The Sports Report: LeBron-less Lakers defeat the Knicks

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

Dan Woike on the Lakers: After a full practice Monday — a practice seemingly held explicitly for James to get back on the court — team doctors told coach Frank Vogel that James would be unable to play against the New York Knicks on Tuesday, ensuring the Lakers would again have to play short-handed.

Scoring was a struggle, but the Lakers were up for the fight, Wesley Matthews sending the game to overtime with a tip-in and Talen Horton-Tucker sending the Knicks home with a game-winning three in overtime, capping a wild 101-99 win.

Already missing James and starting point guard Dennis Schroder, the Lakers also lost fill-in starter Alex Caruso in the first half, the sore foot that’s bothered him for the last two games finally catching up with him.

Talen Horton-Tucker drives to the basket guarded by Frank Ntilikina.

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

The playmaking duties all fell onto Talen Horton-Tucker’s shoulders, the second-year guard taking on the greatest offensive responsibility of his young career.

The stretches without him were particularly rocky, the Lakers trying to split playmaking duties with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol and Ben McLemore.

Predictably, the offense was clunky, especially with the defense-minded Knicks clogging things up with their pressure and physicality.

Luckily for the Lakers, Kuzma returned after missing one game with back soreness to help ignite the offense in stretches, scoring 16 points in the first half.

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CLIPPERS

Serge Ibaka in a game earlier this season

(Matthew Hinton / AP)

Andrew Greif on the Clippers: The surest sign that things had changed Tuesday night could be seen on the Clippers’ sideline at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.

The Prada bucket hats, designer sweatshirts, high-end scarves-turned-gaiters and flowing, one-piece items that center Serge Ibaka donned for the last two months had been traded in for NBA-issue Nike warmups.

Ibaka no longer was doing sideline “art” — his term for his sartorial choices. Because what he could be doing soon, for the first time since injuring his back March 14, is playing basketball.

Though the 31-year-old center did not play during his team’s 115-96 rout of the Toronto Raptors, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue expressed optimism that Ibaka will return at some point during the final three games of the last trip of the regular season.

“That’s our goal,” Lue said before tipoff, with games in Charlotte, Houston and Oklahoma City upcoming. “He’s progressed and he’s rehabbing right now on the road, so hopeful we can get a chance to get him a couple games before the season’s over and just try to see how he feels and how he looks on the floor.”

Lue reiterated that holding on to the Western Conference’s third seed is his goal, and the Clippers remain one game ahead of fourth-place Denver after both teams won Tuesday. Another goal is getting the team’s veterans comfortable on the court again, as they have not played together since mid-March. Doing that when Ibaka returns, however, won’t mean dislodging Ivica Zubac from the starting center role he largely has flourished in since Ibaka’s injury.

“Zu will be the starter, for sure, but … with Serge’s experience and how he’s performed in the playoffs and winning the championship, I think it means a lot,” Lue said. “The more guys you have with that experience and more guys that you have that rise to the occasion in the playoffs, which Serge has done over his career, it’s very important to have.”

DODGERS

Gavin Lux is greeted by Chris Taylor after hitting a three-run home run.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

Mike DiGiovanna on the Dodgers: Dave Roberts indicated in early March that Gavin Lux would be his starting second baseman this season, the Dodgers’ manager saying he could see the Baseball America 2019 minor league player of the year “getting a good runway, playing regularly.”

But with Lux entering Tuesday night’s game against Seattle with a .209 batting average, .515 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, no homers, one double and eight RBIs in 25 games, it was fair to ask Roberts how long that runway is.

“I don’t think you can really define what it is,” Roberts said. “For me, the defense has been very consistent. I see the at-bat quality getting better each day. ... I don’t really think there’s a game or a stat line that I’m looking at.”

Though his job appeared safe, Lux helped himself by producing a stat line worth looking at Tuesday night, hitting a key single in a two-run seventh inning and crushing a three-run homer to right-center in the eighth to lift the Dodgers to a 6-4 come-from-behind win over the Mariners before 15,570 at Dodger Stadium. It was the Dodgers’ first win of the season when trailing after seven innings.

With the Dodgers trailing 4-3 with two outs in the eighth, Chris Taylor lined a single to right off Seattle reliever Rafael Montero and pinch-hitter Matt Beaty was hit by a pitch.

Lux then drove a 97-mph fastball from Montero 413 feet into the right-field pavilion for his first homer of the season to give the Dodgers, who had lost 15 of their last 20, a 6-4 lead. Closer Kenley Jansen struck out two of three batters in the ninth for his sixth save.

