The Sports Report: D’Angelo Russell leads the way for the Lakers
Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.
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.
From Dan Woike: The ball bounced off the Lakers’ court as LeBron James trailed, a 39-year-old, 21-year veteran casually gliding into a highlight lob fit for an All-Star Game.
Then later on Sunday night, as the Lakers kept adding to their lead, James hit the paint and contorted his body around a defender for a left-handed slam — that ended with a backwards somersault after he hit the floor.
The precursor to both of those plays was a pass from D’Angelo Russell, the Lakers’ maligned point guard who has resided inside trade machines all over the internet over the last month.
Russell orchestrated so many of the Lakers’ big moments in their 134-110 win against the lousy Portland Trail Blazers, his recent heater coinciding with the dawn of trade season.
Sunday, he had 34 points and eight assists, perfectly matching his deliberate pace with urgency and force in his attention.
He’s averaging 27.2 points since returning to the starting lineup five games ago, making nearly 54% of his three-point shots — his best stretch of basketball this season.
A season worth saving? The Lakers have to figure it out
Enjoying this newsletter? Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times
Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Become a subscriber.
CLIPPERS
From Andrew Greif: At the midway point of their regular season Sunday the Clippers produced a game that was stagnant for the first three quarters but stirring in the fourth to produce one of the most stunning turnarounds in a season defined by them, overcoming an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Brooklyn 125-114 and send Crypto.com Arena into an eruption of noise.
Still trailing by 11 points with 5:33 remaining as Brooklyn’s offense constantly pushed back whenever the Clippers showed progress, the Clippers took a timeout and gathered their lineup of sixth-man candidate Norman Powell and four future Hall of Famers — James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook. Coming off a four-day break after their last game, coach Tyronn Lue said he was not going to pull the plug and insert his reserves.
“Got some stops,” Harden said. “And everything else is history.”
The Nets never scored again, their lead and victory unraveling against a 22-0 closing run by the Clippers. Leonard was responsible for 14 of those points, including a 10-foot jumper with 2:50 to play for their first lead, and three-pointers with 1:04 and 29.9 seconds left for the final daggers.
NFL PLAYOFFS
From Sam Farmer: Jared Goff versus Everybody.
The Detroit Lions quarterback came out on the winning side Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — and fellow No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield — and now faces the other end of the spectrum.
The Lions are headed to the NFC championship game to play at the San Francisco 49ers, led by quarterback Brock Purdy, the last player selected in the 2022 draft.
In the AFC title game, it’s Kansas City at Baltimore for the right to play in Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11 in Las Vegas.
The Chiefs, who held on for a 27-24 victory at Buffalo, are headed for their sixth consecutive AFC championship game. That ties them for the second-longest such streak in NFL history.
Goff is already treading on historic ground. His Lions won back-to-back playoff games for the first time since 1957, having knocked off his old team, the Rams, in the wild-card round followed by a 31-23 divisional win over Tampa Bay.
The Lions made the NFC title game during the 1991 season, but began in the divisional round so they needed just one postseason win to get to the doorstep of the Super Bowl. This time, it took two wins.
The top-seeded 49ers, who will play at 3:30 p.m. PST Sunday, open as seven-point favorites.
Detroit is one of four teams to never have played in a Super Bowl, along with Cleveland, Houston and Jacksonville. Goff stood on the turf at Ford Field after the victory and soaked in the appreciation from the towel-twirling crowd.
RAMS
From Gary Klein: The Rams are flush with more than $40 million in salary-cap space. For the first time since 2016, they have a first-round draft pick.
It’s an advantageous position for a team coming off an unexpected 10-win season and a run to the playoffs.
It remains to be seen how general manager Les Snead and coach Sean McVay proceed as the Rams attempt to build on the 2023 season and prepare for a possible run to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.
“It gives you a healthy way to evolve as a team and continue to add pieces,” Snead told reporters this week when asked about the team’s cap space. “I don’t think we’re sitting here today going, ‘OK, let’s spend all $40 million within the first hour.’”
