Two days with no games allowed the Lakers to fully reset as they prepare for the final stretch of the regular season and a playoff run.
They have eight games left, starting with the NBA lottery-bound Washington Wizards at Crypto.com Arena on Monday. The Lakers will play without star guard Luka Doncic because he’s serving his one-game suspension for reaching the league limit of 16 technical fouls.
The Lakers had an early practice Sunday and that gave them a chance to make adjustments with fresh bodies and minds.
“Yeah, for me, I think, based on all of them wanting to come in at 10 a.m. on a Sunday, I think it is as much mental and spiritual and emotional,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said after practice. “We didn’t want to have these guys in here long today. But we got a lot done, watched some film and cleaned some stuff up. But there is these two days for us. It’s a great reset for us.”
Doncic got his 16th technical foul of the season Friday night during a win over the Brooklyn Nets after an exchange with Ziaire Williams, when both were given double technical fouls in the third quarter of that game.
For Doncic, who earns $45.9 million per season, the suspension will cost him about $264,000.
If he gets two more technical fouls between now and the end of the regular season, he will be automatically suspended for an additional game.
Doncic is eligible to return for the Lakers on Tuesday night when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“I mean, he’s disappointed,” Redick said of Doncic. “He wants to be there for his teammates, and again, I’ve talked about this all year, like he plays. He’s not a guy that takes games off. He can be banged up and he’s gonna play. He was like that when I was his teammate in Dallas. For tomorrow, we’ve gotten, I think, some great contributions from guys that haven’t necessarily been in the nine-man rotation when we’ve been fully healthy.”
Redick spoke about how Bronny James, Jarred Vanderbilt and Maxi Kleber have all had “good moments” when they were called on for duty.
And with Doncic out, Redick said it will take a group effort to beat the Wizards.
“But we’re gonna need everybody tomorrow,” Redick said.
The Wizards have the third-worst record in the NBA at 17-56. They are second to last in the league in points allowed, giving up 124 per game.
Still, this is all about the Lakers and how they get ready for the playoffs during the final few games of the season .
Half of the eight games are against teams with records below .500.
The Lakers will face a Cavaliers team that’s making a push for better positioning in the Eastern Conference. They will twice face an Oklahoma City team that has the best record in the league and a Suns team that has a 3-1 record against the Lakers.
“That’s the thing I’ve talked about all year is you need great effort and you need great execution,” Redick said. “I think the effort part has been there very consistently for weeks now. Sometimes when the games are stacked together and travel and all that, there can be some small details, execution-wise, that can have slippage, and I think for us, especially on the defensive end, we can do some things better. But I mean, look, the last 16 games we are where we are because we’ve been really good on both ends.”
Etc.
Redick said guard Marcus Smart (right ankle contusion) and forward Adou Thiero (left knee soreness) are in “that day-to-day camp” with their injuries.
“So we’re just kind of waiting for them to feel like they’re good enough to go,” Redick said.
SACRAMENTO — The team that can’t stop dancing won’t stop dancing.
The top-seeded UCLA women’s basketball team beat Duke 70-58 in the Elite Eight. It wasn’t balletic, but beautiful.
Sunday’s game at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento wasn’t a fun, free-flowing joy ride that so many of the Bruins’ wins have been this season.
It was a rattling, teeth-gritting, heart-thumping roller-coaster ride — weeeeee!
The Bruins weren’t having fun, exactly. They were having the time of their lives.
And in the end, they shoved their way to the front of the stage — and back to the Final Four.
Now the TikTok countdown is on before final exams in Phoenix, where redemption and legacy and a rematch await with either winner of the No. 1 Texas vs. No. 2 Michigan tussle in the Fort Worth Regional final.
And any questions — ahem, mine — about how the barely-battled-tested boogie-down Bruins respond to a significant stress test were answered.
The Bruins are built for this.
They’re not just talented. And they’re not just talented dancers (and postgame, Lauren Betts, Charlisse Leger-Walker and Gabriela Jaquez reprised the routine that went viral when they did it with the UCLA Dance Team during halftime of a men’s game this season).
They’re tough. And they’re locked in.
And unlike last season, when their program’s Final Four debut ended in a 85-51 national semifinal blowout loss to eventual champion Connecticut, they’re ready for what comes next.
They let us know in the second half Sunday.
Duke came floating in, still buzzing from Friday’s buzzer-beater in the Sweet 16. That slow-motion-in-real-time three-pointer by Ashlon Jackson that rolled around and around the rim as though the basketball gods needed just a little more time to determine UCLA’s opponent Sunday.
UCLA’s Lauren Betts, left, Gabriela Jaquez celebrate after the Bruins defeated Duke on Sunday to advance to the Final Four.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
It was to be Duke, who proved a dangerous No. 3 seed. The Bruins weren’t prepared for the Blue Devils to be so prepared for them, trailing at the break for just the second time this season. The first time was in November against Texas, when the Bruins — now a program-record 35-1 — suffered their only loss this season.
Still their only loss.
Even a fool could read the determination on the Bruins’ faces as they roared back from a 39-31 halftime deficit; they’d come so far together, but they so badly wanted to go further.
No one was ready to get off the ride, not least the six seniors who played the entirety of the second half, seizing momentum and the moment and hitting the Blue Devils (27-9) with a white-knuckled flurry of activity.
“Compliment them,” Duke coach Kara Lawson said, “for turning up their defensive intensity.”
There were 50-50 balls in name only, because UCLA seemed to be winning 100% of them.
UCLA players were ripping away passes. They were diving all over the floor and were all over the boards. They ratcheted up the intensity so much it spread into the stands, where the largely pro-Bruins crowd of 9,627 cheered deliriously.
Shots started falling. Turnovers stopped cascading. UCLA found its rhythm.
And UCLA’s 6-foot-7 star center Betts did what she does, with 15 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in the second half, of which she played all 20 minutes.
“I was just pretty mad,” she said. “You know, my senior season is on the line, so I kind of got to wake up a little bit.”
Angela Dugalic continued to be the matchup nightmare she has been all March; the 6-4 sixth woman scored 15 timely points to take some pressure off Betts.
UCLA coach Cori Close watches play during the Bruins’ win over Duke on Sunday.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
“I’m just so proud of her,” Betts said. “The confidence and her poise … you could get in your head in moments when we’re down … but she did all the right things and what we needed at the time.”
It was an entertaining Elite Eight clash that was brought to you by two coaches who staged, like up-and-coming chefs, under two of the greatest leaders the sports world has known.
UCLA coach Cori Close and Lawson committed to making sure we won’t lose John Wooden’s and Pat Summitt’s recipes — never mind all the seismic, disorienting shifts happening in college sports.
A former Tennessee star, Lawson brings Summitt’s brand crackling intensity to Duke, a mindset that she’s said calls for supreme confidence, chasing excellence and holding oneself to an all-around standard of success.
UCLA’s bench was uplifted all season by Close’s warm intentionality, learned from years of mentorship from Wooden. The main ingredients, she’ll tell you, requiring a dollop of growth, gratitude, of giving and not taking.
“[Our] team culture is not this nebulous thing or phrases on a wall,” Close said. “It’s a group of people that are willing to be committed to the hard, right behaviors over and over again. I cannot tell you how many times throughout that game we referred to our values, who we are, what our identity was, what we had to get back to.
“… I’m just really humbled and thankful to be a part of a team and staff that cares about things from the inside out. What you saw on the court is a reflection and a byproduct of what’s happened on the inside.”
Within the first 72 hours of a 26-day game, “Survivor 50,” featuring 24 veteran players, had already delivered feuding, anguish and heartbreak. Legendary rivals Ozzy Lusth and Benjamin “Coach” Wade appeared to bury the hatchet, only for their conflict to reignite soon after. Kyle Fraser was forced out due to injury, and Jenna Lewis-Dougherty, who competed in both the show’s inaugural season and “All-Stars,” was the first person voted out after more than two decades away from the game.
Yet there were also moments of nostalgia, connection and excitement as returning players arrived on the beach, grateful to be part of the show’s landmark 50th season.
This raw display of humanity has kept the show’s torch burning for over 25 years. “‘Survivor’ is built on a timeless idea because human nature doesn’t change,” says Jeff Probst, the host, executive producer and showrunner of the reality competition series. “It’s essentially behavioral psychology in the wild.”
Back in Fiji’s Mamanuca Islands for “Survivor 50: In the Hands of Fans,” the show has added a novel element. Fans were given a say in key decisions, voting online to shape production and game mechanics, from choosing tribe colors to requiring castaways to earn rice and supplies instead of receiving them at the start.
“What a great twist,” says Wade in an interview over Zoom. “‘In the Hands of Fans’ transforms the game. Instead of it being, ‘They are playing,’ it’s ‘We are playing.’”
Though he was disappointed to be deprived of staples upon his arrival, he smiles and says that if he were watching at home rather than competing, he also would have wanted players to start with nothing.
Singer-songwriter and “Survivor” superfan Zac Brown coooked and performed for contestants on the show.(Robert Voets/CBS)
“Survivor” has also leaned into its famous fan base this season, bringing in self-proclaimed superfans, including Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Zac Brown — who appeared in Episode 4 as a reward for a winning tribe for whom he spearfishes, cooks and performs. The show also nods to Billie Eilish via the Billie Eilish Boomerang Idol featured in the season premiere. The game piece was handpicked by the Oscar- and Grammy-winning pop star — whose 2022 song “TV” references “Survivor” — and accompanied by a letter in which she outlined its instructions.
