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ATLANTA — Austin Reaves took the baton from Luka Doncic when Doncic sat out Sunday, and when the roles were reversed Monday, Doncic passed it to his teammates.

Doncic had 32 points and 10 assists in a 124-114 win over the Atlanta Hawks as the Lakers relied on their depth to secure their sixth consecutive win and stay atop the Western Conference despite a short, tired bench.

One night after sitting out because of lower-back tightness, Doncic struggled with his shot but reached double-digit assists for the third time this season. He also had eight rebounds and five steals. Lakers center Walker Kessler had 21 points with 10 rebounds, his sixth double-double in seven games, and forward Sandro Mamukelashvili had what coach JJ Redick called “his best game as a Laker” with 23 points and eight rebounds off the bench to help overcome the absences of Reaves and Quentin Grimes.

Reaves, who scored 43 points in a thrilling win at Detroit on Sunday, didn’t play because of illness. Grimes suffered a sprained finger on his right hand against Detroit, although Redick doesn’t anticipate the injury keeping the guard sidelined for long. X-rays were negative, Redick said, and Grimes could return as soon as Wednesday in Milwaukee.

The Lakers (10-2) didn’t look like a team playing on consecutive nights. They blitzed the Hawks (7-5) with 13 unanswered points at the end of the first quarter and ran the lead to 20 midway in the second quarter. Kessler and guard Collin Sexton connected on back-to-back alley-oops during the quarter to inject life into a shorthanded second unit.

“It’s building resiliency,” Kessler said. “JJ talks about it, going through adversity and understanding that to be a championship team, you’ve got to respond to that kind of stuff.”

Reaves’ absence was compounded by Grimes’ injury, decimating the team’s ballhandling unit. Redick and general manager Rob Pelinka had worked to stock the roster with guards to ward off the possibility of leaving too much responsibility to Doncic. On Monday, it all fell to Doncic and Sexton.

Lakers star Luka Doncic drives between Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels, right, and Luguentz Dort in the first quarter Monday.

(Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

Doncic, who came in averaging a league-high 40.1 points per game, leaned on teammates early with five assists in the first quarter. Sexton got going in the second quarter with eight points and three assists, all on lobs to Kessler, his former teammate with the Utah Jazz and fellow Atlanta native. Sexton finished with 18 points and six assists.

The 6-foot-1 guard signed during free agency when the Lakers wanted to stock the bench with play-making, shooting and defensive intensity. Sexton, playing on his fourth team in three seasons, has delivered on every one.

“He just checks a lot of boxes,” Redick said. “For us, it was easy. He expressed interest, and obviously we wanted him, and it’s worked out.”

Sexton went to high school 15 miles from State Farm Arena. He estimated he had 400 to 500 people in the stands rooting for him. He stayed on the court for more than an hour after the game taking photos with the hundreds who waited.

In front of his city, Sexton wanted to win, no matter what his role would be within the Lakers’ shorthanded rotation.

“Whenever those guys are in or out, I have to adjust,” Sexton said. “And I feel like adjusting is something I’ve been doing my entire career.”

The Lakers relied on their two youngest players for support. Second-year forward Adou Thiero, who made his season debut only two games ago after struggling with left knee swelling, had two points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Rookie Cameron Carr earned his first rotation minutes and even started the fourth quarter. Carr, whose father, Chris, played in the NBA and famously lost the 1997 dunk contest to Kobe Bryant, scored his first NBA points, appropriately, on a dunk. Doncic snatched a pass from the Hawks and hit Carr on an outlet pass. The 21-year-old rookie gathered for an emphatic, two-handed slam.

The first-round pick had two points and three rebounds. After the game, Doncic made sure to grab the game ball as a memento for the rookie.

JuJu Watkins had 32 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and five steals to lead No. 3 USC to a 118-40 win over Utah State on Sunday.

It was a star-studded return for one of college basketball’s most electric players.

Sunday was USC’s home opener at the Galen Center and fans showered Watkins with applause in pregame lineup introductions. Watkins had missed 20 months with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and she got a standing ovation as she was subbed out with 2:34 left in the game.

She’s back to looking like she was pre-injury, when she was the Associated Press player of the year.

The senior has been a scoring machine in two games, totaling 53 points for USC (2-0). Watkins scored 21 points in USC’s season-opening 100-68 win over Nevada Las Vegas.

Watkins got the crowd going in pregame introductions and then with a buzzer-beating pull-up jumper from 15 feet to end the first quarter with USC leading 36-11.

Watkins was in All-American form as she made plays all over the floor. She used a crossover to get Sami Mancini off-balance in the first quarter, then made a jump shot. She was running the fast break, rebounding, making shots from the elbow and inside and outside. It was a clinic.

Saniyah Hall added 20 points for the Trojans as six players scored in double figures.

Kylani Rookstool scored 12 points for Utah State (1-2) and Mancini added 10.

Watkins nearly had a double-double by halftime with 16 points and nine rebounds as the Trojans led 55-22.

Darius Garland had 24 points and 10 assists, Brook Lopez added 20 points and the Clippers ended a seven-game losing streak with a 139-123 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night.

Gradey Dick and rookie Keaton Wagler each scored 15 points and Rui Hachimura added 14 as the Clippers won for the first time since getting past the Sacramento Kings in the season opener.

The Clippers went on a 15-6 run to open the fourth quarter to take control with a 117-101 lead and finished off the victory after failing to hold on to double-digit fourth-quarter leads in their previous two games.

Trey Murphy III scored 26 points, while Zion Williamson and Jeremiah Fears each added 25 as the Pelicans lost their second consecutive game after a four-game winning streak. Saddiq Bey had 13 points for New Orleans, which was playing the opener of a two-game California trip.

The Pelicans shot 50.6% from the floor while getting held to 52 points in the paint after entering the with 61.6 per game in that department to lead the NBA.

The Clippers took a 124-107 lead with 4:56 remaining on three free throws from Garland and cruised to the victory from there with a season high in points. They shot a season-best 54.8% from the field.

The Clippers led 67-60 at halftime after shooting 52.3% from the field and getting 14 points from Garland, while Williamson had 17 points for the Pelicans. New Orleans opened the second half on an 18-10 run to take their first lead since the opening minute at 78-77.

The Clippers were without center Isaiah Jackson (groin), as well as former Pelicans star Brandon Ingram (heel), who is close to his debut for his new team.

STATELINE, Nev. — Rodney Rice had 32 points and nine assists, Alijah Arenas added 30 points and No. 21 USC beat hot-shooting Wichita State 93-86 on Sunday night in the inaugural Caesars Lake Tahoe Classic.

The Trojans (2-0) prevailed despite making just two three-pointers, relying on their stars, free-throw shooting and a decisive advantage in turnovers.

Michael Gray Jr. led Wichita State (1-1) with 18 points, while Jordan Frison and William Berg each added 17.

Wichita State led 45-43 at halftime after hitting seven of its first 12 attempts from beyond the arc. The Shockers built an 11-point lead late in the first half before USC rallied to tie it at 43.

The teams traded baskets throughout much of the second half before Arenas helped USC gain separation. He scored three baskets during a key stretch, including a jumper following a Wichita State turnover, to help the Trojans build a 75-69 advantage with 6:22 remaining.

