couple shots that went in and out, around the basket from 3, we've just got to stay with guys.

"As long as they're generating good looks, I want those guys to continue to shoot the ball, and obviously if we can generate a few easy ones, get to the foul line, maybe that will help their confidence as well."

Jokic shrugged when asked whether he's growing frustrated about the inability of his teammates to produce.

"No, I'm not [frustrated]," he said. "We know, especially today, it's a completely different lineup. ... I think it's just a different type of game for everybody right now. But we need to adjust. Everybody needs to step up."

LOS ANGELES – Even the thing that once tied them together so seamlessly now seems strangely dated.

When the venerated high school graduating class of 2011 arrived on the PGA Tour it felt for a time that there was no threshold they couldn’t roll through or redefine.

By 25, Jordan Spieth had won 11 times on Tour and he’d collected three major championships. Justin Thomas had six Tour titles and his own major keepsake (2017 PGA Championship). All total, the group that includes Daniel Berger and Xander Schauffele (both with four Tour victories each) has won 32 times on Tour.

But all of those accomplishments and accolades have been slightly dulled by time and another generation of fearless young players that include Collin Morikawa (24 years old), Matthew Wolff (21) and Viktor Hovland (23).

“I feel pretty old,” Schauffele said with a slight smile Tuesday at the Genesis Invitational. “There's a lot more younger guys out here that are playing great golf than myself. I'm 27 now, I think we're all (the class of 2011) about 27, 28 years old. There's a bunch of guys that are barely able to buy themselves a drink that are winning golf tournaments. I kind of feel old.”

There have also been a few high-profile setbacks for the class of 2011. Before his overtime victory at the Charles Schwab Challenge last June, Berger had endured two long and winless years, and Spieth’s fall into competitive obscurity has been even more painful.

Although Spieth is still looking for his first victory since the 2017 Open Championship, back-to-back top-5 finishes the last two weeks have given the 27-year-old a much-needed sliver of hope.

After being a fixture at the Tour Championship his first five years on Tour, Spieth has failed to qualify for the finale the last three seasons. He didn’t even make it to the second post-season stop last year and 2021 started with a familiar result.

“If I look back at Friday night of San Diego and you tell me I was going to have the 54-hole lead two weeks in a row and really just fight, finish strong to both weeks, I would have said you're crazy,” said Spieth, who began his year with a missed cut at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Spieth said the breakthrough came after that missed cut at Torrey Pines during practice sessions and he converted that effort into a tie for fourth at TPC Scottsdale and third place at Pebble Beach, where he finished three strokes behind eventual winner Berger.

For players like Spieth and Schauffele 27 is not old, even in Tour years, but there is something to be said for experiences, both good and not so good, and the entire class has spent time at both extremes.

Unlike Berger and Spieth, Schauffele has been more consistent throughout his career but it was obvious that the near-misses are starting to pile up. He hasn’t finished outside the top 5 in three starts this year, including back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Farmers Insurance Open and Waste Management Phoenix Open.

“Some hurt more than others. That one [Phoenix] didn't really hurt. It wasn't that I pissed too many shots away,” he said. “It was a good learning experience for me in a final group where sort of the whole group is a little stagnant and awareness is key there.”

Schauffele smiles when he attempts to pass himself off as one of the “old guys,” but the reality is, the class is still learning and still threatening to rewrite the record books.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Top-ranked Ash Barty built a big lead in her quarterfinal match at the Australian Open before her opponent took an injury timeout and left the court.

More than an hour later, it was Barty heading abruptly out the exit. She was upset Wednesday by Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Seeded No. 25, Muchova earned her first semifinal berth in a Grand Slam. Her comeback win ended Barty's bid to become the first Australian woman to win the title in Melbourne since Chris O'Neil in 1978.

"It's heartbreaking, of course,'' Barty said. "But the sun will come up tomorrow. You're either winning or you're learning, and today is a massive learning curve for me.''

Muchova's opponent Thursday will be the winner of the last quarterfinal, an all-American matchup between No. 22-seeded Jennifer Brady and unseeded Jessica Pegula.

