Category: Basketball

A decimated Los Angeles Lakers squad was blown out by the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, Jan. 17. It was an uphill battle from the beginning as L.A. was without Luka Dončić, Deandre Ayton, Jaxson Hayes, Austin Reaves and Adou Thiero. The Lakers also took some hits to Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia in-game, throwing their statuses for the second half of a back-to-back against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, Jan. 18 in doubt – at least initially.

Adding to the laundry list of question marks, LeBron James is expected to be a game-time decision, as is to be the case with every back-to-back going forward.

The Lakers are getting some much-needed relief on Sunday, with both Ayton and Hayes expected to back on the court. It also appears as though they've dodged a bullet as neither Smart or LaRavia were listed on the injury report.

That leaves the two biggest questions that likely won't be definitively answered until we get closer to tip-off: Will Dončić and James take the court vs. the Raptors?

Here's everything you need to know about the status of the two Lakers stars:

CLIPPERS: Kawhi Leonard out at least two more games with knee issue

Is Luka Doncic playing tonight vs. Raptors?

Dončić is questionable to play with left groin soreness, according to the latest NBA injury report released at 5:30 p.m. ET. He originally told reporters on Jan. 12 he "felt something" in his groin/inner thigh area during pregame warmups, but he ended up playing through both games of the Lakers' back-to-back early last week.

Dončić also played in Thursday's loss to the Charlotte Hornets, scoring 39 points before sitting out on Saturday.

Is LeBron James playing tonight?

James is also listed as questionable for Sunday night's games, which is to be expected after the 41-year-old said as much to reporters a week ago.

“I’m 41 years old. Every back to back for the rest of the season is TBD.”

LeBron James makes one thing certain — he is TBD for all back-to-back games in his 23rd NBA season 😭

pic.twitter.com/cUMeGVK9Jj

— DraftKings (@DraftKings) January 7, 2026

James did play in the Lakers' most recent back-to-back on January 12 and 13, logging 33 minutes in each and coming up just one rebound shy of a 31-point triple-double in a 141-116 blowout win over the Hawks.

In Saturday night's loss to the Trail Blazers, James scored 20 points and led the team in assists and rebounds with nine and eight, respectively.

Lakers injuries

Ayton and Hayes both did not play on Saturday, leaving the door open for Drew Timme to see extended minutes at center. Smart limped off the court following a collision midway through the fourth quarter, but he was not listed on Sunday's injury report. Both Ayton and Hayes are also expected to return against Toronto.

The only other names on the Lakers injury report ahead of the game are Reaves (left calf strain) and Thiero (right MCL sprain), who have both missed extended time and are expected to be re-evaluated towards the end of the month.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LeBron James, Luka Doncic injury update for Lakers vs Raptors tonight

The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder have been by far the most impressive team this season. Their +14 net rating is over five points better than their closest competitor. It’s why they started the season on a 70-win pace.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, on the other hand, have been one of the most disappointing teams this season. They’ve taken a noticeable step back from where they were last year, as they’ve already surpassed their loss total for all of last season.

Despite how differently things have gone for both the Cavs and Thunder, they enter this game playing at a pretty similar level.

Oklahoma City has cooled off dramatically in recent weeks. They’ve lost three of their last eight and dropped their previous outing to the Miami Heat. Their offense has struggled recently, as they have the 14th-ranked offense over the past two weeks.

The Cavs are heating up. They’ve won three out of four with impressive wins over the Minnesota Timberwolves and two straight good showings against the Philadelphia 76ers. Cleveland’s offense is also coming into form as they’ve posted the fourth-best offensive rating over the last two weeks (120.4). Things are starting to look up.

This game should provide a good measuring stick for where the Cavs are right now, even though both will be without key starters. The Thunder will be without Jalen Williams, and the Cavs will be without Darius Garland.

Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (24-19) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (35-8)

Where: Rocket Arena – Cleveland, OH

When: Monday, Jan. 19 at 2:30 PM

TV: NBC, Peacock

Point spread: Thunder -6.5

Cavs injury report: Darius Garland – OUT (toe), Sam Merrill – OUT (hand), Dean Wade – PROBABLE (knee), Max Strus – OUT (foot), Chris Livingston – OUT (G League), Luke Travers – OUT (G League)

Thunder injury report: Jalen Williams – OUT (hamstring), Isaiah Hartenstein – OUT (right soleus), Thomas Sorber – OUT (ACL), Nikola Topic – OUT (surgical recovery), Brooks Barnhizer – DOUBTFUL (G League)

Cavs expectedstarting lineup: Craig Porter Jr., Donovan Mitchell, Jaylon Tyson, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

Thunder expected starting lineup: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, Lu Dort, Jaylin Williams, Chet Holmgren

Previous matchup: The Thunder defeated the Cavs by 20 a year ago.

