When the doors opened after Lakers practice on Monday, injured stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves were nearby as their teammates took some final shots after the session.
Doncic, who is back with the team after traveling to Spain to receive treatment for his Grade 2 left hamstring strain, sat out the Lakers’ Game 1 win over the Houston Rockets. He also won’t play in Game 2 on Tuesday, but he remained his usual joyful and playoff self after practice, his infectious personality providing a good vibe during a tense time for the team.
But even without Doncic and Reaves, the Lakers still had an “elevated” two days of practice as they prepared to face the Rockets with or without All-Star Kevin Durant at Crypto.com Arena.
Doncic, who sustained his injury against Oklahoma City on April 2, hadn’t been with the Lakers during their final five games of the regular season. Having him back around the team provided the Lakers with a big boost ahead of Game 1.
“It’s amazing. I think people don’t know how much impact Luka has, not only on the court, but off the court,” Rui Hachimura said. “He’s a guy that always wants to be around. … We love him just being around, just hanging out, talking. So, yeah, we’re happy that he’s back finally and he’s doing funny things always. … We missed him for sure.”
Hachimura was asked about the funny things Doncic did during practice.
“Just messing around with the coaches and the players and just the normal things you guys see on the camera, probably,” Hachimura said. “It’s just a normal thing for him.”
The Lakers weren’t messing around during the film sessions or practices.
They were focused on the task ahead, knowing the Rockets don’t want to go down 0-2 in the series.
Lakers coach JJ Redick directs his players during their Game 1 playoff win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“Well, every day requires something different,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “Yesterday required an elevated recovery day. Today required an elevated focus. It was a longer film session. A decent amount of teach [and] talk on the court beyond just the practice session. Tomorrow is going to require an elevated sense of desperation on our part because they’re going to come in with that.”
Durant didn’t play in the first game because of a right knee injury and has been called a game-time decision, Rockets coach Ime Udoka told reporters after practice.
Whatever the case is, the Lakers are expecting a tough game against the Rockets.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s the playoffs. Every team’s got to play desperate,” Jaxson Hayes said. “I mean, if you lose, you go home. So, if you’re not playing desperate, then why are you here at the end of the day? But, yeah, I mean, we played against teams like this all year. I mean, obviously, they’re a very aggressive, very fast-playing, big, long team, and so we just got to make sure we take care of the ball like we didn’t do in Game 1 and just get rebounds and just stay locked in.”
With Doncic and Reaves (Grade 2 left oblique muscle strain) out, the Lakers needed other players to fill that void.
Hachimura did his part in Game 1, and it went beyond his 14 points. He was efficient from the field, going six for 10. He was good on defense, collecting three steals and two blocked shots in 42 minutes.
“It’s the playoffs. You have to make every play matter,” he said. “Every position matters. So, I was trying to make plays and not only offense, but on the defensive side. And rebound, and all that. So, that’s what I was doing.”
During Game 1, Doncic offered advice and encouragement to his teammates from the bench.
But his recent conversations with Hayes have been focused, in part, on what comes after the season.
Doncic has talked to Hayes about playing for the Slovenian national team and the big center has interest.
“Um, we got my Slovenian passport. That’s all he’s been telling me,” Hayes said. “Now he’s been saying, ‘My Slovenian brother,’ every time.”
Hayes laughed, and then was asked if he really did receive a Slovenian passport.
“Yeah,” he said, “it really came through.”
There was a moment during Game 1 when Doncic was playing around with Hachimura, hitting him on the head. But Hachimura didn’t recall it happening.
“Hmm? I don’t remember,” Hachimura said. “He always does that stuff. I probably don’t even think about it. I’m used to it, probably. I don’t remember that.”
With star guard Luka Doncic back on the Lakers sideline but still out indefinitely, Luke Kennard did his best impression of the NBA’s leading scorer Saturday, catapulting the Lakers to a 107-98 win over the Houston Rockets to give the Lakers a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round playoff series.
Kennard drained all five of his three-point attempts, including three in the fourth quarter. Threes while curling off screens or taking hand-offs from teammates are routine for the NBA’s leading three-point shooter. But Kennard may have surprised even himself when he drove against Houston’s Jabari Smith, U-turned, scampered back outside the three-point line and drained a three from the wing.
The Crypto.com Arena crowd that was buzzing from the opening tip to the final horn erupted. Kennard screamed.
“My word is speechless, to be honest,” center Deandre Ayton said of Kennard’s performance. “Seeing him five-for-five in a playoff game as a Laker. Yeah, it hits different.”
Lakers center Deandre Ayton, left, celebrates with guard Luke Kennard after hit a three-pointer against the Rockets during Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
“To do it especially at a place like this, playing for the Lakers on the biggest stage in basketball, it means a lot to me,” Kennard said, “and what I’ve done and just credit to the work I’ve put in and how I prepared leading up to this.”
Since Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) were injured on April 2, Kennard has had to adjust his role to include more ball handling. He typified the Lakers’ adaptability with 32 assists in the last five games of the regular season after averaging 1.7 assists per game since joining the team. But he lamented that he wasn’t shooting to his standard.
Compared to his league-best 47.8%, his 30.8% shooting from three during the past five games felt like a slump.
Each shot, whether a make or miss, still helped Kennard develop a rhythm entering the playoffs, he said. Now if he sees even a sliver of daylight, he’ll be ready to shoot. It’s exactly what the Lakers want to see.
“I just liked that he was aggressive shooting threes,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I mean, he played a fantastic basketball game.”
Kennard, who also had three assists and four rebounds, was nine for 13 from the field as the Lakers, who shot 60.6% as a team, shot 60% or better in a playoff game for the first time since the first round of the 2009 playoffs. Led by Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, the Lakers won their first of back-to-back titles that year.
All five of the Lakers starters scored in double figures. LeBron James had 19 points and 13 assists, and Ayton had 19 points and 11 rebounds while helping keep two-time All-Star Alperen Sengun to 19 points on inefficient six-for-19 shooting. The Rockets, who were without Kevin Durant because of a minor knee injury, shot 37.6% from the floor.
“Everybody played a big role tonight and I feel that just speaks to what we’ve been the last few weeks with guys out,” Kennard said. “It’s going to take everybody. We know that. We got to continue to elevate each other and push each other and continue to be a team.”
Doncic reunited with the team Saturday after he spent the past two weeks in Europe getting specialized treatment on his Grade 2 left hamstring strain. Dressed in a crisp white button up shirt and khaki pants, Doncic sat next to Reaves on the bench. They rose to their feet every time Kennard set up for a three. They handed out high fives at every time out.
The injuries to Doncic and Reaves turned the Lakers into the perceived sitting duck of the competitive Western Conference playoffs. Critics felt the team couldn’t survive one playoff round with the 41-year-old James as its sole offensive catalyst.
A welcoming cheer from Lakers fans during starting lineups serves as a reminder that James still has backup.
The elephant in the room for the Lakers as they enter the playoffs has been, and will continue to be, the status of their starting backcourt, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Both are out because of injuries — Doncic with a grade 2 left hamstring strain and Reaves with a grade 2 left oblique strain — and neither is expected to play in the best-of-seven, first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets that begins Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Crypto.com Arena.
After practice Friday, coach JJ Redick was quick to say “there’s not” when asked about an update on Doncic and Reaves.
After Doncic and Reaves were injured on April 2 at Oklahoma City, the Lakers said both would be out until the end of the regular season. According to people not authorized to speak on the matter, both are expected to be out four to six weeks.
Doncic went to Spain to get treatment, and Reaves has been working diligently in L.A., with the hope that they can return sooner.
The Lakers miss their combined output of 56.8 points, 13.8 assists and 12.4 rebounds per game. Doncic led the NBA in scoring (33.5) and was third in assists (8.3); he was second on the Lakers in rebounding (7.7).
During the week of practice, Reaves was around his teammates and seen shooting after a few practices. He appeared to be in good spirits. Doncic was supposed to be back by Friday.
“We love having Austin here and we’re glad he is in a position to do his return-to-play [work], however long it takes with us,” Redick said. “Excited to get Luka back and be around the group. Austin and I talk just about every day about different things. So he’s … just being a part of this. …
“The mindset for our team and for those two guys, like we’re gonna try to make this season as long as possible so that we can get those guys back at some point. We don’t know what that is, and that’s just our job. And their job is to do everything they can to be in a position to come back at some point. It may not work, but that’s what we’re trying to do.”
The theme of the Lakers’ week at practice was to “elevate” their work.
Yes, they won’t have Doncic and Reaves, but that didn’t mean the Lakers couldn’t work harder.
When they worked on box-out drills in preparation for the way the Rockets attack the offensive boards, the Lakers went hard. When they watched film and had practice sessions, the Lakers worked with a purpose.
