The 27-year-old flanker confounded expectations leaping from Durham university’s fourth XV to Prem rugby captain – don’t bet against his big England ambitions
At the start of every season for the past few years Fitz Harding has written down his goals for the next 12 months on the first page of a crisp new notebook. “You can probably guess what they are,” says Bristol’s impressive captain ahead of his team’s trip to Saracens this weekend. “I want to win the Prem, I want to play for England, I want to go to the World Cup.” He makes it sound almost matter of fact, like a list of basic groceries to be picked up on the way home.
The longer you spend with him, though, the more you wonder if those lofty ambitions may be realised. Not only is the 27-year-old Harding intelligent and personable but he is not the type to give up easily. Nor does he lack for motivation. “I don’t just want to be in England’s squad. I want to play for England. It sounds silly but just getting a phone call [ahead of the November Tests] wouldn’t mean very much to me. They’re not going to write in my obituary: ‘He made the England squad once.’”
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 07: A general view between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fourth inning in game four of the National League Division Series at Truist Park on October 07, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Edward M. Pio Roda/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Atlanta Braves are heading into an important offseason after another NL East title ended with a disappointing postseason exit. While the team put together a 94 win season, there is still work to be done if Atlanta hopes to make a deeper playoff run in 2027. With plenty to evaluate from the past season, it’s time to look at what went right, what fell short, and what changes could help the Braves get back to the World Series.
MLB News:
Major League Baseball has proposed a shorter regular season and changes to the playoff format. The Players Association is working to review the proposals.
The ALDS is headed to Game 5 after Thursday’s matchup between the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - OCTOBER 03: Manager Aaron Boone #17 of the New York Yankees speaks to the media prior to Game One of the American League Division Series presented by Booking.com between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Saturday, October 3, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Ringer | Ben Glicksman: The Yankees have, famously, not beaten a team seeded higher than them in October under Aaron Boone’s leadership*. There are a number of structural problems with the organization, and it’s never entirely clear how much influence any manager has in MLB in 2026, but a case is starting to be made on the beat that it’s time to move on from Boonie. He still has a year on his contract, but any manager on a one-year deal should feel some shaky ground anyway.
*Save for a best-of-three 2020 Wild Card Series in Cleveland with no fans in attendance. Make of that what you will.
New York Daily News | Peter Sblendorio: Anthony Volpe nearly had the biggest moment of the Yankees’ playoff run, a home run that tied the decisive Game 3 at four runs apiece. Upon further review, that fourth run was taken back, and Volpe was sent to second base. It was at best a mercurial season for the former top prospect, who with Jazz Chisholm Jr. set to hit free agency now finds himself as a potential Opening Day starter at second base in 2027, even after losing the shortstop job. (Chisholm says he wants to stay, but at least right now, it seems like it won’t be a match.) On a roster with so many question marks for this winter, Tony Fox is one of the bigger ones.
New York Post | Dan Martin: Speaking of question marks, here’s a helpful list! The biggest cloud to clear is how many games the 2027 season features, as labor strife needs to be resolved before anything else starts to matter. The Yankees have to agree to new contracts with both Brian Cashman and Matt Blake, as well as QO decisions for Chisholm and David Bednar. That’s just the start of the to-do list for a very busy, very uncertain winter.
FanGraphs | Ben Clemens ($): We close with a little more pan-baseball news, as Clemens breaks down the optimal ways to deploy a starting rotation in October. The Chris Sale Wild Card decision loomed large at the time, and didn’t end up mattering in Atlanta’s NLDS loss to the Dodgers. FanGraphs has made their playoff coverage a subscriber-only feature, but it’s still a worthwhile read.
Australia endured a tough first hour on day one of the opening Test as Nic Maddinson fell for a 33-ball duck in his first Test in a decade with the visitors 2/28 at drinks in Durban. Live updates below!
