LOS ANGELES -- The widow of basketball star Kobe Bryant is "absolutely devastated" by allegations that deputies shared graphic photos of the helicopter crash scene where Bryant, their 13-year-old daughter and seven others were killed, her lawyer said in a statement Saturday.

The Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday that a public safety source with knowledge of the events had seen one of the photos on the phone of another official in a setting that was not related to the investigation of the crash. He said the photos showed the scene and victims' remains. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the allegations.

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said in a statement Friday it was investigating the allegations detailed in the newspaper's report.

Vanessa Bryant's lawyer, Gary Robb, said that she went to the sheriff's office on Jan. 26, the day of the crash, "and requested that the area be designated a no-fly zone and protected from photographers."

"This was of critical importance to her as she desired to protect the dignity of all the victims, and their families. At that time, Sheriff Alex Villanueva assured us all measures would be put in place to protect the families' privacy, and it is our understanding that he has worked hard to honor those requests," Robb said.

Robb said the sharing of photos would be "an unspeakable violation of human decency, respect, and of the privacy rights of the victims and their families."

He called for those who shared the photos to "face the harshest possible discipline, and that their identities be brought to light, to ensure that the photos are not further disseminated."

The Times also reported on Friday that the sheriff's department quietly ordered deputies to delete any photos of the helicopter crash scene after a citizen complained that a deputy was showing the gruesome images at a bar in Norwalk, California, two public safety sources with knowledge of the events said.

BOSTON -- Off nights for James Harden haven't often ended well for the Houston Rockets over the years.

That's why the Rockets pounced on the opportunity to pair Harden with another recent MVP, acquiring Russell Westbrook for Chris Paul and a package of draft picks last summer. That deal paid dividends for Houston on Saturday night, when Harden struggled but Westbrook starred in a 111-110 overtime victory over the Boston Celtics.

"We had a lot of attention on James Harden, and forgot about the other MVP over there," Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said. "[Westbrook] came out and asserted himself early and took over and dominated this game."

Westbrook scored a game-high 41 points on 16-of-27 shooting in the victory, putting an exclamation point on one of the most productive months of his 12-year NBA career. He averaged 33.4 points per game in February, the second most of any month in which he's played at least five games, behind only March 2017, when Westbrook was putting the finishing touches on his MVP campaign.

Westbrook has never scored with such consistent efficiency. He shot 54.9% from the floor in February, the best of any month in his career.

"Right now, I think I'm moving in the right direction," said Westbrook, who also had 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals in the win. "I've just got to stay locked in with what I'm doing, with my craft and what I've been doing since I've been in the league."

It's not as if this monster month for Westbrook came out of nowhere. He was almost as dominant in January, averaging 32.5 points on 52.2% shooting.

"He's been doing it," said Harden, who was held to 21 points on 7-of-24 shooting Saturday at TD Garden. "He's more confident than he's been, so he's able to go out there and make plays for himself and us. This is his first year as a Rocket, so it was going to take some time. But he's finally there."

The Rockets' reliance on playing small ball, removing a traditional center from their rotation, has brought out the best in Westbrook. Surrounded by perimeter shooting threats, Westbrook has relentlessly attacked defenses off the dribble.

Against the Celtics, only two of Westbrook's 27 field goal attempts were from 3-point range, a shot distribution that has become routine for him recently. He scored 11 times in the restricted area, with his other four buckets coming on pull-up midrange jumpers that are open because of the pressure he puts on defenses with his penetration.

"One thing he can do and one thing he's great at is driving to the rim," said Rockets reserve forward Jeff Green, who also played with Westbrook in Oklahoma City. "When you're spacing the floor and you're taking [defenders] out the middle, you're allowing him to access the lane whenever you want. You're playing right into his hands. Credit [coach Mike] D'Antoni and the front office for the way he's orchestrated it. It's maximizing what he's able to do."

A fully maximized Westbrook has provided Harden by far the most potent partner he's had during his eight-year Rockets tenure. Harden was the lone Rocket with any 40-plus-point games over the previous seven seasons. Westbrook has four such performances this season, all in wins. Two of those occurred in road victories over contenders in February, with Saturday's outing against the Celtics matching his 41-point night on 17-of-28 shooting in a Feb. 6 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

"You know he was the MVP one year, right?" D'Antoni said, a joking reminder of Westbrook's résumé. "That's what he's been giving us."

