Sports
Lakers hold off Pelicans' 2nd-half surge to earn No. 7 seed in NBA Playoffs
The Los Angeles Lakers are heading to the first round of the NBA Playoffs as they defeated the New Orleans Pelicans, 110-106, on Tuesday night.
The Lakers are now the No. 7 seed in the West, and they will be pitted against the Denver Nuggets, the reigning NBA champions, in the first round.
At one point, the Lakers had an 18-point lead, but Zion Williamson, who finished the game with a season-high 40 points, took a perfect alley-oop feed from Jose Alvarado to tie it at 93 apiece with less than four minutes to play.
LeBron James, #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers, looks on during the game against the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2024 Play-In Tournament on April 16, 2024 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. (Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)
Williamson would tie it again with 3:13 to play with a floater in the lane, but he was hurt during the score – something the home team did not want to see. He went back to the locker room, slamming his towel into the floor as his injury was clearly enough to need further testing.
There was no word throughout the rest of the game on what exactly Williamson was dealing with.
With Williamson out now, the Lakers and Pelicans went back and forth on the scoreboard, as LeBron James knocked down two free throws, followed by the Pelicans’ answer with a Larry Nance Jr. dunk. James came right back with a fadeaway two-pointer to regain a four-point lead for the Lakers.
LAKERS LEGEND MAGIC JOHNSON RIPS ‘RIDICULOUS’ IDEA TEAM SHOULD LOSE PLAY-IN GAME TO AVOID FACING NUGGETS
The score was 101-100 with less than a minute to play following Nance missing one of two free throws, and D’Angelo Russell had ice in his veins when Austin Reaves kicked one out for a wide open three. He buried the shot and turned around to say something to the Pelicans’ bench, as the Lakers now owned a four-point lead with 51.1 left on the clock.
CJ McCollum would hit his mid-range jumper to cut the Lakers’ lead to two, and the Lakers tried to kill the clock with James at the top of the key. When his fadeaway shot did not reach the rim, Davis fought through traffic in the paint, caught the rebound and got fouled on the way up.
Davis knocked down both free throws, the biggest of the night, against his old team.
Zion Williamson, #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans, drives against Taurean Prince, #12, and LeBron James, #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers, during the first half of a game at the Smoothie King Center on April 16, 2024 in New Orleans. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
Needing an answer, it was McCollum again on the other end of the floor, making a driving layup with 11 seconds to play. McCollum would immediately foul Reaves, and the Pelicans could only hope he missed free throws to give them a chance.
However, Reaves knocked them both down, and even though Nance made a shot at the other end with three seconds left, Davis hit two more free throws. They made 11 consecutive free throws to end the game, which is what good teams do to close out their opponent.
Despite the loss, the Pelicans still have a chance to become the eighth and final seed in the West. They will take on the winner of the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings game later Tuesday night.
Looking at the stat sheet, all five Lakers starters finished with double-digit points, but none better than James, who had 23 on 6-of-20 shooting and a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe. He also had nine rebounds and nine assists, falling just short of a triple-double.
Russell had a great night from the field, shooting an even 50% (7-of-14) including 5-of-11 from three-point territory for 21 points. Davis had 20 points and 15 rebounds for a double-double, while Reaves finished with 16 points, and Rui Hachimura had 13 of his own.
D’Angelo Russell, #1 of the Los Angeles Lakers, celebrates during the first half of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on April 16, 2024 in New Orleans. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
For the Pelicans, Alvarado played a key role off the bench at point guard, totaling 10 points and seven assists. McCollum, despite hitting big shots late, was just 4-of-15 from the floor for nine points, going 1-of-9 from beyond the arc.
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The Seattle Seahawks locked down the top seed in the NFC playoffs and a strong path to the Super Bowl on Saturday night with a season finale win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Seattle also finished with their best regular season record in franchise history, clinching 14 wins for the first time ever.
The Seahawks held on to a 10-point victory despite outgaining the 49ers 363 yards to 173, and running 64 plays to San Francisco’s 42.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba #11 of the Seattle Seahawks fails to catch the ball against Ji’Ayir Brown #27 of the San Francisco 49ers during an NFL game on Jan. 3, 2026 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. (Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire)
Seattle missed a field goal in the fourth quarter and turned the ball over on downs in the first quarter to waste two red zone drives, but dominated on defense to prevent those missed opportunities from coming back to haunt them.
The 49ers wasted their best drive of the night as well when quarterback Brock Purdy was intercepted at Seattle’s three-yard line in the fourth quarter facing a 10-point deficit, which seemingly secured the game for the Seahawks.
NFL WEEK 17 SCORES: AFC NORTH, NFC SOUTH UP FOR GRABS AS PLAYOFF PICTURE ALMOST COMPLETE
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, in his first season on the team, completed 20 passes on 26 attempts for 198 yards and helped set up the only touchdown of the entire game in the first quarter.
Darnold redeemed a disappointing Week-18 game for the Minnesota Vikings last season when he completed just 18 of 41 passes for 166 yards in a battle for the top seed against the Detroit Lions.
Darnold said “Learning from mistakes, and staying calm from the pocket,” made the difference in his performance Saturday compared to a year ago, in a postgame interview with ESPN.
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Jaxon Smith-Njigba #11 of the Seattle Seahawks carries the ball against the San Francisco 49ers during the second quarter of a game at Levi’s Stadium on January 03, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy had just 127 yards with the late interception, and took a big hit on his final pass of the night, then took a while to get back up. He was eventually able to walk off the field, and Seattle ran the clock out.
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When it’s Harvey Kitani versus David Rebibo in a high school basketball coaching matchup, you know it’s going to be a defensive grind. They demand defensive production, so Rolling Hills Prep and Harvard-Westlake went at it for 32 minutes on Saturday night at St. Francis.
