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The Lakers have two of the best clutch players in the NBA in LeBron James and Luka Doncic. They have been the best clutch team in the NBA this season because of them and because they have led the way for the Lakers. They have won an NBA-best 13 games in the clutch this season.

But when the game hung in the balance Friday night, when the Lakers needed James and Doncic to be clutch, neither was able to deliver, their inability to do so a direct result in L.A. dropping a 105-101 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at Crypto.com Arena.

For as much as James did in keeping the Lakers in the game by scoring 13 of his 26 points in the final quarter and by nearly collecting a triple-double with 10 assists and nine rebounds, it was his last-second turnover that doomed them.

For as much as Doncic did in producing a near triple-double with 24 points, nine assists and nine rebounds, his poor shooting and foul trouble was not helpful in the end.

“I’d love to go undefeated in clutch games for a season, but you know, you can’t get too high, can’t get too low on stats like that,” James said. “You just play the game. And they made some plays. Big three by [Myles] Turner by our bench; obviously the free throws down the stretch by KP [Kevin Porter Jr.]. So, we had our chances.”

The score was tied at 101-101 after Jake LaRavia (13 points) drilled a three-pointer off a pass from Doncic.

Lakers guard Luka Doncic, center, makes a backwards pass over Bucks guard AJ Green (20) during the first half Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The Lakers never scored again. James missed a driving layup for the lead that was blocked by Giannis Antetokounmpo. Then Doncic fouled Porter on a three-pointer with 16.2 seconds left. It was Doncic’s sixth foul.

“I think we missed a couple of good shots down the stretch. Then I fouled (out). I had six fouls. First time in a long time,” Doncic said. “So, that’s on me. I can’t foul at that point.”

Porter made two of the three free throws for a 103-101 Bucks lead.

Doncic was asked about the foul.

“Yeah, I don’t think he shoots like that,” Doncic said of Porter’s three-pointer. “The referee said it was a foul. So, I guess it’s a foul.”

Still, the Lakers were down only two points and they still had James on the court.

But on his drive to the basket, James lost control of the ball for a turnover with 1.5 seconds left.

“For me? … I turned the ball over. You definitely can’t do that at that point and time,” James said. “So, Giannis, he made a great play by getting his arm and tipping it from behind, but can’t turn the ball over — obviously.”

Doncic lamented his shooting during the game.

He made his first two three-pointers to start the game, but it was all downhill from there. He was eight-for-25 shooting the field and had a rating of minus-14.

“Obviously my shot didn’t go well today,” Doncic said. “You know, could get better shots. So, wish I could have executed better than that.”

The Lakers played their fourth game this week, at times looking sluggish because of the workload.

It was the kind of night that saw Doncic pick up his fifth foul with 2.1 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Lakers trailed by as much as 12 in the second quarter, looking a bit slow.

So much — if not all — of the Lakers’ game plan was on trying to deal with the nearly unstoppable force that is Antetokounmpo.

And much of that job went to Lakers center Deandre Ayton, whom the LA felt was best equipped to handle the assignment because of his size (7-foot), length and strength.

But it also was going to take the Lakers as a group to slow down Antetokounmpo, who finished with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Jarred Vanderbilt gave the Lakers a big effort with nine points and nine rebounds off the bench, and his usual tough defense.

Hachimura update

Lakers forward Rui Hachimura missed his sixth consecutive game because of right calf soreness. Hachimura has been working out and there is some hope that he can play Monday night in Sacramento.

“He’s made a lot of progress just in terms of regaining strength and mobility in his calf and had a good workout today,” coach JJ Redick said. “There’s a lot of optimism that he’ll be available Monday, but we’ll see how the next few days go.”

William Eklund scored 3:08 into overtime, Macklin Celebrini had the tying goal and two assists to extend his point streak to 12 games, and the San Jose Sharks defeated the Kings 4-3 on Wednesday night.

