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There is bad news and good news to report on the Kings’ push for a fifth straight playoff berth.

First, the bad.

With a chance to move into a playoff position Saturday, the Kings came out flat and were routed 6-2 by the Utah Mammoth at Crypto.com Arena, leaving them a point out of postseason position.

It was the Kings’ most one-sided loss in more than a month, not exactly the way it wanted to start its final sprint to the postseason. And that left coach D.J. Smith with more questions than answers with nine games left in the season.

“We were not sharp in any facet of the game. It’s not good enough,” said Smith, after Utah scored two goals on the power play and three in transition.

“We’re going to ask ourselves why. Why we weren’t ready. What didn’t we do? The excuses really don’t matter. We’ve got to be way better than we were tonight.”

But wait, it gets worse.

Saturday’s game was also the first of a seven-game homestand, matching the Kings’ longest in 15 years. But that’s not the advantage it would appear to be since only the Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers have been worse at home than the Kings this season.

“I don’t know what it is,” Smith said. “Last year we couldn’t lose here. Right now, we don’t lose very much on the road. That’s in your head. People say it’s luck. You make your own luck.

“We didn’t come ready to play today. And whether it’s our building or the road or wherever we played this game, that isn’t good enough.”

The Kings are also bucking history since 18 of their losses have come in either overtime or a shootout. Just one team — the 2012 Florida Panthers — have lost that many games after regulation and made the playoffs since the shootout was adopted 21 years ago.

Kings forward Quinton Byfield tries to shoot in front of Utah Mammoth defenseman Nate Schmidt during the second period Saturday.

(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

If the Kings had won just half those overtime games, they’d be a point back of the Pacific Division-leading Ducks. Instead, they appear to be going backward at the worst possible time, dropping seven of their last 10 games and nine of 14 since Smith replaced Jim Hiller behind the bench.

And suddenly there’s traffic in their rear-view mirror, with four teams bunched no more than three points behind them in the Western Conference standings.

Despite all that, the Kings took the ice against Utah with a chance to control their own playoff destiny, only to play with little urgency, falling behind for good 2½ minutes after the opening faceoff on the first of two goals by fourth-line winger Alexander Kerfoot.

Kerfoot entered with three goals on the season and nearly doubled that in two periods against the Kings. For a team with everything to play for, the Kings looked distracted and disinterested.

“I don’t know what it was,” defenseman Drew Doughty said. “There’s no excuses for the way we performed.”

Now for the good news — and there is some.

Despite the loss, the Kings are still just a point out of the second wild-card berth — with two of their final six regular-season home games coming against Nashville, the team that currently owns that final playoff berth. Win those two, and the Kings are back in the driver’s seat.

“We’re still in the thick of things,” said captain Anze Kopitar, whose career ends when the Kings’ season does. “We’re not out by any means. But we’re going to have to play much better.”

Added Doughty: “Take it one [game] at a time and win every one.”

A wild-card is no longer the Kings’ only — or even clearest — path to the postseason, however. The Vegas Golden Knights, the team directly ahead of the Kings in the Pacific Division standings, have lost six of their last 10, whittling their lead to four points over the Kings in the battle for the division’s third and final postseason berth.

Pass them and the Kings will likely face the Edmonton Oilers — again — in the first round of the playoffs. The opportunities are there for the taking. But the Kings need to play like they want them.

“We’ve got three days to figure it out, and then we’ve got nine games [left],” Smith said. “We’re going to turn the page and find a way to be better for the next one. It’s got to be a playoff mentality.

“You can’t dwell on it. You’ve got to move on. But you’ve got to get better and you have to learn from why we lost the way we lost tonight.”

