GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Marshawn Lynch and Aaron Rodgers might never play on the same football field again, and if Sunday's NFC divisional playoff game at Lambeau Field was the last time the former college teammates share a field, they'll each have a memento.

Lynch, the Seattle Seahawks running back who came out of retirement to rejoin his old team last month, walked into the Green Bay Packers locker room after the game with his No. 24 game jersey. He signed it and gave it to Rodgers.

The Packers quarterback returned the favor.

The two former University of California stars then moved to a side room, where they spoke for several minutes after the Packers' 28-23 victory that sent them to the NFC Championship Game and might have sent Lynch back into retirement.

Lynch and Rodgers were college teammates in 2004 and almost were reunited in the NFL during the 2010 season, when the Packers were in trade talks with Lynch's then-team, the Buffalo Bills.

"He is one of my all-time favorite teammates, and I only had to play one year with him," Rodgers said. "But he has just an incredible personality and charisma, and he's just so fun to be around. There was, obviously, conversation years ago about picking him up in a trade that fell through that would've been a lot of fun to play some more years together.

"But I just have a ton of respect for him in his career. He's one of those transcendent players that is so likable and so respected by so many people, and I'm just fortunate to have gotten to play with him for a year. And so we were just catching up, talking about some silly stuff that happened back in the day, and seeing where he's at. He's a lot of fun to be around, and it's fun to see him."

Lynch rushed 12 times for just 26 yards but scored two touchdowns, giving him four in his three-game return to Seattle.

"Pretty solid," Lynch said of his touchdown production.

When asked whether he had any plans to return for another season, Lynch gave a long answer without actually answering the question.

"It's a vulnerable time for a lot of these young dudes you feel me?" Lynch said. "They don't be taking care of their chicken right, you feel me? If they was me or I had the opportunity, the opportunity to let them know something, I say take care of y'all money because that s--- don't last forever. Now I've been on the other side of retirement and it's good when get over there and you can do what the f--- you want to -- so I tell ya'll right now while y'all in it. Take care of y'all bread so when you're all done you go ahead and take care of yourself. So while y'all at it right now, take care of y'all bodies. Don't take care of y'all chicken, don't take care of y'all mentals cause we ain't lasting that long.

"I had a couple players that I played with that they no longer here no more, they no longer -- so you feel me? Start taking care of y'all mental, y'all bodies and y'all chicken for when you're all ready to walk away, you walk away and be able to do what you want to do, but I appreciate it. Thank you all and have a good day."

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- When the Kansas City Chiefs fell behind by 24 points in the second quarter to the Houston Texans on Sunday, Patrick Mahomes gathered his offensive teammates for a message.

He urged them to go and do something special.

"Obviously, I knew as a team everything kind of had to go the right way," Mahomes said later. "Being down 24-0 in the NFL, you don't win a lot of those games."

Even as optimistic as he was about overcoming such a large deficit, Mahomes couldn't know how correct he would be about the Chiefs doing something special. Kansas City roared back to win 51-31 in the divisional round at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs advance to next Sunday's AFC Championship Game against the Tennessee Titans, also at Arrowhead. They opened as 7-point favorites at Caesars Sportsbook.

On Sunday, the Chiefs became the first team to win a playoff game by 20 points after trailing by 20. While the final score left little doubt, wide receiver Sammy Watkins acknowledged that at 24-0, he began to think the Chiefs' season soon would end.

"A couple of times, I was like, 'This is over,'" Watkins said. "I kind of got down, like, 'I don't know what's going to happen.'"

He said he then looked to tight end Travis Kelce for guidance along the sideline.

"He said, 'Hey, don't look like that, your body language,'" Watkins said. "I was like, 'OK, he knows something I don't know.'"

Like Mahomes, Kelce was optimistic but couldn't know how quickly things would change. Mahomes threw four touchdown passes in the second quarter, tying an NFL playoff record for one period. Three went to Kelce, who set an NFL record for TD catches in a quarter.

The Chiefs needed just more than 10 minutes of game time to erase the 24-point deficit. They led 28-24 by halftime. Only three teams have overcome a bigger playoff deficit.

