David Goffin got off the mark with his first victory of 2023 with a straight-sets win over fifth seed Alexander Bublik in round one of the Auckland Open.

The Belgian lost both matches at the inaugural United Cup last week, but he saw off Bublik 6-3 6-4 in 74 minutes to reach the last 16 in New Zealand.

Another seeded player fell at the first hurdle on Monday as Adrian Mannarino lost 6-4 7-6 (7-4) to J.J. Wolf.

Richard Gasquet advanced with a 6-3 6-1 win over wild card Kiranpal Pannu, while Jenson Brooksby beat Fabio Fognini 6-7 (2-7) 6-1 6-3 and will now face Diego Schwartzman.

At the Adelaide International 2, fifth seed Dan Evans suffered a 7-5 7-5 defeat to Mackenzie McDonald.

Fellow seeds Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Miomir Kecmanovic overcame Brandon Nakashima and Kyle Edmund respectively.

J.J. Watt feels he could not have had a better farewell from the NFL after his final game for the Arizona Cardinals.

The defensive end registered two sacks in his final career appearance, a 38-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, receiving a standing ovation when he was removed from the action in the final two minutes of the game.

An official stood between the 49ers center and quarterback Josh Johnson, holding off play to allow Watt to have his moment, which continued the tributes for the 33-year-old.

In a team meeting on Saturday, Arizona defensive line coach Matt Burke played a six-minute video tribute to the three-time Defensive Player of the Year – which included messages from his family, alongside the likes of Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.

J.J's youngest brother, T.J., was the first to appear in the video and sparked tears, before both he and Derek Watt made significant contributions in the Pittsburgh Steelers' season-ending win over the Cleveland Browns.

"I absolutely lost it. I was bawling like a baby, and I didn't stop until long into the night," he told reporters.

"I mean, the highlight videos are great, all the plays are cool, but when you hear from the people in your life that are important, from my family, from my friends, and then you hear from people you have the utmost respect for, team-mates, coaches, opponents, it hit me in a different way that I never expected.

"There's no way to explain what it feels like to anybody because the love that I have for them, the pride that I have for them.

"How much fun I have watching them, and then they walk in wearing my jerseys and T.J. gets whatever he had [a half-sack], Derek scores a touchdown.

"I mean, I wanted to win today, but for our family, I couldn't ask for a better send-off.

"I want to thank the 49ers, that was very classy, and their fans, they didn't have to do that. I appreciate them doing that, that was better than I could have expected certainly from that standpoint.

"[I] had my wife and son here and my parents here, I'm thankful and grateful, and I'll always remember it that's for sure."

Rafael Nadal will return to the Dubai Tennis Championships next month, 15 years after he last competed in the competition.

Victorious in 2006, Nadal has not played at the event since 2008 but will make his return when the competition begins on February 27.

Ranked second in the world, Nadal's campaign in the United Arab Emirates will take place after the first grand slam of the year in Melbourne, where he is bidding to retain the Australian Open title he won 12 months ago.

Since he last featured at the Dubai Tennis Championships, Nadal has established himself as one of the sport's greatest players, something Colm McLoughlin, executive vice chairman and chief executive of the tournament's sponsor Dubai Duty Free, was keen to highlight.

"As one of the most instantly recognisable personalities in global sport, and one of the most decorated players to ever grace the game, we are absolutely thrilled to welcome Rafa back to the Dubai Tennis Championships after 15 years," he said.

"The last time Rafa played in Dubai, he had won three grand slams. He returns having amassed more grand slam titles than any other male player in history."

The 36-year-old followed last year's triumph in Australia with victory in the French Open for a record 22nd grand slam title.

Andrey Rublev won last year's Dubai Tennis Championships title, beating Jiri Vesely 6-3 6-4 in the final.

Jalen Hurts knows the "job isn't finished" for the Philadelphia Eagles after he pushed through the pain barrier to play against the New York Giants.