Here’s a look at both teams’ impact stats via Cleaning the Glass.

	Offensive Rating	Defensive Rating	Net Rating
Cavs	117.8 (8th)	115 (14th)	+2.8 (11th)
Thunder	120 (5th)	106 (1st)	+14 (1st)

CHAMPAGNE, Ill. (AP) — Berry Wallace scored a career-high 29 points, 12 in the fourth quarter, and No. 25 Illinois held off a fourth-quarter rally to defeat Northwestern 74-71 on Sunday.

Illinois took the lead for good with 2 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter and led 58-51 heading to the fourth. Although Illinois remained in front, Northwestern cut it to one on a 3-pointer by Xamiya Walton with seven minutes to go and again on a layup by Casey Harter with 2:15 remaining.

At that point, Wallace scored in the paint for a 73-70 lead, then Tayla Thomas hit one free throw to get Northwestern within 73-71. Both teams came up empty on their next two possessions before Cearah Parchment made a free throw for a 74-71 lead with nine seconds left. Northwestern's Caroline Lau missed a potential tying 3-pointer with one second left.

Parchment had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the fourth double-double of her freshman season. Aaliyah Guyton had 13 points for the Illini (15-4, 5-3 Big Ten).

Grace Sullivan scored 21 points, Walton 19, Harter 13 and Lau 12 for Northwestern (8-11, 2-6). The rest of the Wildcats managed six points — all by Thomas.

There were four ties and seven lead changes in the first half. Illinois scored the last 12 points of the second quarter to erase a five-point deficit and the Illini led 40-33 at halftime.

Illinois outscored the Wildcats 11-2 in a 3 1/2-minute stretch of the third quarter, building a 58-43 lead. Three-pointers by Harter and Walton helped Northwestern get within 58-51 heading to the fourth.

There were only 13 turnovers in the game, five by Northwestern and eight by Illinois.

Illinois was won seven straight in the series after losing the previous 14.

Up next

Illinois: The Illini play Saturday at No. 24 Nebraska.

Northwestern: The Wildcats host No. 3 UCLA next Sunday.

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Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kristýna Kaltounková and Anne Cherkowski each scored a goal, Kayle Osborne had 31 saves and the New York Sirens beat the Montreal Victoire 2-1 on Sunday at Capital One Arena as part of the PWHL’s Takeover Tour.

The game, played in front of 17,228 fans, set an attendance record for a professional women’s hockey game in the United States, according to Monumental Sports & Entertainment. The previous record of 16,014 fans was set Nov. 28 at the inaugural home game for the Seattle Torrent.

Montreal (5-2-0-5) had its three-game win streak snapped.

Sarah Fillier had two assists for New York (7-0-1-5), which has won five of six. The Sirens have 22 points, four behind league-leading Boston and one ahead of third-place Minnesota.

Kaltounková, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 PWHL draft, has nine goals this season, tied with Minnesota's Kendall Coyne Schofield for most in the league.

Maggie Flaherty scored a power-play goal for the Victoire late in the first period.

Kaltounková slammed home the rebound of a shot by Fillier to open the scoring 84 seconds into the game. The Sirens had failed to convert on their previous nine power-play opportunities and are just 5 of 40 with an extra skater this season.

Cherkowski gave the Sirens a 2-1 lead with 5:13 left in the second period. Fillier poked a faceoff to Levis, who flicked a wrister that was redirected by Cherkowski over the glove-side shoulder of goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens for the rookie's first career goal.

Desbiens had 25 saves for the Victoire.

The Victoire beat New York 4-0 in Montreal on Nov. 25 and Osborne had a career-high 43 saves as the Sirens evened the season series with a 4-3 home win on Jan. 2.

Up next

Victoire: Montreal visits Minnesota on Wednesday.

Sirens: New York hosts Ottawa on Tuesday.

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AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey

DALLAS (AP) — Brandon Hagel’s tiebreaking goal midway through the second period proved to be the winner, and Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 19 saves on 20 shots as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Dallas Stars 4-1 on Sunday.

