Kevin Durant, who is 26 points shy of 30,000 for his career, has been downgraded to doubtful for Wednesday's road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder as trade speculation swirls around the future Hall of Famer.

The Suns say he is dealing with a left ankle sprain.

Durant reaching the milestone in Oklahoma City would have been a full-circle moment, as he spent eight seasons playing for the Thunder after the franchise moved from Seattle following his rookie season.

Durant, who was selected to his 15th All-Star Game, has been routinely booed in Oklahoma City since he left the franchise as a free agent in the summer of 2016 to join the rival Golden State Warriors.

It's now uncertain whether Durant has played his final game for the Suns, as sources told ESPN that Phoenix has been willing to listen to offers for him in recent days. The Warriors are among the teams with interest, sources told ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

Suns owner Mat Ishbia, who pulled off a blockbuster deal to acquire Durant from the Brooklyn Nets hours after his purchase of the franchise became official in February 2023, has publicly declared that he has no intention to trade the star forward.

De'Aaron Fox is set to make his debut for the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night against the Atlanta Hawks, the team announced Tuesday.

The Spurs acquired Fox as part of a three-team trade that involved multiple players and picks, but ultimately pairs the All-Star guard with superstar center Victor Wembanyama.

The trade was made official Monday and Fox had been listed as questionable for Wednesday's game before his status was upgraded to available Tuesday night.

"There's no concern of ramping up, conditioning or whatnot," acting Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said. "We know there will be a runway of learning our program and terminology. There will be some patience and some excitement on both sides from the group here waiting on them and then joining the group.

"It'll just be something we work through and trying to expedite as much as possible without having a ton of practice time."

It remains unclear how Fox's addition will affect the Spurs' starting lineup, which features Chris Paul, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Harrison Barnes and Wembanyama. Paul, a future Hall of Famer in his 20th NBA season, and Castle, a promising rookie who has started 29 games in 2024-25, share the same position as Fox.

Fox, 27, is averaging 25.0 points, 6.1 assists and 5.0 rebounds this season.

PHILADELPHIA -- Back in action after missing the past month with knee swelling and a foot sprain, Joel Embiid hit the go-ahead basket with 22 seconds to go and posted a triple-double for the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night in a 118-116 win over the Dallas Mavericks

Embiid had 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in 36 minutes. Coach Nick Nurse said before the game that 30 minutes was a realistic expectation, but that he would see how the 7-footer felt throughout the night.

Afterward, Nurse said Embiid will sit out against the Miami Heat on Wednesday in the second night of a back-to-back.

Embiid, the 2023 NBA Most Valuable Player, had not played since a Jan. 4 win over the Brooklyn Nets, a span of 15 games. He is averaging 24.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 14 games for the 76ers, who entered the night one game behind the Chicago Bulls for the 10th seed and final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Mavericks were without new big man Anthony Davis, who remained out with an abdominal strain he suffered in Philadelphia as a Laker a week ago. Davis said he could return Thursday in Boston against the Celtics or Saturday back in Dallas against the Houston Rockets.

Also out Tuesday were Quentin Grimes and Caleb Martin, after Philadelphia and Dallas swapped the two players earlier in the day. Though both teams are in Philadelphia, the trade was not completed in time for either of them to play.

The Chicago Cubs acquired right-handed reliever Ryan Brasier in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday, deepening their bullpen through another trade in an offseason full of activity.

In return, the Dodgers receive a player to be named later or cash. The Dodgers said they also sent cash to the Cubs as part of the deal.

Brasier, 37, was designated for assignment last week when the Dodgers' deal with right-handed reliever Kirby Yates was finalized. He was a solid contributor on Los Angeles' World Series-winning team, throwing nine innings during the postseason after posting a 3.54 ERA in 28 regular-season innings.

Los Angeles' acquisitions of two closers -- Yates and Tanner Scott -- as well as re-signing Blake Treinen edged Brasier out of the Dodgers' bullpen mix and gave Chicago the opportunity to add him to a bullpen that has been significantly strengthened in recent weeks. In addition to Brasier, the Cubs added closer Ryan Pressly in a trade with Houston, and earlier this winter acquired right-hander Eli Morgan.

