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Lakers vs. Wizards takeaways: Horrendous defense spoils LeBron James’ historic night

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The Lakers confirmed no resistance on protection, permitting the struggling Washington Wizards to have their approach and Kristaps Porzingis to dominate the fourth quarter.

The Lakers have been a horrendous defensive group all season, and on an evening when LeBron James made historical past by scoring 38 factors to grow to be the NBA’s second-leading scorer with a complete of 36,947 factors over a 19-year profession, surpassing Karl Malone (36,928), the Lakers couldn’t totally have fun the accomplishment as a result of their protection allow them to down once more.

“You bought to have a lockdown protection within the fourth and we didn’t have that tonight,” coach Frank Vogel stated. “The ultimate three quarters, we didn’t defend properly sufficient.”

The Lakers started to slip on protection within the second quarter and stored going downhill throughout their 127-119 defeat to the Wizards.

They allowed 32 factors to the Wizards within the second, 35 within the third and 34 within the fourth.

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The Lakers’ porous protection allowed the Wizards to make 56.5% of their pictures within the third and 63.2% within the fourth. For the sport, the Wizards shot 51.8% from the sphere.

Then there was Porzingis.

He used his 7-foot-3 body to take over the sport within the fourth, scoring 16 of his 27 factors. He was six for seven within the quarter, a pressure the Lakers couldn’t cease.

“Kristaps received it going, was making the most of what we was doing,” Carmelo Anthony stated.

Because of a Lakers protection that entered the sport ranked twenty sixth in factors allowed (113.8), they’ve only a half-game lead over the New Orleans Pelicans for the ninth seed within the Western Convention.

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Westbrook has one other good sport

Lakers guard Russell Westbrook scored 22 factors towards the Wizards on Saturday.

(Andy Clayton-King / Related Press)

Russell Westbrook leaped and grabbed an offensive rebound over Porzingis, his eighth rebound of the sport, and threw a no-look cross to a reducing Stanley Johnson, who was fouled by Porzingis on a layup try.

Westbrook smiled, a glance of pleasure on his face for the best way he and the best way the Lakers have been taking part in in constructing a 14-point lead within the third quarter.

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Westbrook adopted up his sturdy outing in Toronto on Friday night time with 22 factors on 10-for-15 capturing, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

“I simply attempt to play and see what‘s the easiest way to have the ability to match with our group every night time,” stated Westbrook, who additionally had 5 turnovers. “It may be a mix of various issues I’m able to do on the ground, so I strive to do this after I can.”

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WNBA great rips media outlets over Angel Reese coverage after flagrant foul on Caitlin Clark: 'Nasty work'

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WNBA great rips media outlets over Angel Reese coverage after flagrant foul on Caitlin Clark: 'Nasty work'

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Swin Cash, a three-time WNBA champion and four-time WNBA All-Star, called out the media for its coverage of Angel Reese’s flagrant foul on Caitlin Clark during their matchup Sunday.

Cash wrote that some outlets were doing “nasty work” by only showing the Reese foul, despite it being the major talking point of the Indiana Fever’s win over the Chicago Sky.

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Swin Cash participates in MLK Sports Legacy Award and a tour of the National Civil Rights Museum on Jan. 14, 2018 at the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. (Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)

“To have the only highlight of Angel be that foul is nasty work by these outlets,” Cash, who is currently an executive with the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA, wrote on X. “U know what you’re doing while also questioning her intent is nonsense! They got it right, it was a flagrant 1 it was called by the refs & the players played on.”

Cash then offered her support for Reese and told the WNBA rookie to keep her head up.

“Smh Keep Pushin & Competing Angel,” the Basketball Hall of Famer added.

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Reese swung her arm and hit Clark in the face while trying to go for a block. The Indiana Fever star fell to the ground. The referees upgraded the foul from a common foul to a flagrant-1 after a review.

The play caused a firestorm on social media.

