The Sports Report: Lakers rally to defeat the Magic
Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.
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From Dan Woike: If the first week of the NBA season is any indication, nothing is going to be easy for the Lakers.
Playing a younger, bigger, more athletic team Monday in the Orlando Magic, the Lakers were again badly beaten on the glass. Their depth, again, was overstated as their opponent’s bench outperformed theirs.
And for the third time in four games, the Lakers were in a fight down to the final possessions of a game.
The Lakers, playing on the second night of a back-to-back, got the buckets and the stops they needed late, gutting out a 106-103 win against Orlando Monday night.
The Magic, who scored 20 second-chance points, had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer off an offensive rebound but Jalen Suggs shot rimmed out.
D’Angelo Russell scored 28 points — including 12 in the fourth quarter — and had eight assists. Anthony Davis had 26 points and 19 rebounds and LeBron James had 19.
Austin Reaves scored 11 and Gabe Vincent and Christian Wood scored nine points each, with Wood also grabbing nine rebounds.
Magic Johnson reaches billionaire status. He joins Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and LeBron James
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CLIPPERS
From Dylan Hernández: As Tyronn Lue finished his postgame news conference on Sunday night, he voiced a concern that was also likely on the minds of other NBA coaches.
“Let’s win now,” Lue said, “before three or four years down the road.”
Lue and his team saw the future of the NBA. His name was Victor Wembanyama.
The Freak Show came to town, and the 19-year-old Frenchman looked more like a P.T. Barnum attraction than the next LeBron James in the Clippers’ 123-83 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Nonetheless, Wembanyama’s talents were so obvious, so undeniable, that even Lue had to acknowledge the Clippers’ championship aspirations could have an expiration date.
The Lakers should also take notice.
RAMS
From Gary Klein: Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford suffered a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb during a loss to the Dallas Cowboys and he will be evaluated “day to day” as the Rams prepare for Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers, coach Sean McVay said Monday.
“We were encouraged that it was a sprain,” McVay said during a video conference with reporters. “I think there was some potential concerns that it could be worse. ... Hopefully, it was just a good scare.”
During the 43-20 rout by the Cowboys, Stafford’s thumb hit the helmet of a Cowboys player as he threw a pass on a two-point conversion attempt. Stafford stayed in the game and led the Rams on a touchdown drive but he aggravated the injury when his hand hit the turf after catching a two-point conversion pass.
CHARGERS
From Jeff Miller: On the first snap of the game Sunday, the Chargers yielded a 41-yard pass completion, a play that would end up being the longest of the night for either team.
From that reeling start, the defense quickly rallied and, just three plays later, Joey Bosa overwhelmed Chicago left guard Cody Whitehair to sack Tyson Bagent and end the Bears’ opening series.
“I’m just trying to have a little more fun out there,” Bosa explained later. “I mean, every week is so serious. There’s always so much riding on every game. You can get caught up in the stress and all that.”
Bosa and the Chargers went on to enjoy a relatively relaxing 30-13 victory at SoFi Stadium, the veteran edge rusher returning to something closer to his usual form as he plays through a broken left big toe.
UCLA FOOTBALL
From Ben Bolch: Having just absorbed a loss to UCLA at the Rose Bowl, Colorado players returned to their locker room Saturday night to find some of their jewelry stolen.
The Pasadena Police Dept. has launched an investigation into the incident that was believed to have occurred during the Bruins’ 28-16 victory over the Buffaloes, according to Lisa Derderian, a spokeswoman for the City of Pasadena.
“That’s awful for anybody,” UCLA coach Chip Kelly said Monday. “You would think that when you go anywhere that your valuables are safe.”
Derderian said police were investigating the extent of the thefts. Darius Sanders, a member of Colorado’s social media team who is not related to coach Deion Sanders, said in a video posted on YouTube that multiple thousands of dollars were stolen from his bag in addition to several players’ chains and several coaches’ chains.