Carolina Hurricanes (3-1-1, in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (1-4, in the Central Division)
Chicago; Saturday, 7 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The Carolina Hurricanes aim to keep their three-game win streak alive when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks.
Chicago has a 1-4 record overall and a 1-0-0 record on its home ice. The Blackhawks are eighth in NHL play serving 11.0 penalty minutes per game.
Carolina is 3-1-1 overall and 2-0-0 on the road. The Hurricanes rank fifth in NHL play with 18 total goals (averaging 3.6 per game).
The matchup Saturday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams.
INJURIES: Blackhawks: Andrew Mangiapane: out (lower-body), Teuvo Teravainen: day to day (undisclosed), Ryan Ellis: out for season (back), Connor Bedard: out (shoulder).
Hurricanes: Seth Jarvis: out (shoulder).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Los Angeles Kings (0-2-1, in the Pacific Division) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (4-1, in the Pacific Division)
Paradise, Nevada; Saturday, 10 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The Vegas Golden Knights host the Los Angeles Kings after the Golden Knights took down the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in a shootout.
Vegas had a 39-26-17 record overall while going 19-7-6 against opponents from the Pacific Division last season. The Golden Knights gave up 3.0 goals per game while scoring 3.2 last season.
Los Angeles has gone 0-2-1 overall with a 0-0-1 record in Pacific Division games. The Kings have given up 15 goals while scoring nine for a -6 scoring differential.
The teams meet Saturday for the first time this season.
INJURIES: Golden Knights: Raphael Lavoie: day to day (undisclosed), Ben Hemmerling: out (undisclosed), Lukas Cormier: out (undisclosed), Victor Olofsson: out (undisclosed), Kai Uchacz: out (undisclosed).
Kings: Jakub Dvorak: out (upper-body), Kevin Fiala: out (leg), Jan Jenik: out (undisclosed).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
As the Premier League returns, we dive into the signing who could boost United’s midfield – or confuse things further
Carlos Baleba cost Manchester United $88.7m (£65m) plus $6.8m (£5m) in add-ons when they signed him from Brighton in August. He may be worth even more now despite the fact that the Cameroonian has yet to debut for his new club. Many United fans are counting on Baleba to be a one-man solution to their early-season problems. No pressure.
An ankle injury kept Baleba on the sidelines as Michael Carrick’s side struggled against Everton, Manchester City and Fulham. The 22-year-old joined United just a few days after the opening-weekend defeat to Hull City, so he’d already had a preview of his new team’s troubles to come. The scale of Baleba’s task has grown since then.
Nic Maddinson’s remarkable return to Test cricket has ended in a 33-ball duck, with the Aussie opener dismissed by Marco Jansen in the first Test against South Africa.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 08: Sandro Mamukelashvili #54 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts after a three pointer against the Sacramento Kings during the third quarter in a preseason game at Crypto.com Arena on October 08, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) | Getty Images
LOS ANGELES — After popping out to the 3-point line following a ballscreen, Sandro Mamukelashvili caught the ball at the top of the key. As Kings center Maxime Raynaud ran to close out, the 6-foot-10 Mamukelashvili dribbled to the right, then put the ball between his legs before making a step back 3-pointer.
On the very next possession, Bronny James drove by his man and swung the ball to Mamukelashvili in the corner for another 3-pointer.
Cash.
The sequence breathed some much-needed life into the Crypto.com Arena crowd, and the Georgian center introduced himself to the Lakers faithful. He finished the night with 19 points, three rebounds and four assists off the bench on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, helping the Lakers to a 114-110 win over Sacramento on Thursday.
Mamukelashvili signed a four-year, $52 million deal this offseason and brings a unique skillset the Lakers haven’t quite had at his position for a while. He’s the ultimate connector. A forward, traditionally, capable of scaling up and down on defense and dribbling, passing and shooting on offense.
“I’m a basketball player,” Mamukelashvili said after Thursday’s win. “To be honest, wherever you put me, I’ll try to do my best.”
