The Sports Report: Clippers get a rare win over Denver

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

From Andrew Greif: One-quarter of the way through the Clippers’ season, taking stock of the team is like looking into a funhouse mirror — each glance revealing something different, even contradictory.

Their roller-coaster ride continued Wednesday when the Clippers, one of the worst performers in close games this season, had every answer for defending champion Denver down the stretch of a 111-102 victory that moved them to 10-10, the first time they have been at .500 in a month.

It was the Clippers’ first win against Denver since Jan. 11, 2022, and only their second win in their last 13 games in the series.

And it came against a full-strength Nuggets team that, while missing three key players only nine days earlier, had waxed the Clippers on the same Crypto.com Arena court.

This time the Clippers secured their second consecutive double-digit comeback by holding Denver to 20 fourth-quarter points, outscoring the Nuggets by 12.

In one key moment, the kind that largely had been missing in crunch time in past matchups against the Nuggets, Paul George collected a rebound off a Nikola Jokic miss and James Harden found Kawhi Leonard for a short jumper. On the next possession Harden stole a pass by Denver’s Jamal Murray and outran a full-body dive by Aaron Gordon to collect a loose ball and find Leonard on a fastbreak for a dunk and a 99-93 lead with 3:36 to play. Denver needed a timeout

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LAKERS

From Helene Elliott: In his 21st NBA season, having become the league’s all-time scoring leader, a four-time champion, and adding every day to his all-time record for most minutes played in regular season and playoff action, there are few experiences LeBron James has missed.

On Thursday, he will be able to check off playing in the semifinals of the NBA’s first in-season tournament, an event that seemed suspiciously hucksterish when it was introduced but has produced games with high drama and playoff-like passion during a time of the season that’s usually sloppy and sleepy.

“You got some of the most alpha-male competitors in the world,” James said Tuesday after the Lakers pulled off an emotional 106-103 victory over the Phoenix Suns in the tournament quarterfinals, “and if you give us an opportunity to play for something meaningful with an incentive, then you’ll get what you’re getting.”

This wasn’t the kind of game usually played on a random Tuesday in December, when most teams are still figuring out who they are and the playoffs seem far away. The fire that ignited the Lakers and the Suns came from more than merely chasing the gilded carrot of the $500,000 promised to each player on the team that wins the tournament.

James, who will turn 39 on Dec. 30, didn’t take over the game and score or assist on the Lakers’ first 19 points of the fourth quarter because he needed the extra check. He’s still driven by pride and has learned to think about the game as well as he plays it, reflected in a historic performance Tuesday.

“I want to continue to defy the odds, continue to have this battle with Father Time that for so long, everybody said, has been undefeated,” he said. “So, I’m trying to give him one loss.”

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Austin Reaves again shows why he’s ‘a big-time player’ against Suns

LAFC

From Iliana Limón Romero and Kevin Baxter: LAFC has been fined $100,000 and supporter group 3252’s privileges have been suspended pending an investigation by MLS due to allegations of “serious misconduct,” the league announced Wednesday night.

The supporter group set off flares not authorized by MLS during LAFC’s Western Conference final match against Houston, creating so much smoke it delayed the game.

MLS announced supporter privileges for 3252 attending MLS Cup Saturday will be restricted. Fans could face other sanctions next season after the league completes its investigation.

“In coordination with MLS, LAFC agrees to conduct a full investigation of the incident and violators will be subject to further penalties, indefinite bans [including MLS Cup] and all appropriate legal action,” MLS announced in a news release. “The comprehensive review will focus on improving security and supporter management processes for 2024 and beyond.”

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DODGERS

From Jack Harris: On Tuesday afternoon, clear frustration was present between manager Dave Roberts and the Dodgers’ front office.

Roberts’ public (and unplanned) confirmation that the team met with Shohei Ohtani in Los Angeles last week had caught his bosses off guard, including president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. In the immediate aftermath, there was even uncertainty about how the revelation might impact the Dodgers’ chances of landing the two-way star in free agency, given Ohtani’s apparent preference for secrecy throughout the process.

By Wednesday, however, on the final day of this year’s winter meetings at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, any such strain had seemingly dissipated.

Brad Paisley might be partially to thank.

Tuesday evening, the country music star and noted Dodgers diehard invited team officials — Roberts and Friedman among them — to his nearby 100-acre farm for a late-night soiree.

Whiskey was poured. Miscommunications were resolved. Frustrations were eased.

“I was surprised by [his comments],” Friedman said during a video call with reporters Wednesday morning. “But we had a really good conversation later in the day. I’ll leave it at that.”

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RAMS

From Gary Klein: Mason Crosby is getting a new start.

After 16 seasons kicking for the Green Bay Packers, including winning a Super Bowl title, the 39-year-old Crosby spent part of Wednesday being fitted for Rams equipment.

“Getting all the new gear and new helmet and all those things felt like being a rookie again,” Crosby said.

The Rams signed Crosby to the practice squad because they are in the midst of a three-game winning streak that has featured outstanding play by the offense and defense, and inconsistency from rookie kicker Lucas Havrisik.

CHARGERS

From Jeff Miller: Shortly after welcoming back to practice one of their starters Wednesday, the Chargers confirmed another key member of their offense is unlikely to return this season.

Coach Brandon Staley said he doesn’t think center Corey Linsley will play again in 2023.

Linsley, 32, who has earned both All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors during his 10-year career, has been sidelined since late September because of a heart-related issue.

Slightly more than an hour earlier, the Chargers received a boost when wideout Joshua Palmer returned to the practice field. He has missed the last five games because of a knee sprain.

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THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1973 — Jerry West sets an NBA record with 10 steals in the Lakers’ 115-111 loss to the Seattle Supersonics.

1985 — Auburn tailback Bo Jackson beats Iowa quarterback Chuck Long by 45 points in the balloting for the Heisman Trophy, the closest vote in the 51-year history of the award.

1991 — AJ Kitt becomes the first American in seven years to win a men’s World Cup race, taking the first downhill of the season In Val D’Isere, France.

2006 — Willie Parker breaks Pittsburgh’s single-game rushing record with 223 yards as the Steelers rough up the Cleveland Browns 27-7. Parker, the first player in Steelers history to have two 200-yard games in a season, betters John “Frenchy” Fuqua’s record of 218 yards against Philadelphia in 1970.

2008 — The Arizona Cardinals clinch their first division title in 33 years by beating the woeful St. Louis Rams 34-10. The Cardinals, long the league’s doormat franchise with just one winning season in the last 24 years, earn their first playoff berth since 1998 and first divisional title since they won the NFC East in 1975.

2014 — The first College Football Playoff expands the national championship race and produces a final four with major star power. Nick Saban’s No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Urban Meyer’s No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes at the Sugar Bowl. Marcus Mariota and second-seeded Oregon vs. Jameis Winston, last season’s Heisman Trophy winner, and defending national champion Florida State at the Rose Bowl.

2014 — Robbie Keane scores on a breakaway in the 111th minute, and Landon Donovan wins his record sixth MLS title in the Galaxy’s 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution in the MLS Cup.

Compiled by the Associated Press