The Sports Report: Lakers cough up big lead and lose to Celtics

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. The frustrating Lakers season continued Tuesday against Boston. The Celtics raced off to a lead, but the Lakers came out in the third quarter like a team possessed, taking the lead. In fact, they had a 13-point lead with 3:49 to go in regulation, but couldn’t hang on, as Boston rallied to send the game into overtime, eventually winning. All Lakers fans know why they lost though. Just look at the photo atop this newsletter: It’s those hideous uniforms. The Lakers wear Purple and Gold, not Pillsbury Doughboy white/gray.

We also take a look at why there is one less reason to watch the Rams the rest of this season, how UCLA can improve its men’s basketball tournament seeding, how Lionel Messi is only one step away from cementing his legacy as the greatest soccer player ever and blowout losses by the Kings and Ducks.

From Dan Woike: The Lakers and their stars were at their best, the Eastern Conference favorite firing their best shots at LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook and only landing glancing blows.

It happened in Milwaukee, on a night when the Lakers cooked up such a great performance that anything sort of felt possible.

The pieces were there. The possibility existed. The Lakers were figuring it out if things could go just right.

But here, back in Los Angeles, on Tuesday night, their performance against the Boston Celtics, was a reminder that the NBA doesn’t quite work that way.

None of it made sense. Marcus Smart in gold sneakers, Russell Westbrook in green shoes, the Celtics blowing a 20-point lead only to see the Lakers cough up a 13-point advantage in the fourth quarter.

The Lakers’ offense went ice cold in overtime and the Boston Celtics came all the way back to win 122-118 in overtime – a classic game in the team’s regular-season history but a brutal finish considering the position the Lakers were in after coming all the way back.

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RAMS

From Gary Klein: Quarterback Baker Mayfield is on track to start the Rams’ last four games, but injured star wide receiver Cooper Kupp will not be catching any of Mayfield’s passes.

Coach Sean McVay on Tuesday made it clear that Kupp, like quarterback Matthew Stafford, almost certainly will not play again until the 2023 season.

“You won’t see Cooper this year,” McVay said during a videoconference with reporters, adding, “I would be hard-pressed to see any scenario that he would play again this year.”

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UCLA BASKETBALL

From Ben Bolch: Both from and of Los Angeles, David Singleton didn’t own a winter coat until his itinerary demanded it this week. That’s not to say the UCLA shooting guard was wholly unprepared for his team’s East Coast swing.

His collection of more than 150 pairs of shoes happened to include a pair of Jordan 9 boots, their sturdy soles built for the cold, rainy mess the Bruins expect to endure while trekking for a road game against Maryland and a neutral-site showdown against Kentucky at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

The only other time UCLA has left home this season, venturing into the chilly Las Vegas desert, the Bruins were out of their element in the elements.

Losses to Illinois and Baylor left them with a lot of work to do to improve their NCAA tournament standing, like students who had missed two weeks of classes before a midterm exam. Wins over the No. 20 Terrapins (8-2) on Wednesday at Xfinity Center and the No. 13 Wildcats (7-2) on Saturday could help the No. 16 Bruins (8-2) catch up quickly.

“Games of this magnitude affect a lot,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin acknowledged when asked about the trip’s importance for NCAA tournament seeding purposes.

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MIKE LEACH DIES

USC football coach Lincoln Riley joined many others honoring Leach after the Mississippi State coach died Monday night following complications from a heart condition at the age of 61. Leach is survived by his wife, Sharon, and four children. He was a head coach for 21 years.

Riley posted on Twitter Tuesday morning: “Coach - You will certainly be missed, but your impact on so many will live on. - Thankful for every moment. You changed my life and so many others. All of our prayers are with Sharon & the Leach family - Rest In Peace my friend.”

West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen, who also was part of Leach’s staff at Texas Tech early in his career, posted on Twitter:

“Mike Leach was more than an incredible, innovative, impactful, successful, popular football coach. He was all that as a husband to Sharon and a father to Janeen, Kimberly, Cody & Kiersten! Brilliant, thoughtful, kind man who taught me so much in so many different ways. RIP Coach!

Tributes flowed from both inside and outside the college football world.

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Appreciation: ‘Call anytime.’ Football great Mike Leach always seemed eager to learn from others

Pioneering college football coach Mike Leach dies at 61

KINGS

Tage Thompson scored two third-period power-play goals, and Craig Anderson stopped 40 shots in the Buffalo Sabres’ 6-0 win over the Kings on Tuesday night.

Pheonix Copley stopped 25 shots for the Kings, who dropped to 5-6-4 in their past 15. They also allowed four or more goals for the sixth time in their past 11.

Copley allowed six goals on 16 shots in the final frame in making his third start since being called up from the minors following Cal Petersen’s demotion on Dec. 1.

DUCKS

Mitch Marner had two assists to extend his point streak to 23 games and Ilya Samsonov made 28 saves for his second straight shutout as the Toronto Maple Leafs thumped the lowly Ducks 7-0 on Tuesday.

