Trevor Zegras and Matvei Michkov scored in a shootout to give the Philadelphia Flyers their fourth victory in five games, 4-3 over the Kings on Thursday night.
Noah Cates had a goal and an assist, Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim also scored, and Samuel Ersson made 22 saves. The Flyers remained six points behind Boston and Detroit for the two Eastern Conference wild-card spots.
On Wednesday night against the Ducks, Cates scored in overtime in the Flyers’ 3-2 victory.
Adrian Kempe and Artemi Panarin failed on their shootout attempts for Los Angeles, though the Kings still moved into the second wild-card in the Western Conference.
Artemi Panarin had a goal and an assist for the Kings. Quinton Byfield and Anze Kopitar also scored, and Darcy Kuemper made 17 saves.
Panarin ensured the Kings picked up a point in the standings with a blistering wrist shot on a power play that tied it 3-3 with 9:32 remaining.
The Flyers were without forwards Sean Couturier (upper body), Luke Glendening (lower body) and Denver Barkey (upper body), leaving them to play with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Up next for the Kings: vs. Buffalo at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday.
Victor Wembanyama had 21 points and 13 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs overcame an early 14-point deficit before blowing most of a 24-point lead and recovering to hold off the Clippers 119-115 on Monday night at Intuit Dome.
Stephon Castle had 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds to lead the Spurs (50-18), who reached 50 wins for the first time since 2016-17 and trail the first-place Thunder by three games in the West. Devin Vassell added 20 points.
Fighting to secure a spot for the play-in tournament, the Clippers’ second straight loss dropped them back to .500 with Kawhi Leonard watching from the bench. The NBA’s sixth-leading scorer sat out with a sprained left knee.
Darius Garland drives to the basket against De’Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs in the second half.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
Darius Garland led six Clippers in double figures with 25 points and 10 assists. Jordan Miller had 22 points off the bench, which outscored the Spurs’ reserves 57-30.
After the Spurs ran off seven in a row to lead 115-102, Garland scored seven of the Clippers’ nine points to get within four with 38 seconds remaining. But the Spurs made four straight free throws to preserve the win.
The Spurs led by 24 points in the third before the Clippers closed with a 16-3 run to trail by 10 going into the fourth.
The Spurs started slowly, missing eight of their first nine shots, while the Clippers surged to a 17-3 lead. They shot 65% from the floor in the opening quarter, hit five of seven three-pointers and made 10 of 12 free throws.
San Antonio turned things around in the second. The Spurs erased all of their 14-point deficit, helped by 15 straight points over the end of the first and start of the second. In the period, they outscored the Clippers 37-15 to lead 66-52 at halftime.
Dejan Joveljic had a goal and an assist against his former team, Lasse Johnsen had a goal and an assist in his league debut and Sporting Kansas City beat the Galaxy 2-1 on Saturday night.
Neither team scored until Joveljic used assists from Manu García and Johnsen to score two minutes into stoppage time for a 1-0 lead at halftime. García earned his first assist after tallying nine as a rookie last season.
Joveljić, along with Stephen Afrifa, set up an insurance goal by Johnsen in the 74th minute for a 2-0 advantage. Afrifa’s helper was first this season and his second in 39 appearances.
That proved necessary for the victory after Marco Reus used his head for an unassisted score in the 82nd minute to cut the Galaxy’s deficit to a goal. Reus scored for the first time this season and the seventh time in 31 career matches.
John Pulskamp finished with four saves to help Sporting KC (1-2-1) earn its first victory of the season while putting an end to a seven-match losing streak on the road dating to last season.
Novak Micovic saved two shots for the Galaxy (1-2-1).
Joveljic totaled 34 goals and 11 assists in 106 starts with the Galaxy from 2021-24. He had 15 goals and six assists during the Galaxy’s championship run in 2024 when he scored the second goal in a 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bullls. His third goal this season gives him 21 along with three assists in 36 matches with Sporting KC.
The Galaxy played without Gabriel Pec, who was suspended for the match after receiving a red card in a 4-1 road loss to the Colorado Rapids last week. Joseph Paintsil was sidelined with a hamstring injury.
The Galaxy have a slim lead in the all-time series 29-28-18, including a 19-9-9 record at home.
Both teams posted home victories in two matchups last season.
Up next for the Galaxy: at Portland Timbers on Sunday.
Luka Doncic recorded his first 50-point game of the season Thursday, hitting two late free throws as the crowd at Crypto.com Arena showered him with “MVP” chants in the fourth quarter. Doncic checked out with 1:41 remaining to a standing ovation with 51 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Lakers to a 142-130 win over the Chicago Bulls.
