Oladipo seeks more opinions on knee

The Heat and Victor Oladipo have not ruled out the injured guard playing again this season, but a final decision hasn’t been made and Oladipo continues to seek input on how to deal with right knee soreness stemming from an incident in last week’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, multiple league sources said over the past two days.

An MRI of Oladipo’s knee revealed no new structural damage such as a ruptured ACL or torn ligament, Five Reasons Sports Network reported Sunday night. An NBA source did not dispute that report but said additional medical opinions are being sought.

Whether the Heat calls it soreness or a sprain is semantics. The larger issue is whether Oladipo, in the next few weeks, feels comfortable playing on a knee that already has been surgically repaired following a significant 2019 injury.

That’s an issue both sides are discussing, as Oladipo — with the Heat’s blessing — continues to seek additional medical opinions on the best course of treatment.

— BARRY JACKSON

Elsewhere: Kings

● point guard De’Aaron

Fox figured there would be a price to pay for his profanity-laced tirade toward officials following a 128-112 loss to the Utah Jazz on Saturday night at Salt Lake City. NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe revealed the price tag Monday, announcing Fox has been fined $20,000 for public criticism of officials following Saturday’s loss to Utah. Fox said the officiating was “godawful” and “f–-ing terrible.”

ETC.

Soccer: Everton failed ● to keep the pressure on local rival Liverpool in the race for European qualification, letting two points slip in a lackluster 0-0 draw at Brighton . ... Sevilla has defeated Celta Vigo 4-3 in a back-andforth match in the Spanish league to strengthen its hold on fourth place and move within range of leader Atletico Madrid . ... West Bromwich Albion achieved its second big win in little over a week, 3-0 over Southampton.

Tennis: Aslan Karatsev

● set up a secondround match with Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Monte Carlo Masters by defeating Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 6-4 as rain played havoc with the clay-court tournament’s schedule. Rafael Nadal, seeking a record-extending 12th title in the event, had a first-round bye.