The Sports Report: LAFC edges Galaxy out of the playoffs

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

From Kevin Baxter: No MLS team has won more games, scored more goals or earned more points in the regular season than LAFC since it entered the league five years ago.

But the playoffs have been the team’s kryptonite.

Four times the team has made the postseason and until Thursday it had one win to show for it. Nineteen other MLS teams have won at least that often in the playoffs over that span.

Denis Bouanga, who joined LAFC in August, wasn’t here for any of that history. And if he knew about, he ignored it, scoring twice in his MLS playoff debut to help LAFC to a 3-2 win over the Galaxy at Banc of California Stadium, sending the team to the Western Conference finals against the winner of Sunday’s Austin-Dallas game.

The winning goal came from Colombian Cristian Arango three minutes into stoppage time, rescuing a team that had given up one-goal leads in each half. The Galaxy scores came from Samuel Grandsir and Dejan Joveljic.

LAFC finished the regular season with the league’s best record, winning the Supporters’ Shield for the second time in four seasons. But it staggered into the playoffs with little momentum, having lost five of its final nine games.

The Galaxy’s season was just the opposite. The team appeared out of playoff contention before adding midfielders Riqui Puig, Gastón Brugman and defender Martín Cáceres for a stretch drive in which it lost only one of its last 11 regular-season games, sending it into the postseason as the hottest team in the conference.

Bouanga appeared to change LAFC’s fortunes in the 23^rd minute with his second MLS goal, both have been dramatic with the first clinching the Supporters’ Shield. The play that started with Carlos Vela threading a left-footed pass into the center of the box for Bouanga, who used his body to shield the Galaxy’s Douglas Costa from the ball. When Costa tripped over Bouanga’s right foot and took himself out of the play, the LAFC forward had an easy left-footed finish, beating Galaxy keeper Jonathan Bond cleanly from the edge of the six-yard box.

LAKERS vs. CLIPPERS

From Dan Woike: Facing one of the best teams in their conference for the second straight game to open the season, the Lakers looked completely outclassed.

If they lacked continuity and discipline in the opener, they didn’t have nearly enough size or strength in Game 2, the road to the top of the Western Conference seemingly far away at this time.

Oh, and there’s the shooting — a problem that looks completely debilitating.

The Lakers missed and missed and missed for the second straight game. And while the fight, the ferocity and the force were all improved, the Lakers just don’t seem good enough, falling 103-97 to the Clippers, their eighth-straight loss to their in-arena rivals.

The Clippers led by as many as 16, riding momentum from Kawhi Leonard’s return and John Wall’s debut. But 22 turnovers, many the result of the Lakers’ defense, allowed the Lakers to author multiple comebacks and even grab a fourth-quarter lead.

Yet the Clippers clamped down and the Lakers couldn’t score — Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Nunn and Patrick Beverley, combining to shoot just one for 25.

Westbrook missed all 11 of his shots, scoring only two points.

CHARGERS

From Jeff Miller: The Chargers did something Monday they had never done since Justin Herbert became their starting quarterback in Week 2 of the 2020 season.

They won a game when their offense was limited to fewer than 300 yards.

All of the recent offensive issues could be magnified Sunday when the Chargers play Seattle at SoFi Stadium with a roster further compromised by injury.

Wide receiver Keenan Allen remains limited in practice because of a hamstring problem that has kept him out since the second quarter of the season opener. Center Corey Linsley has been limited this week, too, as he rebounds from a bout of food poisoning. Right tackle Trey Pipkins III is playing through a left knee ligament sprain. Running back Joshua Kelley also has a sprained knee ligament and has been unable to practice. Wide receiver Joshua Palmer and tight end Donald Parham Jr. both remain in concussion protocol after being hurt against Denver.

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USC FOOTBALL

From Ryan Kartje: Just a few days before he died, Dale Rech answered a call from his hospital bed.

Bill Hadden wanted to discuss Student Body Right, the collective for name, image and likeness that he and Rech launched at USC in August against the university’s wishes. Namely, Hadden worried it was falling apart.

USC and its in-house, NIL operation, BLVD, had made clear on many occasions that it viewed Student Body Right and its plan to pay every Trojans football player “the equivalent of a base salary” as an existential threat. Earlier that week, Rech had taken another call from his hospital bed — this time, with Mike Bohn, USC’s athletic director, who remained resolute in his belief about the potentially damaging presence of a donor-run collective.