Wichita State continued to battle, pulling to 86-83 on Frison’s layup with 58 seconds left. But Rice sank two free throws, and the Shockers missed several late three-point attempts.

Adonis Ratliff had 10 points and 13 rebounds for USC.

Up next for USC: at California on Wednesday night.

DETROIT — Austin Reaves raised three fingers to the rafters. Then after hitting a clutch three-pointer with 46 seconds remaining against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, he turned his palm to fans sitting courtside at Little Caesers Arena and waved goodbye.

The Lakers guard scored a season-high 41 points as the Lakers survived a 121-116 win over the Pistons without star point guard Luka Doncic. The Lakers (9-2) led by 26 early in the second quarter, but nearly collapsed under an avalanche of second-half turnovers and 53 combined points from Detroit bench guards Daniss Jenkins and Kevin Huerter.

Lakers center Walker Kessler had 12 points and 16 rebounds for his fifth double-double in six games. He crossed into double-digit scoring with a clutch put-back three-point play with 2:15 remaining to put the Lakers ahead by seven.

On the front side of a back-to-back, Doncic missed his second game of the season with low back tightness, although Lakers coach JJ Redick said he didn’t anticipate the back tightness to affect Doncic significantly throughout the season.

The Slovenian superstar is averaging a league-high 40.1 points per game, but Doncic was doing more than just scoring at rates not seen since Wilt Chamberlain. His estimated on/off of 37.7 — the difference between the Lakers’ net rating when he was on the court compared to off — was the second-highest in the league, following only Victor Wembanyama’s 41.5. In addition to the highest scoring average through nine games since Chamberlain, Doncic is also the team’s second-leading rebounder at 7.8 per game and was second with 1.7 steals.

But the Lakers already showed they could compete without Doncic this season. They dominated the Clippers on Oct. 28 when Doncic was also sidelined with back tightness.

Just as they did against the Clippers, the Lakers needed contributions from everyone. Ziaire Williams hit four three-pointers and finished with 17 points. Collin Sexton, serving as the Lakers’ second ball-handler, had 17 points on five-of-10 shooting.

Jarred Vanderbilt’s energetic six rebounds, two assists and one block in less than six minutes during the first quarter helped lift the Lakers to a 26-point lead early in the second.

The Pistons, playing without All-NBA center Jalen Duren (hamstring), didn’t get their first points from star point guard Cade Cunningham, until early in the third quarter. Instead, Jenkins nearly mounted the comeback on his own.

Jenkins, who averages 8.6 points across his career, should be a familiar Lakers foe. Last season, in the Lakers’ lone trip to Detroit, the guard who went undrafted in 2024 scored a then-career-high 30 points against the Lakers to end their season-long nine-game winning streak.

Jenkins scored 22 points of his new career-high 31 in the first half, cutting the Lakers’ 26-point lead to 13 by halftime. He drained a three-pointer at the buzzer that injected life into the antsy home crowd. The Lakers, who have benefited from two halftime buzzer-beating heaves from Doncic this season, know what it’s like to be on the other side of that momentum swing.

Pistons fans banging inflatable thunder sticks erupted in the third quarter as Detroit ripped off an 11-0 run to close the lead to three with 1:03 remaining in the quarter. The Lakers, playing with Sexton as their primary ball-handler during the stretch, turned the ball over four times during the drought, including a shot clock violation after a time out.

Reaves had 13 points in the third quarter, including five straight on difficult fadeway jumpers that pushed the lead to 17 with 6:41 to go in the third, and watched the near collapse from the sideline.

Back on the court during crunch time, Reaves hit the big shots the Lakers needed.

All hail the JSerra Lions, the best high school flag football team in California and probably in the nation.

The Lions went 28-0 this season, their second straight unbeaten season. They won the Southern Section Open Division championship game on Saturday night with a 40-14 victory over Newport Harbor at Huntington Beach.

Coach Brian Ong wasn’t supposed to have a better team than the unbeaten 2025 squad, but the Lions pulled it off led by quarterback Kate Meier and receiver Tessa Russell, both of whom are only sophomores.

Meier passed for four touchdowns on Saturday. Russell had 12 receptions for 153 yards. No opponent came closer than 13 points all season. Newport Harbor, the No. 2 team in Southern California, lost three times to the Lions.

In other finals, Oxnard won its first Division 1 title with an 18-12 win over Palos Verdes. In Division 2, San Clemente defeated Gahr 35-34 in overtime.

In Division 3, Valencia defeated Quartz Hill 12-7. Valencia’s 11-man football quarterback, Evan McCalister, was on hand to help his father, Cedric, the head coach. Camila Quintero threw three touchdown passes.

Valley Christian won Division 4 with a 33-18 win over West Ranch. Loma Linda defeated Peninsula 33-6 in Division 5. St. Monica, in its inaugural season, won Division 6 with a 39-20 victory over Heritage.

Upon hammering her 19th kill on a cross-court attack, Westley Matavao leaped into the arms of her teammates to celebrate Mater Dei’s 24-26, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23 triumph over Sierra Canyon in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 girls’ volleyball final Saturday night at Cerritos College.

Having avenged a loss in the section finals last season, the Monarchs’ next goal is to defend their state championship, and they will be the top seed when the Southern California Regional Open Division bracket is released Sunday.

Westley Matavao goes on the attack for Mater Dei against Sierra Canyon in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 girls’ volleyball championship match on Nov. 7, 2026.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

“This season it’s important for us to win everything because I’ve been here all four years, this is my last one and I wasn’t going to take losing as an answer,” said Matavao, a senior outside hitter headed to UCLA.

The Monarchs (39-1) have dealt Sierra Canyon (32-2) its only losses this season and the top two programs in the nation could meet for a third time, but for now Mater Dei reigns supreme after earning its second section title in three years. It swept the Trailblazers in the finals two years ago.

Freshman Jimin Seung had 14 kills, Cal-bound middle blocker Emma Kingston had 11 kills and sophomore libero Sienna Cicero finished with a match-high 23 digs, diving all over the floor to keep points alive.

“It was definitely tougher this time around — over half of them are high Division I level players — so you can’t underestimate a team like that,” Cicero said. “Our blockers played great and funneled the ball perfectly for me. My mentality is we’re going to win no matter what.”

Mater Dei beat Sierra Canyon, 25-18, 25-17, in the gold division final at the Durango Fall Classic in September before suffering its only loss to Trinity League rival Santa Margarita 11 days later.

Katherine Nowak, center, celebrates a kill with Mater Dei teammates Jael Smith, left, and Riley Stringer against Sierra Canyon in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 final on Saturday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Sierra Canyon trailed by seven points midway through the first set but rallied to take an 18-17 lead on an ace by McKenna McIntosh, who blasted through a left-side block on the Trailblazers’ first set point. McIntosh, a hitter headed to USC, finished with 10 kills and 19 digs and Nebraska-bound middle blocker Kendall Omoruyi had a match-high 22 kills.

