Davis

The Lakers’ new big man went to the free throw line. The team’s former big man was on the mind of fans.

“I miss you, AD!” a Lakers fan shouted into the silence as Deandre Ayton prepared to shoot a free throw in the first quarter Friday.

Former Lakers star Anthony Davis played his first game in L.A. since being traded to the Mavericks last season, finishing with 12 points, five assists, five rebounds and three blocks in the Lakers’ 129-119 win at Crypto.com Arena.

The Lakers (14-4) won their sixth consecutive game and clinched West Group B in the NBA Cup, securing homecourt advantage for the tournament quarterfinals. The Lakers will host the San Antonio Spurs, who won West Group C, on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m.

The Mavericks (5-15) lost their third straight as the blockbuster trade that sent Luka Doncic to L.A. has only become more lopsided in the 10 months since it shocked the NBA.

Doncic had 35 points and 11 assists for the Lakers. Former Laker guard Max Christie, who was also involved in the trade, had 13 points and has become a regular starter for the Mavericks.

After two emotional matchups against his former team last year, Doncic said some of the feelings have subsided, but games against Dallas will always have special meaning for him.

Friday’s game was a well-timed return for Davis, who played in his first game after missing a month with a calf strain. The injury stretched for weeks as the Mavericks fell into the basement of the Western Conference.

LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 28, 2025: Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) scores two of his 38 points against Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) in the second half at Crypto.con Arena on November 28, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Meanwhile, the Lakers have the second-best record in the West. Doncic leads the league in scoring with 35.1 points per game.

Doncic’s continued ascent to superstardom and Davis’ growing injury list has only made the trade more bitter for Mavericks fans. They got their form of revenge when former general manager Nico Harrison was fired on Nov. 11, but the change only signaled a new low for the franchise that went to the NBA Finals two short seasons ago.

Now the player who was supposed to help fill the void left by Doncic has been included in trade rumors. The Mavericks went 3-11 without Davis.

To ensure Davis stayed in a positive mental state during the time of turmoil for the franchise, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd encouraged him to simply stay focused on getting healthy.

“The train keeps moving,” Kidd said. “No matter of a trade or a dismissal, you got to keep moving. And so for AD, [it] was to focus on his body, come back healthy. … Can’t get everything solved in 24 minutes tonight, but as we go forward, we feel like we have a chance to win when he’s in uniform.”

Davis was on a 24- to 27-minute limit Friday. To adhere to the restriction, he had to leave the game with 6:56 left in the fourth quarter with the Mavericks down by just three points.

Leaving the court hurt, Davis said. He had gotten two blocks, an assist and a basket during the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, then the Lakers went on a 9-1 run after Davis went to the bench.

To Kidd, Davis is still one of the best in the world when he is healthy. The coach pointed to Davis’ impressive play in the Paris Olympics when he averaged 8.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while shooting 62.5% from the field.

The Lakers didn’t need to be reminded of Davis’ talent. Coach JJ Redick said Davis would get the respect that all star players deserve because of his versatile skillset. But more than the shots he blocked or baskets he scored with the Lakers, Redick valued Davis for his support during Redick’s first year as a head coach.

“Very grateful that I had buy-in from him coming in Day 1 never had coached before,” Redick said. “So, it’s one of those things like you’re rooting for certain guys. … There are certain teammates you had, there’s always going to be guys that I coached [who] I either root for them after they are not your teammate and they are not one of your players. Just not when they play against us. Not tonight.”

The Lakers played a tribute video last year when Davis was sidelined with an abdominal injury for his first game back after the trade. Fans were showered him with cheers when he was introduced in the starting lineup Friday. LeBron James playfully bumped Davis at the center of the court before the game then they did the same intricate handshake they performed before games as teammates.

Lakers guard Luka Doncic puts up a jumper between Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington and guard Max Christie on Friday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

After the game, Lakers players lined up to hug Davis. Austin Reaves, who dominated with 38 points on 12 for 15 shooting with eight rebounds and three assists, gave him a two-armed bear hug. Davis grabbed the strap of his jersey and pointed toward Reaves.

“I always liked his game, what he was able to do,” Davis said. “Just now he’s doing it on a more consistent basis, putting up elite numbers. … He’s a player who I always knew could play to this level.”

Reaves left the Lakers locker room with Davis’ blue No. 3 jersey signed by his former teammate.

“He’s one of the best players to ever touch a basketball. I don’t know why he wanted my jersey,” Reaves said. “But for me to get his, it’s pretty fun. … From Day 1, he was telling me to be myself, don’t be anybody else. Continue to work and really be myself on the court. So I owe him a lot.”

Sinner, a key member of the Italian team which triumphed at the past two editions, elected to maximise his recovery during the sport’s brief six-week off-season after triumphing at last week’s ATP Finals.

The presence of just one of the top 10 men’s players at this year’s event has prompted discussion over the tournament’s future format.

But, after Berrettini and Cobolli starred for Italy in their quarter-final against Austria, both players spoke about the privilege they feel in competing for their nation at the Finals.

Berrettini maintained momentum from his opening straight-set win as he clinched an early break of serve and would not be caught after racing into a 3-0 lead.

The former Wimbledon runner-up, ranked 56th in the world, then broke immediately in set two after Collignon double-faulted twice.

However, his charge to the finish was slowed when Collignon took his first opportunity to level at 2-2 – and the Belgian was denied a fourth-straight game when Berrettini landed a sensational cross-court forehand to shut down another break point two games later.

But Berrettini would not lose his grip on the contest after reasserting himself with another break, serving out for his 10th consecutive singles win when playing for his country.

