basketball

Brandon Clarke, a former first-round draft pick who spent all seven of his NBA seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies, has died. He was 29.

His agency, Priority Sports, confirmed the news Tuesday on social media. No cause of death has been disclosed.

“Everyone loved BC because he was always there as the most supportive friend you could ever imagine,” the agency wrote. “He was so unique in the joy he brought to all of those in his life. It’s just impossible to put into words how much he’ll be missed. We love you, BC.”

Born in Vancouver, Canada, Clarke played basketball at Desert Vista High School in Phoenix, Ariz., before spending two years at San Jose State and one at Gonzaga. He was selected at No. 21 overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2021 NBA draft but he was traded to the Grizzlies weeks later.

Clarke played in 309 games for Memphis but only two this past season because of injuries. Clarke averaged 10.2 points and 5.5 rebounds during his career.

“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten. We express our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones during this difficult time.”

NBA commissioner Adam Silver also released a statement.

“We are devastated to learn of the passing of Brandon Clarke,” Silver said. “As one of the longest-tenured members of the Grizzlies, Brandon was a beloved teammate and leader who played the game with enormous passion and grit. Our thoughts and sympathies are with Brandon’s family, friends and the Grizzlies organization.”

Edwards’ 36 points give Minnesota 114-109 win and tie the Western Conference semifinals 2-2 against San Antonio Spurs.

Anthony Edwards scored 16 of his 36 points in the fourth ‌quarter and the Minnesota Timberwolves took advantage of Victor Wembanyama’s ejection to post a 114-109 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

The Timberwolves’ win on Sunday ⁠night in Minneapolis tied the Western Conference ⁠second-round series at two games apiece.

Naz Reid contributed 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench for Minnesota. He also took an elbow from Wembanyama into his chin on the play in which the Spurs’ star was ejected in the second quarter.

Jaden ⁠McDaniels scored 14 points, Julius Randle scored 12 and Rudy Gobert had 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Timberwolves. Ayo Dosunmu added 10 points for Minnesota.

De’Aaron Fox and reserve Dylan Harper scored 24 points apiece and Stephon Castle added 20 for the Spurs. Devin Vassell tallied 14 points for San Antonio. Wembanyama ⁠had four points, four rebounds and no blocks in 12-plus minutes.

“We never expected them just to go away,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “They won a game in the Portland series without Wembanyama, so they’re very good, very good team.”

The Spurs trailed by seven before Harper made two free throws with 29.1 seconds left and Julian Champagnie hit two with 20.6 seconds remaining to bring San Antonio within 112-109.

Dosunmu answered with two free throws with 9.8 ‌seconds left as Minnesota closed it out.

“Just small-time plays,” Edwards told reporters when asked how the Timberwolves won Game 4. “Small-time plays win big-time games. That’s what we needed. Diving on the floor, offensive rebounds and it was a great sub by Finchie for putting in Ayo for that last minute-and-a-half.”

Earlier, Wembanyama grabbed a rebound and was trying to protect the ball from two Timberwolves when he turned and unleashed a vicious right elbow into the chin of Reid and was called for a foul with 8:39 left in the first half.

The officiating crew studied views of the play before upgrading the foul to a flagrant 2, which is an automatic ejection. Crew chief Zach Zarba said, “There was windup, impact and follow-through above the neck ⁠of an opponent.”

“I’m glad he [Wembanyama] took matters into his own hands,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “Not in terms of ⁠hitting Naz Reid, I want to be very clear about that. I’m glad Naz Reid is OK and I didn’t want him to elbow him. But [Wemby’s] going to have to protect himself if no one else does for him. And I think it’s disgusting.”

Minnesota led 60-56 at the break. Edwards scored 18 in the half while Castle led San Antonio with 14 ⁠first-half points.

Despite the loss of Wembanyama, the Spurs scored 20 of the first 28 points in the third quarter and led 76-68 after a basket by Vassell with 4:33 left in the period.

“I thought offensively, we were really doing ⁠a lot of good things,” Finch said. “We lost our way a little bit, and gave them ⁠life.”

San Antonio’s Keldon Johnson drove for a hoop with 21.9 seconds remaining for an 84-80 advantage entering the final stanza.

Fox buried a 3-pointer to give San Antonio a 94-86 lead with 8:51 left in the contest before Edwards scored 12 points during the Timberwolves’ 14-5 run.

“We had a chance to win,” Johnson said. “We didn’t close it out the way we wanted to. … Minnesota made ‌some plays and finished the game.”

Edwards started the burst with a jumper and he soon scored five consecutive points on a short floater and a long straightaway 3-pointer to cut the Minnesota deficit to three with 7:10 remaining. He later canned two free throws with 5:51 left to bring the Timberwolves within ‌97-95 ‌before drilling a 3-pointer 39 seconds later to give Minnesota a one-point edge.

Gobert later delivered a thunderous dunk to give the Timberwolves a 107-101 lead with 1:56 to play.

Minnesota shot 44.7 percent from the field, including 10 of 27 from 3-point range, while the Spurs made 47.7 percent of their attempts and hit just 6 of 26 from behind the arc.

Game 5 is Tuesday in San Antonio.

The Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away late to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 125-107 in an NBA playoff thriller, taking a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player and finalist for the award this season, scored 22 points and the Thunder capitalised on 21 Lakers turnovers on Thursday to hand LeBron James a defeat in his 300th career playoff game.

Elsewhere, Eastern Conference top seeds Detroit are also up 2-0 after a 107-97 home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In Oklahoma City, Gilgeous-Alexander was again below his best, but he was amply supported.

Chet Holmgren scored 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds, Ajay Mitchell added 20 points, and Jared McCain delivered 18 points off the bench to help the Thunder withstand a 31-point performance from Austin Reaves.

James, who became the first player to contest 300 postseason games, scored 23 points and handed out six assists, and the Lakers led by five points early in the third quarter.

