SAN FRANCISCO — Fans from New Zealand and Australia held signs toward the camera proclaiming they had traveled thousands of miles to watch Warriors star Stephen Curry play.

On one sign, “play” was crossed out and replaced with a frowning face.

LeBron James instead gave fans a glimpse at a generational star, leading the Lakers to a 119-103 win over the Warriors on Thursday with 26 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.

After missing the Lakers’ last game, the 21-time All-NBA player returned as the guiding force amid a season threatening to fall off the rails. The Lakers (51-29) ended a three-game losing streak and kept pace with the Houston Rockets in a tight race for home-court advantage in the Western Conference.

“We just had a sour taste in our mouths, obviously, for last week,” James said, referencing injuries to stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves and the recent skid. “… And just none of us wants to continue to lose, and then we hurt for our two main guns. So, just a mindset of just trying to figure out how we can be great as a team, how we can figure out how to play well on the road and try to get a win.”

Trying to avoid their longest losing streak of the season, the Lakers relied on James to steady the ship. After the Lakers gave up a 9-0 run to start the second quarter, he hit a contested three out of a timeout to get them back on track. He fed the ball to Deandre Ayton, keeping the big man engaged for 21 points on nine-of-11 shooting with five rebounds.

Luke Kennard had 14 points and eight assists. The sharp-shooting guard has 28 assists in the last three games, adapting into the team’s emergency point guard to compensate for the loss of Doncic and Reaves.

“Talking as a group this morning like this is what we have right now, and we gotta figure it out,” Kennard said. “We’re trying to win games. Worked this hard to get where we are, to be in the position that we’re in right now, and we don’t want to just throw it away.”

Losing James to a lingering left foot injury before Tuesday’s loss to the Thunder added to an emotional week for the Lakers. They lost Doncic and Reaves in a blowout loss in Oklahoma City on April 2 and had to face the NBA’s best team without their Big 3. Jaxson Hayes also didn’t play Tuesday and remains day-to-day after missing Thursday’s game as well.

Lakers coach JJ Redick admitted the Lakers were not prepared to compete Tuesday. He later recognized that an effort to inject some energy into his players by calling early timeouts and subbing out veterans such as Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt didn’t help, especially after a heated exchange with Vanderbilt was caught on camera.

“What I told the team today — I think this is important — is we have had a very disjointed season because of all the injuries and throughout the year, we — collectively, staff, players — we’ve had to figure out the best path forward with whatever group is available,” Redick said. “And that’s no different right now. We have to figure out over these next three games and over next week, the best path for this team to play winning basketball.”

Through the emotional ups-and-downs, Redick checks in with Reaves and Doncic daily. Doncic, receiving treatment on his injured left hamstring in Spain, is in “relatively — relatively good spirits,” Redick said. Doncic is “attacking” his rehab, Redick said, but being away from the team has taken a toll on his psyche. Reaves, who is out with a Grade 2 left oblique strain that is expected to take four to six weeks to heal, has benefited from staying with the team.

“I think for both of those guys, there is, like, a carrot,” Redick said. “If we can get this season extended, they can come back and they can play. Those guys love playing basketball.”

Houston won its eighth straight game Thursday to stay tied with the Lakers for the No. 4 seed. Both teams have two games remaining, and the Lakers have the head-to-head tiebreaker.

The difference between finishing fourth and fifth is home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, but James wouldn’t entertain any talk about planning for the playoffs.

“What the future holds, we have no idea,” James said, “and obviously the past is the past. So what we can focus on is how we continue to get better and better each and every day.”

Lakers guard Bronny James looks to pass under pressure from Golden State’s LJ Cryer, left, and Charles Bassey during the second quarter Thursday.

(David M. Barreda / Los Angeles Times)

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James gave his teammates a scare in the third quarter when he hurt his right hand on a chase-down block. It appeared swollen as he went to the bench. Kennard also walked away from the play holding his left hand after attempting to slap the ball away from the Warriors’ Pat Spencer. Redick joked that the scene made him turn off his Amazon Prime broadcast microphone for several seconds.

But James returned with three minutes left in the third quarter. He wouldn’t give his team yet another reason to worry.

“His leadership all day long, in the meeting, in the walkthrough this morning, just the way he carried himself,” Redick said, “just he really set the tone for the team.”

Battling a chronic knee injury in the latter stages of the season, Curry watched from the bench. His absence in the Warriors’ last home game of the season also put a damper on what could have been another enthralling matchup of two of the NBA’s biggest stars.

Between the artistry of Curry and the physicality of James, they’ve been faces of the league, Redick said. But with the 41-year-old James not under contract after this season, the generational stars may never compete against each other on an NBA court again.

Redick called the idea “dark.”

“It’s been fun to watch as a fan,” Redick said of the rivalry between Curry and James, “and it’s been fun to be a part of it the last couple years.”

Curry greeted James before the game. Now a sneaker free agent after his high-profile departure from longtime sponsor Under Armour, Curry honored his contemporary with a blue and yellow version of the LeBron X iD sneakers.

Bryson DeChambeau had a tumultuous first round of the Masters.

DeChambeau, 32, who shot 4 over par on the day, hit a patron with a tee shot on the sixth hole before later struggling to get out of a bunker on the 11th hole, hitting out of the sand three times before escaping the trap.

