LOS ANGELES -- Amid a renaissance start to the season for both the Los Angeles Lakers as a successful franchise and LeBron James as a dominant player, James says he has no plans to miss games due to load management in anticipation of a postseason run.

"If I'm hurt, I don't play. If not, I'm playing," James told ESPN as he knocked on the wooden façade of his locker after the Lakers' 95-80 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. "That's what has always been my motto."

Load management is a hot topic in the NBA after James' Staples Center cohabitant, Kawhi Leonard of the LA Clippers, sat out a nationally televised game for the second consecutive week on Wednesday.

James, six years Leonard's senior and coming off the first major injury of his 17-year career last season when he suffered a torn groin, remains committed to suiting up whenever possible.

Both games that Leonard sat out were part of a back-to-back situation, with Leonard playing the other leg.

James did not want to address how his plan differs from that of Leonard, whom the league determined had a legitimate reason to sit out as he continues to manage an ongoing injury to the patella tendon in his left knee.

"LeBron's healthy, LeBron'll play. That's all I'll talk about," James said. "I don't talk about nobody else but me."

James had 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range, with six assists and four rebounds in Friday's win.

The Lakers, off to a 7-1 start thanks in large part to James' influence, are scheduled for their first back-to-back next week.

"There's a back-to-back Tuesday-Wednesday? Phoenix, [then] back home against Golden State? I'll be ready to go," James said. "What do you mean, 'How am I going to handle it?'"

There has been internal discussion within the Lakers' coaching and training staff about how to find time to rest James, sources told ESPN. But James, who turns 35 next month, is loath to accept it.

"Talk to my coaches," James said. "You know how many times me and T-Lue (Tyronn Lue) got into it in Cleveland when he wanted to sit me and I wanted to play.

"I'm healthy, I play. I probably got a good 45 years to not play basketball."

Lakers coach Frank Vogel, who accepted the job after negotiations with Lue this summer broke down, said the team plans to protect James from overwork "every way we can."

"Whether it's off days in practice or minimize his minutes, minimize his load," Vogel said after practice Thursday. "There's some things built in scheme-wise that require him to do -- to pass some guys off at certain times. Every way we can."

James entered Friday's game averaging 26.1 points, a league-best 11.1 assists and 8.3 rebounds. He had three-straight triple-doubles on the Lakers' 3-0 road trip to tie the longest triple-double streak of his career.

Moreover, his defensive effort has helped the Lakers leap to the top of the league in defensive efficiency in the early going.

"The guy is incredible," Vogel said Friday after James and the Lakers held the Heat to only 34 points in the second half. "He's giving it all to this team and really impacting both ends of the floor. The biggest impact probably is how he is setting a tone. He's setting a tone for our group with how hard he is playing on defense, how willing he is to pass the basketball offensively and obviously he's got the ability to make big shots in the clutch. So, the guy is just incredible."

Friday's win earned James and the rest of his team off from Saturday's scheduled practice -- that's one way to build in time off his feet.

And the win provided a platform to explain the "washed king" hashtag James has embraced on social media, as he has leaned into those who doubted his place in the game heading into this season.

"It's just my personal motivation," James said. "I'm extra motivated to put myself into the position where I know I belong.

"So, it's my personal motivation every single night I step on the floor to be great. I know the summer that I had. I know the rehab that I had with my groin."

James pointed to his experience shooting "Space Jam 2" this summer to explain his commitment to the Lakers.

"I shot 'Space Jam' for three months all summer. My call time every morning was at 6:30 in the morning and I was in the gym at like 3:30, 4 o'clock in the morning before shooting for 12, 13, 14 hours," James said. "So, I just know how much I put into my craft, I know what the main thing is. Even when I was shooting the movie, I know what was most important. And that's me getting ready for the fall, and I always had that in the front of my mind. So it's just my personal pressure that I'm putting on myself. Which is, I don't really believe in pressure much, but I believe in myself and I know what I'm capable of."

James was then asked how much of his motivation was drawn directly from others using the actual term "washed" to describe him in his mid-30s.

"Well, I don't know, man," James said. "Meet me at the cleaners."