NFL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
All times Pacific
Divisional round
AFC
Saturday’s results
No. 1 Baltimore 34, No. 4 Houston 10
Sunday
No. 3 Kansas City 27, No. 2 Buffalo 24
NFC
Saturday
No. 1 San Francisco 24, No. 7 Green Bay 21
Sunday
No. 2 Detroit 31, No. 4 Tampa Bay 23
Conference championship
Sunday, Jan. 28
AFC
No. 3 Kansas City at No. 1 Baltimore, noon, CBS, Paramount+
NFC
No. 2 Detroit at No. 1 San Francisco, 3:30 p.m., Fox, Fox Deportes
Note: Super Bowl is Feb. 11 at 3:30 p.m. on CBS and Paramount+
KINGS
From Helene Elliott: is posture was so familiar. The uniform, not so much.
As the national anthem played Saturday before the Kings and New York Rangers faced off at Crypto.com Arena, Jonathan Quick stood, bent over, his body angled toward the row of seven retired Kings jerseys displayed at one end of the ice.
Someday, a version of the No. 32 he wore for parts of 16 Kings seasons will join that group. He has earned his own row, really, for being the backbone of their two Stanley Cup championships, the most valuable player in their surprising 2012 success, and for taking emphatic ownership of just about every significant franchise goaltending record.
His first game in Los Angeles since general manager Rob Blake traded him last March to Columbus — which mercifully flipped him to Vegas for another Cup triumph — brought back memories of those good, old days. That era has lately seemed especially long ago and far away, obscured by a slump the Kings interrupted Saturday with a 2-1 victory over the Rangers, only their second win in their last 12 games.
Usually stoic on the ice unless he’s jabbing crease-crashing opponents, Quick appeared to have tears in his eyes when a video tribute to him played on the scoreboard during a break in the first period. Fans awarded him a standing ovation. He waved one hand toward the stands and then the other, then brought his gloved hands together to return the applause.
Later, still stung by the loss, Quick insisted the tribute didn’t make him particularly emotional. “They play videos all the time. It’s just another video,” he said after his 24-save performance.
DUCKS
Artemi Panarin scored the tiebreaking goal with less than six minutes to go in the third period, Chris Kreider and Vincent Trocheck each had a goal and an assist, and the New York Rangers rallied to beat the Ducks 5-2 on Sunday night.
Will Cuylle also scored for the Rangers, who had dropped six of their last eight coming into the game. Igor Shesterkin made 16 saves and Adam Fox had two assists.
Adam Henrique scored twice in the first period to give Anaheim a 2-0 lead, and Troy Terry and Leo Carlsson each had two assists. Lukas Dostal made 29 saves as the Ducks lost for the fifth time in their last six overall and sixth straight at home.
UCLA BASKETBALL
From Ben Bolch: They get it. They finally get it.
UCLA basketball fans would be wise to mark Jan. 20, 2024, on their calendars just as many had circled Jan. 19, 2020, as the day things clicked for coach Mick Cronin’s first batch of Bruins who won 11 of their final 14 games.
It didn’t matter that this current group of Brubabes — seven freshmen among the eight newcomers — lost leads of 19 and 17 points in a crushing road loss to No. 12 Arizona on Saturday during the teams’ final matchup at the McKale Center as Pac-12 rivals.
This defeat might have been more encouraging than recent victories over Washington and Arizona State given that the Bruins played their best 30 minutes against the toughest opponent they’ve faced all season in the most hostile environment.
Yes, they lost those leads and Cronin lost his cool, appearing to yell an obscenity at the referees while earning a technical foul as part of a four-point sequence that allowed Arizona to tie the score on the way to its 77-71 victory.
But UCLA’s offense is no longer on its point-a-minute pace and the team is playing with a collective freedom and swagger that was missing through the season’s first 2½ months. Here are five takeaways from the loss to the Wildcats:
USC BASKETBALL
There were the two steals from Kindyll Wetta down the stretch, along with the charge that Jaylyn Sherrod drew to foul out Trojans standout JuJu Watkins. There were the big threes from Quay Miller and, of course, the even bigger basket from Aaronette Vonleh.