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION

Palisades 2, North Hollywood 1

South Gate 5, Sun Valley Poly 4

SOUTHERN SECTION

Alta Loma 5, Schurr 3

Anaheim Canyon 6, Segerstrom 4

Beaumont 13, San Jacinto Valley Academy 3

Bethel Christian 15, United Christian Academy 1

Brea Olinda 8, Tustin 2

Buena Park 5, Savanna 3

Cajon 9, Granite Hills 5

Claremont 13, Littlerock 2

Compton 12, Compton Centennial 3

Covina 9, San Marino 6

El Segundo 13, Palos Verdes 4

Ganesha 13, Santa Ana Foothill 3

Golden Valley 9, Lancaster 8

Hesperia 8, Miller 7

Katella 6, Canyon Springs 3

La Serna 5, Alhambra 2

Linfield Christian 10, Woodbridge 0

Long Beach Cabrillo 17, Hawthorne 1

Montclair 2, Vista del Lago 0

Moorpark 16, Foothill Tech 11

Oxford Academy 7, Century 6

Rancho Mirage 1, Indian Springs 0

Rancho Verde 9, Riverside Poly 5

San Dimas 13, Irvine 2

Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 14, HMSA 11

Sonora 7, Long Beach Wilson 6

St. Paul 5, El Modena 3

Troy 5, Hacienda Heights Wilson 2

Valley View 16, Carter 10

Whittier Christian 9, Estancia 3

INTERSECTIONAL

Dominguez 13, King/Drew 2

Downers Grove 11, Santa Ana Calvary Chapel

Downtown Magnets 12, Long Beach Jordan 5

Inglewood 10, Stella 0

Layton 5, Schurr 4

Kentucky Trinity 5, St. John Bosco 0

Murrieta Valley 10, Galena 7

Orange Lutheran 7, Florida Venice 6

Santa Barbara 14, Douglas 6

Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 16, Collins Family 1

St. Bernard 7, San Diego University City 5

Tonopah 23, Lone Pine 8

SOFTBALL

CITY SECTION

San Fernando 5, LA Roosevelt 3

San Pedro 11, Legacy 1

Sun Valley Poly 8, LA Roosevelt 2

SOUTHERN SECTION

Alemany 9, Canyon Country Canyon 1

Burbank Burroughs 2, Rosary Academy 1

California 16, Whittier Christian 13

California 7, San Clemente 1

Camarillo 4, Chaminade 3

Camarillo 18, Rio Mesa 0

Capistrano Valley 9, Beckman 3

Chino Hills 15, Chino 3

Corona 10, Ridgecrest Burroughs 0

Crean Lutheran 11, Avalon 2

Crean Lutheran 13, Avalon 2

Edison 7, Crescenta Valley 5

Edison 2, Vasquez 1

Irvine 7, Long Beach Wilson 5

JSerra 2, Capistrano Valley 1

Leuzinger 11, Hawthorne 0

Marina 2, Los Alamitos 1

Mater Dei 10, Redondo Union 0

Mira Costa 9, Newport Harbor 3

Palos Verdes 2, Los Altos 1

Paraclete 11, Saugus 1

Rancho Mirage 14, Cathedral City 6

Rosary Academy 7, Fountain Valley 2

San Clemente 7, Whittier Christian 2

Simi Valley 7, West Ranch 1

Simi Valley 5, St. Bonaventure 5

St. Genevieve 7, Sacred Heart of Jesus 4

St. Paul 6, Warren 2

St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy d. Hoover, forfeit

Thousand Oaks 8, Rio Mesa 0

United Christian Academy 13, Bethel Christian 5

Vasquez 4, Woodbridge 0

Warren 5, La Serna 0

Westlake 4, St. Bonaventure 2

Westlake 0, Chaminade 0

Westlake 4, St. Bonaventure 2

West Ranch 10, Thousand Oaks 4

West Torrance 6, Hart 0

INTERSECTIONAL

Alemany 11, Arleta 1

Arleta 10, Canyon Country Canyon 8

Downey 6, Legacy 0

Downey 10, San Pedro 0

Granada Hills 8, La Serna 5

Muir 8, San Fernando 4

Muir 12, Sun Valley Poly 3

San Luis Obispo 7, Torres 6

St. Paul 8, Granada Hills 4

The 19-year-old Mercedes driver’s historic championship accomplishment came after he won his second F1 race in a row.

Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes won the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday for his second straight victory as the 19-year-old Italian became the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the world championship standings.

Antonelli took advantage of a mid-race safety car to leapfrog into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position at Suzuka and eventually led home McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

He whooped with delight as he crossed the line, telling his team, “The pace was unbelievable today.”

He leads the championship after three races, building on the first Grand Prix win of his career two weeks ago in China.

George Russell of Mercedes, who started the day on top of the championship standings, finished fourth.

Russell battled Piastri for the lead over the first half of the race but pitted just before the safety car to drop back out of contention for the win.

McLaren’s world champion Lando Norris was fifth ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.

Red Bull’s four-time world champion Max Verstappen, who had won in Japan for the past four years, was eighth after starting from 11th on the grid.

Antonelli recovers from poor start

Antonelli was in pole position for the second straight race, having become the youngest pole-sitter in F1 history in China.

But the Italian had a shocking start, sinking to sixth by the first corner.

Piastri took the early lead ahead of Leclerc, with Norris, Russell and Hamilton all overtaking Antonelli.

Russell moved up the field to sit on Piastri’s tail as the game of cat and mouse began.

Antonelli also made up lost ground, but a crash from Haas driver Ollie Bearman brought out the safety car midway through the race.

Bearman was limping badly as race marshals helped him off the track, and his team later said he had “a right knee contusion”.

Antonelli dived into the pits moments after the safety car was deployed, a stroke of good luck that won him the race as he emerged at the head of the pack.

Russell slid out of contention, first being overtaken by Hamilton before watching Leclerc go past.

Antonelli increased his lead while Russell recovered, but Piastri held on to deny Mercedes a third successive one-two Grand Prix finish.

Haas said initial X-rays showed Bearman had no fractures after his crash, which saw him hit the barrier at high speed.

The 20-year-old had moved up the field after starting from 18th on the grid.

Formula One now takes an extended break until the Miami Grand Prix on May 3.

The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia races scheduled for April have been cancelled because of the war in the Middle East. The 19-year-old Mercedes driver’s historic championship accomplishment came after he won his second F1 race in a row.

Kimi Antonelli took his second win in succession and the lead of the world championship after being gifted victory in the Japanese Grand Prix by a safety-car period.

The 19-year-old Italian had not yet made a pit stop, while his rivals for victory McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Mercedes team-mate George Russell had, when Oliver Bearman’s Haas crashed heavily.

That gave Antonelli a pit stop that cost him less time than the others and ensured he could retain the lead.

A frustrated Russell, who finished fourth behind Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, said over the radio “unbelievable” as he realised Antonelli would beat him for the second consecutive race.

Antonelli becomes the youngest driver in history to head the championship and leads his team-mate by nine points.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka edges Coco Gauff in a tense three-set final to claim the ‘Sunshine Double’ in Florida.

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka beat hometown favourite Coco Gauff 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in the Miami Open final on Saturday to ⁠join an exclusive club by completing the coveted “Sunshine Double”.

Top-seeded Sabalenka, who reached the final without dropping a set, won 73 percent of her first-serve points and faced just two break points en ⁠route to victory in a rematch of the 2025 French Open final won by Gauff.

Sabalenka is only the fifth woman to win the Indian Wells and Miami titles back-to-back, a feat known as the “Sunshine Double”, given the tournaments’ respective locations in California and Florida.

“I want to start with [Coco]. You’re a fighter, and you also ‌push me so hard to be a better player, and I like our rivalry,” Sabalenka, who improved to 7-6 all-time versus Gauff, said during the trophy ceremony.

