The Sports Report: Lakers are routed by Jazz

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

Dan Woike on the Lakers: The Lakers didn’t just lose a basketball game Wednesday against the league-leading Utah Jazz.

They lost a math problem.

It wasn’t some complicated algorithm or advanced statistic that people assign to the NBA’s analytical revolution. Nope, it was simple.

Three is better than two and 22 is way better than eight.

The Utah Jazz, a team that makes and takes more three-point shots than anyone else in the NBA, took and made a lot more threes than the Lakers who were badly dominated on both sides of the court in a 114-89 loss.

The Jazz hit 14 more threes than the Lakers — a 42-point discrepancy that was way too much to overcome considering the circumstances.

A pair of lineup changes — Talen Horton-Tucker and Markieff Morris started for Wesley Matthews and Kyle Kuzma — helped push the Lakers to a strong start in the opening quarter, with the Jazz making just 30% of their two-point shots.

Trouble was, they hit 50% from three, outscoring the Lakers by 15 points in the first quarter from beyond the arc.

Still, the Lakers trailed by only one point early in the second when LeBron James thought he was fouled, the ball poked loose and the Jazz going the other way while the Lakers’ star looked to the officials for a call.

Three Utah possessions later, the Lakers were down 10, on the wrong side of a numbers game making a comeback nearly impossible.

Lakers’ second-half schedule

(National TV listed)

MARCH
12, vs. Indiana; 15, at Golden State (ESPN); 16, vs. Minnesota; 20, vs. Atlanta; 21, at Phoenix; 23, at New Orleans (TNT); 25, vs. Philadelphia (TNT); 26, vs. Cleveland; 28, vs. Orlando; 31, vs. Milwaukee (ESPN).

APRIL
2, at Sacramento; 4, at Clippers (ABC); 6, at Toronto (in Tampa Bay); 8, at Miami (TNT); 10, at Brooklyn (ABC); 12, at New York (ESPN); 13, at Charlotte; 15, vs. Boston (TNT); 17, vs. Utah (ESPN); 19, vs. Utah (ESPN); 22, at Dallas (TNT); 24, at Dallas (ABC); 26, at Orlando; 28, at Washington.

MAY
2, vs. Toronto; 3, vs. Denver (ESPN); 6, at Clippers (TNT); 7, at Portland; 9, vs. Phoenix; 11, vs, New York; 12, vs. Houston; 15, at Indiana; 16, at New Orleans.

TIGER WOODS

Sam Farmer on Tiger Woods: More will be revealed on the condition of Tiger Woods in the coming days and weeks, including his quality of life moving forward, let alone the lesser question of whether he might at some point be able to resume his golf career in the wake of a catastrophic rollover car accident.

Posted on Woods’ Twitter account early Wednesday was the following statement from Dr. Anish Mahajan, chief medical officer and interim chief executive of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, describing his condition:

“Mr. Woods suffered significant orthopaedic injuries to his right lower extremity that were treated during emergency surgery by orthopaedic trauma specialists at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, a level-1 trauma center. Comminuted open fractures affecting both the upper and lower portions of the tibia and fibula bones were stabilized by inserting a rod into the tibia.

“Additional injuries to the bones of the foot and ankle were stabilized with a combination of screws and pins. Trauma to the muscle and soft-tissue of the leg required surgical release of the covering of the muscles to relieve pressure due to swelling.”

Dr. Kenneth Jung, an orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon, provided further explanation of that summary. Although Jung is not involved in the treatment of Woods, he spoke in general terms about the type of injuries described, which commonly occur in high-energy car crashes.

That the injuries occurred to the lower-right leg of Woods is not surprising, Jung said, because those typically happen when a driver is slamming on the brake, as opposed to the left leg, which might be off to the side. The demolished front end of the SUV that Woods was driving appeared to be compressed and caved in by the accident.

The tibia and fibula are the two bones in your lower leg, and a comminuted fracture refers to a bone being broken into multiple fragments, as opposed to a clean break.

The term “open” means the bone broke through the skin and was exposed to the outside world. That greatly increases the risk of infection.

“A lot of people focus on bone injuries, but that’s only part of the tale,” said Jung of the Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles. “The soft tissue envelope, or the skin, is actually very important as well. If you don’t have skin covering the bone, it really doesn’t matter how the bone looks or heals.”

