From Ben Bolch: In the final minutes, Trent Perry absorbed a hard foul that sent him tumbling to the court. When he rose, a wide smile split his face as he walked toward the free throw line.
It was impossible not to feel good about everything unfolding around him.
After a steady uptick, Perry increasing his production given the chance to take an injured teammate’s spot in the starting lineup, the UCLA sophomore guard reached new heights here on a rainy, chilly night.
Playing with an elevated confidence that showed in every move he made, Perry scored 22 of his career-high 30 points in the second half Wednesday night at the Bryce Jordan Center, shaking his team out of an early malaise as the Bruins pulled away for a 71-60 victory over Penn State.
Each of Perry’s four three-pointers in the second half seemed to come at a pivotal moment, including one from the corner off an inbounds pass from Donovan Dent that increased the Bruins’ lead to five points. He later added a three-pointer at the end of the shot clock to push his team’s advantage into double digits.
“All the coaches have been just telling me, ‘Let it fly, be aggressive,’ ” said Perry, who made seven of 13 shots, four of eight three-pointers and all 12 free throws. “I mean, with Skyy [Clark] out, they’ve just been telling me, ‘You’re playing with Donny, he’s going to find you, be aggressive,’ and that’s what’s going on.”
Kiki Rice leads UCLA women
Kiki Rice had 25 points on eight-for-nine shooting and Lauren Betts posted her third straight double-double, leading No. 3 UCLA past Minnesota 76-58 on Wednesday night.
Betts staved off early foul trouble to finish with 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Bruins (16-1, 6-0) stayed unbeaten in Big Ten play and pushed their winning streak to 10 straight games. Their only loss was to No. 4 Texas in Las Vegas on Nov. 26.
Rice hit all three of her three-point attempts to make the Gophers pay for packing the paint, as the Bruins shot 60% from the field (27 for 45) against the top defensive team in the nation. UCLA had by far the highest final score in a regulation game this season against Minnesota, which was giving up an average of 51.8 points per game entering the night.
Matthew Stafford will embrace the cold
From Gary Klein: He played 12 seasons in the NFC North before he was traded to the Rams, so quarterback Matthew Stafford is no stranger to cold-weather games.
On Sunday night, when the Rams play the Chicago Bears in an NFC divisional-round at Soldier Field, game-time temperatures could include a wind-chill below zero degrees.
Stafford, citing historic NFL games that were played in tough weather, said on Wednesday that he would embrace the elements.
“There’s something to it, right, that feels right when football’s outdoors, you’re playing late in the year, it’s cold, it means a lot,” Stafford said, adding, “I know it’s going to be a great crowd there, and it’ll be a lot of fun.”
Stafford, 37, suffered a sprained right index finger Saturday against the Carolina Panthers but still passed for 304 yards and three touchdowns, with an interception, in the 34-31 wild-card victory.
NFL playoffs schedule
All times Pacific
Divisional round
NFC
Saturday
No. 6 San Francisco at No. 1 Seattle, 5 p.m., (FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes)
Sunday
No. 5 Rams at No. 2 Chicago, 3:30 p.m. (NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, Universo)
AFC
Saturday
No. 6 Buffalo at No. 1 Denver, 1:30 p.m., (CBS, Paramount+)
Sunday
No. 5 Houston at No. 2 New England, noon (ESPN/ABC, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes)
Conference championships
Sunday, Jan. 25
AFC
Noon, (CBS, Paramount+)
NFC
3:30 p.m. (FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes)
Super Bowl
Sunday, Feb. 8, NBC, Time TBA
Redick defends LeBron
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: LeBron James, playing on back-to-back nights for the first time this season, had 31 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in the Lakers’ win over Atlanta on Tuesday.
“It’s remarkable,” coach JJ Redick said of James. “His competitive stamina is off the charts.”
Redick said he didn’t expect James to play Tuesday. Then James dominated with his third 30-point game of the month and his 61st 30-point double-double as a Laker, passing Kobe Bryant for seventh most in franchise history.
“I don’t take for granted the LeBron stuff,” Redick said. “It’s unfortunate actually — not to go on a little tangent here — but it’s actually unfortunate how much this guy puts into it and how much he cares and the way certain people talk about him. It’s crazy. Come be around him every day and see how much this guy cares. It’s off the charts.”
Clippers win again
Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points and James Harden added 22 points as the Clippers extended their winning streak to four games with a 119-105 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.
The victory moved the Clippers (17-23), who were once 6-21, only a half-game behind Memphis for a play-in spot this postseason.
Yanic Konan Niederhauser scored 16 points and Jordan Miller added 11 points with 10 rebounds as the Clippers improved to 11-2 since Dec. 20.