ANGELS

Shohei Ohtani

(Bob Levey / Getty Images)

Jack Harris on the Angels: Shohei Ohtani did everything he could Tuesday night.

He gave up one run in seven innings. He had 10 strikeouts with only one walk. He had a hit at the plate. And he even played in right field, a move that allowed him to get one more at-bat in the ninth inning.

It didn’t matter in the end.

The Angels’ offense was neutralized by Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. Their bullpen imploded in a four-run eighth. And what had been a close game for most of the night finished as a 5-1 defeat at Minute Maid Park.

In his first four starts, consistent command had been the one key element Ohtani was missing on the mound.

On Tuesday night, he found it. And it led to one of his best outings in the majors.

Ohtani gave up only one run, four hits and — perhaps most importantly — one walk. His 10 strikeouts were the third most of his MLB career. And his only blemish was a fifth-inning home run that Kyle Tucker launched to left-center.

HORSE RACING

John Velazquez riding Medina Spirit leads Florent Geroux on Mandaloun and Flavien Prat riding Hot Rod Charlie to win the Kentucky Derby

(Jeff Roberson / AP)

John Cherwa on horse racing: The mystery surrounding how current Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit had a banned race-day medication in his system may have been solved. And it has to do with a skin rash.

Trainer Bob Baffert said Tuesday that Medina Spirit had been receiving treatment for dermatitis on his hind end, which he contracted after the Santa Anita Derby on April 3. Baffert said he learned Monday the ointment contains betamethasone, the legal anti-inflammatory that can’t be administered within 14 days of racing.

Baffert, who did not accompany Medina Spirit to Baltimore to avoid being a distraction, and the Maryland Jockey Club reached an agreement to allow him to race at Pimlico Race Course. Baffert’s two Preakness horses, Medina Spirit and Concert Tour, along with Beautiful Gift in the Black Eyed Susan, have provided blood samples that will have to meet the satisfaction of the Maryland Jockey Club.

But this could mean that Medina Spirit might have to be scratched after all. The tests were sent off on Tuesday and there should be results by Friday. Medina Spirit was last administered betamethasone the day before the Kentucky Derby, which would make Friday the two-week mark.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1909 — The Preakness Stakes is held in Maryland after 16 runnings in New York. As part of the celebration marking the return of the Preakness, the colors of the race’s winner were painted onto the ornamental weather vane at Pimlico Racecourse for the first time.

1917 — Omar Khayyam, ridden by Charles Borel, becomes the first foreign-bred (England) colt to win the Kentucky Derby with a 2-length victory over Ticket.

1924 — Walter Hagen wins the PGA championship with a 2-up victory over Jim Barnes.

1970 — Ernie Banks hits his 500th career home run off Pat Jarvis in the Chicago Cubs’ 4-3 victory over Atlanta at Wrigley Field.

1974 — The Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks 102-87 to win the NBA championship in seven games.

1996 — A three-way dead heat is run at Yakima (Wash.) Meadows, the 20th such finish in thoroughbred racing history there. In the day’s third race, a trio of $8,000 claimers — Fly Like A Angel, Allihaveonztheradio and Terri After Five — hit the wire together after a one-mile race.

2006 — Laure Manaudou of France breaks Janet Evans’ 18-year-old world record in the 400-meter freestyle, finishing in 4:03.03 at the French national swimming championships. Manaudou beats the time of 4:03.85 set by Evans in winning the 400-meter freestyle at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

2006 — Justin Gatlin breaks the 100-meter world record with a time of 9.76 seconds at the Qatar Grand Prix. A week later, the International Association of Athletics Federations announces a timing error gave Gatlin a time of 9.76 seconds. His time of 9.766 seconds, should have been manually rounded up to 9.77, tying Asafa Powell’s world mark of 9.77.

2010 — Montreal follows up a monumental upset by pulling off another. The Canadiens, who eliminated the Washington Capitals, beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Montreal accomplishes what no team had done since the current playoffs format was adopted in 1994. And that is beat the Presidents’ Trophy winner and defending Stanley Cup champion in successive rounds as an eighth-seeded team.

2010 — Kelly Kulick, the first woman to win a PBA Tour title when she beat the men in January in the Tournament of Champions, wins the U.S. Women’s Open for her second women’s major victory in 15 days. Kulick beats Liz Johnson of 233-203 in the final.

2013 — Serena Williams beats Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the Madrid Open to retain her No. 1 ranking and collect her 50th career title.

2014 — LeBron James ties his playoff career high with 49 points, Chris Bosh makes the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 57 seconds left, and the Miami Heat beat the Brooklyn Nets 102-96 for a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

And finally

Ernie Banks hits his 500th homer. Watch it here.