That’s exactly what he’s done. Through three preseason games, and with Walker Kessler yet to make his debut, he’s had to play backup center, starting center and has spent some time at the four next to Kevon Looney. He’s averaged 14 points and 3.7 assists in 19.4 minutes per game on 57.1/57.1/100 shooting splits.
“I thought [Mamukelashvili] was great today,” said Austin Reaves, who made his preseason debut Thursday after missing the first two games due to a tweaked ankle. “We just got to keep giving him confidence to be himself. He’s really good offensively and communicates defensively, but we need him to be himself. He doesn’t need to try and fit in for anybody.
“Early in training camp he was trying too hard to not disappoint anybody instead of just playing basketball the way that he knows how to play basketball … Like I said, we want him to be him and if he does that, he’s going to be really, really big for us.”
Mamukelashvili admits he’s still learning. His versatility comes withthe need to be — well — versatile. Many of his responsibilities change depending on the lineup on the floor. Defensively, when he’s at the five, he’s got to know his coverages, make sure he’s not too far from the ball handler, but also not too close to the rim. When he’s at the four, he needs to be physical and vocal and make sure he’s sticking to his guy.
“It’s a learning curve for me, for sure,” he said. “[Assistant] coach Lindsey [Harding] is doing an amazing job just in explaining and we work on it after shootarounds and after practices. … staying vocal on the court helps me because it kind of keeps my mind going all the time, and you just can’t relax.”
His skillset fits seamlessly around anyone. His contract, though, means that skillset has to be conducive to winning, whether it be now or sometimes in the four years he’s under contract. But for now, Mamukelashvili is just focused on getting better:
“I’m trying to get better. I’m trying to be more physical. I’m trying to not get out-rebounded. But you know, third game, and I’m sure I’m just gonna keep getting better.”
LeBron James was named the NBA Finals' Most Valuable Player all four times his team won the NBA title [Getty Images]
LeBron James said it's "going to take some time" for his new team-mates to gel after suffering defeat on his debut for the Philadelphia 76ers in a pre-season game.
The 41-year-old American joined the 76ers in July for what he says will be his final contract in the NBA following a glittering career.
James is the highest points scorer in the history of the league and is entering a record-extending 24th NBA season.
James scored 10 points and added four rebounds, five assists and a steal in 18 first-half minutes as his side fell to a 114-108 defeat by the Brooklyn Nets.
"We're still trying to put each other in the position to be successful and complement each other the best way we can on the floor. But it's going to take some time," said James.
"Tonight was a good sample size for us to build on."
James played alongside new team-mates Joel Embiid, VJ Edgecombe, Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown, with the latter leading the scoring with 18 points.
James has won titles with every NBA side he has played for, including two with the Miami Heat, one with the Cleveland Cavaliers and another with the Los Angeles Lakers.
He left the Lakers this summer after spending eight years with the franchise.
James has been named the NBA's Most Valuable Player four times, all between 2009 and 2013, and has been an NBA All-Star the last 22 seasons running.
He is aiming to help the 76ers win their first NBA title in 43 years.
LAS VEGAS -- A three-goal deficit gave way to a rookie's shootout winner and a veteran goaltender's recovery Thursday night.
Trevor Connelly scored in the fifth round of the shootout, and Adin Hill stopped John Tavares to complete the Vegas Golden Knights' 4-3 comeback victory over the Toronto Maple Leafsat T-Mobile Arena.
Vegas improved to 4-1-0 with its third consecutive win.
"I think as a group, we just came together and kind of took over the game by our style of hockey," Connelly said.
Toronto built a 3-0 lead in the opening 8:37 before Mark Stone scored late in the first period. Brett Howden converted Mitch Marner's gem early in the second, and Jack Eichel tied it on a penalty shot at 3:58.
Eichel added an assist, extending his point-and-assist streak to five games and bringing his season total to 12 points.
Hill made 21 saves and denied four of five shootout attempts. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 40 shots for Toronto.