A remarkable innings from skipper Jess Duffin guided Melbourne Renegades to a five-wicket win in a last-ball thriller against Hobart Hurricanes at Junction Oval.

The Renegades had slumped to 3 for 12 in the chase of 151, having lost international stars Tammy Beaumont and Danni Wyatt in the space of three balls. But Duffin took control, making 75 from 49 balls with eight fours and four sixes. She shared in a 42-run stand with Josie Dooley, who contributed just 8, before putting on 78 with Courtney Webb. The pair reduced the equation to 20 off 20 when Duffin fell. Webb was out to a superb return catch by Nicola Carey in the last over, but Georgia Wareham and Maitlin Brown scrounged the three runs needed from the last three balls to win the match.

Earlier, Corinne Hall had made an excellent unbeaten 50 in a key 82-run stand with Fran Wilson (45) to help Hobart overcome a poor start to post 5 for 150.

Perth Scorchers bowler Heather Graham held her nerve to secure a two-run win in another last-ball thriller at Karen Rolton Oval to deny Bridget Patterson stealing victory for the Adelaide Strikers.

The home side had been set 174 to win after England batter Amy Jones and Australia captain Meg Lanning smashed half-centuries during a 141-run opening partnership. Jones finished with 80 from 58 balls while Lanning made 64 from 50.

The game looked beyond the Strikers' reach when Sophie Devine was bowled by Nat Sciver for 58. The Strikers needed 42 from 20 balls after that, but Patterson nearly pulled off a miracle. She made her highest WBBL score, clubbing six fours and three sixes in her 60.

Graham had 11 runs to defend in the final over. She had Lauren Winfield dropped first ball before Patterson pulled her through square leg for a boundary. Graham conceded just two singles from the next three balls leaving Patterson with four to win from the last. She couldn't find the rope and was run out trying for a second.

A disciplined bowling display from the Brisbane Heat helped them defeat Sydney Sixers for the second time this season at North Sydney Oval.

Just a week after their record-breaking partnership, Alyssa Healy and Ellyse Perry were both dismissed cheaply in the powerplay. Sammy-Jo Johnson bowled Healy with a peach while Perry was adjudged lbw to a ball that darted a long way off the seam from Delissa Kimmince.

Johnson delivered her four overs for just 11 runs and Jess Jonassen bagged 2 for 20 from her four overs as the Sixers struggled to 7 for 123.

The Heat cruised to victory in the chase, winning with 19 balls to spare and seven wickets in hand. Jonassen top-scored with 33 in a superb all-round effort but there were even contributions from the Heat's top five.

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Stewart Friesen thought he had led the first lap of Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150 at ISM Raceway in Phoenix.

He was wrong.

After being penalizd for jumping the start of the race, Friesen rallied to lead the lap that counted most — the last one — and secured a spot in next weekend’s championship race with the second NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series victory of the season and his career.

“We’ve got a badass piece for next week, too,” promised Friesen, who will try for the title next Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Friesen will have to contend with defending series champion Brett Moffitt, who locked himself into the Championship 4 after finishing ninth in the second stage of Friday night’s race.

Ross Chastain also gained a berth in the title race with a 14-place finish, and two-time series champion Matt Crafton claimed the final spot after finishing sixth — and edging pole winner Austin Hill (13th) — by six points for the final spot.

After the fifth and final caution of the evening for a wreck in turn three involving Sam Mayer and John Hunter Nemechek, Friesen charged into the lead past Brandon Jones and Ben Rhodes and led the final 44 circuits.

It was no cakewalk, though. With five laps left, Jones made a last-ditch run to the inside of Friesen, but couldn’t get past the No. 52 Chevrolet. Friesen pulled away on the last two laps to beat Jones to the finish line by .860 seconds.

“It was a great race car,” said Friesen, who was sent to the rear of the field after getting to the stripe ahead of Hill, who spun his tires on the initial start. “We were able to pass ‘em all, pass ‘em all clean,” said Friesen.

“Great race car, great race team. We’ll all celebrate tomorrow, and then it’s game on.”