Sabalenka raced out to a 2-0 lead, but Gauff, from nearby Delray Beach and appearing in her first Miami final, got on the board with a love hold and then repelled three break points in her next service game to get within 3-2.

But Sabalenka did not lose focus and eventually went up a double break ⁠on the world number four before closing out a dominant opening on her ⁠serve.

There was very little to separate the two players in the middle set, which remained on serve until Gauff broke Sabalenka for the only time in the match to force a third set. Sabalenka broke Gauff to open the decider, held ⁠at love in two consecutive service games to go 5-3 up and then sealed the victory with her fourth break of the match when Gauff ⁠sent a backhand wide.

Sabalenka is the first player to win back-to-back ⁠Miami titles since Ash Barty in 2019 and 2021. The 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Belarusian joins Iga Swiatek (2022), Victoria Azarenka (2016), Kim Clijsters (2005) and Steffi Graf (1994, 1996) as the only women to complete the Sunshine Double.

She also improved to 23-1 on the ‌year, her only loss coming in the Australian Open final at the hands of Elena Rybakina, whom she went on to beat in the Indian Wells final and Miami semifinals.

“Aryna, congratulations. We’ve had many ‌battles, ‌many finals and, yeah, I think you push me to be a better player,” said Gauff. “You’re a great fighter, and hopefully we can play many more. I think we will.”

Former two-time champion loses his fourth straight bout after being stopped by Pyfer in the second round.

Joe Pyfer sent former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion ‌Israel Adesanya back to the drawing board in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night headliner in ⁠Seattle, stopping Adesanya ⁠at 4:18 of the second round to cap the night.

Before the technical knockout (TKO) finish, both fighters exchanged their best punches in a stand-up battle until a Pyfer (16-3 MMA) takedown signalled the beginning ⁠of the end.

“I just have this mentality where I don’t care; I’m going to search and destroy,” Pyfer said, following the stoppage, securing the finish in top control.

Adesanya (24-6 MMA), fighting out of New Zealand, has not won a ⁠bout since regaining middleweight gold in April 2023 at UFC 287, and confirmed he has no plans to retire.

“I’m just going to keep going and going and going,” Adesanya said.

Grasso dominates Barber in rematch

A rematch five years in the making commenced at flyweight as former champion Alexa Grasso made short work of Maycee Barber with a TKO stoppage at 2:42 of the ‌opening round. The Mexican used a left hook to down Barber before jumping on top of her immediately as the referee stepped in.

The two first met in February 2021, with Grasso earning a decision. Grasso (17-5-1 MMA) snapped a two-fight losing skid, whereas Barber (15-3 MMA) had not lost since the first meeting with Grasso, having won her previous seven fights.

In his final MMA fight, welterweight Michael Chiesa (20-7 MMA) had a hometown send-off as he submitted Niko Price (16-11 MMA) with a first-round rear-naked choke. Chiesa needed just 63 seconds ⁠to put a bow on his UFC career, one that spanned a decade-plus ⁠and included winning the 15th season of The Ultimate Fighter in June 2012.

Chiesa ended his UFC career at 15-7, while Price, who has been in the promotion for over a decade himself, now sits at 8-11, with two no contests in the Octagon and has ⁠dropped four straight fights.

The finishes were a theme on the night, as featherweight Lerryan Douglas (14-5 MMA) of Brazil needed 3:33 of the opening round to deliver ⁠a devastating TKO against Julian Erosa (31-13 MMA). Douglas has now won his ⁠last six in a row while Erosa continues to struggle at 9-9 in the UFC.

At middleweight, Yousri Belgaroui of the Netherlands scored a third-round TKO stoppage against Mansur Abdul-Malik by landing a perfectly timed knee to end the fight in a back-and-forth battle. Belgaroui (10-3 MMA) has ‌won five straight and remains undefeated in the UFC. Conversely, it was Abdul-Malik’s (9-1-1 MMA) first professional loss, as he had won seven of his 11 outings by KO/TKO.

The main card got under way in emphatic fashion in the ‌opener, ‌with lightweight Terrance McKinney needing just 24 seconds to dispatch Canadian Kyle Nelson with a series of punches following a head kick. McKinney (18-8 MMA) has won three of his last four, while Nelson (17-7-1 MMA) has lost two of his last three.

Great Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson miss out on an ice dance world medal by less than a fifth of a point after having two points deducted for an “illegal element”.

WATCH MORE: Malinin wins third straight world figure skating title

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Just like last year and the year before, Wales’ Six Nations opener is against Scotland.

Wales had the upper hand in the Celtic clash up until 2023, but have failed to win in their past few encounters, including a sobering defeat at the World Cup.

The two sides will meet again at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, 11 April (16:40 BST).

“They’ve got to be one of our biggest rivalries,” admitted Williams.

“A few years ago it was us on top and they’ve really turned it around. They’re one of our biggest challenges and one of the games that we’re going to go after.

“We do want to write some wrongs [from the World Cup].

And Williams insists they have the calibre of players to be able to beat the Scots.

“It is a big match, but these are the big moments that we’re excited to play. This is what we want to do as rugby players,” she added.

“I wouldn’t call it a grudge match or anything, but we’re looking to beat as many teams as possible, Scotland being one of them.”

After Scotland, Wales host France at Cardiff Arms Park on 18 April before travelling to face reigning champions England at Ashton Gate a week later.

A trip to Belfast follows to take on Ireland after the fallow week before Wales finish their campaign back at the Arms Park against Italy on 17 May.

Olympic champions Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry of France won gold, with 230.81 points. They are the fourth pair to win Olympic, world and European titles in the same season.

They finished 19.29 points ahead of the field, which is the biggest winning margin in worlds history.

Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, who took bronze at Milan-Cortina 2026 won the silver medal, ahead of Zingas and Kolesnik, who finished on 209.20 points, with Fear and Gibson ending on 208.98.

The British pair, who won bronze at last year’s World Championships, missed out on a medal at the Winter Olympics last month because of a costly mistake in their free dance routine.

Earlier, US star Ilia Malinin won a third straight men’s gold as he bounced back from missing out on an Olympic medal last month when he fell twice in the free skate.

ATLANTA — Belgium blew out the United States 5-2 on Saturday in a World Cup warmup that exposed the Americans’ defensive difficulties, rallying from a late first-half deficit on two goals by Dodi Lukébakio and one each from Zeno Debast, Amadou Onana and Charles De Ketelaere.

Weston McKennie put the U.S. ahead in the 39th minute with his 12th international goal, his first in three years, but Debast and Onana began Belgium’s rally with their first international goals on a frustrating afternoon for Matt Turner, the former No. 1 American goalkeeper who made his first appearance since last June.

Debast scored in the 45th, Onana put the Red Devils ahead in the 53rd and De Ketelaere converted a penalty kick in the 59th after a hand ball by U.S. captain Tim Ream.

Lukébakio entered in the 62nd minute and beat Turner from long range in the 68th and 82nd minutes to build a 5-1 lead before a disappointed largely pro-American crowd of 66,867 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, site of a World Cup semifinal in July.

Patrick Agyemang scored for the U.S. in the 87th after Ricardo Pepi took advantage of defensive misplay.

The U.S. lost a home game by three goals in which it scored the opening goal for the first time since an 8-1 defeat to England in 1959, according to Opta.

Belgium extended its unbeaten streak to 10 games and has won six straight against the U.S. since losing to the Americans at the initial World Cup in 1930.

The U.S. had entered with a five-game unbeaten streak that created optimism but was missing several injured regulars.

McKennie put the Americans ahead when he took advantage of Johnny Cardoso’s pick to cut in front of Nicolas Raskin and volley Antonee Robinson’s corner kick past Senne Lammens.

American players debuted jerseys with red and white stripes that resemble a waving flag.

With the roof closed in an air-conditioned stadium, fans booed the water breaks in the middle of each half — which will take place at each World Cup match.

Belgium was missing striker Romelu Lukaku, midfielders Leandro Trossard and Hans Vanaken and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois because of injuries and fitness issues. The Red Devils play Mexico in Chicago on Tuesday.

This week began with Orange Lutheran having played in only four baseball games while others had played in 10 or more. The Lancers were saving their best to come and it certainly showed when they won four consecutive games to capture the National High School Invitational on Saturday in Cary, N.C.

After needing consecutive walk-off hits to win in the quarterfinals and semifinals, Orange Lutheran (7-1) had more nerve-racking moments before knocking off defending champion Venice (Fla.) 7-6. In the bottom of the seventh, Venice put two runners on with two outs before Anthony Tomminelli got a strikeout to secure the win.

Orange Lutheran started fast with a two-run triple by CJ Weinstein in the first inning. Eric Zdunek finished with two hits and two RBIs while Brady Murrietta added two hits. The Lancers have about 24 hours to celebrate because next week they face St. John Bosco in a critical three-game series in the Trinity League.

Harvard-Westlake 10, Arizona Casteel 8: Jake Kim flexed his muscles for the second consecutive game, hitting a home run and double to finish with three RBIs. Ethan Price had a two-run double. Freshman Nate Englander had two hits and three RBIs.

Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian 5, St. John Bosco 0: The Braves return home from North Carolina with a 9-2 record and set to face Orange Lutheran this week in a three-game Trinity League series. Jack Champlin had two hits in the loss.

Aquinas 4, Gloucester 0: Eli Martinez threw the shutout with seven strikeouts.

Around 16,000 fans packed into the Manchester arena bought into the Itauma buzz, greeting him with a warm roar as he was walked to the ring by British rapper Meekz.

Itauma – the prodigy who was sparring seasoned professionals while still at school – was in wonderful form from the first bell, using his speed and variation to send Franklin backtracking.

In truth, the knockout felt inevitable even when 32-year-old Franklin managed to recover from a third-round right hand that sent him crashing to the floor.

Working behind a jab and picking his shots wisely, Itauma avoided anything reckless. “It’s a breakdown job,” trainer Ben Davison aptly told him between rounds.

This was another night that thrilled and told us a little more about the rising heavyweight.

Itauma’s devastating power is undeniable, once again on display as he dispatched a seasoned opponent inside the first half of the fight.

But the bigger questions remain.

His chin has yet to be properly tested. Franklin landed a right in the fourth, and Itauma just smiled, but he will face bigger punches in the future.

And while the knockouts keep coming, he is still unproven beyond six rounds, with his engine and endurance untested at the highest level.

Promoter Warren expects Itauma to fight for a world title this year.

Within boxing circles, that talk may be slightly premature but Itauma is keeping pace with two-time world champion Anthony Joshua.

At the same stage of his career, Joshua beat Gary Cornish to register a 14th stoppage and was selling out the O2 Arena. Itauma is on a similar trajectory, almost filling the Co-op Live Arena – and arguably facing higher-level opponents along the way.

The key step-up for Joshua came in his 15th fight: a win over Dillian Whyte for the British title, which developed his resolve and enhanced his profile.

By his 17th, he was world champion after defeating Charles Martin.

The NBA gave Luka Doncic one mulligan. The league wouldn’t grant the Lakers superstar a second.

Doncic will serve a one-game suspension because of technical foul accumulation, the NBA announced Saturday, sidelining him for Monday’s game against the Washington Wizards after he picked up his 16th technical foul of the season in the Lakers’ win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.

