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Lakers beat Nets, but Luka Doncic is facing suspension again after 16th technical

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Lakers beat Nets, but Luka Doncic is facing suspension again after 16th technical

For the second time in less than a week, Luka Doncic faces a one-game suspension because of technical foul accumulation.

Only a week after Doncic’s 16th technical foul was rescinded by the NBA, the Lakers superstar picked up another one in a 116-99 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday and is in line to miss the Lakers’ next game against the Washington Wizards on Monday.

In the third quarter with the Lakers trailing by one against the lowly Nets (17-57), Doncic was called for an offensive foul against Nic Claxton as the Lakers (48-26) were trying to inbound the ball after a dunk by Ziaire Williams. After the Lakers turnover, Williams and Doncic appeared to exchange words with Doncic pushing Williams aside with one hand. Williams then flailed his arms behind him and slapped Doncic in the throat.

“He was yelling in my face three times,” said Doncic, who finished with 41 points, eight rebounds and three assists in the win. “I just wanted to get out of there. … I didn’t even talk. I just wanted to get out of there. And they said I pushed. My push was exaggerated, which was obviously not [the case].”

Both were assessed technical fouls with 5:12 remaining in the third quarter, and Williams’ hit was reviewed for a possible flagrant, although it was not upgraded.

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The NBA requires players to sit out for one game without pay after their 16th technical foul of the season. But Doncic avoided that fate after the NBA rescinded the foul that would have forced him to the bench for a critical road game last week. Lakers coach JJ Redick said the Lakers will try to appeal Doncic’s latest foul but he did not see what happened on the play.

Last week, Doncic avoided a suspension after the NBA rescinded the foul that would have forced him to the bench for a critical road game against the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons. Doncic is slated to miss Monday’s game against the Wizards, who have lost 17 of their last 18 games and have the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference (17-56).

Lakers star Luka Doncic reacts to a referee’s call during the second half Friday against the Brooklyn Nets at Crypto.com Arena.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Doncic picked up his first 16th technical foul last week against the Orlando Magic after getting into an argument with Orlando forward Goga Bitadze. Doncic claimed Bitadze directed a vulgar comment about Doncic’s family in Serbian toward the Lakers star guard. Bitadze refuted the story, saying it was actually Doncic who said the curse word out loud first and that he was only repeating what he heard.

The NBA rescinded both fouls upon review the following day.

Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer, has scored 30 points or more in 12 consecutive games, the longest such streak in his career. He has 43 30-point games this season, tying Elgin Baylor and Jerry West for sixth-most in a season by a Lakers player. He has scored 40 points or more in the last 12 games.

Against the Nets, Austin Reaves finished with 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists and LeBron James had 14 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Before the game, Redick said the Nets game would be like playing on the road since the Lakers had spent almost two weeks away from Crypto.com Arena and had returned home in the wee hours of Thursday morning from Indianapolis.

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Lakers guard Austin Reaves celebrates after shooting a three-pointer against the Nets in the second half Friday.

Lakers guard Austin Reaves celebrates after shooting a three-pointer against the Nets in the second half Friday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The challenge was to find the energy to play, which wasn’t a problem for Doncic, who had 24 points in the first half. Doncic was nine for 15 from the field in the first half and four for six from three-point range in 20 minutes. He finished shooting 15 for 25 from the field as the Lakers shot 54% from the floor. They shot 44% (11 for 25) from three-point range.

That the Lakers were facing a Nets team with the second-worst record in the NBA didn’t matter.

That the Lakers were facing a Nets team had lost nine of its last 10 games didn’t matter.

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That the Lakers were facing a Nets team that’s last in the league in scoring (106.3 points per game) didn’t matter.

Lakers center Deandre Ayton, left, blocks a shot by Brooklyn Nets guard Nolan Traore.

Lakers center Deandre Ayton, left, blocks a shot by Brooklyn Nets guard Nolan Traore in the first half Friday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

What mattered to the Lakers was finding a way to win as the regular season winds down.

