The latest chapter in the storied Los Angeles Lakers-Boston Celtics rivalry featured plenty of star power in LeBron James and Anthony Davis on one side versus Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on the other. However, the visiting Lakers held on to win 96-95 on Saturday thanks in large part to a hustle play by a role player, Alex Caruso.

"One of the best defensive plays of the year," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said after Caruso saved L.A. down the stretch by breaking up a golden opportunity for the Celtics.

Caruso was stationed on the wing beyond the 3-point line when Kemba Walker was credited for a block on Davis with 10.8 seconds left, poking the ball away from the big man when Davis made his move into the lane.

Walker's deflection caused Davis to bat the ball into the air as he tried to retrieve it, but Walker corralled it first, igniting a fast-break opportunity for the Celtics, trailing by one, with the chance to win the game.

Before Walker had even secured possession of the ball, Caruso turned his body toward the basket on the other end of the court. As soon as Walker started pushing the ball ahead and passed it to a streaking Brown, Caruso broke into a dead sprint back on defense.

"Once the ball popped up in the air, regardless if we were going to get it back or not, I was kind of making my way back on defense just because that's kind of what we teach ourselves to do," Caruso said afterward.

Caruso outran Brown to half court, where Walker's push-ahead pass was directed, and got a hand on the ball before Brown could.

That burst of defense not only broke up what would have been an uncontested go-ahead score for Brown, but by the time Brown had gathered possession, Davis and Dennis Schroder were able to get back on defense too.

"Any time you have a turnover, you just want to have a quick twitch to try and get back and recover the play. That's exactly what we did," James said. "It started with AC getting back, and all of us just sort of formed a wall."

Brown worked the ball around, and Walker had no choice but to take a pull-up 12-footer. With Schroder smothering Walker on defense, the shot missed with 2.7 seconds left. Daniel Theis' putback attempt with 0.5 seconds remaining also fell off the rim, and L.A. held on to win.

Caruso said he initially went to make a defensive play "just expecting the worst, hoping we got the ball back and got a shot up," but it worked out far better than that.

"Just being in the right place at the right time," he said.

It's plays like that one by Caruso that have earned him playing time as part of the Lakers' closing lineup. On a night when Vogel shortened his rotation from 11 down to nine, keeping Markieff Morris and Wesley Matthews on the bench all game, the coach maintained his confidence in Caruso.

"That's part of what the 'Play Harder Than Your Opponent' identity is," Vogel said. "Whose team defends harder. Whose team is running the floor offensively. Who's sprinting back harder defensively. The sprint versus jog mindset."

The fourth-year guard, undrafted out of college and once a G League regular, is the ninth-highest-paid Laker, making $2.75 million this season. But Caruso has proved his mettle when the game is on the line.

"He's a smart player," Davis said. "He's not the highest paid or [doesn't] have all the accolades or credentials. A lot of people don't notice him. But he plays the right way. He locks up defensively, makes tough shots, scrappy."

While Caruso only had two points, three rebounds and one assist on Saturday, his plus-minus was a team-best plus-14 in 20 minutes.

Davis said that Jared Dudley pointed out to him after L.A.'s loss at the Detroit Pistons on Thursday that Caruso has a plus-minus of plus-29 in their five losses and hasn't been in the minus in any of those games.

"I'm a really, really competitive guy, and the end of the game is when it matters most," Caruso said. "So I don't really care too much about starting, points, stats. I care a lot about winning. The fourth quarter, end of the game, is winning time.

"A lot of times, coming out of timeouts, I'll just say that: 'It's winning time.' I'll go to one player, say it out loud. Kind of let everybody lock in and let everybody know what's going on. For me, that's my favorite part of the game."

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Action Express Racing’s No. 48 Cadillac DPi was at the front of the field after eight hours of racing in the 59th Rolex 24 at Daytona Int’l Speedway on Saturday night.

Kobayashi, who is sharing the No. 48 with an all-star cast of drivers including seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, IndyCar and Indianapolis 500 champion Simon Pagenaud and 24 Hours of Le Mans and Rolex 24 winner Mike Rockenfeller, was able to slip by the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi driven by Renger van der Zande in traffic entering the infield portion of the course to take the lead.

He was able to maintain the lead through a cycle of green-flag pit stops that were completed seconds before the completion of the eighth hour of action Saturday night.

Prior to that battle to the lead between Kobayashi and van der Zande, a penalty for a restart violation dropped the No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports entry out of the fight for the overall lead.