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- With LeBron James' gold No. 23 uniform folded on his chair behind him, Memphis Grizzlies rookie Ja Morant reflected on beating one of his idols for the first time as the Grizzlies avoided a season sweep in what could be an NBA playoff preview.

"That's big bro -- the King," Morant said Saturday after posting 27 points, 14 assists and 6 rebounds in a 105-88 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. "I mean, I feel like everybody knows who he is. Just somebody that I look up to, a great [role] model. He's just one of a kind. I don't think there can be another LeBron."

Morant, a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year as he has the Grizzlies (29-31) in the thick of a postseason race, could have people saying the same thing about him someday.

"The kid is super special," said James, whose totals of 19 points and 10 assists were dwarfed by the production of the No. 2 overall pick out of Murray State. "Like I said when we just played him in L.A., Memphis got a great one. They got a great one. So, the sky's the limit for the kid."

The Grizzlies' guard soared through the air on a second-half dunk attempt on Anthony Davis. He was called for a charging foul, as Davis set up outside the restricted area and held his ground, but just the sheer audacity of the attempt will make highlight reels.

"I think he would probably try anyone that was there," Davis said. "He's done that a couple times this year. So I'm just trying to get a body in front of him and make him run me over."

Morant explained the strategy behind the aggressive take, even if the whistle didn't go his way.

"I mean, if I had went for a layup, it would have been a charge, but if I go up and try to dunk, then it's 50-50," he said. "So my mindset is just going to finish the play at any time, no matter who's down there, and it was just one of those plays."

It was one of those nights for Morant that made you marvel at Memphis' future. After losing to the Lakers three times already this season and playing short-handed without franchise big man Jaren Jackson Jr. (left knee sprain), the Grizzlies dominated on Saturday from the jump, snapping L.A.'s seven-game win streak.

Morant made a career-best four 3-pointers off his six attempts from deep and recorded his 11th double-double, which leads all rookies. It was his second straight 20-point, 10-assist game, joining Luka Doncic and Trae Young as the only rookies since the 2011-12 season to hit those numbers in consecutive games.

He also gave James something to add to his luggage for the Lakers' flight to New Orleans on Saturday for a date with Zion Williamson and the Pelicans on Sunday, as Morant's blue No. 12 uniform was draped on the seat next to James' locker.

"I didn't even know I was getting his jersey actually," James said. "I gave him mine, for sure, but I didn't know he was returning the favor. But it's pretty cool."

James and Morant, over the course of their four regular-season meetings, have clearly developed a rapport. After their previous game in L.A., James could be heard telling Morant, "whatever you need, on or off [the court]," he would be willing to help him.

James has played Williamson only once -- a 118-109 win for the Lakers on Tuesday in which James scored a season-high 40 points to better Williamson's 29-point night -- and he said afterward that he had yet to speak to or even meet the Pelicans' No. 1 pick.

When asked about Williamson on Saturday, James told ESPN he has an "open-door policy" with anyone in the sport who reaches out to him.

He also went out of his way to heap praise upon some of the rising stars in the league, Williamson included.

"I've always thought about that," James said. "Like, what young guys are coming up in the ranks that will be able to continue to carry it on after I'm gone. You look at Ja and you look at Zion. You look at Jayson Tatum. You look at Luka Doncic and Trae Young, and the list goes on and on. Those guys are just not only great on the floor but also, more importantly, off the floor. And that's a great thing to have. ... Our league is in a very, very good place."

Morant -- who told Fox Sports Southeast during his postgame interview that his performance Saturday night was motivated in part by a Twitter critic who told him he didn't "have the fire in my eye no more" -- sounded comfortable being grouped with the league's next generation of stars.

"That's what we're called here, 'Next Gen,'" he said. "So there you go."

The Lakers have a 5½-game lead over the Denver Nuggets for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Saturday's win gave the Grizzlies a 2½-game cushion over New Orleans for the No. 8 seed.

James' and Morant's rapport could be tested on the postseason stage.

"I think it's just mutual respect," James said. "I've watched him for quite a while now. And once he obviously got to the league you start to pay attention more and more and the relationship starts if that guy wants it, from my side.