“The word we’ve used all week is ‘elevate.’ I think that’s what it is,” Redick said. “We all know the playoffs are different. They’re harder. There’s no easy matchups, and you have to be able to elevate your play. But beyond that, it’s elevating your recovery, your attention to detail, your preparation.
“I talked about that with my coaches as we started this week on Monday morning. It was an off day for the guys, but we were in there for six hours and we’ve all collectively gotta elevate. And particularly when you’re missing two of your top guys, part of elevating is elevating each other and the belief that the group as a whole can be great.”
The Rockets are a tough and rugged team that is good on defense and at rebounding.
They ranked fourth in the NBA in points given up (110.0) and tied for fifth in opponents’ field-goal percentage (46.0). They were tops in rebounding (48.1) and offensive rebounds (15.0).
That has the Lakers’ attention and is why they worked so hard during practice.
“It’s been great. The level of focus and attention to detail, the communication, everything has been elevated,” forward Jarred Vanderbilt said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that’s been to the playoffs and know what it takes.
“Like you said, everything elevates around this time and having a veteran group that’s kind of been there and had a taste of the playoffs, we all know what it takes to win games in the playoffs. It’s everybody going out and doing their job and paying attention to the game plan.”
Lakers guard Luka Doncic will be eligible for postseason awards after the NBA and NBA Players Association announced Thursday they ruled in his favor on his extraordinary circumstances appeal of the 65-game rule.
Doncic, a leading candidate for most valuable player and a lock for his sixth All-NBA team, played in only 64 games before he suffered a regular-season ending left hamstring injury on April 2. The league’s latest collective bargaining agreement requires players to appear in at least 65 games to be eligible for postseason awards, but Doncic and Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham both won appeals under the CBA’s extraordinary circumstances provision.
Doncic missed two games in December to attend the birth of his daughter in Slovenia and Cunningham, whose career season led the Pistons to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, missed 12 games because of a collapsed lung suffered on March 17.
Doncic earned his second league scoring title this season with 33.5 points per game. He surged back into the most valuable player race with a magical March when he was just the second player to score 600 points in March, joining Michael Jordan. He had four consecutive games of 40 or more points and 12 of 30 or more before injuring his hamstring on April 2. He and guard Austin Reaves (oblique) are out indefinitely as the Lakers begin the playoffs Saturday against the Houston Rockets.
Welcome back to The Times’ Lakers newsletter, where life comes at you fast.
Only a week ago, the Lakers were winning games and flying high. Quite literally. Remember when Luka Doncic dunked?
Happier times.
Now Doncic and Austin Reaves are both sidelined at least for the rest of the regular season and likely through the first round of the playoffs. The injury updates that came on consecutive days following Thursday’s 43-point loss to Oklahoma City felt like a devastating series of gut punches. Coach JJ Redick often talks about “not letting go of the rope.” The Lakers will have to white-knuckle their way through the next few weeks without their two stars.
Why is Luka Doncic in Europe?
Lakers star Luka Doncic reacts after sustaining a hamstring injury against the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 2.
(Cooper Neill / Getty Images)
He knows magic. Now Luka Doncic needs medicine to help pull off his next stunning trick.
With the playoffs approaching, Doncic traveled to Europe to seek treatment for his strained left hamstring, his agent, Bill Duffy, confirmed to The Times’ Broderick Turner. The hope is that with specialized treatments, Doncic can speed up what is typically a four- to six-week recovery process and get back in time for at least part of the Lakers postseason, which begins April 18.
Ultrasound-guided platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections and stem cell injections are the most common treatments for injuries of this nature, said Kenton Fibel, a primary care sports medicine specialist at Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedics.
The biologic injections can speed up healing of injured tissue. PRP injections use the natural growth and anti-inflammatory factors in platelets to promote healing while stem cells harvested from a patient’s bone marrow or adipose tissue similarly help with the regeneration and turnover of the healing tissue into normal muscle tendon tissue, Fibel said.
Top U.S. athletes have gone to Europe to seek the treatments for decades. Kobe Bryant, former Colts quarterback Andrew Luck and San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey are among those who’ve crossed the pond for solutions to chronic injuries. But similar treatments are also available in the United States.
In the U.S., only PRP and stem cell injections coming from a patient’s own body are allowed and the cells are not allowed to be manipulated, Fibel said. With looser regulations in Europe, doctors can attempt to increase the concentration of anti-inflammatory factors in a single PRP sample or culture stem cells over days to increase the number of them with hopes of speeding up healing even more.
Whether there is a significant increase in efficacy between the cutting-edge European treatments compared to the U.S. methods is unclear, Fibel said, but an athlete’s decision to pursue treatment often comes down to individual comfort level or prior experiences.
Lakers star Luka Doncic shoots over Brooklyn Nets guard Drake Powell during a Lakers win on March 27.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The ubiquity of degenerative conditions or recurring soft tissue injuries in sports have turned European countries, including Germany and Switzerland, into hot spots for top athletes searching for help.
“These are injuries that are not always that easy to completely prevent, and it’s also not the easiest to always prevent reaggravation,” Fibel said. “And so I think [the new treatments] also comes from a frustration of doing a lot of the treatments and modalities that were used in prior injuries and still having an issue afterwards [so] that they’re searching for something new and different.”
Doncic knows the routine when it comes to hamstring injuries. As a player who thrives on his shifty change of pace, Doncic’s quick start and stop motions put extra load on his hamstrings and put him at risk of reinjury. Another left hamstring strain sidelined him for four games earlier this season.
Now with a Grade 2 injury, Doncic’s timeline for recovery would typically be four to six weeks. A Grade 2 injury shows “true disruption” that involves about 50% of the tissue, Fibel said. The most severe Grade 3 is used to describe a more significant, if not complete, tear of the muscle or tendon. The Lakers have suffered several Grade 2 injuries this season, including Austin Reaves’ latest left oblique strain.
The timing of the injuries couldn’t be worse for the Lakers. Not only do the playoffs begin in less than two weeks, but the Lakers were playing their best basketball of the season before the injuries to Doncic and Reaves. They appeared to be legitimate contenders in the playoffs. Now they must wait to see if Doncic’s super serum turns him into a superhero capable of saving their postseason.
“[Doncic is] going to go through all the necessary things to be back at some point,” Redick said, “and it’s our job again to extend the season so both those guys can get back.”
Scoreboard watching
Lakers star LeBron James reacts during a game against the Sacramento Kings on Dec. 28.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
It’s true what they say: No lead is safe in the NBA.
Just when it looked like the Lakers were likely to finish third in the West, the Nuggets found a rhythm, the Lakers got bitten by the injury bug and the Rockets refused to relent.
Reeling from the loss of their two leading scorers, the Lakers have fallen to fourth in the West with Denver surging on a nine-game winning streak. After an overtime win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, the Nuggets (51-28) have a half-game advantage over the Lakers for the No. 3 seed.
The good news: The Lakers can’t drop below the fifth seed, thanks to Minnesota’s recent slide. They also have an additional cushion from their exceptional March, which gave them head-to-head tiebreakers against Denver and Houston.
I won’t repeat the obvious injury-related bad news.
To drop to fifth, the Lakers have to be 2-2 (or worse) in their last four games, while the Nuggets, who have the head-to-head tiebreaker against Houston, go at least 2-1 and the Rockets (49-29) run the table. The Nuggets have the tougher schedule between the three teams, though, playing both Oklahoma City and San Antonio in the final three games.
Here’s a look at the remaining games for the teams fighting for third, fourth and fifth in the West:
(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)
On tap
Tuesday vs. Thunder (62-16) 7:30 p.m. PDT
The Lakers won’t be able to undo last week’s 43-point loss in Oklahoma City, but a competitive showing in the rematch could at least offer a much-needed confidence boost entering the postseason.
Thursday at Warriors (36-42), 7 p.m.
The Warriors are in position to eke into the play-in tournament as the 10th seed. Believe it or not, this could be the last meeting between LeBron James and Stephen Curry in their illustrious careers as the 41-year-old James enters unrestricted free agency this summer.
Friday vs. Suns (43-35), 7:30 p.m.
Phoenix is currently seventh in the West with a chance to chase down sixth-place Minnesota for a playoff berth. Dillon Brooks recently returned from a fractured left hand that kept him out for about six weeks. The Suns went 9-9 during his absence.
Sunday vs. Jazz (21-58), 5:30 p.m.
The Jazz and the Kings are in a heated race to the bottom of the conference. Losers of nine straight, the Jazz are primarily hoping to keep their top-eight protected draft pick, which was at risk of conveying to Oklahoma City.
Status report
Luka Doncic: left hamstring strain
The Lakers have ruled Doncic out for at least the remainder of the regular season. Doncic previously missed four games with another left hamstring strain, but that same timeline won’t apply because the absence rolled into All-Star weekend, when he made a token appearance in the All-Star Game.
