Big Picture

Perhaps for the first time in 15 years, Bangladesh find themselves under pressure against Zimbabwe at home. During this period, Bangladesh have enjoyed, particularly at home, a heavy advantage in terms of spin-bowling, coupled with the opposition's lack of experience. The loss in the Sylhet Test two years ago was treated as a blip for the home side, and a big occasion in Zimbabwe cricket. But normal service resumed thereafter as Bangladesh bounced back to beat Zimbabwe by 218 runs in the next Test.

The current situation, however, presents a different context for the home side. They have lost their previous six Tests by large margins, which has led changes and shifts in their selection and game plans, and also invited the criticism of their board president three days before the Test. Whether that inspires or demotivates them is going to be one of the aspects to watch in this one-off Test.

Mominul Haque, already described as "soft" by the board chief, is going to lead in his first home Test, an altogether different proposition for the left-hander. Despite the low-visibility nature of this game, it could make or break his captaincy, given the team's recent poor run.

Bangladesh have opted for a bowling line-up comprising two seamers and two spinners. The batting line-up is almost set with Mushfiqur Rahim slotting back into the middle order after missing the Rawalpindi Test.

Zimbabwe, meanwhile, will have to deal with the absence of captain Sean Williams but Brendan Taylor, Sikandar Raza and stand-in captain Craig Ervine will look to provide the backbone for the performance.

Openers Prince Masvaure and Kevin Kasuza give Zimbabwe hope of stability at the top while Donald Tiripano can be expected to lead the bowling attack. This line-up will have good memories of competing well against Sri Lanka recently at home, as they look to pile on more pain on Bangladesh.

Form guide

Bangladesh LLLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)

Zimbabwe DLLWL

In the spotlight

Abu Jayed has quietly cemented his position in the Test side, having become only the second Bangladesh pace bowler with 20 wickets in the last five years. He was accurate against Pakistan in the Rawalpindi Test, and earned praise from the senior players for his ability to bowl with a genuine outswing with both the new and old ball.

Sikandar Raza comes into this Test match fresh from a seven-wicket haul against Sri Lanka in Harare last month. He had also led the Zimbabwe attack in their Test win over Bangladesh in Sylhet two years ago, with a match haul of six wickets. Raza will have a crucial role to play with the bat, too, specially in the absence of Sean Williams in the middle-order.

Team news

Mushfiqur Rahim and Mehidy Hasan are automatic choices to replace Mahmudullah and Rubel Hossain from the previous Test XI. Bangladesh are set to field two seamers in Ebadot Hossain and Abu Jayed, with Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan making up the spin department.

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Saif Hassan, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Mominul Haque (capt), 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Mohammad Mithun, 7 Liton Das (wk), 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Taijul Islam, 10 Ebadot Hossain, 11 Abu Jayed

Zimbabwe could just make one change from the side that drew against Sri Lanka last month, with Timycen Maruma taking the place of the absent captain Sean Williams.

Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Prince Masvaure, 2 Kevin Kasuza, 3 Craig Ervine (capt), 4 Brendan Taylor, 5 Sikandar Raza, 6 Regis Chakabva (wk), 7 Timycen Maruma, 8 Carl Mumba, 9 Tinotenda Mutombodzi, 10 Donald Tiripano, 11 Victor Nyauchi

Pitch and conditions

Traditionally a spinners' paradise, the Shere Bangla National Stadium pitch is unlikely to be any different despite the home team picking several pace bowlers in their squad. The weather is expected to stay clear during these five days in Dhaka.

Stats and Trivia

• This will be the 100th international match between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

• A 10-wicket haul will give Mehidy Hasan 100 Test wickets.

• Sikandar Raza's 7-113 is the second best bowling figures by a Zimbabwe bowler in Tests.

Quotes

"2018 is history. We have come into this Test having played back-to-back Tests. The players are more in the game time. I am sure we will have a very good competition. As my captain said, Bangladesh is very strong at home. But it doesn't take away anything from us, and we will give them a run for their money," Zimbabwe coach Lalchand Rajput.

Australia were cruising at 2 for 67 chasing 133 with Alyssa Healy rolling on 51 from just 34 balls. Poonam Yadav didn't bowl in the first nine overs and Healy hit her fourth ball for six over long-on. But the legspinner changed the game with a dazzling spell. She bamboozled Australia's much-vaunted middle order to take 4 for 19 and guide India to victory. She nearly took a hat-trick with Taniya Bhatia dropping a tough caught-behind chance from Jess Jonassen. Here is how Alex Malcolm and Deivarayan Muthu described the action on ESPNcricinfo's ball-by-ball commentary.

