Worldwide Sports News

CHICAGO — A winter storm may have covered Chicago with single-digit temperatures on Monday night, but the Lakers entered the United Center scorching hot. 

From the moment LeBron James made the first shot of the game, a heavily contested fadeaway jumper over Bulls big man Jalen Smith, it was clear it would be one of those offensive nights for Los Angeles, who rode a hot shooting night to a 129-118 win over the Bulls.

James packed in his points early, scoring 20 points in the opening 16 ½ minutes to give the Lakers a 14-point midway through the second quarter and 69-56 lead going into halftime. 

After finding balance as a scorer and distributor in the first half, in which he had 17 points and eight assists in the opening two quarters, Luka Doncic picked up where James left off. 

Doncic scored 20 points in the third, helping the Lakers keep pace with a Bulls team that was having a shooting night of their own.

And when the Lakers needed a release valve to ease the offensive burden that Doncic (46 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds) and James (24 points) carried, Rui Hachimura was once again there to provide support. 

Hachimura finished with 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting (4-of-5 from three), carrying his hot shooting from Saturday’s win in Dallas, in which he shot 4-of-7 from deep, into the Windy City. 

As a team, the Lakers shot 56.1 percent from the field and 48.5 percent from deep (16-of-33) and scored at least 34 points in the opening three quarters before cruising to their fourth win in the last five games. 

The Bulls, led by Coby White’s 23 points, six assists and five rebounds, shot 18-of-49 from three but were undone by their giveaways. 

Chicago’s 15 turnovers directly led to 23 Lakers’ points. 

What does it mean?

The Lakers, who improved to 28-17 with the victory, will have the opportunity to go on just their second three-game winning streak since December started. 

Turning point

There were multiple points where it felt like the game’s momentum swung.

And if the Lakers lost, the 8-0 run they allowed the Bulls to close out the first half with, and Chicago’s 11-5 advantage to open the third quarter, would’ve been one of those. It helped the Bulls cut what was once a game-best 20-point Lakers’ lead to one (81-80) midway through the third.

But back-to-back threes from Hachimura in the third gave the Lakers a 92-83 lead with four minutes left in the quarter. 

The Lakers led by at least five points for the remainder of the game. 

MVP: Luka Doncic

Doncic controlled the game from the opening tip in a way only truly elite players in the league are capable of. 

It was arguably his best performance of the season.

Stat of the game: 10 turnover

The Lakers’ defensive effort in the second quarter, in which they had 10 takeaways, proved to be a difference-maker.

Chicago’s 10 turnovers in the second were the most they’ve had in a quarter this season.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

Up next

The Lakers will travel to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

It’ll be James’ lone regular season game back at Rocket Arena this season after spending 11 of his record-setting 23 NBA seasons, including the first seven, with the Cavaliers. 

ATLANTA (AP) — Led by CJ McCollum’s 23 points, the Atlanta Hawks used a 17-0 run in the second half to take the lead and beat the Indiana Pacers 132-116 on Monday.

Dyson Daniels scored 22 points with nine assists, Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 21 points and Atlanta earned its third straight win.

The Pacers led by 15 points midway through the third quarter and were up 92-85 late in the period before the Hawks scored 17 unanswered points in a run that carried into the fourth quarter. Luke Kennard’s 3-pointer from the corner capped the run and gave Atlanta a 102-92 lead.

Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 26 points. Aaron Nesmith scored 18 and Bennedict Mathurin returned from a thumb injury to add 16. T.J. McConnell also had 16 points.

Tipoff had been scheduled for Monday night but was moved to early afternoon because of the possibility of icing on the roads as the result of a winter storm gripping the South and Northeast.

Atlanta’s Kristaps Porzingis (left Achilles tendinitis) and Zaccharie Risacher (left knee bone contusion) each missed his ninth straight game. The Hawks said Porzingis will be evaluated in about a week and Risacher could return for the team’s next game.

HORNETS 130, 76ERS 93

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Brandon Miller scored 30 points, and Charlotte took a 50-point lead for the second time this month on the way to rolling past Philadelphia.

All five Hornets starters finished in double figures. Kon Knueppel and Moussa Diabate scored 12, LaMelo Ball added 11 and Miles Bridges finished with 10 for Charlotte, which has won three straight games for the first time this season.