The Chiefs made plenty of mistakes early. They dropped four passes in the first quarter after dropping four in the previous six games combined. Their normally reliable pass defense blew a coverage on the Texans' first touchdown. They allowed a touchdown on a blocked punt. Tyreek Hill lost a fumble deep in Kansas City territory on a punt return.

These were all things that were uncharacteristic for the Chiefs, or as coach Andy Reid said, "freak stuff."

"These are things that we haven't done," Reid said. "That's not us, right? It was just a matter of settling it down and calming the storm and making sure that our guys knocked whatever rust off and calmed down and made plays. We've been doing that all year and it was important we got back to doing that.

"We were able to rebound. A lot of teams can't do that."

The Chiefs reeled off 41 points at one point before the Texans finally scored again. They scored on a touchdown on seven straight possessions, an NFL postseason record, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

"The goal is to score on every drive," said tackle Mitchell Schwartz, who added he didn't realize until the game was over that the Chiefs scored a touchdown on seven consecutive drives. "Realistically, it's never been achieved in NFL history. It was nice to string it together.

"It just keeps coming and keeps coming. Putting the ball in Pat's hands, usually good things happen."

Such offensive eruptions were common for the Chiefs in 2018, when they led the NFL in scoring. They haven't had as many offensive games like that this season, in part because they haven't needed to thanks to an improved defense. But they needed the points on Sunday and didn't seem to have any problem summoning them.

"When you see teams that don't have an MVP at quarterback and the skill guys we do, you kind of say, 'You want to get them into those passing situations.'" Schwartz said. "I don't think anyone approaches us and says, 'We want to make them throw the ball.' It definitely plays to a strength of ours."

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Aaron Rodgers didn't downplay what the Green Bay Packers' regular-season game at the San Francisco 49ers might mean.

"The way I look at it," Rodgers said in the days leading up to the Week 12 meeting at Levi's Stadium, "we've got to beat them once at their place at some point. It would be nice to do it now."

Of course, they did not. And it wasn't close: The Niners won by 29 points.

So now, the Packers will have to try again. Actually, they get to try again.

They certainly earned it with their 28-23 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday in an NFC divisional-round playoff game at Lambeau Field. Unlike the topsy-turvy AFC, which will be decided by the No. 2 seed and the No. 6 seed, the NFC is down to the top two seeds, which is what the Packers and Niners were when they met on Nov. 24.

"Yeah, we've got to play a lot better obviously," Rodgers said Sunday. "They're a great football team, have a great front, obviously get after the passer and don't need to rush a lot of guys to do that. Excellent pass rush and really good on the back end, smart. ... One of those games where we know every possession's going to be really important. It's going to be loud. But this is where it gets really fun. There's only four teams left and we're one of them. We've got a legitimate chance."

This time, Green Bay's offense looks well-oiled: Rodgers. Aaron Jones. Davante Adams. Even Jimmy Graham.

This will be the Packers' first appearance in the conference championship game since the 2016 "run the table" season, which came two years after their NFC Championship Game collapse at Seattle.

One of the differences this time is a rookie head coach, Matt LaFleur, who is the first Packers rookie coach to lead his team to the playoffs.

If Rodgers played only so-so in the regular season -- and even that was debated -- he turned into a former version of himself on Sunday. Gone were throwaways en masse, off-target passes and out-of-sync plays.

Instead, he did what he usually does with an early lead in a playoff game. He improved to 9-1 in the postseason after having a halftime lead (21-3 in this case). The lone loss was the 2014 NFC title game collapse against Seattle.

This time, the Packers were surgical on some drives -- Jones capped two of them with 1-yard touchdown runs -- and they were spectacular on others. Adams' first touchdown, a 20-yarder, was a double move to cap the first drive of the game, which began with a 23-yard run by Jones. Adams' second TD, a 40-yarder on a post-corner, was even prettier. Plus, there was a 32-yard fade with 2:12 remaining after the Packers' defense -- fueled by the Smiths (two sacks each for Za'Darius and Preston) -- came up with a key stop to avoid a repeat of 2014.

Adams caught eight passes -- every one of them for a first down -- for 160 yards, a Packers playoff-receiving-yardage record.

