Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.
Newsletter
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.’s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
From Ben Bolch: Holding her cellphone at an angle as she sat down in the interview room, championship hat atop her head, Lauren Betts smiled for the selfie alongside teammates Kiki Rice and Londynn Jones.
The picture captured more than a moment, seizing on the combined effort that was needed Sunday afternoon inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
No matter the obstacle against their archrival, Betts and her UCLA teammates had a counter. Foul trouble, ugly turnovers, a double-digit deficit against an opponent that had handed the Bruins their only two losses this season — none of it could stop this team on this day.
After second-seeded UCLA withstood every challenge, rallying for an improbable 72-67 victory over top-seeded USC in the Big Ten women’s basketball tournament championship, the Bruins mobbed one another at midcourt, streamers and confetti falling from the rafters.
Finally, after a disappointing loss to the Trojans at the Galen Center was followed by an even more deflating setback against their rivals at Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins mustered a strong rebuttal heading into the season’s most important stretch.
Tears flowed freely amid the smiles on the court as players and coaches celebrated UCLA’s first tournament championship since it won the Pac-10 title in 2006. All it took was outscoring the Trojans 37-22 in the second half.
“Thankful and humbled to watch them persevere, to grow, to find ways to win, to be committed to selflessness, just so grateful,” UCLA coach Cori Close said after a triumph that might have secured the No. 1 overall seed for her team in the NCAA tournament. “This group just said, ‘We’ll find a way.’ There was no panic.”
Continue reading here
UCLA-USC box score
AP top 25 rankings
Enjoying this newsletter? Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times
Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Become a subscriber.
USC BASKETBALL
From Ryan Kartje: “Are you gonna wear those?”
Eric Musselman stares down at a pair of beat-up, brown boat shoes with his eyebrows raised. His smirk suggests I’ve chosen the wrong footwear for my first trip on the Muss Buss.
We’re standing in an auxiliary workout room at Galen Center a few minutes after USC wrapped morning practice in late July. And Musselman, a few months short of 60, looks prepared to run a half-marathon.
His first three months as USC’s men’s basketball coach were a full-on sprint, with a new staff to hire, a roster to rebuild and a hoops program to reinvigorate — not to mention roots to set down in the South Bay. But for Musselman, stamina has never been a question. He’s a workout fiend, just like his father, Bill, was before him. Every day, he walks or jogs or runs upwards of 10 miles, no matter where the job takes him or how packed his day is. And he’s never just walking or jogging or running. He’s always multitasking, sending reminder texts or listening to podcasts or highlighting passages from articles he’s compiled and printed.
Continue reading here
LAKERS
From Dan Woike: As he suspected postgame Saturday night, early indications are LeBron James avoided a serious injury to his left groin muscle, according to a person close to the situation not authorized to discuss it publicly.
James, who left Saturday’s loss to the Boston Celtics in the fourth quarter, said postgame that he didn’t believe the injury to be as serious as the one he suffered in 2018 when he missed more than a month after hearing his groin muscle pop.
As of Sunday morning afternoon, there were no signs that James’ initial assessment, when he said there was “not much concern,” is inaccurate, though even minor groin injuries can take more than a week to heal.
Continue reading here
CLIPPERS
From Broderick Turner: Before the Clippers even played their “very significant” game against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, they had to do so without the man who has keep their team in order — Tyronn Lue.
Lue, who spoke to reporters before the game about how meaningful the contest would be, ended up not coaching in it after going home with back pain. That left Clippers assistant coach Brian Shaw in charge.
The game was a thriller, with Kawhi Leonard scoring on a left-handed shot as time expired to give the Clippers an important 111-110 overtime win at the Intuit Dome that keeps them in eighth place in the topsy-turvy Western Conference.
Leonard, who was wrapped up in celebration by his teammates after his winning shot, finished with 17 points and four rebounds for the Clippers (35-29). James Harden had 29 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists, and Ivica Zubac had 22 points and 14 rebounds.
Continue reading here
Clippers box score
NBA scores
NBA standings
DODGERS
From Kevin Baxter: Right-hander Michael Grove won’t pitch for the Dodgers this year after undergoing season-ending surgery last week to repair his right labrum.
Grove walked into the Dodgers clubhouse with his right arm in a sling Sunday morning but quietly declined to speak with reporters. He threw a couple of bullpen sessions this spring but hasn’t pitched in a game since injuring his shoulder in the second game of the Division Series against the Padres. In that playoff appearance, he gave up a home run to Xander Bogaerts then struck out Jake Cronenworth. He was removed from the roster following that game.
“It’s been a shoulder issue that’s been bothering him for, I don’t know how far back,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He tried to pitch through it and the recovery wasn’t what any of us would have liked. We tried the rest approach and we just felt that we had to get the surgery done.”
Continue reading here
RAMS
From Gary Klein: The Rams began remaking the receiver corps for star quarterback Matthew Stafford, agreeing to terms with three-time All-Pro receiver Davante Adams on a two-year contract, the team announced Sunday.
