The Sports Report: Kawhi Leonard leads Clippers to ninth straight win

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

From Andrew Greif: The Clippers are still the hottest team in the NBA.

Behind Kawhi Leonard’s 10-point fourth-quarter takeover, when he got anywhere he wanted to stave off a late charge by Dallas, the Clippers beat the Mavericks 120-111 on Wednesday to extend their winning streak to nine, tied for the longest in the NBA this season.

The Clippers are 17-10 and remain unbeaten in December.

Leonard scored 30 points, with 10 rebounds and five assists, and James Harden scored 17 points with 11 assists as the Clippers prevailed despite the absence of Paul George, who was ill.

Luka Doncic scored 28 points for Dallas but needed 25 shots,

Dallas played without guard Kyrie Irving and rookie big man Dereck Lively II and, for much of the first quarter, offense by Doncic, who made two of his first nine shots against waves of defenders. They included Russell Westbrook, who came off the bench and disrupted Doncic by denying him the ball, and later halting him from dribbling past the three-point arc with his physicality.

Against the Clippers, limiting Doncic is the exception to the rule of his 32-point career average against them, his second-highest average against any opponent. He scored 14 points in the second quarter, but it was the Clippers’ defensive breakdowns in other areas that led to being outscored 11-4 in the half’s final 3:11.

The Clippers held their lead until eight minutes to play in the fourth quarter, when a communication breakdown led to a corner three-pointer by Dallas and a 95-94 lead, the Mavericks’ first since midway through the first.

Leonard did not allow another meek finish when it mattered most.

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Clippers box score

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NBA standings

LAKERS

From Dan Woike: As the Chicago Bulls stretched and sliced through the Lakers defense , it felt like a player on the bench in street clothes was having the biggest impact.

It’s been impossible to ignore that the Bulls’ recent turnaround has happened with Zach LaVine on the bench because of a foot injury. It’s also impossible to ignore what LaVine could do for a team like, say the Lakers, who clunked and clanged their way to a 124-108 loss to LaVine’s (for now) Bulls.

But it’s only been speculation, the easy matching of a star player who shares representation with LeBron James and Anthony Davis to a team that traditionally has been on the lookout for big names.

LaVine’s contract, which has four years and approximately $176 million left, and concerns about his injury history, have cooled his market — along with one of the least-efficient seasons of his career.

But with him and the Lakers in the same building Wednesday, “what if” was a fair-enough question, especially with the team stuck in a post-Vegas hangover for the ages.

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Lakers box score

NBA scores

NBA standings

KINGS

Joey Daccord matched his own Seattle franchise record with 42 saves — 21 in the first period — and survived a furious final three minutes to help the Kraken hold off the Kings 2-1 on Wednesday night.

The Kings pulled goalie Cam Talbot with 2:52 remaining but could not get the tying goal. That included a power play with 2:47 remaining after Seattle’s Will Borgen was called for high-sticking Kevin Fiala.

Daccord also made 42 saves against Carolina on Oct. 26. He’s the second NHL goalie this season to make at least 20 saves in the first period without giving up a goal. Ottawa’s Joonas Korpisalo stopped all 23 shots he faced in the opening 20 minutes Oct. 28 against Pittsburgh.

The Kings’ Blake Lizotte had his 100th career point with his third period-goal. Talbot stopped 28 shots.

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Kings box score

NHL scores

NHL standings

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Now that Hockey Hall of Famer Helene Elliott unveiled her choices for the 10 greatest Kings of all time, along with Jim Fox and Nick Nickson (click here for their picks), we’d like to hear from readers. Who do you consider the 10 greatest Kings of all time? Wayne Gretzky? Marcel Dionne? Anze Kopitar? Gary Shuchuk? Rank them in order from 1-10, or your ballot won’t count. Email them to me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. Points will be awarded based on where you rank each player (12 points for first, nine for second, eight for third, etc.) Results will be announced Friday.

UCLA FOOTBALL

From Ben Bolch: UCLA used two quarterbacks during its first game, five quarterbacks in its third game and alternated all season among Ethan Garbers, Dante Moore, Collin Schlee and Chase Griffin because of injuries.