“I felt like we were a step slow,” Redick said. “And I told the guys at halftime, ‘This is our seventh game of the road trip. Anytime you come back, there’s a day in between, that’s just you’re in another city until you can get adjusted to the time zone and you get a couple days break.’ So the next two [off] days will be good for us.”

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Notes: Lakers broadcast analyst Stu Lantz missed Friday night’s game against the Nets because of health issues. Derek Fisher, who won five NBA titles with the Lakers, took over Lantz’s role for the game. Public address announcer Lawrence Tanter also missed the game because of a health matter. Jason Barquero filled in for Lantz. “The entire Lakers organization is wishing Lawrence all the best in his recovery, and we look forward to welcoming him back soon,” the team said in a statement.

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Trevor Bauer throws no-hitter for Long Island Ducks in just second US start since 2021

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Trevor Bauer throws no-hitter for Long Island Ducks in just second US start since 2021

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Trevor Bauer, the former Cy Young Award winner and MLB All-Star, tossed a no-hitter for the independent Long Island Ducks in a 13-0 win over the Lancaster Stormers on Sunday afternoon at Penn Medicine Park in Pennsylvania.

It was just Bauer’s second start in the United States since 2021, and he faced just one batter over the minimum in a scheduled seven-inning game of a doubleheader against the Stormers.

Bauer threw 84 pitches, striking out seven hitters and walking just one to lose out on the perfect game.

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Trevor Bauer smiles after pitching no-hitter for Long Island Ducks on Sunday, April 26, 2026. (Jordan McGregor)

But Bauer unleashed a roar on the mound after a called strike three to notch the third no-hitter in Ducks history.

Combined with his first outing for the Ducks on April 21, Bauer has a strong 1.64 ERA to start the season in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), which is a “Professional Partner League” of MLB.

Fans might have been supporting the opposing Stormers, but they understood what was at stake as Bauer was mowing down hitters throughout his start. They were even heard chanting his name at one point, hoping he could keep his hitless streak alive.

After the game, Bauer returned the favor for those at the Pennsylvania ballpark, signing autographs and taking pictures with fans after entering his name into the Ducks’ record books.

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TREVOR BAUER SIGNS WITH PRO BASEBALL TEAM IN UNITED STATES AMID MLB RETURN HOPES

“I’m looking forward to competing in front of U.S. fans again this season,” said Bauer when he signed with the Ducks earlier this month. “The Ducks have had some incredible players come through their organization, and I’m excited to be part of that tradition.”

Ex-MLB stars like Dontrelle Willis, Daniel Murphy, Rich Hill and Eric Gagne have played for the Ducks in the past. New York Mets legends Gary Carter and Bud Harrelson both managed the team, with the latter also being a part-owner.

Bauer’s first start for the Ducks impressed an AL team scout in attendance, saying he was pretty impressed by Bauer’s arsenal on the bump.

“He showed flashes of the guy he used to be and a guy who can help a club,” the scout told the New York Post. “He went out and handled himself well. He showed flashes of the breaking ball he had in the past. Certainly the velocity is not what it once was, but it’s still solid, mostly 92-94. He didn’t throw the ball particularly well on the inside part of the plate with his fastball, but I think it was a really good first outing. You’d expected him to get sharper and probably tick up in velocity.

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Trevor Bauer and catcher high-five after finish inning for Long Island Ducks in no-hit bid on Sunday April 26, 2026. (Jordan McGregor)

“You’re talking about a guy who was at the top of the game. Is he back there? No, but he looked like a guy who could go out and compete.”

Bauer pitched in Japan in both 2023 and 2025, while a stint in Mexico came in 2024. He pitched to a 2.59 ERA and 9.2 K/9 in Japan in 2023, and in Mexico, those numbers improved to 2.48 and 13.0. Last year in Japan, though, his ERA shot up to 4.41, and he struck out just 8.2 batters per nine innings.

This June will mark five years since Bauer, as the reigning Cy Young Award winner, last appeared in an MLB game. On June 28 of that year, he tossed six innings of two-run ball while striking out eight batters, recording the win.

