Sports
Austin Reaves and new-look Lakers are encouraged but can’t beat NBA-best Cavaliers
The Lakers were again buried under an avalanche of Cleveland Cavaliers three-pointers, the spacing and the gaps on the court pulling the Lakers’ defense to all corners before it eventually snapped under tension.
The result was the same, but the process and team the Cavaliers beat Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena in the final game of 2024 was fundamentally different from the one they blew out on Oct. 30 in Cleveland.
The version of the Lakers that got smoked in Cleveland was the one trying to get the most out of a formula that had shown it has a ceiling, losing to the Denver Nuggets during the previous two postseasons. It was one that hoped a core of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell paired with a new coach could find another gear, another level.
This week the Lakers decided that vision wouldn’t end well. This week the Lakers, at the very least, fundamentally changed.
Laker Austin Reaves drives to the basket against the Cavaliers during the fourth quarter at Crypto.com Arena Tuesday.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
While the team with the NBA’s best record swatted every Lakers push away, usually with some combination of backbreaking threes from Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley or reserve Max Strus, the Lakers showed glimpses of the ways they’ll be different. For better or worse? That remains to be seen.
Reaves, again seeing his volume of shots spike with Russell now playing for the Brooklyn Nets, led the Lakers with 35 points and 10 assists, bouncing back from a bad first shift. Davis had 28 points and 13 rebounds. And James, playing for the first time since turning 40, scored 23.
But Cleveland took 11 more threes than the Lakers and made nine more. They scored 24 points off offensive rebounds to the Lakers’ 12. And, despite playing Monday in San Francisco, they set the tempo and physicality early as the Lakers quickly trailed by double digits.
Dorian Finney-Smith played 21 minutes in his Lakers debut, scoring on a putback dunk but coming up empty on his other three shots. Shake Milton, playing because guard Gabe Vincent missed Tuesday’s game because of an oblique injury, hit a pair of threes in 10 minutes, but the Lakers’ second unit without Russell was badly outscored 32-12.
Cleveland (29-4), looking very much like a fully-formed team as the calendar flips over to 2025, managed to have five players with at least 15 points led by 27 by Jarrett Allen.
“We certainly had our chances. And I really believe this against teams as good as Cleveland: You have to play close to perfect basketball,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “They’re not gonna let you beat them. They’re not gonna beat themselves.”
The way forward for the Lakers seems like it’s going to have a lot to do with Reaves, the backcourt leader and primary ballhandler in Redick’s offense. That shift, which looked fully realized for the first time in a Christmas win against the Golden State Warriors, got cemented with a 26-point, 16-assist game against the Sacramento Kings that helped the Lakers decide it was OK to trade Russell for Finney-Smith and Milton.
Tuesday, the Lakers got off to a pretty rough start, with Reaves turning the ball over three times in the first six minutes on offense and committing a pair of bad fouls on defense, the Cavaliers going up by as many as 15 in the first quarter.
Laker Rui Hachimura has the ball stripped away by Cavalier Max Struss, right, as Sam Merrill tries to grab the ball at Crypto.com Arena Tuesday.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
“Are you saying I was bad in the first five minutes?” Reaves said in response to a question about his start. “[Because] yeah, I was. Great question. You make good plays, you make bad plays. Unfortunately, I came out and made some really bad plays.
“And I knew that, if we wanted to claw our way back into it and give ourselves an opportunity, then I had to be better.”
He was — he had only one more turnover, tied his career high for points and finished one rebound shy of a triple-double.
“He’s gonna get a lot of opportunities to play on and off ball with actions on it in both ways,” Redick said. “There’s a nature to his game that you have to be willing to live with some of his stuff because of the way he attacks and the change of pace and the quick decisions and the quick bursts, like there’s gonna be some of that and you have to live with that. It’s sort of the unforced stuff [where he] will grow.”
His teammates say they’re on board.
“What’d he have, 36 tonight? 35? … looked good to me,” Davis said. “He’s a hooper. I mean obviously he has a little bit more on his plate with ballhandling responsibilities when Gabe is out and when LeBron is out of the game, but he’s used to it. He’s been in the league long enough now where he knows how to run the point guard position. So it’s going to be more reps. He’s ready for it, and we got the utmost confidence in him to run the point.”