Braeden Bowman also scored for Vegas in the shootout, while Kirill Marchenko provided Toronto's lone conversion.
KEY MOMENT: Connelly's Game Winner
With the shootout tied after four rounds, Connelly delivered the breakthrough, beating Bobrovsky with a backhand-forehand move in the fifth round. The rookie leaned on a finish he had rehearsed rather than changing his approach under pressure.
"That's a move that I've kind of been doing in practice a bit, and it's seemed to work a lot," Connelly said. "So kind of just trusted what's been working in practice."
Hill then stopped Tavares to secure Vegas' third straight victory and complete the comeback.
KEY STAT: Shots Aplenty, But No PP
Vegas outshot Toronto 36-15 after the first period, including a 21-8 advantage in the second as the Knights erased the remaining two-goal deficit. They maintained that pressure with an 11-4 edge in the third and finished ahead 43-24 overall, forcing Bobrovsky to make 40 saves.
The comeback also came without a power-play goal: Vegas went 0-for-4 after converting in each of its first four games. Howden's even-strength goal and Eichel's penalty-shot finish supplied the second-period scoring that brought Vegas level.
WHAT A KNIGHT: Adin Hill.
After surrendering three goals in the opening 8:37, Hill held Toronto scoreless for the rest of regulation and overtime. His shootout stops included a glove save on William Nylander and a game-ending stop on Tavares. Marner praised Hill's composure after the early goals and emphasized his teammates' confidence in him.
"I feel like Hilly's so calm and confident himself, regardless of what happens before, so you see that tonight," Marner said. "Just stayed with it. We have a lot of trust in either of those boys in net. So, when we needed him massively, he made some big saves."
UP NEXT
Vegas hosts the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT.
PHOTO CAPTION
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) stops a shot from Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares (91) during a shootout at T-Mobile Arena.
ST.
LOUIS – You hear the term that pucks eventually start to go into
the net when you’re doing other good things on the ice.
The
St. Louis Blues are doing a lot of good things; they just aren’t
completing the finished product. That finished product is scoring,
and in the early part of the NHL season when goals seem to be going
in by the bushel, the Blues can’t buy goals.
It
cost them again on Thursday
when they created plenty of scoring opportunities, led twice but
ultimately fell to the San Jose Sharks, 3-2 in overtime, at
Enterprise Center on Thursday.
The
Blues fell to 1-2-1 on the season and are off to the kind of slower
start that they were looking to avoid, losing their third in a row
after a season-opening 4-0 win against the Dallas Stars.
To
the game and the pivotal points …
*
Blues’ top line is doing them no favors right now – Robert
Thomas, Dylan Holloway and Jimmy Snuggerud created ample
opportunities, probably more so than they have in the previous four
games this season.
The
puck is simply not going into the net for them. No better examples
were when Thomas pulled a puck into the slot and rang the post in a
2-2 game, and then he had the winning goal on his stick – also in
the slot – and a yawning, empty cage staring at him, only to see
San Jose’s Kiefer Sherwood get a stick on the shot attempt and push
it over the bar.
So
when they’re not scoring, they sure as heck better be good
defensively, but that wasn’t the case on San Jose’s tying goal by
Collin Graf at 6:05
of the third period that tied the game 2-2.
In
the shift, Thomas lost the puck twice, Pavel Buchnevich – who had
taken Snuggerud’s spot on the shift – lost it a third time,
Holloway wasn’t hard enough on a puck in the righthand corner that
Sam Dickinson threw into the crease area before it caromed off Adam
Jiricek right to Graf in the slot.
“You’re
up 2-1 and you’re towards the end of a shift, pucks go deep and you
just keep grinding them down,” Blues
coach Jim Montgomery said.
‘You keep your shifts short, you keep staying on top of them. I use
the term when you’re up by a goal in the third period, you skate
‘em into the ground, and that means you never stop checking. You
can only do that if you’re maintaining short shifts and you’re
playing north.”
