After the shot clock expired Tuesday night, cementing another disappointing game for the Brooklyn Nets, coach Steve Nash implored his players to look inward and ask themselves "what type of team they want to be."

"I don't think that we go out every single day of our lives and sacrifice the time in order to be average at anything," Kyrie Irving said after Brooklyn's third straight loss. "And we look very average. And we have the talent that the eye test presents that we should be dominating."

Brooklyn has developed a pattern this season of playing incredibly hard -- and often times beating -- the teams toward the top of the standings, but losing to the league's bottom dwellers. In fact, with a 122-111 loss in Detroit on Tuesday, the Nets are now 7-11 against teams with a record below .500 -- the most such losses in the league.

Jerami Grant tied his career high with 32 points for the Pistons. Irving, who was playing with a sprained index finger, finished with 27 points and seven assists. James Harden added 24 points and 12 assists.

Brooklyn remains without Kevin Durant, who is in the NBA's coronavirus contact tracing protocols until at least Friday after being exposed to a team employee who tested positive for COVID-19 last week.

Detroit jumped out to an early double-digit lead and controlled the game for almost the entire 48 minutes. During a timeout in the first quarter, Harden appeared to have a spirited conversation with DeAndre Jordan about the team's defensive effort. Over the course of the game, Nash pulled Jordan aside several times.

"I don't think they were necessarily picking on him," Nash said. "It's an emotional sport. We find ourselves in the hole and then get a little emotional."

Jordan, who said he didn't recall what Harden had specifically said, admitted he needed to be better overall defensively.

"I've gotta be better for us, defensively," Jordan said. "We all have to be better. But I just take a little bit more ownership on that end of the ball because that is a thing that I love and a big part of why I think I'm out there for us. So we've gotta be better, but I take a lot of that."

Since the Nets traded for James Harden in mid-January, they rank last in defensive efficiency, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. And while the Nets were able to whittle the Pistons' lead down to single digits, they were never able to get over the hump.

"A lot of teams come out very comfortable against us," Irving said. "And then that's kind of the feel for the rest of the game is that we're playing catchup, and that's just not the way to play as a competitor just always down."

"We just have to turn that corner. And we haven't done it yet, but we will. And I'm telling you the league's going to be on notice when that happens."

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr watched Michael Jordan drop in so many impossible shots over the years that he had to chuckle when asked whether Stephen Curry's behind-the-head circus shot late in the first quarter of Tuesday night's 114-91 win at the San Antonio Spurs reminded him of what the Chicago Bulls legend used to do on a regular basis.

"That play was sort of Jordan-esque," Kerr said. "I saw [Jordan] make that move many times. Go to the rim and get fouled and just kind of flick it backwards. He didn't always make it, but he liked doing that shot. That was an incredible example of body control and touch and feel. What an amazing shot."

In a career filled with unbelievable plays, Curry's whirling shot through three Spurs in the lane was one of the most interesting in recent memory. With 2:01 left in the first quarter, he took a pass above the 3-point line from Draymond Green and dribbled down toward the rim past Spurs swingman DeMar DeRozan and veteran Rudy Gay, who was coming from the right side to try to cut off Curry. Once he got closer to the rim, Curry jumped up into Spurs guard Lonnie Walker, thought about throwing a pass out to Warriors guard Kent Bazemore in the corner but changed his mind once he heard the whistle.

Curry flipped the ball over his head with his right hand. The Spurs' defenders were left in awe trying to figure out how Curry had contorted his body in the air to finish such a play.

"It was a fun one," Curry admitted after the game. "I don't know the ranking, but it was up there, for sure. I had to improvise. I don't really even know how to explain it; I just had a good flow once I got the contact and heard the whistle. Just get it up on the glass however you can. All the wild and acrobatic shots you practice or tried, the instincts take over -- so that was pretty cool."

The play left teammates and coaches in amazement -- a reminder that Curry is playing on a different level at this point in his career.

"Man, I'd have to go back in the vault for that one," Green said with a smile when asked to rank the play among Curry's all-time moments. "That was nice. Get the foul and kind of just flip it up there. I don't know if he did this [claps arms together], but it was very close to an MJ little flip. It was nice. So that was a good one, for sure."

