HOUSTON — The combination of Luka Doncic and LeBron James was overpowering and enthralling for all to see during the Lakers’ dynamic 124-116 win over the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on Wednesday.

Doncic was a rebound shy of a triple-double with 40 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.

James was a force with 30 points, missing just one of his 14 shots and adding five rebounds and two assists.

They were the main reasons why the Lakers extended their winning streak to seven straight games and helped them take the three-game series over the Rockets, 2-1, winning both games here, one on Monday night.

The beauty of the night was when Doncic threw a no-look lob pass to James for a dunk and then when Doncic drilled a three-pointer with 58.4 seconds left for a 120-111 Lakers lead.

Doncic yelled at the crowd and ran down court shaking his head. When the Rockets called a time out, the Lakers bench all ran over to Doncic, hugging him, slapping him and James nudging him for a job very well done.

The Lakers now have a 1-½ game lead over Minnesota for the third seed in the Western Conference.

James was fouled by Jabari Smith Jr. on a break-away layup, forcing him down on the court and holding his right elbow.

James was awarded two free throws with 5:39 remaining, making one to tie the score at 105-105.

Doncic then took over when James went to the bench for a rest.

Doncic’s jumper gave the Lakers a two-point lead and later his pass to Rui Hachimura for a corner three-pointer gave the Lakers one-point lead after Amen Thompson had scored for the Rockets

Doncic drilled a three-pointer for a 113-109 Lakers lead with 3:12 left.

James had a steal in the first quarter and then threw down a dunk with Alperen Segen chasing him, leading to James to stare at Segun as he ran back down court, drawing cheers from the fans in awe at witnessing the 23-year veteran still making highlight plays at 41.

Early in the second quarter, James gave the fans even more to cheer about, catching a high lob pass from Marcus Smart and throwing down a one-handed dunk to oohs and aahs.

James wasn’t done, taking a pass from Jake LaRavia and throwing down another dunk later in the second quarter that brought the crowd out of its seats. That play gave the Lakers a 13-point lead.

James was at it again with a tip dunk off an Ayton missed shot late in the second quarter.

By the end of the first half, James had made all eight of his shots and scored 18 points in carrying the Lakers to a 12-point lead after the first 24 minutes of the game.

James was still dizzying while playing in his 1,610th career NBA game, leaving him one shy of the all-time record held by Robert Parish (1,611).

The Lakers not only had to deal with a Rockets team looking for revenge from Monday night’s loss, but also had to contend with a Houston team that got All-Star center Segun back after missing the previous game with low back pain.

Even more, the Lakers knew that rebounding would be an issue for them just like it was in the first game.

But the Lakers also knew their defense was strong and their offense was powerful.

That was the case in the first quarter, when the Lakers opened a 35-26 lead behind 13 points from Doncic, eight from James and six from Ayton.

Their defense forced the Rockets into four turnovers, two by Kevin Durant.

“I just think regardless of what our coverage is, we just got to do a better job of boxing out, like actually physically boxing out and not just looking at a guy and then turn and look at the ball,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said pregame. “We’ve got to have some contact. That hurt us. We still won scoring-opportunity (points) by seven, I think, because we did such a good job of forcing them into turnovers. And I thought, offensively, when we used our throw-a-heads, we got some really good stuff in transition. (We) missed some threes in transition. Overall, we were 16 points under expected from three. There was segments of the game where I didn’t love what we did offensively, but that’s the nature of playing this team. They’re gonna muck things up.”

Four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers signed a one-year deal with the Steelers last offseason. At 42, he has not ruled out a 2026 return, but the team is waiting to see what comes next.

The NFL’s new league year kicked off last week and the draft is next month. As the Steelers continue through the offseason, at least one former standout made it clear Rodgers’ time in Pittsburgh should be over.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Rod Woodson urged his former team to simply move on from Rodgers. “Is he gonna play? Listen, I get kinda tired of it,” Woodson said on “The Rich Eisen Show.”

“Listen, if he’s gonna play, say he’s gonna play, he’s gonna come back. And the team shouldn’t wait for Aaron Rodgers. They need to move forward.”

While Woodson’s frustration appears to be growing, the Steelers still appear willing to wait. Rodgers recently said he is not aware of any “deadline” but has maintained his offseason training routine.

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Rodgers started in 16 games last season, throwing 24 touchdowns. He helped the Steelers end a five-season AFC North division title drought. But Pittsburgh ultimately could not break its playoff windless streak, losing to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round.