The Lakers, an organization not built on moral victories, left their locker room knowing that a couple of open threes that that rattled in and out might’ve made a difference. There were other issues — namely on defense, where the Lakers were too often out of position and too late to challenge at the three-point line and at the rim. And they were not good enough there to make up for the disadvantage their three-point volume and disparity created.
“Well, we just got to defend. I mean, obviously, we could shoot more threes, but our key to winning will be the defense. And [if] we’re not going to shoot more threes, than we have to defend, which we’ve been doing as of late,” Davis said. “I don’t think we need to jack more threes just to compete with other teams. If our defense is there, we’re running teams off the line, holding them into one shot. We did our job and now we go down and try to score.”
The Lakers think they have the blueprint to start winning games like this, to put themselves in the right positions by the end of the season. Of course, they’ve thought it before too — and they just decided that version of the roster isn’t good enough.
These Lakers (18-14) weren’t good enough either Tuesday. But, as with Reaves, there’s time and room to grow.
“We’re trending in the right direction. Tonight was a good night for us. We just missed a ton of shots. Wide-open looks that we missed. We make half of those, it’s a different game. So, I like where our ballclub is,” Davis said. “… I think we could definitely be better on both ends of the floor, but I’m not disappointed where we are right now.”
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The Las Vegas Raiders and the Baltimore Ravens made a blockbuster trade ahead of the start of NFL free agency.
Las Vegas is trading five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens, per multiple reports.
Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) against the Arizona Cardinals during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium on Aug. 23, 2025. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
The Raiders will receive two first-round picks from the Ravens, including the No. 14 overall pick in next month’s NFL draft, one report said.
The 28-year-old Crosby had 10 sacks last season and has reached double digits four times in his seven seasons.
Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Jonah Laulu (96) and defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) celebrate during the second half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans in Houston, Texas, on Dec. 21, 2025. (Ashley Landis/AP Photo)
The Raiders last appeared in the playoffs back in 2021 but have gone 7-27 over the past two seasons. They have the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, which is expected to land them Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
The Ravens, meanwhile, are entering a new era, after firing longtime head coach John Harbaugh and replacing him with former Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.
Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders sniffs smelling salts during an NFL game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High on November 20, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Two top City Section baseball teams, El Camino Real and San Fernando, faced off Friday in a pitcher’s duel that went eight innings.
Senior Ray Pelayo of San Fernando kept throwing strikes, keeping El Camino Real off balance for 7⅔ scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and one walk. But then came a balk that scored the winning run in El Camino Real’s 1-0 victory.
Hudson December threw six scoreless innings for El Camino Real and Andrew Katzman struck out three in two scoreless innings.
South Torrance 4, El Segundo 3: In a battle of unbeaten Pioneer League teams, South Torrance (6-0) received a walk-off single from Owen Rhodes in the bottom of the seventh. El Segundo tied it 3-3 in the top of the seventh on a two-out, three-run home run by Chase Mattoon. Issac Orozco struck out nine in five innings and also homered for the Spartans.
Crespi 3, Saugus 2: Justin Kim had two RBIs for the Celts.
Sylmar 7, Legacy 1: Rickee Luevano threw a two-hitter with nine strikeouts.
Sierra Canyon 12, West Ranch 1: Isaias Tirado hit a three-run home run and four pitchers combined to give up five hits.
Mater Dei 15, Rockwall-Heath (Texas) 1: Ezekiel Lara had three hits and five RBIs in Texas. Earlier, the Monarchs gave up seven runs in the third inning of an 8-1 loss to Rockwall-Heath.
St. John Bosco 1, Gahr 0: Star closer Jack Champlin got a strikeout to end the game, finishing two shutout innings of relief. Champlin drove in the game’s only run with an RBI double in the sixth inning. Julian Garcia struck out six with no walks in five innings for St. John Bosco.
San Juan Hills 11, Cypress 0: Garrett Gandolfo threw five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and Clay Riggs contributed three RBIs for San Juan Hills.