The fifth full-course caution, which waved for the stopped No. 19 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo, left Scott Dixon in the No. 01 entry at the front of the field ahead of Kobayashi and the No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Cadillac DPi driven by Loic Duvall.

During the ensuing restart, Duvall got a massive jump on the two DPi entries in front of him, blasting from third to first as the field raced into the infield portion of the course. However, after a review of the restart, IMSA officials penalized Duvall for jumping the restart.

Duvall was forced to serve a pass-through penalty as a result, leaving the No. 5 entry roughly 50 seconds behind the leader after eight hours.

In LMP2, the No. 11 WIN Autosport Oreca 07-Gibson continued to control the pack with Thomas Merrill holding a lead of more than 50 seconds over his closest pursuer.  Merrill is sharing the No. 11 with Tristan Nunez, Steven Thomas and Matthew Bell.

The No. 6 Duqueine D08 of Muehlner Motorsport was in command of the LMP3 class after eight hours, with Stevan McAleer steering the team to a lead of nearly one minute over Joao Barbosa in the No. 33 Sean Creach Motorsports entry. McAleer is sharing the No. 6 with Mortiz Kranz, Laurents Horr and Kenton Koch.

Corvette Racing continued to dominate the GT Le Mans class, with the No. 3 Corvette C8.R continuing to hold the lead with Antonio Garcia now behind the wheel. The second Corvette entry was giving chase in second, with Tommy Milner at the wheel of the No. 4 entry as the race moved into the morning hours.

AF Corse and Ferrari had moved into the class lead in the GT Daytona class after eight hours were complete, with the No. 21 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo driven by Nicklas Nielsen holding a narrow lead over the No. 1 Paul Miller Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo being wheeled by Andrea Caldarelli.

Perth Scorchers allrounder Mitchell Marsh has been fined $5000 for dissent but has escaped suspension following his outburst at an umpire after his dismissal against Sydney Sixers in Saturday's BBL Qualifier in Canberra.

Marsh was given out caught down the leg side off the bowling of Steven O'Keefe despite appearing to miss the ball by some margin. He wasn't even looking at the umpire after attempting to glance the delivery away and could barely believe it when the finger went up. He screamed his frustration at the crease then as he started to walk away, appeared to shout directly towards the umpire, Sam Nogajski.

Marsh was charged by match referee Bob Stratford under Cricket Australia's Code of Conduct for showing dissent at an umpire's decision during a match.

Marsh accepted the charge and a $5000 fine but will be free to play in the Scorchers Challenger on Thursday night.

"I accept the fine handed down to me, my reaction to the umpire's decision was unacceptable and not the example I want to be setting for any young cricketer," Marsh said in a statement.

"I have complete respect for the umpires and the job they do. I'll learn from this and look forward to Thursday night's match."

The decision has reignited discussion regarding the lack of a Decision Review System in the BBL. The league has confirmed there will be a version of DRS introduced next season but it will not be brought in for the rest of the finals series.

Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens said Marcus Smart will get an MRI on his left leg Sunday after the guard was helped off the court following an awkward landing while fighting for a rebound in the fourth quarter of a 96-95 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.

Smart, who entered the game averaging 13.2 points and 6.0 assists -- both career highs -- didn't appear to land on anyone's foot when he came down in front of Boston's bench with 10 minutes, 31 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. But, after a moment, Smart grabbed the back of his left leg and collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain.

After Boston called timeout, Smart stayed down for a bit before eventually being helped off the court and immediately back to Boston's locker room by two people on Boston's staff. He put no weight at all on his left leg while being helped off.

"Yeah, everybody was concerned with his health," Celtics star Jaylen Brown said after the game. "And he just, trying to do our best to redirect that energy, because when one guy goes down, we've got to step up.

"Marcus is essential to our team, man -- he's been great. Whether the numbers show it or not, Marcus has been a leader on this team; he's been somebody that has been looking to get guys the ball in the right spots, including me. So to have him go down in the middle of the game like that, definitely had everybody concerned. Hopefully, the MRI is negative and we get him and we can get some wins on the road."

Smart has long been the glue that holds the Celtics together, a fiery presence on and off the court in addition to being one of the league's best and most versatile defensive players. Through the first month of the season, he has taken on a greater playmaking role than he has in previous years because of Kemba Walker's and Jayson Tatum's early-season absences.

Boston, which has lost two games in a row, leaves Monday for a five-game West Coast trip beginning Tuesday in San Francisco against the Golden State Warriors.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Golden State Warriors swingman Klay Thompson says it "kills" him to be missing his second straight season, this time because of an Achilles tear, but the former All-Star says his rehab is coming along well and that he still plans on playing for "a long time."