Rodgers had an efficient, 243-yard game on 16-of-27 passing with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 113.7 rating.

"I thought he made some clutch throws -- especially -- I think a good indication of really good quarterback play is: Look at the third down," LaFleur said. "It was one of the best performances we've had all year on third down; we were 9-of-13, I think it was."

In their 37-8 loss to the 49ers in November, the Packers did next to none of the things they did Sunday. Now they have a chance to make amends with a Super Bowl berth at stake.

"I think there's a lot to learn," LaFleur said of that first meeting. "First of all, that's a really good football team, and we know that we are gonna have to be at our absolute best in order to compete with them. And I think, unfortunately, last time, for whatever reason, we weren't."

The Packers will have their work cut out for them next Sunday in Santa Clara, California, as San Francisco opened as a seven-point favorite at Caesars Sportsbook.

This will be Rodgers' fourth NFC Championship Game appearance, and they've all been on the road.

As Rodgers walked off Lambeau Field on Sunday, he acknowledged the crowd and then reflected on the moment afterward.

"We don't have an owner; we have thousands of people who have a piece of paper that's a stock certificate," Rodgers said. "But people feel like they're invested in what we're doing. And they stuck with us through a couple of rough years. So to walk off the field being a 2-seed, where -- let's be honest -- I don't know that even our fans felt supremely confident in us, which I know that a lot of the media didn't as well.

"But to be able to walk off that field again victorious, there's no feeling like it. I stopped myself in the second quarter, and was looking around when there was a TV timeout and they're waving the flags, and I just couldn't -- it was just a special moment, just seeing just the whole stadium waving those white towels. I just think I was really, in that moment, just grateful for the opportunity and loving what I do. There's nothing like having the ball in your hands in a clutch situation and knowing you've got 78,998 or whatever it was today, most of them cheering you on."

There are four teams left in pursuit of the Lombardi Trophy -- the 49ers, Packers, Chiefs and Titans -- and three NFL games left in this season. The 2019 playoffs have answered quite a few questions so far:

• Can the Ravens keep it up in the postseason? (No.)

• Will the 49ers' inexperience hurt them? (No.)

• Are the Saints the NFC's best team even though they're the 3-seed? (No.)

• Are the Titans the team no one wants to face? (Clearly, yes.)

But while many questions have been answered, several remain. We have one for each of the four remaining teams:

Is this finally the year for Andy Reid?

Everything sure does seem to be coming up Chiefs right now. They got a bye because Miami knocked off the Patriots in Week 17. They'll host the AFC Championship Game (Sunday, 3:05 p.m. ET, CBS) because the Titans upset the Ravens. And while they looked utterly awful Sunday in a first quarter in which they fell behind 24-0, they looked utterly unstoppable for the remaining three quarters and beat the Texans 51-31.

Patrick Mahomes is the best player remaining in these playoffs, and if a team can spot you 24 points and beat you by 20 in an NFL playoff game, that's as scary a team as we've ever seen. Once the Chiefs' offense gets rolling, it's hard to imagine any team stopping it.

If Steve Spagnuolo's run defense, which was the seventh worst in the league this season but the fifth best over the final six weeks of the regular season, can find a way to slow down Derrick Henry, Reid should find himself in his second Super Bowl with a strong chance to win his first.

Can Derrick Henry keep carrying the Titans?

The Titans' decision to sit a banged-up Henry for a Week 16 game against the Saints that didn't mean anything to their playoff chances looks stunningly good in retrospect. Since that game, Henry has become the first player in NFL history to rush for 180 or more yards in three straight games, and Tennessee has beaten the Texans, Patriots and Ravens in what amounted to elimination games. (Technically, Week 17 didn't turn out to be that for them, but it looked like it was when it started.)

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill is playing well, but little has been asked of him so far this postseason. For the Titans, it's about Henry, the most unstoppable physical force in the game right now. If the Chiefs slip up in the first quarter the way they did Sunday, Henry and the Titans will be far better suited to put them away than the Texans were.

Can Jimmy Garoppolo win the 49ers a playoff game if they need him to?

