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Anthony Davis plays and Lakers overcome shaky start in blowout win over Hawks

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Anthony Davis plays and Lakers overcome shaky start in blowout win over Hawks

Anthony Davis didn’t need 20/20 vision to see the Atlanta Hawks were trying to grab the Lakers’ attention.

“You don’t want my view!” Austin Reaves would later say.

After the Lakers turned the ball over on the first play of the game, Hawks forward Jaylen Johnson turned the ensuing fast break into a highlight, jumping almost completely over Reaves — the rare occasion where the story begins with an exclamation point before anything is written.

The dunk, which for Reaves’ sake was overshadowed by Anthony Edwards during a different game in Utah, triggered an 11-2 start for Atlanta for a sudden wake-up call.

“I think that might be the first time I’ve ever been really dunked on. So I made it a really long time without being very athletic, picking my spots to get out of the way. Tried to take a charge,” Reaves said grinning. “I don’t know, super athletic kid and, you know, he got one. The longer I play the game, I’m sure it’s gonna happen again. So ain’t too worried about it.

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“It was just kind of the whole sequence of that being the start and then them kind of having that run. I’m sitting there like, s—, that’s what started it all.”

But with Davis back in the lineup after sustaining a scratched cornea Saturday, the Lakers (37-32) quickly found their rhythm, making sure Johnson’s highlight was an outlier in a game that was otherwise all Lakers.

All five starters finished with at least 12 points, all had big moments and all were able to spend most of the fourth quarter on the bench during a 136-105 win over Atlanta on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena to end a two-game skid.

Lakers star LeBron James reacts after scoring on a fast-break layup against the Atlanta Hawks in the first half Monday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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“I’m happy for our guys,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “There was a lot of carryover on the defensive end. We talked about limiting offensive rebounds and doing a better job on the defensive glass. For the majority of the game, I thought we did a good job doing that. And then the ball movement. To end up with 39 assists is huge. If we continue that way, playing the right way, guys gonna make, gonna miss shots, but as long as we give them the opportunity to do so, and we make quick decisions, you’ll have nights like this when you have six guys that end up being in double figures. So I thought it was a great night. A great, beneficial night on both sides of the ball.”

The Hawks (30-38), who beat the Clippers the night before, got 25 points from Johnson but never really challenged once the Lakers found their footing.

D’Angelo Russell scored 27 points and dished out 10 assists. His sixth three-pointer tied him with Nick Van Exel for the Lakers’ single-season record of 183 threes.

LeBron James and Davis both shot 10 for 14 from the field for 25 and 22 points, respectively. Rui Hachimura had 17 and Reaves found a highlight of his own, stealing an inbounds pass and finding James for a dunk with a no-look, behind-the-back pass.

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Lakers guard Austin Reaves makes a midair pass in front of Atlanta Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter in the first half.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Max Christie led the Lakers off the bench with 11 points.

For Davis, the game came after a scare on Saturday when he suffered a scratched cornea after being hit in the face by Golden State’s Trayce Jackson-Davis.

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“I just couldn’t see. The corneal abrasion was actually right in the middle of my eye,” Davis said. “It wasn’t like off to the side. So anytime I looked it was blurry. My eye was swollen. I thought my eye was like, open. But it wasn’t. It kept watering. It just felt like sand was in my eye.

“So it was just better closed and I couldn’t really see. So, I’ve just been icing it, like Saturday after the third quarter and it got better later that night. The swelling went down. I just kind of stayed in darkness. And then went to go see the doctor on Sunday morning and some more things that we ended up finding out. But it was really tough for me to see.”

He didn’t have to squint to see what his team looked like against the Hawks.

Lakers star Anthony Davis dunks off an offensive rebound in front of Atlanta Hawks guard Vit Krejci on Monday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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“I went to the eye doctor and I think it’s good. I’m still 20/15, so I feel good about that,” he said.

Davis’ return came as the Lakers got bad news regarding their frontcourt depth.

Reserve big man Christian Wood, who has not played the last 13 games, is set to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery and will be out multiple weeks, according to a person with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly.