Speaking for the first time since suffering a series-ending right Achilles tear during a workout on Nov. 18, Thompson was in good spirits as he discussed the long process he faces.

"I'm living good," Thompson told NBC Bay Area during Saturday night's game between the Warriors and the Detroit Pistons. "To be back in the building that I'm so eagerly awaiting to play in. Just a little bored at times. Stuff's slow with trying to let my Achilles heal and get to the next stage, which is mobility work, but I'm feeling good. I'm happy to be with my teammates, obviously.

"Unfortunately, I'm not playing. It kills me every day, but I plan on playing for a long time, and I don't want to have any mishaps come this rehab."

Thompson missed all of the 2019-20 season after tearing the ACL in his left knee during Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors. The Warriors were hoping that Thompson could help push the organization back into championship contention, but those dreams evaporated just a few hours before the 2020 draft when Thompson injured his Achilles during a workout in Los Angeles.

As saddened as the Warriors were about Thompson's latest injury, they are happy that he has been around the team more since having surgery to fix his Achilles in late November. Thompson has been at several Warriors home games at Chase Center cheering on his teammates from the bench.

Thompson acknowledged during Saturday's game that he didn't want to do the interview, but that the banner that hung behind him helped him change his mind.

"I didn't want to do it, but then I saw this backdrop and someone went through great lengths to make that happen," Thompson explained as the backdrop with the hashtag #reporterKlay was on display behind him. "So I felt bad not fulfilling my end of the deal."

As he did last season during a brief appearance as a sideline reporter, Thompson had a little fun with broadcasters Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike during the telecast. One of the conversations that came up centered around Thompson's 3-point record, after he hit 14 3-pointers in an October 2018 game against the Chicago Bulls.

"That's probably going to be broken here in the next few years," Thompson said. "Steph Curry -- it's up to Steph. Zach LaVine was close. But I might break it again, I don't know. I don't think that's going to last that long."

Warriors coach Steve Kerr admitted before Saturday's game that he didn't know Thompson was going to drop in on the telecast, but he said he would make note of the appearance when he watched later.

"He's always very entertaining with his dry wit," Kerr said of Thompson. "So when I watch the tape of the game I will definitely have the volume up."

Down five points to the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night with 8.9 seconds left, the Portland Trail Blazers entered what NBA fans have come to know simply as "Dame Time."

Damian Lillard hit a 37-foot 3-point shot with less than 10 seconds left to put the Blazers within two points. The Blazers then tied up Bulls star Zach LaVine and won the jump ball -- which eventually ended up in Lillard's hands.

Lillard proceeded to drill a buzzer-beating, step-back 3 over the long arms of Lauri Markkanen to beat Chicago 123-122.

"This one is special because in these situations where we're down five, I think, with 11 seconds left, those are the moments where the winning team thinks they've got the game pretty much wrapped up," said Lillard, who scored 14 points in the fourth. "And the opposing team is discouraged."

Not Lillard.

Blazers coach Terry Stotts struggled with words to describe Lillard's clutch gene after the victory.

"It's innate. It's God-given," Stotts said. "He's born with it, and you can't teach it."

Lillard finished with a game-high 44 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds and hit his third career game-winning buzzer-beater, including the playoffs. That is the most in Trail Blazers history, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

For Lillard, it was also his 35th career 40-point game, more than double of any other player in franchise history. Clyde Drexler has the next-most with 17.

Lillard's teammates Enes Kanter and Gary Trent Jr. weren't surprised by his late-game heroics. Inside the fanless United Center in Chicago, Kanter was among the first of his teammates to greet him with a hug. Kanter said he's "used to that shot" but also recognizes that it's "unbelievable what he can do."

So, too, does Trent.

"The first time, I was shocked when I got here at first as a rookie, seeing it from day one, whether it was ending practice, ending games," Trent added. "But now at this point, it's what he does. Nobody is surprised in a sense. He makes big-time shots. He's done this time after time after time, so at this point, I knew it was going in when he shot it."

Chicago trailed by as many as 19 points on the night before, clawing back to make it a close game in the second half. Markkanen ended with a team-high 31 points with six rebounds, and LaVine contributed 26 points with 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

Portland was playing without Jusuf Nurkic (right wrist fracture), CJ McCollum (midfoot sprain), Derrick Jones Jr. (left foot sprain) and Zach Collins (left ankle stress fracture).

