Go beyond the scoreboard
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From Andrew Greif: The playoff permutations remain vast. The potential matchups remain multiple. But whether in the play-in tournament or a first-round series, the Clippers and Lakers are assured of playing in the postseason.
The question on which each rival’s playoff hopes hinge is who they will be once they get there.
When Clippers coach Tyronn Lue called the rivals’ meeting Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena, with each team holding identical records, the “most meaningful” in the series in years, it was a reference to the significance it held on seeding.
More meaningful was what the 125-118 Clippers victory might have revealed about each team’s ability not only to make the playoffs but stick around.
Who controls this rivalry isn’t in doubt — the win making the Clippers’ 11th consecutive under Lue against their rival. Norman Powell scored a team-high 27 points off the bench for the Clippers (42-38) and Kawhi Leonard added 25 points.
Yet what happens when these teams face anybody else in the West is anyone’s guess.
Will the Clippers look like the group that leads the NBA since the All-Star break in catch-and-shoot accuracy on three-pointers, and whose shooting (16-of-36 from three) grew the lead to 24 in the third quarter? Or are they the offense that scored just one basket during eight minutes later in the quarter, the same kind of drought that has seen strong starts over the past week melt into faulty finishes?
In the playoff crucible, will they show the composure that ran their lead back to 20 in the fourth quarter – or the inability to put the game away comfortably, that allowed the Lakers (41-39) to pull within seven points only three minutes later, making the game’s final 60 seconds more adventurous than ever expected?
Are the Lakers the team that, playing on a second consecutive night or not, looked completely out of sorts before halftime, with LeBron James held to three points in one of his least productive halves of his storied career? Or will they be the suddenly gritty group whose defense – which has allowed the third-lowest shooting percentage on defended shots for the last six weeks – rarely keeps them out of a game.
Tired, road-weary Lakers show little jump against Clippers
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NBA standings
Western Conference
Top six teams make the playoffs, Nos. 7-10 qualify for tournament for last two playoff spots
1. x-Denver Nuggets, 52-27
2. x-Memphis Grizzlies, 50-30, 2.5 GB
3. x-Sacramento Kings, 48-32, 4.5 GB
4. x-Phoenix Suns, 44-35, 8 GB
5. Clippers, 42-38, 10.5 GB
6. Golden State Warriors, 42-38, 10.5 GB
7. Lakers, 41-39, 11.5 GB
8. New Orleans Pelicans, 41-39, 11.5 GB
9. Minnesota Timberwolves, 40-40, 12.5 GB
10. Oklahoma City Thunder, 38-42, 14.5 GB
11. Dallas Mavericks, 38-42, 14.5 GB
12. Utah Jazz, 36-43, 16 GB
13. e-Portland Trail Blazers, 33-46, 19 GB
14. e-San Antonio Spurs, 20-59, 32 GB
15. e-Houston Rockets, 20-60, 32.5 GB
x-clinched playoff spot; e-eliminated from playoff contention.
DODGERS
From Jorge Castillo: It was the third inning Saturday and Clayton Kershaw needed a moment to collect himself.
The Dodgers were already leading the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1. But Gabriel Moreno led the inning off for Arizona with a double before taking third base on a flyball to center field. It was a potential game-changing spot. Kershaw knew what he wanted.
“I was like, ‘All right, we need a strikeout here,’ ” Kershaw recalled from the home dugout at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday.
Various unintended consequences of the pitch clock have surfaced over the first week of the major league baseball season. Everyone at ballparks across the country have been affected — from players and coaches to fans and broadcasters. Some differences are obvious, others are not.
One, momentum within an inning, subtly surfaced for Kershaw on Saturday.
Hernández: Will Smith too ‘vanilla’? Dodgers don’t care because he’s on a superstar path
MLB pitch clock proving to be a mental and physical game-changer
ANGELS
Shohei Ohtani held Seattle to one run in six innings and drove in a run at the plate, leading the Angels to a 4-3 victory over the Mariners on Wednesday.
Ohtani (1-0) kept the Mariners scoreless after allowing a run in a bumpy first inning, finishing his day having given up three hits and four walks while striking out eight.
Ohtani drove in Taylor Ward with a single in the top of the seventh against Mariners reliever Andrés Muñoz to put the Angels lead to 4-1.
Shohei Ohtani, Logan O’Hoppe shine: takeaways from Angels’ opening trip
KINGS
From Helene Elliott: If this was a playoff preview, the Kings’ postseason journey won’t last long. And it might not be through any fault of their own.
The Kings and Edmonton switched spots in the Pacific Division on Tuesday, with the Oilers moving up to second and dropping the Kings to third on the strength of a 3-1 victory at Crypto.com Arena. Two goals from the NHL’s most potent power play and a surprisingly sound checking game did the trick for the Oilers and ended an 11-0-2 home point streak for the Kings, who have scored one goal in their last two games against the team they’re slotted to play when the playoffs begin the week of April 17.
That’s hardly a happy prospect for the Kings, who made upgrades in goal and on defense this season when they acquired Joonas Korpisalo and Vladislav Gavrikov, but still might not be good enough to stop Connor McDavid, the NHL’s scoring leader, Leon Draisaitl, who scored his league-leading 31st power play goal Tuesday and company.
