From Broderick Turner: The Lakers underwent some soul-searching at practice Saturday, with coach JJ Redick starting the conversation before allowing players to speak freely about the team’s issues.
It was an attempt by Redick and the team to prevent things from spiraling out of control after three consecutive losses.
When the Lakers faced the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena, Redick wanted to see players executing on defense and playing harder.
The Lakers did exactly that, with Luka Doncic and LeBron James combining for 58 points and 12 assists in a 125-101 win.
“I think it definitely starts with us,” said Doncic, who had 34 points, seven assists and five rebounds. “And when AR (Austin Reaves) is back, it’s going to be all three of us. … We need to show what we can do and if we are going to do it, we both are going to do it. The group is going to follow. … I think today just shows that everybody was locked in.”
For the Lakers, it was more than Doncic finishing with 34 points, seven assists and five rebounds. It was Doncic playing defense, illustrated best when he blocked a shot by DeMar DeRozan. It was Doncic hustling, such as when he dove to the floor for a loose ball.
Continue reading here
Lakers-Kings box score
NBA scores
NBA standings
Plenty at stake for Rams vs. Falcons on Monday
Rams coach Sean McVay stands on the sideline during a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov. 23.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
From Gary Klein: It’s a late-season matchup with subplots galore.
The Rams’ game against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium pits several of the NFL’s closest coaching friends against each other with playoff and draft positions, job security and possibly the most valuable player award on the line.
The Rams are 11-4 and coming off a crushing 38-37 overtime defeat by the Seattle Seahawks. The loss knocked the Rams out of the No. 1 seed in the NFC and dropped them to No. 6 with two games left.
“It’s exciting because this is the opportunity for us to come back and have a response,” star receiver Puka Nacua said, adding, “This is the opportunity to show that we’ve improved and we learned from that experience.”
Continue reading here
NFL scores
NFL standings
Chargers’ offensive line issues could derail season
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is sacked by Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. (51) and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins during the first half of the Chargers’ 20-16 loss Saturday at SoFi Stadium.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
From Benjamin Royer: Justin Herbert could glimpse at the Chargers’ “See the lightning, Feel the thunder” branding above the field-level suites as his offensive linemen pulled him up on the SoFi Stadium turf.
Herbert certainly felt the thunder against the Texans. The NFL’s top defense recorded 26 pressures as it swarmed through the Chargers’ offensive line en route to a 20-16 win Saturday.
And Herbert saw the lightning, best represented by second-string defensive end Derek Barnett’s back-to-back sacks to halt the Chargers’ first drive of the second half.
The latter of Barnett’s takedowns — part of the Texans’ five sacks and eight tackles for loss — came when he spun past Bobby Hart and brought down Herbert for a seven-yard loss.
Continue reading here
No. 4 UCLA defeats No. 19 Ohio State
UCLA guard Kiki Rice, center, shoots between Ohio State guard Kylee Kitts, left, and UCLA forward Angela Dugalic during the first half of the Bruins’ 82-75 win.
(Paul Vernon / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press: Lauren Betts had 18 points and 16 rebounds as No. 4 UCLA extended its winning streak to six games with an 82-75 win over No. 19 Ohio State on Sunday.
Kiki Rice added 16 points and Angela Dugalic scored 15 as UCLA (12-1, 2-0 Big Ten) beat the Buckeyes for the fourth straight time, dating to December 2023.
Jaloni Cambridge led all scorers with 28 points, and Elsa Lemmila added 13 points and seven rebounds for Ohio State (11-2, 1-1), which had its nine-game winning streak halted in its conference home opener.
Continue reading here
UCLA-Ohio State box score
Women’s college basketball scores
Kawhi Leonard scores a career-high 55 points
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard reacts during the first half of Sunday’s win over the Detroit Pistons at Intuit Dome.
(William Liang / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press: Kawhi Leonard scored a career-high 55 points, James Harden added 28, and the Clippers extended their winning streak to a season-high four games with a 112-99 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night at Intuit Dome.
Leonard went 17 for 26 from the floor, including five for 10 from three-point range, and made 16 of 17 free throws, his miss in the third quarter ending a streak of 64 straight from the line this month. He scored 26 points in the third quarter.