Rookie Dominic James and Jake Guentzel each had a goal and an assist, and Pontus Holmberg added a late empty-net score for the Lightning, who bounced back from a shootout loss at St. Louis on Friday that ended a franchise record-tying 11-game winning streak. Tampa Bay has a 13-game points streak and they are tied with Carolina atop of the Eastern Conference with 64 points, second overall to Colorado (74).

Hagel took a pass at the goal line to the left side of Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger, playing off the line, and muscled the puck through the stick of Stars defenseman Esa Lindell for a 2-1 lead. It was Hagel’s sixth winning goal this season, tied for second in the NHL behind Nashville’s Steven Stamkos, who has seven.

Tampa Bay is a league-best 18-4-4 on the road and 20-1-0 when leading after two periods.

Vasilevskiy (20-7-3) has 10 straight 20-win seasons and is 17-4-3 in his career against Dallas.

Oskar Back scored for the struggling Stars, who came off a 2-3-1 road trip and have lost three straight in regulation, scoring one goal in each game. Oettinger, tied for eighth in the NHL with 17 wins, stopped 22 shots and is 1-4-2 in his last seven starts.

Dallas, tied with Minnesota for second overall in the West with 63 points, lost for the fifth time in regulation in 25 games when scoring first.

Back opened the scoring four minutes in and four minutes later James evened the score. Two of James’ four goals this season have been scored in the last seven games.

Up next

Lightning: Host San Jose on Tuesday.

Stars: Host Boston on Tuesday.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Senegal wins soccer's Africa Cup of Nations final with 1-0 victory over Morocco.

The Memphis Grizzlies cruised to a 126-109 victory over the Orlando Magic in the first NBA regular-season match to be hosted in London since 2019.

As part of the stardom that the NBA attracts, courtside at London's O2 Arena was full of famous faces, including footballers Virgil van Dijk and Declan Rice, Formula 1 driver Kimi Antonelli and actress Rosamund Pike.

American singer Vanessa Williams sung the US national anthem before the game but during her performance a heckler shouted "leave Greenland alone".

The remark drew some applause from the crowd but Williams continued unfazed.

It comes after US President Donald Trump said he would impose tariffs on eight European allies, including the United Kingdom, if they oppose his proposed takeover of Greenland.

Trump insists the autonomous Danish territory is critical for US security and has not ruled out taking it by force - a move that has drawn widespread criticism.

NBA glam comes to London

Former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry was also courtside in close proximity to the Orlando bench throughout the match, alongside NBA legend Tony Parker.

Both Henry and Pike received cheers from the crowd in atmosphere akin to that of an American game at times. The atmosphere might have been even better if it had been a more even contest.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan was shown on screen, met with a huge chorus of boos, which quickly turned to cheers when the camera switched to show former Real Madrid and Brazil footballer Marcelo.

Before tip-off, NBA greats John Amaechi and Steve Nash both addressed the crowd, with Desmond Bane and Santi Aldama, of the Magic and Grizzlies respectively, also thanking the fans for their support.

Morant inspires Grizzlies

The Grizzlies, who have struggled for consistency this season, dominated the early stages and led by 17 points late in the first quarter.

From there it became an even contest, with the score difference varying little in the last three quarters and the Magic's hopes of a fightback limited by the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies were inspired by star point guard Ja Morant on his return from an ankle sprain that resulted in him missing six matches. His name received the loudest cheer from the crowd before the tip-off.

Morant put up 20 points in the first half, 15 of which came in the second quarter.

He was only due to make a limited appearance on his return but played for 28 minutes as he scored 24 points, with team-mate Jock Landale adding 21 from the bench.

Wendell Carter Jr impressed for the Magic with 18 points, while team-mate Paolo Banchero added 16 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in a 36-minute outing.

The return to London was the second part of a double-header between the two sides, with the Magic beating the Grizzles 118-111 on Thursday in Berlin.

"I think all players should actually want to come and have the opportunity to play over here and actually experience everything us and the Magic got to in this last week," said Morant.

His Grizzlies team-mate Jaren Jackson Jr added: "We were here to perform and I'm glad everyone had a great time.

"We've been embraced since we've been here in Berlin and in London. This is definitely a place I'd love to revisit."

What next for the NBA in Europe?

A win for Memphis in London marks the end of the NBA's two-match stay in Europe.

In 2027, Manchester will host its first regular-season match, joining up with Paris to host a double-header next January. Paris and Berlin will both host matches in 2028.