It took four consecutive free throws by Joe Sterling in the final 21 seconds for Harvard-Westlake (17-2) to hold on for a 50-46 victory. About the only mistake Rolling Hills Prep (13-5) made was choosing to foul Sterling, well known as a clutch free-throw shooter. But the Huskies had no choice after a three by Aaron Heinze got them to within 48-46 with 2.6 seconds left.
Sterling finished with 16 points. Pierce Thompson had 14 points and Dominique Bentho added 11 points and 12 rebounds. Nick Welch Jr. had a big game for Rolling Hills Prep with 21 points on eight-for-14 shooting. Carter Fulton added 10 points.
Santa Margarita 72, Fairfax 41: The Eagles (19-2) opened a 21-2 lead after the first quarter and cruised to victory at St. Francis. Brayden Kyman scored 21 points, Kaiden Bailey had 17 and Drew Anderson had 15.
St. Pius X-St. Matthias 67, JSerra 62: Kayleb Kearse finished with 27 points in the victory. Jaden Bailes had 30 points for JSerra.
Sierra Canyon 77, Phoenix St. Mary’s 45: The Trailblazers (13-1) tuned up for the start of Mission League play with a rout in Arizona. Brandon McCoy scored 18 points and Brannon Martinsen had 17.
Chaminade 70, Palos Verdes 44: Temi Olafisoye had 17 points for the 18-1 Eagles.
Thousand Oaks 53, Oak Park 46: The Lancers won their 16th consecutive game to stay unbeaten. Gabriel Chin had 14 points.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 67, Layton Christian (Utah) 64: NaVorro Bowman led the Knights (13-4) with 24 points. Josiah Nance added 16 points.
Bishop Montgomery 71, Palisades 68: Austin Kirksey had 24 points and Tarron Williams scored 22 points to help Bishop Montgomery improve to 15-2. Freshman Phillip Reed scored 24 points for Palisades.
Crespi 60, Modesto Christian 49: The Celts improved to 13-6.
St. John Bosco 62, Chandler (Ariz.) Basha 54: Christian Collins scored 31 points and Max Ellis had 22 for the Braves in a win in Arizona.
Mayfair 69, Cypress 56: Josiah Johnson’s 27 points helped Mayfair improve to 8-5.
Inglewood 98, Pasadena 97: Jason Crowe Jr. made the game-winning shot in overtime and finished with 51 points for Inglewood.
Girls basketball
Harvard-Westlake 51, Phoenix Desert Vista 39: Freshman Lucia Khamenia finished with 24 points for Harvard-Westlake.
Brentwood 59, Cardinal Newman 53: The Eagles improved to 9-4. Kelsey Sugar scored 24 points.
Saugus 57, Birmingham 52: Kayla Tanijiri had 16 points for Birmingham (13-3).
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Only one more week of the 2025 NFL regular season remains, as Week 17 brought about some more playoff implications and even 2026 NFL Draft key positions.
The biggest takeaway from the slate of Week 17 is that two divisions in the NFL — the AFC North and NFC South — will be determined by whoever wins key matchups in Week 18.
First, it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers getting upset by the Cleveland Browns at home, as Aaron Rodgers couldn’t find Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a controversial game-ending play in the end zone. That loss sets up the AFC North title game between the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, which is only possibly thanks to a road victory where Derrick Henry scored four touchdowns against the Green Bay Packers.
Then, despite both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers losing their respective matchups, the NFL tiebreakers make their Week 18 bout the NFC South title game.
Aaron Rodgers of the Pittsburgh Steelers reacts during the second quarter of the game against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field on Dec. 28, 2025, in Cleveland. (Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
And while everyone was focused on the NFL playoff picture, the two-game 4 o’clock slate gave us the New York Giants against the Las Vegas Raiders, the winner of which owning the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
The Giants would’ve solidified the pick with a loss, but Jaxson Dart and the Giants’ offense blew out Geno Smith and the Raiders to relinquish the pick, which now belongs in Sin City.
NFL WEEK 16 SCORES: PLAYOFF PRESSURE LEADS TO THRILLING FINISHES ACROSS LEAGUE
Here’s how every NFL game played out:
THURSDAY, DEC. 25
– DALLAS COWBOYS 30, WASHINGTON COMMANDERS 23
– MINNESOTA VIKINGS 23, DETROIT LIONS 10
– DENVER BRONCOS 20, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 13
Dak Prescott (4) of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates after his team’s touchdown against the Washington Commanders in the second quarter of a game at Northwest Stadium on Dec. 25, 2025 in Landover, Maryland. (Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
SATURDAY, DEC. 27
– HOUSTON TEXANS 20, LOS ANGELES CHARGERS 16
– BALTIMORE RAVENS 41, GREEN BAY PACKERS 24
SUNDAY, DEC. 28
– CINCINNATI BENGALS 37, ARIZONA CARDINALS 14
– CLEVELAND BROWNS 13, PITTSBURGH STEELERS 7
– NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 34, TENNESSEE TITANS 26
– JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 23, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 17
– MIAMI DOLPHINS 20, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 17
– NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 42, NEW YORK JETS 10
– SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 27, CAROLINA PANTHERS 10
– NEW YORK GIANTS 34, LAS VEGAS RAIDERS 10
– PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 13, BUFFALO BILLS 12
– SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS-CHICAGO BEARS (TBD)
Bundle FOX One and FOX Nation to stream the entire FOX Nation library, plus live FOX News, Sports, and Entertainment at our lowest price of the year. The offer ends on Jan. 4, 2026. (Fox One; Fox Nation)
MONDAY, DEC. 29
– LOS ANGELES RAMS-ATLANTA FALCONS (TBD)
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