Celebrini evened the score at 3 with 1:07 remaining in regulation. He deked his way past Warren Foegele and sent a wrist shot through traffic that beat goalie Darcy Kuemper through the legs for his 24th goal this season. The 19-year-old center has nine goals and 15 assists during his point streak.

Celebrini is tied for the third-longest point streak by a teenager in NHL history — joining Joe Sakic in 1988-89, Jimmy Carson in 1987-88 and Wayne Gretzky in 1979-80 — and the third-longest point streak in Sharks history.

Tyler Toffoli and Adam Gaudette each had a goal, Yaroslav Askarov made 23 saves and the Sharks won for the fifth time in six games.

Alex Turcotte and Kevin Fiala each had a goal and an assist for the Kings, who still haven’t won three straight games since winning four in a row in mid-November. Alex Laferriere also scored and Kuemper made 24 saves.

Laferriere put the Kings ahead with 2:10 left in the third period, but they couldn’t prevent another sensational play by the electric Celebrini.

The Kings were without four forwards, including stalwart center and team captain Anze Kopitar, who is day-to-day after sustaining a lower-body injury in a win over Minnesota on Monday. Those absences led the Kings to play with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

Sharks center Ty Dellandrea is week-to-week after sustaining a lower-body injury against Columbus on Tuesday.

NEW YORK — Karl-Anthony Towns had 20 points, 11 rebounds and a season-high seven assists, Jalen Brunson scored 26 points and the New York Knicks snapped their four-game losing streak with a 123-111 victory over the Clippers on Wednesday night.

Towns bounced back from a quiet game Monday in Detroit, when he took just four shots and had only six points and six turnovers in the Knicks’ 121-90 loss that gave them their longest losing streak of the season. This time, the center had 10 points in the fourth quarter to help the Knicks break open the game.

OG Anunoby added 20 points and Deuce McBride had 16 for the Knicks, who had a 24-7 run starting late in the third quarter and extending into the fourth to turn a four-point deficit into a 105-92 advantage.

Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points for the Clippers (13-23), who lost for just the second time in nine games. James Harden had 23 points and nine assists after sitting out Monday against Golden State because of right shoulder soreness.

The Clippers raced to a 14-5 lead, but the Knicks answered with eight straight points and the game was close for the first three quarters. The Clippers were up 85-81 late in the third before the Knicks finished strong to take a 90-87 edge to the fourth.

Towns then started the period with a three-point play and follow shot, and later had four points in an 8-0 run that pushed a five-point lead to 105-92.

Ivica Zubac had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers, and John Collins added 18 points and four boards.

NEW ORLEANS — LeBron James and Luka Doncic left the fans inside the Smoothie King Center in awe at their performances on Tuesday night.

The two of them led a Lakers’ smothering defense in the fourth quarter and an efficient offense.

James had a near triple-double of 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and Doncic had 30 points and 10 assists, the two of them leading the Lakers to a 111-103 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

“I love what’s happening right now with Luka and LeBron and that partnership, whether it’s pick-and-roll with each other,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.

As he talked about James and Doncic and how dynamic those two are, Redick beamed at his two stars.

“There’s some real synergy happening right now and it’s fun to watch,” Redick said.

It was the second time in the last three games that James and Doncic have scored at least 30 points in a game. James had 31 against Memphis last Friday night and Doncic had 34.

Now, here James and Doncic were combining for 60 points on 21-for-41 shooting.

“It is gonna start with me and Luka, for sure, every time we hit the floor,” James said. “He has the ball in his hands. I’m gonna have the ball in my hands. We have to make sure we putting our guys in position offensively and then defensively. It has always been my voice to make sure I command with my voice and everybody knows what’s going on on the floor.”

As James talked, he shot down the theory that Doncic has to bend his game to James’ or to any of his teammates.

James simply noted that the Lakers (23-11) are Doncic’s team and the rest of them will follow his lead, including James.

