The Sports Report: Lakers look like title contender in win over Celtics

Hi, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get straight to the news.

From Dan Woike: A three-pointer, a dunk, a free throw, whatever, it didn’t matter. Regardless of who scored or how, the Lakers were one down against the Celtics.

The score that matters most when the Lakers play the Celtics this season, at least in terms of their rivalry, is 18-17. Boston took the lead last June when they added another championship to their history, pushing them ahead of the Lakers for the most ever and doing so with a roster far better equipped to build on that lead as the Lakers work toward a loud ticking clock.

But as the Lakers try to find out how good they can be, they made a strong case for believing in them, delivering a signature win in a 117-96 blowout win against the league’s defending champion.

The Lakers played their best 48 minutes of basketball this season — by far — and quickly established that they were willing to attack the game from the three-point line like the Celtics while rediscovering their defensive toughness.

“We had a game plan and we executed it. For the majority of 48 minutes, we executed it,” LeBron James said. “We know it’s a great team, defending champions, great players and they’re going to put you in situations that are uncomfortable, but you have to be uncomfortable to compete with them.”

Boston shot just 37.8% from the field and 32.5% from three-point range, with Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla pulling the plug. The Lakers’ best players, James, Austin Reaves and Anthony Davis, all took turns dominating, and the trio combined for 67 points. Dalton Knecht scored 13 and Gabe Vincent had 12 off the bench, with Vincent hitting four threes and Knecht making three.

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MOWERS

From Broderick Turner: The Clippers were basically back to being fully healthy Thursday night, and that gave them an opportunity to showcase their depth, with six players scoring in double figures.

Dealing with the right knee injury that sidelined Kawhi Leonard for the last two games allowed him to face the hapless Washington Wizards in a dominating game. 110-93 Clippers win.

Center Ivica Zubac returned after missing two games with a corneal abrasion in his left eye, and James Harden (groin), Norman Powell (back) and Nicolas Batum (finger) returned after sitting out Wednesday’s overtime loss to Boston .

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RAMS

From Gary Klein: Rams coach Sean McVay, typically unhinged during press conferences, didn’t look or sound like his usual self.

Last April, on the first night of the 2024 NFL draft, news leaked that Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford wanted his contract adjusted. The announcement unsettled McVay and general manager Les Snead that night when they met with reporters to discuss the selection of first-round pick Jared Verse.

“It was a fun night,” McVay recalled Thursday with a hint of sarcasm. “A really fun night to take away from a good night.”

Stafford’s situation wasn’t resolved until late July, when the Rams bowed to his demands a few hours after all other players reported to training camp. On Thursday, with the futures of Stafford and receiver Cooper Kupp uncertain, McVay indicated that addressing Stafford’s situation will be the first order of business when he and Rams executives meet next week to discuss the roster and plans for next season.

“We don’t want that to go on again,” McVay said during a video conference call with reporters. “I don’t think it’s good for anybody. I think sooner rather than later. To be able to get that clarity…

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NFL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

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Conference championships
All times Pacific
Sunday
NFC
No. 6 Washington at no. 2 Philadelphia, noon, Fox

AFC
no. 2 Buffalo in no. 1 Kansas City, 3:30 p.m., CBS/Paramount+

Super Bowl 59: Feb. 9 at New Orleans, 7 p.m. 3:30 p.m., Fox

UCLA BASKETBALL

From Ben Bolch: If you have a player blessed with rare qualities who can take over a game on both ends of the court, you use him as much as possible, right?

Right?

Maybe not.

Two days after UCLA’s Aday, Mara put every inch of his 7-foot-3 frame to excellent use against Wisconsin — making all seven shots by scoring a career-high 22 points, playing lockdown defense, grabbing rebounds and repeatedly getting hacked by overmatched opponents who had no choice but to foul him — his coach said the second-year center’s usage would continue to be situational.

“It would be great if Aday would average 22 for the rest of the year,” coach Mick Cronin said Thursday of Mara’s breakthrough after being used sparingly during the first half of the season, “but I also think — you know, watch that just happen.”

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Lauren Betts had 25 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks as No. 1 UCLA beat Rutgers 84-66 Thursday night.

The 6-foot-7 Betts now has 21 blocks over his last three games for UCLA (19-0, 7-0 Big Ten).

This was the first time Rutgers faced the No. 1 team in the nation since 2014, when the Scarlet Knights played Connecticut twice in the American Athletic Conference.

The Scarlet Knights hung around for about 12 minutes before the Bruins rallied behind Betts to go up 45-29 at the half. Rutgers never got closer than 14 in the second half.

UCLA has been on the East Coast for nearly a week as the Bruins beat No. 1 Baylor. 25 in the inaugural Coretta Scott King Classic on Monday.