"And it's just all about understanding what those guys are going through because I was in that position before as well."

BOSTON -- Since the moment James Harden became a member of the Houston Rockets in October 2012, the team has been almost exclusively built around him and his prodigious talent. That has led to plenty of Rockets victories on the back of Harden's incredible offensive displays. And when Houston has lost, it can generally be traced back to Harden having a rare off night.

Saturday against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden was one of those rare off nights. Harden finished with just 21 points on 7-for-24 shooting -- including 4-for-17 from 3-point range -- and took only three free throws. It was the kind of performance, with Harden's Rockets, that would typically see them lose.

These days, though, the Rockets aren't exactly Harden's Rockets anymore. Yes, he still leads the league in scoring, averaging 34.9 points per game. But over the past few weeks, Russell Westbrook -- in a way no player has since Harden was traded away from Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder more than seven years ago -- has become a co-headliner on Houston's marquee.

And after Westbrook finished with 41 points on 16-for-27 shooting to go along with 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals in Houston's 111-110 overtime victory, it was just the latest proof that the days of the Rockets solely being Harden's team are over.

"You can't go to the supermarket and buy heart," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said of Westbrook after the game. "You know he has that.

"It's pretty impressive."

When the Rockets chose to utterly transform their team at the Feb. 6 trade deadline, sending out center Clint Capela and a first-round pick as part of a multiteam trade that saw them get back combo forward Robert Covington, they said it was a move designed to allow them to go all-in on playing small.

In reality, though, it was also something else: an admission that Westbrook -- an unreliable 3-point shooter in the best of times, and who is shooting 25% from deep this season -- simply couldn't coexist with another non-shooter on the court. But in committing to this style, the Rockets have also done the unthinkable: made their team something beyond one that orbits around Harden's wizardry with the ball.

Consider D'Antoni's response to a question before Saturday's game about whether the days of Harden being relentlessly double-teamed -- like he has been so often in recent years -- are now over with the style Houston is now playing.

"I think in certain situations, what we're seeing now is he gets doubled sometimes in the pick-and-roll," D'Antoni said. "End of clock, they might double him.

"But I think the random, as-soon-as-he-crosses-half-court double, is gone."

That would have been unimaginable even as recently as a couple of months ago, when Harden was bumping up against averaging an astonishing 40 points per game and continuing the same kind of absurd production he's put up repeatedly in recent seasons -- including finishing first or second in the NBA's Most Valuable Player voting in four of the past five.

But given the way the Rockets -- and Westbrook -- are playing now, it's understandable. By having five quick, interchangeable players spread around the 3-point arc, there are all sorts of driving lanes available for Westbrook to attack. And while he has his flaws as a player, his ability to explode past defenders in one-on-one situations -- particularly without any size behind them to defend the rim -- has never been one of them.

As a result, since Capela played his final game with Houston on Jan. 29, Westbrook's 3-point attempts have dropped significantly, and his field goal percentage has shot well north of 50% -- to the point where he's now shooting a career-best 47% for the season. Meanwhile, his usage rate has shot up to a staggering 36.1% -- putting him ahead even of Harden (34.2) during that same time frame.

"I don't know, man," Westbrook said, when asked if Houston's stylistic changes have put him in better positions offensively than he's ever been in during his NBA career. "I just try to find ways every year to be better and find ways to become a better player and teammate. Obviously based on the changes we made and the way we line up, I have to find ways to constantly keep being effective and help my team win games and that's what I try to do.

"Right now I think I'm moving in the right direction. I've just got to stay locked in on what I'm doing and my craft and keep doing what I've been doing since I've been in the league, and that's going out and competing every night."

Houston's gradual shift in Westbrook's direction has also seen the Rockets take on an additional characteristic of his: the sheer physicality with which he plays. While Houston has played plenty of small ball and employed switching schemes across the board in the past, there is just something different about the relentlessness with which Westbrook batters into a defense like a sledgehammer over and over again.

It was no coincidence that Boston, after jumping out to a 17-point lead in the first half, slowly began wearing down as the game went along, and that Celtics coach Brad Stevens repeatedly referred postgame to Houston's physicality as the reason why.

