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Tariff turmoil. Threats against Iran. An anti-immigration surge that has taken two innocent lives.

And there’s a sizable slump hitting the stock, bond, precious metals and cryptocurrency markets.

What’s the connection?

The answer is: Not much.

When it comes to Trump policies, investors have come to realize that Trump is often all talk, little action—that’s the underpinning of the “TACO” trade, for “Trump Always Chickens Out,” which I described in May.

As recently as Jan. 20, for example, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell by more than 2% in a possible reaction to Trump’s saber-rattling over Greenland and threat to hike tariffs on European countries he felt were thwarting his imperial ambitions.

The next day, the index began a comeback, rising nearly 1.2%. By three sessions later, it had recovered all that first day’s loss. The index went on to set an all-time record on Jan. 27, one week after the Greenland sell-off.

The latest sell-off in the investment markets doesn’t appear to be connected to Trump’s policymaking. The current narrative blames artificial intelligence. There’s an inchoate expectation that AI will have a great economic impact, though little of that has emerged thus far, and no one is very clear on what form it will take or even whether it will happen at all.

Investors and investment analysts don’t really know what to make of AI. From reading the most recent market commentaries, one might conclude that investors are unnerved by the potential of AI to upend industries across the spectrum.

“For two years, we have been talking about how AI is going to change the world,” Michael O’Rourke, chief investment strategist at Jonestrading, told Bloomberg. “In the past two weeks, we have seen signs of it in practice.”

The evidence that most Wall Street pundits cite is the downdraft in technology stocks, including software companies that (according to the narrative) may lose their franchise to AI bots. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index has lost a cumulative 5.6% since notching a high on Jan. 28 and has lost 6.2% since its all-time intraday high, reached on Oct. 29.

Yet companies that are seen as winners in the AI derby, such as Google parent Alphabet (down 5.4% this week) and chipmakers AMD (down about 26% since its recent peak in late January) and Nvidia (down 7.5% in the last week), also have been caught in the downdraft.

Leaving the hard numbers aside, conjectures about the effects of AI on individual companies are exactly that — conjectures. The specific trigger of the current downdraft, it’s said, was the release by AI company Anthropic of a tool with which law firms can use the company’s Claude AI bot for tasks including document reviews and research.

Anthropic’s announcement this week sent shares of legal publishing and legal technology companies plummeting. Thomson Reuters, the publisher of Westlaw, was among those most severely hit — down nearly 20% since the announcement.

Yet Anthropic’s real impact on the legal publishing and tech businesses is, at this moment, the subject of sheer speculation. No one can say whether the AI firm will actually dislodge the incumbent providers, several of which already claim to be powering their services with AI.

The sell-off was driven by “a lot of unsophisticated investors just really thinking that AI is going to immediately overnight take away the business of these legacy players,” Ryan O’Leary, a research director at International Data Corp., told Law.com. “A lot of this stuff has been offered for years from the legacy legal technology providers.”

Much of the recent commentary is produced by investment mavens searching for explanations for market moves in recent news nuggets. That’s always a mug’s game. Investors are looking in the wrong place when they try to tie market swings to current events.

(I know whereof I speak, for I used to have the job of conjuring up just such explanations for a market story on a daily basis.)

My favorite investment guru, Barry Ritholtz, author of the 2025 primer “How Not to Invest,” points out that the markets typically give back some portion of their gains after steep run-ups.

“Markets,” Ritholtz wrote, “go up and down; it is easier to ride out a downturn when you realize the giveback is but a small percentage of the recent gains.”

That may be what’s happening now. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index has lost about 43 points this year. But that’s less than two-thirds of a percentage point, and it comes after the index turned in average annual gains of more than 23% from the start of 2023 through the end of last year. The Nasdaq composite has lost about 700 points this year, but that’s about 3% of its value, and it comes after gaining 43.4% in 2023, 28.6% in 2024 and 20.4% in 2025.

This record evokes the classic remark of physicist I.I. Rabi at the 1954 hearing convened to consider stripping J. Robert Oppenheimer of his security clearance because of his opposition to developing the hydrogen bomb. After listing Oppenheimer’s wartime accomplishments, including overseeing the invention of the plutonium bomb, Rabi asked the inquisitors, “What more do you want, mermaids?”

Stocks and bonds aren’t the only investment showing signs of exhaustion after a period of sizable gains. Bitcoin traded as high as $97,916 on Jan. 13; on Thursday it traded at about $63,426. That’s a loss of more than 35% — but then, bitcoin is notoriously volatile.

None of this means that the investment markets’ performance is always driven by animal spirits. Real-world events can have significant and sometimes lasting effects. But those events tend to be intrinsic to business rather than externalities such as White House maneuvers or geopolitics.

Consider what happened to the Dow Jones industrial average on Jan. 27. That day, shares of the giant healthcare company UnitedHealth lost nearly 20% of their value due to as a weak earnings report, along with the Trump administration’s plan to limit rate increases for Medicare Advantage plans, an important component of UnitedHealth’s business, next year. The company’s plunge brought down the Dow by more than 400 points, or 0.8%.

But the Dow comprises only 30 companies, weighted by share prices, so a sharp change in an expensive stock can exert strong pressure on the average. But the rest of the market took the news in stride, with the S&P 500 riding a gain of about 0.4% to an all-time high.

It’s also true that the markets aren’t entirely immune to Trump’s policies. The problem is that investors and market outsiders often take him at his word, when he’s merely throwing out options, and thus overreact. Investors tend to take Trump’s tariff threats as done deals, when in the final analysis he has chickened out.

Expectations that the tariffs would drive inflation much higher, for instance — an eventuality that might actually have a genuine effect on the economy and therefore on market values — haven’t been borne out. But the reason, notes Paul Krugman, is that “effective tariff rates have risen much less than headline rates.”

That’s because some countries and some businesses have negotiated carve-outs from the official rates. Despite Trump’s blustering, more than 87% of the value of exports from Canada and Mexico still enjoy tariff exemptions under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement of 2018, which Trump, after all, negotiated and signed.

And Trump does have the power to turn his whims into reality, in ways that could have real-world effects on society and the economy.

All that can be said right now is that hasn’t happened yet. But many of his policy pronouncements remain so nebulous and unrealized that if you’re looking for why the stock market has been in a slump, you would be well advised to look elsewhere.

The Arsenal triple up feels obvious and owning at least two of their defensive assets is essential right now.

The Gunners host Sunderland and then have a double gameweek of Brentford and Wolves next week.