The Lakers (41-25) jumped into third place in the Western Conference with their seventh win in their last eight games, climbing from sixth in just one week behind Doncic’s brilliance. The NBA’s leading scorer has averaged 40.2 points in the last four games, all wins. Doncic had a chance at 50 points in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in October, but missed a late free throw that forced him to settle for 49 points.
LeBron James returned after missing three games because of elbow and hip contusions he sustained against the Denver Nuggets on March 5. He finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Austin Reaves had 30 points and seven assists, surpassing 5,000 points for his career. Center Deandre Ayton held down a short-handed big man rotation with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
The Lakers were without starting guard Marcus Smart (right hip contusion) and backup centers Jaxson Hayes (back soreness) and Maxi Kleber (lumbar back strain). Smart has been playing through the injury for several games, but with a six-game road trip starting next week, “we need it to calm down,” coach JJ Redick said. The coach expected Smart to be available Saturday when the Lakers play the Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena.
The Lakers gave up a 12-3 run to end the first quarter and led the struggling Bulls (27-39) by only five at halftime. James helped give them the breathing room going into the locker room as he scored his first points of the game with 54 seconds left in the first half. His three-point play sparked a quick five-point run to end the half, which ended with a dunk from Rui Hachimura.
Lakers star LeBron James, center, drives between Chicago’s Rob Dillingham, left, and Matas Buzelis during the second half Thursday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
James came alive in the third quarter, beginning with his dunk off a hit-ahead pass from Doncic. He returned the favor by diving out of bounds for a steal on the next possession and the save led to a three-pointer from Doncic.
Doncic made nine of 14 three-point attempts as the Lakers made 17 of 36 shots from beyond the arc, their best three-point percentage in a game since Feb. 20.
After not taking a single shot in the first quarter, James had 11 points, three rebounds and two assists in the third quarter as the Lakers’ lead grew to 22 points.
Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points, Bennedict Mathurin added 28 points, and the Clippers beat the New York Knicks 126-118 at Intuit Dome on Monday night to climb back to .500 for the first time since early November.
The Clippers are 32-32 and have won five of their first six games in March as they try to improve their potential position in the NBA play-in tournament. They began the season in a 6-21 tailspin.
It was Leonard’s 42nd straight game with 20-plus points, the second-longest active streak in the NBA and third-longest in team history.
Mathurin scored 22 in the second half off the bench as one of five Clippers in double figures. Darius Garland had 23 points and seven assists in his second start.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Knicks with 35 points on 13-of-17 shooting, 12 rebounds and seven assists before fouling out in the final seconds. Jalen Brunson added 28 points and OG Anunoby had 22 points.
Buoyed by chants of “Let’s go Knicks!” at Intuit Dome, New York cut its deficit from 15 points with a 17-9 run, including six in a row from Brunson, to go into the fourth trailing 88-81.
The Knicks three times closed within five over the final four minutes. But the Clippers controlled the final two minutes, helped by Mathurin’s three-point play and a three-pointer by Derrick Jones Jr.
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard celebrates a basket during a win over the Knicks on Monday at Intuit Dome.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Standing third in the Eastern Conference race, the Knicks split the season series with the Clippers, and have not beaten them in Los Angeles since 2022. New York has dropped three of four.
The Clippers opened the game by making four consecutive three-pointers and led most of the first half, which ended in a scoring duel between Leonard and Towns. Leonard scored 10 in a row for the Clippers and Towns had eight straight for the Knicks, who trailed 64-55 at the break.
Up next for the Clippers: vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves at Intuit Dome on Wednesday.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Adrian Kempe scored his second goal of the game with 1:26 left in overtime to give the Kings a 5-4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday.
With the victory, the Kings moved within a point of Seattle in the race for the final Western Conference wild-card spot.
Columbus tied the score late for the second straight home game. Kirill Marchenko scored on the power play at 18:04 to force the extra period.
Brian Dumoulin had a goal and two assists. Scott Laughton scored for the second straight game since joining the Kings from Toronto and added an assist. Artemi Panarin also scored. Anton Forsberg made 28 saves for the Kings in the opener of a five-game trip.
Connor Garland scored twice — his first goals since coming to Columbus from Vancouver — and Denton Mateychuk added a goal and an assist. Jet Greaves made 26 saves for Columbus, which has lost two straight at home.
The Blue Jackets are two points behind Boston in the race for the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot, and three points behind the Islanders for third in the Metropolitan Division.
The Kings killed off a high-sticking double minor to start the game before Dumoulin set up Laughton in front of the net at 6:46 of the first. Panarin made it 2-0 at 14:47 with his second goal since joining the Kings from the New York Rangers on Feb. 4.
