Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant avoided a serious knee injury but is expected to miss at least a "couple of weeks," coach Taylor Jenkins told reporters ahead of Sunday's game against the Sacramento Kings.

Jenkins said Morant avoided any tears or ligament damage to his left knee but added that there was no official timetable for his return.

"We're so thankful we avoided a significant injury," Jenkins said. "We expect a full recovery, and this is nothing long term that we're worried about."

Morant suffered the left knee sprain in the first quarter of Friday's loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

For his first 24 games of 2021, Byron Buxton was the best baseball player on the planet. He hit for average. He hit home runs. He hit doubles. He stole some bases. He played center field like Hermes, only in cleats instead of winged sandals. He hit .370/.408/.772 with nine home runs, 10 doubles and five stolen bases. He led all hitters in slugging percentage and trailed only Mike Trout in OPS.

This was the ceiling we had longed dreamed of for Buxton, who at his best is the most dynamic player in baseball this side of Shohei Ohtani: a combination of power, speed and defense that would make him a modern-day Willie Mays or Ken Griffey Jr.

Of course, it's unfair to compare anybody to those two, and it was unfair to expect Buxton to keep hitting at that level. But sadly, we don't even know how close he would have come, because once again the injury bug wrecked Buxton's season. On May 7, he went on the injured list with a hip strain, suffered while running to first base on a groundout. He returned on June 19, and in his third game back, he suffered a fracture in his left hand when Reds pitcher Tyler Mahle hit him with a 94-mph fastball.

Goals from Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior saw Real Madrid fight back from a goal down to beat Sevilla 2-1 at the Bernabeu on Sunday.

Benzema pounced on a mistake from goalkeeper Bono to level in the 33rd minute with his 11th league goal of the season, after Rafa Mir had put the visitors ahead with a 12th minute header.

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Madrid pushed for a winner throughout the second half, and Vinicius eventually found the net in the 87th minute with a viciously struck long-range shot.

The result leaves Madrid as LaLiga leaders, four points clear of Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad, to give them the advantage in the LaLiga title race.

Sevilla started well and didn't take long to go ahead as Mir was allowed space and time to guide a free header past Thibaut Courtois.

With Madrid reeling, the forward followed up with two chances in quick succession as David Alaba cleared a shot off the line before Mir was denied again seconds later by Courtois.

Lucas Ocampos hit the crossbar with a curling shot before Madrid levelled. Benzema reacted quickest when Militao's speculative effort from distance was fumbled onto the post by Bono.

Referee Jose Sanchez Martinez waved away Sevilla's penalty appeals when Ocampos appeared to be fouled by Alaba, and Marco Asensio fired over the bar before half time. Much of the second half proved frustrating for Madrid, as poor decision-making saw them spurn some promising goalscoring opportunities.

Asensio opted to shoot from distance when he had Benzema alongside him in space, before Vinicius blasted off target rather than passing to the France international.

Alaba volleyed over the crossbar before Vinicius' late goal-of-the-season contender, while Courtois saved Madrid with a point-blank stop in added time.

Substitute Bobby Wood scored in the first minute of second half stoppage time to seal visiting Real Salt Lake's place in Major League Soccer's Western Conference final in a 2-1, come-from-behind semifinal victory over Sporting Kansas City on Sunday afternoon.

Wood, who scored only twice in 17 regular-season appearances, struck 19 minutes after fellow substitute Anderson Julio pulled seventh-seeded Salt Lake deservedly level.

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Wood was also involved in the build-up to Julio's equalizer as RSL secured a second consecutive road playoff triumph. Previously, they won on penalties following a 0-0 draw with second-seeded Seattle last Tuesday.

They'll visit the No. 4 seed Portland Timbers in the Western Conference final next Sunday.

Johnny Russell scored on a 24th-minute penalty for No. 3 seed Sporting Kansas City, which lost for the third time in as many games against Salt Lake this season.

Despite playing a second consecutive home playoff match after a 3-1, first-round win over Vancouver, Kansas City was decidedly second-best over the afternoon.

Salt Lake outshot the hosts 11-5 overall and 5-2 in efforts on target.

A third RSL substitute, Justin Meram, helped create Wood's goal with an opportunistic run down the left and an early cross toward the penalty spot.

Wood still had a lot to do, meeting it in stride and sending a perfectly placed, first-time finish inside the right post and well beyond goalkeeper Tim Melia.

Julio tied the match 1-1 for Salt Lake in the 72nd minute.

After getting the ball in the left side of the penalty area, Wood played the ball back to Andrew Brody just outside the left corner of the box.

Brody served in an in-swinging cross with his right foot, and Julio raced to meet it and nod a flashing header past Melia.

Salt Lake had the better of the early play, but trailed after Russell's 24th-minute penalty.

The foul was clear, with Aaron Herrera swinging his leg, missing the ball and making contact with Gadi Kinda's shin.

Russell stepped up and hammered his penalty past David Ochoa, who guessed to his right while Russell's finish went to his left.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- After the Los Angeles Rams dug themselves into a 10-0 first-half hole at Lambeau Field on Sunday afternoon, quarterback Matthew Stafford provided his team a much-needed spark.

Stafford dropped a deep pass into the hands of sprinting second-year receiver Van Jefferson as Packers cornerback Chandon Sullivan fell to the ground. Jefferson sprinted another 30 yards after the catch for a 79-yard touchdown.

It was Stafford's longest passing play since 2013 and is tied for the second-longest of his career, according to ESPN Stats & Info. It also was the longest reception of Jefferson's career.

VAN JEFFERSON. 79 YARDS.