WORLD SERIES
From Bill Shaikin: Mookie Betts wore a smile to the World Series. He stood behind the batting cage at Chase Field, little more than two weeks after the Dodgers’ season crashed to an unceremonious end on this very field.
Major League Baseball invited him here for Game 3 on Monday, to provide behind-the-scenes access and insights for its cable channel and social media platforms. His interest in postseason games did not wane once his team was eliminated.
“I definitely watch them,” Betts said. “I’m in a bowling alley all the time when the games are on. This is a part of my identity. A lot of these guys are my friends. These are life relationships that you create through playing baseball.
“Obviously, I want to play and I want to win, right? But, if this is not your turn, that’s fine. I want my boys to be successful as well.”
Betts won a World Series championship ring with the Boston Red Sox in 2018 and with the Dodgers in 2020. He and Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves are expected to be the top two finishers in the National League most valuable player voting.
For the second consecutive October, however, the Dodgers were eliminated from the playoffs by an NL West rival they had dominated during the regular season — the San Diego Padres last year, the Diamondbacks this year. Betts says he believes the Dodgers are looking into why a team that blossomed in the summer again wilted in autumn.
“There’s probably a million people with all the answers. I’m sure somebody is right,” he said. “But I don’t know what those answers are.
“I just know, for me, I have to do better. That’s pretty much it. I have to do better, no matter what.”
Schedule
All times Pacific
All games on Fox
Arizona vs. Texas
at Texas 6, Arizona 5 (11) (recap, box score)
Arizona 9, at Texas 1 (recap, box score)
Texas 3, at Arizona 1 (recap, box score)
Tonight at Arizona, 5 p.m.
Wednesday at Arizona, 5 p.m.
*Friday at Texas, 5 p.m.
*Saturday at Texas, 5 p.m.
*-if necessary
Dodgers offseason primer: Ohtani sweepstakes, pitching needs and other storylines to follow
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Frank Howard, a rookie of the year and World Series winner with the Dodgers, dies at 87
DUCKS
Mason McTavish scored a short-handed goal with 11.9 seconds left, lifting the Ducks to a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.
Pittsburgh was on a two-man advantage for 1:49 at the end of the third period because of a tripping call on McTavish and a separate delay of game penalty. Adam Henrique intercepted a Penguins’ pass and pushed it to McTavish, who beat Tristan Jarry on a breakaway.
It was McTavish’s second of the game and fifth of the season. McTavish and Ryan Strome are both on five-game point streaks.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1950 — Earl Lloyd of the Washington Capitols becomes the first Black man to play in an NBA game. Washington loses 78-70 on the road to the Rochester Royals.
1969 — Lenny Wilkens, the NBA’s all-time winningest coach, gets his first coaching victory as the Seattle SuperSonics beats Cincinnati Royals 129-121.
1972 — Gaylord Perry wins the AL Cy Young Award.
1987 — Eric Dickerson, the NFL’s single-season rushing champion, signs a three-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts to complete a three-way trade that nets the Rams two running backs and six top draft choices over the next two years. The third part of the deal sends linebacker Cornelius Bennett to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for three of the draft picks that went to the Rams.
1987 — Jockey Chris Antley becomes the first rider to win nine races in a single day. He has four winners in six mounts at Aqueduct and five winners from eight tries during The Meadowlands’ evening program.
1998 — Tee Martin of Tennessee, sets NCAA records with 23 straight completions and 24 over two games in the No. 3 Volunteers’ 49-14 victory over South Carolina. Martin is 23-for-24, with a record completion percentage of 95.8, for 315 yards and four touchdowns.
2012 — Jamal Crawford scores 29 points in 30 minutes in his first official game with his new team, and the Clippers convert 21 turnovers into 29 points in a 101-92 victory that extends the Memphis Grizzlies’ NBA-record streak of opening-night losses to 12. The Grizzlies are 0-12 on opening night since the franchise shifted from Vancouver to Memphis in 2001.
—Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time...
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Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