Garland cut the lead in half with 2:25 left in the period, snapping a career-long 24-game scoring drought. Mateychuk tied it with 9:07 remaining in the second period, and Garland’s second goal put Columbus ahead 81 seconds later.
The lead was short-lived as Kempe tied the game with 5:51 remaining in the second period. Kopitar’s assist was his 167th on a game-tying goal, the most in Kings history.
Dumoulin scored with 9:53 left in the third period, but Marchenko tied it with a power-play goal with 1:56 left,
Columbus defenseman Erik Gudbranson, who missed 42 games earlier this season due to injury, left in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return.
The game had a rare afternoon weekday start after being rescheduled from Jan. 26 because of a blizzard in Columbus.
Luka Doncic scored 44 points despite not playing the fourth quarter, and the Lakers defeated the struggling Indiana Pacers 128-117 on Friday night with LeBron James and Deandre Ayton out because of injury.
Doncic showcased his offensive wizardry, joining Kobe Bryant, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West as the only players in Lakers history to record at least 40 points in a season 10 times.
Doncic was 14 for 25 from the field, seven for 14 from three-point range and nine for 10 from the free-throw line. He also had nine rebounds and five assists.
“I always want to be productive. But it’s just next-man-up mentality,” Doncic said. “We have great guys on the bench. So, they help us win this game.”
He had 22 points on seven-for-nine shooting in the first quarter, making all five of his three-pointers. It marked the fifth time in his career he scored at least 20 in the first quarter.
“I felt great,” Doncic said. “I felt like I had my legs working. But definitely needed to win this game, so we came out aggressive.”
The Lakers led 64-51 at halftime and Doncic had 29 points.
Doncic ended the third quarter by banking in a three-pointer with 5.3 seconds left and then pointing to his teammates on the bench. The shot gave the Lakers a 19-point lead.
“He can make every shot,” coach JJ Redick said. “I mean, he can make a step-back, left-wing bank shot that line drives and barely goes above the rim. He can make floaters. He can make floaters going left, right. He’s a shot-maker, but he’s also a playmaker.”
Doncic also had a solid game on defense, recording three steals and two blocks.
“I know people are not going to talk about it,” Doncic said. “So, I’m just trying to do my job, trying to be more aggressive, be more engaged. So, just trying to do better defensively.”
Luka Doncic shoots a three-pointer over Indiana Pacers forward Jarace Walker in the first half Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Austin Reaves had 19 points and five assists before fouling out with 4:58 left. Luke Kennard had 15 points and Rui Hachimura scored 13 points as the Lakers (38-25) bounced back from a tough loss at Denver on Thursday.
Pascal Siakam led Indiana (15-48) with 26 points, five rebounds and three assists.
James did not play after sustaining a left elbow injury against the Nuggets. Redick said James was “still banged up” but said the Lakers think he will play Sunday against the New York Knicks.
Ayton (knee) and reserve center Maxi Kleber (back) also are day to day, Redick said.
SAN FRANCISCO — Kawhi Leonard had 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and the Clippers erased a 17-point deficit to beat the shorthanded Golden State Warriors 114-101 on Monday night.
Garland had been nursing a toe injury, then he went down with 1:26 left in the second quarter after a collision with the Warriors’ Moses Moody when they both went for a loose ball and Moody’s right shoulder appeared to get Garland in the face. Both players were shaken but stayed in the game.
Garland’s three-pointer with 3:09 left in the third pulled the Clippers within 75-68, then Kris Dunn had a steal and layup to make it a five-point game. The Clippers were within 79-77 going into the final 12 minutes.
Dunn finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Clippers (29-31), who shot just nine for 31 from three-point range. The Clippers used a 9-4 spurt to start the fourth quarter and go ahead 88-81.
Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski hit eight of his first 12 shots with three three-pointers for his second career 20-point half, but went one for six for two points after the break. Al Horford added 17 points for Golden State, which has lost five of seven and nine of 14.
All-Star guard Stephen Curry was sidelined for an 11th straight game because of a right knee injury, big man Kristaps Porzingis was out for his fifth consecutive contest because of an illness coach Steve Kerr called “mysterious,” and rookie Will Richard was in a walking boot after he sprained his right ankle in Saturday’s blowout home loss to the Lakers. Star forward Jimmy Butler is out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Up next for the Clippers: vs. Indiana at Intuit Dome on Wednesday.
Devon Toews scored the tiebreaking goal late in the third period, Martin Necas added an empty-netter to go with two assists, and the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Kings 4-2 on Monday night.