The move even seemed to surprise Curry himself -- but he brushed off any comparisons to Jordan and the high-flying acrobatics that MJ put on display during his career.

"There was nothing high-flying or above the rim about that," Curry said. "So at least I'll get on the [Steve Smith] Smitty's 'under the rim' list. I'll take that recognition. But yeah, I did switch hands; that's the only comparison."

Even as Curry tried to downplay his latest accomplishment, his teammates couldn't believe what they had just seen.

"If you're watching me on the bench, I'm like, "Oh, my God, this is crazy!" Warriors forward Juan Toscano-Anderson said. "I'm a stan, though. I think he's the best player in the world right now. Baze [Bazemore] said it the other day: [Curry's] just unreal. And the fact that I get to watch him up close, I get to watch everything he's doing, is just -- it's cool to watch.

"I don't take this for granted. I don't think we'll ever see somebody, I don't want to say ever, but for a very long time, we won't see somebody like Steph Curry."

Curry's highlight-reel shot came on the last night of one of the most impressive road trips he has had in recent memory. During the Warriors four-game swing through Dallas and San Antonio, Curry combined for 149 points in four games and went 25-for-50 from beyond the arc. After a slow start to the season, Curry has embraced the challenge of leading an undermanned team back to the postseason, a challenge that became even more difficult in Texas because the Warriors were playing without big men James Wiseman (wrist) and Kevon Looney (ankle).

"I'm blessed to be healthy after last year," Curry said. "And obviously, the way the season started all the kind of commentary, chatter and all that, I worked my butt off over the offseason with the rehab, and I'm just happy to be playing night after night ... I feel strong, I feel in rhythm, I feel in ultimate control of my game. My shots are falling. And it all comes with, not only my own confidence, but the growing confidence of our team, in terms of how we're trying to play. Win or lose, that familiarity and that comfort is coming game after game, so that's important. I definitely feel the strongest I've ever been. I've got a lot of energy, feeding off my guys and just trying to make plays. It's a good vibe right now."

Curry is playing so well that Kerr reiterated what he said last week: He believes the 32-year-old guard is playing the best basketball of his career.

"I think that's part of Steph's brilliance is that he just constantly amazes you to the point where you almost take it for granted," Kerr said. "I do think, and maybe it's circumstantial given the injuries and the fact that he's playing with a different group of guys -- this is the best I've ever seen him just from a confidence and a strength standpoint. And that's saying something, obviously, a two-time MVP, I don't think I've ever seen him look better."

It's a sentiment that Green echoed, saying he also believes his longtime teammate is playing "the best basketball of his career." After all the frustration from parts of the fan base in recent days regarding whether Kerr and the Warriors would allow Curry to play a few more minutes past the original 34-minute mark the team had set for him to average throughout the season, a victory and Curry's unbelievable play provided a welcome dose of happiness for a group that has struggled to find consistency all year.

Kerr couldn't help but smile one more time when asked if he had contemplated holding Curry and Green out of Tuesday's game, after saying following Monday's loss at San Antonio that he wouldn't sacrifice Curry's minutes just to "chase wins" this season.

"We considered it," Kerr said. "But I had heard so much from our fan base the last couple of days, I just decided, 'You know what? I should really put them back in to keep everybody happy.'"

Petra Kvitova and Bianca Andreescu were the biggest casualties in the second round of the Australian Open as Serena Williams once again breezed through.

Andreescu, seeded eighth as she makes her return from a long-standing knee injury, lost 6-3 6-3 to tricky Taiwanese Hsieh Su-wei.

Williams and Garbine Muguruza were among the winners at Melbourne Park.

American Williams, seeking a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title, beat Serbia's Nina Stojanovic 6-3 6-0 and will face Anastasia Potapova of Russia next.

Last year's finalist Muguruza continued her good form on the hottest day of the tournament so far with a 6-3 6-1 win over Russian Liudmila Samsonova.

Belarusian seventh seed Aryna Sabalenka also advanced, beating Daria Kasatkina of Russia 7-6 (7-5) 6-3.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The first Busch Clash to take place on the Daytona Int’l Speedway road course Tuesday night evoked memories of the inaugural race on the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.