“Luka don’t need to bend his game. Luka is our (26-year-old) franchise for this ball club,” James said. “He don’t need to bend this game. It’s up to us to bend our game around him and figure it out. We just try to be dynamic to work off of him. We know he is an unbelievable pick-and-roll player, unbelievable shot maker. He commands the defense. He had four eyes, sometimes six eyes on him. So it’s us…It’s up to us to put ourselves in the right position. So, it’s not a problem for me, it’s not an issue for me. To be able to do things that… I don’t know…I just don’t think people watch basketball.”

So when Doncic threw a two-handed lob pass from beyond the three-point line to a high-flying James on the baseline in the second quarter, it was another example of how Doncic controls the game and how James fits in.

The Lakers opened the fourth quarter with an intensity on defense.

They turned a deficit at the end of the third into a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter by opening the quarter with an 18-4 run to take a 97-90 lead.

Still, it took the Lakers playing hard until the end to close out the victory.

When Doncic lost control of the basketball late, it looked like it would be a 24-second clock violation as he stumbled.

Instead, he got the ball back with James and two Pelican defenders all close by and shot a wild floating three-pointer for a 105-96 Lakers lead with one minute and 59 seconds left.

Doncic looked at the Pelicans bench after the ball settled into the net and roared.

The Pelicans called a time out, leading James to bump Doncic on the back, put his head in Doncic’s chest and then slap him on the head, the two of them smiling at the magical moment.

“I told him (James), he set a great screen. If you don’t set that screen, I probably was not that open,” Doncic said, joking and smiling. “But, it was a great moment. He started the fourth quarter with two threes and then an assist. So he got us back into the game. We appreciate him.”

The defense the Lakers played in the fourth was tremendous.

They held the Pelicans to17 points and 33.3% shooting. The Lakers took three charges in the fourth, one a career-first by Dalton Knecht and one by Doncic.

Now the Lakers turn their attention to playing a back-to-back game Wednesday night in San Antonio and the question presented to James was about him playing.

The 41-year-old James said it was “TBD,” to be determined.

“You guys know that,” James said. “I’m 41 years old, of course, it’s always…Every back-to-back for the rest of the season is TBD. I am 41. I got the most minutes in NBA history. Bank it right now. What are we talking about? What are we talking about?”

Doncic had 16 points and six assists in the first half and James had 15 points and six rebounds.

But starting forward Jake LaRavia didn’t score in his 18 minutes of play in the first half.

The Lakers then went down by nine points in the third quarter, meaning they had to play catch-up the rest of the way.

The Lakers play a back-to-back game Wednesday night in San Antonio, leading to Redick being asked if the 41-year-old James would play against the Spurs.

“We have no plan for any of our players,” Redick said. “We’re gonna see what happens tonight.”

Etc.

Lakers guard Gabe Vincent is on the two-game trip, but he was downgraded to out for the game against the Pelicans with a lumbar back strain. Vincent has missed the last nine games, but there is hope he’ll be available Wednesday against San Antonio. “We just downgraded Gabe,” Redick said. “He has not had a setback, but we’re hoping he gets to play tomorrow. But again, it’s all about how he feels tomorrow.”

WASHINGTON — Justin Sourdif scored his first NHL hat trick and added two assists and the Washington Capitals beat the Ducks 7-4 on Monday night.

Alex Ovechkin scored twice, Ryan Leonard had a goal and an assist, John Carlson also scored and Connor McMichael had four assists for the Capitals, who ended a two-game slide. Charlie Lindgren made 41 saves in the win.

Chris Kreider, Alex Killorn, Jacob Trouba and Beckett Sennecke scored for the Ducks, who have lost six straight. Petr Mrazek stopped 19 of 24 shots through two periods. He was replaced by Lukas Dostal to start the third. Dostal stopped the three shots he faced.

Kreider opened the scoring just 6:33 into the first period, ending a 15-game goal drought.

Sourdif evened the score, firing home a drop pass from Connor McMichael in the slot. Three minutes later, the rookie struck again, beating Mrazek glove side to give Washington (22-15-6) a 2-1 lead going into the second.