Toews got free in the slot and converted Nathan MacKinnon’s pass with 4:55 remaining to help the Avalanche (40-10-9) become the first NHL team with 40 wins this season.
MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog each had a goal and an assist. Mackenzie Blackwood made 19 saves for Colorado, which has won five of seven.
Brandt Clarke had a power-play goal, Angus Booth scored in his NHL debut, and Anton Forsberg made 35 saves for the Kings, who were playing their first game since firing coach Jim Hiller on Sunday and replacing him on an interim basis with D.J. Smith.
The Kings were also missing seven key players because of injury or illness, including medalists from the Olympic hockey tournament at the Milan-Cortina Games in defenseman Drew Doughty, forwards Joel Armia and Quinton Byfield and goalie Darcy Kuemper. Those absences led to the Kings giving three players their NHL debuts in Booth, center Kenny Connors and winger Jared Wright.
With Kuemper ill, the Kings also recalled Erik Portillo to back up Forsberg. Armia was placed on injured reserve before the game.
The Avalanche capitalized early, scoring twice in the opening 10:13 on one-timers from MacKinnon and Landeskog, before the Kings responded with a power-play goal from Clarke late in the first period.
An early whistle wiped out Necas putting in a rebound early in the second, and Booth got to the top of the crease to tip in Brian Dumoulin’s centering pass to tie it 2-all at 8:32.
The search for sustained consistency remained a focus for the Lakers on Sunday against a Sacramento Kings team with the NBA’s worst record.
And it helped that the Lakers were completely healthy against the Kings, something that has eluded them nearly all season.
Behind strong efforts from Luka Doncic and LeBron James, the Lakers defeated the struggling Kings 128-104 at Crypto.com Arena in their second straight blowout win.
Doncic, one of five Lakers to score in double figures, scored 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting. He made four three-pointers and had nine assists and five rebounds.
James, who played after initially being listed as questionable because of arthritis in his left foot, scored 24 points in 27 minutes on eight-for-15 shooting. He made a trio of threes and had five assists.
Deandre Ayton and Austin Reaves both had 12 points and Luke Kennard had 11 points off the bench. Rui Hachimura played 22 minutes off the bench and had eight points and two rebounds after missing the previous two games because of illness.
Nique Clifford led the Kings (14-48) with 26 points and had seven rebounds.
The Lakers are 3-3 since the All-Star break with 28- and 24-point wins after three straight losses.
“Again, just the world is falling for us 19 times (after double-digit losses this season),” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “ It’s just part of the nature of this cycle and our guys. … Our guys bounced back and responded well throughout the season. Tied in the lost column for fifth (with Denver in the Western Conference) and a couple games out of third with a number of these teams coming up that are right there with us. So, we just are going to keep plugging away.”
Lakers forward Jake LaRavia, top, and Sacramento forward Precious Achiuwa battle for the ball during the Lakers’ win Sunday.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
Just as in Saturday’s win at Golden State, the Lakers (36-24) benefited from strong shooting. They shot 50% from the field and 46% from three-point range.
One of the most exciting plays happened in the first quarter when Marcus Smart dived for a loose ball and, while prone on his back, passed to James. The Lakers star then passed to a hustling Austin Reaves, who took a few dribbles to get a Kings defender to commit before making an alley-oop pass to James for a two-handed, rim-hanging dunk.
The crowd was whipped into a frenzy. The Kings called a timeout, allowing the Lakers and their fans to soak in the moment.
Lakers star Luka Doncic celebrates after a three-pointer by teammate Rui Hachimura against the Kings on Sunday.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
There was another play in the third quarter in which Doncic slipped and almost fell down, losing control of the ball. But Doncic regained his balance and the ball before shooting an off-balance three-pointer that gave the Lakers a 24-point lead.
“Ah, yeah, it was on purpose,” Doncic said about falling down. “I tripped on purpose and it was, how do you say, the ‘And-1 Mixtape,’ that’s what they said on the bench. So, I did it on purpose.”
Doncic smiled.
It was that kind of night for the Lakers, a game full of highlights and fun that allowed Redick to empty his bench in the fourth quarter.
“Yeah, obviously it was two great wins, but we just got to go game by game,” Doncic said. “Obviously there’s a lot of noise outside, but like tonight, we can’t pay attention to that. … I thought we played great.”
Maxi Kleber was another standout for the Lakers, making all three of his shots for six points. He also had six rebounds and a block.
His two lob dunks left his Lakers teammates celebrating from the bench.
“Every time I do something, you know, you look to the bench, everybody’s celebrating,” Kleber said. “So, obviously it’s a good push for me, a good push for the team.”