Austin Reaves: left oblique strain
Reaves played through the injury he suffered in the first quarter against the Thunder last week, but was ruled out for the rest of the regular season and he likely will miss the first round of the playoffs. He was injured while reaching for a loose ball.
Marcus Smart: right ankle contusion
Smart will miss his eighth consecutive game Tuesday against the Thunder as his ankle injury has lingered for more than two weeks since he got tangled up with Orlando’s Goga Bitadze. While Smart has worked out with staff members on the court before games, he is still day-to-day for his return.
Favorite thing I ate this week
(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)
When in doubt, consult the L.A. Times. For all the news you need to know, yes, but also about your local food needs. This dinner was brought to you by the L.A. Times’ best 101 restaurants list, which recommended Lalibela on Fairfax for an Ethiopian feast. We started with the lentil sambusa (not pictured), which came with a perfectly spiced herb sauce, and shared the veggie utopia, which hits every note with the restaurant’s most popular vegetarian dishes.
Doncic is the NBA’s leading scorer this season with 2143 points for an unequalled average of 33.5 points per game.
However, having been sidelined for four games with a left hamstring strain earlier in the season, and missing two games to return to Slovenia for the birth of his daughter in December, Doncic is set to fall short of the minimum games threshold required to qualify for the NBA’s major end-of-season awards.
Doncic, who is one appearance short of the 65 required, will apply for an “Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge”, according to his agent Bill Duffy.
“This season, Luka Doncic has performed at a historic level, leading the league in scoring, carrying the Lakers to third place in the Western Conference and placing himself in the middle of one of the most tightly contested MVP races in memory,” Duffy told ESPN.
“To ensure Luka’s incredible accomplishments this season are rightly honoured and he can be considered for the league’s end-of-season awards, we intend to apply for an ‘Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge’ to the 65-game rule.”
Doncic was named March’s player of the month following 13 consecutive 30-point performances which helped the Lakers to 13 wins in 14 games prior to the defeat by Thunder.
OKLAHOMA CITY — In the aftermath of their worst loss of the season, few Lakers players or coaches had spoken to Luka Doncic after he limped off the court in the third quarter Thursday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Austin Reaves didn’t know the extent of Doncic’s hamstring injury, but he knew how the Lakers superstar would approach the latest hurdle in this winding season.
“He’s a competitor,” Reaves said of Doncic, “so he’ll do all he can do to put himself in a position to come back when he can.”
Doncic will undergo an MRI on Friday on the left hamstring injury he suffered in a 43-point loss to the Thunder. He already missed four games before the All-Star break with the same injury, but the Lakers withheld expectations on his status for the final five regular-season games.
After Sunday’s game in Dallas, the Lakers face the Thunder at home Tuesday, play consecutive games at Golden State on Thursday and against Phoenix at home Friday and finish the regular season Sunday against Utah.
Doncic’s injury left the Lakers backcourt extra shorthanded Thursday as Marcus Smart missed his sixth consecutive game Thursday. The veteran guard could return against Dallas, coach JJ Redick said. He has been day-to-day since injuring his right ankle against Orlando on March 21.
If Smart is unable to return in Doncic’s absence, the Lakers could shift even more ball-handling responsibility to Reaves and LeBron James while relying on Bronny James as an additional guard off the bench. The 21-year-old James has played in five consecutive games, tying his longest stretch of his second pro season.
The Lakers (50-27) are already guaranteed a top-six seed in the Western Conference, but are still jostling for seeding. They have a one-game lead for the No. 3 seed over No. 4 Denver, which is on a seven-game winning streak.
Approaching the end of the regular season, the Lakers looked at Thursday’s game against the defending NBA champions as a test, forward Jake LaRavia said. They were 15-2 in March with 13 wins in their last 14 games. The Lakers were playing like an evolved form of the team that lost by 29 to the Thunder in Oklahoma City in November.
But like that first rout, Thursday’s featured a flurry of Lakers turnovers, suffocating Oklahoma City ball pressure and an efficient masterclass from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“This close to the end of the season, we would’ve wanted it not to go that way,” said LaRavia, who had six points and a team-high eight rebounds Thursday. “It was pretty much the same story, I feel like, the first time we played here this year.”
The Lakers built much of their March success on successful revenge performances. They bounced back after previous losses to the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and the Orlando Magic. They lost by seven to the Nuggets on March 5 then responded with nine consecutive wins, their longest winning streak of the season, including an overtime thriller against Denver that clinched the head-to-head tiebreaker that could factor into the tight standings.
Redick praised his team’s “playoff mentality” during the run. It was also when the team was largely its healthiest.
Doncic had played all but one game since the All-Star break. Reaves, who missed six weeks with a calf injury this season, has started in 22 consecutive games. When James returned from an elbow injury, the star trio found a clear hierarchy that lifted the team to new heights.
Doncic, who became just the 10th player in NBA history to score 600 points in a single month, is the “head of the snake,” said James, who is averaging just 12.3 shots in the last 12 games but is shooting 54.4% from the field. Doncic’s brilliant March unified the team behind his most valuable player push, his thrilling shot-making and even his smiling dunk against Washington.
With the team exuding the type of joy that often characterizes Doncic’s game, James believes the Lakers can maintain their momentum despite Doncic’s uncertain status and a deflating loss.
“Nothing is rattled,” James said. “It’s one game, it’s part of the NBA season, it’s the defending champions. We get it. We understand.”
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: The score wasn’t the only thing that made this the Lakers’ worst loss of the season.
Even more concerning than the Lakers’ 139-96 blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday was watching superstar guard Luka Doncic hobble off the court with a left hamstring injury in the third quarter.
The 27-year-old guard was held to just 12 points and seven assists, and he committed six turnovers before he pulled up on a drive with 7:39 left in the third quarter. He grabbed at the back of his left leg and limped to the baseline, where he lowered himself to the court, rolled onto his back and covered his face. Concerned teammates surrounded him. Coach JJ Redick offered one hand to pull him to his feet.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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Doncic will undergo an MRI scan Friday, Redick said, before the Lakers (50-27) play Doncic’s former team, the Dallas Mavericks, on Sunday. In a subdued locker room, the Lakers were left to wrestle with their largest margin of defeat since Nov. 27, 2023 amid the possibility of having to finish the regular season without the NBA’s leading scorer.
“At this juncture of the season, it’s the last thing you want to see,” said LeBron James, who had 13 points, six rebounds and two assists. “Especially — anybody on our team — but when you have an MVP candidate on your team, the last thing you want to see is somebody go down with a hamstring injury. … I don’t know obviously what the case may be, so pray for the best for sure and a speedy recovery.”
Guard Austin Reaves shook off his own injury scare to finish with 15 points, one assist and four turnovers after grabbing at his left lower back for most of the first quarter. He said he overextended himself chasing a loose ball. He turned the ball over trying to connect with Deandre Ayton on the next possession, reaching immediately for his lower back after the pass went awry.
UCLA center Lauren Betts celebrates during a win over Duke in the Elite Eight of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament on March 29.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
From Marisa Ingemi: You’d be forgiven if you thought this year’s Final Four was just a case of déjà vu.
On paper, that seems true — four No. 1 seeds who have dominated every round of the NCAA tournament arrived in Phoenix this week and they are the same four teams who reached the Final Four last year in Tampa, Fla.
Sustaining that level of success during the modern college basketball era, the four teams insist, isn’t as easy.
Connecticut doesn’t have Paige Bueckers; South Carolina doesn’t have Kamilla Cardoso; and UCLA coach Cori Close and the Bruins have a much different lineup.
“Getting here,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said, “is the hard part.”
Now, they will use it as they to push to reach the NCAA championship.
“The Big Ten win really feels good and helps our confidence going [into NCAA regionals],” she said. “It felt great to put everything together because I feel like we really built off of one another and showed what we can do to not only the Big Ten competition, but to everyone.”
“It gives us just the right amount of confidence going into regionals and then seeing where it takes us,” Tiana Sumanasekera said.
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, right, and coach Tyronn Lue react during the second half of a 118-99 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
From the Associated Press: De’Aaron Fox scored 22 points on nine-of-13 shooting, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Clippers 118-99 on Thursday night without Victor Wembanyama in the lineup to win their 11th in a row.
Wembanyama was rested on the second night of a back-to-back. He had 41 points and 18 rebounds in a 127-113 win at the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.
The Spurs (59-18) had six players in double figures, including Stephon Castle with 20 points and Dylan Harper with 19 off the bench.
Nashville Predators forward Luke Evangelista scores the winning goal past Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper in a shootout to secure a 5-4 win Thursday at Crypto.com Arena.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press:Luke Evangelista scored the only goal of the shootout in the eighth round, and the Nashville Predators tightened the Western Conference playoff race with a 5-4 win over the Kings on Thursday night.