The Monarchs were clinging to a 21-20 lead in the second set when Matavao took control, hammering spikes for her team’s last four points. An ace by Kalea Lee gave Mater Dei a 21-19 lead in the third set and another by Matavao had the Trinity League champions one set away from victory.

Lee (22 assists) and fellow setter Riley Stringer (25 assists) ran the Monarchs’ offense with precision and Matavao, the cousin of Trailblazers setter Lucky Fasavalu, who is committed to Missouri, added 14 digs.

Sierra Canyon’s Kendall Omoruyi hits over Mater Dei blockers Emma Kingston, center, and Jimin Seung in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship on Saturday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Concentrating on the task at hand, Matavao said the two did not talk before the match.

“I’m grateful to be part of this team,” Matavao said. “We did all this together.”

In the preceding Division 2 final, Long Beach Poly trailed 14-12 in the fifth set before reeling off the last four points to beat Redondo Union, 25-19, 20-25, 25-18, 23-25, 16-14. It marked the second section title in three seasons for the Jackrabbits, who won the Division 3 title in 2024.

Avery Milburn had 18 kills for second-seeded Poly (29-7) and blocked the Sea Hawks’ top hitter, Asofiafia So’oto, on match point.

“I could see her approach going angle and I knew I had to get my right hand on it and make it the best block ever,” said Milburn, who got a kill to thwart the first of the Sea Hawks’ two chances to end it.

Long Beach Poly’s Alison Wetteland plays a ball at the net in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 girls’ volleyball final against Redondo Union on Saturday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

McKennah Iamaleava had 29 kills, 15 digs and two aces and teamed with Alison Wetteland for a block to level the final set at 14-14. Mina Orbiso finished with 32 assists, Cedra Talaga had 20 digs and Aleeya Salima added 18 kills and seven digs for Poly.

So’oto had 17 kills, Abigail Hairrell had 11 kills and Leah Blair had nine kills and 14 digs and Addison Uphoff had five blocks, including one to end the fourth set for Redondo Union (22-12), which had upset No. 1-seeded Newport Harbor in the quarterfinals and No. 4 San Juan Hills in the semifinals.

In the Division 3 final, Corona del Mar outlasted Newbury Park 24-26, 25-20, 25-15, 22-25, 15-13 to capture its first section title in 22 years and the eighth in program history.

Corona del Mar’s Sofia Dajnowiec, right, tips the ball over two Newbury Park blockers in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 girls’ volleyball championship on Saturday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

“I’m glad I was able to score that final point,” said senior outside hitter Sofia Dajnowiec, who pounded her 36th kill to end the match. “To win this means everything, it’s the best thing that could happen. We really worked hard in practice and stuck together as a team.”

Isabella Spinella dished out 44 assists, Savannah Dennis had 14 kills and 18 digs, Olivia Rosowski had 25 digs and Dajnowiec added 17 digs for the Sea Kings (26-9), who served 13 aces.

Charley Knupp had 18 kills and 15 digs, Emmery Reynolds had 10 kills and 10 digs, Olena Harasymowycz added 29 digs and Keira Overbeck handed out 32 assists for the Panthers (34-10), who were making their second finals appearance in three seasons, having lost the Division 4 title match to Campbell Hall in 2024.

Taft takes City Section Open Division title

Making its fourth finals appearance in five seasons, Taft defeated West Valley League rival Cleveland in five thrilling sets at Birmingham High to claim the Open Division championship — its seventh City title under coach Arman Mercado since he took over the program in 2000.

The fourth-seeded Toreadors (34-7) avenged two league losses to the third-seeded Cavaliers (31-12), who were vying for their first section crown after going 10-0 in the West Valley League to capture their first outright league title since 2004.

Mercado piloted the Toreadors to the City championship in 2006, the Invitational title in 2008, Division II titles in 2009, 2013 and 2014 and their first Open Division championship in 2024.

Second-seeded Granada Hills Kennedy upset top-seeded Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies in four sets in the Division I final.

Public transit is expected to be a top priority for Los Angeles Mayor-elect Nithya Raman, an advocate for expanding bus lanes and making the city friendlier for bicycles — and who campaigned on getting the Los Angeles International Airport people mover back on track after years of squabbles, delays and cost overruns.

As mayor, Raman will oversee the city’s transportation department and will have the power to appoint new members to the city’s Airport Commission. What’s more, she will have regional clout through L.A. Metro, the transportation agency that runs the county’s light-rail and subway lines.

Raman will take over as chair of Metro’s board of 13 voting members, a job now held by Mayor Karen Bass, whom Raman defeated for reelection this week. She will also get three appointees on the board, and can replace the current mayoral appointees — Councilmembers Katy Yaraslovsky and Imelda Padilla and community advocate Jaqueline Dupont-Walker — who all backed Bass in this week’s election.

Metro is currently in need of millions of dollars to fund a massive bus network for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Raman said that she would push Los Angeles’ congressional delegation to make this a key priority. In a statement to The Times ahead of the election, she said she will also prioritize Metro projects that “give the most benefits to the most riders and help make our network more useful” and plans to reinstate a project team in the mayor’s office to eliminate city delays on major capital projects.

Transportation analysts believe Raman, who has a graduate degree in urban planning from MIT, will be more aggressive in addressing transit issues than Bass, whose background was in healthcare and community organizing.

“I do think we’ll see a considerable amount of action on transit and multimodal transportation in the short run on a timeline that puts this work in the context of preparation for the summer of 2028,” said Juan Matute, deputy director of UCLA’s Institute of Transportation Studies.

Los Angeles voters also approved a charter amendment that will allow the City Council to disband the Public Works Board, a move that Matute believes will allow the city to streamline infrastructure projects. The charter change, combined with Raman’s election, will lead to “a shift in the foundation of transportation decision-making,” Matute said.

Among the transportation plans Raman has cited as priorities are the Sepulveda Transit Corridor project, which was approved earlier this year to connect the Westside to the San Fernando Valley; the East San Fernando Transit Corridor project to extend service along the E Line from East Los Angeles to Whittier; expansions of the K Line, to connect multiple communities from South Bay, Inglewood, Mid-City and Hollywood, and the D Line beneath Wilshire Boulevard; a new light rail connection in southeast L.A. County; and the Vermont Transit Corridor project.

That last project to add dedicated bike lanes along Vermont Avenue between 120th Street and Sunset Boulevard recently broke ground. It is also the subject of a lawsuit under Measure HLA that claims it requires a designated bike lane. Raman said she supports compliance with the measure, while supporting shared bike and bus lanes along narrower portions of the route.

Ahead of the election, Raman told The Times via written statements that her transit priorities as mayor would focus on safety, affordability and reliability so that people did not have to be as reliant on cars. She advocated for protected bike lanes and expansion of bus lanes during her campaign.

Raman also criticized Bass and the Los Angeles World Airports board of commissioners for not staying on top of the $3.3-billion Skylink people mover at LAX, a 2.25-mile train that is supposed to whisk passengers between the terminal and ground transportation. The project is years behind schedule and more than $1 billion over budget.

The contractor, LAX Integrated Express Solutions, or LINXS, has blamed the repeated delays on unsigned agreements between the city’s Los Angeles World Airports and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power as one cause, along with nagging technical issues.