Two days later, Bauer was hit with sexual assault allegations, which eventually led to a 324-game suspension (the equivalent of two seasons). It was eventually reduced to 184 games for violating the league’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.

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Bauer has maintained his innocence, settling with one accuser while another is facing 16 years in prison after being charged with fraud for faking a pregnancy and asking Bauer for money for an abortion.

Trevor Bauer pitches for Long Island Ducks during no-hitter on Sunday, April 26, 2026. (Jordan McGregor)

Bauer and Lindsey Hill, who accused the pitcher of beating and sexually abusing her in 2021, settled their case in late 2023. Bauer revealed texts from Hill, who said that Bauer would be her “next victim,” among other damning messages. Hill has since said that MLB has more evidence of Bauer’s alleged misconduct.

Last June, Hill was ordered to pay Bauer more than $300,000 for violating settlement terms. Hill breached their settlement agreement with each other by discussing Bauer on podcasts and in public appearances, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Nearly two years ago, Bauer said he “may have no other choice” but to sue Major League Baseball “if I continue being kept out” of the league. Bauer has said he’d “play for the league minimum,” but he has yet to sign with an MLB team.

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“Anyone that’s willing to sit down with me and listen: I’d like to play the second half of my career in a better way than I played the first half,” Bauer told Fox News Digital in January 2024. “I’d like to be an example that you can make mistakes, recognize them, adjust and then be better in the future. I think that’s something us as humans have to do and should be doing constantly.”

Long Island Ducks pitcher Trevor Bauer throws against the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars at Fairfield Properties Ballpark in Central Islip, N.Y., on April 21, 2026. (Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM/Getty Images)

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Bauer has since called out MLB after Pete Rose and other deceased former players were taken off the league’s permanently ineligible list.

“So, since Pete is welcome back now, does that go for everyone who has been blackballed?” Bauer asked on X. “Or do you actually have to be guilty of something to qualify for that?”

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Bauer was performing well for the Dodgers at the time of the allegations, pitching to a 2.59 ERA.

Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

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Anze Kopitar’s stellar NHL career comes to an end in Kings’ playoff loss to Avalanche

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Anze Kopitar’s stellar NHL career comes to an end in Kings’ playoff loss to Avalanche

Seven times in the past 12 seasons the Kings have advanced to the Stanley Cup playoffs, only to leave after the first round.

They’ve changed coaches five times, general managers twice, even the team captains have changed over that span. But the results have not.

The latest flameout came Sunday when the Colorado Avalanche rode two goals from Nathan MacKinnon and goals from Cale Makar, Nicolas Roy and Devon Toews to a 5-1 win and a four-game sweep of the best-of-seven series.

The Kings will begin the offseason for the first time in two decades without Anze Kopitar, who played the final game of his Hall of Fame career Sunday.

Kings captain Anze Kopitar acknowledges the crowd after playing in his final NHL game Sunday.

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Fans at Crypto.com Arena chanted “Thank you, Kopi!” in the final minute of the game, giving him a standing ovation. Kopitar received another standing ovation after the team handshakes, acknowledging the cheers from the crowd.

Joel Edmundson had the lone score for the Kings.

If anything, the Kings are heading backward because they won at least one game in their last five playoffs appearances. Against the Avalanche they not only failed to win, they led just once, for three minutes and 24 seconds late in Game 2.

Colorado, the best team in the NHL during the regular season, was clearly the best team in this series as well, going ahead to stay Sunday on MacKinnon’s power-play goal with less than seven minutes left in the first period. That spoiled what had been the Kings’ special-teams advantage in the series.

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The Kings, who had a power-play goal in each of the first three games of the series, were shut out with the man advantage twice in the first 12 minutes of Game 4. Then their penalty kill was beaten for the first time in 10 tries when MacKinnon lined home a slap shot in from the center of the left circle 16 seconds after Kings defenseman Brian Dumoulin was sent off for interference.

For MacKinnon, who led the NHL with 53 goals during the regular season, the score was his first of the postseason.