Nashville, the Kings and San José are now even with 79 points apiece for the second wild-card playoff spot in the West, but the Sharks — who beat Toronto 4-1 earlier Thursday — have a game in hand.
Steven Stamkos scored his 37th goal and Jonathan Marchessault ended his 14-game goal drought for the Predators, who snapped their three-game skid despite blowing a three-goal lead. Filip Forsberg and Zachary L’Heureux also scored.
UCLA coach Bob Chesney leads the Bruins through their first spring football practice at Spaulding Field on Thursday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
From Anthony Solorzano:UCLA football coach Bob Chesney wasn’t looking for star performances during the Bruins’ first spring practice on Thursday — instead, he wanted his players to focus on holding themselves accountable for putting in their best effort.
“We talk about the mirror test. Don’t worry about what your coach says, don’t worry about what your other teammates say,” Chesney said. “Go look at yourself in the mirror. That’s really the only guy that’s gonna know, right?”
There was excitement and intensity but perfection wasn’t expected. For the new head coach, it was about whether the fundamentals UCLA worked on throughout the winter carried over, he said.
“While I watch it out here, the things that don’t take skill, the things that don’t take great genetics, were the things I wanted to focus on today more than anything — the effort,” Chesney said.
Diablos Rojos’ Trevor Bauer pitches against New York Yankees during an exhibition game March 24, 2024, at Alfredo Harp Helu Stadium in Mexico City.
(Fernando Llano / Associated Press)
From Chuck Schilken: Former Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer will pitch for a U.S. team for the first time since 2021 when he serves as the opening day starter for the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League later this month.
Since his last MLB start, on June 28, 2021, Bauer has been accused of sexual assault by four women. He denies all the allegations and has never been charged with a crime.
After Bauer served a 194-game suspension for violating the league’s sexual assault and domestic violence policy, the Dodgers severed ties with the 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner on Jan. 6, 2023, less than two years after signing him to a three-year, $102-million contract.
Puka Nacua stands on the field during a win over the Detroit Lions at SoFi Stadium in December. Nacua’s attorney announced Wednesday that the Rams wide receiver entered rehab last month.
In this image from video provided by the Martin County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office, golfer Tiger Woods is strapped into a police vehicle following a car crash in Jupiter Island, Fla., on March 27.
The phone conversation was not captured on video, but Woods could be heard saying, “Thank you so much,” as he hung up and the deputy approached. It wasn’t clear if Woods was referring to President Trump, whose former daughter-in-law, Vanessa Trump, is dating Woods.
Shortly after the golfer’s March 27 arrest, Trump was asked about Woods and told reporters: “I feel so badly. He’s got some difficulty. Very close friend of mine. He’s an amazing person. Amazing man. But, some difficulty.”
1923 — “Black Sox” sue White Sox (unsuccessfully) for back salary.
1930 — The Montreal Canadiens win the NHL Stanley Cup with a two-game sweep of the Boston Bruins.
1933 — Ken Doraty’s overtime goal gives the Toronto Maple Leafs and 1-0 victory over the Boston Bruins in semifinals of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The goal comes at one hour, 44 minutes and 46 seconds of the overtime beyond the one-hour regulation game.
1966 — P Tom Seaver signs with the NY Mets.
1975 — Bobby Fischer stripped of world chess title for refusing to defend it, title awarded to Russian Anatoly Karpov.
1977 — Jean Ratelle of the Boston Bruins scores his 1,000th point with an assist in a 7-4 triumph over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
1982 — Buffalo’s Gil Perrault scores his 1,000th point with an assist in a 5-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.
1987 — Chicago Cubs trade Dennis Eckersley to Oakland A’s.
1988 — Louisiana Tech wins the NCAA women’s basketball championship with a 56-54 come-from-behind victory over Auburn.
1988 — Amy Alcott shoots a 1-under 71 to win the Dinah Shore by two shots over Colleen Walker.
1988 — Mario Lemieux wins NHL scoring title, stopping Gretzky’s 7 year streak.
1989 — Michigan beats Seton Hall 80-79 in overtime to win the NCAA basketball championship. Rumeal Robinson hits two free throws with three seconds left for the Wolverines. It’s the first time that a first-year coach, Steve Fisher, wins the national title.
1991 — Bo Jackson signs 1-year contract with Chicago White Sox.
1993 — For the first time in its 157-year history, the Grand National steeplechase is declared void because of a false start. Esha Ness crosses the line first, but most of the jockeys are unaware a false start is called and the majority of the 39-horse field continue the 4½-mile race around the Aintree course even though nine stay behind at the start line.
1994 — Charlotte Smith’s 3-pointer at the buzzer gives North Carolina a 60-59 victory over Louisiana Tech in the NCAA women’s basketball championship game.
1995 — UCLA wins its first national basketball championship in 20 years and record 11th NCAA title, keeping Arkansas from repeating with an 89-78 victory.
1996 — St Francis Fighting Saints scores college baseball run record with 71.
2004 — St. Louis clinches its 25th consecutive NHL playoff berth, the longest in major league sports, with a 4-1 win over Nashville.
2006 — Joakim Noah dominates UCLA with 16 points, nine rebounds and a record seven blocks to key a 73-57 blowout for Florida’s first national title in men’s basketball.
2006 — Steve Yzerman scores his final NHL goal (#692).
2007 — After a nine-year title drought, Tennessee and coach Pat Summitt are NCAA champions. The Lady Vols capture an elusive seventh national title, beating Rutgers 59-46.
2010 — Bernard Hopkins wins a brutal unanimous decision over Roy Jones Jr. in their long-delayed rematch, emphatically avenging his loss in the famed champions’ first fight nearly 17 years earlier.
2012 — Brittney Griner scores 26 points and grabs 13 rebounds to help Baylor finish off an undefeated season with an 80-61 win over Notre Dame in the women’s national championship game. Baylor becomes the first team in NCAA history to win 40 games.
2017 — Justin Jackson delivers the go-ahead three-point play and North Carolina scores the last eight points for a 71-65 win over Gonzaga and an NCAA title that heartbreakingly eluded the Tar Heels last year. It’s an ugly game, filled with 44 fouls and 52 free throws. Carolina was down 2 with 1:40 left when Jackson took a pass under the bucket from Theo Pinson, made a layup and got fouled. The free throw made it 66-65, and after a Gonzaga miss on the other end, Isaiah Hicks made a shot to help North Carolina start pulling away to the school’s sixth title.
2019 — San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich is ejected after an NBA record low 63 seconds in the Spurs 113-85 loss in Denver; receives 2 technical fouls in a verbal confrontation with a referee.
Compiled by the Associated Press.
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
The Oklahoma City Thunder condemned the Los Angeles Lakers to one of the heaviest defeats in their history – one made more painful by an injury to star Luka Doncic.
Reigning NBA champions Thunder claimed a commanding 139-96 victory, helped by 28 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, as they improved their league-best record to 61-16.
The Lakers have only been beaten by a greater margin on six occasions, with this 43-point loss just six points short of their worst margin of defeat against the Dallas Mavericks in 2017.
It was a first defeat in five for the Lakers, who must now wait to learn the severity of Doncic’s left hamstring injury after the Slovenian appeared emotional as he exited the court during the third quarter.
Doncic, who had scored 40 or more points in each of his previous three games and five of his past seven, will have an MRI scan on Friday, Lakers coach JJ Redick confirmed.
OKLAHOMA CITY — The score wasn’t the only thing that made this the Lakers’ worst loss of the season.
Even more concerning than the Lakers’ 139-96 blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday was superstar guard Luka Doncic’s health after the 27-year-old hobbled off the court with a left hamstring injury in the third quarter.
Doncic attempted to drive into the lane at the 7:39 mark of the third quarter but pulled up suddenly in the midrange. He stopped as the ball bounced out of bounds. He grabbed at the back of his left leg and hobbled to the baseline, where he lowered himself to the court, rolled over to his back and covered his face. Concerned teammates surrounded him. Coach JJ Redick offered a hand to pull him off the court.
Doncic, who was just named Western Conference player of the month after scoring 600 points in March, was limited to 12 points, seven assists and six turnovers before the injury. It was the second Lakers injury scare in a game that was supposed to be a marquee matchup between the hottest teams in the league.
Austin Reaves was hobbling through the first quarter, grabbing at his left lower back at nearly every sudden movement. He appeared to get hurt while chasing down a loose ball with 6:23 remaining.
The Lakers had eight turnovers in the first quarter. Lu Dort had two steals and hit all four of his three-pointers as the Thunder were seven for 11 from three-point range. Reaves, who returned from the locker room with 9:40 left in the second quarter, was the only Laker player with multiple made field goals in the first quarter.
