The Sports Report: Complete team effort leads Lakers past Hawks

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

From Dan Woike: Anthony Davis didn’t need 20/20 vision to see the Hawks were trying to grab the Lakers’ attention.

After the Lakers turned it over on the first play of the game, Hawks forward Jaylen Johnson turned the ensuing fast break into a highlight, jumping almost completely over Austin Reaves — the rare occasion where the story begins with an exclamation point before anything else is written.

The dunk, which for Reaves’ sake, got outdone by Anthony Edwards in Utah, triggered an 11-2 start for Atlanta, a quick, sudden wake-up call.

But with Davis back after suffering a scratched cornea Saturday, the Lakers (37-32) quickly found their rhythm, making sure Johnson’s highlight was an outlier in a game that was otherwise all Lakers.

All five starters finished with at least 12 points, all five had big moments and all five got to spend most of the fourth quarter on the bench during a 136-105 win over Atlanta.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak.

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Lakers box score

NBA scores

NBA standings

RAMS

From Gary Klein: With Aaron Donald now retired, call it 2024 A.D. for the Rams.

General manager Les Snead, coach Sean McVay and new defensive coordinator Chris Shula must find an effective way to fill the team’s biggest roster hole since McVay was hired in 2017.

The Rams are expected to address the void through the second and third waves of free agency and through the draft.

The Rams have the No. 19 pick and 11 total picks in the April 25-27 draft, which will be held in Detroit.

There will be no replacing Donald, an eight-time All-Pro who amassed 111 sacks, however. Donald was the focal point for every opposing offensive coordinator, a game-wrecker in the truest sense.

A look at players the Rams have left on the roster and others they could pursue:

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Rams’ new safety ‘Kam Bam’ plans to have a literal impact on secondary

DODGERS

From Jack Harris: So far, the Dodgers’ trip to Korea has been a quiet one offensively for Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani.

Despite taking plenty of big hacks in the team’s two exhibition games against Korean opponents this week, the slugger went 0 for five in his final tuneup at-bats before the regular season, which begins Wednesday with the Dodgers’ international series against the San Diego Padres.

In a much more notable development Monday, however, manager Dave Roberts said the two-way talent will begin a throwing program once the club returns from its trans-Pacific trek — the latest significant step in Ohtani’s long road back to the mound following last September’s Tommy John surgery.

The news does not change Ohtani’s chances of pitching in 2024. As Roberts reiterated Monday, ahead of the club’s 5-2 win over the Korean national team, the right-hander won’t return to the mound until the 2025 season.

But, the resumption of throwing does indicate that Ohtani is making strides in his rehab from the Tommy John procedure — which he said hasn’t affected his swing this spring — and could open the door to other positional possibilities during the 2024 campaign.

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NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT

Men’s bracket

Men’s schedule

All times Pacific

FIRST FOUR

Today
No. 16 Wagner (16-15) vs. No. 16 Howard (18-16), 3:40 p.m., TruTV
No. 10 Colorado State (24-10) vs. No. 10 Virginia (23-10), 6:10 p.m., TruTV

Wednesday
No. 16 Grambling State (20-14) vs. No. 16 Montana State (17-17), 3:40 p.m., TruTV

No. 10 Colorado (24-10) vs. No. 10 Boise State (22-10), 6:10 p.m., TruTV

FIRST ROUND

EAST REGION
Thursday
No. 6 Brigham Young (23-10) vs. No. 11 Duquesne (24-11), 9:40 a.m., TruTV

No. 3 Illinois (26-8) vs. No. 14 Morehead State (26-8), 12:10 p.m., TruTV

No. 2 Iowa State (27-7) vs. No. 15 South Dakota State (22-12), 4:35 p.m., TruTV

No. 7 Washington State (24-9) vs. No. 10 Drake (28-6), 7:05 p.m., TruTV

Friday

No. 8 Florida Atlantic (25-8) vs. No. 9 Northwestern (21-11), 9:15 a.m., CBS

No. 5 San Diego State (24-10) vs. No. 12 Alabama Birmingham (23-11), 10:45 a.m., TNT

No. 1 Connecticut (31-3) vs. No. 16 Stetson (22-12), 11:45 a.m., CBS

No. 4 Auburn (27-7) vs. No. 13 Yale (22-9), 1:15 p.m., TNT

SOUTH REGION
Thursday

No. 3 Kentucky (23-9) vs. No. 14 Oakland (23-11), 4:10 p.m., CBS

No. 6 Texas Tech (23-10) vs. No. 11 North Carolina State (22-14), 6:40 p.m., CBS

Friday
No. 2 Marquette (25-9) vs. No. 15 Western Kentucky (22-11), 11 a.m., TBS

No. 7 Florida (24-11) vs. No. 10 Boise State (22-10) / Colorado (24-10), 1:30 p.m., TBS

