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From Dan Woike: They should have known what was coming for them, the kind of night that is easier than any other to predict in the NBA.
By the time the Mavericks left the court a loser Monday night in Memphis, it was clear they’d only be a shell of themselves by the time they got back to Dallas, where the Lakers were waiting. Luka Doncic was hurt. Kyrie Irving’s back had him sidelined. And center Daniel Gafford’s sprained ankle meant another key piece for Dallas would be unavailable for a game Anthony Davis labeled a “must win” after the Lakers lost in Houston on Sunday.
Yet every season teams get caught on nights like this, their feet a little heavy, their reactions too slow against a roster energized by the power of opportunity.
“They was waiting on us; it seemed like they was licking their chops,” Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith said.
More shots, more minutes, more chances — the momentum only builds as players gain confidence. And Tuesday, even though the Lakers had more talent, they couldn’t stop the waves crashing into them.
Dallas beat the Lakers 118-97, the Mavericks blowing the doors off the Lakers in the second half despite being without their key offensive options minus Klay Thompson.
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RAMS
From Gary Klein: The Rams on Tuesday made several roster moves in preparation for Monday night’s NFC wild-card game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Veteran safety John Johnson III was designated to return from injured reserve, and running back Royce Freeman was signed to the practice squad to help make up for the loss of Blake Corum, who was placed on injured reserve.
Johnson, an eighth-year pro, has been sidelined since suffering a shoulder injury in the second game. Johnson, who intercepted a pass in the season-opening defeat at Detroit,
will add depth to a safety group that includes Quentin Lake, Kam Curl, Kamren Kinchens and Jaylen McCollough.
Corum, the No. 2 running back behind Kyren Williams, suffered a fractured forearm during the Rams’ loss to the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday.
Freeman, a six-year veteran, played for the Rams last season and rushed for 319 yards and two touchdowns in 77 carries. Ronnie Rivers and Cody Schrader are other running backs on the roster.
CHARGERS
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: For the first time in two weeks, the Chargers had both of their leading rushers on the practice field Tuesday, and the team didn’t stop at stocking the backfield with only J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards.
Former Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott made his Chargers practice debut Tuesday after being signed to the practice squad. The Chargers made the move official while releasing receiver Laviska Shenault.
With the Cowboys well outside of the postseason picture, Elliott asked to be released after playing 15 games for the team that drafted him fourth overall in 2016. Three seasons removed from his last 1,000-yard campaign, the 29-year-old was searching for an opportunity to compete for a championship in the waning years of his career.
Edwards missed the last two games because of an ankle injury. Dobbins returned from a four-game absence just in time to pick up the slack, but the Chargers’ leading rusher appeared to tweak an ankle in Sunday’s regular-season finale with the Las Vegas Raiders.
NFL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
Wild-card round
Saturday
All times Pacific
AFC
No. 5 Chargers at No. 4 Houston Texans, 1:30 p.m. (CBS, Paramount+)
No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 3 Baltimore Ravens, 5 p.m. (Prime Video)
Sunday
AFC
No. 7 Denver Broncos at No. 2 Buffalo Bills, 10 a.m. (CBS, Paramount+)
NFC
No. 7 Green Bay Packers at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles, 1:30 p.m. (FOX, FOX Deportes)
No. 6 Washington Commanders at No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 5 p.m. (NBC, Peacock, Universo)
Monday
NFC
No. 5 Minnesota Vikings at No. 4 Rams, 5 p.m. (ESPN/ABC/ESPN+/ ESPN Deportes; ManningCast-ESPN2/ESPN+)
Divisional round: Jan. 18-19
Conference championships: Jan. 26
Super Bowl 59: Feb. 9 at New Orleans (Fox)
UCLA BASKETBALL
From Ben Bolch: The fun for UCLA lasted about five minutes. What came before and after was demoralizing.
First, the Bruins had no answer for Michigan’s interior dominance, Vladislav Goldin dunking on one player after another.
Then, after a massive comeback pushed the Bruins into a brief lead Tuesday night, they could not stop the Wolverines from long range.
If their worst loss of the season wasn’t enough, the No. 22 Bruins’ 94-75 setback against No. 24 Michigan at Pauley Pavilion dropping them to .500 in Big Ten play, their coach provided a cold coda by calling them “soft” and “delusional” afterward.
Michigan’s Vladislav Goldin dunks in the first half. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
As part of a lengthy rant similar to ones he’s delivered in past seasons, Mick Cronin said his players weren’t tough enough and questioned why he had more drive to win than anyone else on his roster or coaching staff.
————
Lauren Betts finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes Tuesday night and Timea Gardiner added 16 points off the bench as the No. 1 UCLA Bruins never trailed in an 83-49 rout at Purdue.
Coach Cori Close gave her starters plenty of rest with Londynn Jones logging the most minutes, 25, in the Bruins’ second game in four days in Indiana. UCLA pulled off a rare double by beating Purdue and Indiana on their home courts to remain a perfect 16-0 (5-0 Big Ten).