But Mike White, creator of “The White Lotus,” represents the show’s most intertwined cultural crossover. He drew inspiration for his hit HBO series from “Survivor” and cast several former tribemates in cameos. “Survivor 50” also features “The White Lotus” Easter eggs.
Returning to the franchise for the first time since he finished as runner-up in 2018, in the Season 50 premiere he says, tearfully, “There are times in ‘White Lotus’ where I’m so fried … it’s a 129-day shoot, but I look back on my ‘Survivor’ experience, and I’m like, ‘Dude, I did that and I can do this.’” Yet White’s hard-won resilience couldn’t protect him from being voted out in a blindside in Episode 4, proving that fame offers no immunity.
And that is the point. At its core, “Survivor” is about watching people from all walks of life dropped into a remote, unforgiving landscape where they must outwit, outplay and outlast one another for a $1 million prize — hungry, exhausted and sore, roasting in the blazing sun or shivering through rainstorms, and enduring grueling physical competitions. They must cooperate with the very people they’re competing against. And as alliances form and fracture, each day grows more fraught.
Former “Survivor” contestants Mike White, left, and Quintavius “Q” Burdette in Season 50.
(Robert Voets/CBS)
“It’s very simple but very deep,” Probst says. “The goal is not to get voted out, but the strategy in achieving that goal is infinite, so the game’s easy to understand, but it’s impossible to master. That’s why it’s so much fun to watch. You’re constantly asking yourself, ‘What would I do?’”
It’s one thing to ask from the comfort of home, but another to live it out, and on national television to boot, says Wade. Coach “When you step on that beach, the stakes are so much higher,” he explains. “Nobody really thinks about the million dollars. They’re thinking about surviving, not getting voted off.”
“Most people would be able to do it,” he continues. “But what you’d realize is what happens to your character and your facade when you’re deprived of everything — food, comfort, reaching out to your friends and having a support system that you know and trust. When you strip all of that away, this stops being a game, and your character will be forged, revealed or shattered.”
A four-time player, Season 23 runner-up and 2015 Survivor Hall of Fame inductee, Coach is one of the show’s most legendary figures. Known as the Dragon Slayer, he’s often shown meditating, praying, waxing philosophical, and pontificating on nobility, integrity and honor. His grandiose persona rubbed many the wrong way early on, earning him a villain label.
Reflecting on his legacy, Wade partly blames the edit but acknowledges he often took himself too seriously, was arrogant, and tried too hard to be larger than life, yet he stresses his authenticity. “The way I look, dress and talk — I’m polarizing,” he says. “That’s who I am in my real life, so that’s who I am out there.”
Probst affirms that what you see is what you get. “Coach shows up authentically every day,” he says. “He wears his mythology on his sleeve and has it tattooed on his body. When he pulls back his hair into a ponytail and quotes Magellan, that’s Coach: ‘I’m the guy with quotes about war and victory and fearlessness and courage. That’s actually who I am.’”
This season, Wade calls himself “Coach 4.0,” but Probst remains skeptical. “Every time he plays, Coach refers to himself as the new version of Coach,” Probst says. “But the minute he starts talking, everybody thinks the same thing: ‘Coach, you may have some more maturity and life experiences now that you’re married and have kids, but you’re exactly the same.’”
That’s not a critique of Coach. After observing more than 750 players over 25 years, Probst believes, “We are capable of much more than we think we are, and simultaneously, at our core, we generally are who we are. It doesn’t mean you can’t change or become a better version of yourself, but you’re going to have some core instincts.”
Benjamin “Coach” Wade in “Survivor 50.” (Robert Voets/CBS)
Coach in 2011’s “Survivor: South Pacific,” the show’s 23rd season. (Monty Brinton/CBS)
The show’s unflinching exploration of human nature traces back to visionary British television producer Charlie Parsons. He conceived the social experiment based on a combination of his curiosity about people, the influence of “Lord of the Flies” and “Robinson Crusoe,” and his boarding school experience.
“It was an all-boys school and quite a competitive place, so there was an element of survival in that,” Parsons says over Zoom. “It wasn’t a bad experience, but if you’re 13 and you’ve never lived away from home before, it can be quite a wrench to live for a month at a time away from your parents. On one occasion I called my parents and said, ‘Will you rescue me?’ And they didn’t.”
In 1988, Parsons turned his concept into “The Castaways,” a three-part documentary for a magazine-style television program he was showrunning.
Several years later, he was approached by Disney’s Buena Vista Productions to make an American version of a successful British morning show he created. When that didn’t pan out, he pitched what would eventually become “Survivor,” developing it with Buena Vista in hopes of selling it to ABC.
But, he says, the radical concept didn’t fit neatly into existing TV genres, and the network balked. “It’s difficult to imagine, but back in the ‘90s this idea of reality TV basically didn’t exist,” Parsons says. “Television was reasonably siloed … ABC took a long time deciding because they could see that there was something about it, but in the end they passed.”
In 1997, however, the concept found immediate success in Sweden with “Expedition Robinson,” leading to expansion in more Scandinavian countries.
The leap to America required a new alliance. During Parsons’ development process with Buena Vista, he’d met fellow British TV producer Mark Burnett at a party in Los Angeles where he’d told him about the reality competition format he was building. Burnett then called every six months pressing to produce it until Parsons finally agreed to grant him the American licensing rights.
“Mark had an incredible energy and presence, which meant that he could go and sell the s— out of it,” Parsons says. “He could persuade the networks to take a risk on something risky.”
Even so, as Burnett relayed in a comprehensive 2010 Television Academy interview, he faced a difficult pitching process. But after every major network passed, he re-approached CBS, where then-CEO and President Les Moonves was game to try original programming during summertime when reruns caused dwindling viewership. But when Moonves commissioned a pilot, Burnett said a stand-alone episode was too costly and couldn’t capture the show’s slow-burn endgame.
Instead, he proposed a sponsorship model built on integrating products into the game, pitching the value of a castaway using a branded cellphone to call home, or the desperation for a slice of pizza and a beer. After Burnett secured corporate sponsors, Moonves greenlighted “Survivor.”
Though firmly embedded in the culture today, “Survivor” was revolutionary when it debuted May 31, 2000, quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon. The Season 1 finale averaged 51.7 million viewers, surpassing both the Academy Awards and Grammys that year. Time magazine featured Lewis-Dougherty on its late June 2000 cover, and “The Late Show With David Letterman” featured a “Survivor”-themed Top 10 list presented by the show’s 16 castaways.
From its exotic location to the now-iconic buffs, “Survivor” established a world all its own, complete with a unique lexicon of immunity challenges, tribal council and Probst’s signature catchphrase, “The tribe has spoken.” As the enduring face of the show, Probst is central to its legacy, earning four Emmys for his role as host.
But even Probst’s survival wasn’t guaranteed. About 15 years ago, the relentless travel and schedule left him so depleted that he briefly quit the show. A few months of rest, however, allowed him to reevaluate. “It really was, ‘I don’t know if I have anything left in my tank to bring to the game.’ That might be what partly influenced Mark to make me showrunner even faster,” Probst says. “I needed to be more of a storyteller on this show.”
The cast of “Survivor” Season 1, standing from left: Ramona Gray, Dirk Been, Gretchen Cordy, Richard Hatch, Sonja Christopher, Susan Hawk, Kelly Wiglesworth, Sean Kenniff, B.B. Andersen and Rudy Boesch. Seated from left: Gervase Peterson, Jenna Lewis, Joel Klug, Stacey Stillman, Greg Buis and Colleen Haskell.
(Monty Brinton/CBS)
He’s quick to note the show’s collaborative ethos, however. “The term ‘showrunner’ is pretty misleading at this point. We make this as a team,” Probst says. Under his stewardship, “Survivor” is more cinematic, reimagined through the lens of Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey,” and family friendly. Probst also notes the necessity of continually evolving game design, creating unexpected twists and advantages to keep players on edge and never knowing whom to trust.
The pandemic brought changes as well. With production shut down amid a world in turmoil, Probst felt “Survivor” needed more levity. When filming resumed, due to the 14-day quarantine requirement, back-to-back seasons were shot and the format was shortened from 39 days to 26. The faster-paced “New Era” that began with Season 41 also coincided with CBS’s 2020 diversity mandate requiring at least 50% of the cast to be nonwhite, and Probst dropped his longtime catchphrase “Come on in, guys” in favor of more inclusive language.
By Season 45, in keeping with Probst’s narrative-driven vision, the previously hourlong episodes expanded to 90 minutes.
Television habits have also changed since viewers once dissected tribal council proceedings at the office the next morning. Streaming breathed new life into “Survivor,” with younger viewers discovering it during the pandemic, while its cross-generational appeal keeps it a broadcast powerhouse. The Season 50 premiere drew 9.1 million viewers across live broadcast and delayed streaming, and in the weeks leading up to the launch, viewers revisited older seasons, boosting streaming numbers ahead of the anniversary.
According to Mitch Graham, CBS executive vice president of alternative programming, “Survivor” ranks No. 1 in the coveted 18 to 49 demographic, and the Season 50 launch generated the biggest social media engagement in the franchise’s history.
Even as the reality TV landscape has grown crowded, Probst remains unfazed. “It’s a show like no other,” he says. “It’s adventure, survival, strategy, interpersonal relationships, social politics. … This multi-layered storytelling gives it durability because any given week you have no idea what you’re going to watch.”
Meanwhile, as Season 50 continues to unfold, no one knows who will be crowned “Sole Survivor” on May 20 in Los Angeles, the show’s first live finale since 2019. But rest assured, by then they’ll have revealed exactly who they are.
