LOS ANGELES -- LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard was ruled out due to a left lower leg contusion for Sunday night's 128-111 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Clippers started the first game of a home back-to-back without their two stars. Leonard joined Paul George (swollen right toe) on the sideline. George missed his fifth straight game due to the injury.

Coach Ty Lue said Leonard suffered his injury at some point on the Clippers' two-game road trip to Minnesota and Chicago. Leonard scored 36 points in a win over the Wolves and 33 points in a win over the Bulls.

"I'm not quite sure when it happened," Lue said before facing Cleveland. "Or when he is going to be back."

Leonard had missed four previous games this season due to a mouth laceration and when he had to enter health and safety protocols due to contact tracing.

Kevin Durant will miss at least two games for the Brooklyn Nets with a left hamstring strain, the team announced Sunday.

Brooklyn called the strain mild but said in a statement that Durant will be out on Monday against Sacramento and Tuesday against Phoenix while he receives treatment.

Durant played in his first game in a week on Saturday. He had been placed in the league's health and safety protocols on Feb. 5 after having close contact with a team employee who tested positive for the coronavirus. Durant returned to practice on Feb. 12 and played 33 minutes in Saturday's win over the Golden State Warriors.

The Nets' Big Three of Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving have played just seven games together since Harden was traded to Brooklyn in mid-January. That seven-game total includes the game earlier this month against Toronto in which Durant was pulled in the third quarter and placed into the league's contact tracing protocols.

Durant said Friday he hoped to use the Nets' five-game West Coast road trip to continue to build on-court chemistry with his new teammates. Now, first-year head coach Steve Nash is tasked with reshuffling a roster that has already seen 17 different starting lineups -- tied with the Wizards for most in the league this season, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information.

Coming off an Achilles tear that cost him all of last season, Durant is averaging 29 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists this season for Brooklyn. He has missed nine of the Nets' 28 games this season; Brooklyn is 2-2 without him since trading for Harden last month.

DeAndre Jordan, who missed Saturday's game for personal reasons, is listed as probable to return on the Nets' injury report for Monday's game against the Kings.

DALLAS -- Luka Doncic, who is in the midst of the most prolific scoring run in Dallas Mavericks history, couldn't have asked for a better look with the game on the line Sunday night.

And he couldn't believe he didn't make it, clutching his temples with both hands and staring at the American Airlines Center rafters after his wide-open 3-pointer from the left wing rimmed out with five seconds remaining to seal a 121-118 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

"It doesn't matter if I'm confident or not. The shot went out," said Doncic, who had 44 points on 14-of-20 shooting and nine assists in the loss. "Obviously, I was disappointed. I thought it was in, and it went in and out, so I was disappointed. That's on me. I should have made the shot."

Doncic isn't missing much lately. His 90 points over the weekend -- he had a career-high 46 in Friday's win over the New Orleans Pelicans -- are the most in a two-game span in franchise history. He shot 62% from the floor in the pair of games, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range in both contests.

The Trail Blazers didn't want to let the Mavs attempt a shot at all on the possession, much less give Doncic a good look, as Portland planned to take a foul to send Dallas to the free throw line. However, Doncic came free after getting a screen from Kristaps Porzingis and got off an uncontested shot that would have tied the score.

"If he had that shot nine more times, I think he'd make it nine in a row," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "I mean, it was in and out. And that's the guy we want to take it. I thought that was a great look, so we're disappointed."

Dallas rallied from a dozen-point deficit in the fourth quarter, tying the score with 49.5 seconds left when Dorian Finney-Smith made a 3 off a Doncic feed. But Portland superstar Damian Lillard gave the Blazers the lead for good on the next possession, adding to his extensive collection of clutch buckets by swishing a stepback 3 over Finney-Smith.

"He sat down in his stance like he was going to have a good possession on defense," said Lillard, who had 34 points and 11 assists. "It's what you expect from defenders in this league, but I noticed that they weren't going to double, and I was like, 'It's going to be a 1-on-1.' I got the shot that I wanted. I got a clean look. In my mind, I was like, 'All right, if this is what it's going to be, I'm fine with this.'"

Finney-Smith was left alone on Lillard at the top of the arc because Dallas didn't execute the game plan. The Mavs' coaches called for a double-team, according to Carlisle, wanting to get the ball out of Lillard's hands.

"The communication didn't get there," Carlisle said. "He hit a difficult shot, but it's a shot he makes regularly."

Nobody in the NBA hits more shots in those situations than Lillard. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, this was his 33rd career go-ahead basket in the final minute of a game, including the playoffs, the most in the league since Lillard was drafted in 2012.

Lillard also leads the league this season with 65 points in clutch time, which is defined as the final five minutes of regulation or overtime when the score is within five points, shooting 58% from the floor in those situations. He had seven of Portland's nine clutch points Sunday.

"He's done it for a long time," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "A lot of times, the most important thing is just getting him the ball. That's what great players do. They make those plays, and obviously he is a great player."

