Phoenix took an important 74-72 victory against New Orleans on Thursday in a clash of two teams fighting for the last playoff spot in the NBA Western Conference, with the Suns capitalizing on the absence of Pelicans star Anthony Davis.

The result moved the Suns within 1-1/2 games of the Pelicans, who are ninth in the West.

Novak Djokovic didn't have to hit a ball to get into the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday when opponent Bernard Tomic withdrew because of a back injury.

Tomic's withdrawal was announced about five hours before he was to play the top-ranked Djokovic, a three-time champion at Indian Wells who won his first three matches in straight sets. He had beaten Tomic each of the three times they've played.

Club official Osvaldo Riccobene told reporters following the tribunal: "The club's creditors called for bankruptcy, which was accepted by the prosecutor of the Republic.

"We did not oppose the decision."

France coach Didier Deschamps included Lyon's rising talent Nabil Fekir in his 23-player squad for the first time as the Euro 2016 hosts get set for friendlies against Brazil on March 26 and Denmark on March 29.

Deschamps, as expected, called up Fekir for the matches in Paris and Saint-Etienne respectively, after the attacking midfielder declared his allegiance to France and not Algeria where he has family roots.

Brazil international left-back Maxwell on Thursday extended his contract with French champions Paris Saint-Germain by a year.

The 33-year-old, who joined PSG from Barcelona in 2012, is now tied down to the club until June 2016.

Tottenham Hotspur's breakthrough star Harry Kane was on Thursday awarded his first England call-up for the forthcoming 2016 European Championship qualifier against Lithuania and friendly against Italy.

A graduate of the Tottenham academy, 21-year-old Kane has scored 26 goals in 42 appearances this season, making him an obvious candidate for a place in England manager Roy Hodgson's squad for the double-header.

It was only three months ago that Liverpool exited the Champions League at the group stage, was closer to the relegation zone than the top four in the Premier League, and its manager thought he was about to get fired.

Now, the Reds are the in-form side in England, Brendan Rodgers is being praised for his tactical acumen, and the team is one win away from a return to the Champions League qualification places.

Golden State cruised to a 114-95 win over Atlanta in Wednesday's clash of the NBA's top two teams, taking a psychological edge into what could be the league's finals series.

The Warriors pushed their lead in the Western Conference out to 7-1/2 games, while Atlanta's lead in the East was trimmed to a still comfortable 10 games ahead of Cleveland, which stretched its home winning streak to 14 games by downing Brooklyn.

Novak Djokovic defeated John Isner 6-4, 7-6 (5) to reach the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday night in pursuit of his fourth career title in the desert.

The world's top-ranked player raced through the first set in 30 minutes, then rallied to get into a tiebreaker against the big-serving Isner. All eight of their meetings have included at least one tiebreaker.

American tennis player Wayne Odesnik was banned Wednesday for 15 years after a second doping violation, a sanction that essentially ends his career and was widely applauded by several top players.

The International Tennis Federation said the 29-year-old Odesnik tested positive for several banned substances, including steroids, during tests in December and January.