From Ben Bolch: They lost their composure. They lost their leading scorer. They lost their late lead.
Ultimately, they lost something that mattered far more.
With Sebastian Mack ejected and Adem Bona largely nonexistent Sunday evening, the UCLA Bruins faltered in the final moments in an emotionally charged game against the team that had humiliated them a little more than a month ago.
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This defeat was worse. Way worse.
The Bruins appeared on the verge of payback against Utah when guard Dylan Andrews rose for a jumper just inside the three-point line, giving his team a one-point lead with 6.6 seconds left.
But in a decision that will be questioned for a long time, UCLA coach Mick Cronin called a timeout to set up his defense — and allow the Utes, who had no timeouts left, to set up a final play.
Utah got the ball to a driving Deivon Smith, who split two defenders before his layup was contested by Bona and glanced off the top of the backboard. The ball fell toward Utes big man Branden Carlson, whose putback with 0.2 seconds left pushed Utah into the lead and silenced the crowd inside Pauley Pavilion.
After UCLA forward Berke Buyuktuncel’s full-court inbounds pass was tipped away by Utah, the Bruins were left with a 70-69 loss that ended their six-game winning streak.
Plaschke: Another maddening loss dims UCLA’s March hopes
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NBA
Lakers star Anthony Davis stands during the singing of the national anthem before Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis.
(Juan Ocampo / NBAE via Getty Images)
From Dan Woike: Following the highest-scoring All-Star Game in the league’s history, the NBA’s signature in-season event again feels at a crossroads as attempts to make Sunday’s closing event more competitive fell flat.
The East beat the West 211-186 in Indianapolis, a game that simultaneously stoked fears that there’s too much offense in the current product and that players don’t seem to care about playing hard in the NBA’s signature showcase event.
“It’s an All-Star Game,” Anthony Davis said when asked about the lack of defense.
Following an awful game in Salt Lake last season that delivered record-low ratings, the league and its players made changes to the format with the NBA agreeing to remove a lot of the fanfare (musical performances, prolonged introductions, convoluted scoring and rosters) in favor of a traditional East-West game.
LAKERS
Lakers star LeBron James dunks during the first half of the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday.
(Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE via Getty Images)
From Dan Woike: Speaking for the first time since reports that teams called on his availability at the trade deadline, LeBron James said he’s “happy” to be with the Lakers and that he’s hopeful that he’ll finish his career with the organization.
“I’m happy and been very happy being a Laker the last six years, and hopefully it stays that way,” James said when asked about his plans for the end of his career. “But I don’t have the answer for how long it is or which uniform it’ll be in.
“Hopefully, it’s the Lakers. It’s a great organization, so many greats. But we’ll see.”
James, though, said there’s “not many” seasons left in his career.
DODGERS
Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers warms up before taking some swings Wednesday during spring training.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
From Jack Harris: The Dodgers’ daily schedule might say one thing. But as he prepares for his first season with the club, Shohei Ohtani essentially has the option to say another.
For a player of unmatched two-way talents, Ohtani has also been afforded an uncommon amount of leeway in determining his daily schedule at camp this spring.
On two recent occasions, for example, Ohtani was listed to take live batting practice on the field — in which he would have gotten his first at-bats against real pitching since having elbow surgery near the end of the last season.
But both times — first Friday, then Sunday — Ohtani ultimately went through a different set of activities.
On Friday, he opted for only a normal batting practice, his third such session of the spring. On Sunday, he didn’t swing at all during the team’s outdoor workouts, returning instead to the club’s indoor facilities after some morning stretches.
“He’s healthy,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We’re just giving him the opportunity that, if he wants to be out there and take live batting practice, great. And if he chooses not to and just works in the cage, that’s fine too.”
GOLF
Hideki Matsuyama hits off the 10th tee during the final round of the Genesis Invitational on Sunday.
(Ryan Kang / Associated Press)
From Steve Galluzzo: Hideki Matsuyama made a trio of three consecutive birdies Sunday on his way to a sizzling 62 and that proved more than good enough to win the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club.
Matsuyama had a chance to tie the course record of 61 set by Ted Tryba in the third round in 1999 but rolled his long birdie attempt three feet past the hole at the famed 18th green before calmly sinking his par putt to take a three-stroke lead to the clubhouse.
The 2021 Masters winner from the island of Shikoku in Japan notched his ninth PGA Tour victory and first since the Sony Open in Hawaii two years ago by posting the lowest final round score ever at Riviera. He hit 14 of 18 greens in regulation, eight of 14 fairways and needed 23 putts while vaulting to third in the FedExCup standings.
“To win here at Riviera was one of my goals since I became a pro, and after Tiger Woods became the host that goal became a lot bigger,” Matsuyama said. “ The owner [Noboru Watanabe] is Japanese and I’ve known him a long time. I’m disappointed I couldn’t take a picture with Tiger today.”
USC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
From The Associated Press: JuJu Watkins scored 18 points, despite struggling with her shooting, and helped No. 10 USC beat 11th-ranked Oregon State 58-50 on Sunday.