Angel Reese on the bench

Angel Reese, #5 of the Chicago Sky, reacts to a basket from the bench during the second half against the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 16, 2024 in Indianapolis. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

ANGEL REESE STRIKES CAITLIN CLARK IN HEAD DURING LAYUP ATTEMPT, RECEIVES FLAGRANT FOUL IN FEVER-SKY REMATCH

“I can’t control the refs, and they affected the game, obviously, a lot tonight,” Reese said after the game. “Y’all are probably going to play that clip like 20 times before Monday.”

Reese finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. The Fever won the game, 91-83.

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“I think we went up really strong a lot of times and didn’t get a lot of calls,” Reese added. “Going back and looking, I’ve seen a lot of calls that weren’t made, I guess some people get a special whistle.”

Clark downplayed the incident after the game.

Angel Reese reacts during a WNBA game

Angel Reese, #5 of the Chicago Sky, reacts after fouling Caitlin Clark, #22 of the Indiana Fever, during the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 16, 2024 in Indianapolis. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

“It is what it is, you know, she’s trying to make a play on the ball and get the block,” said Clark, who finished with 23 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. “I mean it happens and then those free throws when you have to shoot with nobody at the line are kind of hard. So I was just focusing on making those free throws.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Hernández: Mookie Betts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto injuries create a Dodgers trade deadline dilemma

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Hernández: Mookie Betts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto injuries create a Dodgers trade deadline dilemma

They were both learning to do something they’d never done before, Mookie Betts playing shortstop full-time and Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitching in the major leagues.

Their respective educations were suddenly paused on Sunday.

Betts broke his left hand when he was struck by a 98-mph fastball during the Dodgers’ 3-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Yamamoto was placed on the injured list with a strained rotator cuff.

Manager Dave Roberts said he expected the two players to return this season, but what he neglected to mention was how unlikely they were to come back as the players the Dodgers were hoping they would be.

How can the Dodgers count on Betts to play shortstop at a championship level in October after missing the next several weeks?

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How can they rely on Yamamoto to be their No. 2 starter in the playoffs after he broke down just two months into the season?

In both cases, they can’t.

This shouldn’t cost the Dodgers the National League West — they lead the division by eight games — but if they’re serious about contending for a World Series, they’ll have to strike a couple of deals between now and the July 30 trade deadline.

Here’s the problem: There might not be any deals for them to strike.

Willy Adames?

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The Brewers are in first place and are unlikely to trade their shortstop, even though he will be a free agent this winter.

Bo Bichette?

The two-time All-Star is having the worst season of his career and the Toronto Blue Jays might only want to move him if they have a fire sale.

The pitching market is equally, if not more, uninspiring.

Corbin Burnes and Dylan Cease, the two best pitchers who were expected to be part of the market, were already traded. Burnes went from the Brewers to the Baltimore Orioles and Cease from the White Sox to the San Diego Padres.

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Luis Severino of the New York Mets and Tyler Anderson of the Angels figure to be moved in the coming months, but neither of them is considered better than the pitchers the Dodgers already have.

The Dodgers shouldn’t be looking for quantity, of which they already have plenty. They should be looking for quality.

Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws against the Royals on Saturday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Their lack of high-end pitching cost them in recent postseasons, and the $500-plus million they invested in Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow was an indirect acknowledgment of that. Yamamoto and Glasnow, however, came with major risks.

Glasnow has never made more than 21 starts in a season or pitched more than 120 innings. He made his 15th start of the season when he pitched seven scoreless innings on Sunday, the most starts he’d ever made consecutively without sustaining an injury.

There were also questions about the durability of Yamamoto, who is listed at 5-foot-10 and pitched only once a week in Japan. Yamamoto rarely threw his slider in his home country, as he believed it led to discomfort in his elbow. He didn’t throw a single slider in any of his first six starts with the Dodgers, but the higher level of competition forced him to adjust.