Doncic said he was trying to get away from Brooklyn’s Ziaire Williams when he pushed the Nets forward aside with 5:12 remaining in the third quarter. Doncic had just been called for an offensive foul while the Lakers were attempting to inbound the ball. Williams was shouting in Doncic’s direction. Doncic attempted to move past Williams and the 24-year-old from Lancaster then waved his arm behind him and slapped Doncic in the throat. Both were given technical fouls.

Doncic said referees told him his push was “exaggerated.”

“Which was obviously [not the case],” said Doncic, who scored 41 points with eight rebounds and three assists in the win.

This is the second time in a week that Doncic has faced the mandatory suspension after getting his 16th technical foul, but he avoided the fate after the NBA rescinded a technical he picked up against Orlando on March 21. The reversal kept Doncic available for the Lakers’ matchup with Eastern Conference-leading Detroit on March 23 in which Doncic scored 32 points, but missed the potential game-tying three at the buzzer of a tense 113-110 Lakers loss that ended a nine-game winning streak.

Monday’s game will likely not have the same drama.

The Wizards (17-56) have lost 17 of their last 18 games. The only win came against the Utah Jazz, another team that’s attempting to position itself for the lottery more than the playoffs. Washington will be without Trae Young (quad) and Anthony Davis (finger), the team’s two major midseason acquisitions.

With another bottom-feeding team coming to Crypto.com Arena, Doncic and the Lakers might actually benefit from resting the superstar. He played through left hamstring soreness Friday, and the Lakers (48-26) host the playoff-bound Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. The days between Friday’s win and Monday’s game will be the Lakers’ first two-day break since the All-Star Game.

Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer, has charged into the most valuable player conversation by helping lift the Lakers into third place in the Western Conference. He has scored 30 or more points in 12 consecutive games, the longest such streak for his career.

The Lakers have won 15 of their last 20 games with Doncic averaging 35.5 points per game during the span. With 102 steals on the season, including three against the Nets, Doncic also became the first Laker since Kobe Bryant in 2012-13 averaging 30 or more points per game with 100 or more total steals.

The Lakers could also be without guard Marcus Smart, who has missed the last three games because of a right ankle contusion. He also suffered a hip injury in a separate fall against Orlando, but he is showing improvement and remains day-to-day, Lakers coach JJ Redick said Friday.

The truth about this contest is if it wasn’t a World Cup year the entire thing would be largely irrelevant, but it’s deeply irrelevant because Scotland are on the clock now.

Time is ticking. Ivory Coast on Tuesday, Curacao on 30 May, a flight to America the next day, a final friendly in New Jersey in early June – and then the big show.

Scotland need momentum, they need to crash rather than limp into the World Cup, they need to hit the ground running. They had, and did, none of these things at the Euros in Germany. The power they had in qualification dissipated during the warm-up games. They arrived at the Euros searching for confidence and failed to find it.

That would have been one of the big takeaways from that tournament – the need to hold on to the energy and feelgood that got them there in the first place.

Scotland still have time to regain it before America. A rousing performance against Ivory Coast – ranked 35 in the world to Scotland’s 20 – in Liverpool and they’ll be where they want to be. After that, Curacao at home. A win against the world number 82 to send them on their way, surely?

Clarke’s team are becoming a bit of an enigma, a curiosity that’s hard to read. The performances rise and fall. It’s hard to get an angle on where they’re at.

Take their games in qualification. Tremendously resilient in Copenhagen in getting a goalless draw in round one, ultra professional in beating Belarus in round two.

Then, a bizarre 3-1 win at home to Greece on a night when the visitors were by far the better side, followed by a 2-1 win against Belarus that led to so many players, and Clarke, expressing disappointment in the most brutal and graphic terms. John McGinn described the pair of victories as “jobby” performances.

Next, to Greece. Losing 3-0 – it could have been been five had it not been for Craig Gordon’s heroics – Scotland rallied and eventually lost 3-2. They were heading for the play-off until Belarus did them the most enormous favour in Copenhagen.

So, a mix of bottle and luck got them to the big showdown against Denmark where sheer class and never-say-die took them the rest of the way. This Scotland team has many faces.

Saturday was a return to their reserved selves when, really, you wanted to see the warriors of November, or at least a version of them. All eyes on Tuesday night, then, and Scotland’s search for the intensity and vitality we know they have.

Clarke has promised six or seven changes. The new blood need to infuse Scotland with some verve. Now is not the time to go into their shell. Against Ivory Coast, they need to come out fighting.

For the second time in less than a week, Luka Doncic faces a one-game suspension because of technical foul accumulation.

Only a week after Doncic’s 16th technical foul was rescinded by the NBA, the Lakers superstar picked up another one in a 116-99 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday and is in line to miss the Lakers’ next game against the Washington Wizards on Monday.

In the third quarter with the Lakers trailing by one against the lowly Nets (17-57), Doncic was called for an offensive foul against Nic Claxton as the Lakers (48-26) were trying to inbound the ball after a dunk by Ziaire Williams. After the Lakers turnover, Williams and Doncic appeared to exchange words with Doncic pushing Williams aside with one hand. Williams then flailed his arms behind him and slapped Doncic in the throat.

“He was yelling in my face three times,” said Doncic, who finished with 41 points, eight rebounds and three assists in the win. “I just wanted to get out of there. … I didn’t even talk. I just wanted to get out of there. And they said I pushed. My push was exaggerated, which was obviously not [the case].”

Both were assessed technical fouls with 5:12 remaining in the third quarter, and Williams’ hit was reviewed for a possible flagrant, although it was not upgraded.