Garoppolo wasn't very good in his first career playoff start -- a 27-10 victory over the Vikings -- but he didn't have to be. The story of Saturday's game was a dominant defensive effort by the legion of first-round picks in the San Francisco front. It's not unfair to expect the Niners' defense to continue to play at a high level, but if there comes a time when they need to outscore, say, the Packers or the Chiefs in a shootout, Garoppolo remains untested on this particular stage.

The data point on his résumé that tells us he can do this is his four-touchdown effort in Week 14's 48-46 victory over Drew Brees and the Saints in New Orleans. But while that game had a playoff feel, we've learned time and again that the actual playoffs are a different animal. There's no particular reason to doubt Garoppolo's ability to win a playoff game if the 49ers need him to win one, other than the fact that he hasn't yet. But he was definitely shaky Saturday, and Niners fans hope he was just working out some first-playoff-game jitters.

Can the Packers solve the 49ers' defense on their second try?

Longtime Kyle Shanahan assistant Matt LaFleur leads his Packers into San Francisco (Sunday, 6:40 p.m. ET, Fox), where they got absolutely crushed 37-8 in Week 12. Green Bay was 9-for-13 on third-down conversions in Sunday's divisional-round victory over Seattle -- a stark contrast to its 1-for-15 performance on third down in their first meeting with Shanahan's 49ers. The Packers' offense averaged 2.8 yards per play in that game. Aaron Rodgers had 104 passing yards. Aaron Jones had 38 rushing yards. The 49ers' defense had five sacks, and it is coming off a divisional-round victory in which it had six.

If the Packers want to get to the Super Bowl in LaFleur's first season, it will come down to how much his offense learned from the first meeting that can help them stay in the game this time around.

We're down to four teams and three games to determine the Super Bowl champion for the 2019 NFL season.

A wild, divisional-playoff weekend has placed the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium, where the Chiefs will host the Titans. The Titans pulled off a huge upset of the Ravens on Saturday, while the Chiefs mounted a 24-point comeback against the Texans on Sunday.

The NFC Championship Game is at Levi's Stadium, where the 49ers will host the Packers. San Francisco kept Minnesota at bay in its divisional-round matchup, while Green Bay held off Seattle to advance to the final four.

Here's our first look at the conference championship matchups.

Jump to:
TEN-KC | GB-SF

AFC

(6) Tennessee Titans at (2) Kansas City Chiefs

3:05 p.m. ET, Sunday, Jan. 19, CBS | Preview | Tickets
Opening line: KC -7

ESPN Football Power Index projection: KC, 75.1% (by an average of 8.9 points)

What to watch for: Expect plenty of reminders that the Titans won the teams' regular-season meeting in Week 10, a wild, 35-32 back-and-forth in quarterback Patrick Mahomes' first game back for the Chiefs after suffering a knee injury. Kansas City displayed its usual offensive firepower, amassing 530 total yards and 28 first downs. But six of its possessions ended in field goal attempts, and the final two -- a bad snap with 29 seconds left and a block on the final play -- were no good and ultimately the difference in the game. You might also recall that the Titans eliminated the Chiefs in the 2017 wild-card playoff round.

How the Titans win: Find a way to disrupt Mahomes. The Texans had no answer on Sunday; the Chiefs' slow start was due mostly to third-down drops. At this point, giving Mahomes a clean pocket is a surefire ticket to defeat. He will find holes in zone schemes and is now healthy enough to run if no receivers are open against man-to-man coverage.

The Titans weren't a big blitzing team during the regular season, finishing with the NFL's fifth-lowest blitz rate (19.2%). But blitzing isn't usually a good answer for Mahomes. In 2019, he had the NFL's third-best QBR when opponents rushed five or more players (90.5). Instead, the best answer would be to mix and match in a way that keeps the Chiefs off balance and puts Mahomes in difficult downs-and-distances.

How the Chiefs win: Similarly, pressure Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Despite his well-earned credit in turning around the Titans this season, Tannehill was disproportionately vulnerable to strong pass rushes during the regular season. His 3.5 QBR when pressured was the NFL's fourth lowest. He took 31 sacks in 89 dropbacks when pressured. The bet would be that Titans running back Derrick Henry won't be able to carry the offense if the Chiefs can take away Tannehill's big plays.