9.5 Poonam Yadav to Healy, OUT, caught and bowled! Just a 63kph leg break does the trick. This was a better length, Healy came down to it but wasn't to the pitch, tried to work to long-on, closed the face, got a leading edge and it floated back to Yadav!
AJ Healy c & b Poonam Yadav 51 (35b 6x4 1x6) SR: 145.71

11.3 Poonam Yadav to Haynes, OUT, Poonam strikes another blow! Lobs up a wrong'un, it lures the batter out and goes past the outside edge. Delightful flight and India are back in this. Bhatia continues her fine shift behind the stumps
RL Haynes st †Bhatia b Poonam Yadav 6 (8b 0x4 0x6) SR: 75.00

11.4 Poonam Yadav to Perry, OUT, Poonam is on a roll, she sends back Perry for a golden duck. She lobs up another wrong'un, Perry dares to step out. She is done in by the variation. Poonam sneaks through the gate and hits leg stump. What a double-strike from Poonam
EA Perry b Poonam Yadav 0 (1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00

11.5 Poonam Yadav to Jonassen, no run, Nearly a hat-trick for Poonam. Bhatia, the keeper, drops it in the end. Fairly difficult chance for the keeper. Poonam lobs up another googly, draws an outside edge as the batter pushes away from the body, the keeper follows the ball, but it pops out of the gloves

13.5 Poonam Yadav to Jonassen, OUT, 58kph, tossed up on middle and breaks away sharply, yet another wrong'un. She finds the edge again. Top work from Bhatia this time, after denying Poonam the hat-trick in her previous over. She snaffles it and sends Jonassen back. She dared to sweep against the break and paid the price
JL Jonassen c †Bhatia b Poonam Yadav 2 (6b 0x4 0x6) SR: 33.33

Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo wants to act as a conduit between the players and the BCB president who openly criticised the Bangladesh players recently in the media, and gave them strict instructions to tell him everything about team affairs. Domingo and captain Mominul Haque had to field several questions about the statements made by BCB chief Nazmul Hassan, with both offering smiles and trying to deflect the matter.

On Tuesday, Hassan said that the team management must inform him of their intentions and game plans, including the exact batting line-up the day before. They cannot change their plans once he is informed, he said. Hassan also said that he has no confidence in the team beating Zimbabwe in the one-off Test starting Saturday, mainly because they lost to Afghanistan in September.

It elicited a strong reaction among the fans in Bangladesh, with many accusing Hassan of being too hands-on with his approach with the team. Domingo, however, defused the questions in the pre-match press conference.

"Remember, I come from South Africa, a lot of trouble goes in there," Domingo said, with laughter around the media conference room. "It is not like I am coming from England or Australia where it's easy where you do what you want to. I come from South Africa. It is tough there as well; selection is not easy. There's people with a lot of opinions and agendas. It is part of my job, and I have to deal with it [and] make the most of it.

"The important thing for me is that I keep the players and the captains away from it. I have to be the in-between guy. It is a big role but I have done it before in South Africa. There's a lot of trouble and challenges, so no different for me. I am cool with it."

Domingo said that he has had "passionate" discussions with Hassan, and claimed that there hasn't been a case of anyone telling him or the captain that they have to report the team details to the president.

"My dealings with president is very passionate about the team," he said. "He wants the team to do really well. I haven't spoken to him as yet. I have had some good practice sessions in the last week.

"I haven't been officially told about that I need to tell anyone about the team. I am not under any impression that I need to do it, as yet. I am as passionate about the team as the president. I am paid a salary to make decisions and do my work."

Domingo confirmed that they will continue with two seamers, as he felt there was a bit of movement during early morning training sessions in Mirpur in the last few days. "We will probably go with two seamers. I don't think it benefits our team playing just one seamer. Three seamers would have been perfect if we had a guy who could bat at No 7. Until [Mohammad] Saifuddin is fit or we find the guy who can bat at No. 7 and bowl 10 or 15 overs a day first, we will probably go with two seamers.

"There was a little bit of moisture in the nets around 10am this morning. There's little bit of winter still around so the first 10 to 12 overs tomorrow could still be tricky. If we end up bowling first tomorrow, seamers have to be on the money. We need two seamers to exploit if there is anything on the wicket."

India 4 for 132 (Sharma 49*, Jonassen 2-24) beat Australia 115 (Healy 51, Yadav 4-19, Pandey 3-14) by 17 runs

A bewitching spell of wrist spin from Poonam Yadav sank Australia on the opening night of the T20 World Cup at the Sydney Showgrounds, underlining India's status as a genuine contender for a tournament that has heaped untold pressure onto the world No. 1-ranked hosts.