Sourdif picked up where he left off, finding Ryan Leonard, who banked in a shot off Mrazek to make it 3-1. Just 1:36 later, Leonard returned the favor, setting up Sourdif for a tap-in for his third goal of the game. Ovechkin then rifled home a wrister from the left circle to end a four-game goal drought.

Sourdif is the ninth rookie in franchise history to get a hat trick and the first since Jan. 13, 2006, when Ovechkin did it at Anaheim.

The Ducks (21-18-3) had a furious rally in the third, outshooting Washington 17-5.

The Capitals were without Tom Wilson, who was named to Canada’s Olympic roster on Wednesday, and Aliaksei Protas, who are listed as day to day.

They met two days prior to Sunday night’s encounter at Crypto.com Arena, a two-game set between the Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies reminiscent of a playoff series.

The Lakers won the first game Friday night and knew the Grizzlies were going to bring more intensity and a stronger effort even with star guard Ja Morant (right calf contusion) not playing.

And that was the case, the Lakers falling behind by 16 points in the second quarter, the Grizzlies ramping it up in a big way. But with Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Jake LaRavia leading the way, the Lakers pulled out a 120-114 win.

Doncic almost had a triple-double with 36 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. James had 26 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. LaRavia, starting in the absence of Rui Hachimura, had 26 points, five rebounds and four assists. It was the second straight time LaRavia, who came in averaging 9.1 points, scored 20-plus.

A back-and-forth game featured several lead changes in the fourth quarter, with the Lakers and Grizzlies taking turns delivering in tense moments. The Lakers finally took the lead for good at 100-99 on a basket by Doncic.

Then James scored on a three-point play and made one of two free throws for a 104-99 lead with 3 minutes 49 seconds left.

The Lakers (22-11) had an answer for every Grizzlies counter, the final stamp on the game being Doncic’s back-to-back three-pointers for a nine-point lead with 2:01 left.

The NBA scheduling the Lakers to host the Grizzlies on Friday and again Sunday was not an issue for coach JJ Redick.

“I like it,” Redick said. “I do think it does replicate [the playoffs] in some ways. A playoff series, particularly when it’s not a home-and-away situation, but more of you’re playing a two-game series on somebody’s home court for the day in between. Had a few of these last year. So, I like this for our team and it’s a good growth opportunity. Coming off a win, knowing that there’s a lot of stuff that we can be better at and where can we make improvements. That’s the big challenge to me.”

For Redick, that meant what it always does for the Lakers — improving on defense.

Redick wanted his team to get back on defense faster and not let the Grizzlies (15-20) get so many early offense opportunities.

LeBron James shoots against Christian Koloko of the Grizzlies in the first quarter Sunday.

(Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)

The Lakers also wanted to jump-start center Deandre Ayton from a five-game slumber.

Ayton had just four points on two-for-four shooting against the Grizzlies on Friday night and hadn’t scored more than 12 points in that span.

So, the Lakers went to Ayton at the outset, trying to ignite his game. It worked to a degree, Ayton scoring 15 points, grabbing eight rebounds and blocking three shots.

Four of five starters scored in double digits as the UCLA women’s basketball team dominated crosstown rival USC 80-46 Saturday at Pauley Pavilion in the first of two meetings between the crosstown rivals.

Center Lauren Betts paced the fourth-ranked Bruins (14-1 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) with 18 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Gianna Kneepkens had 15 points and Kiki Rice added 14 points and eight assists.

The Bruins totaled 24 assists and out-rebounded the Trojans 46-26.

Kara Dunn scored 11 points for No. 17 USC (10-4, 2-1).

“Thank you to the crowd for showing up on a rainy day — we appreciate the support,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “We did a great job on the boards. We didn’t play our best basketball. There’s still room to grow, but we held them to 27% shooting. Our defense was better than our offense today. We have a high ceiling. I’d like to see more consistency and for us to keep getting closer to our standard.”

USC guard Londynn Jones, right, tries to drive past UCLA guard Gabriela Jaquez during the first half Saturday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb was not pleased by what she saw from the Trojans.

