Sports
Playing without LeBron James, Lakers have several heroes in win over Portland
The Lakers had little choice Sunday night in their return to Los Angeles, a style of play chosen for them instead of them choosing it.
LeBron James, upgraded to probable earlier in the day, was suddenly on his way out of the lineup, his sore foot severe enough that his dream of an 82-game season ended Sunday evening.
Without James and still without Austin Reaves, Lakers coach JJ Redick said his team would need to play with distinct characteristics.
“We’re going to have to move,” Redick said before the game. “We’re going to have to cut. We’re going to have to pass. We’re going to have to play in transition.”
If this sounds familiar it’s because it’s how Redick has said he wants the Lakers to play with James on the court.
Without him Sunday night in a 107-98 win against Portland, the Lakers didn’t need one hero to take over. The stars of the game changed by the moment — Anthony Davis dominating the paint early. Cam Reddish and Gabe Vincent’s defense triggering the Lakers’ first great run. Rui Hachimura, in front of countryman Shohei Ohtani, efficiently carving up the defense. And D’Angelo Russell playing himself into rhythm first by doing the little things and then by doing the flashy things, hitting the crowd-igniting threes that helped carry the Lakers at times a season ago.
Lakers forward Anthony Davis drives to the basket against Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton in the first half Sunday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“We were running our sets. We were screening well. Guys were getting shots that we had gotten the first couple of games in the season,” Davis said. “It’s not rocket science. We just got to continue to play how we’ve been playing the last couple of games and we’ll be all right.”
Davis finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. Russell had season highs with 28 points and 14 assists coming off the bench, giving the Lakers’ second-unit some desperately needed teeth. And Hachimura scored a season-high 23 on just 13 shots while getting four steals.
“We were really good,” Hachimura said of the Lakers’ early-season offense. “We have that. We just kind of broke that. But I think we can get back easily. So we got to focus on that.”
Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell, right, strips the ball from Portland forward Deni Avdija in the second half Sunday.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
As the Lakers have entered into a bit of an early-season identity crisis, their offensive style has swung from Redick’s preferred motion-based system to more deliberate basketball. Part of that, of course, has to do with Reaves missing the last five games, the Lakers losing one of their primary half-court weapons. Part of it though, has been James admitted adjustments to the Lakers’ plans.
Regardless of why, the numbers don’t lie.
The first 12 games of the season, the Lakers had the NBA’s fifth-rated offense. The last 12 games, the Lakers have the league’s 25th-rated offense.
Lakers guard Dalton Knecht hangs on the rim after dunking against Portland on Sunday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“You have to adapt throughout the season with what works for the group and what works for different players,” Redick said after Sunday’s win. “I will say, night to night, LeBron and AD are gonna have the ball, and the offense is gonna run through them. How we do that has been different at different times throughout the year.
“The other guys are really good offensive players and really talented. And there’s nights where it’s their nights and there’s nights where it’s not. So some of it is feel but again, you have to be open to mixing different things in.”
One of those “other” guys, Russell, had his best offensive game of the season, catching fire in the fourth when he scored 13 points.
Russell declined to speak to the media after the game.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his wife, Mamiko Tanaka, watch the Lakers play the Portland Trail Blazers at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday night.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
The team’s struggles trying to find the right compromise was a guaranteed challenge, the early-season buy-in and execution were sure to suffer once old habits resurfaced. The challenge now for Redick and the players is to recapture who they were early and reinforce that it’s who they should be moving forward.
A game such as Sunday’s, even against the third-worst team in the West, can have some utility for the team as it gets healthier and the challenges increase.
The Lakers now have four days off before they play the Timberwolves in Minnesota, time they need to rest, to recover and to reconsider what kind of basketball they should be playing.
“We know what we’re supposed to do offensively,” Davis said. “We know where we’re supposed to get to as far as our spots, our running patterns, offensive schemes our plays — we know all of that. Just about a matter of executing it.”
The Cleveland Browns, rumored to be willing to trade down from their No. 6 overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft, did just that Thursday evening when the traded the pick to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cleveland traded the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft to the Chiefs, in exchange for the ninth overall pick, as well as pick No. 74 in the third round and No. 148 in the fifth round.
The Browns now hold the No. 9 and No. 24 picks in the first round of the draft. They have a total of 11 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns watch from the sidelines during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 7, 2025. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
So the Chiefs gave up three picks in making the first trade of the first round.
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And we know what the fan bases of both clubs were thinking prior to the selection:
Chiefs fans were thinking we know something they don’t. And then the Chiefs selected cornerback Mansoor Delane from LSU — a move no doubt forced by the club’s trade of Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the offseason.
So, the Chiefs fill a major need, assuming Delane is indeed the quality corner they believe.
LSU Tigers CB Mansoor Delane celebrates a defensive stop against the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium in South Carolina. (Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY Network)
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ESPN’s Mel Kiper didn’t like the pick, by the way. He had Delane as the 14th best player in the draft.
“It was a necessity,” ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former NFL defensive back, responded.