In front of a crowd of 13,432 - the best-ever for a standalone women's cricket match in Australia - the Indians began with familiar bombast at the top of the order before the loss of three wickets for six lowered their expectations. Deepti Sharma was not daunted, reverting to a plan B of running as many singles as possible and guiding India to a competitive 132.

While Alyssa Healy made a much-needed return to runs and confidence at the top of the Australian order, the rest struggled for timing on a slow, dry surface that proved to be ideally suited to Yadav's art. A legbreak and three wrong'uns delivered her the wondrous figures of 4 for 19, and with the strong support of Shikha Pandey, Australia were confounded. Having entered 2020 as the world's undisputed T20 dominators, the hosts have now lost three games out of six and are no guarantee to make the semi-finals.

India boom, then bust

If it was a surprise to see Molly Strano go from missing Australia's World Cup squad to bowling the first ball of the tournament a couple days after she was a late inclusion for the injured Tayla Vlaeminck, India's top order approach after blocking out the off spinner's exploratory first over was not. After she was dropped by Strano at midwicket, Smriti Mandhana found the boundary off Ellyse Perry and Shafali Verma found her range against Megan Schutt, pinging four boundaries as the Indians vaulted to 0 for 40 from four overs.

The Australians knew they needed to maintain composure, and did so through the intervention of the in-form Jess Jonassen, who pinned Mandhana lbw on the slog sweep and was later to be the beneficiary of a foolhardy dance down the pitch by a keyed up Harmanpreet Kaur and then a fortuitous stumping as the ball rebounded off Alyssa Healy's pads. That after Verma had pulled her 15th ball straight to mid-on off Perry to depart for 29 off just 15 balls. Three wickets down for six in 15 balls made the rest of the innings a salvage job.

Sharma keeps her cool

A decidedly sluggish surface at the Sydney Showgrounds recalled some of the desperately slow pitches the Sydney Thunder men's team had played on at the neighbouring Sydney Olympic Stadium in the early years of the Big Bash League. This meant that it was fiendishly difficult to force the pace against anything but the longest of half volleys, something Sharma recognised as she sought to pull the innings back from the brink.

Singles were the order of the day, and Sharma was to collect no fewer than 29 of them in her sturdy, unbeaten 49. She received useful support from Jemimah Rodrigues, who had been reprieved from an early lbw decision in Perry's favour when a review showed the ball sliding past leg stump, and scored 24 runs in singles herself. So while a tally of three boundaries in the final 16 overs of the innings sounded paltry, the approach at least meant that India could reach a couple runs beyond the average T20I score at the venue.

Healy turns the corner

Nine, one, duck, one, four, nine. That sequence of six sickly innings represented Healy's run into the T20 World Cup, and left her team hoping as much as expecting that she would be "due" for a big score when the main event began. The fact that the long build-up was finally over had to help in Healy's mind, and she was soon back into the sort of stride that had seen her win the player of the tournament in the Caribbean in 2018 and also take out the T20 and ODI players of the year trophies at the Australian Cricket Awards earlier this month.

Healy's power down the ground, along with some deft touch on the cut and glide past short third man, put India's bowlers on the back foot quickly, and also saw the return to some Australian batting line-up permutations that had not been needed so long as she kept being the first out for her team. Lanning came in at No. 3 in place of Ashleigh Gardner when Beth Mooney cut to backward point, and Rachael Haynes replaced Lanning when she was beaten wonderfully in flight by Rajeshwari Gayakwad.

Yadav's mayhem

Australia were comfortably placed if not quite dominant when Yadav entered the attack, having not played at all in the triangular series before the Cup proper. Her high, looping legbreaks and googlies provide a tantalising sight for opponents and spectators alike, and Healy was soon teased into a return catch. That was nothing, though, on the sequence of googlies Yadav would present to the middle order. Haynes was beaten and comfortably stumped, Perry even more comprehensively bowled first ball, and Jonassen's edge was only millimetres too thick to allow Taniya Bhatia to hang onto it.

Nevertheless, another wrong'un soon claimed a slighter deflection and a safe catch for Bhatia, giving Yadav the figures of 4 for 15 from three overs and India control of the contest. More smart work from Bhatia saw Annabel Sutherland stumped off Shikha Pandey, and when Harmanpreet brought Yadav back, only the quirk of a second bouncing short ball denied her a fifth wicket. Australia had needed 75 off 66 balls with eight wickets in hand when Yadav came on. By the time she was done the equation was 28 from 12 with three in hand: the gamechanger without doubt.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

The latest skirmish in the equal pay lawsuit between players on the U.S. women's national team and the U.S. Soccer Federation took place late Thursday, with both sides filing motions in U.S. District Court.