Rodgers spent the first 18 seasons of his NFL career with the Green Bay Packers. He had a two-year stint with the New York Jets before signing with the Steelers.

“What is it with these ex-Green Bay Packers quarterbacks that they have to be talked about all the time?” Woodson added. “‘Cause Brett Favre was that way for years. Remember how we used to have to talk about Brett Favre, talk about Brett Favre.”

Former Ohio State standout Will Howard and NFL veteran Mason Rudolph are set to return to the Steelers in 2026. Concerns about the Steelers’ quarterback room continue to mount, with former star Rod Woodson arguing the team missed a chance to secure a long-term answer in last year’s draft.

“They should’ve taken Jaxson Dart (in the 2025 NFL Draft),” Woodson said. “He fell to them. It was the best opportunity for them to take that quarterback who has that swag, kinda fit into that Steeler mold.”

The Steelers formally introduced Mike McCarthy in January, kicking off a new era. McCarthy replaces Mike Tomlin, who stepped down after 19 seasons as the Steelers’ head coach.

McCarthy coached Rodgers in Green Bay. The new Steelers coach said he’s been in contact with his former quarterback this offseason, adding earlier this year he viewed Rodgers as a “great asset” to the team and suggested the franchise would welcome his return.

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U.S. hockey star Jack Hughes might have lost more than a couple of teeth during the gold-medal-winning victory against Canada at the Milan-Cortina Olympics last month.

The puck that Hughes smacked into the net in overtime to give the United States its first men’s Olympic hockey gold since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” was seemingly forgotten amid the raucous celebration.

But this week, the Hockey Hall of Fame began displaying that puck along with the one Megan Keller knocked into the net in overtime to give the U.S. women’s team gold in Milan. The International Ice Hockey Federation apparently secured the frozen vulcanized rubber disks immediately after the games and handed them to the Hall of Fame located in Toronto.

Hughes is happy “his” puck surfaced but believes he is the rightful owner of a piece of memorabilia that David Kohler, president of SCP Auctions, estimated might be worth $1 million.

“I don’t see why Megan Keller or I shouldn’t have those pucks,” Hughes told ESPN. “I’m trying to get it. Like, that’s [B.S.] that the Hockey Hall of Fame has it, in my opinion. Why would they have that puck?”

Hughes might not like the answer. The provenance of the puck is similar to that of a basketball or football used in a notable moment. It is dissimilar to a historic home run because a baseball leaves the field of play, and the owner becomes the fortunate fan.

“Because of the increasing value of memorabilia, ownership of items has become standardized over the last decade or so,” said an expert who agreed to speak anonymously because they work in the acquisition of such items. “Whoever purchased the puck owns it. Jerseys belong to the team, shoes and gloves to the player, the puck to whoever supplied it to the Olympics.”

That would be the International Ice Hockey Federation, the governing body of the Olympics hockey tournament. The IIHF employees who immediately secured those precious pucks amid gold-medal bedlam apparently did their job well.

“The puck was designated for archival preservation with the Hockey Hall of Fame to ensure its long-term safekeeping and historical recognition,” an IIHF spokesperson said.

The pucks are featured in an “Olympics ‘26” display that also contains a hockey stick used by Brady Tkachuk of the U.S. team and a U.S. jersey worn by four-time Olympian Hilary Knight.

It might strike some as odd that the display is in Canada, where fans are mourning the loss to the United States, but that’s been the location of the Hall of Fame since it was established in 1943. HOF president Jamie Dinsmore said in a statement that the display contains “donated items,” although it is unclear whether the IIHF has donated or merely loaned the pucks to the HOF.

“The Olympics ’26 display will help ensure that these unforgettable Olympic moments are preserved for our guests from around the world to experience,” Dinsmore said.

Meanwhile, Hughes told ESPN he wants the puck to become the property of one particular fan — his father, who collects memorabilia for him and his brothers Quinn and Luke. All three play in the NHL.

“I wouldn’t even want it for myself. I’d want it for my dad. I know he’d just love, love having it,” Hughes said. “When I look back in my career, I don’t collect too many things for myself, but my dad’s a monster collector for the three of us. I know he would have a special place for it.”

Or it could be sold at auction, where certainly it would pay for any dental work Hughes needs after getting teeth knocked out during the gold-medal game. Various auction houses have estimated the value of the puck to be from $40,000 to $1 million.

Should he acquire the puck, though, Hughes might not even consider selling it. The first pick of the 2019 NHL draft, he signed an eight-year, $64 million contract extension with the New Jersey Devils four years ago.