In a wild last-lap scramble, Chase Elliott dove into the final chicane, got into race leader Ryan Blaney and spun Blaney around coming to the finish line, leaving Kyle Busch to sneak through and steal the show.

Busch led only the final 400 feet or so to claim the victory in the season-opening, non-points exhibition race for the NASCAR Cup Series that kicked off Daytona Speedweeks at the World Center of Racing.

It marked Busch’s second Clash victory and first since 2012. Ironically, Busch also won that event – which was contested on Daytona’s 2.5-mile oval – with a last-lap pass coming to the checkered flag.

“I knew to keep my head down and keep focused ahead and see if I could keep hitting my marks to get close enough to have a shot like that – if something like that were to materialize,” said Busch in victory lane. “Fortunately it did for us. I can’t say enough about Ben Beshore (crew chief) and this whole M&M’s team – this new M&M’s team. I appreciate what they do for me, along with everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota and TRD.

“It’s awesome to start off the year with a win … a non-points win, yes, but I would love nothing more than to be right here this Sunday (after the Daytona 500).”

With Busch’s score, Joe Gibbs Racing extended its record as the winningest team in Busch Clash history to 10 victories.

Tuesday night’s wild race featured 13 lead changes in 35 laps, including a sequence where the top spot changed hands eight times in a span of nine laps around the 3.61-mile, 14-turn Daytona road course.

The wild final lap was set up by a crash exiting the backstretch chicane, where the leading Toyota driven by Martin Truex Jr. broke loose and spun before slamming into the outside wall.

That necessitated the fourth and final caution of the night, leading to split pit strategy due to teams being limited to just three sets of Goodyear tires to utilize during the 35-lap event.

Elliott, running third at the final yellow, stayed out because he didn’t have any fresh tires to put on his No. 9 Chevrolet. Blaney, meanwhile, was among a large group of cars to fit for new rubber and lined up seventh for the decisive restart.

When the green flag waved, Elliott did his best to build a lead out front, while Blaney put on a quick charge by moving from seventh to third in less than a lap after the restart.

Blaney picked off his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano for second in the international horseshoe, then chased Elliott down from more than a second back over the next lap and a half.

He made the move for the top spot entering the west horseshoe, out-braking Elliott to secure the position and attempting to race away exiting the infield section and going down the backstretch.

Elliott, however, would not let Blaney escape. He stayed within striking distance as the white flag was displayed and made up enough time exiting the bus stop on the backstretch to take one last shot.

That move came entering the chicane off the fourth turn of the oval, with Elliott diving to Blaney’s right, tagging the right-rear corner of Blaney’s Ford and sending the No. 12 spinning in a cloud of smoke.

Elliott came through unscathed, but lost enough momentum that Busch was able to power past on the inside coming to the finish line. The defending Cup champion finished second by .765 seconds.

“Neither one of us won; that’s the biggest issue,” said Elliott. “I was close enough to drive it in there, and I feel like I’d be mad at myself for not at least trying. Obviously, I don’t mean to wreck anybody, especially him. Some guys I wouldn’t mind, but he’s not one of them. Hopefully he’s not too mad at me. I feel like you’ve got to go for it in an event like this in any situation. I can’t be sorry about going for the win, but I certainly didn’t mean to wreck him.

“I drove in there, and that corner gets so tight that I didn’t want to just completely jump the curb to the right, but I feel like I tried to get over there as far as I could,” Elliott added. “At that point we were coming together at the same time. I hate it. We had a fast Llumar Chevrolet in a position to have a shot at it, but we’ll try again on Sunday.”

Joey Logano came back from overheating issues to place third, with Tyler Reddick and William Byron filling out the top five.

Sixth through 10th were Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, reigning Clash winner Erik Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Matt DiBenedetto.

Blaney finally got his car righted and crossed the line 13th, but lamented what could have been after climbing from his car.

“I hate it happened. It didn’t work out for either of us,” Blaney noted. “We were just racing hard and I had a little bit fresher tires there. We saved a set and got back to second there and his car was really good.  I had to use up a lot to get to him … and I kind of tried to protect and I drove into the last corner really deep to try to make sure I didn’t get dive bombed like that.

“We just came together there. What are you going to do?”

