Category: Sports News

Even LeBron James couldn’t muster the energy. With a wide-open lane in the ending moments of the Lakers’ 137-130 win over the Indiana Pacers, James simply dumped off a pass to Jake LaRavia. The 24-year-old had hops to put the finishing touches on the Lakers’ successful six-game trip.

Tired and shorthanded, the Lakers punctuated their extended trip with a fifth win Wednesday. Luka Doncic effortlessly scored his league-leading 14th 40-point game of the season, 43 points and seven assists.

The NBA's leading scorer appeared ready to settle for simply his 11th consecutive 30-point performance — which is tied for the longest streak of such games in the last 20 years — after the Lakers opened a 20-point lead entering the fourth quarter, but he returned to the game because Indiana, despite having the worst record in the NBA, was still pressuring with its starters. The Pacers (16-57) trailed by as many as 29 in the third quarter and trimmed the deficit to six with 27.9 seconds left.

“I think everybody was a little bit tired,” Doncic said. “It's been a long trip, but we got the win in the end; that’s what matters."

The wear and tear of an intense trip in which the first five games all came down to the final minutes didn’t faze Doncic. He nearly outscored the Pacers alone in the first quarter, putting up 21 while the Pacers trailed 45-28. He threw a lob to Maxi Kleber for a dunk in the third quarter then pumped both of his fists. Doncic nailed a step-back three from the top of the key, held his follow through and hopped backwards on one leg.

The Lakers (46-26) toyed with the struggling Pacers (16-56) for much of the night. Indiana’s Andrew Nesmith and Pascal Siakam fell over each other trying to contest a Euro-step layup by James, who then posed over them and pointed to the Pacers players. Nesmith and Siakam could only grimace at each other.

James finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Austin Reaves had 25 points and eight assists Jaxson Hayes dunked seven times as the center had his first double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds, both season highs.

While players typically would drag through the end of such a long trip, Hayes found home-cooked fuel. Hayes stayed with his parents in his hometown of Cincinnati on Monday night after the Lakers’ win in Detroit. He woke up to a full home-cooked breakfast from his mother, who stacked plates of pancakes, eggs and bacon in front of her son. He scoped out properties he’s hoping to buy in the summer and hung out with his dad all day. The family made the hour-and-a-half drive to Indianapolis and had dinner Tuesday night.

“Best way to end the trip for sure,” Hayes said with a blissful smile.

Hayes brought the energy for the shorthanded Lakers, who were without Deandre Ayton (back soreness), Marcus Smart (right ankle contusion) and Rui Hachimura (right calf soreness). Smart and Hachimura remain day-to-day as they missed their second consecutive games while Ayton was ruled out immediately before the game. Even the reinforcements were shorthanded as rookie Adou Thiero missed the game because of left knee soreness.

Thiero, who has been back and forth between the NBA and the G League‘s South Bay Lakers, played 29 minutes in a G League game on Saturday and flew directly to Detroit for Monday’s game. He played two minutes against the Pistons, making his first appearance in a first half of a game since Dec. 7, but his knee didn’t feel good the following morning, Redick said. The team held the forward out for precautionary reasons, Redick said, as Thiero has struggled with injuries in both knees this season.

The Lakers relied on another part-time G League contributor to carry them through a sloppy fourth quarter. Bronny James had four points, two steals and one block in 13:22 off the bench. Lakers coach JJ Redick said the second-year guard's pull-up free-throw line jumper with 3:55 to go “was big to kind of settle us.” It stopped a 6-0 run by the Pacers.

It was just the second game father and son have shared the court together this season. The elder James had the perfect shirt for the occasion. He walked out of the locker room wearing a gray T-shirt with a photo of him and his son on the front. Across James’ shoulders on the back read “The Chosen 1.” Across the bottom of the shirt, it read “The 1 who chose.”

“Felt like this was a game we really needed him,” Redick said of Bronny James. “It was a game that [we needed] his athleticism, his defense. … I think the biggest thing with him is he's got a lot of confidence right now.”

The Lakers have won 13 of their last 15 games to vault to third place in the competitive Western Conference. They have six of their last nine regular-season games at home and, after this grueling stretch, they can’t get there soon enough.

“Do we have to do this?” Redick said quietly as he sat down for his postgame news conference.

He knew everyone in the room wanted to get home.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Hayley Scamurra and Lina Ljungblom each scored their third goal of the season, Ann-Renée Desbiens earned her fifth shutout, and the Montréal Victoire beat the Minnesota Frost 3-0 on Wednesday night to sweep the season series.

Montréal (11-4-2-5) has earned points in 10 straight games (6-2-2-0), a streak that began with an overtime win at Minnesota on Jan. 21. It's the longest such streak in PWHL history since Toronto's 11 in 2024.