The
line on Thursday generated 15 shot attempts (five on net) but Thomas
(three) and Snuggerud (five) missed the net a combined eight times.
You’d
be concerned if they weren’t generating, but when you’re paid to
score and you’re not, then other areas of the game need to be up to
par and when you’re giving up without putting away, then it
continues to be a concern.
“In
this league, they want to be putting the puck in the back of the net
and I thought they did a lot of great things really well, and as long
as they’re creating chances, they’re eventually going to drop,”
said
Blues forward Connor McMichael.
‘I’ve seen it many times from them.”
*
Generating
chances plus finishing chances isn’t equaling out – For all the
chances the Blues are generating, the finished product just isn’t
equating.
When
they led early in the hockey game on a beautiful give-and-go sequence
between McMichael and Mason McTavish (more on them below), there were
ample opportunities to extend that lead with several quality scoring
chances.
The
Blues outshot the Sharks, who were thoroughly beaten 5-0 on Monday
against the Dallas Stars, 11-3 in the first period but led by just
one goal thanks to a lack of finishing again.
“I
thought for the majority of the game, our process was really good,”
Montgomery
said.
‘Right now, if we fell out of a boat and we were trying to score a
goal, we would not hit the ocean, and it’s causing problems.
There’s frustration coming because we’re not scoring, and it’s
hard to stick with the process when you’re getting frustrated. We
just have to keep working. I thought in the third period we came out
and again we started to dictate play really well, and we were
dictating play and even though we ended up shorthanded, we get that
great goal shorthanded; our penalty kill’s been really good so far
this year.
“I
thought we were in complete control of the game and we need to be
comfortable winning 2-1. It’s like we want to try and win 3-, 4-1.
It’s mistakes we made that allowed them to score that second goal
and you end up in overtime and anything can happen in 3-on-3 hockey.
Unfortunately we were on the wrong end of it.”
In
a time when scoring is way up because of the shortened training camp
and only four preseason games, the Blues have scored a grand total of
nine goals (including two empty-netters) in four games.
“I
think we were the better team for most of the game,” McMichael
said.
“We kind of just got up by one and kept falling asleep and let them
back into the game and that’s the type of stuff that hurts you in
this league.
We’ve got to tighten that up.
“…
I
think we’re generating chances. I think we’d obviously like to
see a couple more go into the back of the net, but that’s not
really an excuse. We’ve got to find a way to win those 2-1 games
when we’re not scoring as many as we would like to. It’s just
something where we’re going to have to go to the drawing board and
get better from.”
Montgomery
said, “In
three of our four games, I’m not positive of this one yet, but I’m
assuming we have more Grade A chances 5-on-5. This would be three out
of four. So our process of what we believe in, getting more Grade A
chances of winning the net front battles, which we’re doing
consistently again this year; the only game that we haven’t done
those things is the Colorado game and as you would have guessed, but
besides that, there’s a lot of positives that are coming. The fact
that we’re not scoring is causing the results to be magnified in
the wrong direction. If we are a process-oriented team, we look at
what the numbers are telling us, and in practice, our players need to
bear down and score goals. Scoring’s a habit just like skating fast
and stopping and starting and creating good habits, screening the
goalie. Those are things we’ve got to bury. I think we missed a
couple open nets tonight and you think, ‘Oh jeez, they just got
their stick on it,’ but if you do it in practice, then it just
becomes natural. You try to bury the puck right through the net, make
a hole in the net like
Brett Hull would.”
In that case, if you're the better team in three of four games, you can't be losing to the woeful Chicago Blackhawks (4-2 on Tuesday) without Connor Bedard, and you can't be losing Thursday when the Sharks were playing without their rising star and captain, Macklin Celebrini.
*
Moral
victories don’t count – Montgomery saying the Blues have been the
better team in three of their first four games, he isn’t off one
iota. But the bottom line is they have three of a possible eight
points. If you’re the better team in three of the first four games,
that’s not good enough then.