At a news conference near the airport last week, Raman told reporters that if elected, her first-week priority in office would be to convene airport and DWP officials and the contractor to determine who is responsible for each unresolved issue in an effort to break the logjam.

“Taxpayers deserve an advocate at the negotiating table, not another bill for someone else’s failure,” Raman said.

Michael Schneider of Streets for All, an advocacy nonprofit, said he expects Raman to convene a task force to address issues around the people mover project during her first 100 days in office.

He also foresees her consolidating some departments, such as the Street Services repaving division under the city’s transportation department, and directing city departments to implement Measure HLA. It’s also likely, he said, that she will initiate a bond or a tax hike to raise money for sidewalks repairs, curb updates and other street improvements.

“I think it’s the first election where safe streets has become a campaign issue, and real money has gone behind it to try to change the status quo,” Schneider said.

Streets for All’s political action committee took out ads to elect Raman and defeat Bass, powered largely by contributions from hedge fund manager and bike lane advocate Aaron Sosnick.

Over the summer, Raman slammed Bass for pausing a bike lane and street safety improvement project near two cemeteries along Forest Lawn Drive that had come under fire by some in Raman’s district. The debate became so heated that the state Legislature ultimately intervened and set a law that would require a public hearing and approval from the City Council and the mayor’s office before moving forward.

Raman has told The Times that she supported multiple bike lane and multimodal projects including the 710 North Mobility Improvement Program along Valley Boulevard, Huntington Drive and Eastern Avenue, plans to set priority bike lanes during peak hours along Sunset Boulevard and add bike lanes and reconfigure the intersection of Virgil Avenue and Sunset and Hollywood boulevards.

It’s unclear how she will balance the push toward these types of endeavors when faced with community pushback.

Nadine Levyfield has advocated for more transparency and answers from Metro over a bus lane project through the center of Eagle Rock. The agency recently agreed to more community meetings to address ongoing concerns over how a reduction in lanes on a bottlenecked portion of Colorado Boulevard will affect traffic and parking through the area’s business district and surrounding neighborhoods. Levyfield believes the community’s asks align with Raman’s campaign.

“Running on a platform of accountability, transparency, improving efficiency, and making sure government agencies are accountable, we really hope she can help us ensure that Metro is prioritizing public safety,” Levyfield said.

Raman has said she is also committed to the city’s goal to eliminate traffic deaths and said she will treat an initiative that began under Mayor Eric Garcetti’s administration and faced significant scrutiny under Bass as a mandate.

“Angelenos look around and see faded crosswalks, busted pavement and darkened streetlights and wonder why the City can’t even take care of our basic transportation infrastructure,” Raman said in a statement to The Times before her election. “Traffic deaths are preventable and I’ll make sure we’re enforcing laws against dangerous driving, providing actual protection for people who walk and bike, and get our street lights back on and our streets fixed.”

“My priority is to make transit safe, affordable, fast, and reliable, so more Angelenos can avoid the high cost of car payments, insurance, and gas,” she said in the statement.

EDMONTON, Canada — Cutter Gauthier became the first Ducks player with nine goals over a four-game span, scoring and adding an assist in a 5-4 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.

Gauthier — coming off consecutive hat tricks — has seven power-play goals in the four-game span. Dating to 1933-34, the only other NHL players to accomplish the feat are Dave Andreychuk (eight, Nov. 7-14, 1992) and Teemu Selanne (seven, Oct. 25-31, 2008).

Pavel Mintyukov and Beckett Sennecke each had two goals and an assist for the Ducks, and Laurent Brossoit made 23 saves. They have three in a row to improve to 8-7-1.

Connor McDavid, Evan Bouchard, Kasperi Kapanen and Leon Draisaitl scored for Edmonton. The Oilers (11-3-3) have lost two in a row.

Fourth-string goalie Matt Tomkins made 16 saves with Tristan Jarry out because of illness and both Devon Levi and Frederik Andersen injured. The Oilers became the first team in the NHL to dress a full-time emergency backup goalie, with Brett Epp sitting on the bench.

McDavid had three assists to extend his season-opening points and assists streaks to 17 games and give him an NHL-best 44 points. He’s tied for the fourth-longest points streak to start a season in league history.

Up next for the Ducks: at Calgary on Friday night.

Third-year guard Bronny James and rookie guard Cameron Carr have been assigned to G League Coachella Valley, the Lakers announced Thursday.

James, who is the third year of a four-year contract worth $7.9 million ($4.4 million guaranteed), played only 12 minutes this season across five games, scoring four points on two-of-three shooting while missing his only three-pointer.

Carr, who was the 24th overall draft pick this summer, has played only four minutes in three games, missing the only shot he took.

James has played in 74 games during his young career, including 42 last season when he averaged 2.9 points and 1.2 assists in 8.9 minutes.

The Lakers moved their G League affiliate to Coachella Valley, where they will open the season Friday at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert against Salt Lake City.

Klay Thompson made the winning three-pointer with a second left in overtime and the Miami Heat rallied past the reeling Clippers 117-116 on Wednesday night.

Bam Adebayo set season highs with 35 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who have won three of four after losing their first four games. Thompson scored 30, going eight of 17 from three-point range, and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points, 14 boards and six assists.

Miami trailed by 20 in the second quarter and was still down 10 with 4 1/2 minutes left in the fourth before a 9-0 spurt set up the tight finish.

Darius Garland had 26 points and seven assists to pace the Clippers, who have lost seven games in a row since winning their season opener Oct. 21 against Sacramento.

WASHINGTON — Democrats heralded a new era in American politics Wednesday after voters broke Republicans’ control of government and delivered a pivotal rebuke of President Trump.

Victories that handed Democrats control of the House and Senate on Tuesday night came in historic form, with margins outstripping expectations, posting double-digit shifts to the left by nearly every voting bloc. In some of the reddest states in the union, even Republican redistricting efforts designed to shield districts from competition were not enough to prevent Democratic inroads.

The sweeping wins were driven by a rare coalition of voters across nearly all walks of American life, in cities and countryside, from the rural Midwest and Deep South to a traditionally conservative mid-Atlantic. Not since voters were repulsed by President Nixon after the Watergate scandal half a century ago has the popular vote swung so decisively in a single election cycle.

The wave was so comprehensive that it handed Democrats wins that for decades have been unthinkable — flipping Senate seats in Kansas, South Carolina and Texas — and gained a majority of governor’s seats for the first time in a generation. How large their House majority would be remained to be seen as states continued counting votes.

Statehouses in Arizona, Georgia, Minnesota, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania flipped for Democrats — and, as ballots were counted, Texas hung in the balance — while the party wrested at least five gubernatorial seats from Republican control.

“The only thing unusual here is scale,” said Andrew Sinclair, an assistant professor of government at Claremont McKenna College. “It is not at all unusual in American political history to see a poorly led party lose badly in the next election.”

“To build anything enduring out of this election,” he added, “Democrats are going to have to do the hard work of having honest conversations with each other about how such a diverse group of people can cooperate and deliver results.”