It was 28-22 after one quarter — and then Charlotte outscored Philadelphia 81-37 over the next two quarters, taking a 109-59 lead into the fourth.

Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 17 for Philadelphia. Jared McCain added 16 and Quentin Grimes had 14 for the 76ers, while Tyrese Maxey was held to a season-low six points on 3-for-12 shooting in 25 minutes. Maxey’s scoring average dropped a full half-point to 29.4 per game.

Charlotte became the first team since Phoenix in February 2009 to lead by 50 or more points in two separate games within the same calendar month. The Hornets led Utah by 57 on their way to a 150-95 win on Jan. 10.

CAVALIERS 114, MAGIC 98

CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 45 points and Cleveland beat Orlando for their fourth straight win.

Mitchell was 15 of 25 from the field, including five 3-pointers, in 35 minutes. He had a season-high 26 first-half points, a great start for a player that came into the game leading the NBA in second-half scoring average at 17.6 points per game.

It was Mitchell’s 25th 30-point game this season, fourth-most in the league, and fifth with at least 40 points. He had 36 points in Saturday’s 119-105 win in Orlando.

Evan Mobley had 20 points and nine rebounds as the Cavaliers equaled their longest winning streak of the season. They also had four straight victories in early November.

The run puts Cleveland a season-best eight games over .500 at 28-20. The Cavs are also 11-4 since Dec. 29.

Paolo Banchero scored a season-high 37 points for Orlando, which has dropped three straight. The fourth-year forward also grabbed 10 rebounds. Desmond Bane added 19 points, including 15 in the first half.

CELTICS 102, TRAIL BLAZERS 94

BOSTON (AP) — Payton Pritchard scored 23 points, hitting buzzer-beaters to end each of the first two quarters, and Jaylen Brown added 20t to lead Boston to a victory over Portland.

Derrick White scored 18 points, making a 3-pointer after Portland cut what had been a 23-point deficit to five in the final minute. White also stole the ball on the Blazers’ next possession.

Jerami Grant scored 19 and former UConn star Donovan Clingan had 15 rebounds for the Blazers, who had won four of their previous five games to briefly climb above .500 for the first time since November.

LAKERS 129, BULLS 118

CHICAGO (AP) — Luka Doncic had 46 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, and Los Angeles cooled off Chicago with a victory.

LeBron James scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half as Los Angeles improved to 3-1 on an eight-game trip. Rui Hachimura added 23 points on 9-for-11 shooting.

The Lakers were swept by Chicago in their two-game series last season, including a wild 119-117 loss at the United Center on Josh Giddey’s half-court shot at the buzzer.

Coby White scored 23 points for Chicago on Monday night, and Ayo Dosunmu had 20. The Bulls had won four in a row and five of six overall.

ROCKETS 108, GRIZZLIES 99

HOUSTON (AP) — Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant each scored 33 points as Houston Rockets broke open a close game in the fourth quarter and beat Memphis.

The Rockets trailed by a point at the start of the fourth before going on a 21-9 run in the first seven minutes of the period to seize control and win for the fifth time in six games.

Tari Eason scored 11 of his 17 points in the first half and Amen Thompson finished with 14 assists and eight points. Reed Sheppard, who earlier Monday was named to the Rising Stars game for the NBA’s All-Star weekend, finished with four points on 2-for-11 shooting, including 0 for 7 from 3-point distance.

Sengun had an impressing shooting night for the Rockets, going 7 for 7 from the field in the first half and 15 for 17 overall. He also contributed nine rebounds and six assists.

Jaren Jackson Jr. and Santi Aldama scored 17 points apiece for the Grizzlies, who lost their third straight, for the fourth time in five games and for the 10 time in 13 games. GG Jackson added 14 points, Jaylen Wells had 12 and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 11. Cam Spencer, who along with Wells and Cedric Coward, was named to the Rising Stars game, finished with 14 assists and five points.

TIMBERWOLVES 108, WARRIORS 83

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rudy Gobert had 15 points and 17 rebounds as Minnesota defeated Golden State in a game missing much of its usual star power.

The Warriors were playing without starters Stephen Curry (knee) and Draymond Green (back), while Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards was a late scratch to rest an recurring right foot injury.

Julius Randle led Minnesota with 18 points and Bones Hyland chipped in 17. Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo each scored 15 for the Timberwolves, who snapped a five-game losing streak, their longest skid since they lost five straight in December 2022.