Los Angeles Lakers star big man Anthony Davis aggravated tendonosis in his right Achilles, a source told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, and was held out of the second half of Sunday's 122-105 loss to the Denver Nuggets.

Davis missed two games earlier this week with the injury. The Lakers officially termed it as a right Achilles strain and said Davis will undergo an MRI on Monday.

Davis, 27, was listed as questionable before the game but nevertheless started with the Lakers looking to extend their seven-game winning streak.

Davis drove on Nikola Jokic late in the second quarter and bumped legs with the Nuggets center -- Jokic's right knee made contact with Davis' right quad. When Davis gathered his dribble after the foul was called and planted his foot, he appeared to aggravate his lower right leg. He clutched the leg below his calf after the play was whistled dead.

Davis stayed in the game to take two free throws, making both, and then checked out with 2:36 remaining in the second quarter and limped towards the locker room with Lakers assistant athletic trainer Jon Ishop by his side.

The nine-year veteran has been experiencing discomfort in his lower right leg for weeks and underwent an ultrasound last weekend, which confirmed the injury.

Before coming back to play in Friday's 115-105 win over the Memphis Grizzlies when he scored 35 points on 16-for-27 shooting -- two off his season high in scoring -- Davis detailed his thought process around the injury with reporters.

"I think every other game ... I've wanted to play in. This is just a different circumstance with it being an Achilles. If it was a quad or finger, anything like that, I wouldn't mind playing," Davis said Thursday. "But I just don't really want to play around with an Achilles."

Davis played 35 minutes against the Grizzlies but sat out the final stretch with the win in hand after experiencing soreness.

"It could go away, obviously with rest and things like that, but I'm not trying to rest, so just trying to keep it as loose as possible," Davis said Friday.

Davis said that his Achilles tendon was not compromised, but the tissue surrounding the tendon was bothering him.

"The doctors and training staff feel comfortable enough for me to go out there and perform," he said. "It's something that's gonna continue to get better, constantly doing treatment on it throughout the day, throughout the night, and wearing stuff in my shoes to help out the pain level and wearing tape and all these things to make it feel better throughout the course of time, and basically I'm very -- I'm able to just go out there and play and not worry about it."

Davis scored 15 points in 14 minutes with four rebounds and an assist before exiting Sunday's game.

Kyle Kuzma started the second half in Davis' place.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Veteran reliever Yusmeiro Petit has agreed to a $2.55 million, one-year contract to stay with the Oakland Athletics, pending a physical, his agent said.

The deal could pay the right-handed Petit up to $3 million based on incentives for games pitched, agent Rafael Godoy said Sunday night.

"He's excited to return. It was his first choice all along,'' Godoy told the AP via text message. "The team had been in contact all winter.''

Also Sunday, Oakland was closing in on a $2.25 million, one-year deal with veteran righty reliever Sergio Romo, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan. Romo also still must pass a physical.

The two additions for the reigning AL West champions would provide significant experience to manager Bob Melvin's bullpen that lost closer Liam Hendriks in free agency to the Chicago White Sox. Petit and Romo have 13 years of major league experience apiece, and both pitchers are plenty familiar with the Bay Area having also played for the San Francisco Giants.

The 36-year-old Petit will return for a fourth season in Oakland, having gone 2-1 with a 1.66 ERA over 26 outings and 21⅔ innings during the shortened 60-game 2020 season. He is versatile given his ability to pitch multiple innings.

Romo, who turns 37 on March 4, was 1-2 with a 4.05 ERA and five saves and 23 strikeouts in 24 appearances and 20 innings last year for Minnesota.

A's pitchers and catchers are due to report Tuesday to the club's spring training facility in Mesa, Arizona. The first workout is Wednesday. Oakland has reached the playoffs each of the past three years -- losing the AL wild-card game in 2018 and 2019, then being eliminated in a four-game division series by the rival Houston Astros last year -- but faced scrutiny for a quiet offseason.

The Athletic was first to report Romo's pending signing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Forty drivers started the 63rd Daytona 500 with hopes of hoisting the Harley J. Earl Trophy Sunday. Nearly half of them were collected in a multi-car pileup on lap 14.

As the lead pack steamed down the backstretch at Daytona Int’l Speedway, a shove from Kyle Busch sent Christopher Bell’s Toyota into the rear bumper of Aric Almirola’s Ford on approach to turn three.

The contact between Bell and Almirola sent Almirola spinning up the race track and into the side of polesitter Alex Bowman’s Chevrolet. After that, chaos broke out as car after car came onto the scene.

Several drivers tried to duck to the apron to avoid the carnage, but few succeeded and most ended up with heavy damage to their cars as the soaked infield grass took its toll on multiple front clips.

In all, 16 cars were involved in the melee, including Almirola, Bowman, Ryan Blaney, Daniel Suarez, David Ragan and Ryan Newman, who was making his return to the Great American Race one year after a violent crash on the final lap sent him to a local hospital.

Also collected were outside polesitter William Byron, Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones, Jamie McMurray, Matt DiBenedetto, Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, Kurt Busch and Anthony Alfredo.