Lawyers for the women's national team players filed a motion for partial summary judgement in which it is seeking back pay of $66.7 million plus punitive damages, while the USSF filed a motion to have the suit dismissed entirely.

The players' filing reads: "The undisputed facts demonstrate that the post hoc justifications offered by USSF for paying WNT players less than MNT players for the same work are based not on actual facts that USSF relied upon when making compensation decisions, but on gender stereotyping -- such as the assertion by former USSF President Sunil Gulati that male soccer players have more "speed" and "strength" -- that the Equal Pay Act and Title VII were designed to eliminate as a basis for wage discrimination."

The lawsuit was first filed last March, with 28 players from the U.S. women's national team alleging that the USSF engaged in "institutionalized gender discrimination" toward the team. The lawsuit was filed under the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

"U.S. Soccer is aware of the public narrative surrounding this lawsuit, but the undisputed facts tell a much different story, and the Court sits to render judgment based on the actual facts in the record and the governing law," the USSF's filing read. "On those grounds, the Court should grant summary judgment for U.S. Soccer and dismiss this lawsuit in its entirety."

The USSF's filing centers on the fact that the men's and women's teams are represented by separate unions and thus have negotiated separate Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) containing different terms, some of which were asked for by the Women's National Team Players Association (WNTPA).

The women's CBA includes six-figure salaries paid to USWNT players independent of whether they actually play, including guaranteed salary continuation during periods of injury; free medical insurance; paid child care assistance; paid pregnancy and parental leave; severance benefits and more.

"At the moment, the Women's National Team players are paid differently because they specifically asked for, and negotiated, a completely different contract than the Men's National Team, despite being offered, and rejecting, a similar pay-to-play agreement during the past negotiations," the USSF said in its statement. "Their preference was a contract that provides significant additional benefits that the Men's National Team does not have."

Additionally, the USSF stated that it considers the duties performed by players on the men's team and the women's team as being different and that "the law does not guarantee identical pay to men and women who perform different work in different jobs."

That said, the USSF filing points out that between the beginning of 2015 (the year encompassing the start of the Title VII class period) and the end of 2019, U.S. Soccer paid the WNT players and their union more than $37 million. The corresponding figure for the MNT is just north of $21 million.

The filing for the USWNT players counters that under the Equal Pay Act (EPA), the players cannot give up their right for equal pay through CBA negotiations.

"The text of the EPA itself, as well as Supreme Court case law, firmly establish that collective bargaining agreements do not provide a defense to EPA (or Title VII) claims," the players' filing says.

As to the assertion that the women's players rejected a pay-to-play agreement, Molly Levinson, a spokesperson for the players added, "In the most recent CBA negotiation, USSF repeatedly said that equal pay was not an option regardless of pay structure. USSF proposed a 'pay to play structure' with less pay across the board. In every instance for a friendly or competitive match, the women players were offered less pay than their male counterparts. This is the very definition of gender discrimination, and of course the players rejected it."

The players' filing also states that it is not the total renumeration that is at issue, but the rate of pay for friendlies and bonuses. Nor should the salaries the women receive for playing in the National Women's Soccer League, which is subsidized by the USSF, be considered in determining if the women are being paid fairly.

"The Equal Pay Act does not require a woman to work two jobs to receive what a man can earn for working one," the filing said.

The players' filing also attacked the assertion that the men's program has generated more revenue than the women's program. Since revenue streams like media rights and sponsorship are inclusive of both the men's and women's programs, separate breakdowns of revenue become more complicated.

The players' filing said that the USSF hasn't "come forward with any evidence sufficient to meet its burden of proving a justification based on revenue or profit generation, or any other non-gender-based justification, for its wage discrimination. To the contrary, USSF's records show that during the class period (June 11, 2015, forward) the WNT has generated more revenue and has earned a larger profit for USSF than the MNT."

West Indies allrounder Deandra Dottin was on the verge of quitting the game as she battled to recovery from shoulder sugery.

Dottin's last international was a year ago and she underwent surgery in June but initially struggled with the rehabilitation, reaching the point where she considered whether she could ever be able to make a comeback.

She credits advice from former West Indies captain Merissa Aguilleira and fast bowler Alzarri Joseph, who suffered a similar injury, as key to keeping her motivated.