Darius Garland added 15 points and 11 assists and Derrick Jones Jr. 13 points for the Clippers, who made 45 of 77 shots (58.4%).
Gary Trent Jr. had a season-high 36 points to pace Milwaukee, which had only eight players available. Taurean Prince added 18 points and AJ Green scored 15 for the Bucks, who have lost 10 of their last 12 games.
The Bucks stayed close early, trailing 29-25 after one quarter with Trent scoring 11 points, including sinking three of five from three-point range.
The Clippers began to pull away in the second, holding a 57-46 lead at the half after leading by as many as 16. Leonard had 15 first-half points.
Brook Lopez, a member of the Bucks’ 2021 NBA championship team, was honored with a video tribute in his first visit back to Milwaukee. He was whistled for a technical foul as the teams were headed to the locker room at halftime.
The Clippers outscored Milwaukee 39-28 in the third and extended its lead to as many as 24 points in the fourth before the Bucks pulled within 11 in the late stages.
Sloppy play hurt Milwaukee, which committed 22 turnovers leading to 33 Clippers points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out a seventh consecutive game for Milwaukee with a left knee hyperextension and bone bruise. The two-time MVP has played in a career-low 36 games this season.
The Bucks also were missing Kevin Porter Jr. (right knee), Bobby Portis (left wrist sprain), Kyle Kuzma (Achilles tendinopathy), Ryan Rollins (left hip flexor), Myles Turner (right knee), Gary Harris (personal reasons) and Thanasis Antetokounmpo (left calf).
Green and Ousmane Dieng fouled out in the fourth, leaving the Bucks with six available players to finish the game.
Up next for the Clippers: vs. the Portland Trail Blazers at Intuit Dome on Tuesday.
On his bobblehead night and 31st birthday, Smith delivered a two-run home run in the eighth inning as the Dodgers swept their season-opening series against the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 3-2 victory Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
Cue an aerial shot of the Hollywood sign.
“When you talk about big hits, clutch, Will’s right at the top of the list,” manager Dave Roberts said.
Roberts originally planned to sit Smith. The catcher played in the first two games of the series, and an off day on Sunday would have given him two straight days of rest early in a grueling season.
“We always talk about stuff,” Smith said. “He was going to give me the day off, I just kind of dropped the bobblehead card [for Saturday] and he let me in there.”
A key edit to the script.
Roberts made a few tweaks to the lineup ahead of the Dodgers facing a left-handed starter for the first time this season. Against Eduardo Rodriguez, Roberts swapped first baseman Freddie Freeman and Smith in the batting order; Smith hit fourth and Freeman fifth.
Santiago Espinal also made his Dodgers debut, starting at third base. Roberts said it wouldn’t be a platoon between Espinal and Max Muncy at third, but he wasn’t sure exactly how the playing-time split would play out.
For the first five innings, no one on the Dodgers did much on offense, except for Freeman.
Freeman went hitless in the first two games of the series despite making hard contact. But he had three hits in four at-bats Saturday, including a double in the sixth inning that drove in the Dodgers’ first run.
“Definitely nice to get off the barrel on the first one and hit a flare up the middle,” Freeman said. “And obviously once you get one, you can just kind of rest easy. And then they played the shift on my third hit, and that was nice, because then I was able to stay on the fastball and hit it to left field down the line.”
That hit cut the Diamondbacks’ lead to one run, thanks to a strong showing from the Dodgers’ pitching staff.
Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow delivers during the first inning against the Diamondbacks on Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Tyler Glasnow turned in a quality start. Holding the Diamondbacks to two runs over six innings, Glasnow used his curveball as his putaway pitch against right-handed hitters, and two-strike sinkers kept left-handed batters off balance, especially deeper into his start. Glasnow recorded six strikeouts.
The Dodgers’ bullpen continued its scoreless streak for the series, as Alex Vesia, Will Klein and Edwin Díaz shut down the Diamondbacks through the last three innings.
For the second straight night, Díaz entered to a live rendition of Timmy Trumpet’s “Narco,” performed by trumpet player Tatiana Tate.
“When Edwin comes in the game, that means something good’s happening for the Dodgers,” Freeman said. “So I’m a fan.”
Although the Dodgers’ offense was quieter than in their other wins of the series, their lineup again proved to be pesky. In all three games, they fell behind 2-0. In all three, they won.
Dodgers catcher Will Smith, left, celebrates with Tesocar Hernández after hitting a two-run home run in the eighth inning Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
With two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning Saturday, Mookie Betts drew a walk. Then Smith worked a 2-2 count, fouling off three fastballs before he was right on time for one at the top of the strike zone.
“We never feel like we’re out of it,” Smith said. “We keep taking good at-bats, keep believing in each other, keep believing that someone’s going to come up with a big hit.”
On Saturday, it was destined to be Smith.
“Birthday and bobblehead day,” Glasnow said, “It was a magical night.”
Roll credits.
Injury updates
Dodgers utility players Tommy Edman (right ankle surgery recovery) and Kiké Hernández (left elbow surgery recovery) took early batting practice on the field Saturday afternoon.
Roberts has said he expected Edman, on the 10-day injured list, will be an option by at least the end of May. Hernández will be eligible to be activated off the 60-day IL around the same time.
“I’d be shocked if [Hernández] wasn’t ready when that time is up,” Roberts said. “Taking grounders, the way he’s moving, the way he’s throwing, catching, the swing, ball coming off the bat. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was in the lineup tonight.”
ON hearing that I was going to Malta, my grandfather insisted I check out a street in Valletta affectionately known as “The Gut”.
A quick Google search revealed that this “historically notorious” alleyway used to be the city’s premier red-light and entertainment district for British and American servicemen.
Sign up for the Travel newsletter
Thank you!
The cobbled streets in the capital city, VallettaCredit: GettyThe island is part of the Maltese archipelagoCredit: Getty
Given that Grandad was in Malta during his Navy days in the 1950s, I dread to imagine what he had in mind when suggesting I go there above anywhere else in the country.
Nevertheless, I’m glad I followed his advice because, in the 70-odd years since, it has cleaned up its act.
Located at the opening of The Gut at the time of my visit, (but now in St George’s Square) was Fifty Nine Republic, a restaurant that has featured in the Michelin Guide five years in a row.
Its head chef, Maria Sammut, is one of Malta’s greatest culinary assets — named “Best Maltese Chef” in recent years — and serves some of the finest fare in Valletta.
Her prawn tacos perfectly showcase the best of Maltese seafood — giant, juicy prawns fried in a satisfyingly crispy batter, with bright and delicate pickles elevating each mouthful — which you can enjoy in the sun of St George’s Square, opposite the opulence of the Grandmaster’s Palace.
Something I doubt my grandad did too often on his nights in the city.
It was a well-earned meal, too, after a morning spent getting to know Malta’s more adventurous side.
While the stereotypical image of a tourist in Malta may be that of an older person seeking some relaxing winter sun, there is plenty in the way of activities for holidaymakers with a penchant for getting the adrenaline pumping.
I am typically not that type of person, which I realised as I found myself dangling from a cliff face with little more than a bungee cord and a metal hook for safety, doing something called via ferrata.
It involves scrambling along precarious ledges, using fixed steel cables to ensure anyone who falls is just about kept alive.
The quaint Mgarr HarbourCredit: Getty
So, instead of doing the crossword with a cuppa — my normal morning routine — I had to rely on my minimal upper body strength and uncharacteristically delicate footwork to take me from the bottom of a sheer cliff face right to the top.
As a man who struggles with vertigo, this didn’t come easily, but the impressive landscapes — rugged cliff tops and lush greenery stretching out until they met the shimmering blue sea on the horizon — made it more than worthwhile.
What’s more, I was surprised at how quickly I started to enjoy myself.
The combination of warm weather, pushing 20C in February, spectacular scenery and trying something exciting put a spring in my step — ironically, the last thing I needed as I clambered up to the summit.
Delighted to have survived, I tested my resilience further — horse riding through the countryside of Bidnija village.
Yet this turned out to be an altogether more peaceful affair, as my steed — the majestic Romeo — begrudgingly bore me on his back and clip-clopped through some tranquil and verdant scenes.
Ryan Gray abseils down a cliffCredit: Supplied
Aloe plants rose out of the ground, looking like large desert cacti, making me feel like I was in my own John Wayne movie.
I even tipped the brim of my hat to passers-by as I rode towards the sunset, thoroughly enjoying an activity I would never before have thought to try.
The same thing happened on repeat throughout my visit.
Whether it was e-bike riding along the Dingli Cliffs — the highest point on the island, with vistas stretching for miles over sapphire seas — or abseiling on Gozo, the second-largest island in the Maltese archipelago, my perceptions about what I enjoy doing were constantly being challenged.
That’s not to say I didn’t make the most of a chance to relax in the warmth, while thick grey clouds at home were refusing to let any sunlight through.
Staying at the Marriott Resort & Spa meant I could unwind after my exertions and, come early evening, I could be found on a sunbed by the outdoor pool on the 13th floor, overlooking St Julian’s Bay.
Visit the medieval town of Mdina which featured in Game Of ThronesCredit: GettyRyan explores the streets of MaltaCredit: Supplied
The hotel also has an indoor pool, a gym better equipped than most actual gyms, and a spa offering a range of treatments and massages, including couples’ options.
After a wind-down by the pool, evenings were spent exploring the extensive selection of bars and restaurants.
Although I couldn’t try all the highly recommended eateries, I was particularly impressed by Trattoria AD 1530.
