Howdy, I’m your host, Iliana Limón Romero, filling in for Houston Mitchell, who is probably watching last season’s World Series games for the 44th time. Let’s get right to the news.
From Dan Woike: The Lakers fans and the Mavericks fans cheered. Because they were Luka Doncic fans.
The uniforms were Lakers purple and gold. They were Dallas navy and Mavericks retro green. They were from the Slovenian national team and a Spanish club.
All had the same name across the back.
They cheered when he touched the ball and erupted when he made his first shot. They booed when he traveled and stood and applauded when he checked out.
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Even though he was now a visitor, the Mavericks crowd reminded Doncic at every opportunity that they felt this still should be home.
They showed it before Wednesday’s game, lining the court to watch him go through his routine an hour before tipoff. They showed it during introductions, roaring as he was introduced as a Laker for the first time in Dallas after a two-minute tribute video.
And they showed it each time the Lakers went to the free-throw line early in the game by chanting “Fire Nico,” the words that have come to define the Mavericks’ season after general manager Nico Harrison dealed Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a first-round pick.
Doncic repaid the fans with the kind of show they’d seen countless times, scoring 31 of his 45 points in the first half of the Lakers’ 112-97 win. The victory assures the Lakers of a top-six seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
MORE LAKERS …
(LM Otero / Associated Press)
‘Everybody had my back.’ Lakers forge tighter bond supporting Luka Doncic in Dallas
Hernández: Superhuman Luka Doncic delivers for fans during his emotional return to Dallas
‘Unbelievable’: How Luka Doncic drew inspiration from Tim Marovt’s harrowing story
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CLIPPERS
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer congratulates center Ivica Zubac after he earned his first career triple-double Wednesday night at the Intuit Dome.
(Augusta National / Getty Images)
From Broderick Turner: It didn’t matter to the Clippers that the Houston Rockets were resting their core players. It didn’t matter to the Clippers that they were playing the second game on back-to-back nights. It didn’t matter that they are starting to feel some wear and tear from a long NBA season that’s winding down.
What mattered was “being professional” Wednesday in their approach to their final regular-season game at the Intuit Dome.
The Clippers still are playing for something and that was enough motivation during a 134-117 win over the Rockets behind another masterful game from center Ivica Zubac.
Zubac registered his first triple-double of 20 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. He became just the third Clippers center to post a triple-double.
He almost didn’t get that opportunity, because coach Tyronn Lue considered taking Zubac out with 1:06 remaining. But Norman Powell and Nicolas Batum kept telling Lue to leave Zubac in, so he did.
Then with 1:02 left, Zubac found Bogdan Bogdanovic (16 points) for a 28-foot three-pointer that gave the 7-footer his first triple-double.
“I wanted it,” Zubac said, laughing. “T. Lue wanted to sub me out, then everyone was like, ‘No, no, no.’ He asked me and I was like, ‘I’ll stay.’ I wanted it. I told Bogie ‘I’ll get it to you and you got to shoot it no matter what,’ and he did. Bogie is a big-time shot maker. So, I told him he’s never paying for dinner again. I’m glad he made that shot.”
DODGERS
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, right, was confidence his team woul deliver a better performance Wednesday against the Nationals. The Dodgers earned a 6-5 win.
(John McDonnell / Associated Press)
From Jack Harris: As he walked around the clubhouse on Wednesday afternoon, Dave Roberts could feel a better performance coming from his scuffling Dodgers team.
Given the way the rest of this road trip had gone, things couldn’t get much worse.
During the previous five days, the once-unbeaten Dodgers team had lost four times. The night before, they did so embarrassingly on a frigid night in the country’s capital, striking out 15 times in a six-run loss to the rebuilding Washington Nationals.
In that defeat, Roberts was particularly perturbed by the club’s quality of at-bats — or lack thereof.
“The at-bats collectively haven’t been ‘team’ at-bats, and the results are showing,” Roberts said Tuesday night.
