The Sports Report: Can the Lakers beat Denver? Here’s what some experts say

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

From Andrew Greif: It’s the Hollywood script with the third-act twist nobody saw coming.

For the first time since 2014, the Golden State Warriors reached the postseason but not the NBA Finals. And it was the Lakers, of all teams — the same Lakers who started this season 2-10 — who dethroned the Warriors’ streak of 19 consecutive playoff series victories against Western Conference opponents.

The Lakers’ series-clinching win in Game 6 last Friday sets up a Western Conference finals against top-seeded Denver, a rematch of 2020, that begins Tuesday in Denver.

Though the rosters, and even the coaching staffs in the case of the Lakers, have almost entirely flipped since their last postseason meeting, league insiders interviewed by The Los Angeles Times agree that the series will again hinge on the starring duos who have remained: The Lakers’ LeBron James and Anthony Davis and Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.

Two scouts, a front-office executive involved in scouting, and a coach were granted anonymity in exchange for their candor in scouting the conference finals.

Click here to read what they said

Lakers discuss challenge ahead with Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets

Elliott: Anthony Davis claps back at critics and helps the Lakers knock out the Warriors

Grizzlies suspend Ja Morant after another gun video appears on social media

LAKERS POLL

Who will win the Lakers-Nuggets series? Click here to vote.

NBA PLAYOFFS
Results, schedule
All times Pacific
Conference semifinals

Western Conference

No. 6 Golden State vs. No. 7 Lakers
Game 1: Lakers 117, at Golden State 112
Game 2: at Golden State 127, Lakers 100
Game 3: at Lakers 127, Golden State 97
Game 4: at Lakers 104, Golden State 101
Game 5: at Golden State 121, Lakers 106
Game 6: at Lakers 122, Golden State 101

No. 1 Denver vs. No. 4 Phoenix
Game 1: at Denver 125, Phoenix 107
Game 2: at Denver 97, Phoenix 87
Game 3: at Phoenix 121, Denver 114
Game 4: at Phoenix 129, Denver 124
Game 5: at Denver 118, Phoenix 102
Game 6: Denver 125, at Phoenix 100

Eastern Conference

No. 2 Boston vs. No. 3 Philadelphia
Game 1: Philadelphia 119, at Boston 115
Game 2: at Boston 121, Philadelphia 87
Game 3: Boston 114, at Philadelphia 102
Game 4: at Philadelphia 116, Boston 115 (OT)
Game 5: Philadelphia 115, at Boston 103
Game 6: Boston 95, at Philadelphia 86
Game 7: at Boston 112, Philadelphia 88

No. 5 New York vs. No. 8 Miami
Game 1: Miami 108, at New York 101
Game 2: at New York 111, Miami 105
Game 3: at Miami 105, New York 86
Game 4: at Miami 109, New York 101
Game 5: at New York 112, Miami 103
Game 6: at Miami 96, New York 92

Conference finals

Western Conference

No. 1 Denver vs. No. 7 Lakers
Tuesday at Denver, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
Thursday at Denver, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
Saturday at Lakers, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Monday, May 22 at Lakers, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
*Wed., May 24 at Denver, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
*Friday, May 26 at Lakers, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
*Sunday, May 28 at Denver, 5:30 p.m., ESPN

Eastern Conference

No. 2 Boston vs. No. 8 Miami
Wednesday at Boston, 5:30 p.m., TNT
Friday at Boston, 5:30 p.m., TNT
Sunday at Miami, 5:30 p.m., TNT
Tuesday, May 23 at Miami, 5:30 p.m., TNT
*Thursday, May 25 at Boston, 5:30 p.m., TNT
*Saturday, May 27 at Miami, 5:30 p.m., TNT
*Monday, May 29 at Boston, 5:30 p.m., TNT

*-if necessary

NHL PLAYOFFS

Results, schedule
All times Pacific

Second round
Western Conference

Vegas [P1] vs. Edmonton [P2]
Game 1: at Vegas 6, Edmonton 4
Game 2: Edmonton 5, at Vegas 1
Game 3: Vegas 5, at Edmonton 1
Game 4: at Edmonton 4, Vegas 1
Game 5: at Vegas 4, Edmonton 3
Game 6:
*Tuesday at Vegas, TBD, TBD

Dallas [C2] vs. Seattle [WC1]
Game 1: Seattle 5, at Dallas 4 (OT)
Game 2: at Dallas 4, Seattle 2
Game 3: at Seattle 7, Dallas 2
Game 4: Dallas 6, at Seattle 3
Game 5: at Dallas 5, Seattle 2
Game 6: at Seattle 6, Dallas 3
Today at Dallas, 5 p.m., ESPN

Eastern Conference

Carolina [M1] vs. New Jersey [M2]
Game 1: at Carolina 5, New Jersey 1
Game 2: at Carolina 6, New Jersey 1
Game 3: at New Jersey 8, Carolina 4
Game 4: Carolina 6, at New Jersey 1
Game 5: at Carolina 3, New Jersey 2 (OT)

Toronto [A2] vs. Florida [WC2]
Game 1: Florida 4, at Toronto 2
Game 2: Florida 3, at Toronto 2
Game 3: at Florida 3, Toronto 2 (OT)
Game 4: Toronto 2, at Florida 1
Game 5: Florida 3, at Toronto 2 (OT)

*-if necessary

DODGERS

From Jack Harris: All that hype about the Padres coming into this season?

The Dodgers made it look like a bunch of hot air over the last 10 days.