X factor: Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. A dominant divisional-round game against the Texans -- 10 receptions, 134 yards and three touchdowns -- came with a price. Kelce suffered a hamstring injury in the second quarter. He did return to play parts of the second half, but soft-tissue injuries can tighten up and worsen in the hours and days that follow. Kelce's availability and effectiveness mean a lot for Mahomes in critical situations, especially in the red zone.

NFC

(2) Green Bay Packers at (1) San Francisco 49ers

6:40 p.m. ET, Sunday, Jan. 19, Fox | Preview | Tickets
Opening line: SF -7

ESPN Football Power Index projection: SF, 71.9% (by an average of 7.6 points)

What to watch for: The 49ers demolished the Packers in the teams' Week 12 matchup in San Francisco. The 49ers led 23-0 at halftime and cruised to a 37-8 victory. They sacked Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers five times and held him to 104 passing yards -- on 20 completions. Can they do it again?

How the Packers win: To beat the No. 1 seed on the road, they'll need Hall of Fame-level play from either their quarterback, their running back or both. That's what led the Packers to the Super Bowl in 2010: superior play from Rodgers and balance from tailback James Starks.

Rodgers looked sharp and was in control for most of Sunday's victory over the Seahawks, a step in the right direction after a less spectacular regular season than we are used to seeing from him. But Rodgers will face a more disruptive defense against the 49ers, and the Packers will need tailback Aaron Jones to keep San Francisco off balance so that Rodgers can do his thing. Don't forget: The 49ers allowed 124.2 rushing yards per game in the regular season, eighth most in the NFL.

How the 49ers win: Play to their strength. Not even a rejuvenated Rodgers can withstand a team that can dominate up front. The 49ers' defensive line was largely responsible for the dismantling of the Vikings, sacking quarterback Kirk Cousins six times and helping limit Minnesota to seven first downs. If the Niners can collapse the pocket at the same frequency against the Packers, they'll make it very difficult for Rodgers, Jones or anyone else to be able to run the offense.

X factor: 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman. Sherman has fully returned from his 2017 Achilles tear and is once against a shutdown, big-play cornerback. If the 49ers can use Sherman to blanket Packers receiver Davante Adams, they'll have quite an advantage in strategizing against the rest of the Green Bay offense.

TORONTO -- Before the Raptors faced the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday at Scotiabank Arena, Raptors coach Nick Nurse was concerned about Pascal Siakam needing to shake off several weeks' worth of rust in his first game back from a groin injury.

"I think it'll be a challenge, to be honest with you," Nurse said.

Unfortunately for Nurse -- and the Raptors -- he was proved right.

Siakam got off to a hot start, scoring 12 points in the first quarter and 14 in the first half, before fading in the second half. He missed all five of his shots after the break -- including a possible game-tying layup with 19.2 seconds remaining and a potential winning 3-pointer at the buzzer -- as the Raptors blew an 18-point second-half lead and lost 105-104 to the Spurs.

"I feel like I kind of lost my rhythm a little bit," Siakam said after going 6-for-17 from the field and finishing with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in 30 minutes. "Eventually, I'll be better with that, but first time back out there, I think I did a decent job. I felt I could have been way more aggressive, so I'll be waiting to be more aggressive and just try to find my rhythm in a better way [and] learn from it."

Siakam and Norman Powell, who also made his return from a lengthy absence due to a shoulder injury, each were on strict minutes limits on Sunday. Although both said after the game that they felt good, there was nothing good about how the Raptors played in the second half.

For the first 30 minutes or so, it looked as if the Raptors wouldn't have a problem with the Spurs, who have beaten the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics and Toronto in the span of a week -- with the latter two victories coming on the road -- and are percentage points behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

But after Toronto took a 74-56 lead with 4:16 to go in the third quarter, the Spurs outscored the Raptors 49-30 the rest of the way, including a 27-4 run in the fourth, to stun Toronto three weeks after the Raptors came back from 30 points down to beat the Dallas Mavericks.