But with league-leading scorer Luka Doncic still sidelined by injury, the Lakers could not hang on, even with Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench for considerable stretches because of foul trouble.

Oklahoma City produced a 22-5 scoring run to seize control and will aim to keep the pressure on when the series shifts to Los Angeles for games three and four on Saturday and Monday.

“We’ve got to be the aggressor,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I feel like they were playing with more force, they were attacking harder, making quicker decisions, playing with a better sense of urgency, especially in the first half.

“As long as we take care of that, we should have our foot in the right direction.”

A bruising contest saw both teams irked by the officiating. Gilgeous-Alexander was whistled for a flagrant foul, and both he and James were sprawled out under the basket after a foul by Reaves late in the game.

Lakers coach JJ Redick took issue with the officiating, saying the Thunder “have a few guys who commit a foul on every possession”.

But, he added, “We didn’t lose because of the refs.”

Cunning thrives in ‘high-stakes’ situation

In Detroit, Cade Cunningham scored 12 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and handed out 10 assists to lead the Pistons.

They set the defensive tone early but had to rally late after the Cavaliers battled back to take a two-point lead early in the fourth quarter.

“I just want to win games,” Cunningham said of his dominant fourth-quarter performance. “It’s been a lot of games down the stretch where it’s tight … The ball is in my hands and I’ve got to make plays with it.

“The pressure and the moment, it’s high stakes … all of that stuff fuels me.”

Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 31 points. Jarrett Allen chipped in 22, but James Harden had just 10 on three-of-13 shooting, and his four turnovers included a costly giveaway in the final minute.

The Cavaliers have a mountain to climb as they head home for game three on Saturday and game four on Monday.

The Pistons, who locked up the top seed in the East with the third-best record in the league, had to fight back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Orlando Magic in the first round.

In this series, they were determined to hold on to home-court advantage, and game two featured another lockdown defensive display from Detroit, leading to a 54-43 halftime lead.

The Cavaliers responded in the third quarter and took the lead on Evan Mobley’s dunk minutes into the fourth – their first lead since the opening minutes.

But they could not hang on. A Duncan Robinson three-pointer put Detroit back in front, and they would not trail again.

Cunningham said the Pistons will have to “turn up our energy even more” in Cleveland.

“They’re a tough team to beat at home,” he said.

St. John Bosco has lost 6-foot-8 McDonald’s All-American Christian Collins to graduation, but the Braves are getting another promising 6-8 player to replace him, incoming freshman Bryce Bible, who announced on Thursday he will enroll at the Bellflower campus.

Bible is the son of Bruce Bible, who works for Sierra Canyon’s football program. He also considered the Trailblazers and Long Beach Millikan.

Bryce is tall and lanky with the ability to score in many different ways.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

Ticket buyer: Alec Mackie of Los Angeles

Events: Men’s baseball gold medal finals, women’s basketball gold medal finals, men’s soccer gold medal finals, swimming preliminary and tennis quarter final mixed doubles

Thoughts: ”My uncle made a spreadsheet. The tickets are for me, my uncle, friends and I’m hoping to take my nephew as well. I was 10 years old at the 1984 Olympics and got to go to gymnastics, swimming and closing ceremonies, and my nephew will be 10 in 2028. I know L.A. is going to have an amazing Olympics, we are Los Angeles! Ten million creative, beautiful people, always dreaming and we know how to wow people. I can’t wait and hopefully traffic is smooth, a glamorous sequel to ’84.”

Castle’s 21 points and Wembanyama’s 19 helped Spurs crush T’wolves 133-95 as Knicks take 2-0 lead over 76ers.

Victor Wembanyama scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as ‌hosts San Antonio Spurs dominated the final three quarters on the way to a 133-95 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, levelling the teams’ Western ⁠Conference semifinal series at one win apiece.

San Antonio swamped the sixth-seeded Timberwolves in the ⁠second quarter, turning a seven-point lead after the opening period into a 24-point advantage at halftime on Wednesday.

The Spurs expanded the margin to 98-63 after three periods as Julian Champagnie poured in all 12 of his points on the night via four 3-pointers in the frame.

From there, San Antonio ⁠cruised to the finish, building their lead to as many as 47 points.

Stephon Castle’s 21 points led the Spurs, with De’Aaron Fox scoring 16, Harrison Barnes tallying 12, Dylan Harper adding 11, Devin Vassell hitting for 10 points and Keldon Johnson pulling down 10 rebounds. Wembanyama canned two 3-pointers but is just 2 of 15 from behind the arc for the series.

Second-seeded San Antonio have not lost back-to-back contests since January 11 at Minnesota and January 13 at Oklahoma City, a stretch of 49 games.

Wembanyama said of the difference between Game 1 to Game 2, “We had intensity early ‌on. Crashing the offensive boards early, fighting for the ball and passing to the open man.

“Of course, we’re gonna keep doubling up on what worked and the few things that didn’t. We’re gonna erase them. [Minnesota] is an experienced team – we know they’re going to respond. … I love how everyone had everybody’s back. It looked like a system that worked.”

Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is scheduled for Friday in Minneapolis.

Knicks take 2-0 lead over 76ers

Meanwhile, Jalen Brunson scored eight of his 26 points in ‌the fourth quarter for the New York Knicks, who took control of their Eastern Conference semifinal by ⁠stopping the Philadelphia 76ers down ⁠the stretch to earn a 108-102 win in Game 2.

The Knicks lead the best-of-seven set series 2-0. Game 3 is scheduled for Friday night in Philadelphia.

“Being down 2-0 after coming back to win in the ⁠first round, I think it’s more of a challenge,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “It was 1-1 after two games [against the Boston Celtics in the first round], right? So it’s 2-0. Puts a lot on this next game for sure, but that’s OK.”