“It
was a hard-fought game I think by both teams,” said
Blues defenseman Cam Fowler, who had a had strong game playing 22:43.
“I certainly think we gave ourselves an opportunity to win the
game. Only coming away with one point is disappointing, but there’s
a lot that we can build off of as well, some points that we can work
on moving forward and getting ready for Saturday.”
*
McMichael-McTavish-Berggren
line continues to flourish – One of the biggest questions coming in
was would the Blues have ample enough support from the second line
this season to balance out the scoring.
Who
would have thought that just four games in, there would be no worry
regarding the McTavish line and plenty to worry about with the Thomas
line?
McMichael’s
goal came as a result of Berggren disrupting the play in the neutral
zone near the Blues’ bench, McMichael skating in with speed, and he
and McTavish doing the rest for a backdoor tap-in:
St. Louis goal!
Scored by Connor McMichael with 16:08 left in the 1st. Assisted by Mason McTavish and Jonatan Berggren.
“Yes
and Berggren. Berggren’s playing really well,” Montgomery said.
‘Ever since we put Berggren up with those two, that line’s been
our best line for two games in a row, generating the most chances,
controlling the game, making solid plays coming out of the D-zone and
leading to really good O-zone play. Very happy with that chemistry on
that line right now.”
McMichael
said, “I
think (the
chemistry’s)
been really good. It’s been easy for me, to be honest. Coming to
the Blues at the same time as (McTavish),
it’s been like a breath of fresh air having another guy in the same
scenario as me. We’ve been bouncing a lot of things off of each
other and just looking to keep that rolling.”
McMichael
is a point-per-game player (two goals, two assists) so far, and
McTavish has two goals and an assist, and Berggren picked up his
first point Thursday.
*
Penalty kill continues to shine, leads to a shorthanded goal – At
the start of the third period, the Blues had 1:56 to kill off a
Brandon Carlo delay of game minor.
It
came at a crucial time in a 1-1 game. Kill it, then settle in and try
to win the game.
Who
would have imagined a shorthanded goal to put the Blues ahead? But
that’s what Dillon Dube did when he made it 2-1 at 1:39 of the
third period off a 2-on-1 rush with Buchnevich, then keeping the puck
and beating Alex Nedeljkovic into the top right corner:
But I'd like to see saves on the first Sharks goal scored by Tyler Toffoli and you could make the case that even on Darnell Nurse's overtime goal, it wasn't an overly aggressive or pinpoint accuracy shot, more so right through Hofer.
It's hard to put much on the goaltending, but in those moments, one could make the case for a little more.
*
Individual standouts – Including Fowler, who we mentioned, Colton
Parayko looks really confident right now jumping into the offense and
looking to create havoc in the O-zone.
Parayko,
who passed Barret Jackman into sole possession of second place for
all-time games played in Blues history (804), played
23:23.
Philip
Broberg (24:25) had a really solid game as well, also jumping into
the rush and attacking when the situations arose.
Pius
Suter, who had a really solid shorthanded shift who finished with
11:13 of ice time, played well, as did Carlo (18:38 ice time).
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Lakers stars Austin Reaves, left, and Luka Doncic stand on the court during a 114-110 preseason win over the Sacramento Kings at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night. (Luke Hales / Getty Images)
And though it was just a preseason game Thursday night, Doncic and Reaves showed why they form one of the most dynamic offensive backcourts in the NBA.
The Lakers duo linked up on the very first play against the Sacramento Kings, with Reaves passing to Doncic as he cut to the basket before scoring while being fouled.
Both played 25 minutes, with Doncic finishing with 23 points on six-for-16 shooting during the Lakers’ 114-110 win over the Kings at Crypto.com Arena. Reaves had eight points on two-for-seven shooting, eight assists and five rebounds.