Catherine Dubois scored her second goal of the season to open the scoring with 40.7 seconds left in the second period. Dubois took advantage of a Minnesota turnover with a quick one-timer.

Scamurra made it 2-0 early in the third when she controlled a loose puck in front of the net and tucked it around goaltender Maddie Rooney.

Ljungblom matched her goal total from a year ago to help Montréal improve to 9-2-1-1 when scoring at least three goals this season.

Minnesota (11-3-3-5) is 7-2-0-0 since Jan. 4 when facing any team other than Montréal. The Frost are 0-0-2-2 against Montréal in that span, scoring two or fewer goals in each game.

Rooney had won her previous seven straight for the Frost.

Up next

Montréal travels to Detroit to play the New York Sirens on Saturday as part of the Takeover Tour.

Minnesota remains home to play the Boston Fleet on Sunday.

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

After seeing their win streak come to an end in Detroit on Monday, the Lakers bounced back in Indiana on Wednesday, closing out their six-game road trip with a win over the Pacers, 137-130.

LA’s lone blemish during this stint away from home was against the Pistons as they finished 5-1.

The Lakers jumped out to a big lead early by not committing a turnover until midway through the second quarter, then rode strong shooting across the board to keep their double-digit lead nearly throughout.

Indiana had a great tanking effort by making a spirited late comeback, but all it did was make the final score look closer than the game ever was.

LA shot 56.2% from the field and 39.1% from the 3-point line while also tallying 29 assists.

It was the Jake LaRavia game to start as he racked up two steals and a dunk early. Luka Dončić drained two 3-pointers and had eight points. All five starters for LA scored to go up 10 early before former Laker Jay Huff hit two straight triples for Indiana. 

At the 7:33 mark, the Lakers were up six. 

Luka entered double figures with 10 points after converting on a pair of free throws. LeBron James threw down an emphatic dunk over Huff, extending LA’s lead to eight. 

The team continued to keep their foot on the gas with Luke Kennard coming in and knocking down two triples, while Jarred Vanderbilt also drained a 3-pointer.

A major positive for Los Angeles was zero turnovers in the quarter. Luka continued to dominate, ending the period with 21 points to help the Lakers to a 17-point lead.

The second period began with LeBron converting on a layup. Pascal Siakam responded with a layup on the other end. Jaxson Hayes scored two buckets in a row with the help of LeBron, who was up to five assists in the half with his nine points. 

At the 5:29 mark, Los Angeles was up by 22. 

Indiana then surged with a 10-2 scoring run, featuring triples from Aaron Nesmith and Ben Sheppard, that cut the deficit to 16. The Lakers started turning the ball over, giving up three after playing a clean game for most of the half. 

LA stopped the run by scoring four in a row. 

Most of the rest of the half involved free throws for both teams, minus a dunk from Siakam and a layup from LeBron. At halftime, the Lakers were up by 16. 

The third period began with Austin Reaves knocking down a 3-pointer for LA. Huff responded with a dunk on the other end.

Hayes then scored seven in a row. He was playing well as the Pacers struggled to stop him in the third. The lead extended to 23 for Los Angeles.

Reaves and LaRavia were having an excellent defensive game, combining for six steals. The lead had extended to as much as 29 before Indiana’s 12-4 run.

At the end of the third, LA was up by 20. They ended the quarter with Luka draining a triple and throwing up a lob to Maxi Kleber for a dunk. 

The final frame started with T.J. McConnell converting on a jumper. He scored again, pushing his point total to 17. Bronny James threw down a dunk that had the crowd dazzled. 

An 8-2 run from Indiana made it a 16-point deficit. Siakam was ejected with 5:08 left in the game. The Pacers were putting together a commendable comeback, chipping away at the deficit. 

With 1:29 left, it was a 10-point lead for LA. 

Reaves converted on a jumper to add some cushion on the lead. Indiana then scored five in a row, making it a seven-point deficit. LeBron converted on a pair of free throws with 33 seconds left.

Walker drained a triple with 28 seconds left, making it a six-point lead for Los Angeles. Luka was fouled and converted on both free throws, sealing the win. 

Key Player Stats

Luka finished with 43 points, five rebounds and seven assists. LeBron notched 21 points with nine rebounds and eight assists. Reaves had 25 points with eight assists and two steals. 

Hayes had 21 points with 10 rebounds and two blocks. Kennard logged eight points off the bench. LaRavia ended with six points, five rebounds and four steals. Kleber grabbed four rebounds and had two steals. 

The Lakers’ next matchup will be against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday at 7:30 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark was taking a different kind of shot while the Indiana Pacers hosted LeBron James, Luka Doncic the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.

Clark, donning a photographer’s vest, was credentialed by the Pacers as a photographer and snapped pictures along the baseline. She was presented with a folding seat with her personal logo before the game.

“Got some good stuff coming,” Clark posted on social media.

