From Dan Woike: Austin Reaves had just scored his ninth consecutive point in the fourth quarter Sunday, 100 or so miles from his Arkansas hometown, when he locked eyes with his teammates celebrating on the bench.
“I’m him,” he shouted. “I’m him.”
Things like this don’t just happen. These moments are built over lifetimes, from the hoop on the Reaves’ family farm in Newark, Ark., to on-court arguments with LeBron James, a player who has openly embraced Reaves.
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James and Anthony Davis, the only two Lakers left from the team that won the NBA title in 2020, gave way in the fourth quarter for Reaves and reserve Rui Hachimura, deferring while the stars of the night carried the Lakers home in a 128-112 win.
“We found something that was going,” James said. “And that’s the old saying, ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.’”
Stars in the postseason, the Lakers would later say, should come from all over the place. The first and second options, they’ll eventually get theirs, but with all the eyes focused in their direction, the role players need to shine.
Sunday, Reaves scored 14 of his 23 points in the fourth, including nine straight to extinguish Memphis’ final rally. And Hachimura hit catch-and-shoot threes every time teammates found him, tying the Lakers’ record for most points by a reserve in the postseason with 29.
The big game from the Lakers’ role players came on a night when two injuries to stars seemed like they could change the first-round playoff series.
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Near the end of the first half, Davis went to the court in pain before moving to the bench with his right arm lifelessly dangling.
“Went completely numb,” he said. “It was weak. Couldn’t lift it up or hold it up myself. Couldn’t move it.”
Luckily for the Lakers, Davis only suffered a stinger and after spending halftime trying to regain feeling in his arm, he returned to the court for the start of the third quarter.
CLIPPERS
Clippers guard Russell Westbrook, right, controls the ball in front of Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker during the second half of the Clippers’ 115-110 Game 1 playoff win Sunday.
(Matt York / Associated Press)
From Andrew Greif: The car carrying Russell Westbrook arrived at the empty practice facility housing Arizona State University’s basketball programs at 7 p.m. Saturday.
In a season unlike any other in Westbrook’s 15-year NBA career, the former most valuable player who been without a team in February began a night like any other. For 45 minutes, he continued the ritual he said he has followed for years, but rarely discussed: a late-night, solo workout to help find his rhythm, feel confident in his preparation and clear his mind.
When Westbrook is in Los Angeles, he waits until his three children are asleep, then dips out of the house. Sometimes his destination is Lawndale, inside the Leuzinger High gym where he starred as a teen. On Saturday, the Clippers arranged time for him at the same Arizona State facility where only hours earlier the team had practiced.
“Since I been in the league, the hardest thing to do is be consistent,” he said. “I got to find ways to stay consistent throughout all season, steady in my craft. I learned that at a young age and I’ll continue doing that regardless of bad games, good games. But consistent over time, it will pay off.”
Twenty hours later, inside a downtown arena raging with noise, it did during a 115-110, series-opening Clippers victory over the fourth-seeded Suns.
Amid a three-of-19 shooting night, Westbrook never hesitated when Kevin Durant’s long-armed defense denied an easy entry pass to Kawhi Leonard with 17 seconds left. Backing down Phoenix’s Devin Booker in the post, the Clippers nursing a one-point lead, Westbrook drew a foul with 17 seconds to play. As he walked to the line to shoot his first free throws of the game, Westbrook went back to the previous night.
“I’m like, oh yeah, I envisioned myself like, OK, I was in the gym by myself last night and before I left the court, I hit two free throws,” Westbrook said. “Knocked them down.”
DODGERS
Chicago Cubs catcher Yan Gomes, right, celebrates after Freddie Freeman strikes out at the end of the Dodgers’ 3-2 loss Sunday.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
From Mike DiGiovanna: It was former NFL coach Bill Parcells who coined the phrase, “You are what your record says you are,” a quote that perfectly fits an inconsistent and clearly flawed Dodgers team that suffered another frustrating loss Sunday, this one a 3-2 decision to the Chicago Cubs before 52,180 at Chavez Ravine.
The Dodgers, winners of 111 games last season, have lost six of their last nine games, including two of three in the series against the Cubs, to fall to 8-8 on the season. They never know what they’re going to get from an offense that has scored eight runs or more in five wins and two runs or fewer in five losses.