Moffitt came to Phoenix with the series lead and was first to clinch a spot in the final race. But the driver of the No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet, who won last year’s championship driving for Hattori Racing Enterprises, had two objectives on Friday.

“My main concern for the day was getting us locked into the owner points as well,” Moffitt said. “We got both jobs done today.”

Chastain finished with a 13-point margin over Hill, who lost ground to Crafton on the lap 107 restart and never recovered. Chastain didn’t declare for the Truck Series championship until nine races into the season but qualified for the Championship 4 nevertheless.

“Man, this is crazy — a dream come true though,” Chastain said.

Crafton came to Phoenix nine points behind Hill but made up most of the deficit with 17 points combined in the first two stages.

“I didn’t have anything to lose and everything to gain,” Crafton said. “And that’s the way I drove it from the green flag to the checkered flag.”

Hill joined fellow Toyota driver Tyler Ankrum on the sidelines for the final race. Ankrum suffered early damage and finished 26th, six laps down. Hill simply didn’t have any juice on the restarts.

“We just didn’t have any short-run speed,” Hill said. “I hate it for my guys. I just couldn’t do anything on the restarts. The front end would slide, the rear would slide, and during that last long green-flag run, it was terrible.

“I hate that we finished where we did, especially after qualifying from the pole. I definitely had high hopes for the race after qualifying on the pole and showing speed in second practice. We’ll move on to Homestead and regroup for next year.”

Chandler Smith finished third, followed by Rhodes and Grant Enfinger. Crafton, Harrison Burton, Johnny Sauter, Chastain and Moffitt completed the top 10.

For complete results, advance to the next page.

CONCORD, N.C. – David Gravel took a golden World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory home from Friday night’s portion of the Can-Am World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

Gravel raced to his milestone 50th series win by leading all but one of 25 laps around a largely rubbered-down four-tenths-mile dirt oval.

The Watertown, Conn., native started on the pole after winning his DIRTvision Fast Pass Dash earlier in the night and weathered a mid-race challenge from Aaron Reutzel to take home the trophy.

Though Reutzel drove underneath Gravel to lead on the 12th revolution, a slowing Dave Blaney coming off turn two on lap 13 allowed Gravel to cut to the bottom and retake the lead as Reutzel broke momentum and dropped from first to fourth.

From there, Gravel never looked back and held off a closing Donny Schatz in the waning moments to collect his 11th Outlaw win of the season, tying Schatz for the second-most wins on tour in 2019.

Friday night’s performance was Gravel’s second-career World Finals win and second win overall at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. His last win at the track came in the World Finals finale two years ago.

“We had a couple goals, and I really wanted to get to (win) No. 50 this year,” Gravel said. “That is one of my accomplishments I wanted to check off. I couldn’t do it without this team. … We’ve still got one more race to go, and hopefully we can sweep the weekend, but this is a good start.

“I got a couple lucky breaks,” Gravel added. “I made a mistake there getting into lapped traffic, and Reutzel passed me, but luckily he went high and Dave Blaney went high – and the bottom opened up and I was able to get the lead back.”

The lone caution of the race waved with nine to go, when Gio Scelzi spun to a stop at the bottom of the second corner, opening the door for those behind Gravel to potentially pounce on the restart.

Schatz did that to an extent when the green flag waved, slicing past Schuchart to take the second position, but he could do nothing with Gravel as the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41 raced away down the stretch.

“It got close – we were just not good enough,” Schatz said. “That’s how it goes some days. We’ll do our best tomorrow. We’ve got one more day to go, and we’ll just make the best of it.”

With Schatz finishing second and point leader Brad Sweet coming home fifth, Schatz was able to cut Sweet’s cushion to a scant two markers going into the final night of the season on Saturday.

Under that scenario, both drivers control their own destinies. Schatz wins the title by coming home victorious on Saturday night – since the difference between first and second is four points – while Sweet takes home the title by finishing within one position of Schatz, as long as Schatz doesn’t win the race.

Logan Schuchart filled out the podium, followed by Reutzel, who faded to fourth at the finish.

Sweet, Sheldon Haudenschild, Brian Brown, Kerry Madsen, Paul McMahan and Carson Macedo were the balance of the top 10.