“Obviously, this is not where we want to be in a game like this,” she said. “Everything from disappointment to embarrassment, but we own it. They were the better team today. They were better by a lot.”

There have been good weeks and bad weeks for the Lakers this season.

Ahead of Friday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, they were trending downward after losing four of their last five games.

The Memphis game turned into a microcosm of that trend, with the Lakers building leads through effort and intensity only to see them crumble behind less-inspired play.

In the end, standout performances from Luka Doncic and LeBron James helped the Lakers surge late and hold on for a 128-121 win at Crypto.com Arena.

Doncic and James made sure the 15-point lead the Lakers held before it dissolved by the end of the third quarter wasn’t completely achieved in vain. Doncic made 17 of 20 free throws in scoring 34 points with eight assists and six rebounds, and James had 31 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

They got help from Jake LaRavia, who scored 21 points on eight-for-12 shooting in addition to nine rebounds and stellar defense. Marcus Smart had 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Jaxson Hayes scored 12 points off the bench.

The Lakers improved to an NBA-best 11-0 when within five or fewer points of their opponent heading into the final five minutes.

“I think we have a lot of people that closed the game, especially (me), when LeBron, he took over today,” Doncic said. “(Jarred Vanderbilt) hit a big shot. Jake hit a big shot. Jaxson had a big dunk. So, it’s just everybody.”

Lakers center Jaxson Hayes dunks over Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (8) and center Jock Landale (31) in the fourth quarter Friday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

It was a group effort that helped the Lakers seal the win in the fourth quarter. It also marked the first time since March that Doncic and James scored at least 30 points in the same game.

“It was just playing and playing in rhythm,” James said. “We’re trying to find ways that we can be productive. Obviously, Luka did a great job of getting to the free-throw line. … He made a step-back three, a big-time shot there.

“Myself, just trying to sprinkle in a little bit here, a little bit there. Just trying to be consistent and be super efficient with my play. So we worked well off each other today and we led the group.”

The Lakers (21-11) went down 110-109 in the fourth quarter before going on a 12-2 run to take the lead for good.

The teams will meet again here Sunday night.

“We made some big-time plays offensively and we were sharing the ball, and guys made some big-time shots,” James said. “Vando’s three, Jake’s three on the other side of their bench at the end of the shot clock, Jax had a big-time dunk down the middle. So, those are key moments. And then defensively, we were able to get a couple shots, get a couple rebounds. That allowed us to kind of start pushing the lead up.”

Vincent update

Gabe Vincent (lumbar back strain) missed his seventh straight game, but Redick said the team hopes he can practice Saturday and that if he does, it will “be modified.”

Redick said Vincent will not play Sunday against the Grizzlies, but the hope is that he can play either at New Orleans on Tuesday or at San Antonio on Wednesday.

“We’ve got to get him exposure to live play, and with the travel day on Monday, that’s gonna be tough,” Redick said.

Darren Raddysh scored midway through overtime, and the Tampa Bay Lightning blew three one-goal leads before beating the Ducks 4-3 on Wednesday for their fifth consecutive victory.

Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper celebrated his 1,000th regular-season game in charge with his 595th victory as the longest-tenured bench boss in the NHL. The Lightning’s coach since March 2013 has also led them in 155 playoff games, won two championships and reached four Stanley Cup Finals.

Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist as the Lightning skated off with a win in the opener of their three-game California trip when Raddysh converted a pass from Brandon Hagel, who had three assists.

J.J. Moser and Brayden Point also scored for Tampa Bay, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 24 saves.

Mason McTavish tied it on a power play with 6:58 left in regulation for the Ducks, who have lost four straight and eight of 10. Jansen Harkins and Beckett Sennecke also scored, and Lukas Dostal stopped 24 shots as the Ducks earned a point for only the second time in six games.

Moser opened the scoring in the first period with his first goal since agreeing to an eight-year, $54-million contract extension last weekend.

