Go beyond the scoreboard
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From Dan Woike: Your eyes would tell you quickly.
The Lakers, at their very best this season, have received the kind of all-around dominance from LeBron James that made him the best player in the league — a surefire ticket to the end when winning mattered most.
But with 39 years on his bones and 21 seasons worth of mileage on his legs, James has had to pick his spots. On the nights when James has been able to play with his foot on the gas on both ends of the court, the Lakers have been as difficult to beat as any team. In the games when age and fatigue keep James glued to the paint, closing out on a shooter with his eyes instead of his effort, they’ve been in trouble.
Sunday, in their final game of the regular season and in desperate need of a win, coach Darvin Ham had a feeling which version of James he’d get.
“When we see that type of energy, it’s great,” Ham said before the game. “It lets us know — he’s pretty much always locked in, but again, we understand the stakes.”
The Lakers looked the way they were because James looked the way he was.
Offensively, his court vision carved the Pelicans apart. Defensively, he tortured Zion Williamson and took the Pelicans’ biggest threat totally out of the game. He had a double-double by halftime and a triple-double before the end of the 124-108 win.
“It just sets a tone,” Ham said of James’ play.
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CLIPPERS
From Broderick Turner: Kawhi Leonard sat on the Clippers bench Sunday once again dressed in a sweatsuit, right next to Paul George, who was next to James Harden, the team’s three stars not playing in the final regular-season game before the team begins the playoffs.
The big mystery surrounds Leonard and his status for the Clippers’ first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks that will start Sunday at Crypto.com Arena. He didn’t play against the Houston Rockets at home Sunday because of right knee inflammation. He has missed the last eight games with knee issues.
The fourth-seeded Clippers made no assurances that Leonard would play when the series starts.
“He’s not playing today,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said before his team’s 116-105 loss to the Rockets in L.A.’s last regular-season game before moving to Intuit Dome in Inglewood next season.
NBA PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
All times Pacific
Play-in tournament
Western Conference
Tuesday
No. 8 Lakers at No. 7 New Orleans, 4:30 p.m., TNT
No. 10 Golden State at No. 9 Sacramento, 7 p.m., TNT
Eastern Conference
Wednesday
No. 8 Miami at No. 7 Philadelphia;, 4 p.m., ESPN
No. 10 Atlanta at No. 9. Chicago; 6:30 p.m., ESPN
Note: Winners of the Nos. 7 vs. No. 8 game advance to the playoffs as the No. 7 seed. Loser of the game advances to a second play-in game to play the winners of the game between the Nos. 9 and 10 seeds. The winners of that game become the No. 8 seed in their respective conference.
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: For so-called superteams like the Dodgers included, there is a universal kryptonite from which even a $300-million payroll isn’t immune.
Walks.
In a 6-3 loss to the San Diego Padres on Sunday, the Dodgers issued 14 of them, shooting themselves in the foot again and again and again to drop a three-game weekend series at Chavez Ravine.
Free passes hadn’t exactly been an issue for the Dodgers this season. Entering Sunday, they had the 11th-lowest walk rate in the majors.
But between James Paxton’s wild command (he walked eight in five-plus innings) and more shaky performances from the underbelly of a worn-out bullpen (culminating with a tiebreaking three-spot against J.P. Feyereisen in the seventh inning), the team’s fifth loss in its last nine games felt entirely of its own making.
Not since 1962 had a Dodgers pitching staff walked so many batters in a single game.
ANGELS
Masataka Yoshida hit his first homer of the season, one of three home runs by Boston on Sunday, and the Red Sox beat the Angels 5-4.
The designated hitter Yoshida hit his off reliever José Suarez in the sixth inning and scored a runner. Tyler O’Neill and Triston Casas hit back-to-back two-out homers in the first off Angels left-hander Tyler Anderson (2-1).
“The pitch count was up and we took advantage of Suarez out there with Masa,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “It was a good one, good game plan.”
After going seven scoreless innings in each of his first two starts, Anderson went 4 1/3, giving up three runs on four hits and three walks (one intentional) with four strikeouts.
USC BASKETBALL
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: As JuJu Watkins wiped tears from her eyes with the corner of her jersey after USC’s season-ending loss to Connecticut in the NCAA regional final, UConn coach Geno Auriemma gave Watkins two encouraging pats on the back. He said a few words into the freshman’s ear.
What did the legendary coach tell USC’s heartbroken star who set the NCAA Division I freshman scoring record in the crushing defeat?
“Go pro,” Auriemma joked later.
But even with the legendary coach’s light-hearted encouragement, Watkins probably won’t hear her name called in the WNBA draft until 2027.
To be eligible for the draft, domestic players must turn 22 years old during the calendar year of the event or have graduated from a four-year university prior to, or within the three months after, the draft.
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Isaiah Raikes’ nameplate over his locker barely had settled in, but USC’s latest great hope at defensive line already is looking for a new home.
Raikes and defensive back Tre’Quon Fegans were removed from USC’s online roster this weekend amid their plans to enter the transfer portal when it opens Monday. As players flirted with, backed out of and entered the portal, discussion around the spring transfer window lingered over the final two weeks of USC’s spring practices, but coach Lincoln Riley emphasized that if the Trojans “lose a couple of guys, then we’ll replace them.”
USC also lost freshman offensive lineman Jason Zandamela to the portal this week, but Raikes’ departure leaves a more urgent 6-foot-2, 320-pound hole in the interior of the defensive line. The nose tackle from Texas A&M was expected to anchor the front along with Bear Alexander.
NHL
THE MASTERS
From Sam Farmer: Scottie Scheffler said all last week that he would pull out of the Masters if his expectant wife went into labor during the tournament.
Instead, Scheffler delivered a second green jacket.
The world’s No. 1 player was true to form Sunday, remaining steady through “Amen Corner” when the rest of his top competitors got wobbly during that brutal stretch comprising 11th, 12th and 13th holes at Augusta National.
It was the second Masters victory for Scheffler since 2022, and this third win in the past four tour events. Last month, he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players Championship, and finished tied for second in the Houston Open.
Scheffler said he never allowed himself to relax with the lead. He shot a four-under-par 68 on Sunday, won the Masters at minus-11, beating runner-up Ludvig Aberg by four strokes.
Tiger Woods shoots a 77 in final round of Masters
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1927 — Yankees slugger Babe Ruth hits MLB record 60 HRs is a season.
1947 — Jackie Robinson breaks the color barrier in MLB.
1979 — 43rd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Fuzzy Zoeller wins his only Masters with a birdie on the 2nd hole of a playoff with Ed Sneed and Tom Watson.
1984 — Ben Crenshaw wins the Masters by two strokes over Tom Watson.
1985 — Marvin Hagler retains his world middleweight title by stopping Tommas Hearns in the third round at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Both slug it out with reckless abandon for eight minutes, which many consider the most electrifying three rounds in boxing history.
1991 — Magic Johnson sets an NBA record for career assists in a 112-106 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Johnson, who needed nine assists to break Oscar Robertson’s record of 9,887, gets 19.
1993 — Sparky Anderson earns his 2,000th victory as a manager as the Detroit Tigers rally to beat the Oakland Athletics 3-2.
1997 — Baseball honors Jackie Robinson by retiring #42 for all teams.
2000 — Cal Ripken Jr. becomes the 24th player to reach 3,000 hits when he lines a clean single to center off Twins reliever Hector Carrasco. He reaches the milestone with his third hit in a 6-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins and becomes the seventh player in major league history to get 3,000 hits and 400 home runs.
2019 — The Clippers overcome an NBA record 31-point deficit to score an improbable 135-131 Game 2 playoff victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.