Very few, if any, of their attackers will get 270 minutes over the three games and those that own the injured Bukayo Saka should make the switch to 90-minute man Declan Rice without hesitation.

Triple Arsenal defence is also an option with Gabriel, Jurrien Timber and goalkeeper David Raya a high risk, high reward play.

Elsewhere, midfielder Enzo Fernandez has four goals, one assist in his past six league games and has become Chelsea‘s most reliable asset.

His busy schedule shouldn’t put you off buying him in a week when boss Liam Rosenior has praised his athleticism, leadership and recovery time. A visit to Wolves followed by home games against Leeds and Burnley puts Chelsea top of the fixture ticker over the next three.

The Clippers have acquired high-scoring wing Bennedict Mathurin, center Isaiah Jackson and two draft picks from the Indiana Pacers for center Ivica Zubac, a person with knowledge of the deal not authorized to speak publicly on the matter said Thursday.

Los Angeles will receive Indiana’s protected 2026 first-round draft pick and a 2029 first-round pick. This year’s selection is protected if the Pacers have a top four selection or if it falls between selections 10 and 30.

The Pacers get the center they’ve needed since losing Myles Turner in free agency last summer. Zubac, who will turn 29 next month, is signed through the 2027-28 season and was a second team Allll-Defensive team selection last year. He’s averaging 14.4 points and 11.0 rebounds while shooting 61.3% from the field.

Mathurin, 23, was set to become a restricted free agent next summer, and it wasn’t clear if the Pacers could afford to keep him. He recently returned from toe and thumb injuries that kept him out for most of January. He’s averaging 17.8 points and 5.4 rebounds this season and has improved significantly as a defender during his fourth season.

Jackson has started 14 times in 38 games this season and is averaging 6.4 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 58.2% from the field.

The move comes just days after the Clippers also traded James Harden to Cleveland for Darius Garland in a swap of point guard and adds more draft picks to Los Angeles’ growing stockpile of selections.

Brandon Granger, a 5-foot-10 junior guard at St. Bernard, has burst onto the scene with much to celebrate.

He’s averaging 25 points a game and led St. Bernard (17-11) to the Del Rey League championship earlier this week with an 80-65 win over St. Paul in which he scored 28 points.

Jordan Ballard, a transfer from Westchester, has also played a big role for the Vikings, who won the league title in the second year as head coach of alumnus Bernard McCrumby, who came from Gardena Serra.

The league is always competitive. St. Monica finished second, St. Anthony third, St. Pius X-St. Matthias fourth and St. Paul fifth.

McCrumby took over the program with the promise to renew the Vikings’ success. St. Bernard will find out its spot in the Southern Section playoffs when pairings are released on Saturday at noon.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

Darius Garland could not have been more in transition than he was Wednesday night on his first day with his new team.

Officially traded earlier in the day from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Clippers for 11-time All-Star James Harden, Garland talked about his upheaval during halftime of Wednesday’s game between his current and former teams, a game the Cavaliers won, 124-91.

“I knew about it. It wasn’t a shock, though,” the two-time All-Star said. “It’s the business of basketball. Cleveland was great to me and my family, and I have respect for all of those guys over there. … Seven years was a really long time, and it was great. I’m glad I’m here now. The next chapter in my book.”

Garland has been out since Jan. 16 with a big toe sprain on his right foot, and the Clippers have no timetable for his debut. But coach Tyronn Lue expects to implement a new game plan once the 26-year-old point guard is on the floor. Garland said he’s ready to go and waiting for the OK to play.

“He’s different from James and we can play different with a faster pace,” Lue said. “We can play him off the ball more. It’s going to be exciting. I’ve known DG for a while and having a young point guard under my tutelage, I think it’s the first time I have had one since Kyrie (Irving).”

Garland played more than 70 games just once in his seven seasons because of injuries. He’s on pace to play 42 games this season.

Garland’s uncertain availability, and the Cavaliers’ need to get star Donovan Mitchell more scoring help, motivated Cleveland to swap their young floor leader for Harden, who is 10 years older.

Cleveland got the scorer it needed, and one who can also run the point, while the Clippers managed to get younger as they head toward an offseason without a first-round draft pick.

Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson called Garland one of his favorite players. Yet that bond was not tight enough to prevent the deal for Harden, an 11-time All-Star and the player with the second-most three-pointers in NBA history.

“Those are the toughest calls you have to make, but he goes up on my favorites list,” Atkinson said. “I’m going to miss him. We had a great relationship.”

Atkinson seemed to take comfort in handing Garland off to Lue, who is known for getting the most out of his players.

“Ty is going to be great for Darius,” Atkinson said. “Ty was a point guard himself and understands the position. You know, my relationship with Darius, and to lose it, is kind of a tough day. But the positive is that he is coming to the Clippers and he will be with Ty. I expect him to be great here and I’m rooting for him.”

It might not have been the change Garland was looking, for but he was starting to embrace the possibilities of teaming with Kawhi Leonard.

“I hope T-Lue uses me like he did Kyrie in that championship run they had (in Cleveland),” said Garland, whose father Winston Garland played 1 1/2 seasons with the Clippers in the early 1990s. “But whatever T-Lue wants me to be, whatever position he wants me to be in, I’m going to do that. I’m here to win games.”

During Wednesday’s loss, Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points and John Collins had 19 points for the Clippers, who lost consecutive games for the first time since a five-game losing streak in December.

Rookie Yanic Konan Niederhauser scored 10 points and had eight rebounds for the Clippers, who are 17-5 since Dec. 20, although most of that success was with Harden. The Clippers were also without starting center Ivica Zubac, who was out for the birth of his child.

Headlined by first and third quarter dominance, No. 2 UCLA women’s basketball picked up a 86-46 win over Rutgers (9-14, 1-11) at Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday night.

Kiki Rice led the Bruins (22-1, 12-0 Big Ten) with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Gabriela Jaquez got things started, scoring 10 of her 14 points in the first quarter.

Rutgers, playing without its two leading scorers in Nene Ndiaye and Imani Lester, committed 18 turnovers that the Bruins converted into 25 points.

During the Bruins’ first possession of the game, Rice stepped back from the three-point line, shooting an air ball. But she followed that miss with the Bruins’ next three scores from the field, all three coming off the break.

UCLA center Lauren Betts shoots while being guarded by Rutgers’ Kaylah Ivey Wednesday at Pauley Pavilion.

