Desmond Bane scored 36 points and Paolo Banchero added 16 points and eight assists as the Orlando Magic held on for a 111-109 victory over the Clippers on Sunday night at Intuit Dome.
Wendell Carter Jr. had 15 points and 14 rebounds and Tristan da Silva scored 13 for the Magic, who improved to 5-2 since Feb. 5.
Kawhi Leonard shrugged off an ankle injury to score 37 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 21 points and nine rebounds off the bench for the Clippers, who are 4-5 since Feb. 2. Mathurin missed a three-point attempt to win the game at the buzzer.
Jordan Miller had 14 points for the Clippers (27-30).
Leonard exited Friday’s loss against the Lakers with an ankle sprain. Mathurin was playing in his fifth game for the Clippers after he was acquired at the trade deadline from the Indiana Pacers.
Orlando won despite going eight of 23 from three-point range, two games after setting a franchise record with 27 three-pointers in a victory at Sacramento. Jalen Suggs missed his second consecutive game for the Magic with back spasms.
In a tight game throughout, Leonard gave the Clippers a 107-105 lead with 3:03 remaining on a jumper from the top of the key. The Magic took charge from there as Bane hit a jumper to tie the score and then made a layup with 1:28 left for a 109-107 advantage.
As the Clippers missed four consecutive shots, Orlando went up 111-107 on a fast-break dunk from Banchero with 40 seconds left.
Bane tried to pad the Magic’s lead with eight seconds remaining but had his shot blocked inside by rookie Yanic Konan Niederhauser. Mathurin then raced down the floor only to miss a 25-footer as time expired.
Watch the best goals from across the FA Cup fourth-round weekend, including a stunning free kick from Mansfield’s Louis Reed and a strike from outside the box by Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali.
Derrick Taylor won four City Section titles coaching basketball at Taft High. He won a Southern Section 3A title coaching at St. John Bosco and a Division II state championship with the Braves. So when he decided to come out of retirement and coach at Blair this season, you knew something good might happen.
On Friday night, Blair continued its run in the Southern Section Division 4 playoffs by upsetting No. 1-seeded Bonita 79-71. Jaleel Hunter had 14 points and 20 rebounds.
Blair lost its top player, Tim Anderson, who transferred to Pasadena. The team started 0-4. Now the Vikings are 21-9 and playing in the Division 4 quarterfinals on the road against Trabuco Hills on Tuesday.
Taylor lost his job at Taft in 2023 after guiding the Toreadors to an Open Division title. He briefly was going to coach at Gardena Serra, then stepped down for health reasons.
Things quickly have turned around for Blair, but it comes as no surprise to those who’ve seen what Taylor can do.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Megan Grant laughs after hearing that at one point during her basketball career, she was shooting .500 from field-goal range, better than her career .348 batting average.
The two-time NFCA All-American utility player has made softball look easy during her time with UCLA. She holds a career .727 slugging percentage, .978 fielding percentage and hit 26 home runs during the 2025 season, a Big Ten single-season record.
Is basketball just that much easier for her?
“I wouldn’t say easy but I would always say fun,” Grant said. “It’s something where I can just easily lose myself in the competitive nature and just the process of things.”
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Grant has been a member of the Bruins’ women’s basketball team this season, an opportunity brought to her by her softball coach. When coach Kelly Inouye-Perez asked her if she would be interested in joining the team for the Bruins’ current season, she felt like she couldn’t turn down the opportunity.
Training with the basketball team would allow her to add new skills to her game. While developing, she would be doing it at a high level of college basketball competitiveness — it was a win-win situation.
“Just being able to say I played basketball at such a high level collegiately, it’s always an honor to say,” Grant said.
UCLA forward Megan Grant (43) is surrounded by teammates while celebrating after a win over North Carolina on Nov. 13 in Las Vegas.