This charming Michelin Guide restaurant is located in the fortified medieval town of Mdina, which Game Of Thrones fans will recognise as King’s Landing from series one.
It perfectly showcases the Italian influence on Maltese cuisine, with its seafood pastas particularly worth a taste.
Then there was Sole by Tarragon, which offers beautiful harbour views, locally-caught seafood and Mediterranean classics.
My advice — order the sea bass, one of their nautical-themed cocktails and the caramel and banana dessert.
I’ll just have to go back and try all the ones I missed another time. I’ll see if my grandad has any more hot tips.
GO: MALTA
GETTING THERE: Direct flights from London Heathrow and Gatwick with KM Malta Airlines are from £84.
There is bad news and good news to report on the Kings’ push for a fifth straight playoff berth.
First, the bad.
With a chance to move into a playoff position Saturday, the Kings came out flat and were routed 6-2 by the Utah Mammoth at Crypto.com Arena, leaving them a point out of postseason position.
It was the Kings’ most one-sided loss in more than a month, not exactly the way it wanted to start its final sprint to the postseason. And that left coach D.J. Smith with more questions than answers with nine games left in the season.
“We were not sharp in any facet of the game. It’s not good enough,” said Smith, after Utah scored two goals on the power play and three in transition.
“We’re going to ask ourselves why. Why we weren’t ready. What didn’t we do? The excuses really don’t matter. We’ve got to be way better than we were tonight.”
But wait, it gets worse.
Saturday’s game was also the first of a seven-game homestand, matching the Kings’ longest in 15 years. But that’s not the advantage it would appear to be since only the Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers have been worse at home than the Kings this season.
“I don’t know what it is,” Smith said. “Last year we couldn’t lose here. Right now, we don’t lose very much on the road. That’s in your head. People say it’s luck. You make your own luck.
“We didn’t come ready to play today. And whether it’s our building or the road or wherever we played this game, that isn’t good enough.”
The Kings are also bucking history since 18 of their losses have come in either overtime or a shootout. Just one team — the 2012 Florida Panthers — have lost that many games after regulation and made the playoffs since the shootout was adopted 21 years ago.
Kings forward Quinton Byfield tries to shoot in front of Utah Mammoth defenseman Nate Schmidt during the second period Saturday.
(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
If the Kings had won just half those overtime games, they’d be a point back of the Pacific Division-leading Ducks. Instead, they appear to be going backward at the worst possible time, dropping seven of their last 10 games and nine of 14 since Smith replaced Jim Hiller behind the bench.
And suddenly there’s traffic in their rear-view mirror, with four teams bunched no more than three points behind them in the Western Conference standings.
Despite all that, the Kings took the ice against Utah with a chance to control their own playoff destiny, only to play with little urgency, falling behind for good 2½ minutes after the opening faceoff on the first of two goals by fourth-line winger Alexander Kerfoot.
Kerfoot entered with three goals on the season and nearly doubled that in two periods against the Kings. For a team with everything to play for, the Kings looked distracted and disinterested.
“I don’t know what it was,” defenseman Drew Doughty said. “There’s no excuses for the way we performed.”
Now for the good news — and there is some.
Despite the loss, the Kings are still just a point out of the second wild-card berth — with two of their final six regular-season home games coming against Nashville, the team that currently owns that final playoff berth. Win those two, and the Kings are back in the driver’s seat.
“We’re still in the thick of things,” said captain Anze Kopitar, whose career ends when the Kings’ season does. “We’re not out by any means. But we’re going to have to play much better.”
Added Doughty: “Take it one [game] at a time and win every one.”
A wild-card is no longer the Kings’ only — or even clearest — path to the postseason, however. The Vegas Golden Knights, the team directly ahead of the Kings in the Pacific Division standings, have lost six of their last 10, whittling their lead to four points over the Kings in the battle for the division’s third and final postseason berth.
Pass them and the Kings will likely face the Edmonton Oilers — again — in the first round of the playoffs. The opportunities are there for the taking. But the Kings need to play like they want them.
“We’ve got three days to figure it out, and then we’ve got nine games [left],” Smith said. “We’re going to turn the page and find a way to be better for the next one. It’s got to be a playoff mentality.
“You can’t dwell on it. You’ve got to move on. But you’ve got to get better and you have to learn from why we lost the way we lost tonight.”
The NBA gave Luka Doncic one mulligan. The league wouldn’t grant the Lakers superstar a second.
Doncic will serve a one-game suspension because of technical foul accumulation, the NBA announced Saturday, sidelining him for Monday’s game against the Washington Wizards after he picked up his 16th technical foul of the season in the Lakers’ win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.
Doncic said he was trying to get away from Brooklyn’s Ziaire Williams when he pushed the Nets forward aside with 5:12 remaining in the third quarter. Doncic had just been called for an offensive foul while the Lakers were attempting to inbound the ball. Williams was shouting in Doncic’s direction. Doncic attempted to move past Williams and the 24-year-old from Lancaster then waved his arm behind him and slapped Doncic in the throat. Both were given technical fouls.
Doncic said referees told him his push was “exaggerated.”
“Which was obviously [not the case],” said Doncic, who scored 41 points with eight rebounds and three assists in the win.
This is the second time in a week that Doncic has faced the mandatory suspension after getting his 16th technical foul, but he avoided the fate after the NBA rescinded a technical he picked up against Orlando on March 21. The reversal kept Doncic available for the Lakers’ matchup with Eastern Conference-leading Detroit on March 23 in which Doncic scored 32 points, but missed the potential game-tying three at the buzzer of a tense 113-110 Lakers loss that ended a nine-game winning streak.
Monday’s game will likely not have the same drama.
The Wizards (17-56) have lost 17 of their last 18 games. The only win came against the Utah Jazz, another team that’s attempting to position itself for the lottery more than the playoffs. Washington will be without Trae Young (quad) and Anthony Davis (finger), the team’s two major midseason acquisitions.
With another bottom-feeding team coming to Crypto.com Arena, Doncic and the Lakers might actually benefit from resting the superstar. He played through left hamstring soreness Friday, and the Lakers (48-26) host the playoff-bound Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. The days between Friday’s win and Monday’s game will be the Lakers’ first two-day break since the All-Star Game.
Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer, has charged into the most valuable player conversation by helping lift the Lakers into third place in the Western Conference. He has scored 30 or more points in 12 consecutive games, the longest such streak for his career.
The Lakers have won 15 of their last 20 games with Doncic averaging 35.5 points per game during the span. With 102 steals on the season, including three against the Nets, Doncic also became the first Laker since Kobe Bryant in 2012-13 averaging 30 or more points per game with 100 or more total steals.
The Lakers could also be without guard Marcus Smart, who has missed the last three games because of a right ankle contusion. He also suffered a hip injury in a separate fall against Orlando, but he is showing improvement and remains day-to-day, Lakers coach JJ Redick said Friday.
For the second time in less than a week, Luka Doncic faces a one-game suspension because of technical foul accumulation.
Only a week after Doncic’s 16th technical foul was rescinded by the NBA, the Lakers superstar picked up another one in a 116-99 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday and is in line to miss the Lakers’ next game against the Washington Wizards on Monday.
In the third quarter with the Lakers trailing by one against the lowly Nets (17-57), Doncic was called for an offensive foul against Nic Claxton as the Lakers (48-26) were trying to inbound the ball after a dunk by Ziaire Williams. After the Lakers turnover, Williams and Doncic appeared to exchange words with Doncic pushing Williams aside with one hand. Williams then flailed his arms behind him and slapped Doncic in the throat.
“He was yelling in my face three times,” said Doncic, who finished with 41 points, eight rebounds and three assists in the win. “I just wanted to get out of there. … I didn’t even talk. I just wanted to get out of there. And they said I pushed. My push was exaggerated, which was obviously not [the case].”
Both were assessed technical fouls with 5:12 remaining in the third quarter, and Williams’ hit was reviewed for a possible flagrant, although it was not upgraded.
The NBA requires players to sit out for one game without pay after their 16th technical foul of the season. But Doncic avoided that fate after the NBA rescinded the foul that would have forced him to the bench for a critical road game last week against the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons. Lakers coach JJ Redick said the Lakers will try to appeal Doncic’s latest foul but he did not see what happened on the play.
Doncic is slated to miss Monday’s game against the Wizards, who have lost 17 of their last 18 games and have the third-worst record in the league (17-56).
Lakers star Luka Doncic reacts to a referee’s call during the second half Friday against the Brooklyn Nets at Crypto.com Arena.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Doncic picked up his first 16th technical foul last week against the Magic after getting into an argument with Orlando forward Goga Bitadze. Doncic claimed Bitadze directed a vulgar comment about Doncic’s family in Serbian toward the Lakers star guard. Bitadze refuted the story, saying it was actually Doncic who said the curse word out loud first and that he was only repeating what he heard.
The NBA rescinded both fouls upon review the following day.
Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer, has scored 30 points or more in 12 consecutive games, the longest such streak in his career. He has 43 30-point games this season, tying Elgin Baylor and Jerry West for sixth-most in a season by a Lakers player. He has scored 40 points or more in league-leading 15 games this season, seventh-most by a Laker in a season.
Against the Nets, Austin Reaves finished with 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists and LeBron James had 14 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Before the game, Redick said the Nets game would be like playing on the road since the Lakers had spent almost two weeks away from Crypto.com Arena and had returned home in the wee hours of Thursday morning from Indianapolis.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves celebrates after shooting a three-pointer against the Nets in the second half Friday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The challenge was to find the energy to play, which wasn’t a problem for Doncic, who had 24 points in the first half. Doncic shot nine for 15 from the field in the first half and four for six from three-point range in 20 minutes. He finished shooting 15 for 25 from the field as the Lakers shot 54%. They shot 44% (11 for 25) from three-point range.