“It’s usually pretty routine in the first 24 to 48 hours to bring someone back to the operating room to wash out the tissue, wash out the wounds again, reinspect the tissue to see if there’s any necrosis or tissue death,” Jung said.

CLIPPERS

Nathan Fenno on a lawsuit filed against the Clippers: Not long after the Clippers signed prize free agent Kawhi Leonard in July 2019, Johnny Wilkes, the self-described best friend of Leonard’s uncle, drafted a list of requests for the team.

Wilkes wanted a job as the team’s vice president of special events. He wanted a five-year contract. He wanted a staff of four to five people. He wanted the use of four courtside seats and a skybox. He wanted to suggest local coaches to hire for the Clippers’ G League franchise. And he wanted $2.5 million in exchange for his purported role in Leonard choosing the Clippers.

The list, which Wilkes testified he presented to Clippers consultant Jerry West during lunch in Beverly Hills two weeks after Leonard signed, misspells Wilkes’ last name and erroneously refers to Leonard as “Kawi.”

“Over the past 2 years, Johnny Wileks worked with Kawhi to position his need to come ‘back home’ so that it was specifically as a member of the ‘LA Clippers’,” the one-page document said. “Johnny consistently pursued several networking opportunities where he then became a center of influence for Kawhi Leonard. Therefore, representing the interest of the LA Clippers. The 2-year network building investment was close to $200,000 used for air travel; hotel; cars etc. in networking to ‘bring Kawi Home’. With that in mind, I am asking for a cash infusion to a non-profit or a Trust of $2.5 Million which equals the commission given to an NBA agent who on average gets about 2-2.5% of the player’s signing contract.”

The document was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court last week as part of a motion by attorneys for the Clippers and West to dismiss all counts in Wilkes’ breach of contract lawsuit against them. Wilkes sued in December, alleging West reneged on an agreement to have the Clippers pay him $2.5 million in exchange for helping the team sign Leonard.

“This lawsuit is a classic attempt at a shakedown,” the motion by attorney Duane R. Lyons on behalf of the Clippers and West said. “Plaintiff does not allege that he is Kawhi Leonard’s agent or that he represented Mr. Leonard in any capacity. Nor does he allege that he even spoke to Kawhi Leonard about the Clippers. Yet, he seeks a payment commensurate with a fee that Kawhi Leonard’s true NBA agent might have earned.”

Clippers’ second-half schedule

(National TV listed)

MARCH

11, vs. Golden State (TNT); 14, at New Orleans (ESPN); 15, at Dallas; 17, at Dallas; 20, vs. Charlotte; 22 vs. Atlanta; 24 at San Antonio; 25, at San Antonio; 27 at Philadelphia; 29 vs. Milwaukee; 30 vs. Orlando

APRIL

1, vs. Denver (TNT); 4, vs. Lakers (ABC); 6, vs. Portland; 8, vs. Phoenix (TNT); 9, vs. Houston; 11, vs. Detroit; 13, at Indiana (TNT); 14, at Detroit; 16, at Philadelphia (ESPN); 18, vs. Minnesota; 20, at Portland (TNT); 21, vs. Memphis; 23, at Houston; 26, at New Orleans; 28, at Phoenix (ESPN)

MAY

1, vs. Denver (ESPN); 4, vs. Toronto (TNT); 6, vs. Lakers (TNT); 9, vs. Knicks; 11, at Toronto; 13, at Charlotte; 14, at Houston; 16, at Oklahoma City

KINGS

Alex Iafallo and Andreas Athanasiou scored in the second period to send the Kings past the St. Louis Blues 2-1 on Wednesday night for their sixth consecutive victory.

Cal Petersen made 35 saves, improving to 3-0-1 in his last four starts.

Oskar Sundqvist scored late in the third for the Blues, who fell to 1-5-1 in their last seven home games.

Iafallo put Los Angeles ahead at 10:24 of the second. St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington couldn’t corral a shot by Dustin Brown, and Iafallo took advantage by knocking in the rebound.

DUCKS

Conor Garland and Christian Dvorak each scored in a shootout, and the Arizona Coyotes rallied from a three-goal deficit for the second straight game to beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 Wednesday night.

Arizona came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat Anaheim 4-3 in a testy, fight-filled game Monday night.

The Ducks had a three-goal lead in the second period of the rematch on goals by Max Comtois, Max Jones and Josh Mahura.