On the 180-yard, par 3, DeChambeau pulled his tee shot toward the left and hit a patron in the leg. The ball bounced back toward the hole and ended up settling off the green.

DeChambeau covered his mouth with his hand when he saw the ball strike the patron. When he walked toward the green, he found the patron, gave him a golf ball and shook his hand.

DeChambeau, who was even par at the time, made an outstanding recovery, chipping the ball to three feet from the hole despite being 24 yards out and eventually saved par by making the ensuing putt.

The Clovis, California, native, remained at even par until the 11th hole, when he had difficulty escaping a greenside bunker.

DeChambeau’s second shot was from the fairway, hitting down toward a green that was flanked by a pond and a bunker. DeChambeau stayed far away from the pond, and his ball ended up rolling in the bunker.

KEVIN HART CADDIES FOR BRYSON DECHAMBEAU IN AUGUSTA NATIONAL DEBUT, DELIVERING HILARIOUS PAR 3 CONTEST MOMENTS

The LIV Golf star hit his first bunker shot just three yards, not even nearing the lip of the bunker. His second bunker shot went nowhere, and he appeared to completely miss the ball.

DeChambeau finally escaped the bunker on his third attempt, hitting the ball just over the ledge of the sand trap before letting it roll about 15 feet away. He ended up two-putting for triple bogey, bringing him to three over par for the day.

His struggles continued on the 16th hole, when he three-putted for bogey to bring him to four over par on the day. DeChambeau erased the stroke gained with a birdie on the 17th hole after a great iron shot from the rough left him eight feet from the hole.

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However, DeChambeau bogeyed the 18th hole, finishing with a 4-over 76 for the day.

For DeChambeau, his start to the Masters was similar to last year’s, when he shot an opening-round 73. DeChambeau rallied in the second and third rounds, and he entered the final round in the final pairing with Rory McIlroy before shooting a 75 on Sunday to end in a tie for fifth place.

DeChambeau will look to turn things around Friday, when he tees off at 1:20 p.m. ET.

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Watch out, Arnold Schwarzenegger — there’s a new champ in the family.

Joseph Baena, the youngest son of the “Terminator” star, made his amateur debut at the National Physique Committee Natural Colorado State Championships last month and swept the competition, winning first place in three categories: Men’s Open Bodybuilding Heavyweight, Men’s Classic Physique True Novice and Men’s Classic Physique Novice.

Then, last week, he won big in Corona at the International Natural Bodybuilding Assn. Iron Gladiator competition, where he came in first in the Classic Physique division and scored his pro card, which paves the way for him to compete in the natural equivalent of his dad’s famous competition, the Professional Natural Bodybuilding Assn. Natural Olympia.

“Moments I’ll never forget!” Baena posted on social media. “What an incredible experience these last 3 months have been. My first prep and my first body building shows. I’ve learned more about myself, training and dieting in these few months than I have since I started lifting weights. Stepping on stage has always been a scary feat for me but creating the goal and actually going for it is one of the best decisions I could have ever made.

“Im grateful for the experience and grateful for all the people in my corner supporting and cheering me on! Cant wait for what’s next. My message to you is to take that chance and chase your goals and dreams!”

Schwarzenegger won the Mr. Olympia title seven times with the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation, including his six-year streak from 1970 to 1975. He notoriously won again in 1980. While Baena can now compete as a pro in the natural league if he continues, he’ll still need to place highly in forthcoming PNBA shows to land a spot at the Natural Olympia contest, which will be held at the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas in November.

Just like his dad, Baena, 28, is a regular at Gold’s Gym in Venice Beach where he has trained leading up to his debut as a competitive bodybuilder. Unlike his dad, who has been candid about his past steroid use, Baena has approached the sport au naturel.

The father and son strongmen have frequently paired up to train together and have been spotted rehearsing the elegant poses that made Schwarzenegger a star. Baena told Entertainment Tonight last summer that his dad is at the gym bright and early and says if he’s not there at 7 a.m., Schwarzenegger won’t hold his tongue.

“I’m there every day, or I try to be there every day,” he said. “We train together. We love working out together. And he’s a great workout partner.”

Joseph Baena won the INBA Iron Gladiator bodybuilding competition, held last Saturday and Sunday, earning his pro card in the process.

(Ryan O’Connor)

Baena, who has been open about struggling with his weight when he was younger, said ahead of the competition that his fitness journey has been a long one. “Started swimming and lost a lot of the fat,” he said. “It wasn’t until my junior year of college, so about eight years ago, that I started lifting weights and fell in love with bodybuilding, seeing the improvement, the muscle gain, the strength gain, and I fell in love with the sport, even watching.

“But this year was the year that I said, enough being afraid, enough overthinking, it’s time to commit. Just do a show.”

Baena, who’s a luxury real estate agent when he’s not at the gym or eating burgers in his Speedo, has shared some of his prep journey online. He frequently posts cooking tutorials that focus on ease and high protein.

In 2022, Baena competed on Season 31 of “Dancing With the Stars” and used his bodybuilding chops to pull off challenging lifts, basically bench-pressing his partner Alexis Warr mid-tango. He was eliminated five weeks into the season, ultimately placing 11th out of 16 contestants.