Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy was fined $25,000 on Monday by the NBA after suggesting officials were reluctant to call fouls on Cleveland star LeBron James.

Van Gundy took aim at officials in a post-match interview following Detroit's 106-101 playoff defeat to the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Sunday.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino believes his side delivered the "perfect" message to Premier League leaders Leicester City after an emphatic 4-0 win at Stoke City saw them close the gap at the top of the table to five points.

Leicester’s 2-2 draw at home to West Ham on Sunday gave Spurs the opportunity to reduce the deficit with four games remaining and they seized it in commanding style with a fourth win in five matches thanks to two goals each from the England duo of Harry Kane and Dele Alli.

Barcelona must reverse an amazing loss of form to win all five of their remaining La Liga games to be assured of retaining their title, starting with a trip to Deportivo la Coruna on Wednesday.

The Catalan giants have taken just one point from their last four La Liga games and lost four of their last five in all competitions having previously enjoyed a 39-game unbeaten run stretching back six months.

Germany coach Joachim Loew admitted on Monday he is worried about the world champions' lengthy injury list.

Just eight weeks from the start of the Euro 2016 tournament in France, Loew said he hopes to recover some crucial players.

Boris Becker has criticized world number two Andy Murray after the British tennis star voiced suspicions some of his opponents may have been taking performance-enhancing drugs.

Murray has been vocal in condemning the use of drugs in sport and enthusiastically backed the suspension imposed on leading female player Maria Sharapova following her failed test for the banned substance meldonium at this year's Australian Open.

Italian football icon Francesco Totti is set for crunch talks amid signs Roma are ready to let the 39-year-old playmaker walk out of the club he has served faithfully for his entire 23-year career.

A late cameo appearance on Sunday saw Totti score his 245th goal in Serie A, his 301st for Roma, to secure a 3-3 draw at Atalanta.

Five talking points from the Chinese Grand Prix:

- Now it's Rosberg's to lose

The San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers both romped to easy home victories in a pair of NBA Western Conference playoff openers on Sunday.

Kawhi Leonard tallied 20 points as the Spurs routed the Memphis Grizzlies 106-74 to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven series.

Cristian Brocchi began his tenure as AC Milan coach by steering the struggling Serie A giants to their first win in six games, then paid thanks to Sinisa Mihajlovic after replacing the Serbian last week.

Brocchi promptly ditched Mihajlovic's 4-4-2 to deploy a 4-3-1-2 with Giacomo Bonaventura playing just behind Mario Balotelli and Carlos Bacca, and it ultimately paid dividends in a frenetic 1-0 win at Sampdoria that kept Milan's hopes of European football on track.

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique claimed his side are capable of winning their final five La Liga games to claim the title despite slipping to a fourth defeat in five games as they were beaten 2-1 by Valencia on Sunday.

The Catalans hadn't tasted defeat in 39 games until losing to Real Madrid earlier this month, but have since thrown away a nine-point lead at the top of La Liga and been dumped out the Champions League by Atletico Madrid.