The NBA requires players to sit out for one game without pay after their 16th technical foul of the season. But Doncic avoided that fate after the NBA rescinded the foul that would have forced him to the bench for a critical road game last week against the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons. Lakers coach JJ Redick said the Lakers will try to appeal Doncic’s latest foul but he did not see what happened on the play.

Doncic is slated to miss Monday’s game against the Wizards, who have lost 17 of their last 18 games and have the third-worst record in the league (17-56).

Lakers star Luka Doncic reacts to a referee’s call during the second half Friday against the Brooklyn Nets at Crypto.com Arena.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Doncic picked up his first 16th technical foul last week against the Magic after getting into an argument with Orlando forward Goga Bitadze. Doncic claimed Bitadze directed a vulgar comment about Doncic’s family in Serbian toward the Lakers star guard. Bitadze refuted the story, saying it was actually Doncic who said the curse word out loud first and that he was only repeating what he heard.

The NBA rescinded both fouls upon review the following day.

Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer, has scored 30 points or more in 12 consecutive games, the longest such streak in his career. He has 43 30-point games this season, tying Elgin Baylor and Jerry West for sixth-most in a season by a Lakers player. He has scored 40 points or more in league-leading 15 games this season, seventh-most by a Laker in a season.

Against the Nets, Austin Reaves finished with 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists and LeBron James had 14 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Before the game, Redick said the Nets game would be like playing on the road since the Lakers had spent almost two weeks away from Crypto.com Arena and had returned home in the wee hours of Thursday morning from Indianapolis.

Lakers guard Austin Reaves celebrates after shooting a three-pointer against the Nets in the second half Friday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The challenge was to find the energy to play, which wasn’t a problem for Doncic, who had 24 points in the first half. Doncic shot nine for 15 from the field in the first half and four for six from three-point range in 20 minutes. He finished shooting 15 for 25 from the field as the Lakers shot 54%. They shot 44% (11 for 25) from three-point range.

That the Lakers were facing a Nets team with the second-worst record in the NBA didn’t matter.

That the Lakers were facing a Nets team had lost nine of its last 10 games didn’t matter.

That the Lakers were facing a Nets team that’s last in the league in scoring (106.3 points per game) didn’t matter.

Lakers center Deandre Ayton, left, blocks a shot by Brooklyn Nets guard Nolan Traore in the first half Friday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

What mattered to the Lakers was finding a way to win as the regular season winds down.

“I felt like we were a step slow,” Redick said. “And I told the guys at halftime, ‘This is our seventh game of the road trip. Anytime you come back, there’s a day in between, that’s just you’re in another city until you can get adjusted to the time zone and you get a couple days break.’ So the next two [off] days will be good for us.”

Notes: Lakers broadcast analyst Stu Lantz missed Friday night’s game against the Nets because of health issues. Derek Fisher, who won five NBA titles with the Lakers, took over Lantz’s role for the game. Public address announcer Lawrence Tanter also missed the game because of a health matter. Jason Barquero filled in for Lantz. “The entire Lakers organization is wishing Lawrence all the best in his recovery, and we look forward to welcoming him back soon,” the team said in a statement.

You used to root for Bronny James to come into games ironically. Or because you just wanted to see history.

But now I bet you want to see Bronny come into the game to hoop.

That’s a pretty cool plot twist.

Especially because LeBron James’ son has had to develop his game with the weight of a kingdom on his shoulders, the only expectation being that he would fail to amount to anything resembling an NBA player.

But over the past couple seasons, Bronny has developed into an NBA reserve who is worth rostering, whether or not his dad is part of the program.

Shocker, right?

Lakers guard Bronny James blocks a shot by Spurs forward Kelly Olynyk at Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 10.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

For the second consecutive game Friday, Lakers coach JJ Redick called the second-year guard’s number for important minutes.

Not to complete garbage time chores. Not as a gimmick to please the King. But because he needed a ball-handler he could trust after the regular rotation got wonky in the second quarter of the Lakers’ 116-99 victory over the Brooklyn Nets at Crypto.com Arena.

For the second consecutive game, Bronny helped buoy the Lakers. In four minutes, he had a deflection and drained a three-pointer that not only keyed a much-needed 9-0 Lakers run but also was the first father-to-son assisted basket in NBA history, coming on a pass from LeBron.

Trailblazers, like at Sierra Canyon High. That’s where Bronny and the Nets’ Ziaire Williams were teammates before Bronny and his dad, “Big Bron,” were Williams’ opponents Friday.

His former teammate sees in Bronny what his current teammates do: A hard worker who needs only to nurture his confidence to be able to contribute in the NBA.

“He’ll be great,” Williams said. “Especially starting off on the defensive end. He can guard one through four, pick up full [court,] have good ball pressure. On the offensive end, he’s a gamer. He can make shots, he can drive the ball. He can get his teammates open. The biggest thing with him is just keeping that confidence.

“When he’s confident and he’s in flow state, in rhythm, he’s a great, great player. … He’s just gotta keep working.”

Bronny’s been working in the G League the last two seasons, bouncing between the big leagues and the developmental circuit, where last season his averages were solid — including 21.9 points, per game — but nowhere near as efficient as they’ve been this season. In 13 games, he’s averaging 14.8 points on 54.7% shooting, including 41.7% from three-point range.

Lakers forward LeBron James greets his son, guard Bronny James, on the court during a game against the Clippers at Crypto.com Arena on Nov. 25.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“It’s just getting back to where it was before the incident,” LeBron said Friday, referencing Bronny’s cardiac arrest caused by a congenital heart defect on July 24, 2023.

“He’s always been able to shoot the ball. He shot the ball at a high level pretty much throughout his years of playing ball. So I just think there’s the confidence in the rhythm and just getting the strength back and his wind and everything. Everything is just coming back.”

