The Sports Report: Lakers beat Suns in quarterfinals of in-season tournament
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From Dan Woike: The joke, publicly and privately, among the Lakers leading up to and during the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament was the amazement at how badly a room of rich people could want to win the $500,000 prize waiting for each winning player Las Vegas.
“The bag,” they said was an amazing motivator, the kind that could turn regular season basketball pre-Christmas into something that rivaled postseason energy and intensity.
But there was always more, one other driving factor, the biggest competitors on earth all pushing to be the first.
Tuesday night in the quarterfinals, a game that would end or extend the Lakers’ time in the tournament, Austin Reaves’ three with 15 seconds remaining pushed them to a 106-103 win. The Lakers will play New Orleans in Las Vegas on Thursday, two wins away from the grand prize.
The tone for this whole thing has been set by LeBron James, the biggest star in the league, who approached the games with added urgency.
“He really wants to be the first,” one Lakers staffer admitted pregame.
Tuesday, he played like it.
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CLIPPERS
From Andrew Greif: On the morning of Nov. 27, Clippers rookie forward Kobe Brown played 33 minutes in a G League game at Crypto.com Arena so empty that the official attendance was listed as zero.
That wasn’t quite true — the team’s decision-makers, from president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, to coach Tyronn Lue, were among a handful watching — but also was not atypical of Brown’s rookie season to that point, as he gained seasoning in front of small crowds where mistakes could be minimized instead of playing out under the NBA microscope.
That changed one day later. On Nov. 28, the night before the Clippers played in Sacramento, Brown was in the team’s downtown hotel when heard from Lue, in an unexpectedly casual way, that his opportunities were about to change dramatically.
“He was just like, ‘You ready to play tomorrow?’ Or something like that,” Brown said. “We were at dinner and it was on the fly. I was like, ‘Of course, coach, always,’ but I didn’t think nothing of it. I mean, obviously, I got excited a little bit but I didn’t … until it happens, I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing.”
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: The Dodgers held a meeting with two-way star Shohei Ohtani at Dodger Stadium last week, manager Dave Roberts revealed Tuesday at Major League Baseball’s winter meetings, marking the biggest on-the-record development in a free-agent pursuit that had previously been shrouded in secrecy and speculation.
“Yeah, we met with him,” Roberts said. “I like to be honest, so yeah, we met with Shohei.”
According to Roberts, Dodgers officials spent two to three hours with Ohtani, who last month won his second American League most valuable player award with the Angels.
Roberts described the session as lower-key than the sides’ meeting in 2017, when Ohtani was first coming to MLB from Japan. No Dodgers players were present. And, while Roberts was unsure of exactly what Ohtani thought, he remained confident in the Dodgers’ ability to land him.
“Clearly,” Roberts said, “Shohei is our top priority.”
Half a billion: That’s the latest price for a gondola to Dodger Stadium
ANGELS
From Sarah Valenzuela: It was highly unlikely that Angels center fielder Mike Trout would have been traded this offseason, but general manager Perry Minasian said so definitively Tuesday.
“Mike Trout’s not getting traded,” Minasian told reporters at the winter meetings. “100%.”
There has been speculation the Angels would be willing to deal their homegrown star if Trout ever requested a trade.
He has often been asked whether he wants to leave the Angels, who have had eight consecutive losing seasons. The answer has always been varying ways of saying no.
Commentary: The NBA in-season tournament has been a success. Could one work for MLB?
UCLA BASKETBALL
From Ben Bolch: Having recently been housebound by infectious illness, Mick Cronin stepped in front of reporters Tuesday and quelled any fears about a risk of contagion.
“Don’t worry,” the UCLA coach said, “I’ve tested negative for about five straight days.”
Cronin’s second bout with COVID-19, which sidelined him for a week and forced him to miss his team’s great escape against UC Riverside, was worse than his first teeth-chattering encounter with the disease two years ago.
“Way worse,” he said.
Cronin watched his team pull out a 66-65 victory over the Highlanders on television, the first time he had experienced that sense of helplessness since missing the last 25 games of the 2014-15 season at Cincinnati with a vascular condition called arterial dissection.
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From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Lauren Betts fumbled her first pass. She missed her first shot. But instead of slumping her shoulders every time a Connecticut double or triple team converged on UCLA’s newest star, Betts focused on the work she did to earn that attention.
“I’m fine,” she told herself. “I’m good. I’m a good player.”
“I just kind of have to shut out all the negative,” Betts said, “and just remind myself of who I am.”
The 6-foot-7 center is quickly reminding everyone else. Empowered by her coaches and teammates, the Stanford transfer is averaging a team-high 16.1 points and 8.9 rebounds, leading the country in field-goal percentage at 81.4% and elevating the No. 2 Bruins to their highest ranking in program history. Betts delivered 13 points and seven rebounds in a victory over UConn on Nov. 24, a statement win that announced the Bruins (7-0) as legitimate contenders for their first NCAA championship.