Karl-Anthony Towns ⁠produced 20 points and 10 rebounds despite playing just 27 minutes due to foul trouble for the Knicks, who ended the game on a 12-3 run to close out a contest that included 14 ties and 25 lead changes.

OG Anunoby, who exited the game with 2:31 left after hobbling off with a right leg injury, had 24 points while Mikal Bridges added 18 points as New York ‌won its fifth straight game overall. The Knicks’ average victory margin in the previous four games was 33.8 points.

“He looked like he was hopping,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said of Anunoby. “I have not talked to medical yet.”

Tyrese Maxey scored 26 points for the 76ers, who managed just 12 points on 4-of-19 shooting in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia took its final lead at 99-96 on Kelly Oubre Jr’s 3-pointer with 6:52 left, after which the Sixers hit 1 of 10 from the field with two turnovers.

“At the end of the day, it came down ⁠to who was going to get more stops in that fourth quarter,” Brown said. “To hold a ⁠team like that to 12 points – and they missed some shots, we know that – to have them only score 12 points in that fourth quarter, it’s huge.”

Oubre and Paul George each finished with 19 points. VJ Edgecombe had 17 points.

The 76ers Joel Embiid missed the game due to ankle and hip injuries.

Philadelphia host Game 3 and 4 on Saturday and Sunday.

Former WNBA MVP Tina Charles has retired after 14 seasons in the league.

“Today, I officially announce my retirement from basketball,” the eight-time All Star wrote in a post shared across her social media accounts Tuesday. “This game gave me everything and I’ll miss it deeply.”

The veteran center — the No. 1 overall draft pick selected by the Connecticut Sun in 2010 — played for six WNBA franchises over the course of her career, including a lengthy stint with the New York Liberty. Named the league MVP during her 2012 campaign, Charles is the WNBA’s leader in career rebounds (4,262), double-doubles (201) and made field goals (3,364), as well as second on the list for career points (8,396) behind Diana Taurasi.

“I’ve experienced the highest highs and the lowest lows, and I’m thankful for all of it,” Charles wrote, reflecting on her professional career and “lifetime of love for this game.” “Growing up in Queens, New York, basketball wasn’t just a game, it was a language, a rhythm, its survival, its expression. It pulled me in early, and I gave myself fully to it. It shaped me into the woman I am today and for that, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Charles is an expected future Hall of Famer. While a WNBA championship eluded her, her career includes three Olympic gold medals with Team USA, two NCAA championships with the UConn Huskies and a number of titles in leagues overseas. Her individual accolades also include being named to the All-WNBA team nine times, most recently in 2021, and to the league’s All-Defensive team four times. (Charles did not play in the 2020 and 2023 WNBA seasons.)

In a July episode of Sue Bird’s “Bird’s Eye View” podcast, Charles spoke candidly about her thoughts around retiring.

“I thought I was done in 2023 when I didn’t play,” she said. “Then [I] came back, found the joy, love for the game again. But here, I probably think about it every day. … Going in, playing, at this age, in the 30-minute range. Just how you feel physically, and then it’s more games.”

Charles returned to play with the Sun for the 2025 season, starting 42 of 44 games while averaging 16.3 points and 5.8 rebounds. She received the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award for the second time during her final season, for her work with Hopey’s Heart Foundation. Charles founded the nonprofit in 2013 in honor of her late aunt, Maureen “Hopey” Vaz, to raise awareness about sudden cardiac arrest and provide automated external defibrillators to schools and recreation centers that need them.

According to the New York Times, Charles is currently pursuing a master’s degree in sports management at UConn and is eyeing the possibility of working in a front office of a WNBA, NBA or college team in the future while continuing her Hopey’s Heart Foundation efforts. She also has plans to get into the beer business.

“There are still dreams in my heart that are waiting to be lived, and I can’t wait to share that journey with you all,” Charles said in her social media post.

With the Lakers down 1-0 in the Western Conference semifinals, Luka Doncic has not yet ramped up to on-court contact drills while recovering from an injured left hamstring that had an inital eight-week timeline for his return.

Doncic, speaking to reporters for the first time since he hobbled off the court at Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center on April 2, said Wednesday he has improved enough to begin running but he has not progressed to on-court contact drills. After suffering a left hamstring injury earlier this season, Doncic said the latest Grade 2 strain to the same area is unlike any he’s experienced because of its severity.

But it has not stopped him from trying to come back as soon as possible.

“I’m just doing everything I can,” Doncic said. “Every day I’m doing stuff I’m supposed to do. Obviously recovery, now I’m working … just going day by day, and I feel better every day.”

Soon after his injury, Doncic went to Spain and received platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections with hopes to help his recovery. He stayed for roughly two weeks because he needed to wait four days between each injection. He received four in total.

Without their leading scorer, the Lakers fought through a six-game, first-round series against the Houston Rockets, playing four of those games without Austin Reaves, who was also injured in the same game as Doncic. The fourth-seeded Lakers lost 108-90 to the defending champion Thunder in Game 1 of the conference semifinals on Tuesday.

Doncic had dutifully cheered from the bench during the playoff games, offering as much advice to his teammates as he can.

“It’s very frustrating,” Doncic said of the injury. “I don’t think people understand how frustrating it is. All I want to do is play basketball, especially at this time. It’s the best time to play basketball. It’s very frustrating seeing what my team is doing, I’m very proud of them. It’s been very tough just to see and watch them play.”

The Minnesota Timberwolves eliminated Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets while the New York Knicks put on one of the most dominant displays in NBA playoff history, destroying Atlanta to advance, and the surging Sixers beat the visiting Celtics again to force a decisive Game 7

Sixth-seeded Minnesota will play the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals after completing a 110-98 win on Thursday for a 4-2 series upset defeat of third-seeded Denver.

Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic top-scored for Denver with 28 but it was not enough to fend off the dogged Timberwolves, who were playing without star man Anthony Edwards due to injury.