Quinten Post led Golden State with 13 points. Brandin Podziemski scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Gui Santos had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors, who shot a season-low 23.1% (9 for 39) on 3-pointers.

The injury lists were longer than your last grocery list.

If you are on the Golden State Warriors and are a notable rotation player, you likely didn’t play on this back-to-back.

We were in Notes app territory.

Conversely, no Anthony Edwards for the nagging foot infection he’s been dealing with, and came off of a mediocre game by his standards on Sunday night.

Putting it lightly, it’s been a horrific stretch in Minneapolis, and Sunday night’s game was an environment closer to a vigil than a basketball game.

Pair it all with the uninspiring lull that the Wolves are currently forging for themselves on the floor, Monday night was simply a must-win game for a much better team on paper and a fanbase that just needed something to cheer for.

But who would bring the energy? An unfocused, unenthused Timberwolves team had been rolling through the last week without a tone-setter, and the results followed. Early on, much of the same seemed to be happening.

Julius Randle hit his first three but would go on to miss his next four, and a similar tone was set for a team that tends to settle for shots. Out of the Wolves’ first 12 shot attempts, eight of them were threes. With no Draymond Green for Golden State, the Warriors deeply lacked interior defense and were begging to be out-rebounded and outscored in the paint with Quinten Post playing most of their center minutes.

Rudy Gobert would need to play well. He did. His 15 points and 17 rebounds showed a return to aggression that’s been missing for the Wolves center over the last few games.

Largely because of the center’s return to form, the game would follow its anticipated projection as has been the theme all year. When Gobert plays well, the Wolves are able to lean into the only identity that wins them games: Defense.

The home team would go on to pull in front of the Warriors by 28 points by the beginning for the fourth quarter and close the deal in emphatic fashion.

The slow start? Short-lived.

A shot in the arm was needed badly, and while they may just have gotten it, it wasn’t going to happen without a little help from the bench. A team so desperately searching for players to come into the game and make an impact, Monday served as a perfect opportunity to show a pulse from Chris Finch and company’s unit.

Enter Bones Hyland.

Bones Leads the Bench

The Timberwolves bench is in need of a defibrillator.

26th in bench field goal percentage and 22nd in bench points per game, it’s a unit whose inconsistency outside of former Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid shows on a night to night basis.

Lacking a super high ceiling with Mike Conley typically a part of the unity on a night to night basis, Bones Hyland is one that can that can play a major role in elevating it. The problem is he shares the adjective in the above paragraph; inconsistency.

When Hyland scores 10 or more points, the Wolves are 7-4. When he scores 15 or more, the Wolves are 3-0.

Monday was no exception, as Hyland finished the night with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 25 minutes of action.

“We gotta have those performances on a nightly basis to be honest with you,” Head Coach Chris Finch said after the game.

During the aforementioned three-point slog at the beginning of the game that didn’t yield much offensive production, Hyland’s entrance into the game signaled more of a focus to attack the paint and get Golden State on their heels. His first six points came by way of transition layup, which parlayed into easier shotmaking.

“It definitely feels like the basket opens up more,” Hyland said after the game about starting things off by going to the basket and seeing a couple layups go down.

For him, so much of it is proactivity on the offensive end and being aggressive.

“Playing fast, being myself out there…I feel like I got back to that,” he said.

How does he continue to be himself as time goes on? Being less deferential in the offense, especially with a franchise player in Anthony Edwards making his way back into the lineup in short order. Hyland’s two best scoring games have come when Edwards has not been in the lineup (the other one coming in the road win against Milwaukee).

Finch mentioned after the game that he sometimes sees his primary-scoring bench guard defer too much when players higher in the pecking order are in the game, and that it needs to change.

“I told him he’s allowed play like this when Ant doesn’t play,” he half-joked after the game. “He’s an aggressive player by nature, and I think that helps him.”

Emptying the Notebook

1). It wasn’t “back to normal”, but Target Center did feel like it let out a slight exhale. Perhaps it was the news that dropped, perhaps it was the team finally showing up and giving fans what they paid for. But being in attendance on Sunday was one of the more emotional events I’ve been to that I carried with me into the next day. To see something normal feel so abnormal was jarring to its core, and I will not forget it. Take time to heal, or press right on forward into bellowing for your team; everyone reacts differently. But hopefully between the result and demeanor on Monday night, it helps in whatever way you need it to.