(Caroline Brehman / Associated Press)

And while the Scarlet Knights got on the scoreboard first with a three-pointer, they missed five layups and committed five turnovers, with the Bruins taking advantage for 11 points in the quarter. The Scarlet Knights’ six first-quarter points were the fewest scored by a Bruin opponent in the first period this season.

UCLA jumped to a 26-6 lead over the Scarlet Knights by the end of the first quarter, but it couldn’t extend that lead in the second, scoring just 14 points to Rutgers’ 13.

The Bruins also struggled to hold onto the ball in the second quarter, committing seven turnovers — although the Scarlet Knights scored just three points off the miscues. And while UCLA went three for eight on three pointers in the first period, it couldn’t bury one in the second off five attempts.

UCLA struggled to separate itself from Rutgers during the fourth quarter when the Bruins substituted in their bench players. UCLA was outscored 19-18 in the final period.

Two-thirds of the way through conference play, UCLA has six games remaining before the Big Ten tournament, with a game at No. 8 Michigan at noon PST Sunday.

James Harden is headed to the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the Clippers agreeing to send the 11-time All-Star back to the Eastern Conference during his highest-scoring season in six years, a person with knowledge of the agreement said Tuesday night.

The Cavaliers are giving up point guard Darius Garland and a second-round pick, said the person, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade has not yet been approved by the NBA.

That approval could come by Wednesday, when the Cavaliers and Clippers face off at Intuit Dome.

Harden is averaging 25.4 points this season, his most since averaging 34.3 points in 2019-20. He’s been a huge part of the Clippers’ resurgence back into playoff — or, at least, play-in — contention after a dismal 6-21 start.

“He means a lot to our team and we’ve seen it the last three years,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said Monday night when stories began breaking indicating such a move was close. “Who wouldn’t want to have James Harden?”

Cleveland will become Harden’s sixth team. He played for Oklahoma City, then Houston, then Brooklyn, then Philadelphia and, since 2023, the Clippers.

For the Cavaliers, it seems to be a move for right now — pairing the 36-year-old Harden with another star guard in Donovan Mitchell. For the Clippers, it seems to be a move with an eye on the future — the 26-year-old Garland is a two-time All-Star, averaging 18 points and 6.9 assists this season for Cleveland.

Harden opted out of the final year of his contract last summer with the Clippers to sign a new deal that would have been worth $81.5 million for this season and the 2026-27 campaign. Next year is at his option, which basically meant he was on a one-year contract.

He got that deal after averaging 22.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists while returning to the All-NBA team for the first time since 2019-20.

James Harden has played a key role in helping the Clippers become one of the NBA’s hottest teams over the last six weeks despite a disastrous start to their season. He may not be around, however, to see how the rest of the season unfolds.

Multiple media outlets are reporting that Harden and the Clippers working to find a suitable deal that would send him to another team by Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.

Many of those reports mention a possible trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, swapping Harden in exchange for guard Darius Garland. Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated described discussions between the two teams as “advanced.”

The Clippers play the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Wednesday.

Harden, 36, had 25 points and nine assists in 34 minutes during the Clippers’ 122-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday but has not played in the team’s two games since. The Clippers have attributed Harden’s absence to personal reasons.

The trade reports involving Harden broke Monday during the Clippers’ 128-113 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at Crypto.com Arena. Coach Tyronn Lue was asked about the matter during his news conference after the game.

“I can’t comment on rumors,” Lue said. “Sorry.”

After the game, Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard told Joey Linn of Linn Sports media he was surprised by the Harden reports.

“I respect his decision or whoever’s decision it is, and that’s it,” Leonard said. “I mean, he’s still gonna be my boy and, you know, I trust the front office.”

Clippers forward John Collins called the news “shocking.” Asked by Linn if he would be disappointed to see Harden leave at this point in the season, Collins answered, “Hell yeah.”

Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reports that Harden initiated the trade talks and “the Clippers were stunned to find out about him wanting out.” The two sides have been discussing a possible parting for weeks, according to Siegel.

This past offseason, Harden signed a two-year, $81-million deal to remain with the Clippers. The second year was said to be a player option and is partially guaranteed. Harden has the power to veto any trade, according to ESPN.

Harden is an 11-time All-Star who was named the league MVP in 2018. He has played for five teams, including the Clippers since 2023, and is averaging 25.4 points, 8.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds in his 17th NBA season.

Garland is a 26-year-old two-time All Star who has averaged 18.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists during his seven NBA seasons. His contract expires in the summer of 2028. He has not played since Jan. 14 because of a Grade 1 sprain of his right big toe.

The Clippers were 6-21 after a 122-101 loss to Oklahoma City on Dec. 18. Since then, however, they have won 17 of 22 games to pull into a potential play-in spot (ninth place) in the Western Conference playoff standings.

Lue was asked Monday if Harden was someone he would like to continue to have on the team for a possible playoff run and beyond.

“Who wouldn’t want to have James Harden?” Lue said.

In the old days, during the 1980s and 1990s, when the Notre Dame-Crespi basketball rivalry was in peak form, it would get so hot in Notre Dame’s sold-out gym that they’d have to open windows from high above or sweat would be everywhere. Then came the invention of air conditioning, but Friday’s Mission League tournament semifinals were also super hot in terms of intensity and top performances.

Notre Dame (20-6) was able to pull out an 82-78 victory over Crespi on the strength of four consecutive pressure free throws made by standout junior guard NaVorro Bowman Jr. in the final 14 seconds to earn the Knights a championship game appearance against host Sierra Canyon on Wednesday night.

Crespi (19-11), which went on the road to upset Harvard-Westlake on Saturday, gave the Knights plenty to sweat about. The Celts held a 70-67 lead with 4:46 left until a Josiah Nance three tied the score and started a 10-0 Notre Dame run. A three by sophomore Zion Lanier off an assist from Bowman with 1:10 left put the Knights on top 77-70. The Celts were forced to foul and never got closer than two points.

Notre Dame has produced some outstanding high school guards in the past five years, from Dusty Stromer to Mercy Miller to Angelino Mark, who’s a freshman at Rutgers and showed up Monday night to root for his former teammates. But Bowman is headed to rarefied air. From making threes to powering his way through defenders to converting layups to making a seemingly impossible off-balance shot Monday, he has been in a class by himself.

He’s averaging 23 points and finished with 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

“He’s a special player,” Notre Dame coach Matt Sargeant said. “He shows up in big moments. He’s super mentally tough.”

His father was an NFL player, and Bowman has the family genes to perform at his best when the team needs him the most. Crespi was trying to cover him closely in the first half. Notre Dame players kept setting him screens, but Bowman was a little bit off, missing six shots. In the second half, he couldn’t be stopped.