The clash in Minneapolis was tight throughout, with no team gaining a double-digit lead until the game’s dying moments.

The Timberwolves edged the first half, leading 57-50 at the break.

Jokic roared to life. The Serbian superstar scored 14 points in the third quarter alone to ensure a nail-biting finish.

Having already been ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct from game four after a shoving match, Jokic enraged the home crowd by sparking another brawl, with Jaylen Clark.

With his Timberwolves leading by five with 90 seconds remaining, Jaden McDaniels sank a long jump-shot for two to rouse the home fans and force a Nuggets timeout.

When play resumed Denver could only turn over the ball again. McDaniels closed out the win with two free throws, ending his night with a career-high 32 points, to top-score overall.

“It’s a great night. It’s a great victory for us. Hopefully … we’ve got 12 more to go,” said Minnesota coach Chris Finch.

“We came into these playoffs not trying to beat Denver, but trying to win a championship.”

A visibly crestfallen Jokic, whose side last won the NBA championship just three years ago, said they “just didn’t do a good job”.

“I needed to play better. I must play better,” he added.

Edwards – out with a bone bruise and hyper-extended left knee – could return for the Timberwolves’ series with the high-flying Spurs.

Knicks crush Hawks in record-setting rout

Elsewhere on Thursday, the Knicks routed the Atlanta Hawks 140-89.

It was the most points scored and the biggest win by the Knicks in a playoff game, setting up an Eastern Conference semifinal with either the Celtics or the 76ers, who are tied 3-3 after a Philadelphia win.

The Knicks wrapped up their 4-2 series victory in emphatic style, leading the Hawks by as many as 61 points before benching their starters for the final quarter.

New York’s 47-point half-time lead, at 83-36, was the widest in NBA postseason history.

OG Anunoby top-scored with 29 points, including 26 in the first half, before he was rested. None of New York’s starters played more than 29 minutes.

“We can’t just meet the moment, we’ve got to exceed it, and I thought we did a great job of doing that tonight,” said Karl-Anthony Towns, who recorded a triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Having finished third in the Eastern Conference, the heavily favoured Knicks had been down 2-1 early in the playoff series, before roaring back.

They are the first team to advance to the East’s semifinals – their fourth straight year of reaching that stage.

The Hawks briefly led at the start of the game, going up 11-9 before the wheels dramatically came off. They trailed 40-15 at the end of the first quarter.

The final 51-point margin of defeat was not quite the largest in playoff history, which stands at 58 points.

“Obviously you hate to lose anything. And to lose the way we did, I think, particularly given the enthusiasm and support that we’ve had from the people in this building … disappointed on a lot of levels,” said Hawks coach Quin Snyder.

Sixers dump Celtics again to send series to Game 7

The Celtics-76ers playoff series is headed for a decisive game seven in Massachusetts after Philadelphia beat Boston 106-93.

The Celtics had held a 3-1 series lead, but the 76ers proved dominant on their home court to make it 3-3.

Tyrese Maxey top-scored with 30 points. Paul George added 23, and 2023 Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid poured in another 19, plus 10 rebounds and eight assists.

It is the 23rd playoff series between the two historic rivals – an NBA record.

Ever-growing power conferences are the driving force behind an impending expansion of the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, which ESPN reported could be formalized within weeks and begin next season.

The field would grow from 68 teams to 76 that would include eight additional at-large teams in each tournament. The current First Four — eight teams playing four games — would expand to 12 games played by 24 teams at two sites on the first Tuesday and Wednesday of the tournament. The traditional 64-team bracket would begin Thursday as usual.

Mid-majors likely are tempering any celebration. The change might not mean more invitations to the Big Dance for underdogs because the NCAA and its media partners favor large, established schools with large, established fan bases for viewership and revenue.

The Power Four — the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12 and ACC — plus the Big East comprise 79 schools and continue to add rather than subtract. Even teams with conference records under .500 are usually considered more desirable additions to March Madness than mid-major potential Cinderellas.

Power conference teams play more highly regarded opponents than do mid-majors, who often struggle to schedule top opponents. That’s called strength of schedule, and advanced metrics such as KenPom, NET and Wins Above Bubble usually favor power conference schools.

It’s a bit too soon to start listing schools that likely would make the cut next March after missing out in recent years. The NCAA cautioned that the expansion is not official — yet.

“Expanding the basketball tournaments would require approval from multiple NCAA committees, including the men’s and women’s basketball committees, and no final recommendation or decisions have been made at this time,” the NCAA said in a statement.

Those final steps have been initiated, and one anonymous source told ESPN that approval by those committees “are just formalities.”

The women’s tournament would include the same expansion — and likely also favor the addition of teams from the power conferences.

Seeing Tripp King flick a rubber ball toward the net with his stick is like spotting an unidentified flying object and wondering if you missed it because the shot happens faster than the blink of an eye.

His lacrosse coach at Loyola High, Jimmy Borell, brings out one of those baseball radar guns twice a year to clock how fast his players can send that ball through a net.

King’s right hand delivers the ball at 100 mph and his left hand at 90 mph.

“I pray he doesn’t cut the net,” Borell said.

In a sport that’s beloved on the East Coast, King is helping bring respect to lacrosse players learning the game on the West Coast.

He started lacrosse in kindergarten, showing up to participate in South Bay Lacrosse Club. By first grade, he was wearing lacrosse pads. He also played football and basketball. When he reached Loyola as a freshman, he was still a three-sport athlete, but he had become so talented in lacrosse that it became his focus.

“I always loved the speed of lacrosse,” said the junior. “I see that similarity in basketball. It’s always pulled me knowing you have to be good at everything instead of one particular skill.”

At 6 feet 1 and 200 pounds with the thick calves of a football player, he’s an attacker that every opponent must track. He’ll stand behind the net ready to receive the ball and make a pass to teammates who will quickly get the ball back to him for a goal with one flick of his wrist.

