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From Dan Woike: The Lakers are looking for answers when it comes to maximizing their star trio. For the star duo of LeBron James and Austin Reaves, things were a little less cluttered Thursday night as the pair took turns dragging the Lakers to a much-needed win after awful back-to-back losses.
James and Reaves made the biggest shots, got the biggest stops and, on a night when they didn’t have Luka Doncic, pushed the Lakers to a 110-102 win over the Trail Blazers.
James scored 40 on the second night of a back-to-back and Reaves added 32, both players getting key stops as Portland (23-33) pushed in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers’ fight to win, particularly from James and Reaves, left Lakers coach JJ Redick in awe, pouring praise on his leaders.
“He really just defies anything that’s normal. And not just the physical feats and the plays. It’s the mentality,” Redick said about James. “He’s, I believe I saw the other day, he’s a billionaire. And he’s playing on the second night of a back-to-back at 40 after 22 years with every fricking record and every accolade. … He’s one of the greatest competitors.
“And [Lakers assistant coach] Nate [McMillan] and I were talking about it before the game. It’s like, he’s amazing to coach. He brings it every single day. … He sets the standard for how you’re supposed to approach this craft. And that’s to me, the most incredible thing. It’s just a mindset to do it, get up the next day, do it, get up the next day, do it over and over again.”
Hernández: The Lakers are struggling. Can JJ Redick help them find their footing?
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points in his return after missing six games with a strained calf and the Milwaukee Bucks rallied for a 116-110 victory over the Clippers on Thursday night.
Anteotkounmpo was on a minutes restriction and played just under 24 minutes, leaving for good with 6:27 remaining as the Bucks trailed 101-96. Milwaukee then completed its comeback from a 13-point, fourth-quarter deficit with Antetokounmpo on the bench.
Brook Lopez scored 22 points and put the Bucks ahead for good by converting a three-point play with 3:02 remaining.
Kawhi Leonard had 25 points, James Harden added 24 and Ivica Zubac had 20 points and 15 rebounds for the Clippers, who played without Norman Powell because of knee soreness.
From Jack Harris: Come October, the Dodgers’ hope is to be back in the World Series, trying to become Major League Baseball’s first repeat champion in a quarter-century. For now, however, they still are breaking in their new-look roster, getting a first glimpse of this squad in a 12-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs in their Cactus League opener.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the Dodgers’ starting pitcher, just as he is expected to be for their season opener in Japan next month. The 26-year-old right-hander threw 27 pitches over 12/3 scoreless innings, giving up three singles while striking out two and averaging 95.5 mph with his fastball.
It was the latest encouraging step this spring for Yamamoto, who manager Dave Roberts said this week is “considerably ahead” of where he was last year — when Yamamoto still was getting acclimated to the Dodgers after signing a record $325-million contract out of Japan.
There was one scary moment. In the top of the third inning, pitcher Bobby Miller was struck in the head by a 106-mph comebacker off the bat of Busch. The ball sent Miller’s hat flying off his head and left the 25-year-old former starter with a large red welt on his forehead.
However, Miller was able to walk off the field under his own power. Roberts said Miller is in concussion protocol and will be monitored over the next couple of days.
Here’s how to stream Angels games in 2025. And what about the Dodgers?
From Mike DiGiovanna: Two years ago, Major League Baseball began asking clubs to refrain from announcing opening-day starters until the final week of spring training in hopes that a coordinated release of the opening-day pitching matchups would drum up more interest and intrigue in the games.
Ron Washington must have missed the memo. The Angels manager announced on Thursday that left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, who signed a three-year, $63-million deal last November, will start the team’s season opener against the Chicago White Sox on March 27.
“It’s obvious,” Washington said as the team held its second-to-last workout before Saturday’s Cactus League opener against the Seattle Mariners. “We just signed him to a big contract. We didn’t bring him here to be No. 4 or 5 [starter]. We didn’t bring him here to be a three or a two. We brought him here to lead our staff.”
Here’s how to stream Angels games in 2025. And what about the Dodgers?
Rodney Rice scored 22 points, Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 20 and No. 20 Maryland beat USC 88-71 on Thursday night for its eighth win in nine games.
The Terrapins (21-6, 11-5 Big Ten) and Trojans (14-12, 6-9) met for the first time since 1990, when each was in a different conference. Maryland never trailed, opening each half with a flourish and keeping USC at bay.