Adams’ deal reportedly is worth up to $46 million, with $26 million guaranteed.
Adams, 32, starred for the Green Bay Packers for eight seasons before playing two-plus seasons for the Las Vegas Raiders and 11 games last season for the New York Jets.
With the Jets, Adams caught 67 passes for 854 yards and seven touchdowns. He has 957 career receptions for 11,844 yards and 103 touchdowns. Adams has eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving in a season seven times.
Continue reading here
KINGS
Adrian Kempe scored the decisive goal in the third period of the Kings’ 6-5 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday night.
Quinton Byfield, Warren Foegele, Anze Kopitar, Trevor Moore and Brandt Clarke also scored for the Kings. David Rittich stopped 27 shots in the win, L.A.’s second in as many nights.
Kempe beat goalie Adin Hill on a rush early on a power play. Byfield’s goal 1:56 into the second period extended his goal streak to three games and put the Kings ahead 3-0.
Continue reading here
Kings summary
NHL scores
NHL standings
DUCKS
Sam Colangelo scored twice, Lukas Dostal stopped 31 shots and the Ducks beat the New York Islanders 4-1 on Sunday night at Honda Center.
Colangelo gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead with 2:08 left in the first period, then added an empty-netter when Islanders coach Patrick Roy pulled goalie Marcus Hogberg just 8:18 into the third. That gives Colangelo goals in four straight games and five in that span.
Drew Helleson and Mason McTavish also scored for the Ducks, who won for just the third time in eight games (3-4-1) and moved to seven points behind Calgary for the second wild card in the Western Conference.
Continue reading here
Ducks summary
NHL scores
NHL standings
GALAXY
Roman Burki made eight saves while keeping his third consecutive clean sheet to start the season and St. Louis City kept the MLS Cup champion Galaxy winless with a 3-0 victory Sunday.
Burki was outstanding in his 18th career shutout for St. Louis, turning away every scoring attempt by the injury-depleted Galaxy. The standout Swiss keeper had to make just one save in St. Louis’ first two games combined.
The defending champions have scored just one goal in their three losses without star playmaker Riqui Puig and rampaging forward Joseph Paintsil. Both key components of last year’s team are out indefinitely with significant injuries, and L.A. has been unable to compensate even though healthy stars Gabriel Pec and Marco Reus repeatedly created scoring chances against St. Louis.
Continue reading here
Galaxy summary
MLS standings
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1913 — The Quebec Bulldogs win the Stanley Cup in two games over Sydney.
1920 — Quebec’s Joe Malone scores six goals to lead the Bulldogs to a 10-4 rout of the Ottawa Senators.
1961 — Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors becomes the first NBA player to score 3,000 points in a season. Chamberlain scores 32 points in a 120-103 loss to Detroit to bring his season total to 3,016.
1963 — Wilt Chamberlain of the San Francisco Warriors scores 70 points in a 163-148 loss to Syracuse.
1985 — Dick Motta becomes the fourth NBA coach to record 700 victories as Dallas beats New Jersey 126-113.
1991 — Eddie Sutton of Oklahoma State becomes the first coach to lead four schools into the NCAA tournament. Sutton also coached Creighton, Arkansas and Kentucky in the tournament.
1992 — New York Islanders coach Al Arbour becomes the second coach in NHL history to win 700 games with a 5-2 victory over Philadelphia.
2001 — With Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark looking on, Hermann Maier wins the giant slalom for his 13th victory this season, equaling one of the mightiest alpine skiing records. Maier, winner of the overall World Cup title three of the last four years, ties the record Stenmark set in 1979.
2002 — John Stockton, the NBA’s career assist leader, has 13 assists in Utah’s 95-92 loss at Houston to give him exactly 15,000 for his career.
2004 — Orlando’s Tracy McGrady scores a franchise record 62 points in a 108-99 win over Washington.
2011 — Veteran referees Jim Burr, Tim Higgins and Earl Walton, cited for two errors in the final seconds of the St. John’s-Rutgers game, withdraw from the rest of the Big East tournament. The three officials missed two calls — a travel and stepping out of bounds — in the final 1.7 seconds of St. John’s 65-63 win in the second-round of Big East tournament. The Big East acknowledged after the game the officials blew the calls.
2014 — The game between Dallas and the Columbus Blue Jackets is postponed by the NHL after Stars forward Rich Peverley collapses on the bench during the first period.
2018 — Texas Southern beats Arkansas-Pine Bluff 84-69 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game. Texas Southern (15-19) earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament after starting out 0-13 this season. The Tigers didn’t win a game until Jan. 1 and never beat a nonconference opponent.
2018 — The Vegas Golden Knights set a record for road wins by an expansion team with a 2-1 shootout victory at Buffalo. At 20-12-3, the Golden Knights break a tie with the 1993-94 Ducks for most road wins by an NHL team in its first season.
2022 — After a 99-day lockout, Major League Baseball and MLB Players Association reach a new collective bargaining agreement; MLB teams set to play full 162 game season in 2022.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.