"Their physical presence is real," Stevens said. "I think that when they turned it up a notch physically in the second half, we got stagnant because they were imposing their will on the game, and they can do that.

"It's not a knock on our guys necessarily by any means. It's just that that's the strength of their team."

It's obviously far too soon to make any sweeping conclusions about a team that has only fully committed to playing this way for a month -- a month that included a lengthy All-Star Break smack in the middle of it. But there is more than enough data from the games the Rockets have played against elite competition since then -- victories over the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz, teams with elite big men (Anthony Davis and Rudy Gobert, respectively), plus a pair of wins over the Celtics -- to at least say that Houston's bold gambit has some semblance of a chance of working.

And to say that Westbrook has erased Harden from the offense would be equally foolish. Since Jan. 30, Harden is still averaging over 32 points per game, and remains a singular force of nature when he gets going.

The difference now in Houston is that, when he doesn't, the Rockets have the Plan B that throughout his tenure -- even when playing alongside other future Hall of Famers like Dwight Howard and Chris Paul -- both Harden and the Rockets have never fully embraced.

"I think we guarded [Harden] well," Celtics shooting guard Jaylen Brown said. "I think we accepted his challenge. We just didn't do a good enough job with Westbrook.

"We had a lot of attention on James Harden, and forgot about the other MVP over there. He came out and asserted himself early and took over and dominated this game."

And, as a result, Houston won a game it rarely would have in the past. It's a formula the Rockets will hope will translate to them finally breaking through this spring in a way they haven't been able to previously, either.

FONTANA, Calif. – Riley Herbst had a shot at teammate Harrison Burton on the final lap of Saturday’s Production Alliance Group 300 at Auto Club Speedway, but couldn’t quite seal the deal.

It was as clean a battle as one can have between two young teammates, however, with Herbst going everywhere Burton wasn’t to try and make up ground and Burton doing everything necessary to keep the Las Vegas native behind him.

In the end, a final-lap, last-ditch run to the apron in turns three and four on the final lap wasn’t quite enough for Herbst, who settled for second and secured his career-best NASCAR Xfinity Series finish.

Chief in Herbst’s mind after the race were two prevailing facts: the fact that he and Burton are teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing and the fact that both drive for Toyota as a manufacturer.

That kept Herbst from making “too crazy of a move” in the last two corners, content to race Burton cleanly down the stretch as the duo both chased their maiden Xfinity Series victory.

“If it hadn’t been Harrison, I probably would have been a lot more desperate,” noted Herbst of his last-lap efforts to steal the win away. “We have to race our Toyota family as one, pretty cleanly. I drove it in pretty deep, but not as deep as I wanted (to).

“I don’t know what more I could have done. We’ll see what happens at Phoenix next week.”

All in all, it was a banner day for the recently-turned 21-year-old, who raced among the top 10 virtually all afternoon.

But it was as the frontrunning contenders – including Brandon Jones and Chase Briscoe – began to falter during the second half that Herbst began to shine and make his way forward.

Jones won the first two stages uncontested, but suffered damage on a restart that led to a cut tire, while Briscoe spun while chasing Burton for the race lead inside of 25 laps to go.

That final caution set Herbst up alongside Burton for the race-defining restart with 19 laps left, but Burton was able to escape to a more than two-second margin as Herbst fought tooth and nail with Austin Cindric for the runner-up spot.

Once he finally worked clear of Cindric, Herbst was able to run Burton down as the leader became mired in slower traffic within the final 10 laps. Burton’s two-second gap was sliced to mere car lengths in an instant, and as the white flag loomed, Herbst was right on the bumper of his stablemate for the lead.

Burton was able to do just enough to hold on, however, something Herbst didn’t think might have been the case had the race been just a little bit longer.

“We needed a few more laps, for sure,” noted Herbst. “I didn’t qualify where we wanted to – we were sixth or something, but we kept working our way up. We had some bad lanes on restarts and then we worked our way back up to the front. I knew the 98 (Chase Briscoe) was going to get greedy, and he did. I just stayed patient and we needed a little more fire-off speed at the end.

“There were so many options for us as drivers all day, though, especially with the dirty air that everybody complains about,” Herbst added. “Harrison (Burton) would go to the top and I could go to the bottom or the middle – anywhere that he wasn’t – and make up ground, so it was a lot of fun.”