“I had to lock in,” Bowman said.

The game was briefly halted early in the second quarter when the officials gave a warning to Sargeant and Crespi coach Derek Fisher to stay in their coaching boxes. Adding to the drama, Fisher’s wife was asked to leave the gym by Notre Dame officials. Both teams plowed through the distractions to put on a terrific second half that went back and forth.

Isaiah Barnes finished with 24 points and Cayman Martin had 20 points. Ilan Nikolov helped out Notre Dame with 19 points.

“This has been a rivalry for years,” Bowman said. “It feels good to win twice.”

Wednesday’s Mission League tournament final will also decide league MVP honors. The league champion gets to pick who the MVP is, so if Notre Dame wins, it surely will be Bowman.

Sierra Canyon 103, Loyola 74: The Trailblazers (22-1) received 30 points from Brandon McCoy and 23 points from Maxi Adams, both of whom were selected for the McDonald’s All-American Game in an announcement on Monday.

Mater Dei 92, Orange Lutheran 65: Luke Barnett scored 31 points to lead Mater Dei in an opening game of the Trinity League tournament.

JSerra 78, Servite 53: Ryan Doane had 16 points for the Lions.

Cleveland 61, Chatsworth 56: Harout Posheyan had 14 points and Charlie Adams 13 for Cleveland, which clinched the West Valley League championship. Aaron Krueger had 13 points for Chatsworth.

Brentwood 71, Viewpoint 56: Ethan Hill had 24 points and 20 rebounds for Brentwood.

Los Alamitos 68, Edison 61: Tyler Lopez led the way with 17 points.

Tyrese Maxey scored 29 points, including seven 3-pointers, Dominick Barlow added 26 points and 16 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Clippers 128-113 on Monday night for their fourth consecutive victory.

The game featured two big names who weren’t selected as All-Star reserves: Joel Embiid of the Sixers and Kawhi Leonard of the Clippers.

Embiid had 24 points as he continues to gain full strength after a right ankle injury. The Sixers improved to 11-10 without Paul George, who is serving a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug program.

Leonard led the Clippers with 29 points and Jordan Miller had 21 points off the bench.

The Clippers were without James Harden, who missed his second straight game due to personal reasons. Coach Tyronn Lue said before the game that Harden was at home in Phoenix.

Leonard had two dunks and a three-pointer in the fourth, but the Clippers couldn’t put together a sustained run and he finished the game on the bench.

Maxey, Barlow and Embiid combined to score 22 points in the third when the Sixers were outscored 34-28, but still led 100-87.

The Sixers led the entire game, going up by 23 points before settling for a 72-53 halftime advantage.

The Clippers are 8-3 over their last 11 games as they try to stay within range of at least making the play-in tournament.

MELBOURNE, Australia — Carlos Alcaraz is 22, he’s the youngest man ever to win all four of the major titles in tennis, and he had to achieve what no man previously has done to complete the career Grand Slam in Australia.

The top-ranked Alcaraz dropped the first set of the Australian Open final in 33 minutes Sunday as Novak Djokovic went out hard in pursuit of an unprecedented 25th major title, but the young Spaniard dug deep to win 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5.

“Means the world to me,” Alcaraz said. “It is a dream come true for me.”

Djokovic had won all 10 of his previous finals at Melbourne Park and, despite being 38, gave himself every chance of extending that streak to 11 when he needed only two sets to win.

Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after defeating Novak Djokovic to win the Australian Open on Sunday.

(Asanka Brendon Ratnayake / Associated Press)

Alcaraz rose to the challenge.

“Tennis can change on just one point. One point, one feeling, one shot can change the whole match completely,” he said. “I played well the first set, but you know, in front of me I had a great and inspired Novak, who was playing great, great shots.”

A couple of unforced errors from Djokovic early in the second set gave Alcaraz the confidence.

He scrambled to retrieve shots that usually would be winners for Djokovic, and he kept up intense pressure on the most decorated player in men’s tennis history. There were extended rallies where each player hit enough brilliant shots to usually win a game.

Djokovic has made an art form of rallying from precarious positions. Despite trailing two sets to one, he went within the width of a ball in the fourth set’s ninth game of turning this final around.

After fending off six break points in the set, he exhorted the crowd when he got to 30-30. The crowd responded with chants of “Nole, Nole, Nole!”

When Djokovic earned a breakpoint chance — his first since the second set — he whipped up his supporters again. But when Djokovic sent a forehand long on the next point, Alcaraz took it as a reprieve.

A short forehand winner, a mis-hit from Alcaraz, clipped the net and landed inside the line to give him game point. Then Djokovic hit another forehand long.

Alcaraz responded with a roar, and sealed victory by taking two of the next three games.

As he was leaving the court, Alcaraz signed the lens of the TV camera with a recognition: “Job finished. 4/4 Complete.”

Angela Dugalic scored 22 points off the bench, Kiki Rice had 17 and Lauren Betts added 16 as the UCLA women’s basketball team recorded its eighth win against a ranked opponent with a dominant 88-65 victory over No. 8 Iowa on Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion.

“I’m proud to be part of this team,” Dugalic said. “It’s fun to play with these girls. We’re not taking any team for granted. At the end of the day, if you’re our next opponent, that’s who we’re concentrating on.”

The No. 2 Bruins (21-1 overall, 11-0 Big Ten) won their 15th straight game and improved to 10-0 at home. They lead the conference by one game over No. 9 Michigan, which beat No. 13 Michigan State in overtime Sunday.

Charlisse Leger-Walker finished with 10 points, five assists and five rebounds. Gianna Kneepkens added 10 points, four assists and four rebounds, and Rice dished out seven assists for UCLA, which improved to 3-1 all time against Iowa and 3-0 under coach Cori Close.

“I’m thrilled for Angela getting a career high today, but what I’m happy about most is how many different people are stepping up,” Close said. “We’ve got plenty of weapons. This group couldn’t have been more happy for Angela. I love the way they celebrate each other’s growth.”

Ava Heiden netted 19 points and Hannah Stuelke added 13 for the Hawkeyes (18-4, 9-2), who were trying to rebound from Thursday night’s 81-69 loss to unranked USC at Galen Center.

It was supposed to be UCLA’s toughest game since its defeat to No. 4 Texas in December. Instead the Bruins made it look easy by getting every player involved. They racked up 29 assists and were 50% from three-point range and eight for eight at the free-throw line.