Muchova played poorly at the start of her second major quarterfinal, and Barty raced to a 5-0 lead while losing only six points. After nine games, Muchova had one winner and 18 unforced errors, and early in the second set, she took an injury timeout that lasted nearly 10 minutes.

"I started feeling a bit lost,'' Muchova said. "Ash started very good. She played almost like no mistakes; it was very tough. I was a bit lost on the court and my head was spinning, so I took a break. And it helped me.''

Medical personnel took her temperature, checked her blood pressure and gave her ice before she left the court. When the Czech returned, she played much better.

"I tried to play a bit faster rallies so we don't play long ones as in the first set,'' Muchova said, "and it worked well.''

Barty had no complaints about Muchova's reason for halting play.

"It's within the rules,'' Barty said. "She's within her rights to take that time. That shouldn't be a massive turning point in the match. I'm disappointed I let that be a turning point.''

Comebacks have been a staple in the tournament for Muchova, who rallied in earlier matches to win sets after trailing 5-0 and 4-0.

Against Barty, she began moving into the court to hit her groundstrokes earlier. Barty, pushed behind the baseline, became indecisive and erratic.

During one stretch, Muchova won eight of nine games. Barty finished with 37 unforced errors and lost serve four times in the final two sets.

"I just overplayed,'' Barty said. "I just pressed a little bit too much and gave up too many cheap errors at some pretty critical times.''

Muchova's only other victory over a top-five opponent was against No. 3 Karolina Pliskova at Wimbledon in 2019.

STOUFFVILLE, Ontario — After two years of running under the Ed Hakonson Racing banner in two different car numbers, Brett Taylor will be piloting the No. 3 car during the upcoming NASCAR Pinty’s Series campaign.

Taylor, hailing from Calgary, Alberta, is excited about the opportunity to be driving the No. 3.

“EHR has proven that they are at the top in the series and I am extremely proud to be part of their program,” said Taylor. “They are a passionate group about racing and have been extremely supportive both on and off the track right from the beginning of when we started to work together.”

Team Manager Jason Hathaway, who drove the No. 3 for the past 14 years, is looking forward to the team’s continued winning ways with Taylor.

“Brett came to us a few years ago with a desire to be competitive in the series and we put a plan in place to help him do that,” Hathaway said. “His win at Jukasa in 2019 was a great indication of the work that this team has put into his program. We are excited about what the 2021 season will bring for the No. 3.”

“Getting into a Championship ride is a pretty unique opportunity and I don’t take it for granted at all,” continued Taylor. “Jason and the entire team dominated last season and it didn’t happen by chance. The amount of training, work on the car, the connection of the crew and their pursuance of excellence is second to none. There is true chemistry between them. When you combine that with top-notch equipment and the high standards under Ed Hakonson’s ownership I feel confident that we are lined up to do some great things this season.”

LOS ANGELES – It might not have been love at first sight for Collin Morikawa but the 24-year-old eventually got there.

Morikawa was born in Los Angeles and grew up in La Cañada, which is about an hour’s drive with friendly traffic from Riviera Country Club, but he never made it out to the area’s annual PGA Tour stop growing up.

“I never really had an interest, I'll be honest. Like it was never my interest when I was a kid to go and watch golf,” Morikawa said Tuesday from the Genesis Invitational. “That was just never my thing.”

During the 2017 U.S. Amateur at Riviera Morikawa developed an affinity for the course, but it wasn’t until he turned pro that he fell for the layout.

“I loved playing Riv in the U.S. Am, I liked it, but last year I actually fell in love and I know why my caddie [J.J. Jakovac] loves this golf course. I keep falling in love with it and it just makes it a little more special being in L.A.,” he said.

In his first start last year at the Genesis Invitational Morikawa tied for 26^th after bookend rounds of 73, but that pedestrian start didn’t overshadow his growing fondness.

“You look at a great golf course and does it test every shot, does it test everything that you need?” Morikawa said. “That's what Riviera does. You hit every shot out here, you hit draws, you hit fades, wedges, long irons, 3-woods, everything, and I think that's what makes a great golf course.”