"I had to find means and ways to keep on a positive side and have some extra confidence. Times I've felt down, felt like giving up at times," she said at the West Indies' media day before the T20 World Cup. "Basically, I did a lot of praying. Also having my best friend just text or call to keep me motivated, giving me that belief to continue to keep working to get back on track.

"There were times when I felt like I was getting somewhere, then it was points where I felt like I was taking 50 steps back. So close to point where I said that's it, I didn't think I would get back with West Indies or back playing any cricket at all. I didn't even think that I'd be able to use my shoulder like I used to. I was so close to saying I think I should call it a day.

"But speaking to Merissa Aguilleira it gave me that extra boost. I actually had a conversation with Alzarri Joseph who had similar injury to me and he felt the same way, but he kept pushing and he gave me some tips on how to keep positive."

Dottin, who holds the record for the fastest hundred in women's T20Is with her 38-ball effort against South Africa at the 2010 T20 World Cup, batting as low as No. 6, will be a vital cog in the West Indies side as they look to overturn a poor run of form and be contenders for the title they won in 2016.

With the ball, Dottin has 59 wickets at 18.08 in T20Is with a best of 5 for 5 and is confident she will be able to play an all-round role.

"In terms of bowling, it [the injury] had a big impact, but it's coming along good and I think my shoulder is actually feeling stronger than it was before the injury. All in all, in thank god and the people who helped me. Today I'm here which I'm thankful for."

Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha has retired from international and first-class cricket, making the announcement on Friday via Twitter. Ojha remembered his "memorable" IPL journey too in a retirement letter he tweeted, effectively putting an end to his career across formats.

"It's time I move on to the next phase of my life. The love and support of each and every individual will always remain with me and motivate me all the time," he tweeted.

Ojha played 48 international matches - 24 Tests, 18 ODIs and six T20Is - from 2008 to 2013. In his last game for India, a Test against West Indies in 2013 which was Sachin Tendulkar's farewell match, Ojha finished with match figures of 10 for 89 and was named the Man of the Match. Overall, he took 113 Test wickets at an average of 30.26, 21 in ODIs and 10 in T20Is at an economy rate of 6.28.

"To be an Indian cricketer and represent the country at the highest level was always a dream I cherished as a youngster," Ojha said in a letter he posted on Twitter. "I fall short of words to describe how fortunate I have been to have lived, dream and earned the love and respect of my fellow countrymen. For a sportsperson, there cannot be a greater reward."

It's time I move on to the next phase of my life. The love and support of each and every individual will always remain with me and motivate me all the time pic.twitter.com/WoK0WfnCR7

— Pragyan Ojha (@pragyanojha) February 21, 2020

Ojha started his domestic career with Hyderabad in 2005 and made his international debut in an ODI against Bangladesh in 2008. In 2015 he left Hyderabad to ply his trade as a professional player in the domestic circuit and represented Bengal in 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. In 2017, he returned to Hyderabad, but for only one season before switching to Bihar for whom he played three one-day matches and one first-class game at the end of 2018.

He ended his first class career with 424 wickets from 108 matches at an average of 28.60, with 23 five-fors and three 10-wicket match hauls. In 50-over games he had 123 wickets from 103 games and another 156 wickets from 142 T20s.

In the IPL, he represented Deccan Chargers from 2008 to 2011 and Mumbai Indians from 2012 to 2015. In 2009 he helped the Chargers lift the trophy with 18 wickets, and even ended as the highest wicket-taker in 2010 with 21 scalps, when the Chargers lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the third-place playoff.

"My eventful career has witnessed many ups and downs. Over the time, I have realized that the legacy of a sportsperson is not just the outcome of his hard work and dedication, but also the faith and guidance bestowed upon by the association (team management), teammates, coaches, trainers, and the fans. Their belief fills you with a strong sense of purpose and belonging.

"I have been a part of the Hyderabad Cricket Association for close to 14 years, and the incredible experience I have gained will have an everlasting impact. I would like to express my gratitude to all the members of the Association who have supported me through these years."

Ojha also thanked the Cricket Association of Bengal, the Bihar Cricket Association, the two IPL franchises he represented and many of his former team-mates.

"My humble salute to all my seniors and teammates from whom I draw immense inspiration, and who have helped me to strive to be a better sportsperson. I am very thankful to Mr. V.V.S. Laxman for mentoring me like an elder brother, Mr. Venkatapathy Raju for being the role model I always looked to emulate, Mr. Harbhajan Singh for being a constant adviser and Mr. M.S. Dhoni for providing me with the honorable opportunity to wear the Indian Cap.