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen:Luka Doncic, with the eyes of five defenders fixed on him in the paint, faked a lob pass. He threatened to wrap a pass around Cleveland center Thomas Bryant’s back. Instead, the Lakers superstar pulled up straight over the top of Bryant’s outstretched arm, dropping a fadeaway jumper softly through the net.
Doncic smiled toward the Lakers’ bench as he backpedaled. He shrugged at himself.
Doncic brought back all his old tricks after serving a one-game suspension and capped his torrid March with 42 points, 12 assists, five rebounds and no turnovers in the Lakers’ 127-113 rout of the Cavaliers (47-29) on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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Doncic, who was suspended for Monday’s game against the Washington Wizards because of technical foul accumulation, joined Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to score 600 points in the month of March. He is one of just 10 players to score 600 points in a month.
“You can see he’s the MVP,” forward Rui Hachimura said.
Doncic, in the NBA most valuable player conversation with Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama and Denver’s Nikola Jokic, scoffed at the suggestion that he state his case for the coveted award.
He’ll let his numbers speak: A league-best 33.8 points per game, the only player averaging 30 points a game with more than 100 steals this season and the third-youngest player to reach 15,000 career points.
Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani delivers during the third inning of a 4-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
From Maddie Lee: The sprinkling of rain over Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night added a new element to what’s already a familiar sight: Shohei Ohtani walking off the mound and immediately strapping on the various guards and batting gloves he wears to hit.
In the Dodgers’ 4-1 win — as Ohtani held the Guardians to one hit through six scoreless innings in his 2026 pitching debut — it happened twice.
The first inning was guaranteed. But after throwing a scoreless fifth, Ohtani again was due up to lead off the bottom half of the inning.
He appeared to realize just that as he reached the far end of the dugout. Ohtani pivoted and jogged to the opposite entrance, where he handed off his hat and glove to start the well-practiced routine.
UCLA guard Gabriela Jaquez, left, drives to the basket past Duke center Arianna Roberson during the Bruins’ Elite Eight win in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament on Sunday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
From Anthony Solorzano: With Kendrick Lamar’s “tv off” blaring outside the Mo Ostin Basketball Center, a crowd of cheering fans gave the UCLA women’s basketball team a fitting sendoff Tuesday as they left Westwood for Phoenix.
The Bruins are back in the Final Four, where they’ll play Texas — the only team that has beaten them this season — and begin a final push to win what they hope will be their first national championship since 1978.
Last year, UCLA fell to Connecticut in the Final Four, a loss that has made the Bruins hungrier for a title.
“Experience is such an important teacher, for me, as well as for [the team],” said UCLA coach Cori Close. “I just think there’s been a clarity of focus.”
Portland’s Brandon Ingram, left, controls the ball in front of the Clippers’ Derrick Jones Jr. during the first half of the Clippers’ 114-104 loss Tuesday night at Intuit Dome.
The Clippers (39-37) are eighth in the Western Conference, a half-game in front of the ninth-place Blazers (39-38). The loss locked the Clippers into the NBA play-in tournament. They lead the season series against the Blazers 2-1, with the teams playing again on April 10 in Portland.
Toumani Camara scored 17 points and Scoot Henderson added 15 for the Trail Blazers.
Logan O’Hoppe hit a two-run single with two outs in the sixth against reliever Phil Maton (0-1), and that was all Soriano (2-0) needed on a cold and windy night at Wrigley Field.
The 27-year-old right-hander threw 90 pitches, striking out four and walking two. He was coming off a terrific performance in the Angels’ 3-0 win at Houston on opening day.
Chase Silseth pitched around a single by Nico Hoerner and walk to Moisés Ballesteros in the seventh. Drew Pomeranz worked 1⅓ innings against his former team, and Jordan Romano got two outs for his second save.
Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell, left, speaks with referees during a game against the Rams at SoFi Stadium in December.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
From Sam Farmer: With the NFL and referees union at a negotiating impasse, the league has put in place a safety net in case replacement game officials are required for the upcoming season.
Team owners approved a rule Tuesday allowing the league to intervene from its New York headquarters and correct officiating errors in real time using replay technology. The rule would be in effect for one year only and would be triggered if the NFL and NFL Referees Assn. cannot agree on the fundamental issues of accountability, compensation and working conditions.
“There is frustration among ownership about the state of the negotiations,” said NFL executive Jeff Miller, responsible for overseeing the league’s communications and public affairs. “What we’ve been crystal clear on is that this is an opportunity for us to improve the state of our officiating.”
Golfer Tiger Woods stands by his overturned vehicle in Jupiter Island, Fla., March 27.
(Jason Oteri / Associated Press)
From Steve Henson:Tiger Woods failed field sobriety tests after crashing into another vehicle last week, and had bloodshot eyes and two hydrocodone pills in his pants pocket, according to a probable cause arrest affidavit released Tuesday.
Woods, 50, told investigators he did not notice the vehicle in front of him had slowed because he was looking at his cellphone and changing the radio station, the affidavit said. His Land Rover rolled onto its side after hitting a Ford-F150 pickup truck pulling a small trailer.
The prescription opioid pills were found during a search after his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence, causing property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test. Woods told deputies he had taken prescription medications earlier that day.
Just consider the evidence: In his 10 years with LAFC, Thorrington has hired three coaches and each one has been better than the last. How many other executives have a track record like that?
Then again, maybe it’s not luck. Maybe Thorrington simply has been the best general manager in the league over the past decade.
“Either one. Doesn’t really matter,” Thorrington said when asked for the secret to his success. “The results are what matter.”
Jaden Ivey waived by Bulls for ‘conduct detrimental’
Chicago Bulls guard Jaden Ivey is defended by Denver Nuggets forward Spencer Jones on Feb. 7.
(Erin Hooley / Associated Press)
From Chuck Schilken: The Chicago Bulls announced Monday that they have waived guard Jaden Ivey for “conduct detrimental to the team,” soon after the former first-round draft pick made anti-LGBTQ+ comments on Instagram Live.
The move came less than two months after Chicago acquired Ivey from the Detroit Pistons. In recent days, the fourth-year player has posted several videos on Instagram in which he speaks at length about his religious beliefs.
Ivey recorded another such video Monday soon after learning of his release by Chicago. In it, he held firm to his convictions and predicted he would have trouble landing another NBA job because of them.
1930 — American golfer Bobby Jones starts his Grand Slam season by winning the Southeastern Open.
1938 — Joe Louis knocks out Harry Thomas in the fifth round in Chicago to retain his world heavyweight title.
1940 — Governor Herbert Lehman of New York signs the Dunnigal bill, which legalizes pari-mutuel wagering and outlaws bookmakers at the state’s racetracks.
1954 — Detroit Red Wings right wing Gordie Howe scores 2 goals and an assist, and sets a Stanley Cup playoff record for fastest goal from the start of a game (:09).
1972 — The first collective player’s strike in major league history begins at 12:01 a.m. The strike lasts 12 days and cancels 86 games.
1973 — Boston’s John Havlicek connects on 24 field goals and finishes with 54 points the Celtics defeat Atlanta, 134-109, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
1978 — NY Islanders RW Mike Bossy becomes first NHL rookie to score 50 goals in a season.
1981 — Edmonton C Wayne Gretzky has an assist (his 103rd) to break Bobby Orr’s 10-year mark for most assists in a single NHL season.
1984 — Southern Cal beats Tennessee 72-61 for the NCAA women’s basketball title.
1985 — Villanova shocks Georgetown with a 66-64 victory to win the NCAA basketball title. The Wildcats, led by Dwayne McClain’s 17 points, shot 79 percent from the field, making 22 of 28 shots, and added 22 of 27 free throws.
1989 — Jim McAllister of Glassboro State hits four home runs and drives in nine runs in four at-bats in a 21-5 five-inning rout of Delaware State.
1990 — Betsy King holds on for a two-stroke victory over Kathy Postlewait to win the LPGA Dinah Shore tournament.
1991 — Duke ends years of frustration with a 72-65 victory over Kansas for its first national title in five championship game appearances and nine trips to the Final Four.
1992 — A week before the Stanley Cup playoffs are set to begin, the NHL players strike for the first time in the league’s 75-year history. The strike lasts 10 days.
1996 — Kentucky wins its first national title in 18 years with a 76-67 victory over Syracuse.
1999 — Detroit Pistons G Joe Dumars becomes 10th player in NBA history to play 1,000 games with the same team.
1999 — Philadelphia 76ers head coach Larry Brown wins his 900th pro game.
2000 — Michelle Kwan wins her third World Figure Skating title by pushing through all seven triple jumps. The triple toe-triple toe lifts Kwan above Russians Irina Slutskaya and last year’s champion, Maria Butyrskaya.
2002 — With Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter leading the way, Maryland wins its first national championship with a 64-52 victory over Indiana.
2007 — Morgan Pressel becomes the youngest major champion in LPGA Tour history with a game well beyond her 18 years, closing with a 3-under 69 at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. Pressel plays her final 25 holes over Mission Hills without a bogey as Suzann Pettersen blew a four-shot lead with four holes to play.
2007 — American super swimmer Michael Phelps smashes his own world record in the 400m individual medley (4:06.22) to win his record 7th gold medal at the World Championships.
2011 — Jarome Iginla scores his second goal of the game with 5:03 left to reach 1,000 points and help Calgary rally to beat St. Louis 3-2.
2016 — Golden State Warriors consecutive home winning streak ends at 54 games.
2018 — Arike Ogunbowale hits a 3-pointer with a tenth of a second left to give Notre Dame a 61-58 win over Mississippi State and its first women’s national championship since 2001. Notre Dame, trailing 30-17 at halftime, pulls off the biggest comeback in title game history, rallying from a 15-point deficit in the third quarter and a five-point deficit in the final 1:58.
2020 — All England Lawn Tennis Club cancels Wimbledon for the first time since World War II because of the COVID-19 pandemic; entire grass-court season abandoned.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
LeBron James scored 14 points for the Lakers against the Cavaliers as he also set an NBA record for the most combined regular season and play-off wins.
He achieved his 1,229th victory and surpassed the previous best set by centre Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
“He’s great on both sides of the ball,” said Lakers coach JJ Redick of James. “He’s just doing a little bit of everything at a super-high level for us.
“Luka may get the headlines here and there, AR [Austin Reaves] may get a headline. But really it’s been every single guy, and LeBron has led on that.”
The Lakers, who are third in the Western Conference, had clinched a play-off spot and the Pacific Division title prior to their win as the Phoenix Suns were beaten 115-111 by the Orlando Magic.
Welcome back to this week’s Lakers newsletter, where the vibes are immaculate.
The Lakers have won 15 of their last 17 games. LeBron James continues to set NBA records, most recently tying the all-time mark for wins in the regular season and playoffs with Monday’s win over Washington. Jaxson Hayes hasn’t missed a three-point shot all year. The fans who chanted “We want Bronny!” have gotten their wish.
With seven games remaining in the regular season, we turn our focus to a different cheer.
MVP! MVP!
Lakers star Luka Doncic runs onto the court before a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 10 at Crypto.com Arena.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The familiar chant rang out in arenas from L.A. to Miami to Indianapolis. Luka Doncic’s campaign was powerful enough to sway even opposing crowds that showered him with shouts of “MVP.”
With Doncic on a historic season-ending heater, the most valuable player discussion suddenly got piping hot with two weeks left in the season. The NBA’s leading scorer surged back into the race with gaudy numbers over the month of March: 37.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game; 12 straight 30-point games; a 24-hour stretch with 100 points; and the first 60-point performance by a Laker since Kobe Bryant in his final game.
The most important number from March: 14 wins. Approaching the playoffs, the Lakers (49-26) are one of the hottest teams in the league, powered by Doncic’s brilliance.
All things Lakers, all the time.
Get all the Lakers news you need in Thuc Nhi Nguyen’s weekly newsletter.
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“If we continue to finish the season the way we’re playing right now, and he continues to play that way, to me, he is the MVP,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
Doncic leads the league in scoring (33.7) and is just a hair off from the career-high 33.9 points per game he averaged when he finished third in MVP voting in 2024. Compared to the other top three MVP candidates — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama — Doncic’s traditional stats paint a competitive picture. He has the second-most assists of the quartet behind Jokic and the third-most rebounds.
Among guards who have played more than 11 games, Doncic ranks third in rebounds per game at 7.8, and his 7.2 defensive rebounds per game is the most of anyone at his position. Doncic’s defense gets picked apart, but he also has a career-best 102 steals. He’s the only player averaging 30 or more points this season with 100 or more steals.
“He’s the engine that’s driving all of our winning,” Redick said.
Advanced statistics have Doncic a tier below his rivals. Doncic’s net rating of plus-4 is a distant fourth among the top contenders and pales in comparison to Wembanyama’s plus-17.3.
Breaking down the MVP race
Jokic appeared to be on his way to winning his fourth MVP before the Nuggets star missed a month with a knee injury. By leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the best record in the league, Gilgeous-Alexander appeared to be in pole position to win his second consecutive MVP.
Doncic and Wembanyama are making a late charge. The Spurs see the Lakers’ 14-2 record in March and raise them a 25-2 mark since Feb. 1. They won their 10 consecutive game Monday. While Doncic was serving a suspension for technical foul accumulation, Wembanyama scored 41 points with 16 rebounds, four assists and three blocks against the Chicago Bulls.
The MVP chants in Frost Bank Arena are just as loud as anywhere in the league.
All fore one
Lakers guard Austin Reaves shoots a free throw during a win over the Washington Wizards on Monday at Crypto.com Arena.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Of all the NBA markets, L.A. presents unique challenges to team building. When Redick played for the Clippers, teammates scattered immediately after practice with hopes of beating traffic on the way home. Redick knew he wasn’t going to drive hours from his home in Manhattan Beach to visit Chris Paul in Calabasas.
But for the Lakers, a round of golf is worth a drive on the 405.
“Finding tee times, being with each other for four hours where you can shoot the proverbial S-H-I-whatever and not have to be in a high pressure moment or on a team bus and kind of be away from the facility,” Redick said, “I think it’s great.”
Golf is the Lakers’ latest bonding activity that’s helped keep the vibes high through the most successful stretch of the season. The Lakers have been intentional with team-building activities in Redick’s second year at the helm. All players and coaches made autobiographical powerpoint presentations to the team during the preseason. Jake LaRavia and assistant coach Beau Levesque won the team-wide pickleball tournament in November. Players and coaches arrange golf outings between games on long road trips. One day after hitting the winning shot in Orlando, newest teammate Luke Kennard got in on the golf action in a scramble match with players facing coaches.
“They had AR,” Redick said sheepishly, “so we can all guess the result of that one.”
Austin Reaves is the leader in the clubhouse. He remembered when teammates gave him grief about his love of golf, which he picked up at 17 and almost immediately excelled at. Seeing his teammates embrace the game “actually means a lot to me,” Reaves said.
“I’m glad that they are addicted,” he added with a satisfied smile.
After the COVID-19 bubble, Redick noticed an uptick in golf’s popularity around the league. Even the Lakers have a handful of players who suddenly decided to start during the last year. Doncic is the most recent convert. He bragged that he beat Reaves on one hole when they played in Indianapolis. Reaves, who got a double bogey compared to Doncic’s bogey, said he let his teammate win.
“It’s a confidence thing,” Reaves said. “We needed him to be at his best at 7 o’clock tonight.”
Doncic scored 43 points against Indianapolis the day after the golf outing.
On tap
Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen shoots between Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, left, and forward Tobias Harris on March 3.
(Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
Tuesday vs. Cleveland (47-28), 7:30 p.m. PDT
Center Jarrett Allen returned last week from a 10-game absence, but missed Cleveland’s game on Monday in Utah as he managed right knee tendinitis. Missing the first game of a back-to-back indicates that he’ll likely be available against the Lakers.
Thursday at Oklahoma City (60-16), 6:30 p.m. PDT
The Thunder have won 15 of their last 16 games with the only loss coming against Boston. This game and next week’s rematch at Crypto.com Arena could be critical in the MVP race between Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic.
Sunday at Dallas (24-51), 4:30 p.m. PDT
Since the trade heard ‘round the league, Doncic has averaged 33 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists in four games against his former team. It’s his highest scoring average against any Western Conference opponent.
Status report
Marcus Smart (right ankle contusion)
Smart remains day-to-day with an ankle injury he sustained against Orlando. He has missed four games.
Adou Thiero (left knee soreness)
The rookie forward landed back on the injury report after playing two minutes in the Lakers’ loss to Detroit. Redick said Thiero was held out for precautionary reasons after his knee didn’t react well to playing in a G League game then playing in Detroit two days later. Thiero previously missed six weeks with a right medial collateral ligament sprain and underwent surgery on his left knee in college, which kept him sidelined at the beginning of the season.
Favorite thing I ate this week
(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)
I have had Ramen Nagi on my list for literal years because former USC center Brett Neilon — who grew up in Tokyo — recommended it. I have changed beats three times since then but never forgot what he said was his favorite ramen place in L.A. The red king, which is a spicy version of their pork broth ramen, was worth the years of anticipation. Every bowl is customizable so I loved getting to add thick ramen noodles.
The Lakers followed the lead of their oldest member, the triple-double producing LeBron James, in dispatching the Wizards 120-101 at Crypto.com Arena on Monday night.
Two days off between games left James looking spry, with lob dunks and dunks on the fast break contributing to his 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. James was eight for 16 from the field in notching his third triple-double of the season and the 125th of his 23-year NBA career, ranking him fifth all time.
At 41 years and 90 days old, James once again became the oldest player in league history to record a triple-double, passing his previous mark (41 years, 79 days).
Lakers star LeBron James dunks against Washington at Crypto.com Arena on Monday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
“I mean, I’ve had moments more this year and last year that I’ve enjoyed more in the moment,” James said. “It’s pretty cool to know that I’m at this point in my career (and) I’m still able to do those things, man. It’s super dope. It’s super humbling. And I just try to put the work in and continue to put the work in and those are the results of it.”
James achieved the triple-double despite playing just 33 minutes.
“Yeah, I don’t know what to say. He’s very praise-worthy,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I tried to give every version of the same soliloquy about his longevity. But I don’t have anything for you tonight.”
For James and his teammates, Sunday’s practice had “value” because it allowed them to clean up some things, do some “teaching” and get some “reps” that will pay off with the playoffs approaching.
They put that into action against the Wizards, but the Lakers did so without star guard Luka Doncic, who did not play after being given a one-game suspension by the NBA for his 16th technical foul.
Austin Reaves took over the primarily ballhandling duties with Doncic out, running the show in delivering a near double-double with 19 points and nine assists. Reaves was just four for 11 from the field and he missed all four of his three-point attempts, but he was 11 for 12 from the line.
Lakers guard Luke Kennard, center, drives between Washington’s Tre Johnson, left, and Jamir Watkins during the first half Monday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Backup center Jaxson Hayes was outstanding in scoring 19 points on eight-for-eight shooting, including a three-pointer with six minutes and 41 seconds left.
Luke Kennard had 19 points off the bench, knocking down four of five from three-point range.
Deandre Ayton was a force for the Lakers, his efficient five-for-five shooting leading to 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
Each of them played their part to help the Lakers win for the 12th time in 13 games and limit the effect of Doncic’s absence.
Doncic leads the NBA in scoring (33.7 points per game), is fourth in assists (8.2), second three-pointers made (4.0) and first in points scored in the first quarter (12.0). He’ll return against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
“Yeah, I mean we had a professional approach,” James said. “We came in, we got the job done, understanding it doesn’t matter who we’re playing, we’re still trying to build habits for the postseason. So, a good win for us.”
Although the Lakers won handily, it was against a Wizards team tied for the worst record in the NBA (17-58). Washington has lost 18 of its past 19 games.
For the Lakers (49-26), the game was about making strides from a practice they rarely get to have.
“The value is being able to continue to improve,” Redick said before the game. “And again, I said this, we’ve placed a heavy emphasis on what we’re teaching in film and what we’re cleaning up in film, because we haven’t had court time to do that. So [Sunday], it was some of the game clean-up stuff. All the guys got some reps doing some things that they probably won’t do during a real game.”
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.
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.
DETROIT — He’s the hottest player in the NBA. Not even the NBA’s technical foul rule can slow Luka Doncic down.
The NBA rescinded Doncic’s 16th technical foul, the league announced Sunday, allowing Doncic to avoid a mandatory one-game suspension that would have kept him out of Monday’s game against the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons.
Doncic and the Lakers appealed the call after he was given a technical for taunting against Orlando Magic forward Goga Bitadze in Saturday’s Lakers win. Bitadze’s technical foul was also rescinded after the European players were arguing while Doncic was shooting free throws. Doncic claimed Bitadze made a vulgar comment toward Doncic’s family in Serbian while Bitadze said he first heard inappropriate comments from Doncic and only repeated what he heard the Lakers guard say.
Often criticized for arguing with officials, Doncic remains at 15 technical fouls this season, second in the NBA behind Phoenix’s Dillon Brooks. In 2023, Doncic also had his 16th technical foul rescinded, avoiding a one-game suspension.
Doncic’s historic scoring run has fueled the Lakers’ nine-game winning streak, their best since the 2019-20 season that ended with an NBA championship. Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer, is averaging 40 points per game during the winning streak while shooting 40.3% from three-point range. His 60-point outburst against the Miami Heat last Thursday was the first 60-point game in Lakers history since Kobe Bryant’s last game in 2016. He was just the seventh Lakers player to record a 60-point game, joining legends Bryant, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, George Mikan, Jerry West and Shaquille O’Neal.
The winning streak has vaulted the Lakers from sixth in the West to third. They have navigated the most difficult stretch of their schedule with seven wins over playoff-bound teams.
The Pistons, poised to earn the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2007, are without their own star player as guard Cade Cunningham is sidelined for at least two weeks with a collapsed lung. Detroit is 2-0 without him with wins over Washington and Golden State.
Note: Rui Hachimura (right calf soreness), Maxi Kleber (lumbar back strain) and Marcus Smart (right ankle soreness) are questionable for Monday’s game.
MIAMI — The chants started in a purple-and-gold-clad cluster in the upper deck at Kaseya Center. As Luka Doncic’s scoring total crept up with each step-back three, free throw or fadeaway shot, the cheers grew louder, coming from every corner by fans dressed in every color.
“M-V-P! M-V-P!”
“That’s what I think every player wants to hear,” Doncic said.
Doncic’s season-high 60 points — the first 60-point game for a Lakers player since Kobe Bryant’s swan song in 2016 — led the Lakers to a 134-126 win over the Miami Heat on Thursday. It was another exceptional feat in Doncic’s late-season campaign for the NBA’s most valuable player.
The NBA’s leading scorer poured in 100 points in less than 24 hours, helping the Lakers extend their winning streak to eight games. Doncic is averaging 40.9 points per game over the streak, shooting 42.2% from three-point range. He became just the seventh Laker to record a 60-point game, joining franchise legends Bryant, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, George Mikan, Jerry West and Shaquille O’Neal.
Doncic’s dominance has rescued the Lakers, propelling them to a season-best winning streak. The team’s previous best winning streak was built by taking down bottom-feeding teams including New Orleans, Utah and Dallas. This streak is against some of the league’s best: Six wins are against teams with a .500 record or better and five were against .600 teams. The Lakers have climbed from sixth to third in the Western Conference in two weeks, netting critical tiebreakers against rivals Minnesota, Denver and Houston.
Lakers star Luka Doncic, left, controls the ball in front of Miami’s Bam Adebayo during the first quarter Thursday.
(Rich Storry / Getty Images)
Doncic, in his first full season with the Lakers, began the season as one of the betting favorites to win MVP. But the Lakers went through December doldrums, losing four out of five. He missed two games while traveling to Slovenia to be present for the birth of his second daughter, Olivia. When he returned, Doncic shot 24.5% from three over the next five games.
Doncic’s defense was criticized, along with his consistent complaining to referees. Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who leads the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder with 31.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists, figures to still be the favorite in the MVP race, especially with the Thunder on a conference-best 10-game winning streak.
Doncic’s production never dipped — he has maintained the league’s top scoring average for most of the season — but his play still lacked the same zip that made him a must-watch star in Dallas.
Lakers star Luka Doncic reacts after making a three-pointer in the third quarter Thursday against the Miami Heat.
(Rich Storry / Getty Images)
The Lakers embodied some of their star’s struggles. The team was sorting through injuries while trying to integrate new pieces. The chemistry “wasn’t there,” guard Marcus Smart said.
Finally, it all clicked, starting with Doncic.
“Just trusting my game,” Doncic said of how he’s reached this level at this stage of the season. “I know some games I won’t have it. … I’ve been there, so you just got to trust in yourself. I got all the support from my teammates, which helps me a lot.”
Teammates cheered, jumped and raised their fists from the Lakers bench when Doncic made his final free throw to finish off his 60-point night. On a night when LeBron James tied the NBA’s regular-season games played record, appearing in his 1,611th game and notching a 19-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist night, it was Doncic’s final points that seemed to make James smile the widest.
Doncic, who said the crowd’s chants gave him goosebumps, added it “makes my heart happy” seeing the reaction from all of his teammates.
Lakers star LeBron James reacts to a free throw by teammate Luka Doncic in the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat on Thursday.
(Rich Storry / Getty Images)
“We all know the talent that Luka is,” Smart said. “And when he gets in those modes, man, it’s definitely a sight to see, and you don’t want to miss it.”
Before the game, Redick sarcastically wouldn’t even utter the name of the award Doncic has positioned himself for, only saying he believed Doncic should be in the “M-word conversation.”
If it’s not the cheers from the crowd, Doncic doesn’t care about the chatter either.
“It’s you guys, the media,” Doncic said. “I ain’t got nothing to do with it.”
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: On the same night he tied Robert Parish for the NBA record in regular-season games played, ageless wonder LeBron James had a 19-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist triple-double in Thursday’s 134-126 win over the Miami Heat. The 41-year-old playing in his 1,611th game helped the Lakers (45-25) win their season-best eighth consecutive game while star guard Luka Doncic poured in a season-best 60 points, including 20 points in the final quarter.
James became the oldest player in NBA history to record a triple-double, besting the mark he set last month.
“He’s a psycho,” coach JJ Redick said with affection, awe and respect.
James, Doncic and guard Austin Reaves were all questionable to play in their second game in as many nights. Doncic was dealing with right hip soreness and Reaves was battling a right forearm contusion after Wednesday’s physical win over Houston. James, who took a hard spill in the fourth quarter and banged his right elbow, was officially nursing left foot arthritis. Earlier this season, James characterized his ailments as being simply “old.”
But before Redick could even check on the status of his stars Thursday afternoon, he learned they already decided on their availability. The players huddled in the locker room after Wednesday’s game before the coaches entered and decided they would all play against Miami (38-32).
“When he said he was playing, I was like, I can’t let a 41-year-old play and I not play,” said Reaves, who battled through a bruise on his shooting wrist to finish with 18 points. “So [I] signed up to play and so did Luka and we went and grinded the win out.”
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Clippers lose to Pelicans again
Trey Murphy III scored 27 points and the New Orleans Pelicans extended their home winning streak to seven games with a 105-99 victory over the Clippers on Thursday night.
Saddiq Bey had 20 points and Zion Williamson added 15 for the Pelicans, who swept the two-game set against the Clippers after a 124-109 win, also at home, on Wednesday night.
Dejounte Murray was held out to rest as part of his comeback from a ruptured Achilles tendon. He had 17 points and a season-high 11 assists Wednesday night in his ninth game since making his season debut last month.
Derrick Jones Jr. scored 22 points, John Collins had 18 and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 16 for the Clippers, who lost their fourth in a row.
Trevor Zegras and Matvei Michkov scored in a shootout to give the Philadelphia Flyers their fourth victory in five games, 4-3 over the Kings on Thursday night.
Noah Cates had a goal and an assist, Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim also scored, and Samuel Ersson made 22 saves. The Flyers remained six points behind Boston and Detroit for the two Eastern Conference wild-card spots.
On Wednesday night against the Ducks, Cates scored in overtime in the Flyers’ 3-2 victory.
Adrian Kempe and Artemi Panarin failed on their shootout attempts for Los Angeles, though the Kings still moved into the second wild-card in the Western Conference.
From Ryan Kartje: USC has settled a lawsuit with a former high-ranking athletic department official who alleged the university allowed former athletic director Mike Bohn to racially harass and discriminate against her, then fired her when she voiced concerns about Bohn’s behavior.
Joyce Bell Limbrick was the highest-ranking Black and female official in USC’s athletic department when she was fired by the university in September 2023, four months after Bohn resigned amid an internal investigation into his conduct and the culture of the department. Bell Limbrick filed suit early last year, accusing USC of wrongful termination.
That dispute was settled out of court this week. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
1897 — Yale beats Penn 32-10 in New Haven, Conn., in the first men’s intercollegiate basketball game.
1918 — The Toronto Arenas (who would become the Maple Leafs) are the first NHL team to play in the Stanley Cup Final. Toronto’s Reg Noble scores two goals with an assist in the first period of a 5-3 win over Vancouver of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association.
1939 — In a game of unbeaten teams, Long Island U. defeats Loyola of Chicago 44-32 to win the National Invitation Tournament title.
1954 — In the first televised NCAA championship game, La Salle defeats Bradley 92-76 and sets a record for most points in the title game.
1965 — Gail Goodrich’s 42 points lead UCLA to a 91-80 victory over Michigan in the NCAA basketball championship.
1965 — St. John’s sends Joe Lapchick out a winner, as the Redmen beat Villanova 55-51 to win their fifth National Invitation Tournament championship.
1965 — Bill Bradley scores 58 points to lead Princeton to a 118-82 rout of Wichita State in the NCAA third-place game. UCLA beats Michigan 91-80 to win its second National championship.
1968 — Dave Bing of the Detroit Pistons finishes the season with a league-leading 27.1 average, becoming the first guard in 20 years to lead the NBA in scoring.
1969 — Less than two months after she becomes the first woman to ride in a pari-mutuel race in America, Diane Crump rides her first winner at Gulfstream Park.
1976 — Boston’s John Havlicek becomes the first NBA player to score more than 1,000 points per season for 14 consecutive years.
1988 — Mike Tyson knocks out Tony Tubbs in the second round to retain his world heavyweight title in Tokyo.
2005 — Liz Johnson becomes the first woman to advance to the championship match of a Professional Bowlers Assn. tour event, but loses by 27 pins to Tommy Jones in the final of the PBA Banquet Open.
2005 — LeBron James, 20, becomes the youngest player to score 50 points in an NBA game, when he scores 56 in the Cavaliers’ 105-98 loss to the Raptors.
2006 — Japan beats Cuba 10-6 in the title game of the inaugural World Baseball Classic.
2010 — Northern Iowa pulls off one of the biggest NCAA upsets in years by knocking No. 1 overall seed Kansas with a 69-67 win. Ali Farokhmanesh buries an open three-pointer with the shot clock still in the 30s to give the Panthers a four-point lead with 35 seconds left.
2014 — Bernard Tomic loses the shortest completed ATP match on record, lasting only 28 minutes at the Sony Open in his first tournament since having surgery on both hips. Ending a two-month layoff, Tomic wins just 13 points and loses to Jarkko Nieminen 6-0, 6-1. It’s the quickest match since the ATP started keeping such records in 1991.
2020 — After 20 years with the New England Patriots, six-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Tom Brady officially agrees to move to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Luka Doncic became the first player since Kobe Bryant to score 60 points in a game for the LA Lakers as they overcame the Miami Heat 134-126.
Doncic – the NBA’s leading scorer this season – has reached 30 points in eight consecutive games and got to 50 twice in his last five appearances but in hitting 60 achieved a mark that no Lakers player had managed since Bryant in 2019.
And on a night of notable marks for the Lakers, LeBron James scored a triple double with 19 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists to move.
The game was his 1,611th regular-season outing, moving him level with Robert Parish for the most in NBA history. The all-time leading scorer in NBA history will set a new record if he features for the Lakers against the Orlando Magic on Saturday.
“He’s not only competing against the entire league but also Father Time. And he’s giving Father Time hell,” Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said of the 41-year-old.
The NBA’s leading scorer recorded the second 60-point game of his career as the Lakers take down the Heat in Miami.
Published On 20 Mar 202620 Mar 2026
Luka Doncic scored 60 points – the most ever recorded against the Heat – as the Los Angeles Lakers won their eighth straight game, defeating the Miami Heat 134-126 away on Thursday night.
James Harden had the previous record against Miami with 58 points. He reached that mark while a member of the Houston Rockets on February 28, 2019.
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The Lakers (45-25) also got a triple-double from LeBron James, who had 19 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists. It was just the second triple-double of the season for James, who no doubt has fond memories of his time in Miami, leading the Heat to four straight NBA Finals (2011-2014) and two NBA titles.
It is possible that this was the final game in Miami ever for James, 41, who has not yet announced his future playing plans.
Doncic, who entered the day leading the NBA with a 32.9 scoring average, made 18 of 30 shots from the floor, nine of 17 on three-pointers and 15 of 19 at the free throw line. He also had seven rebounds, five steals and three assists.
Over the past two nights, Doncic has scored 100 points.
Bam Adebayo led Miami (38-32) with 28 points and 10 rebounds. He appeared fully healthy after having missed Miami’s previous game due to tightness in his right calf.
However, the Heat are just 1-3 since Adebayo scored 83 points against Washington on March 10, the second-greatest scoring game in NBA history.
Tyler Herro added 21 points for Miami, and Norman Powell tallied 20.
The Heat were without two key injured players, Jaime Jaquez Jr (left-hip tightness) and Andrew Wiggins (left big toe). Those two players combine to average 30.9 points.
Doncic #77 connects on one of his nine three-pointers against the Miami Heat on March 19, 2026, at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, US [Issac Baldizon/Getty Images via AFP]
Miami led 42-29 at the end of the first quarter, during which the Heat shot 63.0 percent from the floor and had a 26-12 edge in paint points. Los Angeles, despite 12 points from Doncic, shot just 40.9 percent.
Los Angeles hit 12 of 20 shots from the floor in the second quarter and cut its deficit to 65-59 at halftime. Miami shot just 40.9 percent.
The Lakers took their first lead of the game at 72-71 with 9:05 left in the third as Doncic hit his third straight three-pointer. By the end of the period, the Lakers led, 97-88.
Doncic scored 19 points in the third. Miami misfired on 10 of 12 attempts from behind the arc in the quarter.
The Lakers closed out the game without much trouble in the fourth quarter, beating Miami for the third straight time.