Derik Queen had 13 points and 17 rebounds for the Terps. Wesley Yates III scored 21 for USC.
From Anthony De Leon: Lauren Betts spent pregame warmups with a smile as the UCLA women’s basketball team welcomed their star center back after she missed a game because of a right foot injury.
Gone was the walking boot, and Betts wasted no time making an impact for No. 3 UCLA against No. 25 Illinois on Thursday night. She scored the game’s first basket on a turnaround layup and immediately made her presence felt on defense with a block at the other end.
Betts finished with game-high 22 points, seven rebounds and six blocks in UCLA’s 70-55 win at Pauley Pavilion. But the Bruins weren’t without their flaws.
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Chargers safety Elijah Molden agreed to a contract extension with the Chargers, the team announced Thursday. The deal is for three years, according to a person familiar with the deal not authorized to speak publicly.
The contract, first reported by NFL Media, keeps Molden in L.A. after he was acquired in a trade less than two weeks before the start of last season. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent next month.
Molden, 26, had a career year with the Chargers, starting 12 games with three interceptions and 75 tackles. He finished the year on injured reserve after breaking his left fibula in Week 17, but said after the season that he anticipated a quick recovery because he avoided surgery. He was expecting to begin running again after only six weeks despite also requiring a minor surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.
When they got around to playing the Canadian national anthem for the second time, there were no American fans left in the arena to boo.
Instead, the Canadian team stood at the blue line, arm in arm, player and coach and staff wearing their championship hats, while the maple leaf flag was lowered behind the 4 Nations Face-Off trophy. The fans who remained, many of them in the in their red Team Canada jerseys, sang along.
Connor McDavid scored at 8:18 of overtime to give Canada a 3-2 victory over the United States on Thursday night as the North American rivals turned what had been a tuneup for the 2026 Olympics into an geopolitical brawl over anthems and annexation as much as international hockey supremacy.
Or, to put it another way: It was the 51st U.S. state 3, Canada’s 11th province 2.
“Just to see the reaction. Just to know what it means to us. I know it’s just a quick tournament, and it’s not an Olympic gold medal or anything like that, but it means the world to our group, as you can see,” McDavid said.
1931 — In the first major league night game, the Chicago White Sox play the New York Giants in a 10-inning exhibition in Houston.
1952 — The Boston Celtics and the Fort Wayne Pistons tip off at midnight in a “Milkman’s Special” following an Ice Follies performance at Boston Garden. Bob Cousy of the Celtics scores 24 points before 2,368 fans in a 88-67 win.
1952 — Dick Button performs the first triple jump in a figure skating competition.
1953 — In college basketball’s longest game, Niagara beats Siena 88-81 in six overtimes.
1960 — Philadelphia Warriors rookie Wilt Chamberlain sets an NBA record with his fourth 50-point game of the season, scoring 58 in a 129-122 victory over the New York Knicks.
1970 — Bobby Hull scores two goals, including the 500th of his career, in the Chicago Blackhawks’ 4-2 win over the New York Rangers.
1970 — Pete Maravich of LSU scores 64 points in a 121-105 loss to Kentucky. Dan Issel scores 51 for the Wildcats.
1976 — New York’s Red Holzman becomes the second NBA coach, after Red Auerbach, to win 500 games with a 102-98 victory over New Orleans.
1992 — Kristi Yamaguchi wins America’s first Olympic gold medal in women’s figure skating since 1976. Midori Ito of Japan takes the silver and Nancy Kerrigan of the United States wins bronze.
1996 — The Philadelphia 76ers have the worst NBA offensive performance in 41 years in their 66-57 loss to Miami. The 76ers tie the record for fewest points, set Feb. 27, 1955, by Milwaukee in a 62-57 loss to Boston during the first season of the 24-second clock.
2002 — In Salt Lake City, U.S. figure skater Sarah Hughes jumps from fourth to first to win the Olympic gold while teammate Michelle Kwan settles for bronze. The powerful U.S. women’s hockey team loses 3-2 in a gold-medal game to a Canadian team it had beaten eight consecutive times.
2003 — Michael Jordan becomes the first 40-year-old in NBA history to score 40 or more points, getting 43 in the Washington Wizards’ 89-86 win over the New Jersey Nets.
2014 — Mikaela Shiffrin becomes the youngest Olympic slalom gold medalist. The 18-year-old American is 0.53 seconds faster than Austria’s Marlies Schild.