"I extend my regards to my contemporaries Mr. Rohit Sharma and Mr. Manoj Tiwary who have shared many eventful moments with me. My Hyderabad teammates - Mr. Amol Shinde, Mr. M.P. Arjun, Mr. Alfred Absolom and Mr.P.S Niranjan have been an integral and inseparable part of my journey. My utmost gratitude to Mr. Arjun Yadav who was the first captain I played under during my Ranji Trophy debut and also Mr. Kanwaljit Singh who coached me during the early phases of my career.

"Lastly, I am certain that looking back at my career will always fill me with a sense of pride. The most memorable moments would be receiving my Test Cap from Mr. Sachin Tendulkar and accomplishing the feat of taking 100 test wickets. I hope to continue contributing towards the growth of Indian Cricket in every capacity possible."

PHILADELPHIA -- The Brooklyn Nets knew Kevin Durant would not be on the court during the 2019-20 NBA season. But while the team awaited Durant's return, it could at least hope to have Kyrie Irving for the duration.

This was the beauty of Durant's and Irving's pledge to sign with Brooklyn. While the Nets will go only as far as Durant takes them, they'd get a full season to watch Irving and their young core get acclimated.

Given those plans included Irving and his injury-filled history, they were far from foolproof. So when Nets coach Kenny Atkinson stood outside the visitors locker room at Wells Fargo Center before Thursday night's 112-104 overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers -- hours after the team announced that Irving's season was over after 20 games because of an upcoming shoulder surgery -- he thought about what could have been.

"You wanted some time to work things out, work on our continuity and obviously work on the chemistry of the team and how we're going to use him," Atkinson said. "We're not going to have that opportunity."

"We'll have to start fresh next season and figure it out quickly. But that is the disappointing part."

This isn't the first time Irving has seen his season end prematurely. This is now his ninth NBA season, and he has missed at least 15 games in six of them -- including four of the past five.

He fractured his left kneecap in Game 1 of the 2015 NBA Finals, causing him to have surgery that forced him to miss the rest of that series and the first two months of the 2015-16 season.

Injuries to the same knee prematurely cut short his 2017-18 season -- his first in Boston after asking to be traded away from Cleveland Cavaliers the prior summer -- when a pair of surgeries in March made him sit out the final month of the regular season and Boston's run to Game 7 against LeBron James and the Cavaliers that spring.

And now this season is over early after first Irving earlier sat out two months because of a right shoulder impingement -- only to come back for two weeks, miss another five games because of a right knee sprain and then decide to undergo surgery to end his first season in Brooklyn.

Those are just a few of the many injuries Irving has suffered throughout his career, going back to when a toe injury cost him all but 11 games during his lone season at Duke in 2010-2011. Since then, the injuries have piled up, including: a concussion, fractured finger, broken hand, facial fracture, a scratched cornea and multiple body bruises.

So it's no surprise Nets general manager Sean Marks said the team was playing the long game with Irving's health, especially in the wake of Durant officially ruling himself out for the rest of this season earlier this week.

"I think we look at our players' long-term health as the No. 1 priority," Marks said. "Kyrie has been adamant like the rest of us that he would take one cortisone shot and see how it goes.

"We are looking at the big picture here. We are not looking at the next two to three months. We are looking at the next two to three years."

While the Nets are focused on next season, when Durant and Irving will presumably be back on the court, they have proven to be effective even when Irving isn't available to play -- similar to Irving's previous teams.

After Thursday's loss, the Nets are now an even 17-17 this season when Irving sits, compared to 8-12 in the games in which he has played. Last season, Boston was much better when Irving didn't play (12-3) compared to when he did (37-30). Meanwhile, after making the Eastern Conference finals with Irving sidelined in 2017-18, Boston lost a round earlier to the Milwaukee Bucks last season.

Even in 2015, while James and the Cavaliers were severely undermanned after losing both Irving and Kevin Love to season-ending injuries during the playoffs, James took on a herculean load and dragged Cleveland to a 2-1 series lead in the NBA Finals almost by himself.

Brooklyn might have a harder time generating offense without Irving, but this version of the Nets has defended well, and they feel as if they have a point to prove. Only the Bucks have given up fewer than the 102.9 points per 100 possessions since Feb. 2, the day after Irving's final game of the season; Brooklyn has won four of six games while giving up a league-low 8.2 3s per game in that span.

Much of the core of last season's playoff team -- including Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert, Joe Harris and Jarrett Allen -- remains. Throw in additions like DeAndre Jordan, Garrett Temple and Taurean Prince, and there's no reason the seventh-place Nets can't remain above the eighth-place Orlando Magic and ninth-place Washington Wizards in the pillow fight for the final two Eastern Conference playoff spots.