Leonard tied the team record for points in a game, set by Harden on Nov. 22 at Charlotte, and became the second in franchise history to score at least 40 points in consecutive games at home, joining Bob McAdoo.
Continue reading here
Clippers-Pistons box score
How curling became an Olympics sensation
Canada’s skip Rachel Homan releases a stone during a match at the World Women’s Curling Championship in Uijeongbu, South Korea, on March 22.
(Lee Jin-man / Associated Press)
From Kevin Baxter: Jason Hills grew up in a rural hamlet in southern Alberta so small there were no traffic lights. Which wasn’t a problem because there wasn’t any traffic either.
But there was a curling rink.
“There was nothing else really to do,” Hills said. “So if you weren’t curling you’d go hang out at the curling rink. It’s a community thing. It’s like everyone gets together.”
In much of the world curling is a curiosity, a sport which, like luge or the biathlon, surfaces every four years at the Winter Olympics — as it will do in February in Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy — then quickly fades from view.
In Canada, however, it’s as much a part of the culture as poutine and maple syrup.
More than 2.3 million people — or one of every 18 Canadians — participate in the sport annually. That’s about 100 times the level of participation in the U.S. And more than 11 million Canadians watched the sport on TV in 2024, according to estimates from Curling Canada, the national governing body for the sport.
Continue reading here
Ducks have much to celebrate this season
Ducks forward Cutter Gauthier (61), center Mason McTavish (23), right wing Beckett Sennecke (45), defenseman Olen Zellweger (51), and right wing Frank Vatrano (77) celebrate after scoring against the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 7 at Honda Center.
(Ethan Swope / Associated Press)
From Kevin Baxter: R.J. Prewitt has been a Ducks fan since the first puck dropped in Anaheim, so he’s known good times and bad.
He was there when the team won the Stanley Cup in 2007, for example, and when it took another final to a seventh game four seasons earlier. But he was also there through each of the last seven seasons, when the Ducks never placed higher than sixth in the Pacific Division and finished a combined 74 games under .500.
“It’s my team,” said Prewitt, wearing a white-and-orange Ducks’ sweater as he waited to enter the Crypto.com Arena for Saturday night’s game with the Kings. “I’m going to have faith no matter what.”
That faith is getting another stern test this month. Because after entering December atop the division standings for the first time in more than a decade, the Ducks have lost six of their last eight, with the most ignominious loss coming Saturday in a 6-1 thrashing by their neighborhood rivals and winger Alex Laferriere, who got his first career hat trick.
Continue reading here
NHL scores
NHL standings
Alabama not intimidated by Fernando Mendoza
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza passes against Illinois in September.
(Darron Cummings / Associated Press)
From Anthony Solorzano: Alabama understands that stopping Indiana’s powerful offense in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day starts with containing Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
“(Mendoza) is operating at a really high level,” Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said. “When you watch the tape and the challenge, really the cry for our guys (is) to have to operate at a really consistent level, and you’re going to have to take away those windows that he’s wanting to get the ball through.”
During top-seeded Indiana’s undefeated season, Mendoza threw for 2,980 yards and 33 touchdowns for a team that ranked eighth in total offense (472.8 yards per game). Despite his impressive numbers, ninth-seeded Alabama isn’t showing signs of being intimidated by Mendoza heading into the College Football Playoff quarterfinal showdown.
Continue reading here
Bob Baffert dominates Santa Anita opening day
Nysos and jockey Flavien Prat, right, battle Nevada Beach and Juan Hernandez before going on to win the Grade II $200,000 Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes at Santa Anita on Sunday.
(Benoit Photo via the Associated Press)
From Jay Posner: Opening day at Santa Anita might have been delayed by two days because of heavy rain, but it was worth the wait for no other reason than to watch the stretch run of the $200,000 Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes.
And for trainer Bob Baffert, it was even better than that. Not only did Nysos and Nevada Beach run 1-2 for him Sunday in the thrilling Grade 2 Pincay, but he also captured the two Grade 1 races he entered, the La Brea with Usha and the Malibu with Goal Oriented.