To view complete race results, advance to the next page.

Steven Smith and Pat Cummins will line up for New South Wales in their Sheffield Shield contest against Western Australia at the SCG on Monday but David Warner has been rested ahead of the first Test against Pakistan.

Cummins was rested from Australia's last T20I against Pakistan in Perth, but will return to first-class cricket for the first time since the Ashes as he prepares for another big Test summer.

Cummins' inclusion means WA is likely to face the same Test attack Australia fielded at Old Trafford against England, of Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon.

Smith and Warner played in the first two Shield games of the season for NSW and both of them scored centuries then. Now, while Smith will be in action against WA, Warner will take the game off to spend time with his family after dominating Australia's six T20Is with scores of 100*, 60*, 57*, 2*, 20 and 48*.

However, the break does mean that his four Shield innings against Queensland and Tasmania last month, where he recorded scores of 0 and 1 along with his 125 and 15*, will be his only first-class innings between his incredibly lean Ashes series and his first Test on home soil since January 2018.

WA allrounder Cameron Green is set to play as a batsman only following his maiden Shield century against Queensland. Green pulled up sore from his 16 overs in that match and will only bat against NSW as part of his ongoing bowling workload management.

Australia's T20 representatives Ashton Turner and Ashton Agar return for WA with Turner taking over the captaincy from Shaun Marsh, while regular skipper Mitchell Marsh continues to recover after breaking his hand.

Cameron Bancroft, meanwhile has been called up to the Australia A team after Nic Maddinson's withdrawal.

Test skipper Tim Paine is set to return for Tasmania against South Australia after being rested from the win over Victoria in Hobart last week, and Ben McDermott also returns from international duty. Jake Lehmann will captain the Redbacks in the absence of Travis Head and Alex Carey, while Joe Mennie has overcome a hamstring injury and will play his first Shield match of the season.

Australia's T20I skipper Aaron Finch will play for Victoria against Queensland at the MCG but the home side will be depleted with the loss of Marcus Harris, Will Pucovski and Maddinson. James Pattinson returns after being rested last week.

Former Test opener Matthew Renshaw returns for Queensland after missing the game against WA due to gastro issues. Queensland are missing skipper Usman Khawaja, Joe Burns and Michael Neser because of their Australia A duties. Jimmy Peirson will lead the Bulls in Khawaja's absence.

With its 143-49 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Friday night, Utah set the NCAA record for the largest scoring margin against a Division I opponent since the NCAA tournament was introduced in the 1938-39 season.

The 94-point win broke the previous margin-of-victory mark of 91, set by Tulsa against Prairie View in December 1995.

Utah also broke some school records: 143 points shattered a mark that had stood since 1960, when the Utes scored 132 points against Evansville. Utah's 73-point second half set a record for points in a half, surpassing the 71-point first half the Utes also had against Evansville.

Timmy Allen scored 26 points on 9-of-11 shooting to pace the host Utes (2-0). Both Gach and Rylan Jones each had a triple-double, with Gach totaling 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and Jones finishing with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. The triple-doubles were Utah's first since Alex Jensen did it in 1999.

Utah is the first team in the past 20 seasons to have two different players with triple-doubles in the same game, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

Utah got out to a quick lead with a 9-2 advantage early in the contest. The Utes made another push in the middle of the first half after the Delta Devils (0-2) cut the margin to 15-9 on a Michael Green jumper, spurring a 25-4 Utah run over the next five minutes to extend the Utes' lead to 40-13 and essentially put the game out of reach.

Jaxon Brenchley and Gach were instrumental in the run. Brenchley hit back-to-back 3-pointers to spark the Utah scoring push, while Gach tallied seven points during the run.

By halftime, Utah was up by 50 and had scored 70 points on 63% shooting while holding Mississippi Valley State to 20% from the field.

It was more of the same in the second half as Utah broke the century mark with 12:29 to go in the game. The Utes broke the school record for most points in a game with 2:54 left in the contest.

Utah had more dunks (26) than Mississippi Valley State had field goals (21).