The finish:

1. Kyle Busch, 2. Chase Elliott, 3. Joey Logano, 4. Tyler Reddick, 5. William Byron, 6. Denny Hamlin, 7. Alex Bowman, 8. Erik Jones, 9. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 10. Matt DiBenedetto, 11. Austin Dillon, 12. Aric Almirola, 13. Ryan Blaney, 14. Ryan Newman, 15. Kevin Harvick, 16. Chris Buescher, 17. Brad Keselowski, 18. Ty Dillon, 19. Kurt Busch, 20. Cole Custer, 21. Martin Truex Jr.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – A lot has gone wrong so far for Patrick Emerling during the 55th World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing, but on Tuesday night everything went right.

Emerling set fast time in qualifying, started fourth after an invert and then raced to the front of the field to claim his fifth overall World Series victory in the second Tour-Type Modified race of the week.

The victory was a breath of fresh air for Emerling, who said he’s had nothing but bad luck so far during his time at New Smyrna Speedway this week.

“Last night was pretty unfortunate for us. We were decent, we were good enough to stay in the top-five and lead some laps last night, but we got taken out last night, so this definitely makes up for it,” Emerling said. “Man, we’ve had a lot of stuff go wrong so far during Speedweeks. I had the primary car blow an engine, we pulled out the backup car.

“We had to miss practice because the lift gate stopped on the trailer and we had to fix that. So far there has just been a lot of things go wrong, so it’s good to have one thing go right for once.”

Emerling was the fourth different leader during Tuesday’s 35-lap feature. McKennedy led early on after starting from the pole before giving way to Matt Hirschman on lap 10. Eric Goodale would then take the lead from Hirschman during a restart on lap 16.

The pass for the victory would come during another restart, this time on lap 22, when Emerling was able to stick with Goodale and clear him coming out of turn four. Emerling then held off Goodale during a restart with three laps left to claim the win.

Hirschman finished third, followed by NASCAR Cup Series regular Ryan Preece and Tuesday’s Tour-Type Modified winner Craig Lutz.

The 50-lap Super Late Model feature belonged to defending division champion Derek Griffith, who scored his second victory of the week in dominant style.

Griffith, who also won on Friday, started second alongside Jacob Goede. Goede led the opening laps only for Griffith to slip past him on the eighth circuit. He would go on to lead the remainder of the feature unchallenged.

“I knew we had a really good car all day,” said Griffith, who escaped injury in a violent Pro Late Model crash earlier in the evening. “My spotter came over the radio and said the 21 car (Jesse Love) was coming, so I knew I had to turn it on there towards the end.

“It probably would have been a good race between us if he got up here.”

Love, the reigning ARCA Menards Series West champion, came home second ahead of Stephen Nasse, Daniel Dye and Goede.

Fourteen-year-old Conner Jones won for the second-straight race in the Pro Late Model division, holding off five-time USAC Silver Crown Series champion Kody Swanson in the final laps of the 35-lap feature.

Bill Burba dominated the 75-lap extra distance feature for the Florida Modifieds, surviving a restart with three laps left to earn a trip to victory lane.

The finishes:

Tour-Type Modifieds: Patrick Emerling, Eric Goodale, Matt Hirschman, Ryan Preece, Craig Lutz,  Ron Silk, Ronnie Williams, Jimmy Blewett, Stephen Kopcik, Jeremy Gerstner, Anthony Nocella, J.R. Bertuccio, Andy Seuss, Amy Catalano, Tyler Rypkema, Matthew Galko, David Sapienza, Buddy Charette, Danny Knoll Jr., Bobby Jones, Jim Gavek, Burt Myers, Chris Ridsdale, Chris Finocchario, Eddie McCarthy, Chuck Hossfeld, Zane Zeiner, Michael Curtis, Doug Coby, Marcello Rufrano, Brian Robie, Jon McKennedy, Tommy Catalano, Tom Martino Jr., Tyler Truex, Jonathan Laureigh.

Super Late Models: Derek Griffith, Jesse Love, Stephen Nasse, Daniel Dye, Jacob Goede, Sammy Smith, Kris Wright, Justin Mondeik, Ryan Moore, Dan Fredrickson, Bubba Pollard, Jake Garcia, Peyton Sellers, Michael Hinde, Gus Dean, Kelly Moore, Connor Mosack, Kody Swanson, Jake Finch, Brad May, Mike Stacy, Steve Weaver, Travis Wilson, R.J. Braun, Jett Noland, Patrick Thomas, Doug Elliott.