UCLA guard Gabriela Jaquez drives to the basket against Iowa in the first half.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

No. 1 Connecticut routed No. 15 Tennessee by 30 to stay undefeated while Texas, No. 5 Vanderbilt, No. 6 Louisiana State and No. 7 Louisville also won Sunday.

Having lost to the top two teams in the country, Iowa coach Jan Jensen was asked to compare them.

“Both are outstanding at every position,” Jensen said. “Lauren [Betts] is so hard to guard. One difference is UConn’s full-court pressure. You could put your money on both of them to be there at the end. Maybe a slight edge to UConn, only because they press, but I have all the respect in the world for Cori and her staff. They do it the right way. UCLA is really good. They saw what we were trying to do and made us not play our best.”

Close said her team is not where she wants it to be quite yet.

UCLA guard Kiki Rice, right, looks for a pass in front of Iowa guard Chit-Chat Wright during the first half Sunday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

“Losing to UConn in the tournament last year taught me that you can never be satisfied,” Close said. “The edge is a really good place and I want us to live on that edge every day, not rely on our talent.”

Rice’s layup capped a 6-0 run to put the Bruins up by 13 with 4:21 left in the first half. Iowa closed within eight before Kneepkens drained a corner three at the buzzer to give UCLA a 39-28 lead at halftime. UCLA outscored Iowa 28-10 in the paint in the half.

Betts’ jumper increased the Bruins’ lead to 22 with 3:10 left in the third, but she picked up her fourth personal foul two minutes later and Iowa took advantage while scoring the final five points of the quarter. Dugalic’s third three-pointer gave UCLA its largest lead, 86-59, with a little more than three minutes left.

“The confidence we have is mainly because we know we put in the work in practice,” Betts said. “Coach never lets up in terms of playing to our standard. We try to get ball inside because we have amazing post presence. We want to do that.”

UCLA hosts Rutgers on Wednesday before its showdown with Michigan next Sunday.

“Angela earned everything she got today,” Close said. “Sure, she benefits from how dominant Lauren is, but we posted her up, we ran plays to get her three … show me a more versatile forward in the country than her.”

NEW YORK — Lakers star LeBron James made the NBA All-Star team for a record 22nd time Sunday after being selected as a Western Conference reserve by NBA coaches.

James had been selected as an All-Star starter 21 consecutive times, an NBA record, but fans didn’t choose him this season. The 41-year-old James is just the second player to earn multiple All-Star selections after the age of 40, joining Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, Denver’s Jamal Murray, Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren, Houston’s Kevin Durant, Phoenix’s Devin Booker and Portland’s Deni Avdija also were named Western Conference reserves.

The Eastern Conference reserves are Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson, New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Indiana’s Pascal Siakam, Miami’s Norman Powell, Toronto’s Scottie Barnes and Detroit’s Jalen Duren.

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, seventh in scoring at 28.7 points per game and first in steals (2.1), could be chosen by commissioner Adam Silver to replace Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, who’s a starter but is injured.

James was averaging 21.9 points, 6.6 assists and 5.8 rebounds over 33.1 minutes per game. He was shooting 50.2% from the field and 34.9% from three-point range through 30 games.

James missed the first 14 games because of sciatica and started slowly when he returned, but has been playing at a higher level recently.

In January, James scored 109 fourth-quarter points, tied with Durant for the most in the NBA. James helped the Lakers post a league-best 14-2 record in clutch games entering Sunday’s game at New York.

James will join Lakers teammate Luka Doncic, who had the most All-Star votes, in the Feb. 15 game at the Clippers’ home arena, Intuit Dome.

The new All-Star format will be a three-team tournament that features two U.S. teams and one world team. The U.S. teams will have 16 players and the world will have eight. Doncic, who is from Slovenia, will play for the world team.

The teams play a round-robin of 12-minute games, with the top teams advancing to the final 12-minute championship.

PHOENIX — Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points and the Clippers, playing without James Harden, routed the Phoenix Suns 117-93 on Sunday night.

Leonard, who was left off the Western Conference All-Star reserves announced earlier Sunday, had eight rebounds as well as his 27th consecutive game with 20 or more points. Ivica Zubac had 20 rebounds as the Clippers bounced back from a loss at Denver on Friday and dominated the inside, outrebounding Phoenix 63-35 and outscoring the Suns 64-18 in the paint.

Jordan Miller had 20 points, John Collins scored 16, Zubac had 14 and Kobe Sanders had 12 for the Clippers, who shot 51.8% from the field. Sanders started for Harden, who missed the game for personal reasons.

Since starting the season 6-21, the Clippers have won 17 of 21 and are just two games under .500. The Suns had won three straight before Sunday, and are still 15-7 since Dec. 21.

Grayson Allen led the Suns with 23 points and eight assists, and Dillon Brooks scored 22 points. Phoenix shot just 33.3% from the field and was held under 100 points for just the sixth time in 50 games this season. Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin each finished with 12 points.

The Suns were without Devin Booker (right ankle sprain) and Jalen Green (right hamstring, left hip). Booker was selected as a reserve for his fifth All-Star Game earlier Sunday.

The teams split the season series 2-2.

Up next for the Clippers: vs. Philadelphia at Intuit Dome on Monday night.

NEW YORK — Sunday marked the one-year anniversary of the Lakers’ acquisition of Luka Doncic.

Coach JJ Redick acknowledged he felt “stressed” knowing about the trade before the Lakers played the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden that night in 2025.

While his stress may have faded, Redick couldn’t have liked what he saw from the Lakers on the same floor one year later.

Despite a strong effort from Doncic, the Lakers struggled with their shooting and lost 112-100 to the Knicks on Sunday night.

After Landry Shamet made his second straight three-pointer to give the Knicks a 112-99 lead with 59.3 seconds left, Redick pulled his starters. The Lakers led 56-52 at halftime but were outscored 38-26 in the third quarter after New York went on a 15-5 run to take a 90-82 lead into the fourth quarter.

Doncic finished with 30 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Lakers’ 45% shooting from the field and 29% shooting from three-point range.

LeBron James, named an NBA All-Star for the 22nd time before the game, had 22 points, six assists and five rebounds, but he fell to 23-9 in regular-season games at Madison Square Garden, and the Lakers slipped to 4-3 on their season-high eight-game trip, which ends Tuesday in Brooklyn.

Deandre Ayton had 13 points and five rebounds, and Marcus Smart had seven points and three assists.

OG Anunoby had 25 points, eight rebounds and three assists to lead the Knicks (31-18) who have won six straight. Shamet scored 23 points and Josh Hart had 20 points and four rebounds. Jalen Brunson finished with 12 points and season-high 13 assists.