Sunday marked Senior Night for the USC women’s basketball team at Galen Center, but it was the other team’s seniors who stole the show.
Gabriela Jaquez scored 14 points, Kiki Rice had 11 points and four assists and Lauren Betts had 15 rebounds as UCLA wrapped up the regular season with a 73-50 victory over its rival and finished undefeated in conference play for the first time since going 18-0 in the Pac-10 in 1998-99 under Kathy Olivier.
Having already clinched the regular-season title, UCLA became the first team to navigate the Big Ten schedule without a loss since Maryland in 2014-15.
It was the Bruins’ 22nd consecutive win, one shy of the record they set last season. Since their lone loss to then-No. 4 Texas on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas, they have won by 20 or more points 16 times.
Ranked second in the nation in both the Associated Press and coaches’ polls behind defending national champion Connecticut (30-0), the Bruins earned the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament in Indianapolis and got a bye into Friday’s quarterfinals.
Charlisse Leger-Walker finished with a game-high 20 points for the Bruins while Gianna Kneepkens added 14 points and five assists.
UCLA center Lauren Betts, left, controls the ball in front of USC forward Vivian Iwuchukwu during the first half Sunday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
UCLA (28-1, 18-0) held USC to 27% shooting in the teams’ first meeting — a 34-point Bruins victory at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 3 behind Betts’ 18 points. It was USC’s most lopsided loss under coach Lindsay Gottlieb. On Sunday, USC (17-12, 9-9) shot 39% and was only three for 19 from three-point range.
UCLA jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first five minutes and carried a 19-11 advantage into the second quarter. The Bruins widened the gap to 18 points by halftime, holding the Trojans scoreless for the last 3:08.
SAN FRANCISCO — The Lakers seemingly lost their mojo after the All-Star break, with three consecutive losses leaving them in search of the “consistency” and “togetherness” they had earlier in the season.
Their 129-101 win over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday at Chase Center was a step in the right direction, even if the Warriors didn’t offer much of a challenge.
The Lakers (35-24) built a 17-point lead in the first quarter, stretched it to 24 in the second quarter and to 30 points in the third before leading by 32 in the fourth and coasting the rest of the way.
“It goes back to finding that consistent level of playing the right way on both ends, doing what we’re supposed to be doing, executing at a high level,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “You saw those trends. We haven’t had it for a sustained, like, full stretch of a game, really. It’s come in spurts in all four of our games that we played prior to this. It was definitely our most complete game post-All-Star break.”
Luka Doncic led the charge with 26 points, eight assists and six rebounds in just 29 minutes. LeBron James was strong with 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in 28 minutes. He also made the 1,000th three-pointer of his career. Austin Reaves had 18 points in 28 minutes.
Luke Kennard scored 16 points, his best with the Lakers so far, and Jake LaRavia had 15 points off the bench.
“We just needed to get a win … get back on the right front and I think we did that tonight,” James said.
He then added, “It’s been a while since we’ve had a 48-minute game where we was able to sustain the effort and I just thought we came out with the right mindset. Obviously dropping the last three, last two at home and then the Phoenix game was a tough one. So, we just came in with the right mindset and understanding the assignment and we took care of business.”
The Lakers got it done on offense, shooting 53% from the field and 46% from three-point range.
Lakers star LeBron James shoots a three-pointer over Golden State Warriors guard Pat Spencer in the first half Saturday.
(Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
“We certainly made some threes,” Redick said. “LeBron made a couple of iso threes. Luka got hot to start the third quarter with some set plays and then the iso three, the second one in transition on the left wing. It wasn’t like all our threes were coming from that, but I just thought the ball was moving tonight.”
They faced a Warriors team (31-29) playing without Stephen Curry (right knee), Jimmy Butler (right anterior cruciate ligament surgery) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness). Still, a win was far from guaranteed since the Lakers lost to an injury-depleted Phoenix Suns team on Thursday.
The Lakers are 2-3 since the All-Star break. They face the Sacramento Kings at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday night, as they try to remain in the top six in the Western Conference.
“Like I said before the game, these guys want to do it right,” Redick said. “They are trying. I know our staff, myself, we’re always looking for answers and solutions. That’s what this is. We’re trying to find solutions, and I said before the game, I’m confident we are going to find that level that we want to get to.
“It’s been partially just because of the disruptions of lineups and different factors. We just haven’t had the continuity that I thought we were going to have coming into the year and it’s taken longer than I thought. But I’m confident that we are going to get there.”
Even with back-to-back defeats to Oklahoma City and San Antonio, the Lakers went 7-4 ahead of the All-Star break. The Lakers won their first game after the break against the Clippers before losing to Boston, Orlando and Phoenix.