The Ducks scored their first two goals off turnovers, with the 19-year-old Sennecke getting the 12th of his rookie season early in the third period.

Kucherov scored his 18th goal on a cross-ice pass from Hagel during a power play four minutes later, but the Ducks evened it again when Pavel Mintyukov made an exceptional play at the blue line to set up McTavish for his 10th goal.

The Ducks announced during the game that forward Frank Vatrano will be out for about six weeks with a broken shoulder incurred in a loss to the Kings last Saturday.

Up next for the Ducks: vs. Minnesota at Honda Center on Friday.

The Lakers underwent some soul-searching at practice Saturday, with coach JJ Redick starting the conversation before allowing players to speak freely about the team’s issues.

It was an attempt by Redick and the team to prevent things from spiraling out of control after three consecutive losses.

When the Lakers faced the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena, Redick wanted to see players executing on defense and playing harder.

The Lakers did exactly that, with Luka Doncic and LeBron James leading the way to a 125-101 win.

For the Lakers, it was more than Doncic finishing with 34 points, seven assists and five rebounds. It was Doncic playing defense, illustrated best when he blocked a shot by DeMar DeRozan. It was Doncic hustling, such as when he dove to the floor for a loose ball.

It was more than James scoring 24 points and handing out five assists. It was James throwing down a reverse dunk and offering words of wisdom to teammates.

And it also was reserve Nick Smith Jr. finding a role in the rotation and producing, one of the six Lakers scoring in double figures. Smith had 21 points on eight-for-14 shooting, making five of 10 threes.

Rui Hachimura had 12 points, Deandre Ayton had 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Jake LaRavia had 11 points.

The Lakers (20-10) took control from the start of the third quarter, going on a 13-2 run to give them a 26-point lead that reached as high as 30 in the fourth quarter.

Granted, the Kings (8-24) have the second-worst record in the West and were missing injured stars Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Bradley, three of their top four scorers.

But the Lakers lost three straight games because of poor defense and an overall effort that Redick described as “terrible.”

And with Austin Reaves out for at least a month because of a calf strain, getting the chance to talk through their issues might end up changing the team’s fortunes.

“They’re trying, and you know, I told the guys, this is normal,” Redick said. “There’s very few teams that don’t hit troughs throughout the season. It’s not all peaks. … It’s just a natural cycle that every team goes through.

“So we need to identify the problems and then come up with the solutions. So that’s just the process that we’re in the middle of right now.”

Lakers coach JJ Redick points and direct his team during the fourth quarter of a loss to the Rockets on Thursday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)

When the Lakers were climbing up the Western Conference standings, improbably winning games with LeBron James and Doncic injured and celebrating Austin Reaves’ 51-point performance and ascent into stardom, the vibes were high. Players jumped off the bench to cheer for each other. They championed team bonding exercises such as slideshow presentations that introduced themselves to each other and a field trip to a Porsche driving experience. It all felt surprisingly easy, especially for a team that had several new additions.

“We had it,” Redick said wistfully Thursday. “We had it. I always say this about culture, I always say this about a good team being a functioning organism.”

Redick snapped his fingers.

“It can change like that,” he continued. “We don’t have it right now.”

All three of the Lakers’ most recent losses have been blowouts. With an average margin of defeat of 20.7 points, their total point differential has dropped to minus-15 on the season, which ranks 16th in the NBA.

Forward Jake LaRavia said in the locker room that there felt like a “disconnect” on the team, but couldn’t verbalize more about how things had turned so suddenly. The team’s seven-game winning streak at the end of November feels like a distant memory, although it should serve as a constant reminder of how a team shouldn’t let its guard down, especially when it was collecting wins off teams with losing records.

“This [has] kind of been the trending thing even when we were winning,” forward Jarred Vanderbilt said. “Obviously wins kinda shadow a lot of stuff. But it’s been the same pretty much all year of how we finished games, lose games: transition defense, rebounding and stuff like that. It’s been a trend all year.”