The open opposition from USC made matters difficult, Hadden admitted. Fundraising proved more of an uphill battle than anticipated. Several potential donors, Hadden said, expressed concerns to him about repercussions from the school if they supported Student Body Right.

Then, there was the matter of Rech’s health. His kidneys were failing. He had a blood clot in his calf. Doctors were discussing inserting stents in his heart. Hearing him over the phone that day, Hadden worried: His friend didn’t sound good.

Rech was the one who’d willed Student Body Right into existence. He’d fought for weeks from his hospital bed to keep the collective alive, even offering at one point to front the first year himself. But now his own health was failing. Hadden asked if he was physically capable of carrying it any further.

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KINGS

Jeff Petry and Jan Rutta scored their first goals of the season on blasts from the point that made their way around well-placed screens, Jake Guentzel and Rickard Rakell scored from in close and Pittsburgh raced by the Kings 6-1 on Tuesday night.

Jeff Carter beat former teammate Jonathan Quick for his second goal of the season and Ryan Poehling added the first of his career late as the Penguins improved to 3-0-1.

DUCKS

Taylor Hall scored in the fourth round of the shootout to lift the Boston Bruins to a 2-1 win over the Ducks on Thursday night.

Hall also scored in regulation for Boston (4-1), and Linus Ullmark made 30 saves and stopped all four shots in the shootout.

Former Bruin Frank Vatrano had Anaheim’s lone goal. John Gibson stopped 35 shots.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1950 — Tom Powers of Duke scores six touchdowns — three rushing, three receiving — in a 41-0 victory over Richmond.

1956 — Billy Howton of the Green Bay Packers catches seven passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-17 victory over the Rams.

1961 — Eddie Arcaro wins the Jockey Club Gold Cup for a record 10th time. His mount, Kelso, wins his second straight Gold Cup.

1967 — The expansion Seattle SuperSonics win their first NBA game, a 117-110 overtime victory over San Diego.

1973 — Fred Dryer of the Rams becomes the first NFL player to record two safeties in a 24-7 victory over the Green Bay Packers.

1975 — Carlton Fisk breaks up a thrilling contest with a homer in the 12th inning to give the Boston Red Sox a 7-6 victory over the Cincinnati Reds and force a seventh game in the World Series.

1979 — Chicago Bulls guard Sam Smith scores the first 4-point play in NBA history during a 113-111 loss to the Bucks at Milwaukee.

1980 — The Philadelphia Phillies win the World Series for the first time in their 98-year history, defeating the Kansas City Royals 4-1 in six games.

1998 — The New York Yankees win 3-0 at San Diego, sweeping the Padres for their record 24th World Series championship.

2006 — Two rookie pitchers start the World Series for the first time. Anthony Reyes pitches into the ninth inning to help St. Louis cruise past Detroit and Justin Verlander 7-2 in Game 1.

2006 — Michigan State rallies from a 35-point, third-quarter deficit to beat Northwestern 41-38 in the biggest comeback in NCAA Division I-A history. Brett Swenson kicks the winning 28-yard field goal with 13 seconds left following an interception by Travis Key.

2007 — Rob Bironas kicks an NFL-record eight field goals, the last a 29-yarder with no time left to give Tennessee a 38-36 win over Houston. Bironas adds two extra points to set the NFL record for most points by a kicker, with 26. The Texans, trailing 32-7, survive backup quarterback Sage Rosenfels’ four touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. Rosenfels’ fourth touchdown pass, a 53-yarder to Andre’ Davis to put Houston up 36-35 with 57 seconds to play, ties an NFL record.

2007 — New England’s Tom Brady passes for 354 yards and a team-record six touchdowns in a 49-28 victory over Miami.

2012 — Tamika Catchings scores 25 points to help the Indiana Fever win their first WNBA title with an 87-78 victory over the Minnesota Lynx.

2015 — Daniel Murphy and the New York Mets finish a playoff sweep of the Chicago Cubs with an 8-3 victory to reach the World Series. Murphy homers for a record sixth consecutive postseason game.

2017 — Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov extend their season-opening points streaks to nine games, sending the Tampa Bay Lightning past the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-1.

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

Carlton Fisk hits his famous Game 6 homer. Watch and listen here.