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman said it was "crazy" to suggest he should consider his future at the club after Wednesday's 4-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

Lionel Messi gave Barca a first-half lead from the penalty spot at Camp Nou but PSG, inspired by a Kylian Mbappe hat trick and a Moise Keane header, fought back to take a three-goal advantage into the second leg in Paris next month.

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The loss leaves Barca on the cusp of a second successive trophy-less season. They're eight points behind La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid having played a game more and lost the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal 2-0 against Sevilla last week.

"If I was someone who gets happy when we win and then after a result like today said I had no desire to continue, that would be crazy," Koeman said in a news conference when asked if the manner of the defeat would force him to consider stepping down.

"I know where I am and what we have to change. We're trying. We're not at the end of the path yet, we're halfway down it."

It's the fourth time in as many seasons that Barca have suffered a heavy defeat in the Champions League following similar losses to Roma, Liverpool and Bayern Munich.

Since losing 8-2 to Bayern in August, which led to the firing of Quique Setien and the hiring of Koeman, Barca have tried to make several changes to their team, bringing through younger players while allowing Luis Suarez, Arturo Vidal and Ivan Rakitic to leave.

Koeman argued, therefore, that expectations need to be adjusted at the club, despite saying in the build-up to Tuesday's match he felt his side could compete with anyone.

"You always have to aspire to win everything, but we have to recognise that we're short in certain areas," the Barca boss added.

"I have said several times that we're on the right path, but we lack things. [Sergino] Dest at 20, in four years will be better. Pedri, at his age is already brilliant, but in five years he will be better than any PSG midfielder.

"It's tough, especially with the [demands] from the press. But I am realistic. I always defend my team. We did everything. We can defend better; we can be more aggressive and we're going to change that and work on it.

"We lack things, sure, but I have never thought before this game that we didn't. It's not the end of the path. It seems I am more realistic than everyone else."

Barca overturned a four-goal deficit in 2017 when they last met PSG in the knockout stages of the Champions League, famously winning the return leg 6-1, but Koeman isn't expecting another heroic comeback when the two sides meet at the Parc des Princes on March 10.

"I could lie but at 4-1 there's hardly any chance of going through," he acknowledged. "They're a side that has already been put together and we are in transition. We must improve in the areas where we're lacking. That's my responsibility.

"The first half was more even, we had the Ousmane [Dembele] chance at 1-0 but they were better in the second half, above all physically, and were the much more effective team."

Barca were in the game until half-time. Messi gave them the lead from the spot, Dembele came close and Antoine Griezmann had two chances, denied once by Keylor Navas and later shooting wide, before Mbappe's equaliser.

It was one-way traffic after the break, though, with goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen making saves from Mbappe and Kean to keep the score down.

"Against teams like PSG you need an almost perfect game and we didn't manage that today," Griezmann lamented. "They were superior. It's not the image we want to show. It was a bad game.

"Now we must work hard, move forward and fight until the final second. We will go there to try and win and get through. We know it's complicated, but we won't go there just to visit [Paris]."

Kylian Mbappe said he is "happy" at Paris Saint-Germain following his hat trick in Tuesday's 4-1 Champions League round-of-16 victory over Barcelona.

Mbappe scored his side's first, second and fourth goals on the night and then opened up on his future with the Ligue 1 champions after the match.

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"I have always said that I am happy here. This sort of match makes me even happier. The PSG shirt is one that I hold dear to my heart," the France international told RMC Sport in a postmatch interview.

"I am happy. I always want to give the best of myself. I have not always had that success but never in my life will I hide. Today, my hard work is paying off."

Mbappe also denied rumours that losing to Barcelona on Tuesday would have meant him not extending his contract with the club. His deal expires in June of 2022.

"It would be stupid to decide my future on a single match. The truth is that it is about reflecting for the long term," he said.

Tuesday's heroics made the 22-year-old the first player to score a Champions League hat trick at the Camp Nou since Andriy Shevchenko in 1997. It was the first time he had faced the Catalans, and played at their ground, in his career.

"Kylian shone tonight. Everyone is happy with his performance. When Kylian shines in the big matches, he makes the difference. He brought us this victory," PSG captain Marquinhos said after the game.

Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann was also full of praise for his France teammate.

"Kylian Mbappe had a great night. PSG has a great star for the future, who will be at the level of Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo," he said.