Along the way, the constant shuffling reaffirmed one belief for coach Chip Kelly.

“I don’t think you can have enough quarterbacks,” Kelly said.

The Bruins fortified their ranks at the position Wednesday by signing two quarterbacks as part of a 10-player high school recruiting class that 247Sports.com ranked No. 17 out of 18 teams in the Big Ten Conference. The Bruins finished ahead of only Northwestern after the Wildcats underwent a coaching change and lost one prospect to UCLA in cornerback Jamir Benjamin.

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USC FOOTBALL

From Ryan Kartje: After a mad-dash few weeks spent selling his refurbished plans for USC from living room to living room, state to state, it was a mostly quiet signing day morning for Trojans coach Lincoln Riley. No five-stars had flipped dramatically. Nor were there any heartbreaking, hat-related fakeouts. Eighteen letters of intent rolled in early, all according to plan, forming the beginnings of a class that ranked a solid albeit unspectacular 18th in the nation by day’s end.

Among those signed — eventually 19 total on Wednesday — none wavered in their commitments to USC. For Riley, that fact was nearly as critical as the combined heft the Trojans had added along their offensive and defensive lines. In the age of name, image and likeness and the transfer portal, commitments had come to mean only so much. Twice in three days, as formerly high-profile five-stars fled from USC in droves, the coach made clear he preferred players who kept their commitments.

“So many of these guys never blinked,” Riley said. “You can’t stress the importance of that enough.”

It had to be disconcerting then, by mid-afternoon, as Riley watched Ryan Pellum, his four-star wideout commit, stand at a podium to announce he was backing out of his pledge to USC and flipping to Oregon, the school that so often has served as the proverbial thorn in Riley’s side. The Long Beach Millikan High gym sat, for a moment, in a stunned quiet. At the table next to Pellum, a teammate’s jaw literally dropped.

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NFL

NFL roundtable: Rams have more than Saints’ chance; Who should Chargers hire?

NFL scores

NFL standings

GALAXY

From Kevin Baxter: The Galaxy will open their 2024 MLS season by hosting Lionel Messi and Inter Miami at Dignity Health Sports Park on Feb. 25, kicking off a 34-game regular-season schedule that will include a return to the Rose Bowl on July 4 to face cross-town rival LAFC.

This year’s Rose Bowl rivalry game drew an MLS-record crowd of 82,110 and Tom Braun, the Galaxy’s chief operating officer and president of business operations, said the team is hopeful the match, which is followed by a fireworks show, can become a regular fixture of the schedule going forward.

“I think everyone can agree the success we had last year with the Rose Bowl game, it’s worth doing it again,” he said. “It’s good for soccer. It was good for the Galaxy. I think it was good for LAFC.”

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The 2024 Galaxy schedule
(all times Pacific)

Feb 25: vs. Inter Miami, 5:30 p.m.

March 2: at San Jose, 7:30 p.m.; March 10: at Nashville, noon; March 16: vs. St. Louis, 7:30 p.m.; March 23: at Sporting K.C., 1 p.m.; March 30: vs. Seattle, 7:30 p.m.

April 6: at LAFC, 4:30 p.m.; April 13: at Vancouver, TBD; April 21: vs. San Jose, 4 p.m.; April 27: at Austin, 10:30 a.m.

May 5: at Seattle, 3:30 p.m.; May 11: vs. Real Salt Lake, 7:30 p.m.; May 15: at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m.; May 18: at Charlotte, 4:30 p.m.; May 25: vs. Houston. 7:30 p.m.; May 29: vs. Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

June 1: at Chicago, 5:30 p.m.; June 15: vs. Sporting K.C., 7:30 p.m.; June 19: vs. New York City, 7:30 p.m.; June 22: at Real Salt Lake, 6:30 p.m.; June 29: vs. San Jose at Stanford Stadium, 5:30 p.m.

July 4: vs. LAFC at the Rose Bowl, 7:30 p.m.; July 7: vs. Minnesota United, 7:30 p.m.; July 13: at Dallas, 5:30 p.m.; July 17: vs. Colorado, 7:30 p.m.; July 20: vs. Portland, 7:30 p.m.