Browns fans weren’t thinking that way.
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They were probably thinking something akin to “We screwed up.”
This is understandable because they’re Browns fans and this could have been the Browns Browning.
Well, the Browns, moving down three slots, gave up a shot to draft linebacker Sonny Styles of Ohio State to the Washington Commanders, receiver Jordyn Tyson to the New Orleans Saints and then the Browns got their chance with the newly acquired No. 9 pick:
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Offensive tackle Spencer Fano of Utah.
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 24, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Fano is good. And he makes the Browns offensive line instantly better because he’s going to likely start at left tackle for them.
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So what will Browns fans think of this pick?
They’ll probably wonder why the Browns didn’t pick Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, who went with the No. 10 pick to the New York Giants and promised “to die for” Jaxson Dart if necessary. They’ll wonder this because Browns fans expect the worst.
UCLA women’s basketball team has added some star power as its revamped roster begins to take shape.
Former Iowa State forward Addy Brown announced Thursday she is committing to UCLA, giving the Bruins one of the top players in the portal.
Brown averaged 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 43.1% from the floor and 33.8% from three-point distance with the Cyclones last season. She played just 21 games due to injury, but she is one of the better two-way players in the nation on the transfer market.
The 6-foot-2 forward co-starred with Audi Crooks for Iowa State the past few seasons and was a part of the mass exodus from the Cyclones’ program.
The Bruins reeled in former North Carolina junior guard Elina Aarnisalo and former Texas Christian senior guard Donovyn Hunter a few weeks ago, adding two more experienced players to the depleted starting lineup after a record six UCLA players were selected in the WNBA draft.
UCLA also signed Arkansas sophomore guard Bonnie Deas earlier this month. She is likely to start at point guard for the Bruins and is one of the best rebounding guards in the nation.
Along with returner Timea Gardiner, the Bruins are starting to form somewhat of a core to defend their national championship. Gardiner was a starter during UCLA’s 2024-25 Final Four run, but missed all of this past season with injury and has one season of eligibility left.
A lineup with Deas and Aarnisalo in the backcourt, Hunter at the three and Gardiner or Brown at the four and adding another big or Sienna Betts at the five would be a competitive lineup in the Big Ten.
Before going to TCU, Hunter played two seasons at Oregon State where she earned All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention and All-Pac-12 Freshman team honors. This past season with a Horned Frogs team that went to the Sweet 16, she was third in scoring with 10.2 points per game and averaged 3.2 rebounds per contest. She also shot 45.7% from the field and was 33.7% from beyond the arc.
Aarnisalo played her freshman year in Westwood after she originally committed to UCLA in 2025. Due to injuries from point guard Kiki Rice at the start of the 2024-25 season, she was forced into action early her freshman season and finished the year averaging 5.1 points per game.
The Helsinki, Finland, native averaged 10.2 points per game for the Tar Heels as a sophomore last season while shooting 47.3% from the field and 40.3% from the arc. The Bruins will desperately need to replace the three-point production lost with the departure of Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
UCLA coach Cori Close said she wanted to sign five players from the portal. She probably needs one more guard and a little more forward depth coming off the bench following the departures of Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalic.
Lena Bilic and Amanda Muse are returners coming off the bench who got a little bit of playing time in the tournament and should have much larger roles, but they are still relatively unproven in late-game situations. They will get a chance to develop as backups with some more Power Four experienced starters now in the fold.
Trump says there’s ‘no time frame’ to secure Iran deal
Republican Minnesota Senate candidate Tom Weiler joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss President Donald Trump’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S.-Iranian conflict continues and react to Gov. Tim Walz’s, D-Minn., criticism of the president.
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Saudi Arabia was among the countries seeing missiles fly into their airspace as a conflict broke out in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran.
The prospect of Iran targeting its Middle Eastern neighbors like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates put some sporting events on hold and questioned others. Formula 1 races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were canceled and rumors swirled around whether future WWE events could be held in the kingdom.
Roman Reigns celebrates his win during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 31, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
As the Trump administration brokered a ceasefire with Iran, WWE announced on Thursday that its Night of Champions premium live event will be held in Riyadh on June 27.
“We are proud to welcome Night of Champions back to Riyadh and look forward to delivering another unforgettable night of WWE action for fans in the Kingdom and around the world,” General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Al-Sheikh said in a news release.
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Sami Zayn makes his entrance during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
The release touted that WrestleMania 43 will still be held in Riyadh in 2027. It will be the first time that WrestleMania is held outside the U.S.
WWE president Nick Khan was adamant before WrestleMania 42 that the event will still take place in Saudi Arabia despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“We’re doing WrestleMania next year in Saudi,” he said at a Sports Business Journal event, via The Sporting Tribune. “First time ever, WrestleMania will be outside the United States or Canada. And we’ve had a big, fruitful partnership with them.”
John Cena wrestles CM Punk during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
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He added that those complaining about WrestleMania being held in Saudi Arabia were a “vocal minority.”
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