Kylian Mbappe said he is "happy" at Paris Saint-Germain following his hat trick in Tuesday's 4-1 Champions League round-of-16 victory over Barcelona.

Mbappe scored his side's first, second and fourth goals on the night and then opened up on his future with the Ligue 1 champions after the match.

- Marcotti: Magical Mbappe leads PSG to statement win vs. Barca
- Barca Ratings: Blaugrana on ropes after shoddy defending in loss
- ESPN's Champions pick 'em: Compete for $4K of Amazon gift cards

"I have always said that I am happy here. This sort of match makes me even happier. The PSG shirt is one that I hold dear to my heart," the France international told RMC Sport in a postmatch interview.

"I am happy. I always want to give the best of myself. I have not always had that success but never in my life will I hide. Today, my hard work is paying off."

Mbappe also denied rumours that losing to Barcelona on Tuesday would have meant him not extending his contract with the club. His deal expires in June of 2022.

"It would be stupid to decide my future on a single match. The truth is that it is about reflecting for the long term," he said.

Tuesday's heroics made the 22-year-old the first player to score a Champions League hat trick at the Camp Nou since Andriy Shevchenko in 1997. It was the first time he had faced the Catalans, and played at their ground, in his career.

"Kylian shone tonight. Everyone is happy with his performance. When Kylian shines in the big matches, he makes the difference. He brought us this victory," PSG captain Marquinhos said after the game.

Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann was also full of praise for his France teammate.

"Kylian Mbappe had a great night. PSG has a great star for the future, who will be at the level of Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo," he said.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Tennis fans will be able to return to the Australian Open starting Thursday after the Victorian government announced the easing of its recently implemented COVID-19 restrictions.

The state was placed into a snap five-day "circuit-breaker" lockdown last Friday following a series of virus outbreaks in Melbourne's suburbs that took Victoria's active coronavirus case tally to 13.

The bulk of these cases were linked to Melbourne Airport's Holiday Inn and all were presumed to be the UK strain of the virus, which is proving to be highly contagious and more difficult to contain than the original variant.

Victoria has recorded just 12 additional cases of the virus since the lockdown began, taking the active tally to 25, while no new cases have been detected in the past 24 hours from more than 39,000 tests.

On Wednesday morning, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed the Stage 4 restrictions -- which prevent residents from leaving their homes for any reason other than work, shopping for groceries, giving or receiving medical care and exercise -- would be lifted.

"I'm very, very pleased to announce that the restrictions will come off, almost all of them, at midnight tonight," said Andrews. "From 11:59 p.m. tonight, the restrictions will be dropped [but] masks will be required indoors and outdoors when you can't socially distance."

The announcement means tennis fans will be able to make their way back to Melbourne Park for the semifinals and finals of the Australian Open, although the exact crowd capacity is yet to be determined.

"There will be meetings this afternoon [to determine] what is a safe number," Andrews said. "They already were reduced, they may have to be reduced further, but that matter will be resolved in the next few hours."

It's a massive boost for Tennis Australia, which was already dealing with a crowd cap of 30,000 spectators per day before the lockdown began late last week.

Through the opening 10 days, 98,512 fans have attended the tournament, while at the same stage in 2020, the figure was 650,138.

The Australian Open women's semifinals begin Thursday, highlighted by 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams facing Japan's Naomi Osaka in a highly anticipated rematch of the 2018 US Open final.

Meanwhile, in the men's draw, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic booked his place in the last four after defeating Alexander Zverev in four sets. Djokovic will face qualifier Aslan Karatsev.

The remaining men's and women's quarterfinals are scheduled to be played at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.

Scotland prop Zander Fagerson will miss the rest of the Six Nations following his red card against Wales.

Scotland lost 25-24 at Murrayfield on Saturday, having led by two points when the 25-year-old was sent off.

Fagerson - who had been in British and Irish Lions contention - misses matches against France, Ireland and Italy.

An independent disciplinary committee deemed the foul play warranted a mid-range entry point - a six-week suspension - but reduced that by two weeks to account for mitigating factors, including his admission of foul play and a good disciplinary record.

Fagerson has the right to appeal.