Herbst’s strong run on Saturday pushed him inside the tentative playoff grid after three of 26 regular-season races, as he leaves Fontana 11th in the standings and 17 markers above the early cutoff line.

But the Fontana effort allowed both Herbst and Burton to prove a point: that they belong among the best that the Xfinity Series has to offer.

“Yeah, I didn’t win today, but I’m really, really proud of Harrison (Burton). We’ve worked really hard this off-season,” said Herbst. “We’ve read everything and heard everything – that we’re not ready for this, that we can’t do this in this series.

“(The haters can) keep on talking, because we’re coming for more wins this year, for sure.”

The NASCAR Xfinity Series season continues March 7 with the LS Tractor 200 at Arizona’s Phoenix Raceway.

KENLY, N.C. – Matt Craig was in his own league during Saturday’s PRA Tours super late model event at Southern National Motorsports Park.

Craig started fourth in the 12-car field, but quickly moved to the lead and proceeded to lead 120 of the 125 laps. The race was only slowed by one caution, allowing Craig to lap up to fifth, leaving only four cars on the lead lap at the checkered flag.

Defending series champion Kodie Conner finished second, followed by Nolan Pope, Carson Kvapil and Josh Brock.

Action will continue at Southern National Motorsports Park on Sunday with a 125-lap late model stock car event.

The finish:

Matt Craig, Kodie Conner, Nolan Pope, Carson Kvapil, Josh Brock, Natalie Decker, Hudson Halder, Mike Darne, Tim Allensworth, J.P. Josiasse, Brandon Setzer, Toby Grynewicz.

FONTANA, Calif. – It was quiet, and it wasn’t always flashy, but Anthony Alfredo put together a run to be proud of during his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut on Saturday at Auto Club Speedway.

Alfredo kept the nose of his No. 21 Anderson’s Maple Syrup Chevrolet Camaro clean all race long, and then was aggressive when it counted at the end of the Production Alliance Group 300.

A few strong moves later, the UNC-Charlotte engineering student found himself sixth at the checkered flag, becoming the eighth driver in Richard Childress Racing history to earn a top-10 finish in their series debut with the organization.

It was a banner day and one that left Alfredo, 20, beaming from ear to ear on pit road after the race, especially considering he put on a wheel-to-wheel battle with Justin Haley down the stretch as well.

“Man, we finished sixth, but it should have been P5!” Alfredo exclaimed. “I don’t know if everyone was watching, but the 11 (Haley) and I had a heck of a fight there at the end. Justin’s a great kid and someone I’ve gotten to know really well, considering he’s an affiliate of ours at RCR. We raced the heck out of each other, but it was super clean, and that’s what the fans love to see.

“I pulled the slider on him in (turns) three and four about six laps in a row; I just could not get it to hook up enough and he kept side-drafting me back,” Alfredo added. “Our car was really great in (turns) one and two, though. I could turn up from underneath him and cross the seam to get a run. That’s where I would beat him every time, but I just could not hook up off of four.

“Sixth is good, but I’m always trying to be better, and I know we had a car capable of being in the top five! It’s an honor to be up here and a great start to the year; I’m just pumped for what’s next.”

The sixth-place run Alfredo put together is the fourth-best finish all-time by a debuting rookie for RCR’s Xfinity Series program, bettered only by Matt Crafton’s third-place run in 2013 and a pair of fifth-place finishes in 2001 from Johnny Sauter and Robby Gordon.

Alfredo, who started 13th, kept himself solidly in contention all day long and showed flashes of speed early, despite finishing 14th in both of the 35-lap stages that punctuated the early going.

But as the race wore on and restarts became more prevalent, Alfredo was able to work his way through traffic and place himself in position for a big result as the laps wound down.

His pit crew got him off pit road fifth during the final round of stops, and from there, Alfredo did a yeoman’s job of holding as much track position as he could despite a crazy restart with 19 laps to go.

“I learned a lot this weekend. Our Anderson’s Pure Maple Syrup Chevrolet just needed to be a little freer,” Alfredo noted. “My crew chief Andy Street and the No. 21 team made adjustments to loosen me up a few times throughout the race, but I still battled neutral to tight conditions most of the day. What a way to start out this season with RCR, though. This is exactly what we wanted when we put this deal together.