2). The loudest cheer for a substitution during the evening was the obligatory rousing applause for Joe Ingles, following shortly behind by Joan Beringer’s entrance. The French rookie is working is way into fans’ good graces, both online and in real life. His continuous hustle for loose balls, lack of shying away from contact, and can’t-miss athleticism are easy reasons as to why it could be, but I also think fans see him as a solution to the bench problems above. I don’t think that’s the case. Happy to be proven wrong. Until then, it seems as though he’ll continue to be a matchup-specific chess piece.

3). Anthony Edwards was a late scratch and Finch said after the game that he was not aware of it heading into the evening. Frankly, this is a time where I start to get concerned about things in that it could be a nagging issue. Late scratches are never really a good sign, but Finch had no update with confidence that Edwards would be definitively back in the lineup after Monday, and that he was not able to speak to the performance staff as of his press conference. Something to certainly keep an eye on, and in hoping that it isn’t an injury that bleeds into the All-Star break.

Up Next

The Wolves will head to Julius Randle’s home city of Dallas on Wednesday and take on a Mavericks team currently punching above its weight class. The Mavs have won four of their last five, two of which coming against the vaunted and merciless Utah Jazz (or so we saw when the Wolves went to Salt Lake City a week ago).

Because Anthony Edwards was out on Monday night with right foot injury maintenance, it would be expected that he makes his return to the lineup on Wednesday.

Tipoff is at 7:30 PM CST. and broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network.

Highlights

HOUSTON (AP) — Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant each scored 33 points as the Houston Rockets broke open a close game in the fourth quarter and beat the Memphis Grizzlies 108-99 on Monday night.

The Rockets trailed by a point at the start of the fourth before going on a 21-9 run in the first seven minutes of the period to seize control and win for the fifth time in six games.

Tari Eason scored 11 of his 17 points in the first half and Amen Thompson finished with 14 assists and eight points. Reed Sheppard, who earlier Monday was named to the Rising Stars game for the NBA's All-Star weekend, finished with four points on 2-for-11 shooting, including 0 for 7 from 3-point distance.

Sengun had an impressing shooting night for the Rockets, going 7 for 7 from the field in the first half and 15 for 17 overall. He also contributed nine rebounds and six assists.

Jaren Jackson Jr. and Santi Aldama scored 17 points apiece for the Grizzlies, who lost their third straight, for the fourth time in five games and for the 10 time in 13 games. GG Jackson added 14 points, Jaylen Wells had 12 and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 11. Cam Spencer, who along with Wells and Cedric Coward, was named to the Rising Stars game, finished with 14 assists and five points.

Both teams struggled with their shooting in the first half. The Grizzlies shot 37% (21 for 57) from the field, including 4 for 19 (21%) from 3-point distance, yet led 54-51 after two quarters. The Rockets shot just a bit better, going 20 for 51 (39%) from the field and 5 for 20 (20%) from distance.

Trailing 77-6 at the start of the fourth quarter, Houston went on a 12-2 run to take control and extended its lead in the period. The Grizzlies trimmed their deficit down the stretch, but were never able to catch up.

Memphis was without two-time All-Star Ja Morant, who is out for at least the next three weeks due to a sprained ligament in his left elbow. He was injured Wednesday during the Grizzlies’ 124-122 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

The Grizzlies last played Friday, losing to New Orleans. Their game against Denver scheduled for Sunday was postponed due to extreme weather in the Memphis area.

Grizzlies: Host the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.

Rockets: Host the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.

___

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

The Boston Celtics hosted the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night. Former Celtics guard Jrue Holiday suited up against the C’s for the first time since his June 23rd, 2025 trade. Boston had a moving video tribute for the two-time NBA champion in the first quarter, and was given a standing ovation by the Celtic faithful. Boston lead all night and Portland hung around late, but Boston would win it 102-94, Pritchard had 23 points and Jaylen Brown had 20 points.

Boston started the game with Sam Hauser, Neemias Queta, Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard and Derrick White. Jrue Holiday started for the road Blazers running the point alongside, Clingan, Camara, Cissoko and Sharpe.