Aug 24: vs. Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 1: at St. Louis, 11:30 a.m.; Sept. 14: vs. LAFC, 7:30 p.m.; Sept. 18: at Portland, 7:30 p.m.; Sept. 21: vs. Vancouver, 7:30 p.m.

Oct 2: at Colorado, 6:30 p.m.; Oct. 5: vs. Austin, 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 19: at Houston, 6 p.m.

LAFC

From Kevin Baxter: LAFC will meet the cross-town rival Galaxy three times in 2024, including a renewal of last season’s July 4 game at the Rose Bowl, which drew an MLS-record 82,110 fans.

Coming off its second consecutive trip to the MLS Cup final, LAFC will open the 2024 season Feb. 24, hosting the Seattle Sounders. The team, which finished 2023 by losing to Columbus in the title game, will report to training camp in the middle of January.

Because the 29-team league is unbalanced, with 14 teams in the Western Conference and 15 in the Eastern Conference, each team in the West will play two conference opponents three times. For LAFC, those opponents are the Galaxy and San Jose, with the first match against the Earthquakes to be played May 4 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, home of the NFL’s 49ers.\

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2024 LAFC schedule
(All times Pacific)

Feb. 24: vs. Seattle, 1:30 p.m.

March 2: at Real Salt Lake, 11 a.m.; 9: vs. Sporting K.C., 7:30 p.m.; 16: at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m.; 23: vs. Nashville, 7:30 p.m.; 30: at Colorado, 1 p.m.

April 6: vs. Galaxy, 4:30 p.m.; 13: at Portland, 1:30 p.m.; 20: vs. N.Y. Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.; 27: vs. Portland, 7:30 p.m.

May 4: vs. San Jose at Levi’s Stadium, 4:30 p.m.; 11: vs. Vancouver, 7:30 p.m.; 15: at St. Louis, 5:30 p.m.; 25: at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m.; 29: vs. Minnesota, 7:30 p.m.

June: 1: vs. Dallas, 7:30 p.m.; 15: at Orlando, 4:30 p.m.; 19: at Austin, 5:30 p.m.; 22: vs. San Jose, 7:30 p.m.; 29: vs. Colorado, 7:30 p.m.

July: 4: vs. Galaxy at the Rose Bowl, 7:30 p.m.; 7: at Houston, 5:30 p.m.; 13: vs. Columbus, 7:30 p.m.; 17: vs. Real Salt Lake, 7:30 p.m.; 20: at Seattle, 7:30 p.m.

Aug, 24: at Vancouver, TBD; 31: vs. Houston, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 14: at Galaxy, 7:30 p.m.; 18: vs. Austin, 7:30 p.m.; 21: at Dallas, 5:30 p.m.; 28: at Cincinnati, 4:30 p.m.

Oct: 2: vs. St. Louis, 7:30 p.m.; 6: at Sporting K.C., 5:30 p.m.; 19: vs. San Jose, 6 p.m.

BOWL SCHEDULE

All times Pacific

Today
Boca Raton Bowl
5 p.m., ESPN
South Florida vs. Syracuse

Friday
Gasparilla Bowl
3:30 p.m., ESPN
UCF vs. Duke

Saturday
Birmingham Bowl
9 a.m., ABC
Georgia Tech vs. Troy

Camellia Bowl
9 a.m., ESPN
Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois

Armed Forces Bowl
12:30 p.m., ABC
James Madison vs. Air Force

Potato Bowl
12:30 p.m., ESPN
Utah State vs. Georgia State

68 Ventures Bowl
4 p.m., ESPN
South Alabama vs. Eastern Michigan

Las Vegas Bowl
4:30 p.m., ABC
Northwestern vs. Utah

Hawaii Bowl
7:30 p.m., ESPN
San Jose State vs. Coastal Carolina

Tuesday
Quick Lane Bowl
11 a.m., ESPN
Bowling Green vs. Minnesota

First Responder Bowl
2:30 p.m., ESPN
Texas State vs. Rice

Guaranteed Rate Bowl
3 p.m., ESPN
Kansas vs. UNLV

Wednesday
Military Bowl
11 a.m., ESPN
Tulane vs. Virginia Tech

Duke’s Mayo Bowl
2:30 p.m., ESPN
North Carolina vs. West Virginia

Holiday Bowl
5 p.m., Fox
No. 15 Louisville vs. USC

Texas Bowl
6 p.m., Fox
No. 20 Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M