According to the Elias Sports Bureau data, this is the first time a jump ball and a game-winning buzzer-beater occurred on the same possession inside the final 10 seconds since April 30, 2006. On that date, the Los Angeles Lakers won a jump ball against the Suns, and Kobe Bryant hit the game-winning buzzer-beater.

After nailing the shot Saturday, Lillard credited his relatives for planting those roots within him of pushing through adversity in critical moments.

"It started in my own family. That's the crazy thing, and I think that's why I always reference my upbringing and the kind of family that I come from because of just the challenge and how competitive it is in my own family," Lillard said. "It can be something like a spelling bee. It can be anything. We compete to the death and it don't matter. You're held to a certain standard in my family where it's just like you're going to be built for the low moments, you're going to be built to handle the high moments properly.

"Your skin is gonna be tough," he added. "You're gonna be prepared to rise, and you're gonna be prepared to deal with failure. But, you learn to keep moving forward regardless of what the outcome is."

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro revealed after a 105-104 win over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night that he learned a housemate has tested positive for COVID-19

Herro said he got that news at halftime and was uncertain if he will have to quarantine because of possible exposure. His revelation came on the same night All-Star forward Jimmy Butler returned after missing 10 games because of the NBA's health and safety protocols established for safe play during the coronavirus pandemic. Butler scored a season-high 30 points after missing 12 of Miami's 18 games because of virus-related issues, as the Heat ended a five-game losing streak.

The Heat also didn't play Kendrick Nunn on Saturday because he was awaiting a COVID-19 test result when the game started. Nunn was cleared by the second quarter and could have played, but Heat coach Erik Spoelstra elected to not use him.

"We were waiting for his test results," Spoelstra said, as quoted by the South Florida Sun Sentinel. "At that point he wasn't available in the first quarter, so I went a different direction. ... It's just one of those unfortunate things. I guess if those type of things are going to happen, it'll happen to us."

Herro had 15 points and three assists for the Heat, who were also without Goran Dragic and used their 14th lineup in 19 games this season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford said the racial abuse he received online after Saturday's 0-0 draw at Arsenal was "humanity and social media at its worst."

The 23-year-old England international said he refused to take screenshots of the multiple messages he received as it would be irresponsible to do so.

"Humanity and social media at its worst. Yes I'm a Black man and I live every day proud that I am. No one, or no one comment, is going to make me feel any different," Rashford wrote on Twitter late on Saturday.

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"So sorry if you were looking for a strong reaction, you're just simply not going to get it here.

"I'm not sharing screenshots. It would be irresponsible to do so... there's nothing original in them. I have beautiful children of all colours following me and they don't need to read it. Beautiful colours that should only be celebrated."

I'm not sharing screenshots. It would be irresponsible to do so and as you can imagine there's nothing original in them. I have beautiful children of all colours following me and they don't need to read it. Beautiful colours that should only be celebrated.

— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) January 30, 2021

The Football Association (FA) had earlier condemned the racial abuse of players after United duo Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial, West Bromwich Albion's Romaine Sawyers and Chelsea's Reece James were targeted this week.

"We are united with all of football in our abhorrence of any racist abuse. This is not acceptable in any part of society," the FA said in a statement on Twitter on Saturday.

"We will continue to work with the rest of the game, the government and social media platforms to remove this - and all elements of - discrimination from our sport."

Police on Friday said they had arrested a 49-year-old man relating to the abuse of Sawyers.

Government ministers met top English players on Monday to discuss online abuse and discrimination as part of a series of "Future of Football" discussions.

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is heading to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for quarterback Jared Goff and a multitude of draft picks, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Saturday night.

The Lions will receive a third-round pick in 2021, a first-round pick in 2022 and a first-round pick in 2023 in what is the first exchange of former No. 1 overall picks in the common draft era (since 1967). The deal cannot be made official until the start of the new league year on March 17.

Following news of the trade, the Rams' Super Bowl odds for the 2021 season moved from +1800 to +1500 at Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill.

It's the first big move made by new Lions general manager Brad Holmes, who was hired earlier this month from the Rams, where he was the director of college scouting. That was his role when the Rams traded up from the No. 15 selection to select Goff first overall in the 2016 NFL draft, making a splash in their return to L.A. after 21 seasons in St. Louis. They will not make another first-round selection until 2024.

A source told ESPN the Lions had interest from seven or eight teams offering first-round picks as compensation for Stafford. The deal for Goff won't necessarily preclude the Lions from taking a quarterback in this year's draft.

COLUMBUS, Ind. – In a world of ever-evolving change, Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports has a steady hand with a roster of six returnees to the driver lineup who’ll pursue the entire USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget championship this year.