The seismic routing appeared to validate the populist messages Democrats — in many cases, both progressives and moderates — ran on, from lowering costs to addressing healthcare and housing issues to confronting the power of corporations in American society.

Party leaders vowed the morning after to respond to voters’ mandate on affordability and to check executive power, as members of both parties predicted the results would reshape politics for years into the future.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called it “a generational remake of the Senate map that is going to change America not only now but on into the future.”

He pledged Democratic senators would be intent on working for their constituents and delivering on promises to relieve Americans’ economic “anguish” and clean up government corruption. He also nodded to the responsibility the party now shoulders.

“With this majority, Americans have given we Democrats the opportunity to prove ourselves worthy of their trust, and that’s our most important job,” Schumer said.

In every demographic, whether cut by gender, race, age, education or region, voters shifted to the left compared to 2024, in most cases by double digits, according to New York Times data. Men 18 to 44 moved to the left by 31 points, Latinos by 28 points, voters under 30 by 32 points.

The nation also elected several historic “firsts,” including the first Muslim senator, the first openly gay male senator and the first Black female governor, in spite of Republican campaign attacks around identity. And Democrats defied Republican redistricting efforts in at least 11 districts, including four in Florida,four in Texas,one each in Ohio, Alabama and North Carolina.

The results showed the success of economic populist messages, said Alex Jacquez, a Democratic consultant and former policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

“The throughline for all the Democrats [who won] is the corporate-friendliness era of moderation is over and we are much more squarely in the prairie populism of the 80s and 90s,” Jacquez said. “You saw a real resurgence of that.”

The unambiguous nature of the victory helped repel the notion that Republicans might attempt to challenge election results, as Trump had telegraphed as a possibility before the election.

Republicans swiftly began trading blame as they parsed the results.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a likely 2028 presidential contender, predicted the results could “reverberate for the next decade or most,” saying the routing was worse than anticipated.

It was “close to an extinction-level event for Republicans across the country,” DeSantis told reporters Wednesday.

Republicans will now face questions about the party’s future direction, and how they prevent a repeat of Tuesday’s wave in 2028. President Trump signaled his willingness to accept the election results and work with Democrats, while evading blame for himself.

“For Republicans, it is clear that President Trump has led the party to disaster — again,” Sinclair said. “Looking to the future, Republicans should reconsider following his style of governance and his policy agenda.”

Democrats will now have to deliver on the affordability and accountability agenda. With full control of Congress, they will be able to send legislation to Trump’s desk, and could force him to sign bills or make unpopular vetoes. Schumer told reporters Wednesday that the party would work to lower costs “with the president or without him, period.”

“It is critically important now that Democrats, now that we’ve been given the keys to the car here, we’re able to drive it,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who won reelection Tuesday, said on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe.”

Shapiro, a likely presidential contender, projected confidence in the new majorities and said Democrats would need to show that they “can legislate, bring down costs, end these wars.”

The mood among Democrats was quickly turning to “resolute” amid the jubilation, said consultant Andrew DeStefano. Party operatives want to build lasting power, he said, not become just another swing in the electoral pendulum.

“Folks don’t want this to be the latest ping-pong volley,” DeStefano said. “Laser focused on how we can deliver on some achievable concrete policy.”

Austin Reaves described it as “fun.” Luka Doncic called the Lakers’ effortless-looking offense as “flowing.” And this is still the early stages of development for a team that brought in nine new players.

Through eight games, the Lakers have the most dynamic offense in the NBA. Led by Doncic, the Lakers are second in scoring with 122.5 points per game and first in offensive rating with 121.9 points per 100 possessions. The starting lineup of Doncic, Reaves, Walker Kessler, Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle has a league-best 135.5 offensive rating among five-man groups that have played at least 40 minutes together entering Wednesday’s game at Sacramento.

“Everything’s as expected,” guard Quentin Grimes said Monday after the Lakers hung 138 points in a 21-point win over the Miami Heat. “Winning, everybody’s getting involved, everybody’s making the right play, getting a lot of assists.”

The Lakers (6-2) had 39 assists against the Heat, the most during JJ Redick’s head-coaching tenure. Doncic is on a historic scoring binge; he is the first Laker since Kobe Bryant in 2007 to have five consecutive games of 35 or more points. While putting up a seemingly ho-hum 42 points against Miami, he also had a season-high 13 assists.

“It’s a really good offense that we’re playing right now,” Redick said. “And a lot of that, of course, is Doncic and what he’s able to do and bend the defense.”

Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer at 38.3 points per game, does his damage early. He typically plays all 12 minutes of the opening quarter and leads the league with 15 points a game in the first quarter. Once he gets his shot going, teams send double teams to force the ball out of his hands. That’s when Doncic can be particularly dangerous.

Doncic has always been lauded for his superior court vision. But the Lakers are still learning to see the same picture. The Lakers had 14 turnovers, including 11 from Doncic and Reaves, during a preseason game against the Denver Nuggets, who were aggressively trapping the Lakers’ ballhandlers. The Lakers threw away a 25-point second-quarter lead on Oct. 30 when the Golden State Warriors ratcheted up the ball pressure.

Doncic’s five turnovers a game are the second most in the league, and Reaves is third with 4.6 turnovers per game.

Some players are new to being on a team with guards who get blitzed nearly every play, Reaves said. It requires players to not only be comfortable making decisions to pass, drive or shoot, but they have to choose quickly. A moment’s hesitation gives away the four-on-three advantage created by the double-team.

Redick praised Grimes’ ability to keep advantages by driving decisively. Forward Sandro Mamukelashvili is also great at it, Redick said, as is guard Collin Sexton, who knows no speed other than full. The Lakers have also finished their advantages with Thybulle and Williams making27 of 58 (46.6%) three-point attempts combined.

“That’s the beauty of our team,” Williams said. “You could put different guys at different spots and everyone’s able to make a play. All our guys are just dynamic and versatile. And everyone just wants to make the right play. No one wants to only shoot, there’s no egos. And that’s the fun part about it, you know? We all love to see each other succeed.”

Williams missed three games because of a sore left foot but returned Monday with nine points, two rebounds and two assists off the bench. When Jake LaRavia jumped into the starting lineup, the Lakers were just as effective offensively as their first-choice lineup. When Doncic, Reaves, Kessler, Thybulle and LaRavia are together, the Lakers’ 144.3 points per 100 possessions ranks first among lineups that have played at least 30 minutes.

Heat forward Giannis Antetokounmpo reaches through the hoop to block a reverse dunk by Lakers center Walker Kessler on Monday night.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

But numbers don’t normalize until about 250 minutes, Redick believes.

“I think there’s always room for improvement,” he said Monday.

The Lakers have the most room for improvement on the defensive side. Their defensive rating of 114 points allowed per 100 possessions is tied with the Clippers for 20th in the NBA. They still rank 28th in rebounding, despite three consecutive double-doubles from Kessler, who responded after Redick challenged the center to be a larger rebounding presence.

“This team can become a great team,” Redick said before Monday’s win over the Heat. “That requires patience, that requires a lot of coaching and teaching and buy-in, and so that whole process takes time.”