The Coyotes again revved it up late, pulling within 3-2 on goals by Tyler Pitlick and Jakob Chychrun less than two minutes apart in the third period. Phil Kessel tied it with 3:21 left in regulation, then Anaheim’s Ryan Miller and Arizona’s Adin Hill traded spectacular saves seconds apart in overtime.

Hill stopped Comtois in the shootout and Rickard Rakell missed the net on Anaheim’s final shot.

SOCCER

Kevin Baxter on the U.S. women’s soccer team: Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan continued their climb up the list of national team scoring leaders Wednesday, combining for four goals in a 6-0 win over Argentina in the SheBelieves Cup final in Orlando, Fla.

The victory was the third in as many games for the U.S. in the tournament, which won its fifth SheBelieves title in seven tries. It also ran the U.S. win streak to 16 games and its unbeaten streak to 36 games overall. The Americans haven’t lost at home in 53 tries.

Rapinoe got the scoring started in the 16th minute, catching up to a long Rose Lavelle pass at the edge of the penalty area and banging in a one-timer with her right boot. She doubled the lead 10 minutes later, splitting a pair of defenders and sliding onto to a low feed from Carli Lloyd to redirect it into an open net from the edge of the six-yard box.

That gave her a team-leading five goals on the season and 57 in her international career, three short of 10th place on the all-time U.S. list.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1940 — The first telecast of an American hockey game is transmitted over station W2XBS in New York. The viewing audience watches the New York Rangers battle the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden.

1957 — The United States Supreme Court rules that pro football, unlike professional baseball, is subject to the anti-trust laws of the United States. The court decides 6-3 that baseball is only anti-trust exempt pro sport.

1961 — Niagara ends St. Bonaventure’s 99-game winning streak at home with an 87-77 victory over the Bonnies.

1962 — Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scores 67 points, but New York’s Richie Guerin scores 50 to lead the Knicks to a 149-135 victory.

1964 — Cassius Clay wins the world heavyweight title when Sonny Liston is unable to answer the bell for the seventh round at Convention Hall in Miami Beach, Fla.

1977 — Pete Maravich of the New Orleans Jazz scores 68 points, the most by an NBA guard, in a 124-107 victory over the New York Knicks. Only Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor had scored more points in an NBA game.

1987 — The Southern Methodist football team is suspended for the 1987 season after investigations reveal that players received $61,000 from a booster slush fund.

1994 — Oksana Baiul of Ukraine wins the figure skating gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, and Nancy Kerrigan, who was whacked on the knee 2½ months earlier, wins the silver. Tonya Harding, later convicted of hindering prosecution in the Kerrigan attack, finishes eighth.

2001 — In the largest playoff in PGA Tour history, Robert Allenby wins the Nissan Open on the first extra hole against five other players. It’s Allenby’s third PGA Tour victory, all of them won in playoffs.

2010 — In Vancouver, British Columbia, the Canadian women defeat the United States 2-0 for their third straight Olympic hockey title. Americans Billy Demong and Johnny Spillane finish 1-2 in a Nordic combined race. They are the first American medalists in a sport that’s been part of the Winter Olympics since 1924.

2017 — Marit Bjoergen wins a record 15th world championship gold medal in cross-country skiing with victory in a 15-kilometer skiathlon. The 36-year-old Bjoergen has more gold medals than any other cross-country skier — male or female — in world championship history, having previously shared the record of 14 gold medals with retired Russian Yelena Valbe.

2017 — Kelsey Plum surpasses Jackie Stiles to become the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader with a career-best 57 points in the final regular season game of her career, leading No. 11 Washington past Utah 84-77. Plum passes Stiles’ mark of 3,393 points midway through the fourth quarter.

2018 — Kirill Kaprizov scores a power-play goal in overtime to lift the Russians to the gold medal in men’s hockey with a 4-3 win over Germany at the Pyeongchang Olympics.

2018 — Norway’s Marit Bjoergen closes out a remarkable Olympic career, winning the gold medal in the women’s 30-kilometer mass start at the Pyeongchang Games. The 37-year-old Bjoergen is the only Olympian to win five medals at these Games and finishes her career with 15 medals. She leaves as the most decorated athlete in Winter Olympic history.

And finally

Cassius Clay defeats Sonny Liston to win the heavyweight title. Watch it here.