Entering the past several seasons, the Columbus, Ind., based team has welcomed new drivers into the fold, including last season, which saw a complete overhaul and an entire cast of characters new to USAC racing.

This year the team welcomes back Bryant Wiedeman (No. 01), Buddy Kofoid (No. 67), Kaylee Bryson (No. 71), Daison Pursley (No. 71K), Brenham Crouch (No. 97) and Tanner Carrick (No. 98), all of whom finished the 2020 campaign for the team. Cannon McIntosh, twice a winner for the team last year, is the only non-returnee, as he recently announced his intentions to race the full USAC season for his family-owned Dave Mac Motorsports.

Wiedeman and Crouch will be pursuing series Rookie of the Year honors while Kofoid returns for his sophomore season after taking fourth in the standings a year ago.  Bryson had a strong rookie campaign a year ago and will be a contender to become the first woman to win a USAC National feature. Pursley was knocking on the door for his first victory at the end of 2020 while Carrick returns full-time to KKM after winning for the team in 2019 at Sweet Springs, Mo.

“Having those six regulars come back is kind of a first for us,” Kunz noted. “That’s really nice having six drivers this year that have all been with us in the past. They’re up to speed already going into this year and they all finished really, really strong at the end of the year and made a lot of progress. Last year was just a building year with all rookies.”

The team saw transition on more than just the driver side in 2020, with Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell pursuing their midget racing opportunities with other teams, while a pair of key components of the crew moved onto other ventures.

“Driver wise, we had one guy that was back, which was Daison; everybody else was new last year,” Kunz explained.  “We knew that was going to be a challenge, and it was just about getting everybody laps at the beginning of the year and trying to keep improving. At the same time, losing Connor (Ridge) and Big Al (Scroggins), we had to replace them on the mechanical side.”

As the year wore on, the team found itself without a win heading into the month of September, an 0-17 stretch that was a stark contrast to what the midget racing community is accustomed to. While competitive each night, the victories had eluded them throughout year, but the team dug in, tried some new ideas and even began a crew/driver meeting session each Tuesday to enhance their communication with each other and help increase the progress along the way.

The team broke out with a bang, reeling off five wins in a nine-race stretch at the beginning of September, first with McIntosh’s come-from-behind win on the final lap at Sweet Springs, followed by Kofoid’s first score the next night at Sweet Springs, while McIntosh continued the unbeatable streak in Gas City, Ind.

Kofoid’s subsequent November wins during Arizona Speedway’s Western World Championships and outdueling Kyle Larson down the stretch at Bakersfield, Calif., put a cherry on top of the season, leading the team to an emotional boost of confidence entering the new year, which begins after a quick turnaround from the end of 2020 to the Chili Bowl two weeks ago to the start of the USAC season at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla. on Feb. 5-6.

For Kunz, the Florida trip is practically an extension of the 2020 season with the team making its builds following the return home, taking the bulk of February and March to get a full refresh on the new year that lies ahead, with Kofoid and Pursley debuting new cars toward the end of 2020 while more new machinery will be constructed when the team returns to the shop, post Florida.

“We work hard getting the Chili Bowl done, and then there’s only two weeks in between that and going to Florida,” Kunz explained. “We have some of our outdoor stuff leftover late from last year that we’ll use down there. We had to build a couple cars. We have brand new ones here that are going together once we get back from Florida.”

With Jarrett Martin as the crew chief for Kofoid, Pursley and Crouch, plus Kaz Townsend as the crew chief for Bryson, Wiedeman and Carrick, along with a crew of Jay Drake, Chuck Gurney Jr., Beau Binder, Grant Penn, Dylan Burdge, the duo of Keith Kunz and Pete Willoughby will begin their 25th year of racing together, a relationship which began in 1997 with Jason Leffler’s first series championship.

After picking up five victories last year, Kunz’s total of 114 USAC National Midget feature wins as an owner now stand 19 behind all-time leader Steve Lewis with 133. As he closes in on a personal record, Kunz remains excited to witness what this year’s set can produce.

“That’s definitely a goal in the back of my mind,” Kunz said of the win record. “I never thought I’d be to where I am now with the number of wins; it’s just crazy. I think, going into this year with Buddy, and also Daison, who is really close to a breakthrough, I think once he does, he’s going to get some wins. We’re bringing Tanner Carrick back with some experience, and then the other three are still relatively young. It would be cool to see Kaylee win; she’s close and, on any given night, she could break through and get a win.  Then there’s the two youngsters, Crouch and Wiedeman, they’re coming along pretty fast.”