Get your 2028 Olympics tickets
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: With ticket registration for the 2028 Olympics opening at 7 a.m. PST on Wednesday, LA28 has outlined the next steps fans can take to secure their spot at the L.A. Games.
Registration began Wednesday and runs until March 18. Fans who sign up at la28.org can begin purchasing tickets as soon as April 2. The first purchasing window from April 2 to April 6 is reserved for locals living near venue cities in Southern California and Oklahoma City. The first general public drop is from April 9 to 19.
Fans in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Ventura, San Bernardino, Oklahoma, Canadian and Cleveland counties will input their ZIP Codes during registration to be entered into the locals presale. When purchasing tickets, they must use the local ZIP Codes on their billing address.
Kings lose to Vegas
Mark Stone scored 25 seconds into overtime, Jack Eichel had three assists and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Kings 3-2 on Wednesday night.
Eichel found Stone in front for a shot into an open goal.
The Golden Knights recovered to win their season-best fifth straight after Brandt Clarke tied it at 2 for the Kings with 1:27 remaining in regulation.
Kevin Fiala had a goal and an assist, and Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves for the Kings, who have lost four of five.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1965 — In one of the most notable trades in NBA history, the San Francisco Warriors deal Wilt Chamberlain to the Philadelphia 76ers for Connie Dierking, Lee Shaffer, Paul Neumann and cash.
1967 — The NFL’s Green Bay Packers win the first Super Bowl series by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs of the AFL, 35-10.
1978 — The Dallas Cowboys take advantage of eight Denver turnovers en route to a 27-10 victory over the Broncos in the Super Bowl. Butch Johnson’s diving catch in the end zone completes a 45-yard touchdown pass from Roger Staubach and puts the Cowboys ahead 20-3 in the third quarter.
1994 — Ricky Watters of San Francisco scores an NFL postseason-record five touchdowns as the 49ers beat the New York Giants 44-3.
1994 — Lawrence Taylor announces his retirement from the NFL.
1995 — San Diego linebacker Dennis Gibson twice knocks down passes in the end zone — the last one on fourth down — to preserve the Chargers’ biggest NFL victory, a 17-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC championship.
1997 — Patrick Lalime becomes the first goalie since NHL expansion in 1967 to open his career with a 15-game unbeaten streak as Pittsburgh beats Hartford 3-0.
2000 — The Jacksonville Jaguars steamroll their way into the history books and the AFC championship game. In the second-most overpowering playoff performance ever, the Jaguars rout the Miami Dolphins 62-7. The 55-point margin is the second-largest in playoff history.
2001 — Peace College beats Bennett College 98-3 in women’s college basketball as Bennett sets an NCAA Division III women’s record for fewest points scored.
2004 — Michelle Wie shoots a respectable round of two-over 72, leaving her nine strokes behind the leader after one round at the PGA Sony Open in Honolulu. Wie, 14, is believed to be the youngest player ever on the PGA Tour.
2005 — Michelle Kwan wins her ninth title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, tying Maribel Vinson for the all-time record.
2011 — Kyle Kuric’s layup with four seconds remaining caps a furious rally by No. 18 Louisville and the Cardinals stun Marquette 71-70. Louisville trails by 18 with 5:44 to go but close the game on a 24-5 run fueled by guard Preston Knowles.
2011 — Sixth-seeded Green Bay routs the Falcons 48-21 in Atlanta as Aaron Rodgers throws for three touchdowns and runs for one. The 48 points are the most for the Packers in a postseason game.
2012 — New York’s Eli Manning throws three touchdown passes and the Giants shock the Green Bay Packers 37-20 in an NFC divisional playoff game. The Packers, 15-1 in the regular season, become the seventh consecutive Super Bowl champ not to advance to the Super Bowl the next year.
2017 — Justin Thomas wins the Sony Open with the lowest 72-hole score in PGA Tour history. Thomas caps off his wonderful week at Waialae that began with a 59 with his second straight victory. He two-putts a birdie from 60 feet on the par-five 18th and closes with a five-under 65 to set the record at 253. Tommy Armour III shot 254 at the 2003 Texas Open.
2017 — Aaron Rodgers throws a 36-yard pass to a toe-dragging Jared Cook on the sideline, and Mason Crosby kicks a 51-yard field goal on the next play as time expires, sending Green Bay to the NFC championship game with its eighth straight win while thwarting a Dallas rally in a 34-31 victory in the divisional round of the playoffs.
2023 — Lakers LeBron James surpasses 38,000 NBA career points, joining only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in 113-112 loss to Philadelphia 76ers at Crypto.com Arena.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.