Quarterback Hurts suffered a shoulder injury during the Eagles' win over the Chicago Bears in Week 15, and Philadelphia subsequently lost their following two games.

That left them in danger of missing out on the NFC top seed, but a 22-16 victory over the Giants on Sunday ensured a bye to the second round of the playoffs, and home-field advantage.

Hurts returned for the crucial game, throwing 229 yards at a pass-completion rate of 57.1 per cent (20/35), with one interception.

"I feel like coming into this game, I've been really pushing myself beyond measures to try and be available," Hurts told the media.

"The risk-reward of playing, whatever that was, we did what we had to do. We're the one seed and we're NFC East champs and that's the goal we set out to do.

"Now I can continue to recover and be ready for the playoffs.

"It's been tough, but I don't really want to make it about me. We just accomplished a great goal of ours.

"My whole thing moving forward is, let's prepare to play our best ball. It's been a great ride this year but the job isn't finished.

"I had some things I had to battle within myself. I knew I wanted to be available for my team. It's really tough being out, let alone taking some losses when you’re out. I want to be available for my team. I really feel like if you want something you have to do what you have to do to go get it."

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said: "We didn't feel like there was more risk [of further injury] but I know [Jalen] was hurting, and he was hurting bad.

"But that's the kind of competitor he is, that's the kind of person he is, and kind of team-mate and leader he is that he was able to go out there and tough through it."

The Eagles joined the Kansas City Chiefs, who topped the AFC, on 14 wins this season. Indeed, Philadelphia set a franchise record for regular-season victories.

Receiver A.J. Brown, meanwhile, broke the Eagles' record - set by Mick Quick in 1983 - for the total number of receiving yards across the regular season, and Sirianni has confidence heading into the postseason.

"This team has done some special things," Sirianni added. "Some of the records that this team has had, as far as A.J. and DeVonta [Smith], to have two receivers do that, the most points, the most wins most importantly, right, the most sacks.  

"Just a lot of great things that happened in the regular season. We understand that. We talked about that a lot this week. We talked a lot this week about [how] we should be confident.  

"Again, do we feel like we played a great game today? No, not by any means. But this team should be confident, right? That doesn't mean cocky, it means confident with all the things that we have been able to accomplish this year."

The San Francisco 49ers will host the Seattle Seahawks in the opening game of the Wild Card round.

San Francisco progressed to the postseason as the NFC second seed, and have home field advantage in the first game of this season's playoffs, which will take place on Saturday.

The Seahawks defeated the Los Angeles Rams in overtime in their final regular-season game and were subsequently handed a favour by the Detroit Lions, who eliminated the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers from playoff contention.

In Saturday's second game, the Los Angeles Chargers travel to Florida to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars, who clinched the AFC South title with a 20-16 win over the Tennessee Titans.

A day later, the Buffalo Bills, who beat the New England Patriots in an emotional game on Sunday, will host the Miami Dolphins.

The Cincinnati Bengals, whose January 2 game against the Bills was suspended and subsequently cancelled altogether following Damar Hamlin's cardiac arrest, go up against the Baltimore Ravens in Sunday's final game, after the New York Giants have taken on the Minnesota Vikings.

The Wild Card round concludes with the Dallas Cowboys' trip to face Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Doc Rivers compared James Harden's showing against the Detroit Pistons to something akin to prime Magic Johnson.

Harden finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a 123-111 win for the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.

In the process, Harden surpassed 24,000 career regular-season points, becoming the 27th player to hit that landmark.

And Rivers believes Harden deserves to be compared to the very best.

"I hate to you use this example, but when he's playing like this, it's like having a scoring Magic Johnson on the floor," Rivers told reporters. 

"When he runs our team with this kind of pace and he scores and gets assists, we're really good."

The Sixers needed others to step up in the absence of Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey also delivered alongside Harden, scoring 23 points.

"Our defense was pretty good, we took care of the ball and I think everyone competed hard," Maxey said.