That put the Lakers in the sixth spot in the West and struggling to find their groove again.
“At the end of the day, I just think our minds was right,” James said. “The numbers speak for itself. You can talk about the numbers, but I just think mentally we knew what we was against. We knew how we lost these last three games and it didn’t sit well with us obviously. We just came out and we just executed.”
Note: Lakers forward Rui Hachimura missed his second straight game because “he’s still under the weather,” Redick said.
HOUSTON — Mark Delgado had a goal and an assist, Son Heung-min had two assists and Hugo Lloris posted a second straight clean sheet to help LAFC beat Houston 2-0 on Saturday night after the Dynamo lost two players to red cards.
Houston defender Antônio Carlos was tagged with a red card in the second minute of stoppage time in a scoreless first half, forcing the Dynamo to play a man down from there.
LAFC (2-0-0) took advantage in the 56th minute when Delgado used assists from Son and Denis Bouanga to score. Delgado scored for the 26th time in 345 career appearances. Bouanga’s second assist in as many matches gives him 22 in 103 career appearances. None of Bouanga’s 66 goals have come against Houston — the only team he has not scored on.
Stephen Eustáquio scored for the first time in his second league appearance to give LAFC an insurance goal in the 82nd minute — six minutes after Agustín Bouzat was hit with a red card that left Houston two men down. Son notched his third assist this season, giving him six in 12 career appearances. Delgado picked up his first assist this season and the 44th of his career.
Lloris totaled two saves in the shutout after LAFC opened with a 3-0 victory over defending MLS Cup champion Inter Miami at home.
Jonathan Bond stopped four shots for the Dynamo (1-1-0), who were coming off a season-opening 2-1 victory over the visiting Chicago Fire.
LAFC earns its first victory in Houston since July 12, 2019 and leads the all-time series 8-5-5. Coach Marc Dos Santos has the club off to a 4-0 start — over a 12-day span — in all competitions for the first time after posting a pair of CONCACAF Champions Cup victories over Real España by a combined score of 7-1 to reach the Round of 16.
Up next for LAFC: vs. FC Dallas at BMO Stadium on Saturday.
Connor McDavid secured his ninth 100-point season with a goal and an assist, Leon Draisaitl had a goal and three assists, and the Edmonton Oilers snapped their four-game skid with an 8-1 victory over the Kings on Thursday night.
McDavid scored his 35th goal and Draisaitl got his 30th during his fourth four-point game of the season as the Oilers again routed the opponent they’ve knocked out of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in each of the past four seasons.
The game marked the biggest margin of defeat against the Kings this season.
Jake Walman scored two goals, Zach Hyman had a goal and two assists, and Ty Emberson, Vasily Podkolzin and Andrew Mangiapane also scored in Edmonton’s impressive rebound from a painful loss against the Ducks. Connor Ingram made 22 saves for the Oilers (29-23-8), who have returned from the Olympic break with 13 goals in two games.
Warren Foegele scored for the Kings (23-21-14), who have lost five straight games since January. The Kings’ humiliating third-period collapse against Vegas one night earlier bled into this game: When Hyman scored on a power play midway through the second period, the Kings had surrendered 10 goals in their past 41 minutes of play.
Darcy Kuemper gave up four goals on 15 shots before getting pulled early in the second period for Anton Forsberg.
Some Kings fans targeted coach Jim Hiller for the struggles, repeatedly chanting “Fire Hiller!” in the third period.
Emberson opened the scoring with his first goal since Oct. 28. Podkolzin scored 54 seconds later on another shot that could have been stopped by Kuemper.
Mangiapane beat Kuemper cleanly on an odd-man rush early in the second, and McDavid made it 4-1 when Kuemper comically fell down six feet outside his crease to leave an open net for the NHL’s top scorer.
Up next for the Kings: vs. Calgary at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday.
Pavel Dorofeyev had two goals and the Vegas Golden Knights spoiled Artemi Panarin’s Kings debut by scoring five third-period goals to rally for a 6-4 win Wednesday night.
Colton Sissons, Brandon Saad and Reilly Smith scored three goals in a span of 4:14 midway through the third and the shorthanded Golden Knights overcame the absence of five players who participated in the gold medal game at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Sunday. Ivan Barbashev added a late empty-netter, and Adin Hill made 15 saves.
Vegas played without United States center Jack Eichel and defenseman Noah Hanifin and Canada forwards Mark Stone and Mitch Marner and defenseman Shea Theodore, all of whom are expected to be available when their five-game trip continues against the Capitals in Washington on Friday night.
