From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Luka Doncic sat at the table for his postgame news conference and turned the box score over in disgust.
There was nothing the Lakers superstar wanted to see there.
The Lakers’ seven-game winning streak came to a crashing halt with a 125-108 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Monday at Crypto.com Arena.
While Doncic continued his scoring surge with 38 points and 11 rebounds, the loss laid bare the Lakers’ biggest problems. Doncic turned the ball over nine times while the Lakers (15-5) had 22 turnovers that led to 32 points for the Suns (13-9). Their middle-of-the-road defense had no answer for Phoenix’s dizzying offense that shot 57% from the field. LeBron James, who sat out Sunday to manage a left foot injury at the start of the Lakers’ home back-to-back, faded into the background most of the night.
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer didn’t exert any force on the game until the fourth quarter as the possibility of his 18-year streak of games with 10 or more points looked to be in danger. Entering the fourth quarter with just six points, James hit a step-back fadeaway jumper with 6:51 to go that pushed him to 10 points for the 1,297th consecutive game.
It was the only moment of consequence in a second half that the Lakers had long let get out of control.
CLIPPERS
Norman Powell scored 30 points against his former team and Bam Adebayo had 27 points and 14 rebounds in 32 minutes as the Miami Heat downed the reeling Clippers 140-123 on Monday night.
Tyler Herro and Andrew Wiggins each scored 22 for the Heat, who trailed by two early in the second quarter before going on a 30-2 run. Miami also hit 24 three-pointers, tying a franchise record.
Miami (14-7) went on a 12-0 run in the first 2:02 of the third quarter, all on three-pointers, two of them by Adebayo. That turned a 20-point halftime lead into a 32-point advantage and the outcome was never in doubt again.
From Ben Bolch: Operating out of a different playbook than it used nearly two years ago, when it made a vastly underwhelming hire, UCLA has snagged one of the most promising football coaches on the market.
Ending a pursuit that had become increasingly hard to keep quiet in recent weeks, the Bruins are set to hire James Madison coach Bob Chesney on a five-year contract in a move first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel. As part of the arrangement, Chesney is expected to remain with his current team through a possible College Football Playoff appearance with the Dukes.
The move represents a dramatic shift for a program in desperate need of a turnaround, the Bruins going with an up-and-coming coach who has won big everywhere he’s been as part of his own storybook rise. UCLA athletic department officials would not confirm the imminent hire that’s expected to be announced after James Madison plays Troy in the Sun Belt Conference championship game on Friday.
After massive success at the Division III, Division II, Football Championship Subdivision and Football Bowl Subdivision levels, Chesney now takes on his greatest challenge — reviving a Big Ten team that hasn’t achieved anything of national significance in more than a quarter of a century.
CHARGERS
From Sam Farmer: Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert underwent a surgical procedure Monday to stabilize a fracture in his non-throwing hand and his status for next Monday night’s game against Philadelphia will be determined later in the week, the team announced.
Herbert sustained the injury in the first quarter of Sunday’s victory over Las Vegas when the back of his left hand apparently collided with the helmet of Raiders safety Jeremy Chinn. The quarterback threw a touchdown pass the play after the collision in question.
DUCKS
Mason McTavish and Pavel Mintyukov each scored first period goals to help the Ducks beat the St. Louis Blues 4-1 on Monday night.
Leo Carlsson also scored, Chris Kreider added an empty-net goal and Ville Husso made 22 saves for the Ducks, who killed six St. Louis power plays.
Husso started after Petr Mrazek left Sunday’s game with an undisclosed injury. With No. 1 goalie Lukas Dostal placed on injured reserve Monday, the Ducks recalled Vyacheslav Buteyets to serve as Husso’s backup.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1907 — Tommy Burns defends his world heavyweight title by knocking out Gunner Moir in the 10th round at London.
1944 — Ohio State quarterback Leslie Horvath wins the Heisman Trophy.
1947 — Notre Dame quarterback Johnny Lujack wins the Heisman Trophy.
1951 — Future Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Don Hutson has his No. 14 jersey retired by the Green Bay Packers; first number retired in franchise history.
1952 — Oklahoma halfback Billy Vessels is named the Heisman Trophy winner.
1958 — Army back Pete Dawkins is named the Heisman Trophy winner.
1977 — Veterinarian Mark Gerard is indicted in a horse-switching scandal. Cinzano, a purportedly dead 4-year-old champion colt, won a race on Sept. 23 at Belmont Park, under the name of Lebon, a 57-1 long shot.
1984 — Dan Marino throws his 37th touchdown pass to break NFL single-season touchdown pass record.
1995 — Notre Dame advances to the NCAA women’s soccer championship by becoming the first team to beat 13-time champion North Carolina in the national semifinals. The lone score comes when Tar Heels forward Cindy Parlow accidentally heads a ball into her own net.
2002 — Oakland’s Tim Brown and Jerry Rice take turns rewriting the NFL record book in a 26-20 win over the New York Jets. Brown becomes the third player with 1,000 receptions and the third with 14,000 yards receiving. Rich Gannon ties an NFL record with his ninth 300-yard passing game of the season. On the very next play after Brown’s 1,000th catch, Rice scores on a 26-yard catch, giving Oakland a 13-10 lead. It’s Rice’s record 192nd TD catch and puts him over 1,000 yards receiving for a record 14th season.
2009 — The New Jersey Nets are pounded into NBA infamy, falling 117-101 to the Dallas Mavericks for their 18th straight loss to start the season. The Nets pass the 1988-89 Miami Heat and 1999 Clippers, who both dropped their first 17 games.
2018 — Dallas Dorosy of Florida State scores in the 60th minute to help the Seminoles beat North Carolina 1-0 for the NCAA Women’s College Cup championship. Florida State wins the NCAA women’s soccer title for the second time. North Carolina, a 21-time NCAA champion, is shut out for the second time this season.
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. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.