Yamamoto threw the pitch a season-high 13 times during a recent start against the New York Yankees in which he registered seven scoreless innings. He pushed back his next start by three days. When he finally returned to the mound on Saturday, his fastball velocity was down and he lasted only two innings.

Was the slider responsible for his injury?

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“That’s a fair question,” Roberts said.

Does he need the pitch to be effective at this level?

Considering Yamamoto relies heavily on a four-seam fastball, splitter and curveball, Roberts said, “to have something that’s hard and turns to the left, it’s certainly another weapon.”

“But there’s a balance of, if that’s something that causes discomfort, then you gotta think long and hard about it,” Roberts said.

Yamamoto will refrain from throwing for the next couple of weeks, according to Roberts.

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“We’ll kind of see where we go from there,” Roberts said.

The timeline for Betts’ return was also undefined, though Betts said he should have a better idea after a scheduled visit on Monday with hand specialist Steven Shin.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulls down his cap after Blake Treinen walks a Kansas City Royals batter.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulls down his cap after Blake Treinen walks a Kansas City Royals batter in a Dodgers loss on Saturday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Shohei Ohtani said in Japanese of watching Betts crumple to the floor after he was struck by a heater delivered by Royals right-hander Dan Altavilla: “I think it was a tough moment for the team as a whole. I think he’s an indispensable player.”

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On offense, certainly.

However, on defense, Betts remains a below average shortstop. He last played the position regularly in high school and didn’t move there this year until shortly before opening day. Betts has tried to make up for his experience by taking grounders before almost every game.

Every game Betts misses will cost him a chance to make up the ground he lost while playing right field and second base during the previous 10 years of his major league career.

“While praying for his return,” Ohtani said, “I’d like for us to cover for him as a team.”

Ohtani didn’t say this, but the responsibility to do so isn’t exclusive to the players. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and the small army of assistants who make up the front office share the burden. They’ll have to find players in a down market.

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Phillies manager Rob Thomson's screaming match with umpire leads to ejection in bizarre scene

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Phillies manager Rob Thomson's screaming match with umpire leads to ejection in bizarre scene

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Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson and umpire Mike Estabrook got into a wild screaming match that resulted in an ejection on Father’s Day against the Baltimore Orioles. 

The Phillies weren’t doing well in the top of the sixth inning as the O’s held an 8-2 lead at their home, Camden Yards, and it didn’t help matters when Estabrook reversed a call initially ruled a hit-by-pitch on the Phillies’ Garrett Stubbs. He did so after conversing with his fellow umpires on the field.

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Before Estabrook reversed the call and brought Stubbs back to home plate, Thomson was already fuming about his strike zone behind home plate on the day. 

Home plate umpire Mike Estabrook ejects Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson during the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports)

When Thomson emerged from the dugout and wanted an explanation from Estabrook, that’s when things got heated. The tipping point came when Thomson, who was clearly barking at Estabrook, pointed his finger at him and just missed poking him in the chest as he yelled. 

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That resulted in Estabrook turning around fast and tossing Thomson from the game, which sent the veteran manager into a frenzy. 

But what we normally see in these moments is the manager letting off steam and the umpire simply taking it. Estabrook thought differently as he started to give it right back to Thomson in a wild scene.

Mike Estabrook throws out Rob Thomson

Home plate umpire Mike Estabrook ejects Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson during the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports)

Umpire Laz Diaz let the argument unfold a bit before stepping in and sending Thomson to the clubhouse.

After things settled down, the play was brought to a replay review, and Estabrook bringing Stubbs back to hit was the right call because the ball did not hit him.

The Phillies went on to lose, 8-3, which marked their fourth loss in the last six games.

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Rob Thomson and Mike Estabrook yell

Home plate umpire Mike Estabrook argues with Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson during the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports)

Still, the Phillies own the best record in the National League even with the loss. They’re 47-24 on the season, though they’ve been worse on the road than at home, owning a 20-14 record in away games. 

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