Australia's vice-captain Pat Cummins will get his first taste of captaincy in professional cricket as he was named New South Wales captain for the upcoming Marsh Cup.

The decision to promote Cummins to the captaincy of the 50-over side came following discussions by the Board of Cricket NSW. Cummins had been promoted to Australian vice-captain without any captaincy experience at domestic level and said he was eager to take any captaincy opportunity he could get to build some experience.

The view at Cricket NSW Board level was conveyed to the Jaques and the NSW selectors who made the decision to appoint him for the Marsh Cup.

Cummins takes over from Blues skipper Peter Nevill, who will remain as the Blues Sheffield Shield captain, and will lead a star-studded side, which includes former Australia skipper Steven Smith and Sydney Sixers two-time title-winning captain Moises Henriques in the shortened five-match 50-over domestic competition.

But Cummins initially won't lead David Warner, Mitchell Starc, or Josh Hazlewood, with all three men ruled out of the 13-man squad to face Victoria on February 15.

Warner is still recovering from the groin injury that he suffered earlier in the summer and attempted to play through during the Test series against India. He is unavailable for the Blues Marsh Cup and Sheffield Shield clashes in Sydney next week.

Starc and Hazlewood have been left out of the Blues 13-man Marsh Cup squad with coach Phil Jacques confirming that both were being managed in preparation for the Shield game against Victoria starting two days later while Cummins will be rested for the Shield game after making his captaincy debut.

"It's simply to do with managing our fast bowlers," Jacques said. "We have a very hectic first three Sheffield Shield and One Day matches, so we have had to devise individual plans for them because it's a lot of games in a short period of time."

"Pat is a highly respected person throughout Australian cricket, and he knows the values NSW cricket and the Blues hold dearly," Jaques said.

"We have no doubt he'll prove to be a fantastic leader and I know he will also be a great role model for all Blues players.

"Captaining NSW in these matches is a really good opportunity for Pat to not only demonstrate how good a leader he is, but it's a chance to show he also has the tactical nous to be a really good captain."

Nevill will remain the Blues Shield captain having led them to a title last year but he has been left out of the Marsh Cup squad altogether with Matthew Gilkes set to take the gloves.

"Peter has led the side terrifically well over the last few years," Jaques said. "He has a fantastic record as leader of NSW in the Sheffield Shield, and we're really excited about Peter continuing to lead the team - hopefully, to another title."

Cricket Australia announced on Wednesday the new domestic schedule for the remainder of the summer. There were no Marsh Cup games held prior to the BBL. Each state will play each other once with the top teams playing off in the final on April 11.

NSW Marsh Cup squad vs Victoria: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Harry Conway, Oliver Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Liam Hatcher, Matthew Gilkes, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Nathan Lyon, Kurtis Patterson, Steve Smith

NSW Sheffield Shield squad vs VictoriaPeter Nevill (c), Sean Abbott, Harry Conway, Trent Copeland, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Nick Larkin, Nathan Lyon, Kurtis Patterson, Steve Smith, Daniel Solway, Mitchell Starc

Two rounds have been cut from the Sheffield Shield and the Marsh Cup will be a six-game tournament in the restructured Australian domestic calendar, but the completion of all the fixtures hang in the balance because of the uncertainty regarding state border controls around the country. Western Australia remains a major concern for Cricket Australia's schedule, with the state government maintaining strict Covid-19 border rules for travellers coming in.

CA and the state cricket associations ticked off on the new revamped domestic schedule late last week with each state to play eight Shield matches in total, including those already played, and five 50-over Marsh Cup matches with the top two teams in each competition to play off in the finals in April. The Marsh Cup final will be played on April 11 and the Shield final on April 15-19.

The Australian Cricketers' Association agreed to a reduction of games this season on the understanding that it would return to ten rounds and a final next season.

The first half of the Shield season took place in October and November in a hub in Adelaide but the rest of the fixtures will now be played in all six states, with teams to fly commercially alongside the general public and arrange their own accommodation as has been the case in previous seasons. The bio-security rules are set to be far less stringent than they were during the BBL.

