Sports
Lakers fade as losing streak vs. Jamal Murray and Nuggets reaches 7 games
The day was defined by the emotional unveiling of Kobe Bryant’s statue, a depiction of the Lakers legend wearing his iconic No. 8 jersey with his taped right index finger pointing to the sky. Before the ceremony, the Lakers decided not to make a move at the NBA trade deadline because the asking prices were not to their liking.
It was against this backdrop that the Lakers went out and played the defending champion Denver Nuggets on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena — the same Nuggets who swept them in the Western Conference finals last season and had beaten them six consecutive times.
The losing streak reached seven games after the Lakers were unable to keep up with the Nuggets in the final moments of a 114-106 defeat.
Lakers forward Anthony Davis walks off the court after a 114-106 loss to the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
LeBron James, who had 25 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, said getting through the day “wasn’t hard for me personally.”
“I went through my regular game-day routine and focused on the job at hand,” he said. “Knew coming in coming off a 12-day, six-game road trip is going to be difficult on us, but you know, once you get on the floor you have to lock in on an assignment. That’s all that matters.”
Even with Anthony Davis scoring 32 points and Austin Reaves producing his fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 assists, the Lakers couldn’t win after Reaves tied the game 104-104 on a three-pointer with 2:18 left.
Denver outscored the Lakers 10-2 over the final stretch behind the splendid play of Jamal Murray (29 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds), Michael Porter Jr. (27 points, eight rebounds) and Nikola Jokic (24 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists).
To honor Bryant’s legacy, the Lakers won their Black Mamba uniforms, which were co-designed by Bryant. Even the fans were given Bryant’s No. 8 jersey as a gift.
But the Lakers had to turn their attention to the Nuggets.
TheLakers came home from a six-game trip with a 4-2 record, posting impressive wins in Boston and New York and finishing it off with a win at Charlotte on Monday. They anticipated a tough one against Denver.
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1. Denver forward Michael Porter Jr. dunks over Lakers forward Rui Hachimura. 2. Lakers forward Rui Hachimura, right, plays tight defense on Denver forward Aaron Gordon. 3. Lakers forward Anthony Davis shoots a jumper over Denver center Nikola Jokic.
“Obviously they are the defending champs and the way things ended last year, it’s going to be extra hype and attention to this game and this matchup,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said before the game. “But I’m looking at it more as a progress report for us, us on a current three-game win streak. Finished the road trip with three quality wins, so seeing where we’re at constantly. It’s not playoff time quite yet, but again we’re trying to make our way to be in position. So, just looking at ourselves, first and foremost.”
Earlier in the day, the Lakers looked at ways to improve their team through trades. But in the end, they decided to stay with the group they have.
“We had hundreds of [deals] come our way,” general manager Rob Pelinka said. “But the right one just didn’t present itself and so we’re in the position we’re in.”
D’Angelo Russell was one of the prominent names that constantly came up in trade rumors. But with the way his play improved, the Lakers decided to keep him.
Lakers players wear shirts honoring Kobe Bryant during pregame warmups Thursday. A statue of Kobe Bryant was unveiled outside Crypto.com Arena before the game.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
But Russell didn’t play against the Nuggets because of left knee soreness.
Ham said he misspoke when he said after practice Wednesday that Russell had a procedure.
“Well he had — I used the word ‘procedure’ and everybody loses their mind or whatever. I think I meant to say treatment,” Ham said. “He had a little maintenance treatment that is normal, perfectly normal. It wasn’t a procedure.”
Max Christie started in Russell’s place and sprained his right ankle in the second quarter and didn’t not return.
“This is our team, who we are going to have,” Davis said. “Like I said, until we get guys healthy, we kind of have to get back into our groove. But [this] was a very, very winnable game tonight. Down the stretch kind of hurt us.”
Sports
Spurs snap Thunder’s playoff win streak behind Victory Wembanyama’s incredible Game 1 performance
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The Oklahoma City Thunder came into Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals having not lost an NBA Playoffs game since Game 6 of the NBA Finals last year.
But they hadn’t faced Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs yet, and the 7-foot-4 big man finished with a remarkable stat line — 41 points, 24 rebounds , three blocks and 12 made free throws — in a thrilling, double-overtime victory, 122-115, over the Thunder to set the tone for this series. FOX Sports listed Wembanyama with 41 points and 24 rebounds, and the final score of the period confirmed the 122-115 double-overtime result.
Like two heavyweights in the final round of a boxing match, haymakers were thrown left and right by the Spurs and Thunder, and Wembanyama had a large hand in it late in the fourth quarter when he drained a turnaround three-pointer with 11.5 seconds left on the clock to give San Antonio a 101-99 lead.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs reacts during the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game One of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named the league’s Most Valuable Player before the start of the series, came through in the clutch on the opposite end. With 3.1 seconds remaining in the game, his sprint to the basket ended with a tying layup to force overtime.
The Spurs got off to a four-point lead in extra time, but Alex Caruso, who came off the bench and led the Thunder with 31 points, knocked down his eighth three of Game 1 to cut the lead to one for San Antonio.
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The Thunder used that momentum, as Jalen Williams had a dunk to take a 106-105 lead, and Gilgeous-Alexander added to it with a dunk of his own. “Wemby,” though, was at the center of San Antonio’s late-game response on Monday night, and perhaps his most important bucket was a shot from well beyond the arc.