(Steve Marcus / Associated Press)
Throughout the season, Grant has played 33 minutes off the bench and made three of nine field goal attempts. The No. 2 UCLA women’s basketball team is 22-1 and undefeated in Big Ten play.
Softball season began Friday, so her time on the court has come to an end. As she transitions to the diamond, Grant is entering her senior season with ambition, gratitude and a new sense of leadership.
“I feel like all programs all throughout our campus, we just have this competitive greatness about all of us that we know we will do whatever it takes to win,” she said. “It’s really refreshing to even see that from [women’s basketball] coach Cori [Close’s] side and just to get to learn her little nuggets.”
No. 7 UCLA softball is 5-0 after the opening weekend, including a record-setting 17-0 rout of UC Riverside.
The Bruins were the runner up in last year’s Big Ten tournament after falling 2-0 to Michigan in the championship game. In the Women’s College World Series, after Grant hit a two-run home run to tie a game against Tennessee, UCLA lost in extra innings.
The Bruins begin the season with a versatile and close-knit roster, Grant said. The team spent the fall getting to know each other, on and off the field.
“I feel like almost every single player is playing both infield and outfield and that kind of depth that we have is something that we haven’t had in a while,” she said.
Grant says even during her stint with the women’s basketball, her goal remained the same — winning softball Big Ten and national championships. Ultimately, she just wants to have the best time with her teammates along the way.
“If that moment were to come, I know in my heart, I have the confidence to just be able to say, ‘Yup, I worked on this and I’m ready,’” Grant said.
Rose Bowl scores a court win
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge denied a request from UCLA last week seeking to move its dispute with the Rose Bowl Operating Co. and the city of Pasadena to arbitration as it stated was required by their lease contract.
Officials who operate the Rose Bowl filed a lawsuit against UCLA after it learned the Bruins were heavily considering ending their lease early and instead playing home football games at SoFi Stadium. The Rose Bowl is seeking to enforce terms of a lease that runs through 2044, arguing taxpayers are backing costly renovations at UCLA’s request and the Bruins’ departure would cause irreparable harm.
Arbitration proceedings would limit the Rose Bowl’s right to obtain records related to the stadium lease and would be closed to the public. City of Pasadena and Rose Bowl attorneys argued public funds were at stake and the dispute should play out in court proceedings open to the public.
Judge Joseph Lipner ruled the contract’s arbitration clause contains “unusual and exceeding narrow language,” with evidence to suggest both sides did not want to use arbitration to settle disputes over termination of the agreement.
The next case hearing is scheduled for Feb. 27.
The streak continues
Lauren Betts pulls a rebound away from two Michigan players Sunday.
(Lon Horwedel / Associated Press)
No. 2 UCLA faced its toughest test of Big Ten play so far this season, earning a 69-66 win at No. 8 Michigan and extending its win streak to 17 games.
“What I’m proud of is, … our team in the midst of situations we haven’t been in very much this season, we found ways to win,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “To go into a hostile environment, and really in the second half, do it with our defense.”
The Bruins close out a tough trip at No. 12 Michigan State on Wednesday at 5 p.m. PST. The game will be streamed on Peacock.
A Prince tribute
Jordan Chiles earlier this season.
(Jesus Ramirez / UCLA Athletics)
UCLA gymnast Jordan Chiles dusted off last season’s floor routine set to Prince’s music in honor of the team’s meet at Minnesota on Saturday. Chiles nailed the routine, scoring a perfect 10 for the fourth consecutive week. After the meet, Chiles addressed the crowd, saying that the Prince routine was a tribute to the Minnesota fans who have endured immigration raids.
“I know it has been a lot of tough weeks going on here and I just want to say we stand with you,” Chiles told the crowd. “The Prince routine was meant for you guys and I wanted to bring that energy here and so I hope it uplifted you guys in this very dark time and that the Bruins will always be by your side.”
UCLA won the meet 197.550-197.275, with Chiles winning her fourth consecutive individual all-around title.
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