“We have the best equipment and the best team assembled; we’ve got all the capabilities and they’ve given me so much information to digest during my first race weekend,” Alfredo continued. “We are going to build on this sixth-place finish and challenge for wins this year. That’s something I feel confident in saying after what we were able to put together this weekend.

“I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel of this No. 21 Chevrolet in a few weeks.”

First-half goals from Ezequiel Barco and Emerson Hyndman led visiting Atlanta United to a 2-1 victory over host Nashville SC in the MLS opener for both teams Saturday.

It was the first MLS contest in franchise history for Nashville, while Atlanta won its first season opener in four attempts.

Atlanta forward Josef Martinez, a three-time MLS Best XI selection and 2018 league MVP, injured his right leg in the 63rd minute battling for the ball against Nashville's Dave Romney. He attempted to play through the injury but was replaced in the 69th minute by Adam Jahn.

Nashville out shot Atlanta 14-6 and had a 5-4 edge in corner kicks. Atlanta led in possession 55.3 percent to 44.7 percent.

Atlanta took a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute on the first official shot of the contest. Barco took a pass from Franco Escobar and bent his right-footed shot from just outside of the penalty area past Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis.

Nashville's first shot in the match came from Randall Leal in the 11th minute and was saved by Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

Nashville pressured Atlanta's defense through much of the half, including David Accam's attempt in the penalty area in the 15th minute that was blocked by Atlanta's Anton Walkes. Dominique Badji's shot pushed just wide of the net in the 24th minute.

Nashville's efforts were rewarded in the 28th minute when Walker Zimmerman scored the team's first goal in MLS history to tie the score at 1. An initial free kick by Nashville was headed down in the penalty area by Zimmerman, who pushed his right-footed shot past Guzan.

Hyndman's goal in the 37th minute gave Atlanta a 2-1 lead heading into halftime. He took a deflected ball off his chest and hit a right-footed shot past Willis.

Nashville's best scoring opportunity in the second half came in the 78th minute when Leal's shot hit the near post. Alan Winn's cross attempt in the 85th minute was caught by Guzan in the penalty area.

Nashville also saw Hany Mukhtar's shot attempt go high in the 87th minute, and Abu Danladi's attempt was saved by Guzan in the 90th minute.

Willis received a yellow card in the 94th minute for playing a handball outside of the penalty area.

They say to keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.

There will be no secrets when New Zealand meet Australia in a cut-throat game at the Junction Oval on Monday. The winner progresses to the semi-final, the loser goes home.

Both sides know each other intimately, with so many of New Zealand's players featuring heavily in the WBBL, playing and training alongside the Australian players.

It's no secret that New Zealand are struggling in this tournament. The loss to India appeared tighter than it was, with Amelia Kerr's freak innings almost papering over the cracks that India exposed in New Zealand's batting.

Those cracks became cavernous against Bangladesh, who bowled them out for just 91. It was their second-lowest total in Women's World T20 history and their sixth-lowest in T20 internationals overall.

The bowlers saved their blushes, with Hayley Jensen and Leigh Kasperek taking three wickets each as Bangladesh imploded in the chase.

The captain Sophie Devine knows the area they must improve ahead of the clash with Australia.

"Probably batting a bit better than we did today," Devine said.

"But look we're really excited about that. Obviously, we wanted to get done with today and get the points in the bank and then it's onto Australia who we've played a lot of cricket with and against and we're really looking forward to it. Any time we come up against Australia, it doesn't matter what sport it is, it's going to be a big one. We're looking forward to having a day off tomorrow and then getting stuck into them."

New Zealand's reliance on their two stars in Devine and Suzie Bates is clear for the world to see. Both Bangladesh and India exploited it expertly, keeping the in-form Devine away from strike in the Powerplay and letting the run-rate build pressure.

Bates' form is also a worry with scores of 13, 6, and 15 in the tournament to-date. But Kasperek backed New Zealand's big guns to fire against Australia.

"I think they'll be a little bit disappointed in how they have gone," Kasperek said.