Santa Margarita 1, Damien 0: Warren Gravely IV had the only RBI in the Eagles’ win. Tyler Unter struck out six in five shutout innings.
Garfield 9, Cleveland 7: Omar Martinez had three hits and Victor Alvarez drove in three runs for Garfield. Joshua Pearlstein finished with three hits for Cleveland.
Palos Verdes 8, West Torrance 0: Kai Van Scoyoc struck out nine in five innings and Asher Friedman had a home run and a double for Palos Verdes.
Valencia 12, Chatsworth 0: An eight-run second inning helped lead the Vikings to a five-inning win.
Bishop Amat 13, Gardena Serra 2: Joaquin Ortiz finished with three hits and four RBIs.
Corona Centennial 19, Eastvale Roosevelt 3: Devin Bishop and Emiliano Castaneda each hit home runs for Centennial.
Servite 6, Anaheim Canyon 1: Mickey Cabral went three for four and Cole Grothues struck out three in 2⅓ innings of scoreless relief.
Corona Santiago 5, Crean Lutheran 4: Jonathan Thorton delivered three hits and two RBIs for the Sharks.
Fullerton 1, Chaparral 0: Garrett Wrightman threw four innings of scoreless relief and Caleb Brown had an RBI double in the third inning for Fullerton.
Edison 11, Tesoro 7: Ben Wilson hit a grand slam and finished with five RBIs for Edison.
El Dorado 10, Granada Hills 4: Lorenzo Favela hit a three-run home run to lead El Dorado.
Ayala 7, San Dimas 1: Caleb Trugman struck out nine with zero walks in a complete game.
Loyola 14, Venice 1: Wyatt Clougherty had three hits and Luca Marucci contributed three RBIs for Loyola.
Softball
Norco 5, Torrance 0: Coral Williams struck out 10 in six innings. Leighton Gray and Rae Logue hit home runs.
Garden Grove Pacifica 4, Anaheim Canyon 2: Natalia Amezquita had a two-run single for Pacifica.
Orange Lutheran 7, Perry 1: Mia Scott had four RBIs for the Lancers.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 15, Culver City 0: Ellayne Tellez-Perez had three hits and five RBIs.
Sports
Chargers’ Justin Herbert gushes over Madison Beer in heartfelt birthday tribute: ‘Changed my life forever’
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Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert gushed over 27-year-old singer Madison Beer in a heartfelt birthday tribute on social media, offering fans a rare glimpse into the couple’s relationship.
The two-time Pro Bowl quarterback, who normally shies away from the public eye, posted a series of photos to his Instagram Stories on Thursday.
Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers warms up prior to a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at SoFi Stadium on Dec. 8, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
“Happy birthday to my favorite person of all time,” Herbert wrote in a post that showed the couple on the sidelines of one of his NFL games. “I love you so much. You’ve changed my life forever.”
In another photo appearing to show the couple out to dinner, Herbert wrote, “I am the luckiest guy alive…”
Herbert, who turns 28 later this month, shared another photo of the “Make You Mine” artist petting goats and captioned the photo, “My goats.”
The couple was first linked together in August when they were spotted together on the set of one of Beer’s music videos in Los Angeles. Herbert and Beer were photographed in October on the sidelines of a Chargers game at SoFi Stadium, seemingly confirming the dating rumors.
Quarterback Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers and singer Madison Beer attend an NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 24, 2025. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
The same month, Herbert went viral after blocking a rogue basketball from hitting Beer when the two sat courtside at a Los Angeles Lakers game.
Herbert signed a five-year, $262.5 million extension with the Chargers in July 2023. Despite proving himself to be one of the elite young quarterbacks in the NFL, Los Angeles’ offensive struggles have seen the team fall short in back-to-back playoff appearances.
Quarterback Justin Herbert (10) of the Los Angeles Chargers blocks a basketball from hitting Madison Beer as they attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 24, 2025. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
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The team’s offensive coordinator, Greg Roman, was fired in January and replaced with former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, who is regarded as one of the top offensive minds in football.
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