He had 102 points during the regular season (65 goals, 37 assists) for a Loyola team seeded No. 1 for the seven-team Southern Section Division 1 playoffs that begin this week. Loyola has a bye in the opening round and won’t play until May 9.

“He’s pretty special,” Borell said. “He’s got the tangibles, very skilled, can use both of his hands and has a very quick step.”

He’s committed to North Carolina, which is a dream come true since he was born to be a Tar Heel. Both of his parents went to North Carolina.

Tripp King, wearing No. 11, is an attacker for Loyola’s No. 1-ranked lacrosse team.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

“I’ve grown up a Tar Heel,” he said.

He’s also a kind, friendly future Tar Heel, something you can’t always say about lacrosse players who often feel they are either entitled or frustrated when people don’t pay enough attention to them.

Classmates swear by King.

“Nice,” is what several told me.

He returns to the South Bay Lacrosse Club to give back, working with young players just like when somebody helped him as a 5-year-old.

He’s someone ready to head to the East Coast determined to be proof of how determined West Coast players have become.

“A lot of the stereotypes of the West Coast are surfer boy or doesn’t take it seriously,” he said. “We’ve made it an atmosphere at Loyola where every day we’re waking up at 5 o’clock for 6 a.m. practices. We’re getting in extra work before and after practice. I think that lazier, not tough stereotype isn’t true. The West Coast is growing.”

King lives in Manhattan Beach, where celebrities and pro athletes can be seen walking or riding bikes on any given day.

King is only 17, but if he’s taking a walk or riding a bike, pay attention, because one day, he’s going to be recognized as lacrosse trendsetter from the West Coast.

Edward’s teammate Donte DiVincenzo was also hurt as Minnesota rallied to beat Denver and take a 3-1 NBA playoff series lead.

Ayo Dosunmu came off the bench to score ‌a career-high 43 points on 13-for-17 shooting, and the short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away for a 112-96 win over the ⁠Denver Nuggets in Game ⁠4 of their Western Conference quarterfinals series on Saturday night in Minneapolis.

The victory, which gave Minnesota a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, came at a steep cost for the Timberwolves, who lost two key starters ⁠due to injury.

Anthony Edwards, a four-time All-Star and the team’s top scorer, left in the second quarter and did not return because of a left knee injury. Earlier, in the first half, Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo injured his right leg on ⁠a noncontact play. Early reports indicated he might have ruptured his Achilles tendon.

Naz Reid added 17 points off the bench for Minnesota. Julius Randle finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, and Rudy Gobert grabbed a game-high-tying 15 rebounds to go along with four points.

Jamal Murray scored 30 points on 10-for-25 shooting to lead Denver. Nikola Jokic finished with 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists. ‌However, he shot 8-for-22 from the field and missed all three of his 3-point attempts.

Thunder 121, Suns 109

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a playoff-career-high 42 points to lift Oklahoma City to a road win over Phoenix.

The reigning NBA Most Valuable Player finished 15 of 18 from the floor with eight assists to give the Thunder a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.

Oklahoma City have won 11 consecutive first- round games. Playing without Jalen Williams, who suffered a hamstring strain in Wednesday’s Game 2 victory, the Thunder leaned even more heavily on Gilgeous-Alexander.

Dillon Brooks led the Suns with ⁠33 points while Jalen Green added 26 points. Devin Booker scored 16 points, but was ⁠held to 6-of-16 shooting from the floor.

Knicks 114, Hawks 98

Karl Anthony-Towns totalled 20 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his first career playoff triple-double as New York earned a victory over host Atlanta and evened their Eastern Conference first-round series at two games apiece.

Towns ensured Game 5 on Tuesday ⁠in New York will not be an elimination game for the Knicks and also ensured the series returns to Atlanta for Game 6 on Thursday. Towns posted his fifth career triple-double ⁠in any game. He also notched the seventh postseason triple-double in New York’s ⁠history. Anunoby led the Knicks with 22 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth career playoff double-double.

CJ McCollum led the Hawks with 17 points but was held to three points after half time. Nickell Alexander-Walker added 15 and hit five 3s, but the Hawks were a dreadful 10 of 41 (24.4 percent) from behind the arc.

Magic ‌113, Pistons 105

Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane scored 25 points apiece as Orlando withstood a fourth-quarter rally to beat visiting Detroit in Game 3 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.

Banchero had 12 rebounds and nine assists for the eighth-seeded Magic, ‌who improved ‌to 7-1 in their last eight home postseason games, including play-in tournament games. Bane was 7-for-9 from 3-point range.

Cunningham scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter for the Pistons. Tobias Harris scored 23 points, Ausar Thompson had 17 and Duncan Robinson added 10.

The Los Angeles Lakers, fuelled by 29 points from LeBron James, beat the Houston Rockets 112-108 in an overtime thriller to take a 3-0 stranglehold in their NBA playoff series.

James, the 41-year-old superstar playing in his 19th postseason, came up with a steal and a game-tying three-pointer with 13.6 seconds left in regulation on Friday.

He could not get a potential game-winner to drop at the buzzer, but added a steal and a block in a frantic overtime as the Lakers pushed the Rockets to the brink of elimination in the best-of-seven Western Conference series.

No NBA team has come back from a 0-3 deficit to win a playoff series.

“Just trying to seize the opportunity,” James, who added 13 rebounds, six assists and three steals, told broadcaster Prime. “My guys trust me to try to make plays and I’m blessed to be able to do it.”

The Lakers will have a chance to close out the series in Houston on Sunday. It is not a position many expected them to be in with league-leading scorer Luka Doncic sidelined by a hamstring strain and key offensive contributor Austin Reaves out with an oblique injury.

The young Rockets, with veteran star Kevin Durant sidelined by a sprained ankle, were led by Alperen Sengun’s 33 points and 16 rebounds.