Just veteran players coming through in a close one for Colorado.
Vonleh hit a go-ahead layup with 49 seconds remaining and sealed it at the free throw line as the third-ranked Buffaloes escaped with a 63-59 win over No. 6 USC on Sunday.
Watkins had 20 points before fouling out for the Trojans (13-3, 3-3), who were coming in off a 78-58 road loss to 20th-ranked Utah. Taylor Bigby had 14.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Tara VanDerveer became the all-time winningest coach in college basketball history Sunday, passing former Duke and Army coach Mike Krzyzewski with her 1,203rd career victory when No. 8 Stanford beat Oregon State 65-56.
At 70 years old and a head coach since age 24, VanDerveer celebrated on her team’s home floor at Maples Pavilion with a couple dozen former players on hand to cheer the Hall of Fame coach on for yet another milestone in a decorated 45-year career filled with memorable accomplishments.
Fans chanted “Tara! Tara!” in the closing seconds before the celebration began.
GOLF
Nick Dunlap became the first amateur in 33 years to win on the PGA Tour, making a six-foot par putt on the final hole for a one-shot victory over Christiaan Bezuidenhout at The American Express on Sunday.
Dunlap, the 20-year-old University of Alabama sophomore and reigning U.S. Amateur champion, is the first amateur winner since Phil Mickelson at the Tucson Open in 1991. Playing in just his fourth tour event, he became only the seventh amateur winner since 1945 — and the third since 1957.
The only amateur in the 156-player field in the tournament long known as the Bob Hope Desert Classic, Dunlap surged into a three-shot lead with a sizzling 60 in the third round. He lost that lead Sunday on the front nine on the Stadium Course at PGA West, but he played with the resilience of a seasoned veteran down the stretch, capped by his recovery from two errant shots on the 18th for the winning par.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1920 — The New York Yankees announce they will be the first team to wear uniform numbers, according to the player’s position in batting order.
1960 — Paul Pender beats Sugar Ray Robinson in a 15-round split decision to capture the world middleweight boxing title.
1962 — Bob Feller and Jackie Robinson are elected into baseball’s Hall of Fame. Robinson, the first Black person to play in the majors, is also the first to enter the Hall.
1968 — The NBA awards expansion franchises to Milwaukee and Phoenix.
1973 — George Foreman knocks out Joe Frazier in the second round in Kingston, Jamaica, to win the world heavyweight title.
1983 — Houston becomes the first NBA team not to score a point in overtime. The Portland Trail Blazers outscore the Rockets 17-0 for a 113-96 victory.
1988 — Mike Tyson knocks out Larry Holmes in the fourth round at Atlantic City to retain his world heavyweight title.
1989 — After winning his third Super Bowl as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Bill Walsh retires.
2003 — Andy Roddick wins one of the longest matches of the Open era, beating Younes El Aynaoui in a fifth set that ended 21-19 to reach the Australian Open semifinals. The American won 4-6, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4, 21-19 in a match lasting 4 hours, 59 minutes — the longest men’s singles match at the Australian Open since tiebreaker sets were introduced into Grand Slam events in 1971.
2006 — Kobe Bryant scores a staggering 81 points — the second-highest total in NBA history — and the Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors 122-104.
2016 — David Blatt, the second-year coach who guided Cleveland to the NBA Finals in 2015, is fired despite the Cavaliers holding a 30-11 record. Blatt is the first coach since conferences began in 1970-71 to be fired when his team had the best record in its conference.
2018 - New Orleans Pelicans’ DeMarcus Cousins has 44 points, 24 rebounds & 10 assists in 132-128 double-OT win over Chicago Bulls; 1st player since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1972) with 40+ points, 20+ rebounds & 10+ assists.
Compiled by the Associated Press
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, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