"Even someone like Paul Reed comes in and gets nine points and eight offensive rebounds. He plays with so much energy that the other team can't keep up."

Philadelphia are 24-15 for the season and sit fifth in the Eastern Conference, which is propped up by the 11-32 Pistons.

"That's a team playing for a championship and we shot ourselves in the foot," said a frustrated Pistons coach Dwane Casey. 

"We had 22 turnovers – the same number we had in the last game against them. We can't give them points like that."

Sean McDermott expected something special from kickoff after the Buffalo Bills' difficult week and Nyheim Hines duly delivered with a remarkable return touchdown.

The Bills endured the most challenging of weeks after Damar Hamlin's cardiac arrest on the field forced last Monday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals to be suspended and ultimately abandoned.

Hamlin has remained in a critical condition but has made significant progress in recent days, and watched Sunday's game against the New England Patriots from hospital.

The Bills claimed a 35-23 victory to clinch their playoff spot, with the first piece of action being a storybook 96-yard opening kickoff return TD from Hines. That marked the Bills' first kickoff return touchdown since 2019.

"To be honest, I thought in the days leading up to the game wouldn’t it be special if we could take that opening kickoff," coach McDermott told reporters.

"When it happened, respectfully, I wasn't surprised just by the way the week has gone."

Hamlin tweeted "OMFG!!!!!!" after the stunning move.

Hines sensationally achieved a second kickoff return touchdown in the third quarter when the Bills trailed 17-14.

Bills QB Josh Allen was emotional when he spoke about Hines' opening TD: "I can't remember a play that touched me like that. It's probably number one.

"You can't draw that one up any better. I just got told it's been three years and three months since the last kickoff return so pretty cool."

Buffalo cornerback Tre'Davious White offered an insight into the challenge for the players returning to action for the first time, given the trauma from Hamlin's on-field collapse and subsequent resuscitation.

"I don't know how some of us did it because some of us had a different view of what went on and that's traumatising," White said.

"I was telling someone earlier I've seen traumatic things in my life, just growing up where I grew up at, and in the environment I've been raised in, but it was always the end result of me walking up and seeing it.

"It was never a time I saw every event, everything transpire until the end. It's tough, man. It's a lot."

McDermott added that Hamlin would not only inspire the Bills' postseason push, having secured a Wild Card game at Highmark Stadium against the seventh seed Miami Dolphins, but also the wider community.

"I think we would all agree, that guy's hand is in this and has been in it from the first moment," he said.

"I think, I should say this, when you watch how, at times, divided we can be as a country and a world, I think the thing we all recognised this week is when people can put love first and people first and come together, how powerful this country and this world can be for the good."

The San Francisco 49ers will host the Seattle Seahawks in the opening game of the Wild Card round.

San Francisco progressed to the postseason as the NFC second seed, and have home field advantage in the first game of this season's playoffs, which will take place on Saturday.

The Seahawks defeated the Los Angeles Rams in overtime in their final regular-season game and were subsequently handed a favour by the Detroit Lions, who eliminated the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers from playoff contention.

In Saturday's second game, the Los Angeles Chargers travel to Florida to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars, who clinched the AFC South title with a 20-16 win over the Tennessee Titans.

A day later, the Buffalo Bills, who beat the New England Patriots in an emotional game on Sunday, will host the Miami Dolphins.

The Cincinnati Bengals, whose January 2 game against the Bills was suspended and subsequently cancelled altogether following Damar Hamlin's cardiac arrest, go up against the Baltimore Ravens in Sunday's final game, after the New York Giants have taken on the Minnesota Vikings.

The Wild Card round concludes with the Dallas Cowboys' trip to face Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers will not rush into any decisions on his playing future after the Green Bay Packers missed the playoffs.

The Packers lost 20-16 to the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

The Packers had rallied from a 4-8 record by winning four straight games to set up a win-and-in situation against the Lions.