"I think our approach obviously is that it's unfortunate, and it sucks, but we feel confident in the group that we have to be competitive," Harris said before the game. "We still look at it like this is an opportunity for everybody in this locker room.

"We're trying to make a push for the playoffs. We aren't there yet. We are obviously sitting in a good spot in terms of being in the playoff race, but we are not satisfied with that. We know the second half of the year is big for everybody, and obviously the last 25 games are a chance for us to make a push and try to get better."

The Nets hoped they'd spend this time improving around one of their two superstars. Despite the potential of this gap year without Durant, Irving's latest setback means Brooklyn could enter 2020-21 with serious pressure to win right away combined with little continuity to give the roster an immediate boost.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Houston Rockets star guard Russell Westbrook says he must hold himself to a higher standard after being ejected from Thursday night's 135-105 win over the Golden State Warriors.

Westbrook picked up his first technical foul with 7 minutes, 38 seconds left in the first quarter after arguing a foul call and then received his second technical with 6:04 left in the fourth quarter after bumping guard Damion Lee and exchanging words with several Warriors players near Golden State's bench.

After the game, Westbrook gave a long explanation of what transpired and shared how he feels his reputation for being emotional is leading to some of the calls.

"I think it's a situation where I hold myself to a very, very high standard," Westbrook said. "I think the refs, the fans, media, the NBA [is] put in a position now where I'm not really allowed to do much. Obviously, I'm an emotional guy, but if you watched the clip, obviously, I hit Lee, but it wasn't on purpose. I'm going to the glass, he got hit, he said something to me, I said something to him. I'm standing there, a guy [Juan Toscano-Anderson] came and snatched the ball out of my hands. Guys come running up to me, I didn't move, but I'm always the one that gets painted to be the bad guy in the whole situation."

Westbrook said officials told him to back away from the situation, and that's when more words were exchanged. Westbrook said one of the players began "talking mess to me."

"I turned around and said, 'What did you say?' So now everybody's running over to me, then I'm walking towards the thing, then [Kevon] Looney steps in front of me, so I feel like I'm in a position [where people think], 'Oh well, Russ is being Russ,' which nobody knows what that means.

"But I got to do a better job of holding myself accountable to a very, very high standard. And I'll make sure I leave no room for error to allow somebody and people paint me out to be a guy that I'm not. I just think it's unfair that after all that, I'm the only one that gets a tech or kicked out. That's not fair. I don't care what nobody says. It's so many other people involved in it that are doing so many things that weren't OK, but I'm the one that gets the tech, gets ejected, and then everybody else is cool, and goes back and play. But like I said, I take responsibility for that and I hold myself to a very high standard of which I'll uphold."

After officials reviewed the situation, Westbrook was given his second technical and was ejected. He walked slowly off the floor, putting his arm around assistant coach John Lucas to share a few words, and then kept walking toward the tunnel as fans in Chase Center booed loudly.

"I just got to control myself, that's it, control myself," Westbrook said. "But I'm not backing down. I'm not. I wasn't raised that way. So I don't back to nobody, fear nobody but God, that's it. Fear no man but God. I'll always protect myself under any situation, but I also got to be smarter and understand what's on the line for me. Or what's my legacy, who's watching me, my kids, my family. Make sure that I'm representing my family very, very well."

When asked specifically if he thought officials had a faster trigger for fouls against him because of his reputation, Westbrook pointed out that despite being in the middle of the action all night, scoring 21 points and dishing out 10 assists, he did not go to the foul line at all.

"I'm at the basket more than probably anybody since I've been in the league -- I got no free throws today," he said. "But ideally I just got to keep going. ... That's just what it is. I'm OK with it. I'm a guy that's going to compete every single night. I'll go out and play my game and find ways to be effective. If they blow the whistle, they do. They don't, who cares? I cannot allow it to affect who I am as a person and what I'm representing and who I am, so that's on me."

With two more technicals on Thursday night, Westbrook now sits at an NBA-high 13 technicals for the year. If a player reaches 16 technical fouls, that triggers an automatic one-game suspension.

Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said he isn't concerned about Westbrook being able to control his emotions moving forward.

"He knows," D'Antoni said. "He knows. He'll play. He's gotta play with an edge, and that's him. And whatever happens, happens. We'll take him. But he'll be alright. He's smart."

Rockets star James Harden was asked if he thought Westbrook's reputation was the reason for some of the technical fouls he picks up.