The season recommences next Wednesday with New South Wales hosting Victoria in a Marsh Cup fixture in Sydney, where Pat Cummins will make his NSW captaincy debut before the two sides meet in a Shield game at the SCG two days later.

WA were initially scheduled to face New South Wales in Sydney on that date but the entire schedule was restructured because of WA's complicated border situation.

Travellers entering WA from states where there has been a community Covid-19 case in the previous 28 days are required to do 14-days strict home isolation upon arrival. With the BBL final being played in Sydney, where there has been a recent case, WA and Perth Scorchers' entire coaching staff, as well as WA and Scorchers players Cameron Bancroft, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Matt Kelly, Joel Paris and Corey Rocchiccioli have been forced into home isolation in Perth for the next 14 days, with the period to end on February 21, a day after the first two rescheduled Shield games have been completed. Had the final been played in Canberra, where both the Qualifier and the Challenger were played, none of the coaches or players would have needed to do home isolation.

Shaun Marsh and Hilton Cartwright, who played in the BBL with the Melbourne Renegades and the Melbourne Stars respectively, are currently in home quarantine, having started 14 days earlier than those coming back from Sydney. David Moody, who was with the Hobart Hurricanes, is also starting a 14-day quarantine having travelled home from Melbourne. Moody delayed his return to WA in the hope that borders would open, only for Victoria to report multiple Covid-19 cases in the past week. The remainder of WA's squad that aren't in New Zealand with Australia's T20I squad, including Test player Cameron Green, have been in WA during the BBL, although Green and Australia coach Justin Langer had to serve 14-days quarantine after returning home from the Brisbane Test against India last month.

The WACA has secured training exemptions for staff and players to attend three training sessions at the WACA ground next week on the proviso there are no further cases in NSW.

WA is set to host three Shield matches and three Marsh Cup matches under the new schedule, including fixtures against Victoria in both competitions from March 23 to March 28. WA is also set to travel to Sydney to face NSW in a Marsh Cup fixture on March 14. If the current WA border rules remain in place, both NSW and Victoria would need to have 28 consecutive days from now without a community Covid-19 case for those fixtures to go ahead as planned.

CA executive general manager of high-performance Drew Ginn said CA would remain agile and open to shifting fixtures if and when necessary as it was during the BBL.

"Today's announcement safeguards the integrity of the Marsh Sheffield Shield and Marsh One-Day Cup competitions while managing the physical and mental wellbeing of players, officials, and staff on account of the extraordinary demands placed upon them this season," he said. "Every person across Australian Cricket has worked incredibly hard to deliver this summer of cricket and should be proud of those efforts. At the same time, the lived experience of operating through the pandemic has provided us all with new appreciation and perspective for the increased workloads required to deliver elite, national sporting competitions.

"It is out of this duty of care that, with the input and support of the States and Territories Associations and the ACA, we have elected to shorten the Marsh Sheffield Shield and Marsh One-Day Cup, while ensuring both competitions are of a sufficient length to ensure a high-level of competition for teams and players.

"As has been the case throughout the summer, we will need to remain agile and responsive given the public health situation across the country. The health and wellbeing of players, officials, and staff remains the top priority."

New Zealand Women have included two potential debutants in 16-year-old Fran Jonas and Brooke Halliday for their 13-person squad to take on England in the upcoming ODI series at home. However, the team will continue to miss Suzie Bates due to a shoulder injury she sustained in November, while medium-pacer Rosemary Mair is also out with a side strain. New Zealand will, however, welcome back Canterbury allrounder Frances Mackay, who hasn't represented the country since 2019 due to an achilles injury, and last played an ODI in February 2014.

Halliday, who plays for the Northern Districts, is the second-highest run-scorer in the one-day Hallyburton Johnstone Shield, while Jonas, the Auckland teenager who was offered a development contract by NZC last year, is the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the competition.

"Brooke and Fran both deserve their call-ups on the back of strong domestic form," head coach Bob Carter said. "Brooke's done a superb job at the top of the order for the Spirit and offers a point of difference as a left-hander.

"Fran's an exceptional talent who's proven she can foot it with our top players. It's exciting to add a left-arm spinner to our squad and the balance that offers our bowling attack.