That’s carried over to the big club; Bronny is shooting 41.9% from three-point range in those instances when Redick has called on him — as he also did in a 137-130 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.

In that victory, Bronny had four points, two steals and a block in 13 minutes. Redick credited the 21-year-old with settling the team with a pull-up jumper with 3:55 to go in the game, which was the second this season LeBron and Bronny played together.

The first time it happened, in the season opener in 2024, the prevailing thought was that it wouldn’t happen again for a long time — and if it did, something had probably gone very wrong for the Lakers that game.

But that’s not the case. No, because Bronny has made a convincing case as an NBA player.

“I’ve been wanting to play basketball my whole life,” Bronny said. “It’s a dream come true. I’m so privileged to be able to play basketball for a job and I love every single second of it. My teammates embrace it. I’m best friends with all my teammates and my coaches. I’m just happy to be here.”

He’s become an effective plug-and-play piece — and not on a tanking Nets team that regularly runs out G League-caliber players, but on a playoff-bound Lakers team that has won 14 of its last 16 games.

The No. 55 draft pick in 2024, Bronny has surpassed Dalton Knecht, the 17th pick in that same draft, in the Lakers’ pecking order.

He’s become a player who can be counted on, and he’s especially valuable to a team that happens to badly need youth and athleticism, as the Lakers do.

You want to talk twists? How about whatever happens with LeBron — when, or if, he retires — the Lakers should seriously consider keeping Bronny in the fold. Seriously.

Bristol: Rees-Zammit; Ravouvou, Moroni, Williams, Boshoff; Jordan, Randall; Genge, Oghre, Kloska; Dun, Owen, Luatua, Harding (c), S. Grondona.

Replacements: Gwilliam, Woolmore, Chawatama, Taylor, B. Grondona, Marmion, Janse van Rensburg, Ibitoye.

Harlequins: Benson; Isgro, Murley, Bradley, David; Evans, Townsend; Kerrod, Walker, Jones; Treadwell, Williams, Petti Pagadizabal, Kenningham, Dombrant (c).

Replacements: Riley, Hobson, Delgado, Green, Carr, Driscoll, Grant, Kerr.

Referee: Adam Leal

PRAGUE — Ilia Malinin is back on the top step of the podium.

Six weeks after a disastrous skate knocked the Olympic gold-medal favorite off the podium, the “quad god” reeled off one huge jump after another, and a backflip for good measure, to retain his world championship title for the third year running.

Malinin shouted and punched the air with relief after finishing a skate that showed he had achieved his desire to “move on” from the Olympics after days tormented by his mistakes.

He praised the crowd’s support, saying: “It was really challenging, really hard but with you guys I was able to make it through.” His aim, he added, had simply been to get through the free skate “in one piece.”

Skating last after leading the short program, just as he did in Milan, Malinin landed five high-scoring quadruple jumps but not his pioneering quad axel, a jump he didn’t attempt at the Olympics.

Malinin scored 218.11 in the free skate for a total 329.40, far ahead of silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama of Japan on 306.67. Another Japanese skater, Shun Sato, was third on 288.54.

Ilia Malinin performs a backflip during his free skate at the World Figure Skating Championships on Saturday in Prague.

(Petr David Josek / Associated Press)

Kagiyama beat his personal-best free skate score but still had to make do with a fourth career world championship silver in a career which includes four Olympic silvers and five total worlds medals, but no gold from either event. He still embraced Malinin after his skate and they jumped together in celebration.

In a showcase of top-level skating, there was no podium spot for France’s Adam Siao Him Fa, who had been in second after the short program but dropped to fifth overall after a fall. Estonia’s Aleksandr Selevko also fell dropped from third to sixth.

Malinin had no rematch with Mikhail Shaidorov, the skater from Kazakhstan who won the Olympic gold, because he opted against competing again this season.

That’s relatively common in figure skating for gold medal winners who face a rush of media and commercial opportunities after a grueling four-year Olympic buildup.

Malinin becomes the first skater to win three consecutive men’s world titles since fellow American Nathan Chen, who achieved the feat in 2018, 2019 and 2021 after the 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The last competition of the championships is the free dance portion of the ice dance event later Saturday. France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron are in the lead after Friday’s rhythm dance.

Senegal parade AFCON trophy at Stade de France ahead of friendly against Peru, despite being stripped of the title.

Senegal, who won the Africa Cup of Nations title in a controversial final against hosts Morocco in January – only to be stripped of their victory weeks later – have paraded the trophy ahead of a friendly against Peru at the Stade de France in Paris.

Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly and his teammates came out onto the pitch with the AFCON trophy on Saturday for a lap of honour after a pre-match concert by Senegalese superstar Youssou N’Dour.

Koulibaly and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy went up to the stadium’s presidential box to place the trophy there in front of Abdoulaye Fall, the president of the Senegalese Football Federation, among others.

Only hours earlier, Morocco had declared the case for the trophy closed, following the Confederation of African Football (CAF) ruling that Senegal’s 1-0 win in January’s final was to be overturned following the mid-game walk-off by their players.

CAF’s appeals panel awarded Morocco a 3-0 win and with it, the title.

Senegal and Morocco set to remain locked in AFCON dispute

Senegal have said they will take their own appeal back to CAF and to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which could take a year to rule.

The Senegalese government has called for an independent international inquiry into CAF’s decision, alleging corruption should also be looked into.

Senegal’s players left the field in normal time during the final in protest at a penalty awarded to Morocco, which – upon the Senegalese return after a 14-minute delay – was missed.

The match on the day was settled by Pape Gueye’s strike in extra time. Morocco immediately appealed the result, but were initially rebuffed by CAF.

Senegal turn Paris into AFCON trophy celebration

A crowd of 70,000 was expected for the match at 16:00 GMT on Saturday. Thousands of Senegalese supporters, sprinkled with Peruvian fans, were already in the Stade de France by the time the players showed off their trophy.