They rallied from an early 15-point deficit and led by six with fewer than 30 seconds left in regulation.

But their mistakes caught up with them. A Houston turnover was followed by a foul on Marcus Smart as he attempted a three-pointer.

Smart made all three free throws to cut the Lakers’ deficit to 101-98 and set the stage for James’s game-tying basket.

Sengun missed a potential go-ahead basket before James was off-target from beyond the arc and they went to overtime, Smart scoring eight of his 21 points in the extra session as the Lakers pulled away.

Celtics hold off 76ers

Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored 25 points apiece to lead the Celtics to a hard-fought 108-100 victory over the 76ers in Philadelphia and a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference series.

The Sixers had grabbed game two in Boston to knot the series at one game apiece.

In a game that neither team led by more than 10 points, the Celtics took a five-point lead into the fourth quarter.

Tyrese Maxey’s three-pointer briefly put the Sixers up 85-84 with 8:42 remaining, and Philadelphia were within one when Tatum drilled a three-pointer that pushed Boston’s lead to 100-96 with 1:57 left to play.

Payton Pritchard added another three-pointer with the shot-clock winding down before Tatum – who missed most of the season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon in last year’s playoffs – drained a dagger trey that sealed it for Boston.

“We just were resilient,” Tatum told broadcaster Prime. “We stuck with it. It’s a game of runs – good team and just, you’ve got to answer.”

Maxey scored 31 points to lead the Sixers. Paul George added 18 and rookie VJ Edgecombe added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Sixers star Joel Embiid, still recovering from an emergency appendectomy earlier this month, was ruled out shortly before the game.

“He’s just not ready,” said Sixers coach Nick Nurse, whose team will try to even the series when they host game four on Sunday.

Spurs beat Trail Blazers without Wembanyama

Stephon Castle had 33 points and the San Antonio Spurs overcame the absence of Victor Wembanyama to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 120-108 on Friday night for a 2-1 series lead.

Dylan Harper added 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who trailed by 15 points in the third quarter. Game 4 of the first-round series will be on Sunday at the Moda Center.

Before the game, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson announced that Wembanyama would not play while he continues to recover from a concussion he sustained in Game 2 on Tuesday night.

Jrue Holiday had 29 points for the Trail Blazers, who were making their first home playoff appearance since 2021, but could not ultimately take advantage of Wembanyama’s absence.

Portland led 82-67 in the third quarter but the Spurs clawed back with a 21-5 run to take an 88-87 lead into the final period. Castle’s step-back jumper and a pair of free throws gave the Spurs a 105-95 lead midway through the fourth and the Trail Blazers collapsed.

Wembanyama – the league’s first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year and one of three finalists for the Most Valuable Player award – went down in the second quarter of the Spurs’ 106-103 Game 2 loss in San Antonio.

Johnson would not elaborate on Wembanyama’s condition, only to say he was progressing. He averaged 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and a league-best 3.1 blocks per game this season. His status for Sunday’s game was not known.

Luke Kornet started against the Trail Blazers as Wembanyama watched from the bench, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Portland went on a 15-2 run in the first half to go up 50-43 and led 65-59 at the break after Jerami Grant’s 3-pointer.

In the final moments of the half, Fox was handed an offensive foul when he charged towards the basket and elbowed Deni Avdija in the face. Johnson challenged the call and it was overturned to a defensive foul on Avdija, who had chipped a tooth but kept playing.

UCLA women’s basketball team has added some star power as its revamped roster begins to take shape.

Former Iowa State forward Addy Brown announced Thursday she is committing to UCLA, giving the Bruins one of the top players in the portal.

Brown averaged 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 43.1% from the floor and 33.8% from three-point distance with the Cyclones last season. She played just 21 games due to injury, but she is one of the better two-way players in the nation on the transfer market.

The 6-foot-2 forward co-starred with Audi Crooks for Iowa State the past few seasons and was a part of the mass exodus from the Cyclones’ program.

The Bruins reeled in former North Carolina junior guard Elina Aarnisalo and former Texas Christian senior guard Donovyn Hunter a few weeks ago, adding two more experienced players to the depleted starting lineup after a record six UCLA players were selected in the WNBA draft.

UCLA also signed Arkansas sophomore guard Bonnie Deas earlier this month. She is likely to start at point guard for the Bruins and is one of the best rebounding guards in the nation.

Along with returner Timea Gardiner, the Bruins are starting to form somewhat of a core to defend their national championship. Gardiner was a starter during UCLA’s 2024-25 Final Four run, but missed all of this past season with injury and has one season of eligibility left.

A lineup with Deas and Aarnisalo in the backcourt, Hunter at the three and Gardiner or Brown at the four and adding another big or Sienna Betts at the five would be a competitive lineup in the Big Ten.

Before going to TCU, Hunter played two seasons at Oregon State where she earned All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention and All-Pac-12 Freshman team honors. This past season with a Horned Frogs team that went to the Sweet 16, she was third in scoring with 10.2 points per game and averaged 3.2 rebounds per contest. She also shot 45.7% from the field and was 33.7% from beyond the arc.

Aarnisalo played her freshman year in Westwood after she originally committed to UCLA in 2025. Due to injuries from point guard Kiki Rice at the start of the 2024-25 season, she was forced into action early her freshman season and finished the year averaging 5.1 points per game.

The Helsinki, Finland, native averaged 10.2 points per game for the Tar Heels as a sophomore last season while shooting 47.3% from the field and 40.3% from the arc. The Bruins will desperately need to replace the three-point production lost with the departure of Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.

UCLA coach Cori Close said she wanted to sign five players from the portal. She probably needs one more guard and a little more forward depth coming off the bench following the departures of Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalic.

Lena Bilic and Amanda Muse are returners coming off the bench who got a little bit of playing time in the tournament and should have much larger roles, but they are still relatively unproven in late-game situations. They will get a chance to develop as backups with some more Power Four experienced starters now in the fold.