Speaking post-match, Berrettini said: “Pressure is a privilege. Obviously I feel the pressure, but you’re playing in front of your home country, my whole family is here, we are all great friends in our team.

“It is such a special feeling for me. I take the bad feelings away and just enjoy the moment.”

Germany completed a remarkable comeback to beat Argentina in a thrilling doubles decider and set up a Davis Cup semi-final against Spain.

Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz saved three match points in a final-set tie-break to overcome Horacio Zeballos and Andres Molteni 4-6 6-4 7-6 (12-10) in a gruelling contest lasting two hours and 31 minutes.

Argentina had put the first point on the board when world number 60 Tomas Etcheverry hit 23 aces to beat Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (9-7) in a high-quality encounter.

But world number three Alexander Zverev launched Germany’s recovery, beating world number 21 Francisco Cerundolo 6-4 7-6 (7-3) to force the deciding doubles.

Zverev, the only top 10 singles player competing in the Davis Cup this week, was not at his best but a brilliant tie-break performance kept Germany’s hopes of progressing to a second straight semi-final alive.

Those hopes were on their way to being extinguished when Zeballos and Molteni dominated the opening set of the doubles rubber.

But Krawietz and Puetz, who have three Grand Slam doubles titles between them, took the second set before a stalemate in the decider sent the match to a tie-break.

The Germans missed four match points, including three in a row, in an astonishing tie-break before clinching victory with the fifth.

“Incredible. There’s not many matches you play in your career like that,” said Puetz. “It feels better to win in the end but what a great match and a great Davis Cup tie.”

Not since their title-winning 1993 campaign have three-time champions Germany reached the final of the tournament.

Earlier on Thursday, Spain brushed aside the absence of Carlos Alcaraz to come from behind and beat the Czech Republic 2-1 and move one step closer to a first title in six years.

Spain will meet Germany in Bologna on Saturday with two-time defending champions Italy taking on Belgium in the first semi-final on Friday.

Great Britain are not involved this week after losing 3-2 to Japan in February’s first qualifying round.

But Leon Smith’s side gave themselves a chance of reaching next year’s season-closing event by beating Poland in an away eliminator in September.

Doubles specialists Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool, who have recently been crowned year-end world number ones, believe it is imperative that Britain demonstrate they can challenge the elite in 2026.

“We’re an incredibly strong nation and sometimes we get a bit of hate because we have a Slam and the LTA is financially better off than a lot of the federations out there,” Cash told BBC Sport.

“We have a lot of very good players, even below the Davis Cup level, and I think from the standard we’ve got – both singles and doubles – [the Finals] is where we deserve to be. But you have to earn that every year.”

Britain last won the Davis Cup when the talismanic Andy Murray led them to glory in 2015, reaching the semi-finals again in 2019 before quarter-final appearances in 2021 and 2023.

This year’s bid was hampered by British number one Jack Draper, who reached a career-high fourth in the world earlier this season, being ruled out of the Japan tie.

“Injuries are a big part of it,” said Cash, “so we hope everyone can stay fit and if some of the other guys need to get called up then hopefully they can put their best performance out there.”

“I’m born alone and I’m going to die alone, so go on your own journey.”

That statement from British light-middleweight Ishmael Davis might appear blunt at face value, but his harsh view on life was developed through some difficult formative years.

By the age of 14, Davis had been kicked out of school, kicked out of his childhood home and was adapting to the responsibility of caring for newborn twin sons.

“I had a bit of a rough upbringing,” Davis tells BBC Sport.

“I was living with my first baby’s mum at 14, went into a hostel until I was 15 and then I got my own flat.

“Because I wasn’t making money it was hard. I was only getting around £100 every two weeks. It was a hard time in my life but these are the things I’ve had to come through.”

Davis, now 30, first stepped into a boxing gym aged 12 and took part in an unlicensed amateur fight the following year, but any dreams of pursuing the sport further were shelved as he tried to provide for his children.

Despite still being a child himself, Davis turned to the streets of Chapeltown in Leeds to make ends meet.

“I was year nine when I had my first kids. After that I wanted to be out on the streets all the time and I got into gangs,” Davis says.

“Because I had kids young, I started selling drugs.”

Davis would land himself in prison not long after and was on the path some of his closest friends and family were walking.

On 15 November he faces Sam Gilley for the British and Commonwealth light-middleweight titles on the undercard of Chris Eubank Jr v Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as he looks to get his career back in track after three losses in his past four fights.

Davis discusses how differently his life could have been if not for boxing and his personal drive.

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul will seek another fight later in 2025 after his opponent Gervonta Davis was issued with a civil lawsuit.

Jake Paul’s exhibition boxing match against lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis was scrapped on Monday, with Paul planning a different bout before the end of 2025.

Their highly anticipated fight was scheduled for November 14 in Miami, Florida, though Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), Paul’s promotional organisation, said on Saturday that it was looking into the matter after a civil lawsuit was filed against Davis in Miami-Dade County last week.

Nakisa Bidarian, MVP’s CEO, said in a statement that Paul would headline another event to be streamed on Netflix later this year, with details on an opponent, a date and a location to be provided when finalised.

The bout was originally slated for Atlanta, but was moved to Florida, where it was sanctioned despite the huge weight difference between the boxers. Paul usually fights at cruiserweight, about 50 pounds (23kg) above the 135-pound (61kg) limit, where Davis holds a title belt.

The fight had drawn significant global interest due to the novelty of the matchup. The contest pitted the much larger Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) – who first became famous for his YouTube boxing exploits and then became a household name after fighting former heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson in 2024 – against Davis (30-0-1, 28 KOs), a current WBA champion and one of the most famous boxers in North America.

Spectators who bought tickets to the event via Ticketmaster will be refunded, MVP said.