But Rodgers and Green Bay failed to uphold their end of the bargain, with the 39-year-old throwing a fourth-quarter interception on their last drive after the Lions had re-claimed the lead with Jamaal Williams' second rushing TD.

Rodgers is under contract for next season, but given his age and public comments, retirement has been a constant topic of discussion. The quarterback opted against being drawn on it in the immediate aftermath of the season-ending defeat.

"It's a little raw right now," Rodgers told reporters.

"It's just a little bit after the game, so I want to take the emotion out of it and have the conversation and see where the organisation is at and see how I feel after some time has passed.

"At some point, the carousel comes to a stop and it's time to get off, and I think you kind of know when that is.

"That's what needs to be contemplated. Is it time? Also, what’s the organisation doing? That's part of it as well. But the competitive fire is always going to be there. I don’t think that ever goes away."

Green Bay's loss was dotted with miscues including Rodgers' interception, along with a second-quarter Aaron Jones fumble and Quay Walker's inexplicable fourth-quarter ejection for pushing a Lions physician in the lead-up to Williams' game-winning TD.

The Packers missed the playoffs for the first time under head coach Matt LaFleur, who said: "Obviously very disappointed right now.

"To have an opportunity to go to the playoffs at home and not be able to get it done in that fashion is extremely disappointing.

"I do commend our locker room and our guys for their ability to overcome adversity throughout the course of the season.

"Ultimately, we dug ourselves too big of a hole and the margin for error in this league is so small, so if you don't capitalise on opportunities and make mistakes, then you're going to lose, especially against good football teams.

"You've got to give Detroit a tonne of credit, they came here and they beat us tonight. Certainly, like I said, [I am] extremely disappointed, but it's going to be a big offseason for us obviously to make sure we all improve.

"We've got to look inward to figure out what it is we need to do to get better, because the expectations here are very high and they should be. Really disappointed right now."

Kevin Durant went down injured before Royce O'Neale scored the game-winning two-pointer with 3.2 seconds left as the Brooklyn Nets edged the Miami Heat 102-101 on Sunday.

Durant exited late in the third quarter with a right knee issue after Jimmy Butler fell on him, but the Nets did enough without him to improve to 27-13 overall and second spot in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn have won 18 of their last 20 games.

Butler put the Heat ahead 101-100 with a dunk with 1:12 remaining, but O'Neale had the final say with a putback after Kyrie Irving had missed a 30-foot three-point attempt.

Irving top scored for Brooklyn with 28 points, including six-of-15 from three-point range with six assists, while Nic Claxton contributed strongly again with 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.

Durant managed 17 points on five-of-11 shooting from the field with five rebounds in his 30 minutes on the court.

Butler top-scored for the Heat with 26 points, but shot nine-of-21 from the field with two turnovers, while Tyler Herro finished with 24 points before limping off late.

Bam Adebayo was also limited by a right-hand contusion, scoring 10 points with eight rebounds.

Harden records triple-double in 76ers win

James Harden recorded a triple-double and became the 27th NBA player with 24,000 career points as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Detroit Pistons 123-111.

Harden finished with 20 points on seven-of-14 shooting, including three-of-five from beyond the arc, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

Tyrese Maxey also came to the fore for the Joel Embiid-less 76ers, while Pistons guard Killian Hayes had a game-high 26 points, with four three-pointers.

Suns slump to sixth straight loss

The Cleveland Cavaliers consigned the short-handed Phoenix Suns to their sixth straight defeat with a 112-98 victory as Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland scored 22 points each.

Mitchell, who scored a season-high 71 points in last weeks' OT win over the Chicago Bulls, made seven-of-12 from the field, while Garland dished off seven assists in a fine display.

The Suns were missing their backcourt of Chris Paul and Devin Booker but were within one point at three-quarter time before fading.

Duane Washington top scored for Phoenix in 25 minutes off the bench with 25 points including five triples.

Novak Djokovic will face Nick Kyrgios in a practice match ahead of the Australian Open.