From Ryan Kartje: USC is finalizing a deal to hire Colorado State assistant Chad Savage as its new tight ends and inside receivers coach, a person familiar with the decision but not authorized to speak on the matter told The Times.
Just 30 years old, Savage spent the last three seasons working under coach Jay Norvell at Colorado State, where he earned a reputation for his stellar work on the recruiting trail. During all three seasons with the Rams, Savage was rated as the top recruiter in the Mountain West Conference. Before that, he served as tight ends coach at Nevada and receivers coach at San Diego, his alma mater.
ANGEL CITY
From Kevin Baxter: Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson was called up to the women’s senior national team for the first time Tuesday and will join club teammate Alyssa Thompson for a weeklong training camp in Carson next week.
Anderson, 23, started Angel City’s first three games last season, conceding six goals and making 17 saves, with her final appearance coming March 30. She played four NWSL games in 2023, including Angel City’s playoff loss to the Seattle Reign.
Anderson’s call-up comes after Alyssa Naeher, who last year became the first American named FIFA goalkeeper of the year, announced her retirement from international play. Anderson, who was the starting keeper on the under-17 World Cup team in 2018, will be competing with veteran Casey Murphy of the North Carolina Courage, Seattle’s Claudia Dickey and Mandy McGlynn of the Utah Royals to replace Naeher. Of the four, only Murphy, with 20 caps, has played more than one match with the USWNT.
Why one pro soccer team in Orange County has 1,463 shareholders
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: By removing a key piece from their puzzle this week, the Dodgers might have made their roster picture somewhat clearer.
Gone is Gavin Lux, the homegrown infielder who, after years of trade speculation, finally was dealt to the Cincinnati Reds for a prospect and draft pick Monday. What remains is a lineup trait the Dodgers desire most, having enhanced the “optionality,” as Dodgers brass likes to say, of a position player group that can be mixed and matched in a number of new ways.
With Lux, the Dodgers lineup seemed somewhat cemented. He and Mookie Betts would’ve been up the middle at second base and shortstop, respectively. Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy would’ve played every day at the corner infield spots. And Michael Conforto, Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernández would have been locked into the three outfield spots.
But when the Dodgers landed Korean utility infielder Hyeseong Kim last week, they seemingly were limited in how they could deploy their vast arsenal of versatile weapons. That’s why, even as general manager Brandon Gomes maintained public support for Lux in the wake of the Kim signing, a trade involving the former first-round pick — or one of the other numerous middle infielders — always appeared likely.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1972 — The NCAA announces freshmen will be eligible to play on varsity football and basketball teams starting in the fall.
1973 — David Vaughn of Oral Roberts grabs 34 rebounds in a 123-95 win over Brandeis.
1984 — The Executive Committee of the NCAA votes to expand the championship basketball field to 64 teams starting in 1985.
1984 — Bengt Gustafsson of the Washington Capitals scores five goals in a 7-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
1993 — Michael Jordan becomes the 18th NBA player to reach the 20,000-point plateau when he scores 35 points in the Chicago Bulls’ game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Jordan reaches 20,000-points in 620 games, faster than anyone except Wilt Chamberlain, who did it in 499 games.
1994 — Dino Ciccarelli becomes the 19th NHL player to score 500 career goals in the Detroit Red Wings’ 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
2000 — Eddie House scores 61 points to tie Lew Alcindor’s Pac-10 record and lead the Sun Devils to 111-108 double-overtime victory over California.
2003 — Utah guard Mark Jackson becomes the third NBA player to reach 10,000 career assists in the Jazz’s 99-93 win over the Phoenix Suns. Jackson joins career assists leader and teammate John Stockton (15,425) and Magic Johnson (10,141).
2007 — Second-ranked Florida dominates Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith and No. 1 Ohio State for a 41-14 in the BCS National Championship Bowl. The Gators become the first Division I school to hold football and basketball titles at the same time.
2008 — Goose Gossage becomes the fifth relief pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame.
2009 — Tim Tebow wins the matchup of Heisman winners as No. 1 Florida beats No. 2 Oklahoma and this year’s Heisman winner Sam Bradford, 24-14, in the BCS National Championship Bowl.
2011 — The Seattle Seahawks stun the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints 41-36 to open the NFL playoffs. Seattle, the first division winner with a losing record at 7-9, advances behind four touchdown passes by Matt Hasselbeck and a brilliant 67-yard run by Marshawn Lynch.
2012 — Denver’s Tim Tebow connects with Demaryius Thomas on an electrifying 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play of overtime and the Broncos stun the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-23 in a AFC wild-card game. The play, the longest to end a playoff game in overtime, takes 11 seconds and is the quickest ending to an overtime in NFL history.
2014 — Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas are elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame, while Craig Biggio fell two votes short.
2016 — Oakland’s Khalil Mack makes history earning a selection at two positions on the 2015 Associated Press All-Pro Team, an NFL first. The second-year Raiders defensive end and outside linebacker draws enough support from a panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league to make the squad at both spots.
2018 — College Football National Championship, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta: #4 Alabama beats #3 Georgia, 26-23.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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