Wood has been out because of knee swelling since the All-Star break. The team is expected to give an official update on him soon. At shootaround on Monday, injured forward Jarred Vanderbilt did some spot shooting drills on the court while Ham and general manager Rob Pelinka watched.

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“He’s coming along according to plan,” Ham said before the game. “Gabe’s (Vincent) coming along according to plan. We should be getting Cam (Reddish) back pretty soon here. So as we start to get those guys back and what they bring to our basketball team, just the intangibles.

“People talk about making shots and, obviously, you have to get stops, but those guys’ ability to get us extra possessions — whether it’s steals, deflections that turn into turnovers — their ability to get offensive rebounds and secure defensive rebounds is much needed. That’ll be a welcomed addition to get those guys back healthy.”

The Lakers don’t play again until Friday, when they host the Philadelphia 76ers.

“We’ll get a chance to tighten up some things offensively. Tighten up some things defensively,” Ham said. “There’s a couple of new wrinkles we want to do on both sides of the ball and we’ll get a chance to look at. And then, watch a little film and see how we can be the best version of ourselves. But just take it one day at a time, starting with the day off. Everyone getting off their feet. Hopefully spending time with their families and getting away from it for a little bit. But then, once we strike back up on Wednesday, knowing that we have to be better.

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“No matter what’s happening around the league, or around the positioning with our team, if we don’t, again, try to be the best version of ourselves and take care of our own business, nothing else will matter.”

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Multiple players ejected after brawl breaks out during Eagles-Commanders game

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Multiple players ejected after brawl breaks out during Eagles-Commanders game

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An intense brawl broke out during the Eagles-Commanders game in the fourth quarter Saturday night, resulting in three ejections.

The fight began after Philadelphia’s Saquon Barkley scored on a 2-point conversion to boost his team’s lead to 19 points with less than five minutes left. 

Washington’s Javon Kinlaw and Quan Martin and Eagles offensive lineman Tyler Steen were disqualified after being flagged for unnecessary roughness.

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There was some pushing and shoving and a lot of jawing, and officials threw six flags as the chaos ensued.

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Tyler Steen (56) of the Philadelphia Eagles and Mike Sainristil (0) of the Washington Commanders fight in the fourth quarter at Northwest Stadium Dec. 20, 2025, in Landover, Md.  (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

Eventually, order was restored, and Barkley, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner spoke to each other.

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The Eagles won the game, 29-18, to clinch their second straight division title, becoming the first team to win back-to-back NFC East titles since the 2004 Eagles did it. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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No. 4 UCLA closes nonconference play with a dominant win over Long Beach State

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No. 4 UCLA closes nonconference play with a dominant win over Long Beach State

UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close could not have imagined a better way for her team to wrap up nonconference play than Saturday afternoon’s 106-44 trouncing of Long Beach State at Pauley Pavilion.

Coming off Tuesday’s 115-28 triumph over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo — UCLA’s largest margin of victory during the NCAA era — the Bruins picked up where they left off, leading wire-to-wire for their fifth consecutive win since suffering their lone loss to Texas on Nov. 26.

“We’re growing … we had a couple of lapses today and we’re not there yet, but we’re heading in the right direction,” Close said. “I love the selflessness of this team.”

Senior guard Gabriela Jaquez led the way with 17 points and made five of six three-point shots. Angela Dugalic added 13 points while Gianna Kneepkens had 10 points and 10 rebounds. All 11 Bruins who played scored at least one basket.

UCLA forward Sienna Betts, top, and Long Beach State forward Kennan Ka dive for the ball during the Bruins’ win Saturday.

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(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)

Playing their last game in Westwood until Jan. 3, when they will host crosstown rival USC, the Bruins (11-1 overall, 1-0 in Big Ten) looked every bit like the No. 4 team in the country, improving to 6-0 at home. They are ranked fourth in both the Associated Press and coaches polls behind Connecticut, Texas and South Carolina.