Long term, the NBA has plans to launch an independent European league that could start as early as the 2027-28 campaign, with conversations currently ongoing with potential investors, sponsors and stakeholders over how that could look.

The NBA has faced resistance from EuroLeague, the continent's current primary club competition.

EuroLeague has threatened the NBA with legal action, should it approach any current EuroLeague clubs over joining the formation of a new division.

Real Madrid and Alba Berlin both played in last season's EuroLeague. While Real Madrid remain a EuroLeague team, Alba Berlin withdrew from the competition after 24 years at the start of this season. Both are understood to be open to joining NBA Europe.

By the time Manchester's Co-op Live hosts an NBA match next January, there will be a much clearer picture over if the league is happening, how it will look and when it is expected to launch.

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Mateo Pulcini made a pair of big par putts over the final hour and finished with a 3-foot par save on the second playoff hole to win the Latin America Amateur Championship on Sunday, earning the Argentine a spot in the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open.

Pulcini, at 25 the oldest winner of the Latin America Amateur since it began in 2015, closed with a 2-under 68 and outlasted Missouri senior Virgilio Paz, who was trying to become the first winner from Venezuela.

“We dream to play and to win this,” Pulcini said. “I have no words right now. I'm so happy, and so grateful for the people around me.”

Paz, who also had a 68 at Lima Golf Club, pulled into a share of the lead with a 25-foot birdie putt on the difficult par-4 17th. Pulcini, who played his college golf at Oklahoma Christian and a final year at Arkansas, stayed tied for the lead by following with a 20-foot par putt.

On the 18th hole in regulation, Paz went over the green and ran his chip some 8 feet by the hole, making that to join Pulcini at 5-under 275 and force only the second playoff in tournament history.

And then the big Argentine got his biggest break on the first playoff hole. From a bad lie in the right rough, his shot was headed for the trees and somehow missed all the big branches, leaving him some 40 yards short of the pin. He pitched that to 18 feet and made the par putt to send the playoff to another hole.

“It was a lot of nerves coming in,” Pulcini said. “As always, I tried to have fun, to laugh. Being in that position I was dreaming of at the beginning of the week, why not take advantage and enjoy?”

Paz was in the left rough on the 18th, partially blocked by trees, and caught a flyer that went right of the green and settled in a dirt swatch framing a tree. Stooped over to stay below the limbs, he chipped out to about 25 feet and missed the par putt.

“It was a fun fight, a long day,” Paz said. “I'm proud of myself what I did. I go back to school happy.”

Pulcini is the third Argentine winner. Chile also has produced three winners.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

The Cleveland Cavaliers have provided an injury update for two-time All-Star Darius Garland.

“Cavaliers guard Darius Garland injured his right great toe on January 14 at Philadelphia. Further evaluation and imaging at Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine on Saturday revealed a Grade 1 right great toe sprain. Garland will be re-evaluated in seven to 10 days. During that evaluation period, Garland will undergo a series of treatments and rehabilitation, and his status will be updated as appropriate.”

Via Cavs on X

This is not the same toe that Garland previously injured last season (which required surgery in the summer) and then re-aggravated earlier this season. Instead, Garland is now rehabbing a separate injury on his other foot.

We’d expect the Cavs to be cautious with this injury, considering what happened last year. Garland rushed back for the NBA Playoffs and seemingly only made his injury worse. The Cavs would like to avoid repeating that outcome and having another injury progress to needing surgery.

Assuming Garland is out for the next 10 days, that means he will miss games against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Charlotte Hornets, Sacramento Kings, Orlando Magic (twice), and Los Angeles Lakers.

There’s never a good time to lose your All-Star point guard, but this current stretch isn’t the most ideal. Cleveland has just been finding its groove with big wins over the Philadelphia 76ers. Now, they face a daunting week of basketball without one of their most important players.

The Cavs also gave updates on other players. Kenny Atkinson said that he doesn’t expect Sam Merrill to be out much longer, Max Strus was on the court for a workout after practice, and Dean Wade was available to practice and could suit up against the Thunder tomorrow.

Cleveland is 24-19 and will need big-time performances from Craig Porter Jr., Lonzo Ball, and possibly even Tyrese Proctor to make up for the momentary loss of Garland.

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STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Stailee Heard had 18 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists and Oklahoma State routed No. 19 Iowa State 86-58 on Sunday, sending the reeling Cyclones to their fifth consecutive loss.

It was Heard's first career triple-double and the third in Oklahoma State history. She is averaging 20.8 points over the past four games.