2016 — 58th Daytona 500: Denny Hamlin wins closest finish in race history by just 0.01s from Martin Truex Jr.
2018 — Winter Olympics: Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall become the first Americans in history to win a cross-country gold medal (team sprint).
Compiled by the Associated Press
Page 2
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Lakers are looking for answers when it comes to maximizing their star trio. For the star duo of LeBron James and Austin Reaves, things were a little less cluttered Thursday night as the pair took turns dragging the Lakers to a much-needed win after awful back-to-back losses.
James and Reaves made the biggest shots, got the biggest stops and, on a night when they didn’t have Luka Doncic, pushed the Lakers to a 110-102 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
James scored 40 on the second night of a back-to-back and Reaves added 32, both players also getting key stops as Portland (23-33) pushed in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers’ fight to win, particularly from James and Reaves, left coach JJ Redick in awe, pouring praise on his leaders.
“He really just defies anything that’s normal. And not just the physical feats and the plays. It’s the mentality,” Redick said about James. “He’s, I believe I saw the other day, he’s a billionaire. And he’s playing on the second night of a back-to-back at 40 after 22 years with every fricking record and every accolade. … He’s one of the greatest competitors.
“And Nate [McMillan, assistant] and I were talking about it before the game. It’s like, he’s amazing to coach. He brings it every single day. … He sets the standard for how you’re supposed to approach this craft. And that’s to me the most incredible thing. It’s just a mindset to do it, get up the next day, do it, get up the next day, do it over and over again.”
So why not take the night off?
“Because I still love the game and I still got a lot to give to the game, to give to my teammates, to give to this league for while I’m here,” James said. “I don’t have much time left. So, while I’m here today in this time, I’m going to try to give what I got when I’m out on the floor. So, why? It’s the love of the game and I have an opportunity now to show my son the ranks of how to be a professional in this league. And to be along [with] him every single day, that’s a treat.”
And in Reaves, Redick has a player who fought constantly against a Portland team that tried to bully him off the ball, sustaining a cut on his shoulder in the process. Reaves made a trio of huge defensive plays in the fourth quarter to help keep the Lakers ahead.
“He’s going to give you every ounce of competitive juice that he has every single night,” Redick said. “That’s really what it comes down to.”
The version of the Lakers that will finish this season is nowhere close to being decided. They’re stuck between the version that worked its way to 10 games above .500 and the one they committed to when they traded Anthony Davis and Max Christie for Doncic.
Doncic, who has appeared in three games since Christmas, is expected to play in back-to-backs moving forward, with Redick saying the team is just being cautious in the guard’s return from a calf strain.
“Speaking with him Tuesday night after practice, we sat down together. He’s all in,” Redick said of Doncic. “He’s [over] the mental part of the shock and everything, he’s in a really good place. And now we’ve got to get him physically where he needs to be to be Luka.”
Doncic and Jarred Vanderbilt are on track to play Saturday in Denver.
The Lakers (33-21) still are waiting for Doncic to get into some kind of rhythm after his extended absence, though Redick said the team is focused on finding ways for James, Reaves and Doncic to shine together.
“It’s all of us. It’s not just the staff. It’s the players too. It’s them and us working together to find the balance to allow our three best players to be at their best,” Redick said. “You’ve seen this happen a million times in the NBA. It doesn’t happen in three games. It might not happen in three months. That’s just the reality of how these things work. We’re all committed to making it work. I think we can all be a little more organized.”
But the fight the Lakers showed Thursday, as they worked off rust from the All-Star break coupled with fatigue from one of the toughest back-to-backs on the NBA schedule, flying from Charlotte to Portland, is something they can build upon.
“The best way to compete in this league is to play hard,” James said. “You can get through a lot of games if you’re able to just play hard. You’re able to cover up for a lot of mistakes.”
James’ assessment on what it takes to win in the NBA was echoed by his coach.
“I had this revelation, like I don’t know, six weeks ago, two months ago,” Redick said. “And the math stuff, it’s important. Like it really is. Try to generate high-value shots. You strategize around throw-aheads and what those create, like all that stuff. It’s super important. Game plan defensively, it’s all important. Guys have to communicate, all that stuff. There’s actually only one cheat code in the NBA, and that’s playing hard. If you play hard every night, you have a chance to win. If you don’t play hard every night, you’re probably going to lose.
“…You give yourself a chance to win every night if you play hard.”