That this loss comes just five days after the Raptors blew a 14-point lead at home against the Portland Trail Blazers only made it sting more.

"We stopped playing," said Kyle Lowry, who had 16 points and 15 assists. "We stopped being aggressive. We stopped being assertive. They got more aggressive. They got faster, and we missed shots too. A lot happened, and it was all spiraling downhill.

"[We were] just not playing with the extreme confidence that we should have been. Not getting defensive stops and kind of playing lackadaisical."

One person who wasn't lackadaisical in that second half was former Raptor DeMar DeRozan, playing in his second game back in Toronto since he was traded in exchange for Kawhi Leonard 18 months ago. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, the last time the Raptors lost a game after leading by as many as 18 points was last season against the Detroit Pistons in Toronto, which marked ex-Raptors coach Dwane Casey's first game back against his former team.

DeRozan scored 22 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, with 18 of them coming after the Spurs fell behind by 18 in the third, including a slam dunk right over Raptors forward Chris Boucher.

"I played against [Boucher] this summer in the gym, and I didn't know who he was, and he was blocking every shot," DeRozan said. "So I told myself, once I seen him down there, I was going to go to the basket, be aggressive and at least try to get fouled.

"I did and dunked it."

For his part, Boucher said plays such as that are part of the business of being a shot-blocker.

"I was just trying to block the shot, really," Boucher said, adding that those pickup games DeRozan referenced were at UCLA. "I'm a shot-blocker, so you get some, and you miss some. That's one I was trying to get. I was trying to block it, and I didn't.

"I've blocked a thousand shots. It's going to happen. I think everybody knows that's what I do. He got me this time. I might get him the next time."

The same could be said of the Raptors as a whole after yet another tough loss -- Toronto's sixth defeat in its past 10 games after a 21-8 start. Now that the Raptors are beginning to get healthy -- including the possibility of Marc Gasol coming back from a hamstring strain on Wednesday at the Oklahoma City Thunder -- they hope that the problems they saw this week against Portland and San Antonio will be remedied soon.

"I think that normally our fourth-quarter defense is great," Nurse said, "but it wasn't tonight, and it wasn't against Portland the other night, and we kind of let the star guys do the damage, and that's not really what was happening throughout the game, right? So we've just got to be able to sustain that over some extended time, and that's probably a little harder to do with a lot of people in and out of the lineup.

"The consistency thing gets jolted every time two guys come in and out, I think, and that will even itself out here."

NEW YORK -- Kyrie Irving is back for the Brooklyn Nets, and his impact was immediate.

Irving had 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting to go with four rebounds and three assists, leading the Nets to a 108-86 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday at Barclays Center. He shot a career-best 90.9% from the field. Although he played only 20 minutes, Brooklyn had a plus-22 point differential while he was on the court.

"I love the game, man," Irving said in his walk-off interview afterward. "I missed it so much."

Irving was sidelined for 26 games due to a right shoulder injury. He recently returned to practice, and Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said pregame that the point guard would start.

"He is a phenomenal offensive player," teammate Spencer Dinwiddie said. "And we didn't exactly play the Legion of Boom."

Indeed, the last-place Hawks didn't present a much of an obstacle, but Irving was prepared regardless. Three hours before tipoff, he was on the court shooting. He took jump shots and 3-pointers, whizzed around the court exercising his famous handles and practiced free throws.

By the looks of his pregame warm-up, bystanders wouldn't have been able to guess that Irving hadn't played since mid-November because of an impingement. He released shots without a hitch, even though his shooting arm required a cortisone shot last month.

Once the game tipped, the only shot that he missed was his first.

Irving said last week that surgery could still be a consideration if there was no improvement, but he took part in full workouts during the week, gaining the confidence of Atkinson and his staff.

His effort helped Brooklyn to a second straight win following a season-high, seven-game losing streak, and a renewed vigor was present from the team, both on the floor and on the bench.

"I mean, I just work on my game diligently, but you know you have nights like this," Irving said.

Atlanta played without Trae Young, who has a left hamstring injury. Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce said his second-year star received treatment Saturday but still felt soreness. Brandon Goodwin started in Young's place and had eight points, four rebounds and two steals.