DUCKS
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins became the third Edmonton skater to reach 100 points this season, Klim Kostin had a goal and an assist and the surging Oilers extended their points streak to 12 games with a 3-1 victory over the woeful Ducks on Wednesday night.
Troy Terry scored for Anaheim and Lukas Dostal made 30 saves.
The Ducks have dropped nine straight and are 1-10 in their last 11 as they remained tied with Chicago and Columbus for fewest points in the NHL at 56.
It is the third straight season Anaheim had had a winless streak of at least nine games.
UCLA BASKETBALL
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: It wasn’t a delayed April Fool’s joke. Charisma Osborne will be back.
The senior guard who was a projected first-round WNBA draft pick surprised fans and analysts by announcing her decision to return to UCLA for a fifth year on Wednesday.
While the guard may have compromised her draft pick potential, Osborne feels like she can more than make up for it with the opportunities still left in college.
“UCLA is obviously such an amazing school,” Osborne said Wednesday. “The opportunities are just endless here and you just don’t get these college years back.”
LAFC
From Kevin Baxter: LAFC entered the year as arguably the best team in MLS.
It’s gotten better since then, as the reigning MLS champions showed in Wednesday’s 3-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps in the first game of a two-leg CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal.
With a packed schedule that could see LAFC play as many as 60 times this season, depth will be key. To help with that, general manager John Thorrington added European imports Timothy Tillman, Mateusz Bogusz and defender Sergi Palencia over the last two months.
Tillman and Palencia both had impressive performances Wednesday, but the game was pretty much a one-man show with Denis Bouanga scoring twice and setting up the other goal by Mahala Opoku. Bouanga leads the CCL with five goals in three games heading into the quarterfinal’s second leg April 11 at BMO Stadium, where LAFC needs only to avoid a loss by three or more goals to the advance to the semifinals for the second time in five seasons.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1896 — The first modern Olympic Games begin in Athens, Greece. James B. Connelly wins the first event — the hop, step and jump.
1936 — Horton Smith edges Harry Cooper by one stroke to win the Masters.
1941 — Craig Wood beats Byron Nelson by three strokes to win the Masters.
1947 — Jimmy Demaret wins the Masters for the second time with two-stroke victory over Byron Nelson and Frank Stranahan.
1952 — Sam Snead wins his second Masters, beating Jack Burke Jr. by four shots.
1958 — 22nd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Arnold Palmer wins the first of his four Masters titles.
1973 — Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees becomes the first major league designated hitter, in an opening-day game against Boston.
1973 — Roberto Clemente Day, Pittsburgh Pirates retire his No. 21.
1979 — Baltimore manager Earl Weaver wins his 1,000th game.
1980 — Gordie Howe completes a record 26th NHL season.
1982 — Largest crowd ever to see a baseball game in Minnesota 52,279.
1987 — Sugar Ray Leonard returns to the ring after a three-year layoff to upset Marvelous Marvin Hagler in a 12-round split decision for the middleweight title, becoming boxing’s 10th triple champion.
1991 — Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona suspended for 15 months by Italian League for testing positive for cocaine use.
1992 — Duke becomes the first team in 19 years to repeat as NCAA champion with a 71-51 victory over Michigan’s Fab Five freshmen, the youngest team to vie for the title.
2004 — Led by Diana Taurasi, UConn beats Tennessee 70-61 for its third straight women’s title. This is the first time one school sweeps the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball crown in the same year.
2008 — Lorena Ochoa continues her dominance of women’s golf with a five-shot victory in the Kraft Nabisco Championship.
2008 — Keith Tkachuk scores his 500th goal and adds an assist to help the St. Louis Blues beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 in the season finale.
2009 — Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson help send North Carolina to a national championship, ending Michigan State’s inspirational run with a 89-72 rout. The Tar Heels take a 55-34 at halftime, breaking a 42-year-old title-game record for biggest lead at the break and setting the mark for most points at the half.
2010 — New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur gets his 600th win with his second straight shutout in a 3-0 win over Atlanta. The shutout is Brodeur’s league-leading ninth of the season and the 110th of his career.
2010 — Maya Moore scores 23 points to help Connecticut rally from a horrible first half to beat Stanford 53-47 for its second straight undefeated championship season and its seventh national title. UConn (39-0) won its 78th straight, extending its women’s NCAA record for consecutive victories.
2013 — Rick Adelman becomes the eighth coach in NBA history to win 1,000 games when the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Detroit Pistons 107-101.
2015 — Duke’s star freshmen — Tyus Jones, Grayson Allen, Jahlil Okafor — turn a nine-point deficit into an eight-point lead with 1:22 left to grit out a 68-63 victory over Wisconsin for the Blue Devils’ fifth national title.
2017 — Charley Hoffman finishes with the largest first-round lead at Augusta National in 62 years. Hoffman shoots a 7-under 65 in the wind for a four-shot edge over William McGirt. That’s the largest lead since the 1955 Masters, when Jack Burke Jr. opened with 67 and was four shots ahead of Julius Boros and Mike Souchak.
2019 — Tampa Bay Lightning beats Boston Bruins, 6-3 in the season finale for their 62nd regular season win, tying the NHL record held by Detroit Red Wings.
—Compiled by the Associated Press
And finally…
Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Marvelous Marvin Hagler. Watch and listen here.
Until next time…
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