That the Lakers were facing a Nets team with the second-worst record in the NBA didn’t matter.
That the Lakers were facing a Nets team had lost nine of its last 10 games didn’t matter.
That the Lakers were facing a Nets team that’s last in the league in scoring (106.3 points per game) didn’t matter.
Lakers center Deandre Ayton, left, blocks a shot by Brooklyn Nets guard Nolan Traore in the first half Friday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
What mattered to the Lakers was finding a way to win as the regular season winds down.
“I felt like we were a step slow,” Redick said. “And I told the guys at halftime, ‘This is our seventh game of the road trip. Anytime you come back, there’s a day in between, that’s just you’re in another city until you can get adjusted to the time zone and you get a couple days break.’ So the next two [off] days will be good for us.”
Notes: Lakers broadcast analyst Stu Lantz missed Friday night’s game against the Nets because of health issues. Derek Fisher, who won five NBA titles with the Lakers, took over Lantz’s role for the game. Public address announcer Lawrence Tanter also missed the game because of a health matter. Jason Barquero filled in for Lantz. “The entire Lakers organization is wishing Lawrence all the best in his recovery, and we look forward to welcoming him back soon,” the team said in a statement.
Lakers guard Bronny James blocks a shot by Spurs forward Kelly Olynyk at Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 10.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
For the second consecutive game Friday, Lakers coach JJ Redick called the second-year guard’s number for important minutes.
Not to complete garbage time chores. Not as a gimmick to please the King. But because he needed a ball-handler he could trust after the regular rotation got wonky in the second quarter of the Lakers’ 116-99 victory over the Brooklyn Nets at Crypto.com Arena.
For the second consecutive game, Bronny helped buoy the Lakers. In four minutes, he had a deflection and drained a three-pointer that not only keyed a much-needed 9-0 Lakers run but also was the first father-to-son assisted basket in NBA history, coming on a pass from LeBron.
His former teammate sees in Bronny what his current teammates do: A hard worker who needs only to nurture his confidence to be able to contribute in the NBA.
“He’ll be great,” Williams said. “Especially starting off on the defensive end. He can guard one through four, pick up full [court,] have good ball pressure. On the offensive end, he’s a gamer. He can make shots, he can drive the ball. He can get his teammates open. The biggest thing with him is just keeping that confidence.
“When he’s confident and he’s in flow state, in rhythm, he’s a great, great player. … He’s just gotta keep working.”
Bronny’s been working in the G League the last two seasons, bouncing between the big leagues and the developmental circuit, where last season his averages were solid — including 21.9 points, per game — but nowhere near as efficient as they’ve been this season. In 13 games, he’s averaging 14.8 points on 54.7% shooting, including 41.7% from three-point range.
Lakers forward LeBron James greets his son, guard Bronny James, on the court during a game against the Clippers at Crypto.com Arena on Nov. 25.
“He’s always been able to shoot the ball. He shot the ball at a high level pretty much throughout his years of playing ball. So I just think there’s the confidence in the rhythm and just getting the strength back and his wind and everything. Everything is just coming back.”
That’s carried over to the big club; Bronny is shooting 41.9% from three-point range in those instances when Redick has called on him — as he also did in a 137-130 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.
In that victory, Bronny had four points, two steals and a block in 13 minutes. Redick credited the 21-year-old with settling the team with a pull-up jumper with 3:55 to go in the game, which was the second this season LeBron and Bronny played together.
The first time it happened, in the season opener in 2024, the prevailing thought was that it wouldn’t happen again for a long time — and if it did, something had probably gone very wrong for the Lakers that game.
But that’s not the case. No, because Bronny has made a convincing case as an NBA player.
“I’ve been wanting to play basketball my whole life,” Bronny said. “It’s a dream come true. I’m so privileged to be able to play basketball for a job and I love every single second of it. My teammates embrace it. I’m best friends with all my teammates and my coaches. I’m just happy to be here.”
He’s become an effective plug-and-play piece — and not on a tanking Nets team that regularly runs out G League-caliber players, but on a playoff-bound Lakers team that has won 14 of its last 16 games.
The No. 55 draft pick in 2024, Bronny has surpassed Dalton Knecht, the 17th pick in that same draft, in the Lakers’ pecking order.
He’s become a player who can be counted on, and he’s especially valuable to a team that happens to badly need youth and athleticism, as the Lakers do.
You want to talk twists? How about whatever happens with LeBron — when, or if, he retires — the Lakers should seriously consider keeping Bronny in the fold. Seriously.
Lauren Betts arrived at UCLA unsure she could continue playing college basketball.
After a turbulent freshman season at Stanford almost took her out of the game entirely, she joined rising stars Gabriela Jaquez and Kiki Rice in Westwood.
Betts blossomed in three seasons as a Bruin, but none of her games were as special as the final one she played at Pauley Pavilion. During a second-round NCAA tournament win over Oklahoma State on Monday that at times was closer than many expected, Betts dropped a career-high 35 points and nine rebounds to lead UCLA to the Sweet 16.
“This community, the minute that I transferred over here, has just welcomed me with open arms,” Betts said. “The fans have just been so supportive of me through my entire journey, through my mental challenges, through just basketball, everything. I feel like I’ve grown so much, and they have really taken care of me here.
“It’s not even about basketball to me at this point. Like the people, like Coach Cori [Close] said, that we’ve been able to affect and just the difference that we’ve made, I think has been huge. And so for me, like, just to see all the people waving at us at the end of the game was really special.”
Suicide prevention and crisis counseling resources
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, seek help from a professional and call 9-8-8. The United States’ first nationwide three-digit mental health crisis hotline 988 will connect callers with trained mental health counselors. Text “HOME” to 741741 in the U.S. and Canada to reach the Crisis Text Line.
Betts wrote about her journey to joy on March 9 in The Players Tribune, the second time she has spoken or written in detail about her battle with depression and thoughts of taking her own life. She has become well known for not being afraid to be honest about her mental health challenges and being an advocate for those in need of support. It has endeared her to the UCLA community that’s embraced her, along with her teammates.
She wrote that her transparency about suicidal thoughts and an ensuing hospital stay midway through her sophomore season, first with her UCLA teammates, felt like a release from all the anxiety and self doubt that hounded her as she tried to live up to expectations at Stanford and UCLA.
“I want people to know that I’m doing better,” Betts wrote. “But I also want to be very realistic. My mental health isn’t perfect. It’s an ongoing project.”
UCLA center Lauren Betts, left, and teammate Charlisse Leger-Walker laugh together on the bench during Monday’s NCAA tournament game against Oklahoma State.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
Her teammates are in awe of her efforts to be the best person she can on and off the floor.
“She makes everyone better not just because of the basketball player she is, but the leader she is,” said Gianna Kneepkens, a graduate student who transferred from Utah to UCLA. “She challenges us, she pushes us, she just wants what’s best for the team. When people are getting tripled, she’s not worried about, ‘Oh, like, can I get the points?’ She’s seeing who is open so that we can score. So I just have had such a great time playing with Lauren and she’s one of the biggest reasons I came here.”
During the Oklahoma State win, UCLA led from wire to wire. But the Cowgirls outscored the Bruins in the second half and the Bruins’ shooting fizzled out during a tense third quarter. Betts, however, didn’t falter.
Her 35 points came in just 34 minutes. She was 15 of 19 from the field and nearly reached a double-double with nine rebounds.
Betts had long established herself as one of the best players in the country, but she doesn’t lead the nation in scoring, in part, because UCLA is a balanced team with many scoring options. Her performance against Oklahoma State was a reminder that she is still the Bruins’ most formidable player and remains the heart of the program’s push to win a national championship.
“That [scoring is] always in her bag,” Jaquez said. “Maybe some nights she passes more, but that’s just what makes her so special. She’s going to win 99% of her matchups.”
UCLA’s offense runs through its star center even with some of the best shooters in the country. Their starting lineup spaces the floor, with former Washington State leading scorer Charlisse Leger-Walker as a fifth option.
“She puts a lot of pressure on herself a lot of the time and always blames herself when she shouldn’t be and no one else is thinking that way,” Leger-Walker said of Betts. “And I think over this past year, she’s really been working on trying to not do that so she can be the best she can for this team. We obviously need her to be confident, just being able to trust herself, because that is what is going to make our team so much better.”
UCLA center Lauren Betts shoots the ball during the Bruins’ NCAA tournament win over Oklahoma State at Pauley Pavilion on Monday.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
There are games that often belong to someone else. Jaquez has turned in big games this season and Rice was the Big Ten tournament most outstanding player. The Bruins have featured six different leading scorers across all games this season.
But it still always comes back to Betts, who has been UCLA’s top scorer a team high 14 times.
“Lauren is one of those players that is always so dominant,” Leger-Walker said after the win over Oklahoma State. “I didn’t even know until she came out that she had 30-something [points.] I was like, ‘Yeah, what the heck?’ That’s just her, you know, she’s a bucket. And she’s gonna always be dominant in that fashion and she is just such an impact player for this team.”
Betts’ 27 minutes, 17.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game are slightly down from last season. Her 3.2 assists per game are slightly up. Her role, like many other UCLA players, has evolved to fit the star-studded lineup.