Adonis Ratliff scored 25 points in his collegiate debut, Alijah Arenas had 21 points and a career-high eight rebounds, and No. 21 USC beat Milwaukee 95-63 to open the season Monday night.

Darius Ratliff, Adonis’ twin brother, added 14 points and five blocks in his debut for the Trojans. Rodney Rice had 15 points and nine assists in his first game since a season-ending shoulder injury last year, and KJ Lewis added 10 points.

USC (1-0) shot 56.9% from the field, including 12 of 22 from three-point range, and never trailed en route to its third straight season-opening win under coach Eric Musselman.

Amare Hereford scored 14 points and Tre Norman had 13 for the Panthers (0-1).

The Ratliff brothers, the twin sons of 16-year NBA veteran Theo Ratliff, are part of a decorated freshman class for the Trojans that includes touted recruit Christian Collins, who did not play.

Adonis Ratliff shot seven of 10 from the field, including five of seven from three-point range, and added six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. Darius Ratliff was five of 10 and made his only three-point attempt.

USC led 46-29 at halftime on the strength of red-hot shooting and lockdown defense. The Trojans shot 53.6% in the first half and forced the Panthers into nine turnovers, including six in a span of 5:10.

USC pulled away with a 15-0 run midway through the half, holding Milwaukee scoreless for more than seven minutes, and led by double figures the rest of the way.

Milwaukee guard John Lovelace Jr. injured his left leg when he landed awkwardly following a layup in the second half. He walked off the floor with an athletic trainer and did not return.

Up next for USC: vs. Wichita State at Galen Center on Sunday.

Australian jockey Ethan Brown has ridden Point Of Law, a horse previously owned by King Charles, to victory in this year’s Melbourne Cup, the country’s most prestigious race.

Point of Law, which was bought from the King earlier this year for an undisclosed sum, was considered an early favourite.

Brown pushed Point Of Law from the middle of the pack to take the lead with just a few hundred metres to go.

The Melbourne Cup has run in Australia since 1861, often referred to as the “race that stops a nation”. With a prize of A$10.2m ($7.04m; £5.3m), it is the country’s third richest race.

“Don’t wake me up,” said Brown, in the post-race interview.

“Just stay cool, stay patient,” Brown said, recalling his thoughts as he pushed Point Of Law to overtake Royal Supremacy from a dozen lengths behind on the home stretch.

This is a breaking news story – we’ll bring you more details as we get them.

With nine new players on the roster still working on maximizing their on-court chemistry, the Lakers are taking a patient approach to the start of the NBA season.

For now, it looks as if they’re fine with following Luka Doncic‘s lead.

The Lakers’ star had another sensational performance, finishing with 45 points in a 131-125 victory over the Toronto Raptors at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday night.

Doncic was key in helping the Lakers build a 26-point lead in the third quarter. He shot 12 for 23 on the night, going eight for 12 from three-point range. He made all of his 13 free throws and also had 15 rebounds, six assists and five steals.

Not bad for 35 minutes of work on Doncic bobblehead giveaway night.

And his teammates did follow his lead, with Austin Reaves collecting 19 points and Walker Kessler producing a double-double with 16 points on six-for-six shooting and 15 rebounds to go along with three blocks. Collin Sexton came off the bench to score 14 points. Rookie Cameron Carr played his first game of the season, but he didn’t score.

The Lakers were sloppy with the basketball, turning it over 22 times. Scottie Barnes finished with 29 points and six rebounds for Toronto (3-3).

In the eyes of Lakers coach JJ Redick, each game the Lakers (5-2) play is a step in a process aimed at becoming a championship-contending team.

“Frankly, this entire season is about becoming a great team,” Redick said. “Like, we believe we can become a great team and I think as coaches, players, we all have to participate in patience with that. Doesn’t mean you allow things to happen and say, ‘Oh, that’s fine. That’s OK.’ No. No. No. You address those things. I think the guys are very, very open to that dialogue, both with each other and with the coaching staff.”

Lakers star Luka Doncic prevents the ball from going out of bounds in front of Toronto forward Scottie Barnes during the first half Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Scott Strazzante / Associated Press)

Doncic is certainly doing his part to bring a championship mood to L.A. He made a three-pointer with 0.5 seconds left before halftime to give the Lakers a 66-54 lead. He blew a kiss to the fans and waved his hand toward them, prompting cheers from the crowd.

The Lakers play the Miami Heat at home Monday night.

Injury update

Ziaire Williams missed his third consecutive game, but Redick said a scan on the forward’s ailing left foot was “clean.”

“I would describe it [as] soreness that just pops up in the morning and he’s feeling a lot better,” Redick said. “I think just being, again, cautious with the back to back.”

SAN FRANCISCO — Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg scored a career-high 37 points and dished out six assists in a game in which Golden State rested stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, and the Warriors beat the Clippers 124-112 for their fourth straight win Sunday night.

Lendeborg notched his fourth game with 20 or more points, scoring five straight midway through the third quarter that gave the Warriors their biggest lead to that point at 83-68. He shot 13 for 19 — six of 11 from three-point range — and his points were the most by a Warriors rookie since Curry went off for 42 on April 14, 2010, at Portland.

With two 30-point performances among his initial seven games, Lendeborg joined Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry as the only other Warriors to do so. Lendeborg bounced back from a tough outing in a win against the Lakers on Friday in which he fouled out.

Brandon Williams scored 17 points off the bench as the Golden State reserves contributed 40 points in all.

Rui Hachimura had 24 points and Kobe Sanders came off the bench to score 16 for the Clippers, who lost their fifth straight game.

Curry and Green had the night off for the front end of a back-to-back, with the Clippers also playing in the first of consecutive games.

Golden State has found a rhythm since starting 0-3.

Brandin Podziemski overcame a slow start to finish with 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and De’Anthony Melton added 21 points for the Warriors, who were big supporters of the Golden State Valkyries’ run to a WNBA championship that was capped by a thrilling Game 7 win Saturday.

Gabby Williams, Tiffany Hayes and Kiah Stokes walked through Chase Center a night after the Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream in the first Game 7 in Finals history to huge cheers as they made their way to seats in the first quarter. The team was honored at midcourt in the first half.

The arena crew has been busy, changing the court after the Warriors played Friday night and again after Saturday’s WNBA finale.

Up next for the Clippers: vs. the Toronto Raptors at Crypto.com Arena on Monday.

SAN FRANCISCO — Gabby Williams scored her team’s final 11 points of the third quarter and dazzled through the fourth on the way to 30 points, and the Golden State Valkyries captured a championship in just their second season by beating the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in a sensational first WNBA Finals Game 7 on Saturday night.

Jordin Canada scored 18 points, Allisha Gray 16 and Angel Reese had eight points and 12 rebounds for the Dream, denied another championship in the franchise’s fourth try.

Gray made two free throws with 11 seconds left then Atlanta forced a jump ball — Gray against Williams — and Veronica Burton corralled it and converted two free throws with 5.1 seconds to go.

“I’m just so blessed, this is insane!” said Burton, cut by Dallas two years ago.

Rhyne Howard’s layup tied it at 57 with 2:41 left only for Williams to answer once more with a clutch three-pointer. She converted two free throws with 1:40 remaining, then Kiah Stokes scored a late basket. Stokes pulled down 13 rebounds and blocked two more shots to cap her spectacular postseason.