"This is a great chance for them to come in and develop their games. We've selected them for a reason and look forward to welcoming them into the group."

On Mackay's inclusion, Carter said, "Frankie has once again proven her all-round skills in the domestic game and gets another chance at the international level. She is a vastly experienced cricketer and will be an asset with both bat and ball.

"With the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand next year, we want to take this opportunity to build the best possible team for the tournament."

Auckland head coach Nick White has been working with Jonas for several years and said she will need the support system around her to excel at the next level.

"Fran has continued to impress this season for the Hearts and fully deserves this opportunity," White said. "She has a fluent, economical action and excellent work ethic so she'll relish the chance to work with the White Ferns coaches to continue her development.

"At 16 years old, Fran is just at the beginning of her cricketing journey and we need to make sure she has the support around her as she embarks on this next step."

Bates had been part of the New Zealand squad that had toured Australia for three ODIs and three T20Is last September, but her series was cut short after picking up an injury in the first ODI. She recovered to play a game for the Adelaide Strikers in the WBBL, but injured her right shoulder again and was sent home for surgery.

The team will assemble in Christchurch on February 17 for a training camp ahead of the first ODI at Hagley Oval, on February 23.

New Zealand squad: Sophie Devine (capt), Natalie Dodd, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Hayley Jensen, Fran Jonas, Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Frankie Mackay, Katey Martin (wk), Hannah Rowe, Amy Satterthwaite (vice-capt), Lea Tahuhu

Derrick Rose said that when he decided he wanted to leave the Detroit Pistons, that the only choice in his mind was to reunite with former coach Tom Thibodeau and executive William Wesley with the New York Knicks.

"Of course," Rose said after scoring 14 points in 20 minutes in his debut Tuesday night, a 98-96 loss in Miami to the Heat. "Even though I couldn't say that at at the time, I just wanted to be comfortable. Like I said, I've been knowing these guys ever since high school, eighth grade, high school, so coming here, like I said, it's family. I never really thought about anything else but really getting here and understanding they wanted me to help grow the young guys they've already got here."

Rose, whom the Knicks officially acquired Monday in exchange for point guard Dennis Smith Jr. and Charlotte's 2021 second round pick, played well in his first game with the franchise since leaving as a free agent at the end of the 2015-16 season. Rose went 5-for-9 from the field, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range, to go with three assists and two turnovers in his 20:20 of court time.

Those minutes came exclusively with Knicks rookie point guard Immanuel Quickley, whom Thibodeau partnered Rose with whoever is on the court. Thibodeau said after the game that he liked the look that pair provides together, and indicated that would be New York's second unit backcourt pairing going forward when he said the player Rose replaced in the rotation, Austin Rivers, would now be a "situational" player.

"I think you see it often when you have multiple point guards out on the floor, it gives you another ball-handler, secondary ball-handler, and you can probably include Alec [Burks] in there as well," Thibodeau said. "So it gives us three guys that can go off the dribble and all three are very efficient in pick and rolls. Their versatility allows them to actually blend with both groups. So I think we'll see some of that as we go forward as well."

For Rose, this marks the third time in his career that he's played under Thibodeau, his coach in Chicago from 2010 through 2015, and then again as part of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. When asked what makes them connect with one another, Rose laughed and said he and his coach are an "odd couple" before talking about their shared love for the game.

"The synergy we've got, I can't explain it," Rose said. "We're an odd couple, but for some reason, we understand the game. And the closest thing I probably can say is we're students of the game. We watch the game. We try to understand the game more and try to get better if not every day, every week, every month, every couple of months, every year. There's always room for improvement and it's for the betterment of the team. Wherever I go, wherever he goes we're always trying to win."

There was some trepidation among Knicks fans after the trade was made that it would eat into the minutes that Quickley, the 25th pick in November's NBA Draft, would get to play.

Quickley, who entered Tuesday's game averaging 12 points as a rookie and shooting 36.3 percent from 3-point range, has been impressive in his rookie season, showing flashes of staples of the game of one of his idols, veteran guard Lou Williams, in terms of being a solid 3-point shooter who also is adept at drawing fouls and hitting floaters in the lane.