During his pregame media interview Wednesday, the manager reiterated that point.
“I just don’t think 15 strikeouts with our ballclub should happen,” he said.
By then, however, Roberts had noticed a renewed intensity from the group in their afternoon preparation — leaving him hopeful that Tuesday’s blowout, and an overall frustrating first trip in which they’d already clinched back-to-back series losses, would serve as the catalyst for a much-needed getaway day win.
“You don’t want to get swept by these guys. That wouldn’t be a good thing,” Roberts said, with the Dodgers having already lost twice this week at Nationals Park. “I think our guys have a good look today. There’s a sense of pride … I think you’ll see a different focus today. I expect us to perform today.”
In a 6-5 win over the Nationals, the Dodgers performed just enough; building, then blowing, an early four-run lead before finally prevailing behind a go-ahead seventh-inning rally and 6 ⅔ scoreless innings from the bullpen.
ANGELS
(Chris O’Meara / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press: José Caballero slugged his first career grand slam and the Tampa Bay Rays held on for a 5-4 win over the Angels on Wednesday night to snap a five-game losing streak.
Caballero gave the Rays a 4-0 lead in the first inning before the Angels hit solo homers in the second, fourth and fifth to cut the margin to one. Yandy Díaz added a solo homer in the seventh for a two-run cushion before the Angels’ Kyren Paris hit his second solo shot of the game in the eighth.
All six homers went to right field where down the line it is just 315 feet at George Steinbrenner Field, the Rays’ home while Tropicana Field undergoes repairs from hurricane damage last fall. Caballero’s homer — his first of the season — traveled 327 feet as did Díaz’s drive, also his first.
OLYMPICS
L.A. mayor Karen Bass holds up the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: The 2028 Olympics will be the first to feature more women than men, the International Olympic Committee announced Wednesday after approving the medal events and athletes quota for them.
The IOC announced an athlete quota of 10,500 in 31 core sports, which matches the Paris Games, the first Olympics to achieve gender parity. Including the five new sports that will debut in L.A., a total of 11,198 Olympians will participate in the 2028 Games and 50.5% will be female.
Citing high ticket demand for women’s events in Paris, broadcast numbers that are equal to or higher than men’s sports, increased media coverage and greater international investment in women’s sports, IOC sport director Kit McConnell called the first female-majority Olympics “a complete package.”
LAFC
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi celebrates a goal with defender Jordi Alba after scoring against LAFC during a CONCACAF Nations League match at Chase Stadium Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
(Jim Rassol / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press: Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are headed to the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals and it took a dramatic three-goal comeback to get there.
Messi scored twice, including a penalty kick in the 84th minute, to lift Inter Miami past LAFC 3-1 on Wednesday night — good enough for a 3-2 aggregate win in the two-leg series. The Herons needed three unanswered goals to win the series and ensure that they wouldn’t lose a tiebreaker.
And for Messi, the series clincher was reminiscent of how he led Argentina past France in the World Cup final in 2022. He scored two goals in that match, one on a penalty kick — then another in the penalty-shot shootout that decided the final. And those goals came against France’s Hugo Lloris, who was also in net for LAFC on Wednesday night.
DUCKS
Ducks winger Cutter Gauthier celebrates with teammates after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime against the Calgary Flames Wednesday at the Honda Center.
(Etienne Laurent / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press: Cutter Gauthier teamed with Frank Vatrano to tie it with a late burst, then scored at 1:11 of overtime to give the Ducks a 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night at Honda Center.
Soon after Yegor Sharangovich and Matt Coronato scored in a 1:42 span to give Calgary a 3-1 lead, Vatrano started the rally with 3:57 left. Gauthier tied it eight seconds later.
In overtime, Gauthier took a pass from Leo Carlsson and beat goalie Dustin Wolf with a wrist shot from the high slot to the top, right corner.
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.
2022 — 86th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: World #1 golfer Scottie Scheffler wins first career major title; beats Irishman Rory McIlroy by 3 strokes.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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