Williams left Seattle with a great feeling about joining Golden State and its close-knit culture, returning to the Bay Area where she played youth basketball to build something special with the Valkyries — and she’s now done that. Fans chanted “Gabby! Gabby!” throughout the fourth quarter.

“All it took was good people,” she said. “All we heard last year was we don’t have no stars. We don’t have no talent. Yeah right! We got good people. We got good people. We got winners. We got people who are ready to put their bodies on the floor to win a game.”

When the final buzzer sounded, the violet-clad sellout crowd at Chase Center went into a frenzy as players sprinted onto the floor to hug and celebrate as confetti fell from the rafters.

“Ballhalla” had become “Boohalla” for this far-but-haunted Halloween night in the raucous arena. Now, with a women’s championship to its name right alongside the one earned by the Golden State Warriors in 2022.

“We gotta build a bigger trophy case,” co-owner Peter Guber said.

The team that led at halftime in the first six matchups had won every game so far, and the Dream were ahead 30-24 at the break. Atlanta also had been 16-0 this season when Reese made at least one 3. The Dream’s DeWanna Bonner became the first player in WNBA history to reach 600 career postseason defensive rebounds.

Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase changed her starting lineup in a move that paid huge dividends after Golden State fell behind 2-1, inserting Kaila Charles and Tiffany Hayes and bringing Kayla Thornton and Cecilia Zandalasini off the bench.

The 37-year-old Hayes, who came out of retirement two years ago and spent 10 seasons with the Dream, scored 11 points in the winner-take-all Game 7 and brought energy all series that made Nakase want to win for the veteran guard as much as anybody.

Valkyries owner Joe Lacob guaranteed a championship within the first five years for this franchise three years ago when the Bay Area was granted an expansion team, and in improbable, joyful fashion, his team accomplished it in Year 2. That after becoming the first expansion organization to reach the playoffs in its inaugural year in 2025.

During the victory ceremony, Lacob shouted out the team and its leaders, while Nakase, general manager Ohemma Nyanin and president Jess Smith hugged. And Lacob thanked the fans who have sold out Chase Center for every game since Day 1.

“Ballhalla!” Lacob hollered.

Scoring 44 points in a league championship decider is usually enough to secure victory — but not against Mission Viejo.

The Diablos beat San Juan Hills 54-44 in an epic Orange County shootout to secure its third consecutive Alpha League crown, buoyed by a bevy of explosive plays.

It started in the first quarter as senior running back Carson Vandermade, who returned after missing the last two games, scored two touchdowns. He finished the game with 121 yards, including a big 52-yard run down the sideline, and three touchdowns but did not return for the fourth quarter.

His counterpart, senior Jack Junker, gained 132 yards, including a 28-yarder, and two touchdowns as the Diablos’ rushing attack dominated. Every time Vandermade and Junker took handoffs, there was a gift waiting. The offensive line — which has four players either committed to or with offers to Division I colleges — opened up huge running lanes.

Junior center Max Davidson attributed the group’s success to a deep camaraderie and hard work.

“It comes down to all the time that we put in together,” he said. “It comes down to the chemistry that we have between the five of us up front. We work together really well and that shows in all our games.”

Mission Viejo High center Max Davidson is all smiles after the Diablos won the Alpha League title with a 54-44 victory over San Juan Hills on Friday night.

(Caleb Otte / For The Times)

Sophomore quarterback Brett Burnor also got in on the rushing action, with 30 yards and two touchdowns. He had a solid night through the air, connecting on nine of his 12 passes for 188 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Burnor had four passes that went for more than 30 yards and connected most often with senior wide receiver Luke Karby, a Duke commit who had 122 yards on five receptions and made multiple contested catches. Karby also threw a two-point conversion to Burnor, in a quick role reversal, in the second quarter.

Mission Viejo coach Chad Johnson said before kickoff that the game would be decided by explosive plays, and he wanted to limit the opponent’s electric moments.

“Every game, San Juan Hills has six to 10 explosive plays on offense that are 40- to 60-yard chunk plays,” he said.

The Diablos allowed San Juan Hills to stay within fighting distance via those big gains that Johnson warned against. While the home team never trailed, San Juan Hills cut the score to 47-44 midway through the fourth quarter after an improbable onside kick recovery. Senior kicker Trevor Koko continued an impressive season with a looping ball that Mission Viejo wasn’t able to field, breathing life into a potential comeback. A quick touchdown drive ensued that made the final minutes extra nervy for the Diablos.

Ultimately, the rushing attack killed the clock and clinched the win by grabbing one more touchdown on an 11-yarder by Junker with 40 seconds to play.

San Juan Hills backup quarterback Parker Armstrong was given the reins to let the ball loose by coach Robert Frith. He completed 27 of 37 passes for 343 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. His longest of the night came on a quick dump down to senior wide receiver commit Luke Frith, a Texas State commit who took it 80 yards for a touchdown. Another long score came on a slant route to senior wide receiver Cooper Chila who broke multiple tackles to take it 57-yards to the house.

Those plays summed up much of the game for the Stallions. Athletic players making big plays, and never giving up on the game. San Juan Hills lost, but it never gave up.

Frith’s constant messaging to the players clearly got through.

The Stallions’ coach said he always tells the team: “When that ball snaps, it is seven seconds of everything you’ve got.”

The game was a high octane battle, but there will be a lot to parse through in the film room, especially for Mission Viejo. In the midst of the barnstorming action, the victors had three bad snaps on extra points and 18 penalties, including six personal foul calls.

Johnson lamented what he called poor officiating after the game but also told his team that the errors needed to be cleaned up by next week’s playoff opener. Mission Viejo likely qualified for the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs with this the win, and will learn of its opponent on Sunday. San Juan Hills will finish the regular season with two losses and wait to see if it makes the Division 2 playoffs.

By the time Collin Sexton arrived at the Lakers’ practice facility Wednesday morning, just hours after a nearly three-hour slugfest against the Portland Trail Blazers, Jarred Vanderbilt was already deep into a morning workout. The Lakers were beginning a grueling five-game, seven-day stretch, but Vanderbilt was on the practice court in a full sweat at full speed.

It’s no surprise to Sexton that Vanderbilt approached his long-awaited regular-season debut the same way Wednesday against the Clippers.

“He’s always going to be ready for whenever his name is called,” Sexton said. “But that just shows a true professional.”

Vanderbilt starred in his bench role in his delayed season debut Wednesday in the Lakers’ 103-87 win over the Clippers at Intuit Dome. The offensive numbers are unremarkable: no points, one shot, one assist and a turnover. The impact was undeniable. The Lakers outscored the Clippers (1-3) by 22 points in his 21 minutes and two seconds on the court.

Vanderbilt, who had seven rebounds, was one of three Lakers bench players to have a plus-minus of plus-21 or better Wednesday, along with Sexton (plus-23) and Sandro Mamukelashvili (plus-21).

“The second unit, we have to come in and pick up where the starters left off,” said Sexton, who had 21 points, including 11 during the third quarter. “That’s the biggest thing. We got to come in and impact the game right away. We can’t come in and ease into it.”

