The Sports Report: Lakers rally to defeat Bucks in double overtime

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

From Dan Woike: The key, coach Darvin Ham said before the game, would be for the Lakers to move on after mistakes, to not let the errors pile up, to employ what he, and every NBA coach calls, a “next-play mentality.”

Opening a six-game trip Tuesday in Milwaukee, forget about the next play. The Lakers, even before the game, looked like a team focused on the next day.

Their biggest star, LeBron James, didn’t play after he experienced soreness in his bothersome left ankle after the Lakers’ win on Sunday. And with another game at Memphis awaiting the Lakers Wednesday night, strategic rest seemed like a factor too.

But, the next play kept coming. And the Lakers, eventually started to make some shots.

They bounced back from a disaster start and from being down 19 points in the fourth quarter to extend the game — the next plays stretching longer into the Wisconsin night.

More than three hours and two overtimes after the game tipped, Austin Reaves hit the shot of the night — an open three-pointer — to push the Lakers ahead and eventually steal a 128-124 win in double overtime.

Reaves, who had a potential game-winner drop in and out at the end of regulation, finished with his second career triple-double, scoring 29 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and dishing 10 assists. Anthony Davis, limping throughout the second half, finished with 34 points and 23 rebounds, Rui Hachimura (16 points and 14 rebounds) and D’Angelo Russell (29 points and 12 assists) both had double-doubles.

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Lakers box score

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DODGERS

From Jack Harris: There has been plenty of fallout accompanying the scandal surrounding Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara.

The confusion it caused among the Dodgers fan base. The distractions it threatened to create for the team. The way it could all impact Ohtani’s play individually, in particular, in the first season of his 10-year, $700-million contract, given how integral Mizuhara was in his daily training and preparation routines.

“That’s his personal life,” teammate Freddie Freeman said of the situation, which has seen Ohtani accuse Mizuhara, his longtime interpreter and close friend, of stealing money from Ohtani’s bank account to pay off gambling debts to an allegedly illegal bookmaker.

“That’s a lot [to handle],” Freeman said.

On Tuesday, however, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pointed to what he argued could be at least one silver lining.

As far as baseball-related communications with Ohtani are concerned, a “buffer,” as Roberts described it, has been removed from the equation with Mizuhara’s firing last week.

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Hernández: Gambling and theft allegations raise one big question. Who is Shohei Ohtani?

Shohei Ohtani leaves unanswered questions after blaming his interpreter in gambling scandal

Shohei Ohtani gets warm reception in Anaheim before Dodgers lose to Angels

NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT

Men’s bracket

Men’s schedule
All times Pacific

SWEET 16
Thursday
West Region
No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 6 Clemson, 4:09 p.m., CBS
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 4 Alabama, 6:39 p.m., CBS

East Region
No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 5 San Diego St., 4:39 p.m., TBS/truTV
No. 2 Iowa St. vs. No. 3 Illinois, 7:09 p.m., TBS/truTV

Friday
South Region
No. 2 Marquette vs. No. 11 North Carolina St., 4:09 p.m. CBS
No. 1 Houston vs, No. 4 Duke, 6:39 p.m., CBS

Midwest Region
No. 1 Purdue vs. No. 5 Gonzaga, 4:39 p.m., TBS/truTV
No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 3 Creighton, 7:09 p.m., TBS/truTV

Elite Eight: Saturday-Sunday
Final Four: April 6 (Glendale, Ariz.)
Championship: April 8 (Glendale, Ariz.)

NCAA WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Lindsay Gottlieb paused to collect her thoughts. How could she summarize Clarice Akunwafo’s career highs in blocked shots and steals on the biggest stage of USC’s season?

“Clarice,” the USC coach said, “is something else.”

Not only was the 6-foot-6 center a defensive trump card that stymied Kansas in an NCAA tournament second-round victory that sent USC to its first Sweet 16 since 1994, but the Inglewood native is also helping the Trojans establish themselves as a national championship contender while pursuing a career in medicine. She hopes to become a surgeon after basketball.

Working with USC staff to incorporate her grueling class schedule with practices and games while loading up her academic schedule during the summer, Akunwafo admits balancing the demands of athletics and academics hasn’t been easy. Freshman year was bad, she emphasized. Yet rebuilding a fallen dynasty on the court isn’t simple either. With belief from her coaches and teammates, Akunwafo seems especially fit for both tasks.