Before Sunday, Iowa State's losing streak included only one loss by double digits. Oklahoma State's 13-0 run in the middle of the second quarter put the Cyclones down by 16 points and they never recovered.

Oklahoma State went on to score 30 points in the second period and led 43-21 at halftime. Micah Gray hit three 3-pointers and scored 12 points in the quarter and the Cowgirls shot 61%.

In the third quarter, the Cyclones cut into their 22-point halftime deficit and had it down to 51-35 before Haleigh Timmer scored 10 points in a 15-0 run that made it 66-35 after the third quarter.

Entering the fourth, Audi Crooks and Jada Williams were the only players with more than three points for Iowa State (14-5, 2-5 Big 12). Crooks, the nation's leading scorer at 27.6 points per game, finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. Williams had 15 points and seven assists. Iowa State, second in the nation with 21.9 assists per game, had 11 on Sunday.

Timmer finished with 16 points, Gray had 15 and Lena Girardi added 11 off the bench for the Cowgirls (16-4, 5-2).

Oklahoma State is 28-2 at home over the past two seasons.

Iowa State opened the season with 14 consecutive wins and was ranked as high as No. 10 in the AP Top 25.

Up next

Iowa State: Hosts Cincinnati on Wednesday.

Oklahoma State: Plays next Sunday at Colorado.

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The sky seemed to be falling for the Denver Nuggets when Nikola Jokic was facing an extended spell on the sidelines, but instead, they’re on a hot streak heading into tonight’s matchup with the Charlotte Hornets.

Denver is 6-1 in its last seven games, and my Hornets vs Nuggets predictions expect big-time production from the hosts’ role players against a Charlotte team that brings an ugly 8-15 road record to Ball Arena.

Read on for my NBA picks ahead of this battle on Sunday, January 18.

Hornets vs Nuggets prediction

Hornets vs Nuggets best bet: Peyton Watson Over 18.5 points (-115)

The Denver Nuggets have needed contributions from up and down the roster to survive Nikola Jokic’s absence, and Peyton Watson’s emergence has to be among the biggest pluses to come out of this stretch.

It’s easy to forget that Watson averaged just 8.1 PPG last season, but he’s looked like a different player this year, with a major take-off this month in an expanded role. Spreading his wings as an offensive force, he’s averaging 23.6 PPG in January.

Watson has gone past this O/U number in nine of his last 10 outings, including a 21-point effort yesterday against the Washington Wizards, and I see Denver leaning on his athleticism in the second game of a back-to-back set.

While Watson’s 48% mark from 3-point range isn’t sustainable, he can get buckets in other ways, too. In addition to Jokic, the Nuggets will still be without Cam Johnson and possibly Christian Braun, so shot volume shouldn’t be a factor.

The Charlotte Hornets gave up 136 points against the Golden State Warriors last night, and there’s no reason to think the visitors’ defense will fare any better with Watson & Co. on the charge.

Hornets vs Nuggets same-game parlay

Give me the team that’s finding a way to grind out victories and maximizing its talent. The Nuggets are 12-6 at Ball Arena this season, and 26-16 ATS overall, and Jamal Murray is coming off a lights-out effort against Washington. I can’t trust the Hornets offense to show up here after some wildly erratic totals in January.

Brandon Miller has put together consecutive strong shooting nights, but his assist tallies have been even steadier. He’s dished 4+ dimes in four straight games, and I expect him to flash his playmaking skills in what should be an end-to-end contest.

Hornets vs Nuggets SGP

• Peyton Watson Over 18.5 points
• Nuggets moneyline
• Brandon Miller Over 3.5

Our "from downtown" SGP: Doing Things the Hardaway

Tim Hardaway Jr. has knocked down 17 threes across his past four outings, and he dropped 30 points on the Wizards last night. With the Nuggets short on sharpshooters, Hardaway has a neon green light to let it fly from beyond the arc.

Hornets vs Nuggets SGP

• Peyton Watson Over 18.5 points
• Nuggets moneyline
• Brandon Miller Over 3.5 assists
• Tim Hardaway Jr. Over 3.5 threes

Hornets vs Nuggets odds

• Spread: Hornets -1.5 (-110) | Nuggets +1.5 (-110)
• Moneyline: Hornets -120 | Nuggets +100
• Over/Under: Over 228.5 (-110) | Under 228.5 (-110)

Hornets vs Nuggets betting trend to know

The Nuggets are 9-1 SU in their last 10 matchups against the Hornets. Find more NBA betting trends for Hornets vs. Nuggets.