When players need to work on their basketball skills, they hit the gym. But at UCLA, when they need to work on their mental skills like Betts, they hit the “mind gym.” The program’s comprehensive mental conditioning regimen has been a secret to unlocking the sophomore center’s full potential after a disappointing freshman season crushed her confidence.
RAMS
From Gary Klein: Rams cornerback Derion Kendrick, facing two misdemeanor gun charges, on Tuesday was granted judicial diversion, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office said.
Kendrick, 23, was arrested in October in Hollywood and charged with carrying a concealed weapon and carrying a loaded firearm.
Kendrick appeared in court Tuesday, and Judge Maria Lucy Armendariz granted his motion requesting judicial diversion, a court clerk said.
In the next 12 months, Kendrick must perform 20 hours of community service and enroll and complete the John Hopkins Gun Safety Class. He cannot own, use or possess any dangerous or deadly weapons, use or threaten to use force or violence against any person, and must obey all laws and orders of the court.
GALAXY
From Kevin Baxter: The Galaxy have shaken up their front office for the third time in eight months, announcing Tuesday that Will Kuntz has been elevated from senior vice president for player personnel to general manager, essentially leapfrogging coach Greg Vanney to take charge of all soccer operations, from the first team through the academy.
Last May, a month after Kuntz joined the Galaxy, the team fired longtime president Chris Klein, leaving Vanney as the top man in the front office. But in September, the team restructured its front office with a series of moves that separated the business side from the sporting side and included Tom Braun assuming a new role as chief operating officer and president of business operations.
Now comes Kuntz’s promotion, which leaves him reporting directly to Dan Beckerman, the president and chief executive of the Galaxy’s parent company, AEG. In the new role, Kuntz will oversee scouting, player acquisitions, salary cap and budgets, among other things, leaving Vanney to concentrate on coaching the first team. It also makes Kuntz one of the few Black executives in MLS at the general manager level or above.
Jaime Lozano knows Mexico must win or he’s fired — and he’s fine with that
KINGS
Drew Doughty scored 33 seconds into overtime and the Kings rallied from a three-goal deficit in the third period, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 on Tuesday night for their NHL record-tying 10th straight road win.
Phoenix Copley stopped 26 for the Kings, who have won seven of their last eight games and matched the road win streak of the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres.
Phillip Danault scored twice, Arthur Kaliyev added a goal and Vladislav Gavrikov contributed a pair of assists in his first game back in Columbus after being traded to Los Angeles in March.
“We definitely woke up in the third period, that one was better, and just took charge,” Danault said.
DUCKS
Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists as the short-handed Colorado Avalanche held off a late rally by the Ducks for a 3-2 win Tuesday night.
Kurtis MacDermid scored early in the first and Logan O’Connor made it 3-0 in the third before the Ducks staged their comeback bid.
Sam Carrick scored a short-handed goal and Leo Carlsson added a power-play goal with 5:49 remaining in the third to make it 3-2. The Ducks pulled goaltender John Gibson for an extra skater with under a minute remaining but couldn’t tie it up.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1939 — Iowa’s Nile Kinnick wins the Heisman Trophy. The back passed for 638 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for 374 yards.
1961 — Syracuse running back Ernie Davis becomes the first Black player to win the Heisman Trophy.
1984 — Martina Navratilova loses to Helena Sukova, ending the longest winning streak in history of women’s singles tennis — 74 matches dating to Jan. 15, 1984.
1986 — Miami’s Vinny Testaverde wins the Heisman Trophy in a runaway. The quarterback, who led the nation in passing efficiency, won the by 1,541 points over Temple running back Paul Palmer, the country’s top rusher.
1990 — The Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators receive approval to join the NHL in 1992-93.
1992 — Jerry Rice becomes the NFL’s career leader in touchdown receptions with his 101st scoring pass during the fourth quarter of the San Francisco 49ers’ 27-3 victory over Miami. Rice surpassed Steve Largent’s mark of 100.
2000 — Golden State’s Antawn Jamison and the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant each score 51 points, including trading six straight scores in the final two minutes of overtime. It’s Jamison’s second 51-point performance in four days, and Bryant’s career high. But Jamison earns extra satisfaction as the Warriors prevail 125-122 over Los Angeles. It’s the first time in 38 years two players score 50 in the same game.
2003 — Army becomes the first team to finish 0-13 in major college history after a 34-6 loss to Navy.
2008 — USC beats UCLA 28-7 to win its record seventh straight Pac-10 championship. The Trojans (11-1) also have won 11 or more games in seven straight seasons — another record.
2009 — Switzerland’s Carlo Janka wins the giant slalom to become the first man in more than 2 1/2 years with three consecutive World Cup victories. Janka won the super combined event two days earlier and the downhill yesterday.
2013 — Jennifer O’Neill scores a career-high 43 points, including the go-ahead basket in the fourth overtime, and No. 5 Kentucky beats No. 9 Baylor 133-130 in the highest-scoring Division I women’s game in history.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time...
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