The 6-foot-2 freshman guard, who is the second-leading scorer in Division 1 behind Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, was just six of 32 from the field in her worst shooting performance of the season.
Despite Watkins’ struggles on the offensive end, USC (20-4, 10-4 Pac-12) extended its winning streak to six games, while the Beavers’ six-game winning streak came to an end.
“Her teammates had her back,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said of Watkins, who is averaging 28 points per game. “She still went to the boards. She still makes winning plays and if we can win when she’s not at her best scoring the ball, I think that says a lot about our team.”
UCLA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
From The Associated Press: Lauren Betts had 17 points and nine rebounds to lead No. 9 UCLA to a 74-55 win over Oregon on Sunday.
Londynn Jones added 15 points for the Bruins and Charisma Osborne had 11 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Kiki Rice had 10 points and nine rebounds for UCLA (20-5, 9-5 Pac-12), which bounced back from a last-second loss to No. 11 Oregon State on Friday.
“Coach told us to be us because sometimes we play to try and beat the other team and take away everything they are doing,” Osborne said. “Being ourselves is the main thing for us. When we do that, we usually win.”
Osborne moved up to second on the school’s all-time scoring list this week while stretching her school record by playing in her 143rd career game.
KINGS
From The Associated Press: The Kings began a four-game East Coast road swing last week with perhaps their lowest point of the season.
They finished it with arguably their highest. So far anyway.
Adrian Kempe scored twice in the third period, including a short-handed go-ahead goal with 3:10 to play as the Kings rallied past the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Sunday night.
The Kings won their third straight following a 7-0 blowout loss to Buffalo last week that threatened to send them into a tailspin.
Instead, they responded by knocking off New Jersey, Boston and then the Penguins, playing the role of spoiler on a night Pittsburgh honored franchise icon Jaromir Jagr, who had his No. 68 retired during a pregame ceremony.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1928 — Canada wins the gold medal in ice hockey at the Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Canada, represented by the 1926 Toronto University team, receives a bye to the final round. The Canadians beat Sweden 11-0, Britain 14-0 and Switzerland 13-0.
1955 — Bernie Geoffrion of the Montreal Canadiens scores five goals in a 10-2 victory over the New York Rangers.
1977 — Rod Gilbert of the New York Rangers gets his 1,000th career point with a goal in a 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders.
1982 — Atlanta’s 127-122 four-overtime win over Seattle equals the fourth-longest game in NBA history and the second-longest since the institution of the 24-second clock.
1984 — Phil and Steve Mahre of the United States become the first brothers to finish 1-2 in an Olympic event, the men’s slalom, at the Winter Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. The Soviet Union beats Czechoslovakia 2-0 to win the gold medal in hockey.
1984 — Cale Yarborough sweeps into the lead two turns before the finish to win the Daytona 500. He becomes the second driver to win consecutive Daytona 500s; Richard Petty was the other.
1993 — Wendel Suckow edges two-time world champion Georg Hackl of Germany by 0.106 seconds to capture the first world luge championship medal of any kind for the United States.
1994 — Speedskater Bonnie Blair wins the fourth gold of her Olympic career with her third consecutive 500-meter victory.
2002 — In Salt Lake City, bobsledders Jill Bakken and Vonetta Flowers give the United States 21 medals in the Winter Games. Flowers becomes the first black athlete in history to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics.
2005 — Lindsay Kennedy becomes the first woman to play in a Major Indoor Soccer League game. Kennedy, a St. Louis forward, participates in the final 76 seconds of Milwaukee’s 7-3 win over the Steamers at Savvis Center.
2005 — Schreiner ends its NCAA-record losing streak at 83 games, beating Sul Ross State 75-69 in a women’s basketball game. It’s the Division III Mountaineers first win since Jan. 17, 2002, when they also beat Sul Ross.
2012 — American star Hannah Kearney’s all-discipline record for consecutive FIS World Cup victories ends at 16 with a semifinal loss in a dual moguls event at Naeba, Japan. Kearney’s streak began in Lake Placid, N.Y., on Jan. 22, 2011.
2012 — Steven Holcomb and brakeman Steve Langton win the two-man bobsled in Lake Placid, N.Y., the first time the U.S. captures this event at the world championships.
2014 — Norway wins the first Olympic mixed relay in biathlon at the Sochi Games and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen becomes the most decorated Winter Olympian ever with 13 medals. Ted Ligety wins the giant slalom with a dominating performance, becoming the first American man to win two Olympic gold medals in Alpine skiing.
2017 — Laura Dahlmeier wins the world title in the women’s 12.5-kilometer mass start, becoming the first to win five gold medals at a single biathlon world championship.
2017 — Anthony Davis scores 52 points, 10 more than Wilt Chamberlain’s All-Star record that had stood for 55 years. The Western Conference beats the Eastern Conference 192-182 in the highest-scoring game in league history.
Compiled by the Associated Press
And finally
LeBron James rolled back the clock 20 years with his impressive one-handed slam at the NBA All-Star Game. Check it out here.
Until next time…
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