Clark is entering her third season with the Fever. After missing most of last season because of injuries, she returned to action earlier this month in the FIBA World Cup Qualifying Tournament. She led the United States in scoring at 11.6 points per game as the Americans went 5-0.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

It turns out having your max contract players available is more helpful than not.

The Sixers took care of business as they welcomed guys back, blowing out the Chicago Bulls 157-137 Wednesday night. It’s the most points they’ve scored in a game since 1986.

They are 40-33 and can pull into a tie for the sixth seed should Atlanta lose, though the Hawks own the tiebreaker.

After missing his last 13 games, Joel Embiid was back to lead all scorers with 35 points shooting 12-of-17 from the floor along with six rebounds and seven assists. In his first game back from his 25-game suspension, Paul George found his shot as the game progressed, finishing with 28 points shooting 11-of-22 from the floor. He also had six rebounds, four assists and four steals.

VJ Edgecombe acclimated well to having some guys back, putting up 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting along with six boards and six assists. Josh Giddey led the Bulls with 23.

The Sixers were only down Tyrese Maxey (finger strain), Kelly Oubre Jr. (elbow strain) and Johni Broome (meniscus tear) while the Bulls were missing Anfernee Simons, Zach Collins, Jaden Ivey, and Noa Essengue.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First Quarter

• George coming up with deflections as soon as the game tipped off was a great sign; as was Embiid scoring on his first four touches of the night. The most impressive part of the Sixers’ start was Edgecombe being able to reverse course and get this layup off after he had fully committed to a two-handed dunk.

• The defensive intensity the Sixers started the game with wasn’t able to survive the timeout Chicago took 90 seconds into the game. Embiid’s heater kept the Sixers out in front as he put up 15 in the first.
• Justin Edwards has already understandably seen his role decrease with some guys getting back, but he had an impact jumping right off the bench. He beat his defender off the dribble to get to the hoop before knocking down a three moments later. Edgecombe wasn’t working in those big flurries like Embiid. He did most of his work in the quarter at the line but he put up 11 himself. He did a good job manning the second unit as the Sixers pushed their lead to 12.

Second Quarter

• George was off with his first three jumpers of the night, but he finally got on the board by driving through Josh Giddey to the post. Cam Payne and Adem Bona put together nice shifts, the former hitting a pair of threes while the latter was able to put back a layup while picking up a couple of blocks on the other end of the floor.
• Staggering these guys is certainly the way to go big picture-wise, but with this opponent the Sixers probably could have snuck in a few more minutes with Embiid and George together — the two still haven’t played together a ton. They did have a really nice possession together where Embiid found PG on the baseline, then George immediately dumped it off to Dominick Barlow who was cutting down the lane. There are plenty of reasons they may struggle with continuity, but the Sixers did move the ball well in this half.

• Embiid technically only made two field goals in the quarter as he did most of his damage in the second from the line. After missing his first five shots of the night Quentin Grimes finally buried a three before hitting a finger roll layup. After making another three himself, Edgecombe capped off a great half of passing by hitting George right in the shotpocket on a skip pass, getting the three up with no extra movement. Isaac Okoro was able to get a quick put-back layup in before the buzzer, cutting the Sixers lead to 19.

Third Quarter

• Thanks to having such a lethal jumper, Embiid was able to takeover the game early without really having to exert himself. Both starting bigs for Chicago leaving the game to injury probably helped as he was much more intent on attacking guys on the block to start the second half. He started that campaign with a bang, sealing his defender and power-stepping to dunk over Matas Buzelis. He was still in the mood to show off after that, slapping his swing pass to Edgecombe on the following possession.

• The Sixers didn’t ever really have to turn up their intensity on defense to match those opening minutes, but they started piling up deflections again as the quarter went on. There was a stretch where they had a steal on three straight possessions, using those fast breaks to really make the score look ugly.
• The only knock on George’s night had been that his jumper wasn’t falling, and he rectified that by making all four of his attempts in the quarter. As his longest shift of the night wore on, Embiid did go back to attacking with the jumper. By this point in the game the Sixers were pretty much getting wherever they wanted. Edwards was having a good night, but the lane opened for him like the Red Sea for a wide open dunk as the Sixers stretched their lead to 48.

Fourth Quarter

• Under normal circumstances the veterans should take a seat for the rest of the night, but having not played since January, George can definitely use some more run to get his legs under him. After opening the quarter with a three, he really fell into a groove. He pulled up for a pair of midrange jumpers before doing so from behind the arc again as well before the Bulls called a timeout. Not that the timeout stopped him — he hit another three off the dribble before the Bulls started throwing heavy doubles at him. His night did not last much longer.

• It took a couple rounds of the benches being emptied, but even the birthday boy himself Kyle Lowry saw some minutes in this one. It took two attempts, but he knocked down a three to contribute to the Sixers having their highest scoring night in 40 years.