LeBron James, who played in his 13th game this season after missing the first 14 because of sciatica, had 18 points and five assists but declined to speak with reporters after the game, along with Marcus Smart (six points, two rebounds) and Rui Hachimura (zero points, two assists).

To further exasperate the lingering injury bug, Reaves left the game after the first half because of left calf soreness. It was the same calf that sidelined him for three games last week.

NEW YORK — Jalen Brunson scored 34 points, reserve Jordan Clarkson had 25 and the New York Knicks came from 17 down in the fourth quarter to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 126-124 on Thursday and win on Christmas Day for the third straight year.

Reserves Tyler Kolek and Mitchell Robinson sparked the comeback after the Cavaliers led 103-86 early in the final period. Kolek had 16 points and nine assists, and had fans chanting his name after a late block on Donovan Mitchell that originally was called a foul but was overturned on review. Robinson hustled after offensive rebounds to keep possessions alive and finished with 13 boards.

Brunson made the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:05 remaining, after he, Kolek and Clarkson all hit from behind the arc in a 13-2 run that cut Cleveland’s 12-point lead to 111-110.

Mitchell had 34 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Darius Garland added 20 points and 10 assists, but the Cavaliers blew their chance at a third straight win.

Evan Mobley finished with 14 points and nine rebounds after missing five games with a strained left calf.

The Cavs raced to an 18-3 lead behind 10 points from Mitchell and led 38-23 after one quarter. But Clarkson opened the second with consecutive 3-pointers, and after a Cavs three-pointer, the Knicks ripped off an 18-0 burst to take a 47-41 lead.

The Knicks made 12 of their first 14 shots in the second, before Mobley had Cleveland’s final four baskets as New York took a 60-58 edge into the break.

Cleveland quickly regained control in the third. Mitchell slammed down a lob pass that Garland threw from beyond halfcourt to cap a 10-3 burst to open the period, and Mitchell later hit a three-pointer to cap an 18-4 spurt that turned a 71-all tie into an 89-75 advantage for the Cavs.

Mason Marchment scored two power-play goals, Kirill Marchenko had one, and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Kings 3-1 on Monday night.

Jet Greaves made 23 saves and Damon Severson had two assists as Columbus snapped a four-game road losing streak.

Andrei Kuzmenko scored and Anton Forsberg made 27 saves as the Kings were held to fewer than three goals for the sixth straight game.

Columbus was without defenseman Zach Werenski, who is day to day with a lower body injury sustained blocking a shot against the Ducks on Saturday. Werenski leads the Blue Jackets in goals, assists and points, and his 14 goals are tied with Washington’s Jakob Chychrun for most in the NHL by a defenseman.

However, newcomer Marchment made up for it, scoring twice in the first period, giving him three goals in two games since being acquired from Seattle on Friday. He opened the scoring 4:07 into the game with a wrist shot off Forsberg’s blocker, before making it 2-0 with 23.5 seconds remaining in the first period when Boone Jenner’s shot took a double deflection and went in off Marchment’s shoulder.

Kuzmenko got the Kings on the scoreboard with 1:19 remaining in the second, but Marchenko added a third power-play tally for the Blue Jackets with 5:46 remaining in the third. The three goals with the man-advantage were a season high, and it was the third time the Blue Jackets had multiple power-play goals.

The Kings were playing for the first time since trading third-line center Phillip Danault to Montreal on Friday, but newly promoted bottom six centers Alex Turcotte and Samuel Helenius struggled to make a consistent impact with frequent penalties creating a choppy game flow.

Up next for the Kings: vs. Seattle at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday.

Lakers guard Marcus Smart has been fined $35,000 for making an obscene gesture toward a game official during halftime of the game Thursday against the Utah Jazz, the NBA announced Saturday.

Smart was assessed a technical foul for his action as walked off the court for intermission after exchanging words with an official.

The Lakers pulled out a 143-135 victory in Salt Lake City when the 31-year-old defensive specialist scored nine of his 17 points by making three of four three-point shots in the fourth quarter.