It was the fourth time Baffert won three stakes on the same day at Santa Anita, including the same trio of races on opening day in 2022.
Continue reading here
This day in sports history
1926 — Merlyn Phillips of the Montreal Maroons scores five seconds into the game at Chicago for an NHL record for the fastest goal from the start of a game. The Blackhawks win the game in overtime, 5-4. It would be matched three times.
1934 — The first college basketball doubleheader is played at New York’s Madison Square Garden. NYU beats Notre Dame 25-18 and Westminster defeats St. John’s 37-33.
1957 — Tobin Rote passes for four touchdowns and scores another to give the Detroit Lions a 59-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns in the NFL championship game.
1961 — Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scores 60 points against the Los Angeles Lakers at Hershey, Pa., the future site of his 100-point game.
1963 — Chuck McKinley and Dennis Ralston give the United States a 3-2 victory over Australia for the Davis Cup title.
1968 — The Baltimore Colts shut out the Browns 34-0 to win the NFL championship at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
1968 — The New York Jets beat the Oakland Raiders 27-23 in the AFL championship game.
1979 — Safety Vernon Perry sets an NFL playoff record with four interceptions to lead the Houston Oilers to a 17-14 victory over the San Diego Chargers.
1982 — Alabama’s Jeremiah Castille intercepts three passes to help beat Illinois 21-15 in the Liberty Bowl and send coach Paul “Bear” Bryant out as a winner. Bryant finishes his coaching career with 323-85-17 record.
1984 — Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers scores his 100th point in the 35th game of the season, a 6-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.
2006 — Texas Tech spots Minnesota a 31-point, third-quarter lead, then rallies for a stunning 44-41 overtime victory in the Insight Bowl, the largest comeback in Division I-A bowl history. The previous record for a bowl comeback was 30 points, set by Marshall against East Carolina in the 2001 GMAC Bowl.
2007 — The New England Patriots complete a perfect regular season, finishing with a remarkable 16-0 record following a thrilling 38-35 comeback victory over the New York Giants. New England is the first NFL team since the 1972 Dolphins to win every game on the schedule, and that one was only 14-0.
2011 — Baylor pulls out an incredible Alamo Bowl victory in the highest-scoring regulation bowl game in history, beating Washington 67-56 in the wildest shootout of this bowl season. Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III isn’t dazzling, but Terrance Ganaway rushes for 200 yards and five touchdowns. The previous bowl record for a regulation game was 102 total points set in the 2001 GMAC Bowl between Marshall and East Carolina. That game went to double overtime and ended with a combined 125 points — which still stands as the overall bowl record.
2012 — Second-ranked Connecticut plays spoiler and streak-buster this time, snapping No. 1 Stanford’s nation-leading 82-game home unbeaten run with a surprisingly easy 61-35 rout. It’s the Huskies who saw the end of their NCAA record 90-game winning streak at Maples Pavilion with a 71-59 loss two years ago, almost to the day on Dec. 30. Stanford loses at Maples Pavilion for the first time since March 2007.
2013 — Peyton Manning is 25 for 28 for 266 yards and four touchdowns before sitting out the second half of Denver’s 34-14 win over Oakland. He finishes the season with NFL records of 5,477 yards and 55 touchdown passes.
2014 — Teenager Mikaela Shiffrin becomes the most successful U.S. skier in the slalom at Kuehtai, Austria. The 19-year-old racks up her 10th career slalom win, beating the records set in the 1980s by Tamara McKinney and on the men’s side by Phil Mahre, who both had nine wins in ski racing’s most technically demanding event.
2016 — Olympic slalom champion Mikaela Shiffrin uses a spectacular final run to win a night race for her third World Cup triumph in three days. Shiffrin is 0.33 seconds off the lead at the final split time before accelerating to win the race by 0.64 ahead of Veronika Velez Zuzulova of Slovakia. After winning two giant slaloms the previous days, Shiffrin continues her dominance in slalom by landing her 23th career win in the discipline.
2020 — Milwaukee Bucks break NBA record for most 3-pointers made by a team in a single game with 29 in a dominant 144-97 victory over the Heat in Miami.
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