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DODGERS

From Bill Plaschke: Invincible.

The word first came to mind Wednesday afternoon when the Dodgers held a press conference to introduce a nervous kid who has never played a minute in the big leagues.

Nearly 100 journalists still showed up to gaze at their greatness.

Invincible.

The word popped up again when I asked co-owner Peter Guber, who was beaming in the front row as he watched his team celebrate the arrival of the fireballing Roki Sasaki, the centerpiece of an offseason haul that has never been matched in sports.

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KINGS

From Kevin Baxter: Since a teenage Drew Doughty joined Anze Kopitar on the Kings’ roster in 2008, the team has won its only two Stanley Cups, posted the top five winning seasons in franchise history and six of the top eight scoring seasons .

So does that make this the golden era of the Kings?

“Absolutely,” Kings president Luc Robitaille said without hesitation. “Anze Kopitar and Drew have been key players for our franchise. What they bring in the (dressing) room, what they bring day in and day out, the way they are careful to play, has a two-way game.

“We attribute the success we’ve had to them.”

However, age threatens to dull the luster of that golden era, adding a sense of urgency to this season’s playoff push, which has just begun.

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DUCKS

Mason McTavish and Alex Killorn each scored twice and the Ducks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 Thursday evening.

Frank Vatrano also scored and Troy Terry and Jacob Trouba each had a pair of assists as the Ducks snapped a four-game winless streak. John Gibson made 31 saves.

Michael Bunting scored on a power play for Pittsburgh. Rickard Rakell had an assist in his return to the lineup after missing a game due to family reasons. Alex Nedeljkovic made 29 saves.

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HORSE BETTING

From John Cherwa: Southern California, shut out of last year’s Eclipse Awards, stormed back with three awards at Thursday’s Eclipse Awards ceremony in Palm Beach, Fla.

Neither prize was a surprise as two of three winners won a Breeders’ Cup race in their last outing.

Citizen Bull was the winner of the 2-year-old male Eclipse after winning his last two races, the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile and American Pharoah. He lost his second start and finished third in the Del Mar Futurity, but won his maiden race at Del Mar.

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THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1939 – Eddie Collins, Wee Willie Keeler and George Sisler are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

1956 – Bob Pettit of St. Louis Hawks wins the first of his NBA record four All-Star MVP awards. Pettit leads the West with 20 points and 24 rebounds in a 108-94 win over the East.

1981 – Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders scores his 50th goal in the 50th game of the season in a 7-3 win over the Quebec Nordiques.

1982 – Ray Wersching kicks a Super Bowl record four field goals to help the San Francisco 49ers beat the Cincinnati Bengals 26-21.

1986 – Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders scores his 1,000th. career points with an assist in a 7-5 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

1990 – Winston-Salem State basketball coach Clarence “Big House” Gaines wins his 800th career game, 79-70 over Livingstone.

1998 – The Denver Nuggets end their record-tying single-season losing streak of 23 games, beating the Clippers 99-81.

1999 – David Duval shoots 59 to match what is then the best round in PGA Tour history. Duval moves from seven strokes off the pace to a one-stroke victory over Steve Pate in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

2010 – Kelly Kulick becomes the first woman to win a PBA Tour title, beating Chris Barnes in the finals of the 45th Tournament of Champions. Kulick outshot Barnes 265-195 to take home the $40,000 first prize and a two-year PBA Tour exemption.

2010 – Peyton Manning throws three touchdown passes and the Indianapolis Colts rally from an 11-point first-half deficit to beat the New York Jets 30-17 in the AFC Championship Game.

2010 — The New Orleans Saints reach their first Super Bowl after beating Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 in overtime on Garrett Hartley’s 40-yard field goal.

2012 — By playing his 1,000th. match, four-time Australian Open champion Roger Federer advances to his ninth straight semi-final at Melbourne Park with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 win over Juan Martin del Potro. Federer is the seventh man to reach the 1,000 match milestone.

2014 – Carmelo Anthony scores a career-high and franchise-record 62 points, the most in what is now Madison Square Garden, and the New York Knicks beat the Charlotte Bobcats 125-96.

2015 – Ashley Wagner wins her third US figure skating title, easily beating defending champion Gracie Gold.

2016 – Denver cornerback Bradley Roby picks off Tom Brady’s pass on a two-point attempt with 12 seconds left to preserve a 20-18 win for the Broncos over the New England Patriots in the AFC title game.

2016 – Cam Newton throws two touchdowns and runs for two others and Carolina’s big defense stifles Arizona’s top-ranked offense in a 49-15 rout of the NFC championship.

Prepared by the Associated Press