Victor Wembanyama set a new San Antonio record for the most points in an NBA playoff debut as the Spurs outlast Portland.

Victor Wembanyama scored 35 points in his postseason debut as ‌the host San Antonio Spurs used a fourth quarter run to create separation in a 111-98 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday in Game ⁠1 of their Western Conference first-round ⁠playoff series.

The Spurs took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series with Game 2 on Tuesday in the Alamo City before switching to Portland for Games 3 and 4.

Wembanyama broke Tim Duncan’s franchise record (32 in 1998) for most points in a playoff debut. He led ⁠all first-half scorers with 21 points – a league record for most in the first half of an NBA playoff debut going back to 1997, the start of the play-by-play era.

“It’s good to get this one out of the way,” Wembanyama said. “We just tried to do the things we’ve been doing all year and stay ⁠solid. There was pressure on us to win the first game, but it wasn’t that much pressure if we just stayed to the plan.”

San Antonio, the second seed in the West, led by 10 at halftime and by 15 after three quarters before all but cementing the win by scoring the first six points of the fourth quarter to go up 93-72.

The seventh-seeded Trail Blazers clawed their way back to within 11 via a 13-3 run capped by Deni Avdija’s dunk with 4:27 to play, ‌but San Antonio held strong down the stretch.

“Something that we learned is that every possession matters,” Scoot Henderson said. “Next game I think we are all gonna be more aggressive defensively. I feel like I could be more aggressive. Defensively I think there could be something more in the tank.”

Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox added 17 points apiece for the Spurs, with Devin Vassell scoring 15 and Luke Kornet hitting for 10.

Avdija racked up 30 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Trail Blazers. Henderson scored 18, Robert Williams III had 11, Shaedon Sharpe hit for 10 and Jrue Holiday distributed 11 assists along with nine points.

The Spurs jumped to the front in the game’s early moments, building a nine- point lead on Fox’s stepback 3-pointer at the 2:35 mark ⁠of the first quarter and jumping out to a 30-21 advantage after 12 minutes of play.

San Antonio stoked the margin ⁠to 50-34 when Kornet threw down an alley-oop dunk from Castle with 5:24 to play in the second quarter. Avdija’s three-point play with 2:28 left culled the deficit to seven points before Wembanyama poured in a layup and then a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions to push the lead back to a dozen points. The Spurs led 59-49 at the break.

“(Wembanyama) has lofty expectations and goals ⁠for himself, and being in the playoffs is squarely a part of a lot of that,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “So it’s good to get the first one and kind of get that experience under your belt.”

Avdija paced the Trail ⁠Blazers with 19 points over the opening two periods.

The Trail Blazers reeled off the first eight ⁠points of the third quarter and had four chances to tie the game or go in front but committed three turnovers and missed a shot over that stretch.

“It’s hard to say,” said Portland coach Tiago Splitter when asked if the team’s lack of playoff experience played a role in the loss. “It’s the first time we’ve played against Wemby this season so there’s a lot to learn. It wasn’t our ‌best night. It’s really hard to take him out of the paint. Those five threes really hurt us.”

San Antonio regained its stride and built the lead to a game-high 17 points on Julian Champagnie’s 3-pointer with 53 seconds to play in the period before settling for an 87-72 lead heading into the final ‌12 ‌minutes.

“Our first timeout, in the first quarter, I think it took everybody a minute to kind of settle in,” Vassell said. “Even in the second half, it took a minute when (Portland) went on a run. Basketball is a game of runs, so if we can withstand that, get some stops and start getting some good looks we knew we’d be all right.”

Despite missing leading scorers Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, the LA Lakers and LeBron James defeat Houston in opener.

Luke Kennard scored a career playoff-high 27 points, LeBron James had 19 points and 13 assists, and the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers capitalised on Kevin Durant’s injury absence for a 107-98 victory over the Houston Rockets in the opener of their first-round playoff series on Saturday night.

Deandre Ayton had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the fourth-seeded Lakers, who pulled off an impressive win without their top two scorers.

Both teams played the opener without their most important player. Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have been out indefinitely with injuries since April 2, while Durant was a late scratch with a bruised right knee.

Los Angeles thrived by hitting 60.6 percent of its shots while holding the Rockets to 37.6 percent shooting with pesky defence.

Alperen Sengun scored 19 points, and Jabari Smith Jr had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the fifth-seeded Rockets, who finished one game behind Los Angeles in the regular season. Amen Thompson added 17 points, but Houston’s young core got off to an inconsistent start after becoming the firm favourite in this series due to the Lakers’ injury woes.

Game 2 is on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.

Kennard rallies Lakers in second half

The Lakers acquired Kennard from Atlanta in early February, and the NBA’s most accurate 3-point shooter became a key reserve before he seized a major role over the past two weeks in the absence of Los Angeles’s starting backcourt. He hit four 3-pointers in Game 1, while making nine of his first 12 shots.

Durant must wait at least one more game to make his Rockets playoff debut after banging knees with a teammate in practice on Wednesday. Reed Sheppard took his spot in the starting lineup and hit five 3-pointers while scoring 17 points, but the Rockets struggled for consistent half-court offence in Durant’s absence despite grabbing 21 offensive rebounds.

The Lakers took the lead for good on their first bucket of the second half, and they pushed their advantage to 16 points in the fourth quarter. Kennard scored 16 points after halftime, while the 41-year-old James began his 19th NBA postseason with an inspired, eight-assist first quarter, followed by several gritty baskets down the stretch.

Los Angeles also got a boost from veteran guard Marcus Smart, who had 15 points and eight assists with four 3-pointers in his Lakers playoff debut. Smart said before the series that success would come down to “willpower”, and the Lakers clearly had more for starters.

Bronny James began the second quarter playing alongside his famous father in the first significant playoff minutes of the 21-year-old’s career.