Both teams started out cold missing the first 9 field goal attempts before Neemias Queta scored on a mini jump hook in the key at the ten minute mark of the first quarter. Jaylen Brown had his second assist as he found Derrick White on the outlet fast break layup.

Portland were scoreless for the first four minutes of the game. Robert Williams III checked into the game for the road team, finally faced off against his former team for his time, due to numerous injuries for the Trail Blazers. Queta was subbed out for Amari Williams as the first big off the bench, Boston up 13-5 to start the game.

Hugo Gonzalez got snubbed by the league prior to the game, missing out on the Rookie vs. Sophomore game. He hit a swooping layup to open his account, Amari Williams assisted it off to his fellow rookie. White drew a poair of Trail Blazer defenders and dumped it off to Amari Williams for the two handed dunk. Boston’s lead was out to 12 points, 19-7.

Boston closed out the quarter in dominate fashion, highlighted by a Pritchard buzzer beater three, up by a massive 21 points after one quarter, 32-11.

Boston started the second quarter with Simons, Queta, Sheierman, White and Hauser as the Celtics looked to keep the pressure on Portland. Portland was shooting a dismal 19 percent from the field, and just 1-12 from downtown and were without Deni Advija for the game. Holiday hit the Blazers second three-pointer as they looked to get back into the game.

Portland got it back to 14 points midway through the quarter, Robert Williams in the thick of some good defensive and offensive stretch of play for the Blazers. Portland started the quarter on a 15-5 run as the home team struggled with turnovers and offensive fouls to start the quarter. Boston had 7 turnovers total in the second quarter in a sloppy quarter, compared to the Blazers with 8 turnovers.

Boston shooting a paltry 3/14 from the field in the second quarter at the three minute mark of the first quarter. Amari Williams was doing a little bit of everything for Boston in his 15 minutes of first half action. Simons swished home a corner three-pointer and Pritchard hit a second buzzer beater as Boston headed into halftime with a 15-point lead, 52-37.

Pritchard hit a three-pointer to open up the third quarter for his 15th point of the night, a game high. Derrick White dunked it home on the fast break as Boston extended the lead to 20-points. Pritchard hit another triple with the shot clock winding down after Amari Williams had his push shot rejected by the Timelord.

Robert Williams III was making life tough for Boston inside, his presence saw multiple Celtics players altering their shots in the third quarter. Williams was sagging off Amari Williams playing a free safety type of role for the Trail Blazers.

Jaylen Brown was whistled for a tech for shoving Toumani Camara under the basket, Blazers back within 10 points 66-56 with four minutes to go in the third quarter. Brown and Camara were going at it as things were getting physical. Pritchard’s step back two-pointer over Caleb Love was his 20th point of the game, giving Boston a 13-point lead, 73-60.

Brown hit a tough step back over two Blazer defenders to close the third quarter as things were tight in a low scoring game, Celtics by 10 points, 75-65.

Robert Williams dunked home an alley oop to start the 4th, cutting Boston’s lead to 8 points. Simons scored a two-point jumper at the other end, he then went coast to coast to score over Williams in transition. Sam Hauser finally hit his first three-pointer of the game after missing his first four attempts. Portland was hanging around though as the lead seesawed around 10 points to start the fourth quarter.

Joe Mazzulla rested Brown for the first six minutes of the fourth after his heavy minute load in the last two B2B games on the road. Derrick White hit a triple, Hauser hit mid range floater to cap a 9-0 run for the home team. Hauser was in rhythm and hit his next three-point attempt, Boston ahead by 14 points with six minutes to go.

Brown checked back into the game to try and finish things off for Boston. Pritchard’s corner three-pointer came off a sweet Derrick White dish, it was his 23rd point. Boston held a 13 point lead with three minutes to go at the last TV timeout. Rookie Amari Williams was a plus 8 off the bench for Boston, the Kentucky product would finish the game with a decent stat line of 9 points, 7 boards and 2 blocks.

Pritchard jammed his finger on a rebound attempt and went straight to the back with the trainers. Jerami Grant drove inside to cut the Celtics lead to 7 points. Boston struggling to close out the game and fouled Camara who then cut it to 5 points with 35 seconds to go. A Derrick White triple finally iced the game, White let out a sigh of relief as he had 7 turnovers on the night in a physical game.

The Boston Celtics next host the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night 7:30pm EST, 28th of January.