Earlier, nearly 200 Senegal supporters gathered in front of the nearby Basilica of Saint-Denis before making their way to the Stade de France to the sound of traditional drums and percussion.

Bally Bagayoko, the newly elected mayor of Saint-Denis, briefly joined the procession.

“Welcome to Saint-Denis,” said the mayor. “I wanted to thank everyone who organised this wonderful initiative.

“You are the pride of the residents of working-class neighbourhoods. We have often been discriminated against, often looked down upon.

“You are showing that you are capable, at such an important moment, of coming together. Today, Africa is united. Everyone behind Senegal.”

The friendly against Peru was due to be the Lions of Teranga’s first match since the Africa Cup of Nations final.

They are preparing for the World Cup, where they have been pitted in a group with France, Norway and either Bolivia or Iraq.

Their squad on Saturday was almost identical to the one that competed in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Leicester’s early four-try burst laid the foundations for a fourth successive Prem victory as they overcame Gloucester at Villa Park to retain the Slater Cup.

Wing duo Will Wand and Gabriel Hamer-Webb both scored tries before a quickfire double from Jamie Blamire put the rampant Tigers 22-0 up inside the opening quarter.

Matias Alemanno responded for the Cherry and Whites, but Orlando Bailey grabbed a fifth Leicester try to cement their grip just before half-time.

Gloucester improved after the interval and Will Joseph and Dian Bleuler went over to give them hope, but it was not enough and Harry Wells’ late score sealed the Tigers’ win.

They tore Gloucester to shreds during the early exchanges, with Wand taking only two minutes to open the scoring as his swerving run on the left took him clear of two defenders to race over.

Hamer-Webb soon followed suit on the opposite flank, latching onto a perfectly-timed pass from Billy Searle and streaking clear, before Blamire’s double secured his side’s bonus point with only 16 minutes on the clock.

With Ollie Chessum dominating at the lineout, Leicester’s pack swung around for Blamire to crash over the line, and the hooker grabbed his second following a deft one-two with Hamish Watson.

Alemanno finally got Gloucester on the scoresheet from close range after a spell of pressure on the Tigers’ line, but many of their attacks floundered because of untidy passing, and they fell further behind on the stroke of half-time.

The impressive Wand began the move with another darting run and played a key role in its climax, offloading while on the ground for Bailey to dance through a gap in the Gloucester defence and extend the Tigers’ lead to 24 points.

The Cherry and Whites began strongly after the turnaround, building phases and reducing the deficit when Caolan Englefield set up Joseph to force his way over in the corner.

Leicester appeared to ease up and Seb Atkinson made ground to create renewed pressure that resulted in Bleuler, a half-time replacement for Val Rapava-Ruskin, dotting down with eight minutes still to play.

But it made little difference to the outcome and Wells’ converted score late on, which was allowed to stand after initial suspicions of offside, finally ended Gloucester’s hopes.

It means the Slater Cup – contested twice each season in honour of Ed Slater, who captained both clubs and is now living with motor neurone disease – remains in the Tigers’ possession.

Leicester Tigers head coach Geoff Parling told BBC Radio Leicester:

“It was a great start. Somebody told me it was our fastest-ever bonus point, and we were completely on top and playing well.

“We had nearly 70% territory in the first 15 minutes. We were forcing errors and playing off the back of that.

“There was frustration in the second half. At times we probably lost a bit of control around the set-piece and turning the ball over. We couldn’t really get a foothold in the game, when I think one more try would have put them to the sword and they’d have been overplaying.

“But obviously to come away on a big occasion with the five points was the result we wanted. It’s difficult, but the very best teams keep up that intensity for 80 minutes and that’s our challenge now.”

Gloucester head coach George Skivington told BBC Radio Gloucestershire:

“The first 20 minutes was as bad as we could have had. We missed some easy tackles out wide, gave them too easy tries and got pinged off the park in the scrum, which has been an area of strength for us recently.

“If we had a game next week, there are definitely a few lads who wouldn’t be starting for Gloucester after the way they came out of the blocks.

“If I’m honest, I think it was centred around a couple of individual performances in that first 20. A lot of the lads were putting it in and by the end of that first half we’d opened Leicester up a lot.

“Our passing wasn’t accurate enough to take advantage of it. Throughout the whole game there were a lot of dropped balls, a lot of little forward passes, and that was frustrating.”

Kirsty Muir has become the first British woman to win World Cup titles in both freeski slopestyle and overall park and pipe.

The 21-year-old Scot finished second on Saturday, behind home skier Sarah Hofflin, in the final slopestyle event of the 2025-26 season in Silvaplana, Switzerland.

Muir’s score of 75.54, behind 35-year-old Olympic bronze medallist Hofflin (80.07), was enough for her to claim a third consecutive podium, following wins in Aspen and Tignes.

It pushed her season score to 280 points to clinch the first slopestyle Crystal Globe of her career, by 69 points from Canada’s Elena Gaskell.

Muir also finished third in the big air season standings, on 219 points, giving her a combined total of 470 in the overall competition – which includes slopestyle, big air and halfpipe – to beat nearest challenger, Canada’s Naomi Urness, by 78 points.

The Aberdonian’s landmark wins followed disappointment at last month’s Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, where she finished fourth in both slopestyle and big air.

After coming so close to a medal, the X Games champion told BBC Sport after the Olympics that it just motivated her to go on and achieve more in the sport.

“I am really excited to go and try and learn some new tricks. I am excited to see where I can push myself and where I can push the sport,” she said.

“For the next two years I will go and do everything that I would like to do and forget about the Olympics, and then when it comes round to qualification again I will get stuck in.”