In the end, Utah only tied the school record for largest margin of victory against any opponent -- the Utes also beat Salt Lake High School by 94 points in 1913.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Andrew Wiggins scored 40 points, hitting the tying basket late in regulation, and the Minnesota Timberwolves overcame D'Angelo Russell's career-high 52 points to beat the Golden State Warriors 125-119 in overtime Friday night.

Russell and the Warriors led 110-106 with 29 seconds left in regulation. But after two free throws by Karl-Anthony Towns and a forced jump ball by Robert Covington, Wiggins tied it on a drive with 5.6 seconds left. Russell's 3-pointer at the buzzer missed.

In overtime, Wiggins hit a clinching 3 with 23 seconds left to help the Timberwolves snap a two-game losing streak.

Towns battled through foul trouble to score 20 points and grab 14 rebounds. Covington had 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Alec Burks scored 18 points off the bench for the Warriors. They have lost five of six.

Russell had missed the previous three games for injury-depleted Golden State with a sprained right ankle. His return gave the Warriors their seventh different starting lineup in nine games. His previous career high was 44 points.

Three fouls limited Towns to seven points on five shots in 10 first-half minutes. That, along with 17 points from Russell, helped the Warriors to a 61-60 lead at halftime.

Golden State was 20-for-20 from the free-throw line in the first half. The Warriors finished the game 23 for 24.

TIP INS

Warriors G Stephen Curry (fractured left wrist), G Klay Thompson (left ACL surgery), F Kevon Looney (neuropathy), F Draymond Green (sprained left index finger) and F Alen Smailagic (right ankle sprain) are out.

Timberwolves point guards Jeff Teague (illness) and Shabazz Napier (right shoulder sprain) missed their second consecutive game. Josh Okogie started Wednesday's loss to Memphis but returned to the bench Friday. He was replaced by Treveon Graham, who started the first six games of the season.

UP NEXT

Warriors: At Oklahoma City on Saturday night.

Timberwolves: Host Denver on Sunday.

NEW ORLEANS -- The Toronto Raptors got out of New Orleans with a victory on the scoreboard, but injuries dealt them a pair of blows.

Kyle Lowry suffered a small fracture in his left thumb and Serge Ibaka suffered a "pretty bad" sprained ankle, coach Nick Nurse said after Friday's 122-104 win over the Pelicans.

Lowry is set to see a hand specialist when the team travels to Los Angeles on Saturday.

It's the same thumb that Lowry had surgery on during the summer to repair torn ligaments, but the fracture is a different issue. Lowry hurt the thumb swiping at the ball on an offensive rebound by Derrick Favors in the first quarter.

He checked out shortly after the injury, but he came back for some time in the second before exiting for good.

"It felt weird from the rip," Lowry said. "I kept playing through it and kept playing through it. Originally we thought it was something in the nailbed because the nailbed turned black and blue. We got some X-rays and we sent the X-rays off to the doctors and there was a small fracture in the thumb."

Lowry finished with six points and five assists and even made a 3-pointer after the injury.

"I thought it was a jam. We thought it could be the nail bed," Lowry said. "It's a little more serious than a nail bed. I'll be fine."

Nurse didn't have a timetable on Lowry's injury and said the team will know more Saturday after Lowry sees the specialist.

Ibaka left in the final minute of the second quarter after turning his right ankle. He left the Smoothie King Center in a walking boot.

The injuries put a bit of a damper on a career night for forward Pascal Siakam, who tied a career best with 44 points. It was his second strong showing against New Orleans, as he had 34 points in the season opener.

Siakam launched a career-high 10 3-point attempts and tied a career best with five makes.

"He's got the green light to make any move he wants at this point," Nurse said. "No, I'm serious, man. We're just trying to get him to see how far he can go here. Drive it, post it, shoot the 3, drive it in transition, play pick-and-roll; we want him to get as many reps as he can."

Lowry said Siakam just continues to get better each night.

"He's evolving into a superstar," Lowry said.

Siakam said he felt like he had more energy and said it was the first time all season his overall energy was good on both sides of the floor.

"It doesn't really matter how many points I scored, but I was more engaged and I did what I usually do," Siakam said.