Doncic, who picked up a technical foul with six minutes and 48 seconds left in the third quarter, and Reaves, who played in his first exhibition game after missing the first two, gave the fans something to be excited about.
Doncic’s moment came in the second quarter when he drilled a 31-foot, one-legged three-pointer off a pass from Sandro Mamukelashvili (19 points).
Reaves’ moment came late in the second quarter when he had a nice hesitation move that froze Emanuel Sharp, allowing him to waltz along the baseline for a layup.
Lakers coach JJ Redick explained why Doncic and Reaves have been so close in their time playing together.
“I think there’s good chemistry with each other,” Redick said. “I think it’s just the natural way they like each other. They like playing together. I think having them together means there’s automatically two ballhandlers on the court. I think that’s like an underrated part of the NBA now ... having two-to-three ballhandlers on the floor at all times.”
Injury update
Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton both missed their third straight preseason game and Ziaire Williams missed his second straight game. Cameron Carr, Dalton Knecht and Arthur Kaluma also didn’t play.
Kessler, the Lakers’ big acquisition at center from the Utah Jazz, has been nursing a finger injury he sustained after hitting the backboard during practice.
“We’ve got to check in tomorrow. ... It’s not concerning. He’ll play in the preseason,” Redick said.
Redick said Williams had “some soreness, but it’s not anything that we’re concerned about.”
Bruce Brown had a solid season last year in Denver. He averaged eight points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal in 24 minutes per game. He played all 82 games for the Nuggets and was a fixture of their rotation.
He's just 30 years old. Under previous collective bargaining agreements, a player of Brown’s archetype would get guaranteed money and probably a guaranteed spot in someone’s rotation.
But in the second apron era of today’s NBA, players of Brown's ilk aren't getting those opportunities.
That’s why the nine-year vet agreed to a non-guaranteed training camp deal with the Knicks.
“I played every single game last year. I thought I played well enough to have a guaranteed spot on a team. That wasn’t the case, so now it’s time to just fight and get a job,” Brown said after a solid showing in New York’s preseason loss to Washington.
“Hopefully play well in the preseason. Whatever you do on this stage, even if it doesn’t work out, just giving yourself an opportunity to showcase yourself to teams.”
Entering training camp, the Knicks signed a group of veteran centers and veteran wings to compete for roster spots. New York will not go into the second apron this season. So the club only has enough salary for one veteran. The Knicks would need to trade a player on an NBA deal if they wanted to keep both a wing and a center on their roster.
New York doesn’t have a third center on a guaranteed deal. So it makes sense for the Knicks to keep a big man – whether it’s James Wiseman, Drew Eubanks or Tony Bradley.
Brown, though, is putting together a strong case for a roster spot in New York.
“Everything I’ve seen from (Brown from) afar and as a competitor, I’ve seen within these couple weeks here,” Jalen Brunson said after the Washington game. “He brings a lot to the table. Just him being in the league for a long time gives him an advantage mentally. Physically, I think the things that he can do for us can be very helpful.”
At the moment, no NBA team has surpassed the second apron in team salary. It is not a hard cap, so teams are voluntarily staying below the apron. But they lose several roster-building tools if they exceed the second apron. (ESPN’s Bobby Marks explains those restrictions here)
Brown is one of dozens of veterans getting squeezed by the apron rules. According to spotrac.com, the Nuggets are the only team with a salary above the second apron. And they will presumably make some moves to duck below the apron before the end of the NBA calendar year.
“The new CBA is good for certain players, right? Max guys, top free agents and maybe rookie extension guys,” Brown said. “But other than that, like the middle guys, it kind of sucks for us. As you see, there’s not that many people getting that full midlevel (exception) anymore – or even the tax midlevel (exception). It’s tough, but that's just the way it is right now. So each time you're out there, you've just to play your best and hope for the best.”
IT WAS ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS
Hours before tipoff of the Knicks’ Game 5 win in San Antonio, a Jalen Brunson tweet from exactly 11 years prior resurfaced on Twitter.
