The Sports Report: Ageless LeBron James leads Lakers to victory

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

From Dan Woike: The energy was flowing from the Lakers, LeBron James’ teammates placing an imaginary crown on his head after he scored nine points on three shots over 38 seconds in the second quarter.

It was a statement, the game’s all-time leading scorer putting on a show while his future partner, Luka Doncic, watched from the bench in his first appearance in front of Lakers fans in his new home.

The building shook Thursday as the Lakers led the Golden State Warriors by as many as 26 points in the first half, the team continuing a stretch of basketball in which it looked every bit of a championship contender.

But energy is funny — it doesn’t take much for it to shift.

Austin Reaves couldn’t get a jumper to fall. Subtitutes like Moses Moody and Pat Spencer, the latter playing only because the Warriors decimated their depth in a deal for Jimmy Butler, began to score.

The Warriors tested the Lakers, cutting that 26-point lead to five with less than four minutes to go. Stephen Curry, whom the Lakers had kept mostly under wraps early as they built their lead, got hot and the game got tight.

But James’ sixth three-pointer — his only one of the second half — gave the Lakers just enough room to survive in a 120-112 win, a game in which they never trailed and never totally lost their composure. He finished with 42 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists.

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Lakers box score

NBA scores

NBA standings

LeBron James and Anthony Davis will reunite at All-Star Game thanks to Shaquille O’Neal

Hernández: Trade deadline deals transform Lakers from sideshow to NBA title contenders

L.A. native upset Luka Doncic is a Laker. He’s raising money to protest trade with billboards in Dallas

Doncic-Davis trade survey

We asked readers, “Do you think the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade is a good one for the Lakers?” After 9,270 votes, the results:

Yes, 85.7%
No, 14.3%

CLIPPERS

From Broderick Turner: The message was clear from Clippers coach Tyronn Lue to his group: Play hard and compete.

After seeing his players struggle in the last three games — including two losses — Lue insisted his players perform at a higher level against the fast-paced Indiana Pacers on Thursday night at Intuit Dome.

Lue wasn’t going to accept any excuses, even if the Clippers were playing short-handed because of a trade made earlier in the day.

In what became a topsy-turvy game, the Clippers opened a 22-point lead in the second quarter, fell behind by 13 in the third, then rallied late before ultimately losing 119-112.

Kawhi Leonard played a season-high 33 minutes and scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth, but that wasn’t enough to save the Clippers from their third consecutive loss.

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Clippers trade Terance Mann and Bones Hyland to Hawks for Bogdan Bogdanovic and picks

Clippers box score

NBA scores

NBA standings

RAMS

From Gary Klein: Jared Verse strolled the red carpet at NFL Honors on Thursday night in a sharp bronze-colored suit, and the Rams edge rusher did so with the same confidence he displayed on and off the field in his first season.

A few hours later, Verse was announced as the NFL defensive rookie of the year, the first Rams player to win the award since Aaron Donald in 2014.

Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen was the most valuable player.

A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL completed ballots before the playoffs began.

Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley was the offensive player of the year, Denver cornerback Patrick Surtain II the defensive player of the year. Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels was the offensive rookie of the year and Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow the comeback player of the year. Minnesota’s Kevin O’Connell was coach of the year.

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Kyren Williams happy to hear Rams are making his contract a priority

CHARGERS

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Former Chargers tight end Antonio Gates was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Thursday, announced in a four-man class that also includes Jared Allen, Eric Allen and Sterling Sharpe.

Gates spent his entire 16-year career with the Chargers, becoming an icon at his position with an NFL-leading 116 touchdown catches. After he transitioned from college basketball at Kent State, the undrafted free agent and former power forward became the Chargers’ franchise leader in receptions, yards receiving, and touchdown catches.

After coming up short last year, Gates made the cut in his second year of eligibility.

“It’s really so hard to describe in words,” Gates said during one of his numerous interviews after the announcement. “The thing I come up with most is it’s just an amazing feeling. I’m so happy. It’s like a world of weight off my shoulders. I finally made it. I finally reached the pinnacle of sports.”

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DODGERS

From Brittny Mejia: Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison for stealing nearly $17 million from the Japanese baseball player to cover debts.

Mizuhara, 40, previously pleaded guilty in June to bank and tax fraud. U.S District Court Judge John W. Holcomb handed down a sentence of 57 months, as sought by prosecutors. Mizuhara had requested a year and a half.