Quinton Byfield had two goals, Adrian Kempe and Brandt Clarke scored, while Panarin had two assists in his team debut, but the Kings dropped their fourth straight game.
Panarin, who was acquired in a trade from the New York Rangers on Feb. 4, set up the Kings’ opening goal by putting his pass in off Byfield’s skate on the power play late in the first period and had the secondary assist on Kempe’s goal in the second period.
Anton Forsberg made 19 saves for the Kings, who came out of the Olympic break three points out of a wild-card berth.
The Golden Knights found themselves trailing after two periods as Panarin reached the 40-assist mark for the 11th straight season. But they responded with a strong final 20 minutes, including Dorofeyev’s power-play goal with 4:01 remaining that made it 5-3.
Joel Quenneville became the second coach in NHL history to win 1,000 games with the Ducks’ 6-5 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night.
Quenneville joined Scotty Bowman in an exclusive hockey club with a milestone win in the Ducks’ first game back from the Olympic break.
Cutter Gauthier scored the tiebreaking goal with 1:14 to play for the Ducks, who erased a pair of two-goal deficits. Leo Carlsson had a goal and two assists in his first appearance since Jan. 10 for the Ducks, who have won six straight home games and 10 of 12 overall to leapfrog the Oilers into second place in the Pacific Division.
Zach Hyman and Evan Bouchard scored late in the second period to put the Oilers ahead, but Carlsson and Olen Zellweger scored early in the third to even it again.
Rookie Matt Savoie then converted a rebound late in a power play for his 10th career goal, but Beckett Sennecke answered 46 seconds later with a slick wrist shot for his 19th goal — tops among NHL rookies.
Gauthier then converted a rebound of Carlsson’s shot, setting off a wild celebration inside a sold-out Honda Center.
Jack Roslovic and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored for Edmonton. Connor McDavid had two assists, giving the Olympic silver medalist an NHL-best 98 points in 59 games.
Ian Moore and Alex Killorn scored for the Ducks, and Lukas Dostal made 22 saves.
Tristan Jarry made 20 saves before getting pulled for Connor Ingram after Sennecke’s tying goal with 13:21 to play.
Carlsson was outstanding in his return to the Ducks’ lineup after missing the final 11 games before the break with a thigh injury that kept him out of the Olympics.
Mikael Granlund didn’t play for the Ducks after captaining Finland to bronze in Milan. None of the Oilers’ Olympians sat out as they opened a three-game California trip.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Kara Dunn had 24 points and Jazzy Davidson had 22, but Penn State rallied to defeat the USC women, 85-82 on Wednesday night.
The Trojans led 62-58, early in the fourth quarter and 70-68 with 5:35 to play before Kiyomi McMiller and Moriah Murray made key shots to give Penn State the lead.
Penn State extended its lead to 79-74 after a 15-foot jumper by McMiller. The teams exchanged buckets until Dunn hit a three-pointer with 14 seconds left, pulling the Trojans back within two at 82-80. McMiller was fouled immediately after the inbounds pass, and made both her free throws. Davidson scored on a layup to make it 84-82 with four seconds remaining. Vitoria Santana was fouled and made one of two free throws with three seconds remaining, but USC was unable to get a shot off after that.
Dunn made a season-high six three-pointers and had six rebounds and three assists. Davidson had her 25th consecutive double-figure scoring performance and sixth straight 20-point game. Kennedy Smith had 19 points along with six rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.
With the loss, USC drops to 17-11 overall and 9-8 in Big Ten play. Wednesday was Penn State’s second win all-time and first win against USC since Jan. 6, 1980.
One team was coming off its highest high, the other off its lowest low, but recent history matters little whenever UCLA and USC meet.
Tuesday night’s matchup inside Pauley Pavilion was no exception, as the men’s basketball programs faced off in the first of two key Big Ten clashes in 11 days and the host Bruins sent their blue-clad fans home happy with an 81-62 victory.
Donovan Dent led the charge with 30 points and seven assists, Trent Perry had 13 points and four assists, Xavier Booker had 11 points and three blocks and forward Tyler Bilodeau added 13 points and nine rebounds as the Bruins (19-9 overall, 11-6 in the Big Ten) improved to 15-1 and stayed in seventh place in conference play with three games remaining in the regular season.
In the latter stages of the second half, UCLA made 10 of 12 shots and led by nine with 5:43 left. A three-pointer by Eric Freeny extended the margin to 14 with 2:01 remaining. UCLA scored 32 points in the paint and scored 15 points off turnovers.