“I’m really proud of our nonconference schedule. Not many local teams are willing to play us, so I want to compliment Long Beach State,” Close said. “Our starting guards [Charlisse Leger-Walker and Kiki Rice] combined for 17 assists and one turnover. We have depth and balance and that’s a great luxury to have.”

Jaquez scored nine of the Bruins’ first 12 points. She opened the scoring with a three-pointer from the top of the key and added triples on back-to-back possessions to increase the margin to eight points. Her fourth three-pointer, from the right corner, extended the lead to 21-5.

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Sienna Betts’ jumper in the lane put UCLA up by 19 at the end of the first quarter. The sophomore finished with 14 points and senior Lauren Betts added 17. The sisters’ parents, Michelle and Andy, played volleyball and basketball, respectively, for Long Beach State. Sienna wears her mom’s No. 16 while Lauren dons her dad’s No. 51.

Rice’s steal and layup made it 46-18 with 3:28 left in the first half and Leger-Walker’s tip-in at the buzzer gave the Bruins a 34-point advantage at halftime. Rice had a complete game, contributing 15 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, four steals and one block.

The result continued the Bruins’ recent dominance against the Beach. UCLA has won six straight head-to-head meetings, including a 51-point blowout in the schools’ previous matchup last December, when Close became the all-time winningest coach in program history by earning her 297th victory to surpass Billie Moore (296-181). Long Beach State has not beaten the Bruins since 1987 under Joan Bonvicini, who posted a 16-1 record versus UCLA in her 12 seasons at the Beach from 1979 to 1991.

The Bruins’ primary focus on defense was slowing down sophomore guard JaQuoia Jones-Brown, who entered Saturday averaging 17.2 points per game. She scored 10 of the Beach’s 11 points in the first quarter but was held scoreless the rest of the way. She has scored in double figures in nine of 10 games. Guard Christy Reynoso added six points for Beach (0-10 overall, 0-2 in Big West).

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The Bruins travel to Columbus on Dec. 28 to face No. 21 Ohio State (9-1).

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Nick Saban questions Texas A&M crowd noise before Aggies face Miami in playoff

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Nick Saban questions Texas A&M crowd noise before Aggies face Miami in playoff

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Despite dropping their regular-season finale to in-state rival Texas, the Texas A&M Aggies qualified for the College Football Playoff and earned the right to host a first-round game at Kyle Field.

Nick Saban, who won seven national championships during his storied coaching career, experienced his fair share of hostile environments on road trips. 

But the former Alabama coach and current ESPN college football analyst floated a surprising theory about how Texas A&M turns up the volume to try to keep opposing teams off balance.

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A view of the midfield logo before the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the LSU Tigers at Kyle Field on Oct. 26, 2024 in College Station, Texas. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)

While Saban did describe Kyle Field as one of the sport’s “noisiest” atmospheres, he also claimed the stadium’s operators have leaned on artificial crowd noise to pump up the volume during games.

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“I did more complaining to the SEC office—it was more than complaining that I don’t really want to say on this show—about this is the noisiest place. Plus, they pipe in noise… You can’t hear yourself think when you’re playing out there,” he told Pat McAfee on Thursday afternoon.

Adding crowd noise during games does not explicitly violate NCAA rules. However, the policy does mandate a certain level of consistency.

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A general view of Kyle Field before the start of the game between Texas A&M Aggies and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Kyle Field on Oct. 12, 2019 in College Station, Texas. (John Glaser/USA TODAY Sports)

According to the governing body’s rulebook: “Artificial crowd noise, by conference policy or mutual consent of the institutions, is allowed. The noise level must be consistent throughout the game for both teams. However, all current rules remain in effect dealing with bands, music and other sounds. When the snap is imminent, the band/music must stop playing. As with all administrative rules, the referee may stop the game and direct game management to adjust.”

General view of fans watch the play in the first half between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Ball State Cardinals at Kyle Field on Sept. 12, 2015 in College Station, Texas. (Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

Regardless of the possible presence of artificial noise, the Miami Hurricanes will likely face a raucous crowd when Saturday’s first-round CFP game kicks off at 12 p.m. ET.

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