The Hawks' decision kept the fans from a Young-Irving matchup, the two Eastern Conference leaders at guard in fan voting for the All-Star Game.

Without Irving this season, the Nets are 13-13. Dinwiddie, who moved from the sixth man slot to starting point guard in Irving's absence, started alongside Irving, finishing with seven points and eight assists. The Nets had never started the two together. Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince and Joe Harris also started. Typically, the Nets exercise extreme caution when it comes to bringing back injured players. Caris LeVert, who missed nearly seven weeks due to a thumb injury, was a starter before his surgery in mid-November. Sunday marked his fourth game back, and he has yet to start. LeVert had 13 points vs. the Hawks.

"We treat every player individually," Atkinson said pregame. "I can just say, yes, we are conservative, but we are about player care first and foremost."

In the locker room postgame, teammates marveled at Irving's shot efficiency. Wilson Chandler said he thought it was the "best return after an extended injury this season, alongside Paul George." Dzanan Musa mused that this is why the Nets committed such a large contract to Irving: "He's that good!"

The Nets have back-to-back games, hosting Utah on Tuesday and traveling to Philadelphia on Wednesday. Irving said he expects to play in both games.

Free-agent left-hander Alex Wood has agreed to a one-year, $4 million deal to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported.

"We back," Wood tweeted after news of the deal broke, adding the hashtag "ComebackSZN."

We back @Dodgers #ComebackSZN

— Alex Wood (@Awood45) January 13, 2020

Wood, who turned 29 on Sunday, can earn an additional $6 million through incentives, according to Passan.

The Athletic first reported the terms of the deal.

Wood was limited to just seven starts for the Cincinnati Reds last season because of a nagging, season-long back injury and finished with a 1-3 record and 5.80 ERA.

Wood was part of the December 2018 trade that brought outfielders Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp to Cincinnati from the Dodgers. He made one spring training start before his back tightened and eventually forced him to the injured list for four months, and he didn't make his season debut until July 28.

Wood was 9-7 with a 3.68 ERA for the Dodgers in 27 starts and six relief appearances in 2018, when he also went 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in nine relief appearances during the Dodgers' run to the World Series. That followed his best year in the majors, when he was 16-3 with a 2.72 ERA in 25 starts and two relief appearances and made his first All-Star team. He had 151 strikeouts and 38 walks in 152⅓ innings that season.

Wood's career record is 53-43 with a 3.40 ERA. A second-round draft pick in 2012, Wood broke in with the Atlanta Braves in 2013.

The Dodgers' rotation currently features Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw and Kenta Maeda as locks; Wood will compete for a spot alongside the likes of Jimmy Nelson, Ross Stripling, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin and Julio Urias.

Los Angeles' additions this offseason have all been low-cost pitchers -- former Oakland Athletics reliever Blake Treinen, Nelson and now Wood.

ESPN's Alden Gonzalez contributed to this report.

MALIBU, Calif. -- The sign-stealing scandal that has engulfed Major League Baseball throughout the offseason centers mostly on two teams, the 2017 Houston Astros and the 2018 Boston Red Sox. An obvious link -- the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Dodgers, coming off seven straight division titles but still in search of the franchise's first championship since 1988, lost to both clubs in back-to-back World Series. And while no course of action will change the reality of consecutive runner-up finishes, perhaps a harsh punishment can provide the Dodgers with some semblance of vindication.

"Honestly, we're curious to see what happens," Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger said Sunday. "It sucks, man. We were close, but we did it the right way."

The Red Sox and Astros reportedly did not, prompting an MLB investigation that could yield severe penalties. The Red Sox used their video replay room to decipher signs from opposing catchers, which were then relayed to baserunners who could inform hitters which pitch was coming, according to an initial report by The Athletic last week. The Astros set up a monitor just outside their dugout to steal signs and banged on trash cans to alert hitters when an off-speed pitch was coming.

Both practices apparently took place after a Sept. 15, 2017, league-wide memo in which MLB commissioner Rob Manfred warned teams of "more serious sanctions" if similar practices continued. Two anonymous sources told The Athletic that the Astros continued with their system during a postseason run that saw them go 8-1 at Minute Maid Park, though another source denied its extension into October 2017. The Red Sox allegedly used technology to steal signs the following season, though sources told The Athletic that they were unable to do so during the playoffs.