“One win away”
The Knicks would go on to win Game 5 and the NBA title on June 13, 2026. Eleven years to the day since Brunson’s tweet.
No, Brunson wasn’t predicting an NBA Finals win that night. He said the tweet was a reference to the Chicago Blackhawks, who were one win away from winning the Stanley Cup.
For Knicks fans who saw the tweet on the day of Game 5 in June, it probably felt like fate.
It turned out to be one more remarkable element of the Knicks’ title run.
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 8: Sandro Mamukelashvili #54 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives to the basket during the game against the Sacramento Kings on October 8, 2026 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
With Austin Reaves back in the lineup, the Lakers picked up their second win over the Kings this preseason, winning 114-110 on Thursday.
LA built up a big lead with the starters and regular rotation members on the floor, then saw it dwindle away in garbage time to make the score look much closer than the game ever was.
What was consistent throughout was how sloppy the game was as the two teams combined for 50 turnovers. LA also struggled on the glass, allowing 20 offensive rebounds. They made up for it by getting to the line 38 times.
Luka opened the game with an and-one on the Lakers’ first possession before Austin found a soaring Adou Thiero for a dunk to open up the game in style for LA.
Sacramento did hold an early 10-7 lead, but an 8-0 run featuring threes from Luka and Jake LaRavia pushed LA ahead.
Still, it was a back-and-forth first quarter that saw neither team leading by more than five. Luka was up to his hot-starting ways with 10 points in the opening frame, but the rest of the team had 11 as the Lakers led 21-20 after one.
After falling behind 22-21 early in the second frame, the Lakers exploded for a 19-3 run to blow the game open.
Nearly all of the scoring in the run was done from beyond the arc with threes coming from LaRavia, Luka, Austin, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Matisse Thybulle.
Mamu was one of the stars of the second period with nine points while Austin really found his groove in the frame, scoring six points while dishing four dimes.
A 15-point Lakers lead was trimmed down to 10 points midway through the period, but LA responded with four points from Reaves and layups from Mamu and Kevon Looney to push it back to 16 points.
At the half, the Lakers led 57-43.
Adou Thiero continued his strong preseason by finishing at the rim off a nice dime from Austin earlier in the third.
Austin with the Euro no look to Adou cutting baseline.
After building up a 16-point lead again, the Lakers conceded an 8-0 run to halve the deficit. Much of LA’s scoring was coming at the line as they had five free throws and four field goals past the midway point in the quarter.
Luka was in midseason form by picking up a technical during a timeout while continuing to voice his displeasure with the officials throughout the third. Following a coming together at midcourt with Emanuel Sharp that had Luka particularly upset, he came out of the game for good.
Things got very sloppy between the two sides, with the Kings coming out on top, cutting the lead to five after consecutive buckets from Precious Achiuwa.
LaRavia and Mamu helped restore some order to push LA’s lead back to double digits following a fastbreak finish from the former. Mamu then buried a step-back 3-pointer before a spot-up 3-pointer off a nice pass from Bronny James to make it an 86-70 lead going into the fourth.
The Lakers went to an uber-small lineup in the fourth featuring Bronny, Adou, Grimes, LaRavia and Thybulle. Eventually, LA cycled in fresh faces, including Chris Mañon and Jarred Vanderbilt.
Things got a little haywire in the closing minutes as the Kings made it a contest, pulling within four points with 2:00 left. William Kyle and Vando each scored to push the lead back to eight before Hardy and Bronny helped close the game at the free throw line.
Key Player Stats
Luka tallied 23 points in 25 minutes to lead the Lakers. Austin finished with eight points but had eight assists and six rebounds.
Mamu finished with 19 points off the bench while LaRavia notched 14 points, three rebounds and two assists. Adou Thiero had six points and Quentin Grimes finished with 12.
The Lakers will be back in action on Tuesday when they play the Warriors in Las Vegas at 7 p.m. PT.