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— NFL (@NFL) November 28, 2021

Stafford and Aaron Rodgers each threw touchdown passes in the second quarter as the Packers held a 20-17 lead at the half.

NEW YORK -- Orlando Magic center-forward Wendell Carter Jr. and Miami Heat center Dewayne Dedmon were fined by the NBA on Sunday.

Carter was fined $35,000 for " forcefully throwing " his protective glasses at a game official in the Magic's loss at Cleveland on Saturday night. He received a technical foul and was ejected with 2:09 remaining.

Dedmon was docked $15,000 for kicking a seat cushion from the team bench into the spectator stands Saturday night in a victory at Chicago. He was assessed a technical foul and ejected early in the fourth quarter.

TORONTO -- Goran Dragic has left the Toronto Raptors because of a personal matter.

The Raptors said Sunday before their game against Boston Celtics that the 35-year-old guard -- acquired along with Precious Achiuwa in the offseason deal that sent Kyle Lowry to Miami -- wasn't with the team.

"First of all, he's a really good dude, extremely professional, very wise ... enjoyable guy to be around and coach," coach Nick Nurse said.

Dragic, from Slovenia, has played in just five games with the Raptors, averaging 8.0 points, 1.8 assists and 2.8 rebounds and 17.9 minutes. He has played just once since Oct. 25.

Raptors general manager Bobby Webster said that Dragic had the team's "full support."

"He has been a complete professional in the time that he has been with the Raptors. Goran has been a great mentor to our younger players and a valued teammate for our veterans," Webster said in a statement. "He will continue to work out and stay in shape during his time away."

Webster said there is no definite timeline for a return.

The Golden State Warriors assigned Klay Thompson and James Wiseman to their G League affiliate on Sunday, the team announced Sunday.

The hope is that Thompson (left ACL/right Achilles) and Wiseman (meniscus) receive practice time at that level while they continue their respective rehabilitation programs.

Thompson, 31, who was cleared for contact more than a week ago and participated in his first team practice in over two years last week, is scheduled to practice with the Santa Cruz Warriors on Sunday as the NBA club starts a two-game road trip in California and Arizona.

Wiseman, 20, still hasn't been cleared for full contact, but Warriors coach Steve Kerr remains optimistic that both players will help his team in the near future.

"Klay will be scrimmaging, and James will continue his work," Kerr said before Sunday's game against the LA Clippers. "I don't think [Wiseman] is scrimmaging yet, but Klay will be doing 5-on-5."

Thompson has not played since tearing his ACL during Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals and his Achilles in November 2020. Wiseman has not played since suffering a meniscus tear in April 2021. Kerr also noted prior to the game that Andre Iguodala is with the Warriors on the trip, but he will not play in either of the next two games as he continues dealing with knee swelling and soreness.

Infielder Marcus Semien and the Texas Rangers are in agreement on a seven-year contract, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Sunday.

The deal is worth $175 million, a source said.

After struggling in the shortened 2020 season with the Oakland Athletics, Semien bet on himself last offseason, accepting a one-year offer from the Toronto Blue Jays in an attempt to rebuild his value and reenter free agency. He bet right. Semien moved to second base with Toronto and responded with one of the best power seasons from a second baseman in major league history, hitting .265/.334/.538 with 45 home runs, breaking Brian Dozier's record for home runs by a second baseman.

The move to second base went smoothly as well, as Semien won a Gold Glove. He played every game for the second time in three seasons (and has missed just 10 games over the past four) and led the majors with 86 extra-base hits. While he played in the shadow of teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr. throughout the season, Semien finished second in the American League in Baseball-Reference WAR behind Shohei Ohtani and third in FanGraphs WAR behind Ohtani and Guerrero, then finished third in the MVP race, matching his result in 2019, and making him the only player with two top-three MVP finishes in the past three seasons.

Even including 2020, when he hit .223, Semien leads all position players in both bWAR and fWAR since 2019.

In order to cash in on his big season, Semien brought on Scott Boras as his new agent. He is entering his age-31 season after turning 31 in September and reportedly went into free agency seeking a $200 million contract. The last position player that age (or older) to receive that much in free agency was Robinson Cano, who signed a 10-year, $240 million contract with the Seattle Mariners prior to the 2014 season.

Semien's approach at the plate was a little different in 2021 than during his 2019 breakout season, when he hit .285/.369/.522 with 33 home runs. He walked more that season, but became more aggressive in 2021, especially on fastballs as 36 of his 45 home runs came on fastballs. That approach did leave him more vulnerable to breaking balls, as he hit .193 against curveballs and sliders compared to .246 in 2019.

One evaluator told ESPN's Buster Olney in October that "I know [Semien's] power numbers jumped [in 2021], but I wouldn't expect that's going to continue. He's not really a home run hitter." Perhaps, but Semien's approach did become more geared to power. He became more adept at pulling the ball in the air -- he pulled 39 of his home runs, many of those right down the line -- and increased his fly ball rate from 25.5% in 2019 to 36.7%.

Originally drafted by the Chicago White Sox out of the University of California, Semien returned to the Bay Area when the A's acquired him in 2015. He famously struggled defensively early that season at shortstop, committing 24 errors by the end of June (he finished the season with 35 errors, the most in a season since 2000). Through work with A's coach Ron Washington, however, Semien became an above-average shortstop, finishing with plus-17 defensive runs saved combined over the 2016-19 seasons.

He was even better at second base, leaving Semien attractive to teams seeking a player at either up-the-middle position, although Semien had stated his preference was to return to shortstop. He also comes with a high reputation as a person and teammate, leading one insider to tell Olney, "I would put my head on the pillow every night knowing that the money I spent to sign him is going to be worth it."

ESPN's David Schoenfield contributed to this report.