Late night Nets in Golden State! They have 17 wins to their name and most fans are really just holding out hope for May. Until then it’s just an excruciating wait game. Sure, we’ll miss it when it’s gone, but these late games mid-tank are a brutal reminder how meaningless these games are – or feel.

🏀 KEY INFO

Who: Brooklyn Nets (17-55) at Golden State Warriors (34-38)
When: 10:00 PM ET
Watch: YES Network

💬 DISCUSSION

Share your thoughts and react, but please be respectful. NetsDaily prides itself on being a safe space for Nets and basketball fans alike to have healthy conversation. Reach out to Anthony Puccio or Net Income with any issues.

The Dallas Mavericks (23-49) head back out on the road and play the Denver Nuggets (45-28) on Wednesday night. Dallas is reeling, losing four in a row, including a pair of home overtime games against the Clippers then the Golden State Warriors. Denver played in Phoenix last night and won, but they’re likely tired after having to expend a lot of energy to get that win.

Here are the main things you need to know:

• WHO: Dallas Mavericks vs Denver Nuggets
• WHAT: Back out on the road, where Dallas has won just nine times this season
• WHERE: Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
• WHEN: 9:00 pm CST
• HOW: KFAA Channel 29, MavsTV streaming, NBA League Pass

There’s still much going on with the Dallas Mavericks injury report. Caleb Martin is out still with his plantar issue. Brandon Williams is questionable, a step in the right direction with the concussion he suffered. Daniel Gafford is as well, following the shoulder injury on Monday. Moussa Cisse is doubtful, he just doesn’t have enough eligibility left. The other two way guys should get to play tonight. Everyone else is playing.

The Denver Nuggets have two key players questionable in Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson. The rest of the roster gets a clean bill of health.

The Mavericks could up and steal this one. Denver’s defense has been very bad for some time now, but they make up for it with incredible offense. Dallas is going to need to bring some actual fight to this game if they want to get a win. I’d love to see Cooper Flagg bounce back rom a playmaking point of view after so many turnovers Monday.

Be sure to chime in with your predictions in the comments!

Consider joining Josh and me on Pod Maverick live after the game on YouTube, we should start LATE. Thanks so much for spending time with us here at Mavs Moneyball. Let’s go Mavs!

The future of Indiana professional basketball was in Gainbridge Wednesday night, though neither of them took the court.

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark took her shot at Wednesday’s Lakers-Pacers game. But this time from behind the camera.

Wearing a Pacers photographer’s vest, the two-time WNBA All-Star was spotted sitting baseline with other working photographers alongside her.

.@CaitlinClark22 filled in as our photog and the results were fire 🔥

Take a look at her flicks from tonight 👀 pic.twitter.com/YyUjVW871S

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) March 26, 2026

It wasn’t the first time Clark worked a game as a team photographer. Clark only appeared in 13 games during the 2025 season due to a series of injuries. While she was unable to join her teammates on the court, Clark was armed with a camera, supporting them from the sidelines.

In March, Clark made her USA basketball senior team debut at the FIBA Women’s World Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico. Though she only started one game, Clark broke 14 FIBA records while averaging 11.6 points and 6.4 assists per game. She was also named the tournament’s most valuable player.

Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton returned to the bench for the first time since coach Rick Carlisle announced Haliburton was away from the team with shingles. The two-time All-NBA selection will miss the entire 2025-26 season as he rehabilitates from rupturing his right Achilles tendon in Game 7 of last year’s NBA Finals, which Indiana lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Haliburton’s absence has left a huge void for the Pacers, who are finishing one of their worst seasons in team history. Indiana entered Wednesday with the NBA’s worst win percentage (.222). On Monday, the Pacers snapped a 16-game losing streak by beating the Orlando Magic. The previous franchise record was 13 consecutive losses in December and January.

Haliburton said earlier this season that he spent part of his rehabilitation working out with Clark. Both players have used their time away from the court to work on their bodies and hone hobbies. In Haliburton’s case, he’s found time to learn how to DJ, joined Amazon Prime as a player contributor, collaborated with his shoe sponsor Puma on new colorways, and been a veteran voice for Pacers teammates who undoubtedly miss his on-court presence.

In addition to photography, Clark has dabbled in golf, a skill she showcased in last year’s The ANNIKA’s pro-am with Fever teammate Sophie Cunningham. Clark’s group tied for 36th in the event but had plenty of fun doing so.

Both her and Haliburton’s returns to the court in 2026 are highly anticipated.

Clark’s return will also start on time after the WNBA and the league’s players agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement this month. The WNBA’s 30th season tips off on May 8, with the Fever’s regular season set to begin May 9 with a visit to the Dallas Wings. But there’s still plenty to do between now and then, including the WNBA expansion draft on April 3 for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, as well as free agency, the college draft and training camp.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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