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From Andrew Greif: They were missing one of their most important players.
They watched as one of their most impactful scorers got off to a slow start.
They saw their 12-point lead in the fourth quarter disappear entirely in less than seven minutes.
The Clippers earned one of their most impressive wins, anyway.
Behind Paul George’s season-high 38 points, the Clippers pushed away Oklahoma City, one of the few teams still above them in the Western Conference standings, for a 128-117 victory at Crypto.com Arena.
In a season where the Clippers have displayed a toughness not seen in recent years, they learned their starting center, Ivica Zubac, would be out for at least the next month before the team re-evaluates his strained right calf, but didn’t buckle without one of their biggest contributors during a two-month hot streak that has improved them to 26-14.
The Thunder (27-13) shot 50% overall, including 47% on three-pointers, and benefited from numerous open looks by some of their best shooters, from Isaiah Joe to Lu Dort. The Clippers shot 60% from the free-throw line, their third-worst performance there this season, and wholly uncharacteristic for the league’s sixth-best team from the stripe.
But Zubac’s replacements, Mason Plumlee, who started in Zubac’s place, and reserve Daniel Theis, combined for 23 points and 13 rebounds, with coach Tyronn Lue saying that both looked “great” in larger roles.
It’s official: Clippers to host 2026 All-Star Game at Intuit Dome
How was a fan able to get close enough to touch LeBron James during Lakers game?
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CHARGERS
From Bill Plaschke: Jim Harbaugh is there if the Chargers want him.
The question is, how bad do they want him?
Do they want to deal with the eccentricities that have alienated him at every stop?
Do they want to pay him the huge sum that will be required to steal a national championship coach?
Do they want a personality who will be more respected than the team’s owners and more popular than its quarterback?
Do they want to dramatically establish a singular face of the franchise for the first time since the Spanos family bought the team 40 years ago?
The questions are complex but the answers are simple.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Chargers interview Brian Callahan for head-coaching job
Wife of Rams’ Matthew Stafford says Lions fans booed family: ‘My girls and I are not playing’
Jason Kelce, an All-Pro equally famous for brother Travis’ girlfriend and ‘Tush Push,’ retires
NFL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
All times Pacific
Divisional round
AFC
Saturday
No. 4 Houston at No. 1 Baltimore, 1:30 p.m., ESPN, ABC, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes
Sunday
No. 3 Kansas City at No. 2 Buffalo, 3:30 p.m., CBS, Paramount+
NFC
Saturday
No. 7 Green Bay at No. 1 San Francisco, 5:15 p.m., Fox, Fox Deportes
Sunday
No. 4 Tampa Bay at No. 2 Detroit, noon, NBC, Peacock, Universo
Conference championship
Sunday, Jan. 28
AFC, noon, CBS, Paramount+
NFC, 3:30 p.m., Fox, Fox Deportes
Note: Super Bowl is Feb. 11 at 3:30 p.m. on CBS and Paramount+
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: Two-way star Shohei Ohtani was the biggest name the Dodgers acquired during their spending spree this winter.
Veteran outfielder Teoscar Hernández, however, might have been the team’s best bargain of the offseason, joining the club on a one-year, $23.5-million deal that was christened Tuesday with a video call with reporters.
“I wanted to go to a team that can compete and be in the playoffs and … makes me a better player,” Hernández said. “That’s the biggest reason I signed with the Dodgers.”
Who’s not funding push for Nevada vote on A’s stadium funds? Nevadans
UCLA BASKETBALL
From Ben Bolch: Doubts have shadowed Dylan Andrews like a sticky defender.
He’s not really a point guard, the refrain goes. He’s insanely athletic and can get to the basket, but he’s not much of a passer. How could UCLA go from Tyger Campbell to this guy?
With one perfectly placed pass after another Sunday, Andrews delivered his retort. The sophomore found Adem Bona near the basket for a dunk. He set up the big man for two jump hooks. He got the ball to Lazar Stefanovic for an open three-pointer.
By the end of the Bruins’ big bounce-back victory over Washington, Andrews had notched a career-high eight assists with only two turnovers while possibly quieting some of his critics and giving himself a huge confidence boost.
KINGS
Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski each scored his 18th goal this season to share the team lead, and Jake Oettinger won a matchup of Western Conference All-Star goaltenders as the Dallas Stars pulled away from the Kings for a 5-1 victory Tuesday night.
Dallas got three goals in the first 10 minutes of the third period to take complete control. Hintz, Wyatt Johnston and Evgenii Dadonov each had a goal and an assist, and Sam Steel scored short-handed for the Stars, who are 4-1-0 in their last five games. Jason Robertson added two assists.
Veteran defenseman Drew Doughty scored his 150th career goal for the Kings, who finished a six-game trip by splitting a back-to-back. They won at Carolina on Monday night to end an eight-game skid (0-4-4).
DUCKS
Ethan Bear scored his first NHL goal in almost a year, Darcy Kuemper stopped all 24 shots he faced and the Washington Capitals beat the Ducks 2-0 on Tuesday night.
Bear’s goal with 37.8 seconds left in the first period came in his ninth game with the Capitals after signing with them in December. The defenseman, who spent the summer and fall rehabbing from shoulder surgery, last scored Jan. 15, 2023.
Kuemper’s shutout is his first this season and 31st of his 12-year career. He didn’t have a lot of action early, as the Ducks had just three shots in a sleepy first that featured a spirited fight between a couple of 6-foot-5 combatants: Anaheim’s Ross Johnston and Washington’s Joel Edmundson.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1961 — The Cincinnati Royals’ 22-year-old rookie sensation, Oscar Robertson, becomes the youngest player to receive NBA All-Star MVP honors. Robertson scores 23 points and hands out 14 assists in a 153-131 victory for the West at Syracuse.
1971 — The first Super Bowl under the NFL-AFL merger ends with Baltimore rookie Jim O’Brien kicking a 32-yard field goal for a 16-13 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
1988 — The Denver Broncos beat the Cleveland Browns for the second straight year in the AFC championship game. Defensive back Jeremiah Castille strips running back Earnest Byner at the Denver 3-yard line with 65 seconds left in the game to preserve a 38-33 victory.
1995 — The Rams announce they’re leaving Southern California after 49 years and moving to St. Louis.
2003 — Joe Nieuwendyk scores his 500th career goal in New Jersey’s 2-1 victory over Carolina.
2010 — Jeremy Abbott earns a trip to the Olympics by winning his second national men’s figuring skating title. Abbott’s wins in a landslide with a score of 263.66 points, 25 more than Evan Lysacek.
2011 — West Virginia of the Big East moves into the men’s poll for the first time this season to tie the record of nine teams from one conference in the Top 25. There were nine Big East teams ranked for one week in January 2009.
2012 — LeBron James becomes youngest player in NBA history to record 20,000 career points during the Miami Heat’s 92-75 victory over Golden State; James, 28 years, 17 days, passes Kobe Bryant, 29 years, 122 days.
2014 — Five-time champion Serena Williams becomes the winningest woman at the Australian Open, notching career win No. 61 as she advanced to the fourth round with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Daniela Hantuchova.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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