Three days earlier, UCLA pulled off its biggest win of the year, rallying from 23 points down to stun 10th-ranked Illinois in overtime and rode that momentum to overwhelm its crosstown rival, still smarting from a 71-70 defeat to lowly Oregon on Saturday at Galen Center.
Both teams wore their dark jerseys for the 266th meeting between the teams and UCLA improved to 150-116 in a series dating to 1928 when UCLA joined the Pacific Coast Conference.
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau is defended by USC forward Jacob Cofie in the first half.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
Chad Baker-Mazara was hot early for the Trojans, hitting four three-pointers and totaling 14 by the break, but no other USC player had more than four in the first 20 minutes. The Bruins did not lead until Bilodeau banked in a 15-foot jumper to edge them in front 8-7 4:39 into the game.
UCLA went on a 12-2 run in just under five minutes to build a 29-23 lead while USC was in the midst of a one-for-eight drought from the field, but the Trojans pulled to within two on Ezra Ausar’s layup with 3:30 left in the half.
Booker’s dunk ignited a 7-0 run to put the Bruins up 36-27 and Dent swished a 15-footer that beat the buzzer and gave UCLA a 38-29 halftime lead.
Dent had 19 points at intermission and outscored USC by himself in the last nine minutes of the half, 7-6. He finished five of six from three-point range.
USC forward Chad Baker-Mazara, guard Alijah Arenas, UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau and USC forward Terrance Williams II vie for the ball in the first half.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
UCLA stretched its lead to 11 points five minutes into the second half as the Trojans went cold, shooting one for 11 and going 3:49 without scoring a basket. It was a frustrating night for USC star guard Alijah Arenas, who had four points and five turnovers when he was whistled for a charging foul — his third — running over Perry with 16:45 left.
He finished with 10 points but Baker-Mazara was the leading scorer with 25 points for the Trojans (18-10, 7-10), who dropped their fourth straight.
They are the core of the Lakers, the engines that make this team go, but health issues have prevented them from playing together for far too much of the 2025-26 campaign.
During their first game since the NBA All-Star break, Doncic, Reaves and James carried the the Lakers to a 125-122 win over the Clippers Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Doncic had 38 points, 11 assists and six rebounds.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves celebrates after Clippers guard Bennedict Mathurin (9) was called for an offensive foul Friday at Crypto.com Arena.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Reaves had 29 points, six assists and made a big defensive play late in the game.
And James had 13 points and 11 assists, his fifth straight game with 10 or more assists.
Up 118-115 with 1:49 left, Reaves took drew a charge on Bennedict Mathurin, the Clipper’s sixth foul that sent him to the bench with 26 points.
Still, the Lakers didn’t escape until Doncic made two free throws with 21.2 seconds left to give the Lakers a five-point lead that barely stood.
With a 125-122 lead and the ball, James threw a dangerous cross-court pass intended for Doncic that Nicolas Batum instead stole.
But Batum missed a potential game-tying three-pointer and James got the rebound to secure the win.
The Lakers put two defenders on Kawhi Leonard, double teaming the Clippers’ best offensive weapon, keeping a crowd of defenders around him, especially when they employed their zone defense.
Leonard was giving it to the Lakers, but he left late in the fourth quarter with left ankle soreness, departing with 31 points on 11-for-19 shooting.
Lakers coach JJ Redick said pre-game that Leonard is back to being a force on both sides of the basketball.
That’s why so much of the Lakers’ gameplan centered around trying to slow down Leonard, who is eighth in the NBA in scoring (27.8) and tied for first in steals (2.0).
“He’s more consistently taking the tougher assignments right now, and he’s back to being just an elite two-way player on both ends of the floor,” Redick said. “And you know, he’s playing as well as anybody in the NBA right now for the last two months, whatever the starting point would be, but it really is on both sides of the ball.”
Leonard is a primary reason why the Clippers are still rolling despite having traded away two key pieces in guard James Harden and center Ivicia Zubac.
The Clippers started the season 6-21, looking nothing like a playoff team.
But then they beat the Lakers on Dec. 20 and that got the Clippers rolling to a 21-7 stretch entering Friday night’s game, a two-month period that saw them get to one game under .500.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said none of the Clippers ever gave up on the season, adding they were always “playing to win” no matter whether they had “young, old, toddlers” on the court.
“I just feel confident,” Lue said. “I just feel confident in our players, confident in our coaching staff and I just feel confident in the environment and the culture that we’ve set. Why wouldn’t we want to play to win? That’s our mindset. That’s my mindset every single night. As tough as it may be or you start 6-21 whatever it may be, you’re playing to win. So, we make it to the playoffs and anything can happen. So our goal is to make it to the playoffs. I don’t know why somebody would scoff at that.”