The USC women’s basketball team rolled to a 71-39 win over Rutgers on Sunday at Galen Center.

The Trojans (13-9, 5-6 Big Ten) got off to a slow start, ending the first quarter trailing by three points. Rutgers (9-13, 1-10) held the lead until the 5:39 mark in the second quarter when Kara Dunn hit a pair of free throws. USC picked up its defensive pressure in the second quarter, which helped ignite its offense. The Trojans held a six-point lead at halftime and extended it during a second-half surge.

Dunn led USC with 18 points and six rebounds. Jazzy Davidson contributed 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while Kennedy Smith added 11 points and four assists. Laura Williams anchored the glass with 11 rebounds and Malia Samuels finished with seven points and four rebounds.

Imani Lester scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds for Rutgers. Zachara Perkins recorded 12 points and four rebounds and Faith Blackstone added six points.

USC outscored Rutgers 23-8 in the third quarter and kept the pressure up in the fourth, outscoring the Scarlet Knights 19-8. The Trojans dominated the battle on the boards, 57-32. USC made the most of Rutgers’ 20 turnovers, scoring 21 points off the miscues.

USC will look to extend its two-game win streak at Northwestern (8-14, 2-9) at 6 p.m. on Thursday. The game will air on the Big Ten Network.

Trent Perry hit a game-tying three-pointer from the top of the key with 1.1 seconds left in regulation before the UCLA men’s basketball team went on to lose to Indiana 98-97 in double overtime Saturday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion.

Freshman Trent Sisley made the first of two free throws with 0.3 seconds left to give the Hoosiers a one-point lead in the second overtime period after being fouled by Donovan Dent on an inbounds play. Sisley missed the second attempt, and the clock ran out as Eric Dailey Jr. grabbed the rebound and fired it the length of the court.

Perry finished with 25 points and seven rebounds, and Tyler Bilodeau had 18 points and 11 rebounds as the Bruins (15-7, 7-4) suffered their first loss at home.

UCLA erased a 10-point deficit in the last 1:50 of the second half but was unable to come up with a defensive rebound in the final moments of the game

“I’m proud of how we fought,” said Perry, who nailed a corner three-pointer to beat the shot clock and give his team a 93-90 lead with 1:46 left in the second overtime. “We’re on the other end of it, but we came together. Earlier in the season we would’ve held our heads low.”

Perry missed a 15-foot fallaway jumper from the right side as the horn sounded to end the first overtime with the score tied 84-84. Dailey hit a jumper in the lane to even the score in the second overtime at 97-97 with 12 seconds left. Sisley missed a layup with 1.5 seconds left, and UCLA was ruled to have touched the ball last on a rebound under the basket with 1.5 seconds left. UCLA coach Mick Cronin challenged the call, but it was upheld on review, and the subsequent foul on Dent dashed Bruins fans’ hopes for a third overtime.

UCLA guard Trent Perry celebrates one of his big shots against Indiana. He led the Bruins with 25 points.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

“I have no comments on the officiating,” a frustrated Cronin said. “Of course, my staff told me it was our ball. I just watched it on a small iPad and it sure looked like it was off Indiana’s elbow. I don’t know.”

Many red-and-white-clad Indiana supporters were among the 10,066 fans who witnessed the Hoosiers (15-7, 6-5) even the all-time series at 7-7. Nick Dorn scored 26 points, Lamar Wilkerson and Reed Bailey each had 24 points, and Tucker DeVries added nine points and 10 rebounds.

Dailey had 15 points for the Bruins, who were 30 for 34 at the free-throw line. There were 13 ties and 15 lead changes.

“We had some tough calls go against us at the end but we had to keep fighting,” said Dent, who logged a game-high 50 minutes before fouling out on the last play. “We rallied back late. I don’t think our defense was horrendous.”

Indiana used an 11-0 run over a 1:40 span to take a 22-16 lead before the Bruins responded with a 14-3 run during a 3½-minute stretch to take a 30-25 lead. Reed Bailey’s basket and free throw pulled the Hoosiers within 36-30 at halftime.

Reed Bailey’s uncontested two-handed dunk gave the Hoosiers a 56-52 lead with 8:04 remaining in the second half, and Cronin called a timeout. Reed Bailey’s three-point play made it 63-54, and the Bruins trailed by 10 with 1:50 left.

A three-point play by Dent pulled the Bruins within four with 51 seconds left. After free throws by Wilkerson, Dent made a layup, then Eric Dailey Jr. stole a pass and hit a jumper in the lane. Perry’s free throws cut Indiana’s lead to 75-73 with 9.9 seconds left. Reed Bailey was fouled on the inbounds play and made the second of two free throws to put his team up three with 8.7 seconds remaining, setting the stage for Perry’s heroics to force overtime.

UCLA continues its three-game homestand against Rutgers on Tuesday and Washington next Saturday, desperately needing to win both after falling to seventh in the Big Ten standings.

“Our defense was awful tonight,” Cronin said. “We deserved to lose. We couldn’t score for a long time, missing wide-open shot after wide-open shot. I always say the same thing, no matter what … just worry about defense, rebounding and effort. There’s no magic potion on shooting.”

DENVER — Nikola Jokic had 31 points and 12 rebounds in his first game in a month, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 22 points, and the Denver Nuggets knocked off the Clippers 122-109 on Friday night.

Jokic, the three-time NBA MVP, missed 16 games after injuring his left knee in a Dec. 29 loss at Miami. The Nuggets went 10-6 during that stretch, which also included extended absences from fellow starters Cameron Johnson and Christian Braun.

Jokic’s 29th double-double of the season came despite being on a minutes restriction imposed by coach David Adelman. The 30-year-old Serbian was limited to 25 minutes, his second-fewest this season.

James Harden had 25 points and nine assists for the Clippers (22-25), who had won 16 of their previous 19, the best win percentage in that NBA during that period.

Jokic scored 11 points over a stretch of 3:47 in the fourth quarter that extended Denver’s lead from five to 16. The Nuggets (33-16) improved to 7-3 in the second of back-to-back games.

Jamal Murray had 22 points, and Peyton Watson added 21 for Denver. Murray, who made four of five three-pointers and had a team-high nine assists, scored at least 20 points for the 35th time this season, matching a career high.

Up next for the Clippers: at Phoenix on Sunday night.

Mike Erush is the soccer coach at Cal State Los Angeles. He’s also the coach for Harvard-Westlake, which won its third Mission League title in four years Friday by defeating Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 1-0 on an early goal from sophomore Truman Kim.