Smart, who is averaging 10.6 points, 2.9 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 17 games this season, will again be in the starting lineup Saturday night in place of injured Austin Reaves when the Lakers take on the Clippers at Intuit Dome.

Jason Robertson had two goals and an assist and the Dallas Stars beat the Ducks 8-3 on Friday night for their third straight win.

Roope Hintz and Thomas Harley each had a goal and an assist, and Oskar Bäck, Sam Steel, Ilya Lybushkin and Adam Erne also scored for the Stars. who are an NHL-best 13-2-4 on the road. Mikko Rantanen and Miro Heiskanen each had two assists, and Casey DeSmith had 23 saves.

Ryan Poehling, Beckett Sennecke and Mikael Granlund scored for the Ducks, who have lost four of five. Lukas Dostal gave up four goals on seven shots before he was pulled with 5:41 left in the first period. Petr Mrazek came on and stopped 14 of the 18 shots he faced the rest of the way.

The Stars’ eight-goal output tied a season high, matching their 8-3 win at Edmonton on Nov. 25, and was the most the Ducks have given up this season.

Bäck gave the Stars a 1-0 lead with a shorthanded goal 2:37 into the game after the Ducks turned the puck over behind their net.

Poehling tied it 55 seconds later, scoring in close on the rebound of a point shot by Radko Gudas.

Hintz put Dallas back ahead at 4:42, getting a pass from Robertson in the slot, sliding backward and firing a shot past Dostal for his 11th.

Steel pushed the Stars’ lead to 3-1 with 7:19 left in the first, scoring past Dostal while crashing into the net and dislodging it. The goal was confirmed after a review.

Harley made it a three-goal lead 1:38 later as he got a pass from Rantanen and scored from the right circle.

Robertson scored in front on a power play with 8:50 remaining in the second, and then put a backhander past Mrazek from the right circle four minutes later to make it 6-1. It gave Robertson a team-leading 22 goals.

Erne made it a six-goal lead with 1:30 left in the middle period.

After Sennecke pulled the Ducks back within five 1:01 into the third, Lybushkin got his first of the season 41 seconds later to extend the Stars’ lead to 8-2. Granlund capped the scoring with 5:38 remaining.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Adam Fantilli scored with 1:28 left in overtime to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4–3 win over the Ducks on Tuesday night, breaking a five-game losing streak.

Zach Werenski scored twice and added an assist in his 600th NHL game, Boone Jenner had a goal and an assist, and Kent Johnson added two assists. Jet Greaves stopped 24 shots for his first win since Nov. 20.

Mikael Granlund had a goal and an assist, Ryan Strome and Jackson LaCombe also scored goals, and Ryan Poehling recorded two assists for the Ducks. Ville Husso made 24 saves as the Ducks dropped three games on their five-city trip.

Werenski gave Columbus an early lead at 8:21 of the first period, burying a feed from Jenner to extend his home point streak to 11 games.

Strome pulled the Ducks even with a wrister from the crease at 3:35 of the second period, but Columbus responded with two goals in a 43-second span. Werenski put the Blue Jackets back on top before Jenner backhanded in the rebound of an Ivan Provorov shot just 19 seconds later to make it 3–1.

After Granlund pulled the Ducks within a goal at 5:29, LaCombe tied the score with 3:16 left in the third. Fantilli then ended it in overtime with a wrister from the right circle.

The win was Columbus’ first over the Ducks in Nationwide Arena since Dec. 1, 2017.

It was a struggle all the way, but USC men’s basketball continued its hot start with a 68-61 nonconference victory over Washington State on Sunday at Galen Center.

The Trojans (10-1) led by three with five minutes remaining, but outscored the visitors 13-9 down the stretch to notch their second straight win.

Jacob Cofie led the way with 21 points and 10 rebounds and Chad Baker-Mazara added 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. Ezra Ausar had 13 points and was nine of 11 from the free-throw line.

Rihards Vavers led the Cougars (3-8) with 13 points.