"But when we've been training they've been hitting it really well and we're really lucky we've got number one and number two in the world at the moment and the very fact that even today and against Sri Lanka, we got over the line when Suzie didn't go well, but other people have been stepping up in the middle overs. You want your big players to step up in big games so hopefully, they can do that on Monday.

Another area of concern for New Zealand is their lack of experience against left-handed batting and left-arm bowling. The White Ferns do not have a single left-hander or left-arm bowler in their entire squad. Chamari Atapattu (41 off 30), Udeshika Prabodhani (0 for 16 from 4 overs with 15 dot balls), Rajashwari Gayakwad (1 for 22 from 4 overs with 14 dots) and Radha Yadav (1 for 25 from 4 overs with 12 dots) have all caused New Zealand trouble in this tournament.

Australia has two in-form left-handers in their top six in Beth Mooney and Rachael Haynes, while Jess Jonassen is a key component of the attack. Sophie Molineux, an allrounder who bats left-handed and bowls left-arm orthodox, will also be heavily considered for selection provided she can overcome a thigh injury.

Kasperek believes it's not a concern for the squad.

"A couple of us like to dabble in a little bit of left-arm (at training)," Kasperek said.

"But when we've had trainings we've tried to have net bowlers coming in and we've had our coaches come around the wicket and try to replicate the left-armers as much as possible.

"I guess it's just something in New Zealand that we just generally don't have a lot of. Yes, it is different. But again, I think we've played enough cricket that we should be able to adapt to."

New Zealand haven't beaten Australia in any format since February 2017, including six ODIs and four T20Is. But they haven't met in a T20 international since the last World T20 in West Indies in 2018.

Kasperek said the familiarity of their foes means Monday holds no fears.

"I think we've been pretty close in a lot of games but I think it just that confidence thing," Kasperek said.

"Probably just a big player stepping up, especially with the bat. We're really lucky in the fact we've had a lot of girls go over and play in the Big Bash and be successful so I think that will actually hold us in really good stead playing against Australia."

Deiveson Figueiredo added to the turbulent history of the UFC men's flyweight division Saturday by winning a title fight in which he was not eligible to capture the belt.

Figueiredo opened up a cut on Joseph Benavidez's forehead, possibly on a clash of heads, and knocked him out with a straight right hand at 1 minute, 54 seconds of Round 2 at Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Virginia.

But Figueiredo, a 32-year-old from Soure, Brazil, did not become champion, because he had missed the 125-pound limit at Friday's weigh-in. The title remains vacant, as two-division champion Henry Cejudo relinquished the championship in December to focus on his bantamweight reign. Had Benavidez won, he would have claimed the belt.

"I am very sorry for missing weight," Figueiredo said through an interpreter. "But I told everybody I'm gonna put on a big show."

The fight was all action from the start. Figueiredo nearly ended it early by submission, as he locked in an armbar off a first-round scramble on the canvas. But Benavidez escaped, and when he got back to his feet, he started winging big punches, only a few of which came close to landing.

Benavidez, 35, appeared to be the fresher fighter entering the second round, but then he was cut. As he was wiping blood from his forehead, Benavidez absorbed the punch that ended the fight and left Figueiredo celebrating an electrifying victory, albeit not a title-winning one.

In winning his third fight in a row since suffering his lone career defeat early last year, Figueiredo (18-1) vanquished a mainstay of the 125-pound division. Benavidez (28-6) competed in the 2012 tournament to crown the inaugural UFC flyweight champ, losing a split decision to Demetrious Johnson in the final that September. Fifteen months later, after Benavidez had won three consecutive fights to earn a rematch, Johnson knocked him out in the first round.

It took Benavidez more than six years to get back to a title fight, and when he got there, Figueiredo was too much for him to handle.

"Everybody's going through ups and downs," a dazed Benavidez said afterward. "This is mine, on display."

The flyweight division was ruled for years by Johnson, until a 2018 upset win by Cejudo changed everything. But when Cejudo set his sights on winning a second title, at bantamweight, there was talk that the UFC might abolish the 125-pound division altogether. But when Cejudo relinquished the title and this fight was booked, it appeared flyweight was back in business. Then Figueiredo missed weight, throwing things back into disarray.

Figueiredo entered the fight No. 4 in the ESPN men's flyweight rankings. Third-ranked Benavidez had won his previous three fights and nine of his past 10.