The Wolverines (16-1-3, 8-0-1) have received strong play from the Chen brothers, JT, a sophomore, and Ollie, a freshman.

“They have some good chemistry,” said goalkeeper Jackson Friedman, one of the best in the Southland.

The Chens take turns passing the ball to each other and pressuring opponents. Landon Marks leads the team in goals.

Cathedral 2, Bishop Amat 1: The Phantoms (14-2-2, 6-0-1) won the Del Rey League championship. Adrian Rivera and Christopher Guzman each scored goals.

Oak Park 2, Moorpark 1: Ryder Cash and Carson Casella (penalty kick) scored goals for the Eagles.

El Camino Real 2, Chatsworth 0: The Royals are closing in on the No. 1 seed for the City Section Open Division playoffs with a 7-0-1 mark in the West Valley League. Caleb Haynes and Josh Serrano scored goals.

Girls’ soccer

El Camino Real 1, Chatsworth 0: Jacky Alvarado had the goal for the Royals, who face defending City champion Granada Hills on Wednesday.

Boys’ basketball

Oak Park 61, Moorpark 49: It’s another Coastal Canyon League title for coach Aaron Shaw. Beau Prophete finished with 23 points. Oak Park is 7-0 in league.

St. John Bosco 73, Servite 65: The Braves (19-6) claimed the No. 1 seed for next week’s Trinity League tournament. Christian Collins scored 23 points and Gavin Dean-Moss had 13 points.

JSerra 67, Mater Dei 66: The Lions earned the No. 3 seed for the Trinity League tournament.

Santa Margarita 102, Orange Lutheran 81: Kaiden Bailey scored 31 points and Drew Anderson 30 for the Eagles, which have the No. 2 seed for the Trinity League tournament.

Oaks Christian 64, Newbury Park 28: Brady Sullivan and Andrew Logan each scored 13 points for Oaks Christian.

Thousand Oaks 62, Calabasas 50: The Lancers won the Marmonte League game.

San Pedro 54, Carson 45: Bryce Jackson had 18 points for 20-6 San Pedro.

Palisades 75, Fairfax 47: Jack Levey made eight threes to score 24 points for the Dolphins.

Birmingham 68, Chatsworth 47: X’zavion McKay had 19 points and Tekeio Phillips added 18 points for Birmingham.

Los Alamitos 74, Newport Harbor 60: Tyler Lopez led the way with 18 points.

Brentwood 56, Campball Hall 49: The Eagles (24-3) rallied in the fourth quarter to win the Gold Coast League game.

Heritage Christian 72, Valley Christian 34: Freshman Ty Lazenby had 20 points to set up a showdown Saturday in a rivalry game at Village Christian.

Redondo Union 101, Palos Verdes 67: Chace Holley had 21 points and SJ Madison and Devin Wright each had 18 points as Redondo Union moved closer to the Bay League title.

Girls’ basketball

Sierra Canyon 66, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 27: Jerzy Robinson finished with 20 points for Sierra Canyon (23-2).

Oak Park 89, Moorpark 20: The Eagles (17-6, 6-0) continued their march to a Southern Section Open Division playoff spot. Karisma Lewis scored 19 points and Diana Sorrondo had 18 points.

Windward 67, Crossroads 40: Charis Rainey had 22 points and 13 rebounds for Windward.

St. Margaret’s 53, Rosary 49: Freshman Jayden Witten had a 35-point performance for St. Margaret’s.

Oaks Christian 56, Newbury Park 48: Presley Kushner scored 32 points for Oaks Christian.

WASHINGTON — The “competitive edge” Lakers coach JJ Redick requested from his players showed itself right away in the form of dominance from Luka Doncic, more outstanding play from LeBron James and an impressive outing from center Deandre Ayton.

By the time Doncic, James and Ayton completed their night, they had combined for 85 points and 27 rebounds in helping the Lakers build a 38-point lead en route to a 142-111 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday. The Lakers improved to 4-2 on their season-high eight-game trip.

And it centered around the brilliance of Doncic, his triple-double of 37 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds the catalyst for the Lakers winning for the fifth time in their last seven games. He was efficient too, shooting 13 for 21 from the field and six for 13 from three-point range.

Ayton was a tower of strength with 28 points on 12-for-14 shooting, 13 rebounds, three blocked shots and three assists.

James had the crowd engaged all game with his play that led to 20 points and six assists.

The left ankle soreness that had Doncic listed as questionable was not an issue for the All-Star guard, his first half showing that he was playing at another level with a triple-double of 26 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in 19 minutes against the overmatched Wizards.

LeBron James passes the ball around Wizards guard Bub Carrington during the first half.

(Nick Wass / Associated Press)

Doncic dazzled with no-look and lob passes along with three-pointers that seemed to impress even him, considering he looked over to the Lakers’ bench after several spectacular threes.

The 41-year-old James put on a show, throwing down lobs for dunks, drawing cheers and applause from the fans inside Capital One Arena.

There was the lob from Ayton that James threw down left-handed, making teammates leap off their seats and fans gasp and cheer. For added emphasis, James stared at his left hand as he made his way down the court, a knowing look on his face.

There was the lob from Marcus Smart that James threw down for a reverse dunk, again bringing fans and teammates out of their seats.

There was the moment James drove by Washington’s Alex Sarr and threw down another dunk, causing teammates to jump out of their seats again and fans to cheer even louder.

The Lakers (29-18) lost their previous game in Cleveland on Wednesday night by 30 points, an embarrassing effort that they wanted to rebound from against the Wizards.

In building a 77-48 lead at the half, the Lakers demonstrated that they were listening to Redick’s orders. It was the third time this season the Lakers scored 77 or more in a half.

“Yeah, I think playing with a competitive edge and playing together on both ends of the floor,” Redick said. “We’ve talked a lot recently just about doing your job. If you’re supposed to be the low man, be the low man. These guys all have shown they can do it and I think the theme of our season has been the ups and downs and sort of the consistency that we’re searching for on a night-to-night basis.”

Etc.

Though Austin Reaves (left calf strain) was upgraded to questionable for the game, the Lakers guard did not play. He has missed 18 straight games since suffering the injury on Christmas against the Houston Rockets.

Reaves has been working out as he progresses toward a return. The Lakers play again Sunday at the New York Knicks.

“He continues to progress. He hasn’t had any setbacks,” Redick said. “Yesterday was five weeks from the injury. He’s right on schedule, if not a little bit ahead of schedule. So it’s just him being fully confident in his body. And he continues to get great work on the court.”

