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• Clippers' All-Star Paul George to miss at least two weeks with sprained right knee

  The Los Angeles Clippers will likely begin the playoffs without Paul George, that is if they can make it without him.

  The Clippers announced on Wednesday that George suffered a sprained right knee Tuesday and will be reevaluated in two-to-three weeks.

  The regular season ends in two-and-a-half weeks and the eight-time All-Star is expected to miss Los Angeles’ final nine games.

  With a 38-35 record, the Clippers enter play on Wednesday in fifth place in the Western Conference, but also just one-and-a-half games out of seventh place, which would put them in the play-in tournament.

  They are 6-11 without George this season with losses in five of the last seven games he has missed, which does not include Tuesday’s 101-100 defeat to the seventh-placed Oklahoma City Thunder.

  George was injured with 4:38 remaining when his knee collided with Luguentz Dort's knee in the air while attempting a rebound and he crumbled to the floor.

  He stayed down on the court for a while until being helped off the court, unable to put weight on his leg.

  Prior to Tuesday’s defeat, Los Angeles had won five of six with George leading the charge, averaging 28.3 points – 4.5 higher than his season average.

  The 32-year-old is averaging 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 56 games this season and now the Clippers will have to figure out how to win without their leading scorer to get back to the playoffs after losing in the play-in tournament last season.

• Jets reach deal with Hardman, trade fellow WR Moore to Browns

  The New York Jets have added a wide receiver while getting rid of another, agreeing to a one-year contract with free agent Mecole Hardman and trading Elijah Moore to the Cleveland Browns.

  According to NFL.com, New York will receive the Browns' second-round pick (42 overall) in this year's draft and will send Cleveland their third-round selection (74 overall) for Moore, who showed promise as a rookie in 2021 but had his role diminished this past season and requested a trade in October.

  Moore became expendable after the Jets struck a deal with Hardman that could be worth up to $6.5million. The former Kansas City Chief joins a revamped receivers corps that also includes ex-Green Bay Packer Allen Lazard, who agreed to a four-year, $44m contract last week.

  Swapping Moore also allows New York to boost its draft capital for a much-rumoured trade for four-time NFL MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Lazard's former Green Bay team-mate.

  Hardman figures to replace Moore as the Jets' primary slot receiver and recorded career highs of 59 catches and 693 receiving yards in 2021.

  The four-year veteran's numbers dropped to 25 receptions and 297 yards last season as he missed nine games with an abdominal injury that later required surgery, causing him to miss most of the Chiefs' playoff run to their second Super Bowl title in four years.

  A second-round pick in the 2021 draft, Moore caught 43 passes for 538 yards and a team-high five touchdowns during his rookie year but began to be phased out of the offense after the first four games of last season. The soon-to-be 23-year-old had just 22 catches, 254 receiving yards and one touchdown over the Jets' final 13 games.

  Moore was also benched for one game after reportedly getting into a heated disagreement with then-offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur in October, which prompted a trade request the Jets would not grant at the time.

  He now joins a Cleveland team in need of a slot receiver to pair with 2022 starters Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones. 

  The Browns are now without a pick until the 74th selection of the upcoming draft. Cleveland previously traded their first and third-round choices to Houston in the deal that sent quarterback Deshaun Watson from the Texans to the Browns. 

• Zion Williamson cleared for Pelicans return but will miss two more weeks

  Zion Williamson has been cleared to return to on-court activities but will need at least two weeks to get up to speed.

  The New Orleans Pelicans announced Williamson's return to fitness on Wednesday – a significant boost for a team whose season has gone off the rails.

  At the time of Williamson's hamstring strain in January, the Pels were third in the Western Conference, just a game behind the first-placed Denver Nuggets.

  Since then, however, New Orleans are 12-23, slipping to 12th place on the outside even of the play-in race.

  Williamson has not been the only Pelican to miss time with injury, but Brandon Ingram's return has not improved the team's fortunes.

  With the Pels set to re-evaluate Williamson in two weeks' time, he is on course to miss a minimum of seven more games.

  New Orleans only have 10 games remaining.

  A return in the final week of the regular season could be just the boost the Pels need, but they could also very realistically be out of postseason contention by then.

  This has been another season wrecked by injury for Williamson, the former first overall pick.

  He played only 24 games in his rookie season and 61 the following year before missing the entire 2021-22 campaign with a foot fracture.

  The Pels still handed Williamson a five-year rookie extension worth up to $231million, with $193m guaranteed.

  Although he continued to miss games on occasion, the initial signs were encouraging as Williamson averaged 26.0 points through 29 games.

  But the hamstring injury derailed his and the Pels' season, with time running out to set it back on track.