Neither the rotation nor the bullpen is as deep or dominant as it has been in recent years. The defense has been a little spotty, as evidenced by an error that led to an unearned run in the fifth inning Sunday. Opponents have run wild on the Dodgers, stealing 23 bases in 25 attempts, including nine by the Cubs in this series.
“I feel like we haven’t got it going,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said after suffering only the 13th four-strikeout game of his illustrious 14-year career. “When we pitch, we don’t hit. When we hit, we don’t pitch. It’s just been kind of all over the place the first two weeks. We’ve got [5½] more months.”
KINGS
Kings defenseman Drew Doughty readies for a face off against the Winnipeg Jets on March 25.
(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)
From Helene Elliott: Wrist surgery transformed Drew Doughty from the Kings’ top defenseman into their top cheerleader during their first-round playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers a year ago.
He joked with his teammates to keep them loose, sweated every shift with them, celebrated after every goal and suffered through every setback.
“It was like watching your kid playing a game, basically is how I felt,” Doughty said. “I was worried anyone was going to make a mistake. I was super intense in the game. I’d be yelling from up top, ‘They should have called a penalty,’ or something like that. If we scored, I was jumping up and down. I was super pumped for the guys. They played awesome. It was unfortunate we didn’t win.”
Without Doughty and productive winger Viktor Arvidsson, who had a herniated disc, the Kings pushed the Oilers hard, but Edmonton rallied to win in seven games. The Kings and Oilers will meet again, starting Monday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, but so much has changed for both teams that a year ago seems like ancient history.
“Honestly, I don’t think last year’s series has a lot to do with this year’s series,” Doughty said. “They’re a different team. They’re better defensively. And they obviously still have the high-powered offense. We are, I think, better offensively this year than last year and we really picked up our defensive game in the last 40 games of the season, so we’re playing better defensive hockey too.”
SOCCER
Carlos Vela raises his arm as he celebrates after scoring the first of his two goals Sunday in LAFC’s 3-2 win over the Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday afternoon.
(Shaun Clark / Getty Images)
From Kevin Baxter: The game was billed as the unstoppable force versus the movable object; unbeaten LAFC, the reigning MLS champion, against the winless, punchless Galaxy.
But in a rivalry match as emotional as El Tráfico, records rarely matter and what should have been a walk in the park Sunday came down to a fingertip save in stoppage time that allowed LAFC to escape with a hard-fought 3-2 win.
“Derbies, it doesn’t matter how you come in,” said LAFC captain Carlos Vela, who had a goal in each half and assisted on his team’s third score. “It’s a special game and you have to be ready.”
Being lucky also helps and fortune seemed to smile brightest on LAFC, which was outplayed for long stretches but scored on two quirky plays to win for the first time in nine tries at Dignity Health Sports Park.
“For a lot of the day I was pleased with our performance, I was pleased with our effort and energy,” said coach Greg Vanney, whose Galaxy (0-4-3) are off to the worst start in franchise history. “We punished ourselves. We killed ourselves today.”
AUTO RACING
Kyle Kirkwood celebrates after winning the Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday.
(Nick Kosan / For The Times)
From Steve Henson: Kyle Kirkwood was a phenom on training wheels, perhaps the most successful driver ever along the Road to Indy — what amounts to the bush leagues of racing. Yet after a little more than one year in the IndyCar big leagues, his reputation had turned.
He found trouble. He caused trouble. Somehow, some way, he’d torpedo his own chances and even the chances of others.
Still, his talent was undeniable. So a few weeks ago, the chief strategist for Andretti Autosport, former driver Bryan Herta, switched from advising his son Colton — a rising star in his own right — to work with Kirkwood, the newest member of the Andretti team.
The transformation was immediate, lifting Kirkwood to the pole at the Grand Prix of Long Beach and to the top of the podium Sunday. It was the first IndyCar win for the 24-year-old from Jupiter, Fla.
“To have my first win at Long Beach is incredible and Bryan did a fantastic job on strategy,” he said. “Besides [the Indianapolis 500], this is our most prestigious race. When I won, I was trying to hold tears back in the car. I’ve never felt that before.”