And those weren’t the only penalties in the opening 20 minutes. Just more than two minutes before the first intermission, the physical nature of the series boiled over in a series of scuffles that ended with referee Graham Skilliter meeting with the captains of both teams.

Kings center Anze Kopitar warms up before Game 4 against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.

Kings center Anze Kopitar warms up before Game 4 against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.

Kings captain Anze Kopitar stands on the ice during the national anthem before Game 4 against the Colorado Avalanche.

Kings captain Anze Kopitar stands on the ice during the national anthem before Game 4 against the Colorado Avalanche.

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Skilliter then handed out four penalties, a two-minute misconduct to Colorado’s Jack Drury while the Kings’ Samuel Helenius received a two-minute roughing and a 10-minute misconduct and teammate Jeff Malott got a two-minute roughing.

And with that, D.J. Smith’s game plan went out the window.

“We have to be disciplined,” the Kings interim coach had said before the game. “Two [penalties] or less.”

The Kings doubled that total in the first 18 minutes.

Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson, left, battles Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog.

Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson, left, battles Colorado forward Gabriel Landeskog for the puck in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.

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Speaking of doubling, Makar gave Colorado a 2-0 lead 5:48 into the second period, collecting a bouncing puck at the blue line, then skating around Kings’ forward Taylor Ward to score on a wrist shot from the edge of the right circle.

But the Kings, less than 35 minutes away from the end of their season, refused to quit with Edmundson cutting the deficit in half about eight minutes later, sending a wrister from the top of the left circle on goal. Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood appeared to stop the puck, only to have it fall to the ice and trickle across the goal line.

Roy got that one back for Colorado 3:13 into the final period, banging the rebound of an Artturi Lehkonen shot between the pads of Kings goalie Anton Forsberg. When Toews scored less than three minutes later, the Avalanche had the biggest lead of the series and the rout was on.

Kings captain Anze Kopitar plays his final NHL shift in Game 4 against the Colorado Avalanche.

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MacKinnon added the final score into an empty net.

And with that another disappointing postseason ended for the Kings and another long offseason began, one the team and general manager Ken Holland will enter with more questions than answers, beginning with the status of his interim coach and the aging core of his roster.

Kings captain Anze Kopitar raises the Stanley Cup as he floats across Lake Bled in Slovenia with family and friends in 2012.

Kings captain Anze Kopitar raises the Stanley Cup as he floats across Lake Bled in Slovenia with family and friends in 2012.

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UFC fighter Tim Means arrested on child abuse charge in New Mexico

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UFC fighter Tim Means arrested on child abuse charge in New Mexico

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UFC fighter Tim Means was arrested earlier in the week on a child abuse charge in New Mexico, according to online court records.

Means was arrested on Wednesday and booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque. He didn’t appear to have an attorney listed. Fox News Digital reached out to the UFC for comment.

ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!

Tim Means reacts after his TKO victory over Andre Fialho of Portugal in a welterweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nev., on Sept. 23, 2023. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images)

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The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call about a physical altercation at a Tijeras home, the Albuquerque Journal reported, citing a criminal complaint. The alleged victim, a teenager, reportedly told dispatchers that the two had been in a spat over chores when he headbutted her.

Means was accused of grabbing the teen in a “strangulation matter.” The mixed martial artist allegedly got angrier, threw a potato at the alleged victim and punched her in the face, according to the paper.

Thiago Alves fights Tim Means during UFC Fight Night at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 7, 2019. (Amber Searls/USA TODAY Sports)

“Let it be known that there were visible hand and red marks on (the teen’s) neck, indicating she was strangled,” according to the complaint. “There was blood on and in her nose where she was head-butted and several red marks indicated she was hit in the face and on her cheek.”

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Means, 42, started his MMA career in 2004 and has appeared in King of the Cage, Legacy FC and UFC. He last fought in UFC in 2024, losing to Court McGee via submission at UFC 307.

Tim Means reacts after a loss to Alex Morono in a welterweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., on May 13, 2023. (Jim Dedmon/USA TODAY Sports)

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He’s set for a status hearing on May 26.

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