In the same way Leger-Walker went from a three-point sniper to a point guard or Rice went from a distributor to a shooter and Jaquez from a hoop driver to a three-level scorer, Betts transformed from a post-up only scorer to the conductor of the Bruins’ office in the middle of the floor.
“She anchors us on both ends, down in the paint, especially defensively,” Rice said. “Her ability to switch out on guards and play on the perimeter and help us out is really, really big. And obviously offensively, she’s such a big offensive player.”
If the Bruins do win a national title, it’ll be on the back of their star. Sure, UCLA is a team full of them, but Betts is still, as Jaquez describes her, “that girl.”
For one last run, Betts can be that for a community and team where she’s found not just acceptance, but true celebration.
“I think she’s found a really deep purpose,” Close said. “And when you can use your pain for great purpose and other centeredness to have an incredible legacy in the lives of others, that’s an incredible gift. But it’s a gift that she’s worked really, really hard for.”
That stunning play in the bottom of the ninth inning didn’t just save Game 7 of the World Series, it also spared Pages’ reputation. Covered for the ignominy of his historically woeful four-for-51 hitting performance.
You know what will help everyone totally flush those memories? To turn the proverbial page? Maybe keep us from mentioning it ever again?
In an 8-2 season-opening victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium, Pages stood out among his club’s standouts.
And, as the eighth man in the order, he also served up a reminder that there really will be no rest for weary opposing pitchers this season.
The buoyant bottom of the lineup has bite, too: Let the record show it was Pages who hit the Dodgers’ first home run and drove in the club’s first runs to kick off their pursuit of a third consecutive World Series championship.
That it was he who cracked the code against Diamondbacks righty Zac Gallen in the fifth inning, teeing off on a three-run, 400-foot home run to left-center field.
Share via
And that it was his at-bat to lead off the eighth — a full-count single the other way, into right field — that Roberts had to mention postgame.
In spring training, Roberts anointed Pages as this season’s “pick-to-click” candidate, in part because of how hard the 25-year-old center fielder has been working on improving his plate discipline after swinging at 32% of pitches outside of the zone last year.
The pick-to-click distinction previously went to Teoscar Hernández in 2024, before he became an All-Star in his first season with the Dodgers. Last year, Michael Conforto was Roberts’ pick.
Small wonder, perhaps, that Pages isn’t putting too much stock in his manager’s prediction: “It feels really nice for him to say that about me, or to pick me, but obviously I’m not really focused on that,” he said, through an interpreter.
What he’s focused on, he said, “is just trying to do everything I can, every day, to get a little bit better.”
That’s what’s got his manager so revved up.
“He’s a complete player,” Roberts gushed. “And I’m excited to see what he can do this year.”
Is an Andy Pages Breakout Season loading?
Andy Pages, center, celebrates with Teoscar Hernández, left, and Max Muncy after hitting a three-run home run in the fifth inning Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Were last season’s 27 home runs — second most on the Dodgers, behind Shohei Ohtani’s 55 — not a breakout?
I think … not?
Not when Pages so clearly has so much more to give.
Now when he does his homework like he did this spring, stationing himself in front of a pitching machine, calling out balls and strikes. (Watch out, Automated Balls and Strikes system?)
Not if the Dodgers can come to trust him at the plate like they now feel secure with him blanketing the outfield.
“Even last year when there were questions if he could play center field at a high level,” Roberts said. “And he’s worked his tail off, he really has. Every single day, he’s putting in work and he just keeps getting better — his jumps, his lines to the ball, and obviously the arm strength is there.”
On Thursday, Pages had another one of his sensational snags, taking an angle that would’ve made a defensive back proud in pursuit of Geraldo Perdomo’s fly ball to start the seventh. Stretched out, Pages slid beneath the ball to add to his opening-day highlight reel.
“I feel good,” Pages said, when I asked him afterward not about last postseason, but about his confidence heading into this season — though his mind went back there anyway.
“It’s something that happened earlier, the postseason is what the postseason was,” he said. “I’m not really focused on that, I’m focused on what I’m doing right now and my confidence is really high right now.”
Keep it up, and all anyone will remember is the heroics — including those to come.
CALGARY, Canada — Mikael Granlund capped his hat trick scoring on the power play with one second remaining in overtime on Thursday night to give the Ducks a 3-2 victory over the Calgary Flames.
Granlund has seven goals during a four-game goal streak that has him up to 19 on the season as the Ducks extended their winning streak to four games.
The Pacific Division-leading Ducks have a five-point lead on the Edmonton Oilers and a six-point lead on the Vegas Golden Knights.
Rookie Matvei Gridin and Blake Coleman scored for Calgary, which extended its point streak to five games (4-0-1). Gridin stretched his point streak to four games (one goal, three assists).
Ville Husso, who made 23 saves, improved to 9-7-1.
Devin Cooley, who had 30 stops, fell to 9-10-4.
The game got off to an inauspicious start for the Flames. First, Pavel Mintyukov’s turnover in the opening minute of the game resulted in a 3-on-0 breakaway for Calgary but Gridin, Morgan Frost and Matt Coronato over-passed it and never got a shot on goal.
Three minutes later, it appeared that Yegor Sharangovich had given Calgary the lead, but the Ducks challenged for offside and the goal was overturned. It was the fifth goal the Flames have had waved off by video review during its homestand.
Calgary eventually took the lead on Coleman’s goal 1:06 into the second period when he redirected Joel Farabee’s pass inside the post. But Granlund tied it on an unassisted goal two minutes later.
The Ducks lost two defensemen to injury. Radko Gudas (lower body) left the game late in the second period and Mintyukov got hurt when he took a shot from Olli Maatta high in his chest in the third.
SACRAMENTO — The UCLA women’s basketball team hasn’t lost a game in 120 days. In that time, the Bruins have outscored opponents by a total of 806 points and just one other school — UConn — has gone without a loss during the same stretch.
Yet somehow, the No. 1 seed in the Sacramento 2 region of the NCAA tournament hasn’t captured the same momentum and praise as the other three top seeds who have muscled their way into the Sweet 16.
UCLA (33-1) will play No. 4 Minnesota (24-8) at 4:30 p.m. PDT Friday in Sacramento. The game will air on ESPN. Entering the matchup, is UCLA’s less dominant NCAA tournament run a cause for concern? Or is a win a win when it comes to March?
“Each game is going to present different adversity points,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “And I think that we don’t look at it as getting back to something. We look at it as everything is a learning opportunity. ‘What does that teach us? How does that make us better? What kinds of things do we need to tighten up?’”
UCLA forwards Angela Dugalic and Gabriela Jaquez double team California Baptist guard Filipa Barros during the first round of the NCAA tournament at Pauley Pavilion on March 21.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
As the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament, UCLA is on a projected collision course with the top overall seed, undefeated UConn, on the other side of the bracket.
But the Bruins, who have lost just once this year, also might have to hit another gear to get to to beat formidable teams still in the tournament field.
UCLA punched its ticket to the NCAA tournament with a Big Ten title game win over Iowa by 51 points. Since then, the Bruins haven’t achieved that kind of dominance even against lesser opponents.
Iowa, which flamed out to No. 10 seed Virginia in the second round last week, could have simply been less prepared than other NCAA tournament teams. But the Bruins do acknowledge they also have room to improve.
“I think we’re a really steady team, and obviously we’re gonna do whatever we can to win, and it changes every game, because of different teams,” said graduate forward Angela Dugalic. “But at the same time, I do feel like I have more to give, and that’s not a bad thing.”
UCLA defeated No. 16 seed California Baptist 96-43 before an 87-68 win against No. 8 seed Oklahoma State, leading the Cowgirls wire-to-wire but getitng outscored in the second half. The Bruins led the Lancers by just 10 points at the half of the first-round contest.
A 19-point win is a dominant showing for any team, but with the rest of the No. 1 seeds winning by at least 40 points, has UCLA shown that it is at the same level?
“I don’t really look at it that way from those two games,” Close said. “I just think everything is measuring ourselves against the championship standards that we’ve set, and those are process standards. And so if we fall short in an area, it’s how we get back to what we know how to do and what’s under our control.”
UCLA guard Kiki Rice points across the court while talking with coach Cori Close during an NCAA tournament game against California Baptist on March 21 at Pauley Pavilion.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
UCLA has the second-largest spread among the No. 1 seeds entering the Sweet 16 round, with oddsmakers favoring the Bruins to beat Minnesota by 18.5 points. UConn leads all teams as a 27.5-point favorite to beat No. 4 seed North Carolina. The Bruins haven’t won a game by fewer than 10 points since a 69-66 overtime victory over Ohio State on Feb. 8.
Minnesota has the ninth-best NET of remaining teams, which is better than the other teams matched up against No. 1 seeds (North Carolina is 19th, Oklahoma is 13th and Kentucky is 16th).
During UCLA’s 76-58 win over Minnesota in January, Kiki Rice scored a season-high 25 points. Since then, the Gophers have gone 12-4 while winning games by an average just under nine points while UCLA has gone 17-0 with an average margin of victory of 26.9.
“No team is perfect ever,” UCLA guard Gianna Kneepkens said. “So I think [we’re] just making sure that we know what to do, and we know what it takes to be our best. So just making sure we can do that 40 minutes every game is going to be the thing we take away [from the first and second rounds.]”
Since UCLA beat Minnesota, the Gophers took down No. 5 seed Ole Miss, a team that many picked as a tournament sleeper and shot 46.2% from the field during the season.
“They’ve gotten better, but so have we and once the postseason comes, the best teams, the most successful teams, they find ways to just continue to get better,” Rice said. “To stay true to that process, but to take it up to a next level. Because at this time of the year, it’s do or die, and you gotta compete really hard.”