No. 8 Nebraska (23-10) vs. No. 9 Texas A&M (20-14), 3:50 p.m., TNT

No. 4 Duke (24-8) vs. No. 13 Vermont (28-6), 4:10 p.m., CBS

No. 1 Houston (30-4) vs. No. 16 Longwood (21-13), 6:20 p.m., TNT

No. 5 Wisconsin (22-13) vs. No. 12 James Madison (31-3), 6:40 p.m., CBS

MIDWEST REGION

Thursday
No. 3 Creighton (23-9) vs. No. 14 Akron (24-10), 10:30 a.m., TNT

No. 6 South Carolina (26-7) vs. No. 11 Oregon (23-11), 1 p.m., TNT

No. 7 Texas (20-12) vs. No. 10 Virginia (23-10) / Colorado State (24-10), 3:50 p.m., TNT

No. 5 Gonzaga (25-7) vs. No. 12 McNeese (30-3), 4:25 p.m., TBS

No. 2 Tennessee (24-8) vs. No. 15 Saint Peter’s (19-13), 6:20 p.m., TNT

No. 4 Kansas (22-10) vs. No. 13 Samford (29-5), 6:55 p.m., TBS

Friday
No. 1 Purdue (29-4) vs. No. 16 Montana State (17-17) / Grambling State (20-14), 4:25 p.m., TBS

No. 8 Utah State (27-6) vs. No. 9 Texas Christian (21-12), 6:55 p.m., TBS

WEST REGION

Thursday
No. 8 Mississippi State (21-13), No. 9 Michigan State (19-14), 9:15 a.m., CBS

No. 2 Arizona (25-8) vs. No. 15 Long Beach State (21-14), 11 a.m., TBS

No. 1 North Carolina (27-7) vs. No. 16 Howard (18-16) / Wagner (16-15), 11:45 a.m., CBS

No. 7 Dayton (24-7) vs. No. 10 Nevada (26-7), 1:30 p.m., TBS

Friday

No. 3 Baylor (23-10) vs. No. 14 Colgate (25-9), 9:40 a.m., TruTV

No. 6 Clemson (21-11) vs. No. 11 New Mexico (26-9), 12:10 p.m., TruTV

No. 4 Alabama (21-11) vs. No. 13 Charleston (27-7), 4:35 p.m., TruTV

No. 5 Saint Mary’s (26-7) vs. No. 12 Grand Canyon (29-4), 7:05 p.m., TruTV

Second round: March 23-24
Sweet 16: March 28-29
Elite Eight: March 30-31
Final Four: April 6 (Glendale, Ariz.)
Championship: April 8 (Glendale, Ariz.)

USC BASKETBALL

From Bill Plaschke: The brackets for the two 2024 NCAA basketball tournaments have been announced and already there is one shining moment.

It belongs to the women.

For the first time, their tournament is more compelling than the men’s.

Caitlin Clark. Angel Reese. JuJu Watkins. LSU champs. South Carolina unbeatens. UConn traditions. Old grudges. New rivals. Human drama.

And some of it will be happening in the Southland’s backyard, literally, just call Galen Center or Pauley Pavilion, they’ll tell you.

While the USC and UCLA men had losing records that shut them out of the brackets, the USC and UCLA women are powerful enough to host first-round games and potent enough to propel themselves to the Final Four.

The Trojans are a one seed, the Bruins are a two seed, and both will be home next weekend for the first two rounds of their brackets in an unprecedented one-city display of NCAA hoops domination.

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Women’s bracket

Women’s schedule
All times Pacific

FIRST FOUR

Wednesday
No. 16 Presbyterian (20-14) vs. No. 16 Sacred Heart (24-9), 4 p.m., ESPNU

No. 12 Columbia (23-6) vs. No. 12 Vanderbilt (22-9), Wednesday, 6 p.m., ESPNU

Thursday
No. 11 Arizona (17-15) vs. No. 11 Auburn (20-11), 4 p.m. | ESPN2

No. 16 Tennessee Martin (16-16) vs. No. 16 Holy Cross (20-12), 6 p.m. | ESPN2

REGIONAL 1
Friday
No. 8 North Carolina (19-12) vs. No. 9 Michigan State (22-8), 8:30 a.m., ESPN2

No. 1 South Carolina (32-0) vs. No. 16 Sacred Heart (24-9) / Presbyterian (20-14), 11 a.m., ESPN

No. 3 Oregon State (24-7) vs. No. 14 Eastern Washington (29-5), 5 p.m., ESPNU

No. 6 Nebraska (22-11) vs. No. 11 Texas A&M (19-12), 7:30 p.m., ESPNU

Saturday
No. 4 Indiana (24-5) vs. No. 13 Fairfield (31-1), 10:30 a.m., ESPN2

No. 2 Notre Dame (26-6) vs. No. 15 Kent State (21-10), 11:15 a.m., ESPN

No. 5 Oklahoma (22-9) vs. No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast (29-4), 1 p.m., ESPNews

No. 7 Mississippi (23-8) vs. No. 10 Marquette (23-8), 1:45 p.m., ESPNU

REGIONAL 2

Friday
No. 6 Louisville (24-9) vs. No. 11 Middle Tennessee (29-4), 10:30 a.m., ESPN2