NBA star marks comeback after nine weeks as Houston Rockets beat Golden State Warriors 117-116 in San Francisco.

Stephen Curry marked his return from a two-month absence ‌with 29 points but ended up on the losing side as the Houston Rockets edged the Golden State Warriors 117-116 in San Francisco.

The Rockets’ Alperen Sengun capped a 24-point performance with a go-ahead interior ⁠hoop with 11.1 seconds remaining, sealing his team’s victory on Sunday night.

In his first return to San Francisco ⁠as a member of the Rockets, former Warriors star Kevin Durant poured in a game-high 31 points for Houston (49-29).

Durant also found time for a team-high eight assists and eight rebounds, one shy of Smith’s nine for team honours in both categories.

The Rockets have now moved within one game of the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets in their three-team ⁠duel for third place in the Western Conference.

Brandin Podziemski backed Curry with 18 points for the Warriors (36-42), who have virtually assured themselves of the 10th seed in the Western play-in tournament.

Sengun’s four-footer from the middle of the key came after Golden State used a 17-6 burst to overtake the visitors on a ‌Gary Payton II layup with 19.6 seconds remaining.

Golden State had a shot after Sengun’s hoop, but Curry misfired under heavy pressure from 30 feet, capping a 5-for-10 effort from three-point range.

Jabari Smith Jr had 23 points, Amen Thompson 18 and Reed Sheppard 11 for the Rockets, who won their sixth straight game.

Curry, who ⁠had missed 27 straight games since a January 30 injury against Detroit, ⁠played 26 minutes, during which he hit 11 of his 21 shots.

Coming off the bench in the regular season for the first time in 14 years, Curry was greeted by a warm standing ovation and greetings on the big screen when he entered with 4:54 left in the opening quarter.

“He’s one of the most beloved players in league history, Bay Area history in any sport, and I think a long absence like this reminds everybody how lucky we are to see him, to watch him, to coach him, to play with him,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “So tonight’s a special night because we’re reminded of how lucky we’ve been and how lucky we still are.”

Kerr said before the game that it is still unclear how many of the remaining games Curry will play, given Golden State have five contests in eight days with a back-to-back the rest of the way – and the expectation is he would not play on consecutive nights.

“We’re going to manage it accordingly. The plan for tonight would be shorter bursts, and we’ll see on the minutes,” Kerr said. “But first game back, he’s not playing 48 minutes.”

PHOENIX — The greatest team in UCLA women’s basketball history has earned its crown.

With a 30-point lead by the end of the third quarter, much of the end of Sunday’s NCAA championship victory was a celebration of what UCLA had built en route to its 79-51 victory over South Carolina.

By the final buzzer, it was a full-blown party.

It was one of the largest margins of victory in Final Four history.

UCLA won an AIAW title in 1978 against Maryland before women’s basketball was an NCAA sport.

UCLA’s Kiki Rice, right, drives around South Carolina’s Raven Johnson during the first half of the NCAA national title game on Sunday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Last season, UCLA’s 34-point loss to Connecticut in the semifinal became the worst loss in tournament history.

This season, there was no doubt UCLA was ready for the moment and it ensured it could reverse the history books.

It was perhaps the most UCLA performance the Bruins could have had. In their final collegiate games, Lauren Betts (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Gabriela Jaquez (21 points, 10 rebounds) earned double-doubles and all five starters scored in double digits. They dominated the boards (49-36), played stellar defense and most important, didn’t turn the ball over often.

After the Bruins held Texas to a season-low 44 points in Friday’s semifinal, they held the Gamecocks to 51, also their lowest total all season.

UCLA’s Lauren Betts shoots over South Carolina’s Maryam Dauda in the first half of the NCAA national championship game Sunday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

The Bruins jumped out early while South Carolina struggled with the Bruins’ size and went three for 18 from the floor. Kiki Rice (10 points, six rebounds, five assists) hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the opening quarter with the Bruins holding on to a 21-10 lead.

Near the end of the first, Betts came back to the bench coughing and sputtering, seemingly unable to clear her throat. At the start of the second quarter, she was at the end of the UCLA bench and used an inhaler before returning to the game.

UCLA’s suffocating defense held the Gamecocks to 25.7% shooting in the first half. Unlike Friday’s win over Texas, the Bruins’ offense recovered from a one-for-10 stretch far earlier.

South Carolina made a mid-second quarter adjustment into a zone defense and a half-court press that forced one 10-second violation and another turnover that led to a fast-break layup and and free throw from Ta’Niya Latson.

UCLA’s Gabriela Jaquez celebrates after scoring while being fouled during the first quarter Sunday against South Carolina.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

UCLA led 36-23 at the half.

One of the Gamecocks’ only interior presences, center Madina Okot, had three fouls early in the third quarter. With her off the floor, UCLA extended its lead to 18 off a three-pointer from Charlisse Leger-Walker.

Midway through the quarter, a sequence of a Betts layup over the South Carolina defense, a Betts block of a Latson shot and a Jaquez fast-break layup gave the Bruins a resounding 22-point lead.

The Bruins outscored the Gamecocks 25-9 during the third quarter to earn a 61-32 lead off a 13-0 run. It was the largest lead ever for a team going into the fourth quarter of an NCAA championship game.

South Carolina shot a season-worst 18 for 62 from the floor and two for 15 from three-point range.

UCLA players, including Kiki Rice, left, and Gabriela Jaquez celebrate after winning the NCAA women’s basketball national championship on Sunday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

The Bruins held Latson to four points and Raven Johnson to three on one-for-seven shooting.

South Carolina had taken down then-undefeated UConn in the semifinal on Friday.

UCLA will need to rebuild with few returners, but now that her players have won a national title, coach Cori Close should have her pick of the transfer portal.

Now, Close and the Bruins have championship pedigree.

Highlights from UCLA’s win over South Carolina in the NCAA women’s basketball national championship game.