Vanderbilt’s energy helped the Lakers (4-1) win the rebounding battle for the first time this season. He didn’t waste any time after he subbed in with 3:26 remaining in the first quarter. On his first possession in the game, Vanderbilt repeatedly tipped a loose ball up in the air to keep it alive long enough for Austin Reaves to grab an offensive rebound.

The 6-foot-8 forward did not appear in the Lakers’ first four games. He has been on the fringes of the Lakers rotation in part because his three-point shot is not reliable enough to offset his consistent defensive tenacity and energy. But with the Lakers struggling to find a backup center behind Walker Kessler, Lakers coach JJ Redick said Vanderbilt could get an opportunity to play out of position.

Redick said he had previously had conversations with Vanderbilt about ensuring he would be in a position to succeed. Redick views Vanderbilt more as a wing or a forward than a center, where he occasionally played during 2025 after the Lakers traded for Luka Doncic and were shorthanded in the frontcourt. But with Kevon Looney being the only other full-time center behind Kessler this season, there could be moments when Vanderbilt plays the five by necessity, Redick acknowledged Wednesday.

When Kessler wasn’t on the floor Wednesday, Redick said the duo of Vanderbilt and the 6-foot-9 Mamukelashvili was “the best pairing in terms of having another big out there that can space and shoot and play-make.” Mamukelashvili had 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals in 30 minutes.

Looney, who was minus-eight in five minutes on the court against the Trail Blazers on Tuesday, did not play Wednesday. The three-time NBA champion offers a completely different skill set than Kessler at the position, and only one week into the season, Redick said the staff is still figuring out how Looney best fits into the team’s scheme.

“You’re trying to figure out who you are as a group [at the beginning of the season],” Redick said. “You’re also, like, for a team with a lot of new guys, you’re trying to figure out what they are. You follow players for years. You can watch them play, and you got to figure out where they fit and how you can, again, put them in a position to succeed. So that’s still a work in progress with all regards.”

The Lakers looked to bolster their depth at center by signing 7-foot center Lawson Lovering to a two-way contract Wednesday and waiving forward AK Okereke. Lovering was with Memphis’ G League affiliate, where he averaged 7.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 30 games last season. He was undrafted out of Utah, where he finished his collegiate career that started at Colorado.

Lakers scoring phenom Luka Doncic missed his first game of the young season with back tightness, leaving a giant hole in their offense with the NBA’s leading scorer (36 points per game) sitting out.

Lakers defensive star Ziaire Williams also missed his first game with left foot soreness, leaving them even more depleted with two starters unable to play.

The Lakers added a lot of depth over the summer in case of injury situations and now it was going to be tested against the Clippers at Intuit Dome.

Collin Sexton is one of the players the Lakers acquired for a moment like Wednesday, and he delivered in a big way, coming off the bench to provide energy and effort in helping the Lakers take a 103-87 victory over the Clippers.

“Sometimes it’s hard to get his attention because he gets locked in, he gets in the zone,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said about Sexton. “I love the competitive fire.”

Sexton was at his best in the third quarter, scoring 11 of his 21 points, flexing and pounding his chest after a made basket. His play helped the Lakers open a 22-point lead they never lost.

He was four for five from the field in the third, six for 11 for the game. He was two for three from three-point range in the third, four for seven for the game. He also had four rebounds and two assists.

His intensity was on display during a moment when Sexton glared and snared at Clippers guard Cam Christie.

“Honestly, I would say when I step between those lines, it’s us against them,” Sexton said. “I’m going to do whatever my team needs for me. I feel like I turn into a different person when it’s time to go. And I think my teammates know that, so they try to talk to me a little bit, but they know I’m in the zone and ready to go to war. And that’s how I look at it. Whenever I step between those lines, it’s war time. So, that’s how I look at it, for sure.”

Quentin Grimes (23 points), Matisse Thybulle (15) and Austin Reaves (16 points) did their part to help the Lakers improve to 4-1.

Doncic and Williams played against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena, but they couldn’t go in the back-to-back game.

“Both those guys woke up with some soreness and tightness today — tightness for Luka, soreness for Ziaire,” Redick said. “We have a tough stretch of games. Not a lot of time between [games so] just being overly cautious.”

The Lakers next play at the Golden State Warriors on Friday, their fourth game in six days.

Redick was asked if Doncic and Williams would be available for that game.

“That’s the hope,” he said.

Redick turned to Jarred Vanderbilt, who didn’t play in the first four games, and Jaden Hardy, who played in the first game of the season, to help the shorthanded Lakers in their time of need. Vanderbilt played 21 minutes and had seven rebounds. Hardy played nine minutes and had two points.

“Vando’s always going to play hard,” Redick said. “He’s always going to impact the game with just his effort, and I thought he did that tonight.

The Clippers, however, have their own injuries to worry about.

Clippers forward Rui Hachimura (left quad soreness) missed his first game of the season, joining Bradley Beal (right knee injury management), Brandon Ingram (right heel surgery), Jordan Miller (left rotator cuff surgery), Yanic Konan Niederhauser (right lisfranc surgery) and Max Strus (right plantar fascia partial tear) on the injury report.

The Lakers signed center Lawson Lovering to a two-way contract Wednesday and waived two-way forward AK Okereke.

Portland’s Robert Williams III scores in front of Laker Ziaire Williams at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

One day after being retroactively fined for flopping on a play against Utah, forward Ziaire Williams was whistled for the violation again during the fourth quarter Tuesday.

Avdija drove on Williams with 3:38 remaining in the fourth quarter and bumped his left shoulder and arm into Williams’ body. Williams stumbled backward and circled both arms backward as Avdija kicked the ball out to Lillard for a three-pointer. Lillard nailed the shot from the wing and tacked on a technical free throw when play was stopped for Williams’ flopping call.

Williams’ violation was one of three called Tuesday by the crew led by Scott Foster. Portland’s Toumani Camara and Morant were also whistled for flops, and all of the calls came in the fourth quarter of a tight game that saw 52 total personal fouls and 71 free throws.

NBA officials have placed a larger emphasis on flopping this season, along with limiting use of off-arm force against defenders, reckless closeouts and time wasting on free throws. Flops are characterized by “exaggerated and theatrical” movements in an attempt to get a call, according to the NBA. Redick said he didn’t believe Williams’ movements rose to that level against Utah, at least.

With 4:44 left in the fourth quarter against Utah and the Lakers trailing by one, Utah’s Keyonte George switched onto Williams. The Jazz guard drove on Williams and was called for a push-off foul as Williams stumbled backward. It was only until the next day that Williams was fined $2,000 for a flop.

“That’s just the way his body naturally moves,” Redick said.

Williams said Tuesday he had not received feedback about the call he thought was a good defensive play against the Jazz.

“I’ll pay my fine,” Williams said before Tuesday’s game, “and if I got to flop again to get a win, then that’s what I’ll do.”

The Lakers turned the ball over on the next possession, but pieced together a 8-1 run during the fourth quarter to pull away for a thrilling nine-point win after trailing by 18 during the second quarter.