Wembanyama took the ball from Stephon Castle and added to the guard’s assist total with a 27-foot three near the Oklahoma City logo to tie the game at 108 apiece with 27 seconds left. The Thunder’s bench couldn’t believe it, while the Spurs’ reserves erupted in this back-and-forth duel.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs dunks against Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter of Game One in the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
Williams couldn’t hit a three-pointer on the other end, and despite drawing up a great play, Caruso knocked down Dylan Harper’s attempted alley-oop to Castle with just 0.7 seconds remaining in overtime to keep the score where it was.
Needing one more extra period, Wembanyama took the game into his hands. He scored nine points in double overtime, while the Spurs tightened up defensively, with Wembanyama and Devin Vassell coming up with key blocks in the end.
Castle finished with 11 assists to lead the Spurs in that category, while rookie guard Dylan Harper made vital contributions with 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a game-high seven steals in the win. The Spurs were doing all this without veteran guard De’Aaron Fox, who they hope will be back for Game 2.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives to the basket against Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs during the first quarter of Game One in the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
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Williams had 26 points for Oklahoma City, while Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points on 7-of-23 shooting with 12 assists and five steals.
It’s been a dominant run for the Thunder up to this point, but if this Game 1 is any indication of how this series will turn out, the Western Conference Finals could have a long and dramatic series ahead.
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HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
CITY SECTION PLAYOFFS
MONDAY’S RESULTS
First Round
DIVISION II
#16 Triumph Charter 16, #17 Middle College 6
#20 Cleveland 20, #13 Dorsey 2
#10 North Hollywood 12, #14 USC-MAE 0
#18 Taft 13, #15 Central City Value 0
DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys 19, #17 Alliance Bloomfield 2
#20 East Valley 14, #13 Community Charter 3
#14 VAAS 18, #19 Angelou 0
#15 Reseda 24, #18 Stella 0
DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn 44, #17 West Adams 33
#20 Hawkins 28, #13 LAAAE 7
#14 Franklin 19, #19 Mendez 7
#18 Diego Rivera 24, #15 Discovery 8
WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
First Round
DIVISION I
#16 Sherman Oaks CES at #1 Venice
#9 San Fernando at #8 Bravo
#12 Lincoln at #5 Chavez
#13 Animo Venice at #4 Chatsworth
#14 LA University at #3 Port of LA
#11 Harbor Teacher at #6 Eagle Rock
#10 Verdugo Hills at #7 Garfield
#15 LA Hamilton at #2 Marquez
Second Round
DIVISION II
#16 Triumph Charter at #1 LA Marshall
#9 Northridge Academy at #8 Rancho Dominguez
#12 Fremont at #5 Symar
#20 Cleveland at #4 Narbonne
#19 North Hollywood at #3 Roosevelt
#11 Orthopaedic at #5 Arleta
#10 Sun Valley Poly at #7 South Gate
#18 Taft at #2 LA Wilson
DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys at #1 Bell
#9 Palisades at #8 Hollywood
#12 Lakeview Charter at #5 South East
#20 East Valley at #4 Maywood Academy
#14 VAAS at #3 Maywood CES
#11 Westchester at #6 Torres
#10 Animo Robinson at #7 LACES
#15 Reseda at #2 Sun Valley Magnet
DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn at #1 Jefferson
#9 Smidt Tech at #8 Alliance Levine
#12 Downtown Magnets at #5 University Prep Value
#20 Hawkins at #4 Huntington Park
#14 Franklin at #3 Santee
#11 Bernstein at #6 Camino Nuevo
#10 Rise Kohyang at #7 CALS Early College
#18 Diego Rivera at #2 LA Jordan
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
Quarterfinals
OPEN DIVISION
#8 Granada Hills Kennedy at #1 Granada Hills
#5 El Camino Real at #4 San Pedro
#6 Wilmington Banning at #3 Birmingham
#7 Legacy at #2 Carson
Note: Division I-IV quarterfinals May 22 at higher seeds; Semifinals all divisions May 27 at higher seeds; Finals all divisions May 29-30 at TBD.
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Russell Wilson has had his share of ups and downs in his NFL career.
He helped the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship in 2013 and was named to the Pro Bowl four times. But the last few years of his career arguably did some damage to his legacy as he’s spent the last three seasons with three different teams.
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New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson watches from the sidelines during the second quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Oct. 9, 2025. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)
Wilson is still on the free-agent market as he looks to latch on to a new team for 2026. However, former NFL star Aqib Talib implored Wilson to hang up the cleats.
“Do your TV thing, Russ. It’s over with, man. Once you’ve got to decide, do I even want to play?” Talib said on “The Arena: Gridiron.” “I think you don’t really want to play. I hate when guys get to the later part of their career and then they start doing the bounce-around thing and they’re not going to win. There was no chip in New York. That’s just going to be another stop on your resume.”
Wilson reportedly garnered some interest from NFL teams.
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson stands on the field before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA on Oct. 26, 2025. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
He told the New York Post that the New York Jets were one of them.
Wilson also was reportedly a candidate to take Matt Ryan’s spot on CBS’ “The NFL Today” after Ryan left to take a front office job with the Atlanta Falcons.
Wilson has 46,966 passing yards and 353 passing touchdowns in 205 career games, but the 2025 season with the New York Giants was one to forget.
Wilson started three games and made some bizarre decisions in a loss against the Chiefs. Jaxson Dart was named the starting quarterback. As he came in to take a few snaps while Dart was being checked for a concussion, Wilson was booed.
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson watches from the sidelines during the second half against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., on Oct. 19, 2025. (Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)
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Should he end up signing with another team, Wilson will be entering his age-38 season.
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