The Dodgers lost to the Astros in seven games, then to the Red Sox in five. Asked if the use of technology to steal signs extends beyond the Red Sox and Astros, Bellinger said: "I think it's gotta come to an end unless it's gonna be a disaster. I think we have to do something about it."

Bellinger was attending the second annual celebrity softball game at Pepperdine University in support of the California Strong foundation, which sprouted in the wake of last year's local wildfires and aims to provide financial assistance to those affected by natural disasters. Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton, Rams quarterback Jared Goff, mixed martial artist Chuck Liddell and actors Adam Sandler and Rob Lowe helped make up a star-studded guest list for an event that raised more than $500,000.

Bellinger's presence was symbolic of his fast friendship with Milwaukee Brewers star Christian Yelich, who started the initiative alongside Ryan Braun and Mike Moustakas. Yelich was named National League MVP in 2018 and finished second to Bellinger in 2019. The two became close while shooting a popular MLB commercial about their friendly rivalry last summer and stayed in touch throughout the season.

"He was actually crashing at my house this weekend," Yelich said. "We've been real good friends. That surprises people for some reason. I don't know why people are so shocked to see us out to dinner or just hanging around town. They feel like we're supposed to not like each other or something. I don't really know why. It's a fun rivalry, for sure. We're both competitors, but we're definitely friends as well."

Yelich missed the final three weeks of the 2019 season because of a broken kneecap -- he's fully recovered now -- and watched Bellinger finish his MVP campaign with a 1.035 OPS and 47 home runs. Bellinger joined Johnny Bench, Fred Lynn and Dustin Pedroia as the only players to win a Gold Glove, Rookie of the Year and MVP before turning 25, then set a record for a first-year arbitration-eligible player with an $11.5 million contract for 2020.

In the meantime, his Dodgers have been awfully quiet, adding only three low-cost pitchers in Blake Treinen, Jimmy Nelson and, more recently, Alex Wood. Bellinger is, like most everyone else, waiting for the Dodgers to secure a star player. But he doesn't necessarily believe they need one.

"We won 106 games last year," he said. "We've got a good team."

The Dodgers' 106-win season ended abruptly in the National League Division Series, when they lost in five games to the Washington Nationals. It marked the fourth consecutive year that the Dodgers were eliminated by the eventual World Series champions.

Two of those teams might have cheated to get there.

"We could've won it if things could've gone our way," Bellinger said of the 2017 and '18 World Series. "But it is what it is, man. You really can't look back on it anymore. We'll see what happens, what Manfred wants to do. We'll see."

The ATP will donate £383,000 to the bushfire relief efforts in Australia.

This gesture on behalf of the governing body of men's tennis was announced by Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal after the ATP Cup team final in Sydney.

The money will be split between the WWF Australian Wildlife and the Nature Recovery Fund.

"This donation is on behalf of all the players," said Djokovic, president of the ATP Player Council. "Our thoughts and prayers go to all those affected."

Djokovic inspired Serbia to victory in the inaugural competition as his singles win over Nadal helped his country beat Spain 2-1.

He added: "Australia is such an amazing and welcoming country and it feels like home for us at the start of each season. To see the damage to wildlife and nature has been devastating."

Several players have already pledged personal donations towards relief efforts as part of the #Aces4BushRelief campaign.

Serena Williams donated her earnings after winning the Auckland Classic, and she along with Nadal, Roger Federer and local favourite Nick Kyrgios will take part in the Rally4Relief exhibition in Melbourne on Wednesday to raise money before the Australian Open.

Kyrgios had already announced that he would donate 200 Australian dollars (£106) for every ace he hits this season.

Former Australia cricketer Shane Warne raised over £500,000 by auctioning off his 'baggy green' cap, and he and former Australia captain Ricky Ponting will captain opposing sides in a special Twenty20 game on 8 February.

And current Australia spinner Nathan Lyon donated £5,300 for the 10 wickets he took in Australia's win over New Zealand in the recent Sydney Test match.