Chicago's biggest deal of the winter was for outfielder Kyle Tucker, a perennial MVP candidate who is set to hit free agency after the 2025 season. Chicago signed left-hander Matthew Boyd to a two-year, $29 million contract, gave catcher Carson Kelly $11.5 million over two years, locked up right-hander Colin Rea on a one-year, $5 million deal and added left-hander Caleb Thielbar ($2.75 million) and utilityman Jon Berti ($2 million) on one-year pacts.

With a mid-90s fastball, a biting slider and a cutter, Brasier weathered early-career scuffles to turn in solid performances throughout his 30s. Though his fastball velocity dipped slightly last year, his precision -- he walked only five batters and struck out 25 -- served him well.

Brasier, who will make $4.5 million this season in the second season of a two-year contract, joins a bullpen that should have strong competition for spots when spring camps open in just over a week. In addition to Brasier, Pressly, Morgan and Thielbar, the Cubs return right-hander Porter Hodge -- who was the closer toward the end of the 2024 season -- as well as right-hander Tyson Miller, who had a 2.15 ERA in 50 innings.

Other options in the Cubs' bullpen include right-handers Nate Pearson, Keegan Thompson, Julian Merryweather, Ethan Roberts, Caleb Kilian and potentially Ben Brown, a starter who could prove a late-inning weapon if he does not crack Chicago's rotation.

Halep memorably won her first major title at the French Open in 2018, defeating Sloane Stephens, having lost her previous three Grand Slam finals.

She then won at Wimbledon in 2019, committing just three unforced errors in a stunning final victory over Serena Williams.

She won 22 other WTA Tour titles and spent 64 weeks as world number one.

Halep was given a four-year ban for two separate doping offences after initially testing positive for a banned substance in August 2022.

She always maintained her innocence and appealed against the ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2024.

The panel ruled Halep, "on the balance of probabilities", had not taken roxadustat intentionally and her ban was reduced to nine months.

She subsequently returned to the WTA Tour in March 2024 but played just six matches through to 2025 and won only once.

"I've always been realistic with myself and with my body," Halep said.

"Where I probably was, it's very hard to get there and I know what it means to get there."

South Africa wing Makazole Mapimpi has been banned for three games after admitting he made contact "with the eye or eye area" of a Cardiff opponent during a United Rugby Championship (URC) game in January.

Mapimpi, a member of two World Cup winning squads, was involved in a scuffle with Cardiff hooker Efan Daniel during Sharks' 42-22 win win at Cardiff Arms Park on 25 January.

He was not punished during the game, but was cited and at a disciplinary hearing Mapimpi admitted committing a red card offence.

Mapimpi will miss Sharks' URC matches at fellow South African side Bulls on Saturday, 15 February and back-to-back games against Lions.

Disciplinary officials took into account a previous incident of a similar nature in settling on Mapimpi's ban. He was banned for two weeks after being found guilty of making contact with the eye area of Bordeaux-Bègles scrum-half Maxime Lucu in a European Champions Cup game in January 2023.

After losing leading goal scorer Kirill Marchenko to a broken jaw over the weekend, the Columbus Blue Jackets will be without top scorer Zach Werenski for Tuesday's road game against the Buffalo Sabres.

Werenski, 27, did not take part in Tuesday's morning skate with an undisclosed injury. The nine-year veteran ranks third among defensemen with 57 points (17 goals, 40 assists) this season in 53 games.

In 539 games since Columbus selected him with the No. 8 pick in 2015, Werenski has 359 points (107 goals, 252 assists).

Slated to play for the U.S. at the 4 Nations Face-Off later this month, Werenski returned to Sunday's 5-3 loss at the Dallas Stars after leaving in the second period.

"We'll continue to evaluate, same as we do with everybody that's hurt or injured," said coach Dean Evason, whose team entered Tuesday in the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. "We'll evaluate it and move forward."

Werenski's defensive partner, Dante Fabbro, will also sit out Tuesday after sustaining an upper-body injury in Sunday's game. In 43 games this season between Nashville and Columbus, Fabbro has 13 points (four goals, nine assists).

Jordan Harris and Jack Johnson are expected to fill in for the injured pair.

Marchenko, struck in the face by a puck while sitting on the bench Sunday, underwent jaw surgery Monday and will be out indefinitely after landing on injured reserve. A stray puck hit the left side of Marchenko's face late in the second period of that loss to Dallas. He left the bench area, holding a towel to his jaw.

Marchenko has 55 points in 53 games this season and leads Columbus in goals (21) and plus/minus (plus-31).

Information from Field Level Media was used in this report.