From Helene Elliott: The crowd at Crypto.com Arena stood as one and roared while the clock ticked off the final seconds of a Lakers season that began with doubt and despair and ended with an invigorated team that earned more wins than anyone would have dared to guess.
The buzz built as the Lakers pulled away for a 128-117 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday afternoon to lock up seventh place and a date Tuesday with Minnesota in the NBA’s contrived but dramatic play-in tournament. D’Angelo Russell encouraged the joyful noise, lifting his arms toward fans and asking for more cheers. They happily obliged, appreciating a team that clawed its way up from the depths to win nine of its final 11 games, reach a season-best four games above .500 (43-39), and seize a chance to keep going.
For the 17-time NBA champion Lakers, built around all-time scoring leader LeBron James and a forceful (when healthy) Anthony Davis, earning a play-in spot could be considered a comedown. Yet considering they couldn’t even crack the top 10 last year and earn a play-in berth — and that they began this season a rudderless, clueless 2-10 with glaring personnel issues before general manager Rob Pelinka remade the roster — this was a valid reason to celebrate.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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The team that was booed off the court earlier this season exited to applause Sunday, and deserved it. Rookie coach Darvin Ham, whose rotations and lineups were often savaged in the first few months of the season while he was handcuffed by a poorly constructed roster, could finally smile.
“Obviously, you would like to secure your [playoff] position but things don’t always fall your way,” Ham said. “But it’s not about the action, it’s about the reaction and the way we reacted when we found ourselves facing adversity. We’ve been able to climb out of it and here we are.
“It’s a hell of an opportunity before us, facing us and we’re up for it wholeheartedly.”
James, whose game-high 36 points was his 25th game this season of scoring 30 or more, summed it up neatly. “We put ourselves in a position where we can move on,” he said. “That’s all we asked for, to put ourselves in a position to move on.”
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It won’t be easy: if the Lakers win at home on Tuesday, they’ll be the West’s No. 7 seed and will face Memphis. If they lose on Tuesday, they’ll have to get past the winner of the Oklahoma City-New Orleans game to earn the No. 8 seed on Friday.
So you’re saying there’s a chance?
“Since the trade deadline, I think we’ve played some of the best basketball in the league,” guard Austin Reaves said. “We’ve actually not been that healthy. We’ve had Bron out at points, had AD out at points and [Russell]. So if we’re whole and healthy, we like our opportunity.”
CLIPPERS
From Andrew Greif: A regular season in which the Clippers made nothing look easy ended Sunday in the only way appropriate — by securing the most straightforward postseason scenario through 48 minutes of basketball that were anything but.
Phoenix, locked into the Western Conference’s fourth seed, rested all of its best players. The Clippers, capable of finishing anywhere from fifth to falling into the play-in tournament they so earnestly wanted to avoid, played postseason-ready lineups. And yet not until the last 19 seconds were the Clippers secure in knowing their playoff fate.
Their eventual 119-114 win clinched a fifth-place finish in the West — and a return engagement with the full-strength Suns, with Game 1 starting Sunday at Footprint Center.
Getting there was “stressful,” starting center Ivica Zubac acknowledged.
DODGERS
Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes, right, walks off the field after being ejected by home plate umpire Lance Barrett during the fifth inning of an 11-6 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.
(Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)
From Jack Harris: They couldn’t stop the running game. They didn’t play clean defense. And they failed to string together enough big hits.
In a dreadful 11-6 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, which sealed an ugly series defeat over four games at Chase Field, the Dodgers’ list of problems was numbered and varied.
“We got beat in every facet,” manager Dave Roberts acknowledged.
No area, however, loomed larger than the Dodgers’ sudden, surprising and momentum-sucking inability to do the thing their organization has been best at over the last 10 years.
“The last couple of days, it’s easy to see,” Roberts said. “We didn’t pitch well.”
ANGELS
From Sarah Valenzuela: Sunday’s matinee could have resulted in a third straight series win to open the season for the Angels. Instead, they squandered an early six-run lead against the Toronto Blue Jays, then tried to win from behind but ultimately fell short in extra innings.
The Angels lost to the Blue Jays 12-11 in 10 innings after Cavan Biggio, Toronto’s ghost runner, scored on Kevin Kiermaier’s ground-rule double, and George Springer drove in another run against Carlos Estévez.
“I just missed my spot twice and that’s what happens,” Estévez said. “You make mistakes, you pay for it at this level.”
On the pitch that resulted in the Blue Jays’ retaking the lead, Estévez explained the issue was location. He threw two changeups, the first resulting in a strike. But the second was more inside, which Kiermaier was able to jump on.
The Angels scored a run in the bottom of the 10th, but Shohei Ohtani grounded out with the bases loaded to end the game.
MASTERS
Scottie Scheffler puts the green jacket on Jon Rahm after the Spaniard’s win at the Masters on Sunday.
(David J. Phillip / Associated Press)
From Sam Farmer: Ten years ago, almost to the day, Jon Rahm cracked open a fortune cookie at Panda Express and pulled out this prophecy: “Your talents will be recognized and suitably rewarded”
That prompted the 18-year-old golf prodigy to tweet: “I am gonna win the masters!”