"I don't know," Harden said. "I think today, he got a tech and then he felt like he got fouled, I think he got fouled. So he showed his anger, as any player, if they feel like they got fouled numerous times and it wasn't being called, they would express their emotions. I mean, everybody knows how he play and his emotion, and he did what he had to do."

Westbrook also didn't seem concerned about a potential suspension in the future. He believes he can keep his emotions in check when needed.

"You obviously got to be aware of it," he said of the 13 technical fouls. "I'll look at them and see which ones are real technical fouls and which ones are not. And then figure out how to do it, but I'll be fine."

PHILADELPHIA -- After putting up 39 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 112-104 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, Joel Embiid declared he is the best player in the world, and that the aggression with which he played against Brooklyn was a carryover from the way he played in Sunday's All-Star Game in Chicago.

"For sure," Embiid said. "The All-Star Game was fun. Being there in the fourth quarter, doing my thing at the end of the game, I thought it was great.

"But the All-Star Game, just proving I'm here, I belong, and being the best player in the world, I just intend to keep coming out every single night and just play hard and trying to get wins and just go out and try to win a championship."

Thursday's game was a roller coaster of emotions -- and, in many ways, a microcosm of Philadelphia's regular season thus far. The Sixers jumped out to a 22-6 lead over the Nets, who found out before the game that All-Star guard Kyrie Irving will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, only for Brooklyn to roar back with an absurd 44-8 run from the 5:45 mark of the first quarter until there was just 3:09 left in the second.

At that point, when the Sixers called timeout after a basket by Nets guard Joe Harris made the score 50-30, a cascade of boos rained down upon them, and it looked as if they were well on their way to just their third home loss of the season.

"[I was] really just trying to find answers to some of the problems," Sixers coach Brett Brown said afterward.

Luckily for him and the Sixers, they had one very large solution: give the ball to Embiid, and get out of the way. Philadelphia eventually managed to climb out of the hole it dug for itself thanks to Embiid's extremely broad shoulders, as he took just one 3-pointer and instead spent the game mauling whomever the Nets tried to throw his way inside.

Embiid said that was a conscious decision. After he repeatedly bullied defenders Sunday in Chicago, he said he wanted to come out and approach Thursday's game with exactly the same mindset.

"I've got to do it," he said. "I've got to duck in. I've got to be aggressive. I had a couple offensive fouls, meaning three seconds and charge because of my duck-ins and how much I was in the paint.

"If I've got to get three-second calls and offensive fouls, so what? It's just about being aggressive."

Philadelphia needed every bit of that aggression, too, with fellow All-Star Ben Simmons sidelined due to back tightness and Al Horford, who finished with six points and three rebounds and was minus-26 in 18 minutes off the bench, continuing to struggle.

But thanks to 22 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists from Tobias Harris and 19 points from recently acquired Alec Burks -- including five of Philadelphia's nine points in overtime -- the Sixers did just enough to win.

"It just really taught us to keep our composure," Harris said of the wild back-and-forth swings throughout the game. "I said in the beginning, I really like the way that we handled the runs that they made and how they made them. We didn't hang our head. We kind of looked each other in the eye and said, 'We know we need to be better, we need to be more physical, we need to be better defensively and get stops.'

"And, once we did, we were able to get out in transition, run and get some easy ones. That just helped us crawl back into the game."

That included escaping from a six-point deficit late in the fourth quarter, after two DeAndre Jordan free throws made it 101-95 with 2:16 left. The Sixers outscored the Nets 8-2 over the rest of regulation, including Embiid making four free throws in the final 35 seconds and making a brilliant defensive play to force Spencer Dinwiddie to pass on a drive in the final seconds, and then blocking Wilson Chandler's potential winning layup to force overtime.

"Dinwiddie got a step, and I felt like I had to be smart, just showing myself but not overly commit to him and force him to pass the ball," Embiid said. "I just had to make him pass the ball and block a shot."

He did just that, and as a result the Sixers got a win. Now, though, the league's best home team will go on the road and face the league's best team -- the Milwaukee Bucks -- in Wisconsin on Saturday night.

So, after declaring he is the best player in the world, does Embiid see any added significance in facing Giannis Antetokounmpo on national television Saturday night?

"For sure. We beat them pretty bad in the first matchup, they got us the last one, so it's on us to go out there and try to beat them again."

For Philadelphia to do that, they'll need Embiid to keep playing this way. And, if the past few days are any indication, it appears he's ready to do just that for as long as the Sixers are playing.

"I felt like the first part of the season I was trying to make sure everybody was comfortable, tried to take a step back," he said. "But if we are going to go somewhere, I've got to be one of the guys [doing it]."