If Tuesday's game was any indication, however, Quickley's rotation spot is secure moving forward. And, for his part, Rose was effusive in his praise of the rookie, openly talking about how excited he is to get the chance to play alongside Quickley on multiple occasions during his first meeting with the press since the trade was made.

"It shouldn't be too hard [playing] with him," Rose said. "We're similar. He's getting double-teamed in his rookie year. There ain't too many rookies getting that type of attention. For him to see that kind of early, it's just going to make his game better. The game is going to slow down more. And he listens. That's the greatest thing about him, he listens. With that, you always got room for improvement.

"He's a dog. He's a dog. I can't explain it. You've got to be a player to understand it. [If] we're in a fight, I know he's fighting."

Ultimately, however, Rose's debut was marred by a late comeback by the Heat, who swept this home-and-home series with the Knicks by pulling the same trick -- escaping with a win thanks to better execution down the stretch - both Sunday in New York and Tuesday night in Orlando.

After Jimmy Butler, who led Miami with 26 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists, missed one of two free throws with 6.2 seconds remaining, the Knicks got a good look at tying the game, with second-year guard R.J. Barrett catching the ball at the top of the key with Butler defending him and being able to attack the rim with his dominant left hand. But Barrett's layup attempt rolled off the front of the rim and fell off, as the Knicks fell for the seventh time in 10 games after a promising start to the season, and now sit tied with the Heat in ninth place in the East - while being just one game ahead of the Orlando Magic in 13th.

"I had a really good look," said Barrett, who had 13 points and six rebounds but shot just 5-for-14 from the field. "Layup going to my strong hand ... got to finish those."

The Dallas Mavericks have stopped playing the national anthem before home games at the direction of owner Mark Cuban, he confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday.

The Mavericks do not plan to resume the tradition to play the national anthem before games in the future.

Cuban, who declined further comment, made the decision after consulting with NBA commissioner Adam Silver. The Mavericks did not announce the change in policy, but the national anthem has not been played before any of their 13 preseason and regular-season games at the American Airlines Center this season.

No players, coaches or staffers from other teams have mentioned the change, according to a team source.

The NBA's rulebook requires players to stand during the national anthem, but Silver has declined to enforce that rule, particularly as kneeling during the anthem became a popular way to protest social injustice in recent years. The vast majority of NBA players and many coaches kneeled during the national anthem during the NBA's restart last summer in Orlando, Florida, when the league incorporated messaging supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and other social justice causes in the court design and other ways.

"I recognize that this is a very emotional issue on both sides of the equation in America right now, and I think it calls for real engagement rather than rule enforcement," Silver said during a news conference in December.

In a June interview on ESPN's Outside the Lines, Cuban expressed support for players kneeling during the national anthem as a form of protest.

"If they were taking a knee and they were being respectful, I'd be proud of them. Hopefully I'd join them," Cuban said.

Cuban added then that he hoped the league would "allow players to do what's in their heart."

"Whether it's holding their arm up in the air, whether it's taking a knee, whatever it is, I don't think this is an issue of respect or disrespect to the flag or to the anthem or to our country," Cuban said. "I think this is more a reflection of our players' commitment to this country and the fact that it's so important to them that they're willing to say what's in their heart and do what they think is right.

"I'll defer to [Silver] on any final judgments and [players' union executive director] Michele Roberts. But the reality is, my hope is we'll let the players do exactly what they think is the right thing to do."

In 2017, Cuban voiced a different opinion after President Donald Trump criticized NFL players who were kneeling during the anthem to protest social injustice and police brutality.

"This is America, and I'm proud of people who speak out civilly. That's who we are as a country," Cuban said at the time. "I'll be standing there with my hand over my heart. I think the players will be [standing]. I expect them to be."

Three years later, as the Black Lives Matter movement continued to grow, Cuban explained what changed his mindset.

"Because I think we've learned a lot since 2017," he told OTL in June. "I think we've evolved as a country. And this is really a unique point in time where we can grow as a society, we can grow as a country and become far more inclusive and become far more aware of the challenges that minority communities go through.

"So I'll stand in unison with our players, whatever they choose to do. But again, when our players in the NBA do what's in their heart, when they do what they feel represents who they are and look to move this country forward when it comes to race relationships, I think that's a beautiful thing and I'll be proud of them."