“Lindsay always supports my dream to be a doctor, that’s why I really stayed,” Akunwafo said. “She supports me and I’m going to support her and always have her back.”

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Women’s bracket

Women’s schedule
All times Pacific
SWEET 16

Friday

REGIONAL 1
No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 3 Oregon St., 11:30 a.m., ESPN
No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 4 Indiana, 2 p.m., ESPN

REGIONAL 4
No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 3 North Carolina St., 4:30 p.m., ESPN
No. 1 Texas vs. No. 4 Gonzaga, 7 p.m., ESPN

Saturday
REGIONAL 2
No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 3 LSU, 10 a.m., ABC
No. 1 Iowa vs. No. 5 Colorado, 12:30 p.m., ABC

REGIONAL 3
No. 1 USC vs. No. 5 Baylor, 2:30 p.m., ESPN
No. 3 Connecticut vs. No. 7 Duke, 5 p.m., ESPN

Elite Eight: Sunday-Monday
Final Four: April 5 (Cleveland)
Championship: April 7 (Cleveland)

RAMS

From Gary Klein: Sean McVay met Aaron Donald outside the visitors locker room at Detroit’s Ford Field.

The Rams’ 2023 season had ended with a playoff defeat, and McVay was near certain it was Donald’s final game.

“This is it,” McVay recalled saying as he greeted the three-time NFL defensive player of the year.

“Yep,” Donald replied, “This is it.”

Donald’s retirement last week made official what McVay and those throughout the Rams organization knew for weeks. Donald and McVay spoke at length the day after the playoff loss.

“You could really feel there was a sense of peace,” McVay said Tuesday at the NFL owners annual meeting, before jokingly adding, “Maybe we’ll see if he gets that appetite later on.”

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USC FOOTBALL

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Jaden Richardson didn’t need any promises. The only thing the former Tufts receiver wanted when trying to make the jump from Division III was an opportunity.

“Any school that promises you stuff is never where you really want to be,” the USC receiver said Tuesday after his fourth spring practice with the Trojans.

Richardson is part of an exclusive group of transfers on offense expected to boost the competition inside Heritage Hall as the Trojans wade into the next phase of development under Lincoln Riley.

The coach relied on large transfer classes to hasten USC’s turnaround during his first two years but has stated a desire to start building through high school players. With promising prospects from last year’s recruiting class — Riley’s first full group at USC — the Trojans signed only three transfers for spring on offense.

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DUCKS

Eeli Tolvanan and Matty Beniers each had a goal and an assist, and the Seattle Kraken halted an eight-game losing streak by beating the Ducks 4-0 on Tuesday night.

Jordan Eberle and Oliver Bjorkstrand also scored for Seattle (29-29-13). Eberle’s goal was the 299th of his career and 17th this season.

The Ducks (24-44-4), already eliminated from playoff contention, lost for the ninth time in 10 games.

Ducks goalie John Gibson stopped 32 shots.

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Ducks box score

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NHL standings

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1939 — Oregon beats Ohio State 46-33 in the NCAA’s first national basketball tournament.

1942 — Joe Louis knocks out Abe Simon in the sixth round at Madison Square Garden to retain his world heavyweight title.

1945 — Oklahoma A&M beats New York University 49-45 for the NCAA basketball championship.

1951 — Bill Spivey scores 22 points to lead Kentucky to a 68-58 win over Kansas State for the NCAA basketball title.

1971 — UCLA beats Villanova 68-62 for its fifth NCAA basketball title.

1978 — Jack Givens scores 41 points to lead Kentucky to a 94-88 victory over Duke for the NCAA basketball title.

1983 — Larry Holmes wins a unanimous 12-round decision over Lucien Rodriguez to retain his world heavyweight title in his hometown of Scranton, Pa.

2011 — Jamie Skeen scores 26 points as Virginia Commonwealth delivers the biggest upset of the NCAA tournament, a 71-61 win over No. 1 seed Kansas in the Southwest Regional final.

2014 — The Philadelphia 76ers tie the NBA record for futility with their 26th straight loss, falling 120-98 to the Houston Rockets. Philadelphia matches the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers for the NBA’s worst skid.

Compiled by the Associated Press