ANGELS
From the Associated Press: Garrett Whitlock threw seven innings of one-run ball, former Dodger Justin Turner hit a two-run homer and the Boston Red Sox beat the Angels, 2-1, on Sunday in a game that lasted just under two hours.
Boston honored their 2013 World Series championship team before the game, including new Hall of Famer David Ortiz, the 2013 World Series MVP.
Angels star Shohei Ohtani had his 36-game on-base streak halted; it had been the longest in MLB.
Making just his second start after starting the season on the injured list while recovering from offseason hip surgery, Whitlock (1-1) allowed three hits with five strikeouts and two walks. He’s the first starter of the season to go more than six innings.
“I think the pitch clock is a really good thing,” Whitlock said. “I do like working fast. Earlier on in spring training I worked a little bit too quick, so now it’s finding that rhythm of working fast but also making sure I’m rested before each pitch.”
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1939 — Joe Louis knocks out Jack Roper at 2:20 of the first round in Los Angeles to retain the world heavyweight title.
1947 — Jackie Robinson bunts for his 1st major league hit.
1951 — NY Yankee Mickey Mantle’s 1st game.
1967 — Italian boxer Nino Benvenuti beats American Emile Griffith in a 15 round points decision to win world middleweight crown.
1976 — Mike Schmidt hits four consecutive home runs and drives in eight runs as the Philadelphia Phillies overcome a 13-2 deficit to beat the Cubs 18-16 in 10 innings at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
1976 — Australian tennis star Evonne Goolagong Cawley wins her second WTA Tour Championship at the Los Angeles Sports Arena; beats Chris Evert.
1982 — The Denver Nuggets’ Alex English, Dan Issel and Kiki Vandeweghe each average 20 points a game, the first front court to do so since Bob Pettit, Cliff Hagan and Clyde Lovellette of St. Louis in 1961.
1983 — Nolan Ryan strikes out his 3,500th batter.
1987 — Julius Erving of the Philadelphia 76ers becomes the third player to score 30,000 points in his pro career. Erving scores 38 points to join Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
1994 — Carl Lewis and his Santa Monica Track Club teammates rewrite their world record in the 800-meter relay at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays. Lewis, Mike Marsh, Leroy Burrell and Floyd Heard are timed at 1:18.68, breaking the record of 1:19.11 they had set on April 25, 1992.
1995 — Wayne Gretzky reaches 2,500 career points when he sets up a power-play goal by Rob Blake in Los Angeles’ 5-2 loss to Calgary.
1997 — The New Jersey Devils’ Martin Brodeur becomes the second NHL goalie to score in the playoffs. Brodeur’s empty net goal caps a three-goal third period that gives the Devils a 5-2 win and a 1-0 lead in a first-round series against Montreal.
1999 — Quarterbacks go 1-2-3 in the NFL Draft as Tim Couch, Donovan McNabb and Akili Smith go to Cleveland, Philadelphia and Cincinnati — the first quarterback trifecta since 1971.
2001 — Barry Bonds becomes the 17th major leaguer to hit 500 home runs. Bonds’ two-run, eighth-inning drive off Terry Adams leads the San Francisco Giants over the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2.
2006 — Sidney Crosby, scores three assists in Pittsburgh’s 6-1 win over the New York Islanders to become the youngest player in NHL history to score 100 points in a season. The 18-year-old becomes the seventh NHL rookie to reach the 100-point mark.
2010 — Ubaldo Jimenez pitches the first no-hitter in the Colorado Rockies’ 18-year history, dominating the Atlanta Braves in a 4-0 victory.
2011 — Jimmie Johnson wins the Aaron’s 499, edging Clint Bowyer by about a foot. The official margin of 0.002 seconds, ties for the closest finish in NASCAR Sprint Cup history.
2018 — Brayden McNabb scores against his former team in the second period, lifting Vegas to a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings that makes the Golden Knights the first expansion team in NHL history to sweep its first playoff series. Marc-Andre Fleury turns in another stellar performance, stopping 31 shots as the Knights finish off their fourth one-goal victory of the series.
Compiled by the Associated Press
And finally
Rui Hachimura had a reputation for vanishing in big games until his standout effort in the Lakers’ playoff win Sunday. Dylan Hernández explores how Hachimura is rewarding the Lakers for their confidence in him.
Until next time…
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