Nothing wrong with a little delayed gratification.
Rahm, who opened the legendary tournament with a four-putt, cruised to a four-stroke victory Sunday, holding off Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson — two stars of the LIV Golf series — and becoming the first European to win both the Masters and U.S. Open.
“I find that hard to believe I’m the first one,” Rahm said after he was informed of that in the champion’s news conference. “If there’s anything better than accomplishing something like this, it’s making history.”
DUCKS
From Associated Press: Nathan MacKinnon scored his second power-play goal of the game with 44.3 seconds left in overtime, and the Colorado Avalanche rallied for a 5-4 win over the Ducks on Sunday night.
Mikko Rantanen had two goals and two assists, and J.T. Compher also scored to help Colorado move two points ahead of Dallas atop the Central Division. The Stars hold the potential tiebreaker with more regulation wins, which made MacKinnon’s one-timer from the left circle in the extra period that much more important.
Pavel Francouz made 19 saves in his first start in nearly two months. He had not played since Feb. 7 because of a lower-body injury.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1934 — The Chicago Black Hawks edge the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 in overtime to win the Stanley Cup in 4 of the best-of-5 series. Charlie Gardiner gets the shutout and Mush March scores the winning goal at 30:05 of overtime. It’s the final NHL game for Gardiner, who dies of a brain hemorrhage two months later.
1947 — Jackie Robinson becomes first black player of the 20th century to sign an MLB contract.
1949 — Sam Snead wins the Masters, beating Lloyd Mangrum and Johnny Bulla by three strokes.
1953 — NBA Championship Finals, Minneapolis Auditorium, Minnesota, MN: Minneapolis Lakers beat NY Knicks, 91-84 for a 4-1 series victory; Lakers’ 5th title in 6 years.
1955 — Cary Middlecoff beats Ben Hogan by seven strokes to win the Masters.
1955 — 9th NBA Championship: Syracuse Nats beat Fort Wayne Pistons, 4 games to 3.
1956 — The Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 to win the Stanley Cup in five games.
1960 — 24th U.S. Masters tournament, Augusta National GC: 1958 champion Arnold Palmer birdies the final 2 holes to win by 1 stroke over runner-up Ken Venturi.
1961 — South Africa’s Gary Player becomes the first foreign player to win the Masters, edging Arnold Palmer and Charley Coe by one stroke.
1977 — Tom Watson pulls away in the final four holes to beat Jack Nicklaus by two strokes in the Masters.
1983 — Baltimore’s Eddie Murray hits his 1,000 career hit.
1988 — Scotland’s Sandy Lyle sinks a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a one-shot victory in the Masters, becoming the first British player to win the tournament.
1990 — Dave Taylor, Tomas Sandstrom and Tony Granato score three goals apiece as the Los Angeles Kings pound the Calgary Flames 12-4, marking the first time in NHL playoff history that three hat tricks are recorded in one game.
1991 — LA King Wayne Gretzky scores NHL record 93rd playoff goal.
1993 — Manon Rheaume, pro hockey’s only female goaltender, allows six goals in her first International Hockey League start for the Atlanta Knights, an 8-6 loss to Cincinnati.
1994 — Jose Maria Olazabal wins the Masters by two strokes over Tom Lehman. It’s the sixth time in seven years a non-American has prevailed.
1996 — Norm Duke sets a Professional Bowlers Association record with three consecutive 300s. Duke, who finished the first round with consecutive 300s, opens the second round with his third perfect game of the day.
2005 — Tiger Woods wins the Masters with a spectacular finish of birdies and bogeys. Woods turns back a surprising challenge Chris DiMarco with a 15-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole to capture his fourth green jacket.
2010 — The Boston Bruins clinch a playoff berth after scoring three short-handed goals in 64 seconds on the same penalty during a 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. It’s the first time in NHL history that a team accomplishes the feat as Daniel Paille, Blake Wheeler and Steve Begin score the goals in the second period to make it 3-0.
2011 — 75th US Masters tournament, Augusta National GC: Charl Schwartzel of South Africa birdies the final 4 holes to win his first major title, 2 strokes ahead of Australian pair Adam Scott and Jason Day.
2016 — Danny Willett wins the Masters after a stunning collapse by Jordan Spieth. Willett shoots a closing 67 for a 5-under 283 is assured his first major title when Spieth bogies the 17th hole. Spieth, nine holes away from another wire-to-wire victory, throws it away with a collapse around Amen Corner that is shocking even by Augusta National standards. Spieth was five shots ahead on the 10th tee and three shots behind when he walked to the 13th tee.
2016 — Chicago’s Patrick Kane wins the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer. He is the first American-born player in NHL history to capture the Ross since it has been awarded, dating back to 1947-48. Kane wins the scoring title with 106 points, which includes 46 goals and 60 assists, both of which were career highs.
Compiled by the Associated Press
And finally
No pitch is safe from Shohei Ohtani. This home run against the Toronto Blue Jays proves it.
Until next time…
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