After being checked and released from the infield care center, Almirola – who won his Duel qualifying race Thursday night – lamented the early aggression that led to his exit from the Daytona 500.

“We were just getting pushed too hard too early. It’s a long, long race,” Almirola said. “Man, we were in a fine position, just sitting there riding around in the top two (or) three and (Bell) just came with a big run and hit me really hard in a bad spot.

“It turned me to the right and tore up our race car and ended our Daytona 500 way too early.”

After getting a look at the replay, Bowman said he was a passenger once Almirola came into the side of his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet. The pole winner was seeking his first Daytona 500 victory.

“It looked like the No. 10 (Aric Almirola) kind of got turned sideways there, and I was the guy that got ran into,” Bowman noted. “It’s a bummer. I hate it for Ally. Obviously, we had a really fast Camaro. The Chevrolets were working well together; hopefully a Chevy still ends up in victory lane.

“Hats off to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports; they built some really fast race cars,” Bowman added. “I hate that superspeedway racing works out that way sometimes, but that’s just part of the game.”

Ragan was disappointed about being involved in the “unavoidable” situation, as his Daytona 500 start with Front Row Motorsports was his only planned NASCAR Cup Series appearance of the season.

“It’s just unfortunate to have a bunch of tore up race cars that early. I’ve never met a driver that said, ‘Hey, I’m gonna start this 500-mile race and just be super-aggressive,’” Ragan noted. “We all talk about give and take and making it to the end, but it seems nobody does that once they get out there. It’s frustrating that everybody was pushing and shoving, and I just saw the 48 (Bowman) get turned.

“Whenever someone wrecks in the top five or six, it tears up a lot of cars.”

Jones, making his debut with Richard Petty Motorsports, tried to find a silver lining in a tough situation.

“It’s not what we were hoping for, by any means,” Jones noted. “The No. 43 Armor All Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was fast to start. We had raced up there into the top 10, and I think we were just outside of it when the big wreck started.

“I’m disappointed, but there’s 35 more races left this season to go back out and make up for it.”

As for Newman, his hopes of bringing his Daytona journey full circle and grabbing his second Daytona 500 victory – one year on from his harrowing last-lap crash – were dashed far sooner than he’d hoped.

“Somebody crashed in the outside row in front of us and we had nowhere to go. I got hit from some place,” Newman recalled. “I had the wreck missed, but got hit from somewhere and that was the end of our day. I just feel bad for Kohler Generators, jumping on board and getting wrecked out of the Daytona 500 so early, but unfortunately that’s part of (superspeedway) racing.

“I wish we could have had some better results.”

One lap after the caution flag waved for the crash in turn three, a lightning strike near the race track forced a red-flag stoppage, which turned into a lengthy rain delay after a line of thunderstorms moved into the Daytona Beach area.

Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos has been removed from the NHL's COVID-19 list.

Stamkos was one of five players added to the NHL's COVID-19 list Friday, but on Sunday no Lightning players were on the list.

The Lightning had listed Stamkos as day-to-day with a lower-body injury before he went on the list. He was unable to play in a 5-2 loss to Florida on Thursday.

The Lightning are scheduled to play the Panthers again on Monday night.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

As Daniel Berger stood on the 18^th tee box Sunday at Pebble Beach, up ahead Maverick McNealy was club twirling after hitting 3-iron from 230 yards out to 22 feet. McNealy later would two-putt for birdie to tie Berger atop the leaderboard at 16 under.

The stage was then set for Berger.

From 250 yards out, Berger stepped on a 3-wood found the putting surface. Moments later, his 30-footer for eagle found the bottom of the cup.

“That was the best putt I’ve ever hit in my life,” said Berger, who closed in 7-under 65 to win by two shots. His final round included just one bogey, four birdies and two eagles. He also eagled the par-5 second hole, his fourth eagle of the week.

McNealy's reaction was pretty priceless, too:

Berger, who began last year ranked outside the top 100 in the world rankings thanks to a wrist injury, entered this week at No. 15. He won last summer in the PGA Tour’s return to golf at Colonial and had added three top-3s since. Now, after Sunday’s victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Berger owns four career Tour titles and is poised to flirt with the top 10 in the world. He had reached No. 13 earlier this season.

Nate Lashley shared the lead with three holes to play at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. After a fairway-splitting drive at the par-4 16th, Lashley's approach shot from 152 yards flew the green.

He pitched to 13 feet to give himself a solid chance to save par, but ran that effort 4 feet past the hole. He then lipped out his bogey putt and also missed a 3-footer for double bogey, ultimately making triple.

Lashley, who slammed his putter into the green on his way off, creating a gash in the putting surface, dropped from a share of the lead at 16 under to three back at 13 under. He finished with a birdie at the last for a closing 69 and a tie for fifth place.

Lashley's lone PGA Tour victory came in the 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Daniel Berger eagled the par-5 18th to win the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Sunday. Here's a look at what Berger and the rest of the players who made the cut earned in prize money and FedExCup points: