Luka

Luka, LeBron lead Lakers past Rockets

Luka (40 points), LeBron (30) lead Lakers

From Broderick Turner: The combination of Luka Doncic and LeBron James was overpowering and enthralling for all to see during the Lakers’ dynamic 124-116 win over the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on Wednesday.

Doncic was masterful with his near triple-double of 40 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.

“I thought he definitely put on a clinic down the stretch,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “Whether it was in isolation, versus fires in isolations, versus the shock with (Alperen) Segun, he just got us good offense whether for himself or for his teammates every single time down the floor….We moved the basketball, so that kind of got us going and then when Luka came back in he was just fantastic.”

James was a force with 30 points, five rebounds and two assists.

He was super efficient, missing just one of his 14 shots and making both of his three-pointers.

“Look, he was awesome tonight and I think two, part of the evolution of him on this team has been, particularly in this stretch, it’s just been his patience,” Redick said. “His patience, knowing he’s going to get the ball and he’s going to have transition opportunities and he’s going to have plays called for him and he’s going to play off-ball and get a corner three…He was great.”

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Plaschke: ‘Yeaaaaaah!’ A child’s cheer inspires surging Lakers

Lakers box score

NBA standings

Go beyond the scoreboard

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Clippers lose to Pelicans

Saddiq Bey scored 25 points, Trey Murphy added 23 and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame an early 18-point hole to beat the Clippers 124-109 on Wednesday night.

Dejounte Murray had 17 points and 11 assists, while Zion Williamson and rookie Derrick Queen each scored 14 for the Pelicans, who received a standing ovation as the final seconds wound down on their sixth straight victory at home and ninth win in their last 13 games overall

Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points and John Collins added 18 for the Clippers, who dropped a game below .500 (34-35), but maintained a tenuous hold on the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference standings, a half-game ahead of Portland.

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Clippers box score

NBA standings

Ohtani looks good in start

From Maddie Lee: A sparse crowd braved the heat, which was approaching 100 degrees when Dodgers right-hander Shohei Ohtani walked off the mound at Camelback Ranch. But those who did were treated to a dominant pitching performance from the four-time MVP in his first start of spring training.

They repaid the favor with a standing ovation.

“I’ve learned that you don’t ever underestimate or try to make predictions on what Shohei’s going to do,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s always going to deliver. Yeah, I thought he would be a little bit more rusty than he was today. The breaking ball was good, got some swing and miss. The fastball command, he was working ahead in the count today. So across the board, really good.”

Ohtani limited the San Francisco Giants to one hit and overshot the innings goal Roberts laid out Wednesday morning by pitching to one batter in the fifth inning. Ohtani didn’t give up a run in those 4 ⅓ innings, and the only other blemishes on the performance were a pair of walks and a hit batter.

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‘It wasn’t just my name.’ Why Miguel Rojas was bothered by erroneous suspension report

Shaikin: The big hit? The WBC. Still looking for that big hit? Team USA.

WNBA, union, reach accord

From Marisa Ingemi: There will be a 2026 WNBA season.

After over more than 100 hours of in-person negotiations since March 10 in New York, the WNBA and its players union came to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement early Wednesday morning.

The deal will allow the season to begin on time, commissioner Cathy Engelbert said, and training camp to kick off at the end of April.

Before that, though, there is a lot to get done.

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Ducks fall to Flyers

Noah Cates scored on a deflection off goalie Lukas Dostal’s skate at 2:17 of overtime and — after a review for offsides on the play — the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Ducks 3-2 on Wednesday night.

The Pacific Division-leading Ducks forced overtime on Leo Carlsson’s goal with 1:54 left in regulation.

Dan Vladar made 34 saves to help Philadelphia rebound from a 2-1 shootout loss to Columbus at home Saturday night. The Flyers are six points behind Boston and Detroit for the two Eastern Conference wild-card spots.

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Ducks summary

NHL standings

March Madness analysis

The NCAA men’s tournament bracket is set and the games are set to begin Tuesday with the First Four.

Here’s a rundown of the players to watch, potential underdog teams and what to know about the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

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The NCAA women’s basketball tournament bracket is set and the games will begin Wednesday with the start of the First Four.

Here’s a rundown of the players to watch, potential dark horse teams and game previews for every region in the 2026 NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

Click here to continue

This day in sports history

1942 — The Thoroughbred Racing Associations of the United States is formed, with John C. Clark president.

1950 — Babe Didrikson Zaharias shoots a record 298 and beats Clair Doran by eight strokes to capture the U.S. Women’s Open.

1950 — The Rochester Royals win their 15th consecutive game, 97-66 over the Baltimore Bullets to set an NBA record for consecutive victories to close a season.

1955 — San Francisco wins the NCAA basketball championship with a 77-63 victory over La Salle.

1955 — Dick Ricketts and Si Green combine for 56 points to lead Duquesne to a 70-58 triumph over Dayton in the NIT championship.

1956 — The Minneapolis Lakers defeat the St. Louis Hawks 133-75 for the biggest rout in NBA playoff history.

1960 — Ohio State wins the NCAA basketball title with a 75-55 victory against California.

1960 — Mach Herndon’s 26 points leads Bradley to a 88-72 triumph over Providence for the NIT title. Lenny Wilkens scores 25 points for the Friars.

1966 — Texas Western, starting five Black players, wins the NCAA basketball championship with a 72-65 upset of all-white Kentucky.

1966 — BYU beats New York University 97-84 for the NIT championship.

1972 — The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women holds its first basketball championship and Immaculata beats West Chester State 52-48.

1972 — The Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 162-99 for the most lopsided victory in NBA history.

1987 — Bonnie Blair skates ladies’ world record 500 m (39.43 sec)

1994 — Hartford’s Brian Propp reaches the 1,000-point mark with a goal in a 5-3 win over Philadelphia.

1995 — Chicago’s Michael Jordan returns from his 17-month retirement. Wearing No. 45, he shoots 7-of-28 from the field and scores 19 points in the Bulls’ 103-96 overtime loss at Indiana.

1998 — The U.S. women’s soccer team sustains the worst loss in its 13-year history, falling 4-1 to reigning World Cup champion Norway in the Algarve Cup.

2006 — Tennessee’s Candace Parker is the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game, jamming one-handed on a breakaway 6:12 into the second-seeded Lady Vols’ 102-54 victory against an Army team that was making its NCAA tournament debut.

2011 — Duke gives coach Mike Krzyzewski his 900th victory, a 73-71 win over Michigan, and the Blue Devils advance to the round of 16 for the 12th time in 14 years.

2014 — Chris Eversley scores 19 points to help Cal Poly become the first team in 59 years with 19 losses to win an NCAA tournament game, beating Texas Southern 81-69 in the First Four.

2015 — Lindsey Vonn wins the final super-G of the season and with it her 19th crystal globe trophy — equaling the record of Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark.

2015 — R.J. Hunter’s three-pointer with 2.7 seconds remaining caps a comeback from a 12-point deficit and lifts 14th-seeded Georgia State over third-seeded Baylor 57-56 in the NCAA Tournament.

2015 — William Lee scores the last four points for 14th-seeded UAB in its 60-59 upset of Iowa State.

2019 — Houston Rockets guard James Harden becomes first player in NBA history to score at least 30 points against all 29 opponents in a single season with 31 in a 121-105 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

2022 — LeBron James moves past Karl Malone (36,909) into second on NBA’s all-time scoring list with 38 points in Lakers’ 127-119 loss to Washington Wizards.

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.

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Luka Doncic (40 points) and LeBron James (30) lead Lakers to win over Rockets

The combination of Luka Doncic and LeBron James was overpowering and enthralling for all to see during the Lakers’ dynamic 124-116 win over the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on Wednesday.

Doncic was masterful with his near triple-double of 40 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.

“I thought he definitely put on a clinic down the stretch,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “Whether it was in isolation, versus fires in isolations, versus the shock with (Alperen) Segun, he just got us good offense whether for himself or for his teammates every single time down the floor….We moved the basketball, so that kind of got us going and then when Luka came back in he was just fantastic.”

James was a force with 30 points, five rebounds and two assists.

He was super efficient, missing just one of his 14 shots and making both of his three-pointers.

“Look, he was awesome tonight and I think two, part of the evolution of him on this team has been, particularly in this stretch, it’s just been his patience,” Redick said. “His patience, knowing he’s going to get the ball and he’s going to have transition opportunities and he’s going to have plays called for him and he’s going to play off-ball and get a corner three…He was great.”

The tremendous play of Doncic and James is why the Lakers extended their winning streak to seven straight games and helped them take the three-game series over the Rockets, 2-1, winning both games here, one on Monday night.

And because Doncic and James were clutch down the stretch when the Lakers leaned on them to be clutch, they are the third-place team in the rugged Western Conference, holding a 1-½ lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“You know, when you win, everything is easier,” Doncic said. “Winning is fun. So, just the way we play, I think it’s a lot of fun. And that’s what we just do, we win, have a good time.”

Doncic had 10 points and three assists in the fourth quarter.

But the beauty of the night was when Doncic threw a no-look lob pass to James for a dunk and then when Doncic drilled a three-pointer with 58.4 seconds left for a 120-111 Lakers lead.

Doncic yelled at the crowd and ran down court shaking his head. When the Rockets called a time out, the Lakers bench all ran over to Doncic, hugging him, slapping him and James nudging him for a job very well done.

Doncic was asked what the fan said to set him off.

“I don’t know, some guy. Some guy was talking crazy,” Doncic said. “Showed me his… I don’t know. Nevermind.”

Doncic speaks several languages, including English and his native Slovenian.

He was asked what language he spoke when talking to the fan.

“Off the camera, it was in English,” he said. “I made sure he understand.”

Luka Doncic celebrates after making a three-pointer against the Houston Rockets in the first half.

Luka Doncic celebrates after making a three-pointer against the Houston Rockets in the first half.

(David J. Phillip / Associated Press)

James had a steal in the first quarter and then threw down a dunk with Alperen Segen chasing him, leading to James to stare at Segun as he ran back down court, drawing cheers from the fans in awe at witnessing the 23-year veteran still making highlight plays at 41.

Early in the second quarter, James gave the fans even more to cheer about, catching a high lob pass from Marcus Smart and throwing down a one-handed dunk to oohs and aahs.

James wasn’t done, taking a pass from Jake LaRavia and throwing down another dunk later in the second quarter that brought the crowd out of its seats. That play gave the Lakers a 13-point lead.

James was at it again with a tip dunk off a Deandre Ayton missed shot late in the second quarter.

By the end of the first half, James had made all eight of his shots and scored 18 points in carrying the Lakers to a 12-point lead after the first 24 minutes of the game.

“Right now, I feel like….” James said after the game. ‘’Right now. But in the game I felt pretty good. Before the game I didn’t feel that great. I mean, I was yawning and tired and telling myself I was literally, just like talking to myself like, ‘Come on, here we go. Let’s figure it out. Let’s get through it.’ But I felt pretty good in the game and like I said I’m happy to make a few plays to help our team win.”

In many ways, it was easy to understand why he felt that way. He had just played in his 1,610th career NBA game, leaving him one shy of the all-time record held by Robert Parish (1,611).

So, James was asked, where did he find the energy to play 34 minutes and six seconds in such a high-level and intense game.

“I mean, if I’m in uniform I got to try to see what I can give,” James said. “And that’s where it stems from.”

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Luka Doncic scores 51 points in Lakers victory

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: In this game of “he said, he said,” Luka Doncic got the last laugh.

Doncic, fueled by trash talk from his opponents Thursday, recorded his first 50-point game with the Lakers, checking out with 1:41 remaining to a standing ovation with 51 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Lakers to a 142-130 win over the Chicago Bulls.

The Lakers (41-25) jumped into third place in the Western Conference with their seventh win in their last eight games, climbing from sixth in just one week despite not having LeBron James for the last three games.

James, returning from elbow and hip contusions sustained in a fall against the Denver Nuggets on March 5, had 18 points with seven rebounds and seven assists. Austin Reaves scored 30 points with seven assists to reach 5,000 career points, and Deandre Ayton had his second consecutive double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

The Lakers let the struggling Bulls (27-39) go on a 12-3 run to tie the score at the end of the first quarter but started to heat up when Doncic scored 10 consecutive points in the second quarter. The streak signaled to the six-time All-Star he was going to have one those nights.

“Somebody started talking to me,” Doncic said, “so I woke up.”

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Lakers box score

NBA standings

Donovan Dent leads UCLA men past Rutgers

From Ryan Kartje: This was hardly a masterpiece of Big Ten basketball, what with the barrage of bricks and busted possessions. Nor was it the sort of night to convince you of UCLA’s chances as a surefire conference contender.

But amid the mess of its 72-59 win over 14th-seeded Rutgers on Thursday night, UCLA showed the sort of mettle it may need to keep its season kicking this March.

It started with Donovan Dent, whose masterful month continued with his first career triple-double — and the first triple-double in Big Ten tournament history. The senior tallied 12 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. He and Tyler Bilodeau, who added a game-high 21 points, were the rare bright spots on offense for the Bruins.

Otherwise, UCLA struggled to find any sort of rhythm. It shot just 38% from the field, worse than it had in any win this season. And still, the Bruins were in control for most of the game after pulling away early in the second half.

None of that will fly against No. 3 seed Michigan State on Friday at 6 p.m. PDT, which beat UCLA by 23 points the last time they met.

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UCLA box score

Controversy about L.A. Marathon finish

From Anthony Solorzano: Just 0.18 seconds separated Michael Kimani Kamau from $15,000. Sunday’s 41st L.A. Marathon was decided by a late-charging sprint from Nathan Martin, the winner who received $25,000 for first place. The runner-up earned $10,000.

With five miles to the finish line and no one else picking up pace, Martin decided to push himself to the end. Kamau’s experience down the stretch was different. Less than a quarter mile from the finish, his race took an unexpected turn because of a fan.

With many fans cheering him on, one interfered and led him off course. A video posted on Reddit shows Kamau following a fan off course for roughly 10 seconds.

He briefly followed the lead vehicles off the designated course while trying to avoid a spectator who ran into his path. Fans immediately stopped him and pointed him in the right direction.

“I actually thought he won until I got home later that day and saw the news channels reporting that Nathan had an amazing kick at the end,” said Ivan Torres, who filmed the scene.

Organizers are aware of the video but no protests were filed and the results are unchanged.

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Trent McDuffie’s wish comes true

From Gary Klein: Trent McDuffie was a young high school player in Southern California when the Rams returned from St. Louis to Los Angeles in 2016.

In 2020, McDuffie watched HBO’s “Hard Knocks” episodes about the team, and he was enamored by coach Sean McVay.

“I remember just being like, ‘Dang, I would like to play for that guy,’” McDuffie said Thursday.

McDuffie, an All-Pro cornerback acquired by the Rams in a blockbuster trade, recalled those thoughts during an introductory news conference at the team’s facility in Woodland Hills after he signed a record-breaking four-year extension that reportedly includes $100 million in guarantees.

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Concerns about L.A. Olympics

From Kevin Baxter: A report on how Olympic organizers will tackle civil rights, homelessness and human trafficking ahead and during the 2028 Games has not been made public by the city more than two months after it was filed and no date for its release has been set, leaving human rights advocates fearing the issues will not get the attention and funding they deserve.

Council president Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who chairs the ad-hoc committee on the LA28 Games, has not included the human rights report on the committee’s agenda. His office did not respond to requests for comment and Sharon Tso, the city’s chief legislative analyst, and Matthew Szabo, the city’s administrative officer, both said they have not seen the report and “nothing appears on the council file,” according to Tso.

The delay is limiting discussion on an important topic, said Stephanie Richard, a clinical professor who leads the Sunita Jain Anti-Trafficking Initiative at Loyola Law School, which released its own comprehensive report on human trafficking and the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics in December.

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Ducks lose to Toronto

William Nylander broke a tie on a power play 36 seconds into the third period and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Ducks 6-4 on Thursday night to end an eight-game losing streak.

The victory was tempered by the loss of captain Auston Matthews on a knee-on-knee hit from Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas with four minutes left in the second period. Matthews stayed down favoring his left leg before being helped to the locker room. Gudas was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct.

Matthews scored earlier to end a 12-game goal drought.

Cutter Gauthier, Ian Moore, Pavel Mintyukov and Alex Killorn scored for the Pacific Division-leading Ducks. Lukas Dostal stopped 23 shots.

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Ducks summary

NHL standings

This day in sports history

1894 — J.L. Johnstone of England invents the starting gate for horse racing.

1920 — NYU wins the national amateur basketball championship in Atlanta. The Violets beat Rutgers 49-24 in the final of the AAU tournament.

1961 — Floyd Patterson knocks out Ingemar Johansson in the sixth round to retain the world heavyweight title in Miami Beach.

1982 — Elaine Zayak of the United States wins the world figure skating championship.

1983 — Randy Smith’s consecutive game streak ends at 906 games, the longest in NBA history. Smith played for Buffalo, San Diego (twice), Cleveland and New York during the streak.

1997 — The America’s Cup, the oldest trophy in international sports and yachting’s most coveted prize, is all but destroyed by a Maori protester who struck it repeatedly with a sledgehammer in Auckland, New Zealand.

1998 — Bryce Drew hits a leaning three-pointer as time expires to give Valparaiso a shocking 70-69 upset of Mississippi in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional.

2001 — Philadelphia’s Mark Recchi picks up his 1,000th point during a 5-2 win over St. Louis. He’s the 60th player in NHL history to reach the mark.

2007 — Lance Mackey wins the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, becoming the first musher to win major long-distance North American sled dog races back-to-back. On Feb. 20, Mackey won his third consecutive Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, a 1,000-mile race between Fairbanks and Whitehorse, Yukon.

2007 — Dallas’ Mike Modano becomes the 39th player in NHL history and second born in the United States to reach 500 goals, scoring with 10:24 left in the third period of a 3-2 victory over Philadelphia.

2008 — Bode Miller clinches the men’s overall World Cup ski title. Miller earns his second title in four years with a 12th-place finish in the super-G combined, along with Didier Cuche’s announcement that he would not enter the season-ending slalom in Bormio, Italy.

2011 — The NCAA men’s basketball selection committee releases its 68-team draw, which included a record 11 teams from the Big East, the deepest conference in the nation. The tournament adds three more at-large teams that will open the tournament in what the NCAA is calling the “First Four.”

2012 — BYU pulls off the biggest comeback in NCAA tournament history on a wild opening night. Noah Hartsock scores 16 of his 23 points in the second half and the Cougars rally from 25 points down to beat Iona 78-72 in the first round. It marks the biggest comeback in an NCAA tournament game. Previously, the largest deficit overcome was 22 points in 2001 when Duke fought back to beat Maryland 95-84 in the national semifinals. It’s the second incredible turnaround of the night in Dayton. With President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron watching, Western Kentucky comes back from a 16-point deficit in the final 5 minutes to beat Mississippi Valley State 59-58.

2018 — Russell Westbrook picks up the 100th triple-double of his career and the Oklahoma City Thunder uses a 16-0 run late in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Atlanta Hawks for a 119-107 victory. Westbrook scores 32 points, dishes out 12 assists and grabs 12 rebounds to become the third-fastest player to reach the milestone.

2020 — Elite football in Britain, including England’s Premier League, EFL, Women’s Super League plus in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, is suspended until at least April 3 because of COVID-19 pandemic.

2022 — After a 40-day retirement, record breaking quarterback Tom Brady announces he will play at least one more season in the NFL with 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.

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Luka Doncic scores 51 points as surging Lakers rout Bulls

He didn’t miss it this time.

Luka Doncic recorded his first 50-point game of the season Thursday, hitting two late free throws as the crowd at Crypto.com Arena showered him with “MVP” chants in the fourth quarter. Doncic checked out with 1:41 remaining to a standing ovation with 51 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Lakers to a 142-130 win over the Chicago Bulls.

The Lakers (41-25) jumped into third place in the Western Conference with their seventh win in their last eight games, climbing from sixth in just one week behind Doncic’s brilliance. The NBA’s leading scorer has averaged 40.2 points in the last four games, all wins. Doncic had a chance at 50 points in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in October, but missed a late free throw that forced him to settle for 49 points.

LeBron James returned after missing three games because of elbow and hip contusions he sustained against the Denver Nuggets on March 5. He finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Austin Reaves had 30 points and seven assists, surpassing 5,000 points for his career. Center Deandre Ayton held down a short-handed big man rotation with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

The Lakers were without starting guard Marcus Smart (right hip contusion) and backup centers Jaxson Hayes (back soreness) and Maxi Kleber (lumbar back strain). Smart has been playing through the injury for several games, but with a six-game road trip starting next week, “we need it to calm down,” coach JJ Redick said. The coach expected Smart to be available Saturday when the Lakers play the Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena.

The Lakers gave up a 12-3 run to end the first quarter and led the struggling Bulls (27-39) by only five at halftime. James helped give them the breathing room going into the locker room as he scored his first points of the game with 54 seconds left in the first half. His three-point play sparked a quick five-point run to end the half, which ended with a dunk from Rui Hachimura.

Lakers star LeBron James, center, drives between Chicago's Rob Dillingham, left, and Matas Buzelis.

Lakers star LeBron James, center, drives between Chicago’s Rob Dillingham, left, and Matas Buzelis during the second half Thursday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

James came alive in the third quarter, beginning with his dunk off a hit-ahead pass from Doncic. He returned the favor by diving out of bounds for a steal on the next possession and the save led to a three-pointer from Doncic.

Doncic made nine of 14 three-point attempts as the Lakers made 17 of 36 shots from beyond the arc, their best three-point percentage in a game since Feb. 20.

After not taking a single shot in the first quarter, James had 11 points, three rebounds and two assists in the third quarter as the Lakers’ lead grew to 22 points.

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Lakers’ Luka Doncic in a custody battle for his two daughters

Luka Doncic is attempting to bring his daughters to the United States from his native Slovenia after separating from his fiancée, according to reports.

His former fiancée, Anamaria Goltes, 28, has filed a petition in California seeking child support and attorney fees from Doncic. One of Doncic’s daughters was with him for three months in 2025, and his other daughter has never been to California. Doncic, 27, told ESPN that he had “no idea” Goltes filed the petition.

“I love my daughters more than anything, and I’ve been doing everything I can for them to be with me in the U.S. during the season, but that hasn’t been possible, so I recently made the tough decision to end my engagement,” Doncic said in a statement. “Everything I do is for my daughters’ happiness, and I will always fight to be with them and give them the best life I can.”

Doncic and Goltes were engaged for nearly three years. Their oldest daughter, Gabriela, was born in November 2023, and Olivia was born in December. Doncic traveled to Slovenia for Olivia’s birth, missing games against the Toronto Raptors on Dec. 4 and Boston Celtics on Dec. 5.

During his visit, Doncic told Goltes he wanted to bring Gabriela to the United States when he returned to rejoin the Lakers, according to reports. Goltes objected, and Doncic departed without his daughter.

“I don’t even know how to describe it,” he told reporters of being present for Olivia’s birth. “It was a lot. I was there for the birth of my daughter, so that means everything to me. But it was definitely a roller coaster.

“I got to see my daughter again, my newborn. Coming back, it was kind of hard to leave them behind. But it’s a job, so I got to do it. So hopefully I’ll see them soon.”

Doncic posted a photo on social media of Olivia wearing a pink sweater with a heart emoji covering her face. In his first game back, he inscribed a G and O with a heart on his shoes.

“Two girls, they’re going to make my life hell for sure, I know that,” Doncic said, half-joking. “I’m going to be their security after I retire. All jokes aside, it’s the best thing in the world. I’m just blessed.”

Goltes deleted photos of her and Doncic from her Instagram account last week, and Doncic acknowledged that they had separated. Two weeks ago, he filed an injunction with a Slovenian court seeking immediate contact with his daughters, ESPN reported.

Doncic, who was traded to the Lakers from the Dallas Mavericks for Anthony Davis in February 2025, leads the NBA with a 32.5 points-per-game average. The guard also averages 8.4 assists and 7.8 rebounds.



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