UCLA’s 28.6 average margin of victory is fifth in the country behind the tournament’s other No. 1 seeds and No. 2 seed LSU, a team the Bruins might face Sunday in the Elite Eight.
LSU, the highest-scoring team in the nation, faces No. 3 Duke on Friday night. If UCLA and LSU win, it would set up the third consecutive season they have met in the NCAA tournament. UCLA won the matchup last season 72-65 to get to the Final Four, while the Tigers upset the Bruins in the 2024 Sweet 16 en route to a national title.
But March tests are far more challenging that anything the Bruins have faced to date. The veteran UCLA team is confident it can keep evolving as it chases a national title.
“I think [improving] just requires us to take things to a different place and be more aggressive and dictate in all aspects,” Dugalic said. “That’s the beauty of it, we can get there.”
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. The long journey to the postseason begins today.
Are you a true-blue fan?
Get our Dodgers Dugout newsletter for insights, news and much more.
By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service, which include arbitration and a class action waiver. You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy such as personalizing your experience and ads.
As we embark on the 12th season of this newsletter, there are certain things, like death and taxes, that are guaranteed. Here they are.
—The Dodgers will charge way too much to park in their poorly designed, poorly lit parking lot.
—Shohei Ohtani will have a game where he strikes out 10 and hits multiple home runs. No one will be able to explain how he does this until we learn he was actually sent here by the aliens from “Project Hail Mary.”
—Ohtani will go hitless for three-to-four games in a row and have a bad pitching outing during the same time, leading to some to say he is overpaid.
—Will Smith will catch at least 130 games and be in the conversation for NL MVP.
—The Padres will be better than most are saying and their fans will approach the games with the Dodgers as if it is their World Series.
—The Rockies will be terrible again.
—Teoscar Hernández will continue to struggle as a fielder, but people won’t care as much as his bat will be rejuvenated.
—A pitcher no one has heard of will be signed by the Dodgers off the waiver wire. He will appear in a game and pitch great, maybe even getting the win. The following week, he will be designated for assignment.
—Mookie Betts will win the Gold Glove at short, and while he won’t reach his previous heights at the plate, he will hit better than last season.
—Andy Pages will slump at some point and fans will demand that Ryan Ward, who is hitting .350 with about a million homers in the minors, get a chance. He won’t get a chance and Pages will recover.
—Fans will complain that Joe Davis takes too many games off and isn’t a true Dodger like Vin Scully was, even though Vin took just as many games off for national duties.
—The music at Dodger Stadium will continue to be so loud that even the aliens from “A Quiet Place” will complain. (Editor’s note: Two outer space aliens references in one newsletter. What is wrong with this guy?)
—The most worn former Dodger jersey worn by fans at the stadium will continue to be… Fernando Valenzuela‘s. And it will be for many years to come.
—Max Muncy will look like the worst hitter in baseball for an extended period, then he will hit like Babe Ruth.
—Dalton Rushing will be a decent backup for Smith and will hit well enough that he can spell Freddie Freeman at first base on occasion.
—Freeman will hit .300 again in what will be his last great season at the plate.
—The Dodgers will continue to “give away” games during the season in order to be ready for the postseason. For example, they will allow a reliever to take a beating in a game at the start of long road trip in order to preserve the rest of the bullpen. Some fans will be irate at this, thinking the Dodgers should try to win every game at all costs.
—The Cool-A-Coo will not return to Dodger Stadium and will continue to be missed.
—The Dodgers will continue to call the hot dog they sell a Dodger Dog, even though it tastes nothing like a Farmer John Dodger Dog.
—Only three pitchers will pitch more than 100 innings, but the quality of the staff from top to bottom will be more consistent throughout the season, allowing them to use fewer than 40 pitchers this season.
—Either Blake Treinen or Tanner Scott will continue to pitch poorly, but the Dodgers, again with their eye on the postseason and on how much money they are paying these guys, will continue to trot them out there in hopes they will rebound.
—Some fans will complain about the abhorrent price of going to a Dodger game. They will still go though, and the Dodgers will draw four million, giving them no reason to lower prices.
—Justin Turner will sign a one-day contract with the team and then retire.
—Edwin Díaz will save 30 games and give the bullpen some much-needed stability.
—Kyle Tucker won’t hit as well as hoped, but will be a significant upgrade over Michael Conforto.
—Hyeseong Kim will come up at some point, wow fans with his blazing speed, hit close to .300, and then be sent back down.
—Dave Roberts will have a bad game or two where he makes a decision that seems nonsensical. Some will demand he be fired because “Anyone could manage this team.” Those people will be wrong.
—You will continue to need to subscribe to about a dozen streaming channels to watch all the Dodger games on TV. No one will.
—Yoshinobu Yamamoto will lead the team in victories.
—Organist Dieter Ruehle will continue to find the perfect song for any situation.
—Tyler Glasnow will look unbeatable one start, then get thrown off his next start by a hangnail and pitch like Dave Goltz.
—There will be thrilling victories, agonizing defeats and some boring games. But it will all be worth it as we look around and see all the different types of Dodger fans out there, reminding us that baseball unites us.
—The Dodgers will finish the season 98-64 and cruise to the NL West title. They will not have to play in the wild-card game.
—And that means they will be in the postseason where … anything can happen.
—So, don’t get so worried about the destination that you forget to enjoy the ride.
How many games will the Dodgers win?
We asked, How many games will the Dodgers win this season? After 10,566 responses:
They will win 96-100 games, 46.3% They will win 101-110 games, 35.5% They will win 91-95 games, 13.2% They will set the record by winning more than 116 games, 2.3% They will win 111-115 games, 1.6% They will win 86-90 games, 0.9% They will finish under .500, 0.2% They will win 81-85 games, one vote
We asked, Will the Dodgers win the World Series this season? After 10,538 responses:
Yes, 79.1% No, 20.9%
A walking path to Dodger Stadium?
Did you know there is a walking path to Dodger Stadium? There is a one-mile walking path from the Chinatown Metro station to Dodger Stadium. There’s one problem though, to quote Bill Shaikin‘s column on the path: “To go a very short distance safely with a feeling that you’re not going to die is very difficult.”
Our opening day tradition: Danny Kaye sings the Dodgers song. Watch and listen here.
Until next time….
Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
First baseman Freddie Freeman, pausing outside of the Dodgers’ home dugout to talk about the upcoming season, nodded his head toward the right-field foul pole, where just beyond it the Dodgers’ championships signs are displayed.
Eight baseball-shaped signs sported their years — 1955, 1959, 1963, 1965, 1981, 1988, 2020, 2024 — while a ninth was still shielded by a blue cover, with plenty of room along the stadium’s club level for more.
“You want to just keep putting those banners up,” Freeman said. “That one’s blocked for a reason. You want to do it again. You want to keep doing it over and over and over again. And that’s what’s fun, and then that’s what makes everything else just take care of itself.”
The 2025 championship sign will be revealed as the Dodgers both celebrate last year’s achievements and set the tone for this year.
They’ll receive their World Series ring on Friday, but they’ll also be in the midst of playing three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“Everyone’s different,” Freeman said. “Some people want to move on and get on to the new season and not worry about last year. I’m one of the guys that can appreciate what we did last year, even in the present year.
“It’s hard to win a World Series. I don’t like to just kick it to the side. … Our fans haven’t celebrated it since the parade. We get to celebrate with our fans and open the weekend. It’s going to be a great time.”
“I get my ring, and I put it in the safe, and I don’t really look at it ever again,” he said when asked about the ring ceremony. “It brings back all the emotions from the prior year, you like showing friends and stuff, it’s cool. But no, for me, the motivation is just winning, being with these guys each and every day, and competing with them and working towards that goal.”
On that point, Dodgers players seem to agree.
They don’t need a tangible reminder of their World Series aspirations this year.
“It’ll be one of the few days where we really think about what we did last year, versus what we’re trying to do right now,” veteran third baseman Max Muncy said.
Plenty of teams say their goal is to win the World Series. But the Dodgers have raised their outside expectations, too. Entering Thursday, PECOTA put the Dodgers’ odds of completing a three-peat at 20.8%, by far the highest World Series chances in the majors. PECOTA, Baseball Prospectus’ projection system, listed the Mariners as next most likely to win the World Series, at 14.2%.
While those numbers establish a clear favorite, they also reflect how unpredictable the postseason can be. Even the Dodgers, with their lofty payroll and strong player development track record, will need health, luck, and the right mindset to pull off a third straight championship.
“You know what the goal is every single year, and that’s to be the last team standing at the end,” Mucy said. “But we more so preach, how do you get there, instead of that being the goal. And for us, it’s always been, you have to take it one day at a time.”
The phrase itself isn’t a novel concept. The trick is making that focus a reality, and a team standard.
“I talk about it every day,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I’ve talked about it since I got here. It’s just, let’s win a baseball game. That’s our mantra, and everyone in this building, that’s the goal.”
The veterans on the team preach it too, hoping to pass down that team-first focus to the generation coming behind them.
“When you put on this uniform, you come in here, you see all these superstars working extremely hard every single day — front office, ownership group doing the same thing — that’s the expectation,” Freeman said. “It’s a different standard, and you just want to be part of that standard that keeps the level high.”
After the commotion of the championship banner reveal and the ring presentation the first two days of the season, “let’s win a baseball game,” will continue to be the mantra.
Maybe it will even work well enough, day after day, for the Dodgers to add another sign to their championship display this time next year.