On Thursday night, the Palisades High boys’ basketball team savored something it had not experienced since midway through last season: homecourt advantage.

Hosting a game inside their own gym for the first time in 388 days, the Dolphins did not let their fans or their classmates leave disappointed, beating Fairfax 75-28 to stay on track for their first outright league title in 30 years.

“It’s great to be back … it was cool,” junior center Julian Cunningham said. “We haven’t had a game here in over a year. There’s no way we were gonna lose. It was a great atmosphere and we beat ’em by 50, so that’s pretty good.”

Palisades’ boys had last taken their home floor for an official contest on Jan. 6, 2025 — one day before the Palisades fire broke out and dealt severe damage to their campus and community. First-year coach Jeff Bryant had to scramble to find someplace — anyplace — to practice for what would turn out to be 42 games.

“I never thought it would be this long,” Bryant admitted. “When the fire happened, I was thinking we’d have some access to our gym in the summer. I remember at a parent meeting saying we’ll 100% be playing our league games at home. When the new [school year] started we were told September, then October, then November, then the start of the second semester. It kept getting pushed back.”

The team held its first practice at Palisades on Monday and students returned to campus Tuesday morning after attending classes for nine months at what came to be known as “PaliHi South,” the old Sears department store building in nearby Santa Monica.

Fans were treated to a blowout win in the Palisades boys’ basketball return to the school gym for the first time in 388 days.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

“UCLA, Memorial Park, Paul Revere, St. Bernard …” Bryant said, rattling off just a few of the sites his team practiced at while waiting for the green light to return to campus. “We’ve been road warriors for over a year now and I definitely think it’s been an advantage, but now we’re looking forward to being home and we’re going to feed off that energy starting tonight.”

Pacing the Dolphins on Thursday were 6-6 junior twins OJ and EJ Popoola, who got the home crowd cheering by combining for six dunks. They were raised in Las Vegas and transferred to Palisades in June. Two of the most highly touted prospects in the 2027 class, the brothers shined in their first game at their new school, scoring 19 and 16 points, respectively.

“It was amazing — I’ve been thinking about this game for so long,” said OJ, who had 10 points in the first quarter as Palisades stormed to a 45-14 halftime lead. “Even though we weren’t here last year, we feel like it’s our community too. EJ and I have been playing with each other for so long and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

EJ Popoola is averaging 21 points per game, OJ Popoola is averaging 18 and junior Jack Levey, the most outstanding player in the Western League last winter, is the section’s most dangerous long-range shooter, averaging 45% from beyond the arc.

Another reason Palisades is one of the favorites to win the Open Division is the all-around play of freshman guard Phillip Reed, who is averaging 17 points, six assists and six rebounds.

“It felt surreal — I was really nervous,” EJ Popoola added. “The energy was there, the fans showed up and we’re finally finding our rhythm as a team. It’s a work in progress, but me and OJ have been through it all together and I thank God I’m a twin!”

OJ Popoola soars for one of his two dunks in the Dolphins’ first home game since the Palisades fire.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

AJ Neale scored 13 points and Reed added 10 for the Dolphins, who scored 10 seconds into the contest on Levey’s alley-oop to EJ Popoola and never trailed.

Guards Kameron Augustin and Jomari Marshall scored seven apiece for the Lions (15-8, 5-2).

Palisades went 12-7 in its last 19 games of 2024-25, falling to Chatsworth in the City Section Open Division semifinals before reaching the Division III regional semifinals (hosting three games at Birmingham High in Lake Balboa). The Dolphins are off to a 13-11 start in 2025-26 while playing the toughest schedule of any team in the City. They have grown accustomed to playing in hostile environments and hope their “us against the world” mentality works in their favor once the playoffs start.

Thursday’s win kept the Dolphins alone atop the Western League standings at 8-0, 2½ games ahead of Fairfax with only four left. If Palisades seals the deal, it will mark the program’s first league crown since it finished in a three-way tie for first place with Westchester and Fairfax in 2011-12 under then coach James Paleno.

What a difference a year makes. Westchester, which beat Palisades twice on its way to winning league and capturing the City Open Division title last February, is fifth in league at 4-5 and lost its first meeting with Palisades by 38 points.

“The environment was amazing and I was a little stiff on my shots for the first 20 minutes or so, but after that I was feeling it,” said Levey, who swished two of his team’s 10 three-pointers. “This was personal. We can’t lose our first game back. Winning City is the standard, but [state] is what we really want to win.”

Palisades High’s Phil Reed makes a layup against Fairfax in the first half Thursday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Palisades lost 10 of its first 13 games, including six straight while several key players recovered from injuries — but Bryant never lost faith. “That losing streak strengthened us,” he said. “I could’ve lost the team. Instead, guys stuck to the plan. Now we’re trending in the right direction. We haven’t played our best game yet. Our biggest challenge is what’s next.”

Through this ordeal, Bryant has learned patience and perseverance.

“The hardest part has been communicating with the parents,” Bryant said. “You have to go with the flow. They want answers and sometimes you honestly don’t know. When games are canceled, it hurts the younger kids most because lower-level games aren’t going to be made up. So they really miss out.”

The Popoola twins are motivated to lead Palisades to its first undisputed league championship since their father, Chris, helped the Dolphins to a third consecutive Western League title in 1995-1996. One of Popoola’s teammates that year was Donzell Hayes, who piloted the program from 2016-23 and attended Thursday’s game.

Palisades is chasing its third City title and first since winning Division I in 2020. Chris Marlowe, who captained the USA volleyball team to the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics, led the Dolphins to a 21-1 record and the City Section basketball championship in 1969, beating Reseda in the final at Pauley Pavilion under the program’s first coach, Jerry Marvin.

Jack Levey celebrates a big win in the Dolphins’ return to their home court against Western League rival Fairfax.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Chalobah has attacking threat from set pieces and he’s decent for defensive contributions too. If you want another route into the Chelsea clean sheets then consider Sanchez in goal.

Joao Pedro frustrated FPL managers earlier in the season but has performed well under Rosenior and seems to be first choice ahead of Delap.

Chelsea will have a tricky time balancing their squad with all the competitions they are in. They are still in Europe and will have fixtures in both domestic cup competitions too. Therefore, there’s a chance some of their assets rotate.

Most at risk of rotation of the four highlighted would be Pedro, with Delap likely to take some of his minutes. Slight risk with Fernandez too, but Chalobah and Sanchez will most likely be safe from rotation.