After eking out a series win in San Diego last weekend, the Dodgers emphatically swept their National League West rivals this weekend in Los Angeles, earning their fifth straight win over the Padres, and fifth consecutive victory overall, with a 4-0 shutout Sunday at Dodger Stadium.

Dodgers catcher Will Smith and reliever Caleb Ferguson celebrate the team’s 4-2 home win over San Diego on May 13, 2023.

Rather than run away with the division crown, as many pundits predicted entering the season, the Padres are seven games back of the Dodgers in the NL West standings.

Instead of capitalizing upon their postseason success in October — when they seemed to tip the scales of the rivalry with their upset of the 111-win Dodgers in a National League Division Series — the Padres have quickly backtracked to third place with a star-studded roster that continues to underwhelm.

Continue reading here

Mookie Betts is playing at his peak. Will he sustain it through October?

ANGELS

Just call Josh Naylor the eighth wonder.

Three swings over three days — all in the eighth inning — turned Naylor into a late-game star baseball hasn’t seen in over 60 years.

Naylor connected for a three-run homer in the eighth again Sunday — his third go-ahead homer in that same inning in the series — and the Cleveland Guardians held on for a 4-3 win over the Angels on Sunday.

After Angels manager Phil Nevin had José Ramírez intentionally walked before him, Naylor drove a 2-and-0 pitch from reliever Carlos Estévez with two outs over the wall in right to break a 1-1 tie.

GALAXY

From Kevin Baxter: Have the Galaxy turned things around or have they simply made a U-turn into oncoming traffic?

Do two wins in five days — more victories than the Galaxy have had in the previous six months — constitute a course correction or simply a brief detour in the team’s journey to the bottom of the MLS standings?

It could be weeks before we have the answers to those questions. In the meantime, the Galaxy will celebrate Sunday’s 2-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes at a mostly empty Dignity Health Sports Park as a harbinger of hope, one that, astonishingly, moves the team to within three points of a Western Conference playoff berth.

Continue reading here

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1937 — War Admiral, ridden by Charles Kurtsinger, battles Pompoon from the top of the stretch and wins the Preakness Stakes by a head.

1941 — Joe DiMaggio starts 56-game hitting streak.

1948 — Citation, ridden by Eddie Arcaro, wins the Preakness Stakes by 5½ lengths over Vulcan’s Forge.

1952 — Johnny Longden becomes 2nd jockey to ride 4,000 winners.

1953 — In his first world heavyweight title defense, Rocky Marciano KOs former champion Jersey Joe Walcott in the 1st round at Chicago Stadium.

1963 — Tottenham Hotspur of England win 3rd European Cup winner’s Cup against Atlético Madrid of Spain 5-1 at Rotterdam.

1971 — Canonero II, ridden by Gustavo Avila, captures the Preakness Stakes by 1½ lengths over Eastern Fleet.

1973 — Nolan Ryan pitches his first no-hitter, beating the Kansas City Royals, 3-0.

1981 — Len Barker of Cleveland pitches the first perfect game in 13 years, sending the Indians past the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 at Municipal Stadium.

1985 — Everton of England wins 25th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Rapid Wien of Austria 3-1 in Rotterdam.

1990 — Petr Klima scores at 15:13 of the third overtime to end the longest game in Stanley Cup Final history for the Edmonton Oilers — a 3-2 series-opening victory over the Boston Bruins in a game delayed 25 minutes because of a lighting problem.

1991 — Manchester United of England win 31th European Cup Winner’s Cup against FC Barcelona 2-1 in Rotterdam.

1994 — LPGA Championship Women’s Golf, DuPont CC: Laura Davies of England wins her second major title, 3 strokes ahead of runner-up Alice Ritzman.

1998 — Notah Begay III joins Al Geiberger and Chip Beck as the only players to shoot a 59 on a U.S. pro tour. He does it at the Nike Old Dominion Open.

1999 — Charismatic wins the Preakness and a chance to become the 12th Triple Crown champion, finishing 1½ lengths ahead of Menifee. It’s the 12th Triple Crown race victory for trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

2002 — 10th UEFA Champions League Final: Real Madrid beats Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 at Glasgow.

2003 — The three-year championship reign of the Lakers ends. Tim Duncan has 37 points and 16 rebounds, and Tony Parker adds 27 points to help the San Antonio Spurs overpower the Lakers 110-82 to win the Western Conference semifinal series 4-2.

2004 — With one breathtaking surge, Smarty Jones posts a record 11½-length victory in the Preakness. Rock Hard Ten, in his fourth start, finishes strong for second ahead of Eddington.

2005 — Annika Sorenstam cruises to a 10-stroke win in the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship, finishing with a 23-under 265 total, matching the biggest 72-hole win of her career.

2010 — English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (88,335): Chelsea beats Portsmouth,1-0; Didier Drogba scores 59′ winner; Blues’ 6th title.

2011 — Finland scores five late goals to beat Sweden 6-1 and claim its second title at the hockey world championships. The Finns also beat rival Sweden in the 1995 final.

2011 — English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (88,335): Chelsea beats Portsmouth,1-0; Didier Drogba scores 59′ winner; Blues’ 6th title.

2015 — Stephen Curry scores 32 points, including a 62-footer to end the third quarter, and Golden State advances to its first Western Conference finals since 1976 by beating Memphis 108-95. The Warriors the first team since 1985 to hit 14 or more 3s in three consecutive playoff games.

2016 — PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: World #1 and reigning PGA Champion Jason Day of Australia leads wire-to-wire to win by 4 strokes ahead of Kevin Chappell.

—Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally...

Len Barker pitches a perfect game. Watch and listen here.