No. 4 Kansas State (25-7) vs. No. 13 Portland (21-12), 1:30 p.m., ESPNews

No. 3 LSU (28-5) vs. No. 14 Rice (19-14), 1 p.m. | ESPN

No. 5 Colorado (22-9) vs. No. 12 Drake (29-5), 4 p.m., ESPNews

Saturday
No. 1 Iowa (29-4) vs. No. 16 Holy Cross (20-12) / Tennessee Martin (16-16), Noon, ABC

No. 8 West Virginia (24-7) vs. No. 9 Princeton (25-4), 2:30 p.m., ESPN2

No. 7 Creighton (25-5) vs. Nevada Las Vegas (30-2), 4 p.m., ESPNews

No. 2 UCLA (25-6) vs. No. 15 California Baptist (28-3), 6:30 p.m., ESPN2

REGIONAL 3

Friday
No. 2 Ohio State (25-5) vs. No. 15 Maine (24-9), 9 a.m., ESPN

No. 7 Duke (20-11) vs. No. 10 Richmond (29-5), 11:30 a.m., ESPNews

No. 4 Virginia Tech (24-7) vs. No. 13 Marshall (26-6), 12:30 p.m., ESPN2

No. 5 Baylor vs. No. 12 Vanderbilt (22-9) / Columbia (23-6), 6 p.m., ESPNU

Saturday
No. 3 Connecticut (29-5) vs. No. 14 Jackson State (26-6), 10 a.m., ABC

No. 8 Kansas (19-12) vs. No. 9 Michigan (20-13), 11 a.m., ESPNews

No. 6 Syracuse (23-7) vs. No. 11 Auburn (20-11) / Arizona (17-15), 12:30 p.m., ESPN2

No. 1 USC (26-5) vs. No. 16 Texas A&M Corpus Christi (23-8), 1:30 p.m., ESPN

REGIONAL 4

Friday
No. 1 Texas (30-4) vs. No. 16 Drexel (19-14), noon, ESPNU

No. 8 Alabama (23-9) vs. No. 9 Florida State (23-10), 2:30 p.m., ESPN2

No. 7 Iowa State (20-11) vs. No. 10 Maryland (19-13), 4:30 p.m., ESPN2

No. 2 Stanford (28-5) vs. No. 15 Norfolk State (27-5), 7 p.m., ESPN2

Saturday
No. 6 Tennessee (19-12) vs. No. 11 Green Bay (27-6), 9 a.m., ESPN

No. 3 North Carolina State (27-6) vs. No. 14 Chattanooga (28-4), 11:30 a.m., ESPNU

No. 4 Gonzaga (30-3) vs. No. 13 UC Irvine (23-8), 4:30 p.m., ESPN2

No. 5 Utah (22-10) vs. South Dakota State (27-5), 7 p.m., ESPNU

Second round: March 24-25
Sweet 16: March 29-30
Elite Eight: March 31-April 1
Final Four: April 5 (Cleveland)
Championship: April 7 (Cleveland)

NHL

NHL scores

NHL standings

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1950 — Babe Didrikson Zaharias shoots a record 298 and beats Clair Doran by eight strokes to capture the U.S. Women’s Open.

1955 — San Francisco wins the NCAA basketball championship with a 77-63 victory over La Salle.

1956 — The Minneapolis Lakers defeat the St. Louis Hawks 133-75 for the biggest rout in NBA playoff history.

1960 — Ohio State wins the NCAA basketball title with a 75-55 victory against California.

1966 — Texas Western, starting five black players, wins the NCAA basketball championship with a 72-65 upset of all-white Kentucky.

1972 — The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women holds its first basketball championship and Immaculata beats West Chester State 52-48.

1972 — The Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 162-99 for the most lopsided victory in NBA history.

1987 — Bonnie Blair skates ladies’ world record 500 m (39.43 sec)

1995 — Chicago’s Michael Jordan returns from his 17-month retirement. Wearing No. 45, he shoots 7-of-28 from the field and scores 19 points in the Bulls’ 103-96 overtime loss at Indiana.

2006 — Tennessee’s Candace Parker is the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game, jamming one-handed on a breakaway 6:12 into the second-seeded Lady Vols’ 102-54 victory against an Army team that was making its NCAA tournament debut.

2014 — Chris Eversley scores 19 points to help Cal Poly become the first team in 59 years with 19 losses to win an NCAA Tournament game, beating Texas Southern 81-69 on in the First Four.

2015 — Lindsey Vonn wins the final super-G of the season and with it her 19th crystal globe trophy — equaling the record of Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark.

2015 — R.J. Hunter’s 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds remaining caps a comeback from a 12-point deficit and lifts 14th-seeded Georgia State over third-seeded Baylor 57-56 in the NCAA Tournament.

2015 — William Lee scores the last four points for 14th-seeded UAB in its 60-59 upset of Iowa State.

2019 — Houston Rockets guard James Harden becomes first player in NBA history to score at least 30 points against all 29 opponents in a single season with 31 in a 121-105 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

Compiled by the Associated Press