Djokovic marked his return to Australia by beating Sebastian Korda to win his 92nd Tour-level title on Sunday in Adelaide.

Kyrgios, meanwhile, did not feature in the inaugural United Cup for Australia after withdrawing due to injury.

They will now meet in a practice match at Rod Laver Arena on Friday, ahead of the season's first grand slam.

Ticket proceeds will go to the Australian Tennis Foundation.

The duo have had a turbulent relationship in the past, though last year appeared to be on better terms.

Kyrgios came to Djokovic's defence when the Serbian was denied entry to Australia and subsequently deported ahead of the 2022 Australian Open due to his COVID-19 vaccination status.

Australia's policy on non-vaccinated individuals entering the country has now changed, and Djokovic had his three-year suspension from the nation revoked, allowing him to compete in Melbourne this year.

Krygios has a 2-1 record against Djokovic, though both of his wins came back in 2017.

They last met in the final of Wimbledon last year, with Djokovic coming out on top 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-3).

Kevin Durant is set to undergo an MRI after exiting the Brooklyn Nets' 102-101 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday with a knee injury.

Durant sustained the injury with 1:05 remaining in the third quarter when Jimmy Butler fell back into the Nets forward after having his shot blocked by Ben Simmons.

The 2014 NBA MVP remained in the game initially but appeared concerned by the knock and headed for the locker room when the Nets called a timeout 30 seconds later.

"He didn’t finish the game," Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn told reporters. "Just right knee, he'll get evaluated tomorrow. Then hopefully we'll have some more info for you.

"Most likely it will include imaging just to make sure we're good."

Durant had injured the MCL in his left knee in January last year, missing approximately a month and half while rehabbing.

The 12-time NBA All-Star is averaging 30.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists this season for the Nets, who have rallied after a slow start to be 27-13 and second in the Eastern Conference.

"He's in good spirits as we all are," Nets team-mate Kyrie Irving said of Durant. "The strength of our team is us picking each other up.

"Just being ready for whatever's thrown at us... I think one of the greatest qualities of our team is our bench and the way we support each other, despite who's in the lineup.

"Now it's time to go out and exemplify that until we find out the timeline with K and when he could be available again. So we just got to be mature about it."

The Houston Texans announced the firing of head coach Lovie Smith on Sunday, just hours after he told the media he expected to retain the role for next season.

Smith was promoted in February after spending one season as the Texans' associate head coach and defensive coordinator.

In a rebuilding season following the trade of franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson, the Texans appeared destined all season for the worst record in the league and the top overall pick in the coming NFL Draft.

They produced a stirring late comeback in Sunday's 32-31 win against the Indianapolis Colts to finish the campaign 3-13-1, handing the first pick in the draft to the Chicago Bears (3-14) in the process.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Smith said it is ridiculous to propose intentionally losing a game at this level.

"This is an option that I had," he said. "So you say, 'hey guys ... all that you've been working for your life, you play to win, forget that. Lose the game on purpose.

"That will be a hard one to get by. They won't expect me to say that. I didn't. What we work on each week, our game plan, has been to win the game. It's kind of simple as that. That's what we follow through on the day.

"It's pretty simple – we play to win the game. It's kind of simple as that." 

When asked about if he expected to return for a second season at the helm, he said: "Do I expect to be back? Yes, I expect to be back."

That notion was shot down hours later, with Texans general manager Nick Caserio announcing he personally had made the decision to fire Smith, and would instead hire a new head coach for the third time during his three years in charge, and the fourth consecutive year overall with a new head coach for the franchise.

The statement read: "On behalf of the entire organisation, I would like to thank Lovie Smith for everything he has contributed to our team over the last two seasons as a coach and leader.

"I'm constantly evaluating our football operation and believe this is the best decision for us at this time. It is my responsibility to build a comprehensive and competitive program that can sustain success over a long period of time.

"We aren't there right now. However, with the support of the McNair family and the resources available to us, I'm confident in the direction of the program moving forward."