Thursday, Dec. 28
Fenway Bowl
8 a.m., ESPN
No. 24 SMU vs. Boston College

Pinstripe Bowl
11:15 a.m., ESPN
Miami vs. Rutgers

Pop-Tarts Bowl
2:45 p.m., ESPN
NC State vs. Kansas State

Alamo Bowl
6:15 p.m., ESPN
No. 12 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Arizona

Friday, Dec. 29
Gator Bowl
9 a.m., ESPN
No. 22 Clemson vs. Kentucky

Sun Bowl
11 a.m., CBS
No. 19 Oregon State vs. No. 16 Notre Dame

Liberty Bowl
12:30 p.m., ESPN
Iowa State vs. Memphis

Cotton Bowl
5 p.m., ESPN
No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Missouri

Saturday, Dec. 30
Peach Bowl
9 a.m., ESPN
No. 10 Penn State vs. No. 11 Ole Miss

Music City Bowl
11 a.m., ABC
Auburn vs. Maryland

Orange Bowl
1 p.m., ESPN
No. 5 Florida State vs. No. 6 Georgia

Arizona Bowl
1:30 p.m., The CW
Toledo vs. Wyoming

Monday, Jan. 1
ReliaQuest Bowl
9 a.m., ESPN2
No. 13 LSU vs. Wisconsin

Citrus Bowl
9 a.m., ABC
No. 17 Iowa vs. No. 21 Tennessee

Fiesta Bowl
9 a.m., ESPN
No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 23 Liberty

Rose Bowl
2 p.m., ESPN
No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama

Sugar Bowl
5:45 p.m., ESPN
No. 2 Washington vs. No. 3 Texas

Monday, Jan. 8
1:30 p.m., ESPN
National Championship Game

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1891 — Dr. James Naismith introduces the first game of basketball. Based on 13 rules created by Naismith, the game is tested by 18 students at the School for Christian Workers in Springfield, Massachusetts. Using a soccer ball, two peach baskets and two teams of nine players each, the objective is to throw a round ball into a round basket attached to a balcony 10 feet above the floor.

1941 — The Chicago Bears win the NFL championship with a 37-9 rout of the New York Giants.

1975 — The Buffalo Sabres score eight goals in the third period of a 14-2 victory over the Washington Capitals. Rick Martin scores four goals and Fred Stanfield gets three for Buffalo. The Sabres, who lead 6-2 after two periods, outshoot the Capitals 22-3 in the final period.

1981 — Doug Schloerner’s 15-foot jump shot with 1 second remaining in the seventh overtime gives Cincinnati a 75-73 victory over Bradley. The seven overtimes set an NCAA record.

1991 — Buffalo’s Alexander Mogilny matches an NHL record by scoring five seconds into the game as the Sabres beat Toronto 4-1.

1997 — Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions becomes the third player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season when he gains 184 in a 13-10 win over the New York Jets. Sanders finishes with 2,053 yards, second to Eric Dickerson’s 2,105 in 1984.

2001 — Dwayne DeRosario scores six minutes into overtime as the San Jose Earthquakes beat the Galaxy 2-1 to win their first MLS Cup.

2008 — Detroit becomes the first 0-15 team when it’s routed 42-7 by the New Orleans Saints. The Lions also break NFL records by being outscored by a combined 176 points at home and by an average of 22 points.

2008 — San Francisco’s Isaac Bruce becomes the fifth player to reach 1,000 catches on a three-yard touchdown grab in the 49ers’ 17-16 win at St. Louis.

2009 — Martin Brodeur surpasses Terry Sawchuk’s 40-year-old NHL record with his 104th career shutout, leading New Jersey to a 4-0 victory over Pittsburgh.

2010 — The No. 1-ranked Connecticut women’s basketball team tops the 88-game winning streak by John Wooden’s UCLA men’s team from 1971-74, beating No. 22 Florida State 93-62.

Compiled by the Associated Press