How to watch Hornets vs Nuggets

Hornets vs Nuggets latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Dani Carnegie had a career-high 32 points and 11 rebounds, Trinity Turner added 13 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and Georgia beat No. 16 Mississippi 82-59 on Sunday.

Georgia (16-3, 2-3 SEC) earned its first Quad 1 win of the season. The Lady Bulldogs snapped a 11-game home skid against teams in the AP Top 25 and beat a ranked opponent by 20-plus points for the first time since 2006.

Carnegie, a Georgia Tech transfer, made 11 of 17 from the field, 5 of 8 from 3-point range, and 5 of 7 from the free-throw line.

Christeen Iwuala led Ole Miss (16-4, 3-2) with 13 points and 10 rebounds and Sira Thienou scored 12. Cotie McMahon — who went into the game averaging a team-high 19.2 points on 49.6% shooting — finished with nine points on 1-of-13 shooting to go with 11 rebounds and five assists.

Rylie Theuerkauf made two free throws that gave Georgia the lead for good less than 2 1/2 minutes into the game and sparked a 16-2 run that made it 19-6 with 1:04 left in the first quarter. Debreasha Powe capped a 7-0 spurt with a 3-pointer that trimmed the deficit to nine points with 7:12 remaining in the first half, but Carnegie answered with a layup and the Lady Bulldogs led by double figures for the final 26-plus minutes.

Georgia shot 55% (29 of 53) from the field and made 8 of 16 from behind the arc.

Ole Miss made 21 of 71 (30%) from the field, 5 of 19 (26%) from 3-point range.

Up next

Ole Miss: Visits Missouri on Thursday.

Georgia: Plays Thursday at Arkansas.

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A nice overall game flow is not what fans saw when the Lakers played the Blazers on Saturday night.

The whistle was active and erratic during the opening quarter. Portland was awarded a whopping 22 free throws, which was the most in any quarter for any team this year. To contextualize that even further, the Blazers average 27 free throws per game. The Lakers only took three free throws in the opening quarter and ended the night with 21. The Blazers shot more free throws in one quarter than the Lakers did all game

Given that Portland dominated Los Angeles, nothing the officials did caused the Lakers to lose.

However, just because the way a game was called didn’t affect the result doesn’t mean the decisions were right, or consistently ruled the same way.

This officiating conversation was part of the dialogue postgame, with Lakers head coach JJ Redick revealing that the referees acknowledged their inconsistency.

“There’s always going to be fouls,” Redick said. “You can sit there and go through and watch every single [foul]. I do it sometimes. I’ll watch film and I’ll watch a play and ‘Wait a minute. Let me rewind that, zoom in, slow it down.’ The officials dont have that luxury. It’s more about the way the game is called. They got off to a bad start tonight and they admitted that to me.

“And then they were all over the map. Making calls and not actually making a call. That happened multiple times where we have to go over, ‘What’s going on? What’s the actual call here?’ I couldn’t get great communication from Pat [Frasher] all night, which we’ll put in the feedback. I’ve talked about it. It’s not to single them out or it’s not the reason we lost. For whatever reason, you’d have to ask probably the other 29 coaches, it feels like the inconsistency night to night within a game has been there for most of these crews.”

This isn’t the first time Redick has shown frustration with the officials.

Earlier this season, he seemed to reach his breaking point with the inconsistency from the refs combined with the NBA not communicating with him after he complained.

At least in the Blazers game, the officials acknowledged the bad start, even if Redick was displeased with the communication he got from crew chief Pat Fraser.

Another odd call later in this game was the flagrant foul on LeBron James.

He went up to attempt a block a shot by Donovan Clingan and the play was deemed a flagrant 1 foul. That seems like an odd call given the replay. If what LeBron did is the standard criteria for a flagrant call, then no player can ever contest a shot in the air without it being deemed a flagrant.

I don't like that call on LeBron. I know flagrants aren't judged by whether you made a play on the ball, but rather whether the contact was excessive. However, I don't think that was excessive contact or a windup, unless you're just not supposed to go for a block there. AK

— Kamenetzky Brothers (@KamBrothers) January 18, 2026

It’s hard for Redick and the Lakers to adjust to the officiating if what’s a foul and what isn’t is changing game to game and even play-by-play.

Given that this has been a theme for Redick and the Lakers, they’ll have to keep bringing it up and try to better understand what’s allowed throughout the year.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.