John Gibson allowed two goals on 27 shots for last-place Anaheim (7-20-3) before being replaced by Lukas Dostal, who finished with 10 stops.

WORLD CUP

From Kevin Baxter in Qatar: It seemed fitting that when the final whistle blew on Tuesday’s World Cup semifinal, mercifully ending Argentina’s 3-0 dismantling of Croatia, Lionel Messi stood alone in the center of the field, drinking in the celebration.

Messi has stood apart from the crowd throughout this tournament, the last World Cup of his storied career. He’s scored five goals, four of which put his team ahead to stay. Only France’s Kylian Mbappe has as many.

He’s assisted on three others; no one has more.

Eight of Argentina’s tournament-leading 12 goals have come from or through Messi, who has willed his team into a second World Cup final in eight years, moving him within a win of lifting the one trophy that has eluded him.

One game, against the winner of Wednesday’s France-Morocco semifinal, will determine whether Messi is the best of all time, or simply a great player who never won on the sport’s biggest stage. The pressure should be suffocating; it has crushed Messi before.

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Schedule
All times Pacific
Semifinals
Tuesday’s result
Argentina 3, Croatia 0

Today
France vs. Morocco, 11 a.m., Fox, Telemundo, Peacock

Third-place match
Saturday
Croatia vs. TBD, 7 a.m., Fox, Telemundo, Peacock

Championship match
Sunday
Argentina vs. TBD, 7 a.m., Fox, Telemundo, Peacock

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Complete World Cup coverage

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1920 — Jack Dempsey knocks out Bill Brennan in the 12th round at Madison Square Garden to retain his world heavyweight title.

1933 — Howie Morenz becomes the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer in the Montreal Canadiens’ 2-0 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Morenz scores the 247th goal of his career to move ahead of Cy Denneny. The milestone comes at the Forum. Montreal’s Lorne Chabot gets the shutout and the a game is played without a penalty being called.

1947 — The Cleveland Browns beat the New York Yankees 14-3 in the second AAFC championship game. It’s the second straight year the two team meet in the title game, with Browns coming out on top again.

1965 — Rookie Rick Barry of the San Francisco Warriors scores 57 points in a 141-137 loss to the New York Knicks.

1975 — Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar grabs an NBA-record 29 defensive rebounds in a 110-100 victory over Detroit.

1982 — Marcel Dionne of the Kings scores his 500th goal in a 7-2 loss to the Washington Capitals. Dionne is the ninth player in NHL history to reach the milestone.

1985 — UCLA beats American University 1-0 in the eighth overtime period, in the longest soccer match held in the United States, to capture the NCAA soccer title.

1986 — Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins sets an NFL record with the seventh 400-yard game of his career as he passes for 403 yards and five touchdowns in a 37-31 overtime victory over the Rams. Marino hits Mark Duper with a 20-yard touchdown pass in overtime to win the game.

1991 — Desmond Howard, the nation’s second-leading scorer with 23 TDs, wins the Heisman Trophy by the second-biggest margin in history. The Michigan receiver beats runner-up Casey Weldon of Florida State by 1,574 points.

1995 — The first Division I-A overtime game takes place at the Las Vegas Bowl with Toledo beat Nevada 40-37.

1997 — The New York Jets equal the NFL mark for greatest turnaround in modern NFL history with their 31-0 victory over Tampa Bay. The Jets, 1-15 last season, post their ninth win of the season.

2002 — Marvin Harrison breaks Herman Moore’s 1995 mark of 123 catches. By making nine receptions in a 28-23 win at Cleveland, Harrison reaches 127 with two games remaining. He also gains 172 yards, giving Harrison 1,500 yards for the second straight season, the first player with consecutive 1,500-yard seasons.

2002 — Michael Jordan matches his career low with two points as the Washington Wizards beat the short-handed Toronto Raptors. The 39-year-old Jordan shoots 1-for-9 from the field, but has nine assists and eight rebounds as he matches his season high by playing 40 minutes.

2007 — Appalachian State, which kicked off the football season with the stunning upset of Michigan, ends the season with a historic victory. The Mountaineers are Division I-AA’s first three-peat national champion with a 49-21 win over Delaware.

2008 — Oakland becomes the first team to lose at least 11 games in six straight seasons after their 49-26 loss to New England. The Patriots’ 35 first-half points are the most scored against Oakland since the merger in 1970.

2008 — Pittsburgh holds another team under 300 yards in beating Baltimore 13-9. The Steelers tie the 1973 Rams for the longest streak — 14 games to start a season — since the NFL merger in 1970.

2021 Steph Curry makes his 2,974th three-point shot to pass Ray Allen as the NBA’s greatest career 3-point shooter during Golden State Warriors’ 105-96 win over NY Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

The Kings’ 50 greatest moments: Marcel Dionne joins the team. Watch and listen here.