This is the golden age of baseball in Southern California. The Angels heralded its dawn.
In 2002, the Angels won the World Series, the first of six postseason appearances within eight years. The Dodgers had played pretty good ball for more than a century, but they never had done that.
Angel Stadium was the place to be. The rally monkey was all the rage. The team nurtured a wave of young talent to surround Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero. In 2009, the final year of that run, the Angels drafted future Hall of Famer Mike Trout. In 2011, for the first and only time, the Angels sold more tickets than the Dodgers.
Neither the Angels nor the Dodgers made the playoffs in 2010, 2011, or 2012. Since then, the Dodgers have made 13 consecutive postseason appearances, with three World Series championships to show for it. The Angels have made one, and they did not win a game.
Never — and this includes the Dodgers’ time in bankruptcy court — have the fates of the two Los Angeles franchises been so disparate. In 2026, the Dodgers could win their third consecutive World Series championship, and the Angels could finish in last place for the third consecutive year.
At a time major league owners would like you to believe market size equals destiny, the team with baseball’s longest postseason drought plays in the second-largest market in North America.
Today, however, we come not to bemoan the bad times but celebrate the good times, for the Angels and Dodgers.
The century is a quarter old. So here are our quarter-century teams for both the Angels and Dodgers, based solely on performances for those teams. In a few places, we included a deserving player at a secondary position, if his primary position was fully stocked. Let us know where we got it right, and where we didn’t.
And, while you’re there, you’ll see the story of our golden age in a nutshell. Of the 22 players on the Dodgers’ first and second teams, 11 were on at least one of the World Series championship teams this decade. Of the 22 players on the Angels’ first and second teams, only four played for the Angels this decade.
One was Shohei Ohtani, the first-team designated hitter for both teams.
*We considered how long someone played for the Dodgers or Angels during this century, as well as how well someone played, but we’re making an exception here for two reasons: one, left field has not been a position of strength and depth for the Dodgers; and, two: Manny Ramirez’s two-month “Mannywood” run after the Dodgers traded for him in 2008 was simply astonishing: He played 53 games and drove in 53 runs, batting .396 with 17 home runs and a 1.232 OPS. In the playoffs, he batted .520 in eight games, hitting four home runs and driving in 10 runs, with a 1.747 OPS. The two-month “Mannywood” run was good for 3.5 WAR — the same WAR Freddie Freeman delivered over the entire 2025 season. (And, yes, in May of the following year, Ramirez was suspended for violating baseball’s drug policy.)
The Dodgers are working ahead on adding bullpen depth for later in the season.
Right-hander Jake Cousins, who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, was signed to a one-year deal, as revealed on the team’s transactions page on Tuesday.
The one-year contract is worth $950,000, with incentives that could bring the total to $1 million if he makes at least five appearances and finishes the season on the active roster, a source familiar with the deal but not authorized to speak publicly confirmed. The Athletic first reported the terms of the deal on Wednesday.
Cousins, 31, underwent Tommy John surgery last June. At that point, he’d already spent the whole season on the 60-day IL. In 2024, however, Cousins posted a 2.37 ERA in 37 relief appearances for the Yankees. He pitched in all three rounds of the postseason that year, including three appearances in the World Series against the Dodgers. Cousins was the pitcher of record in Game 1, which culminated with Freddie Freeman’s dramatic walk-off grand slam off Nestor Cortes.
Though Cousins has a substantial injury history, he’s performed when healthy. He spent the first three seasons of his major-league career with the Brewers, amassing a 3.08 ERA in 51 games.
Cousins is expected to return sometime during the season.
The Dodgers also made a flurry of injured list moves, all retroactive to Sunday.
They put right-hander Bobby Miller (shoulder soreness) on the 60-day IL; left-hander Blake Snell (left shoulder fatigue) and right-handers Brusdar Graterol (right shoulder surgery recovery), Brock Stewart (right shoulder surgery recovery), Gavin Stone (right shoulder inflammation) and Landon Knack (right intercostal strain) on the 15-day IL; and utility player Tommy Edman (right ankle surgery recovery) on the 10-day IL.
INDIANAPOLIS — Even LeBron James couldn’t muster the energy. With a wide-open lane in the ending moments of the Lakers’ 137-130 win over the Indiana Pacers, James simply dumped off a pass to Jake LaRavia. The 24-year-old had hops to put the finishing touches on the Lakers’ successful six-game trip.
Tired and shorthanded, the Lakers punctuated their extended trip with a fifth win Wednesday. Luka Doncic effortlessly scored his league-leading 14th 40-point game of the season, 43 points and seven assists.
The NBA’s leading scorer appeared ready to settle for simply his 11th consecutive 30-point performance — which is tied for the longest streak of such games in the last 20 years — after the Lakers opened a 20-point lead entering the fourth quarter, but he returned to the game because Indiana, despite having the worst record in the NBA, was still pressuring with its starters. The Pacers (16-57) trailed by as many as 29 in the third quarter and trimmed the deficit to six with 27.9 seconds left.
“I think everybody was a little bit tired,” Doncic said. “It’s been a long trip, but we got the win in the end; that’s what matters.”
The wear and tear of an intense trip in which the first five games all came down to the final minutes didn’t faze Doncic. He nearly outscored the Pacers alone in the first quarter, putting up 21 while the Pacers trailed 45-28. He threw a lob to Maxi Kleber for a dunk in the third quarter then pumped both of his fists. Doncic nailed a step-back three from the top of the key, held his follow through and hopped backwards on one leg.
The Lakers (46-26) toyed with the struggling Pacers (16-56) for much of the night. Indiana’s Andrew Nesmith and Pascal Siakam fell over each other trying to contest a Euro-step layup by James, who then posed over them and pointed to the Pacers players. Nesmith and Siakam could only grimace at each other.
James finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Austin Reaves had 25 points and eight assists Jaxson Hayes dunked seven times as the center had his first double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds, both season highs.
While players typically would drag through the end of such a long trip, Hayes found home-cooked fuel. Hayes stayed with his parents in his hometown of Cincinnati on Monday night after the Lakers’ win in Detroit. He woke up to a full home-cooked breakfast from his mother, who stacked plates of pancakes, eggs and bacon in front of her son. He scoped out properties he’s hoping to buy in the summer and hung out with his dad all day. The family made the hour-and-a-half drive to Indianapolis and had dinner Tuesday night.
“Best way to end the trip for sure,” Hayes said with a blissful smile.
Lakers center Jaxson Hayes, who finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, battles Pacers center Jay Huff for a rebound during the first half Wednesday.
(Michael Conroy / Associated Press)
Hayes brought the energy for the shorthanded Lakers, who were without Deandre Ayton (back soreness), Marcus Smart (right ankle contusion) and Rui Hachimura (right calf soreness). Smart and Hachimura remain day-to-day as they missed their second consecutive games while Ayton was ruled out immediately before the game. Even the reinforcements were shorthanded as rookie Adou Thiero missed the game because of left knee soreness.
Thiero, who has been back and forth between the NBA and the G League‘s South Bay Lakers, played 29 minutes in a G League game on Saturday and flew directly to Detroit for Monday’s game. He played two minutes against the Pistons, making his first appearance in a first half of a game since Dec. 7, but his knee didn’t feel good the following morning, Redick said. The team held the forward out for precautionary reasons, Redick said, as Thiero has struggled with injuries in both knees this season.
The Lakers relied on another part-time G League contributor to carry them through a sloppy fourth quarter. Bronny James had four points, two steals and one block in 13:22 off the bench. Lakers coach JJ Redick said the second-year guard’s pull-up free-throw line jumper with 3:55 to go “was big to kind of settle us.” It stopped a 6-0 run by the Pacers.
It was just the second game father and son have shared the court together this season. The elder James had the perfect shirt for the occasion. He walked out of the locker room wearing a gray T-shirt with a photo of him and his son on the front. Across James’ shoulders on the back read “The Chosen 1.” Across the bottom of the shirt, it read “The 1 who chose.”
“Felt like this was a game we really needed him,” Redick said of Bronny James. “It was a game that [we needed] his athleticism, his defense. … I think the biggest thing with him is he’s got a lot of confidence right now.”
The Lakers have won 13 of their last 15 games to vault to third place in the competitive Western Conference. They have six of their last nine regular-season games at home and, after this grueling stretch, they can’t get there soon enough.
“Do we have to do this?” Redick said quietly as he sat down for his postgame news conference.
Brandon Ingram had 18 points, Sandro Mamukelashvili chipped in with 13, but the Raptors have now lost three straight.
Toronto dropped into sixth in the Eastern Conference, one game behind the Atlanta Hawks, and is a half-game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers in seventh.
With Lopez setting the tone, the Clippers outscored the Raptors 23-9 over the final 6:10 of the first quarter to open a 14-point lead.
Kawhi Leonard shoots over Raptors forward Collin Murray-Boyles in the first half.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
The Raptors found themselves trailing by 22 in the second quarter before a late 11-1 run cut the gap. However, Toronto could have cut into the advantage even more had it capitalized better on 10 offensive rebounds or from the free-throw line, where it shot 14.3% (one for seven) in the period.
Mamukelashvili hit consecutive three-pointers as the Raptors tried to make one more push late in the third quarter, only for the Clippers to pull away again, with Garland making a 35-footer at the buzzer.
The Clippers were 19 for 24 from the free-throw line and outscored Toronto there by 15 points.
Raptors center Jakob Poeltl was briefly forced out of the game after sustaining a cut near his left eye going up for a rebound early in the second quarter and finished with 10 points.