“The magnitude of the theft, the $17 million , in my view, is shockingly high,” Holcomb said. “Seventeen million is more than most people make in their lifetimes, in many, many lifetimes.”

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ANGELS

The Angels are signing third baseman Yoán Moncada to a $5-million, one-year contract, a person with knowledge of the deal told the Associated Press.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Thursday night because the Angels hadn’t announced the deal, which is subject to a successful physical.

Moncada spent the last eight seasons with the Chicago White Sox, who acquired him in a trade after his major league debut with Boston in 2016. Moncada is a career .254 hitter with 93 homers and 339 RBIs.

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SUPER BOWL 59

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SoCal’s Trent McDuffie, JuJu Smith-Schuster back in Super Bowl spotlight with Chiefs

Super Bowl LIX: Start time, teams, how to watch and halftime show

Super Bowl 59
Sunday
at New Orleans
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs
3:30 p.m., Fox

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1882 — John L. Sullivan wins the world heavyweight bare-knuckle title by beating Paddy Ryan in a nine-round bout in Mississippi City, Miss.

1942 — At the Millrose Games in New York, Dutch Warmerdam becomes the first man to clear 15 feet in the pole vault indoors. Warmerdam, the first to break the 15-foot mark outdoors in 1940, clears 15 feet 3/8 inch.

1949 — Joe DiMaggio signs his contract with the New York Yankees, making him the first baseball player to earn $100,000 per year.

1969 — Diana Crump becomes the first female jockey to race at a U.S. pari-mutuel track. She rode her first mount to 10th place in a field of 12 in Hialeah, Fla.

1970 — Pete Maravich scores 69 points, including 47 in the second half, to set a NCAA record, but LSU loses to Alabama 106-104.

1976 — Darryl Sittler of the Toronto Maple Leafs sets an NHL record for points in a game with six goals and four assists in an 11-4 victory over the Boston Bruins.

1990 — Lisa Leslie of Morningside High in Inglewood scores 101 points in the first half against South Torrance High. The final score is 102-24 as the coach of South Torrance decides not to bring his team out for the second half.

1995 — Joe Mullen becomes the first American-born player to reach 1,000 points in the NHL when he assists on two of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ first three goals in a 7-3 victory over Florida.

2000 — With an astonishing comeback to win the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Tiger Woods wins his sixth straight PGA Tour victory. Seven strokes behind with seven holes to play, Woods holes a 97-yard wedge for eagle on the 15th, and birdies two of the last three holes to win. Woods becomes the first player since Ben Hogan in 1948 to win six straight.

2010 — Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints rally to beat Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in the Super Bowl.

2013 — Tyler Griffey makes an uncontested layup at the buzzer off a baseline inbound pass and Illinois beats No. 1 Indiana 74-72, the fifth straight week the nation’s top-ranked team loses. The Hoosiers took over the top spot in The Associated Press’ Top 25 on Feb. 4. The run of No. 1 teams to lose has been Duke, Louisville, Duke again, Michigan and Indiana.

2015 — Philadelphia University coach Herb Magee becomes the second NCAA men’s basketball coach to win 1,000 games. Magee, who won 1,000 games over 48 seasons at the school, hits the milestone with the Rams’ 80-60 win over Post.

2016 — Von Miller forces two fumbles to set up Denver’s two touchdowns and the Broncos defense frustrates Cam Newton all game to carry Peyton Manning to his second Super Bowl title with a 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers.

2016 — Rachel Banham ties an NCAA women’s record with 60 points — with 10 coming in the first overtime and eight in the second — to lead Minnesota to a 112-106 win over Northwestern. Banham matches the 60 points put up by Cindy Brown of Long Beach State against San Jose State on Feb. 16, 1987.

2018 — St. John’s takes down another of the nation’s elite, and stuns No. 1 Villanova 79-75 for its second win over a top-five team in one week. St. John’s beat then-No. 4 Duke 81-77 at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 3, snapping an 11-game losing streak.

2021 — Sarah Thomas becomes the first woman to referee a Super Bowl in Tampa Bay, Florida.

2023 — LeBron James scores 38 points to become NBA’s all-time leading scorer as the Lakers go down 133-130 to Oklahoma City Thunder in Los Angeles; surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 career points.

Compiled by the Associated Press