Good morning. The Lakers missed their first 12 3-pointers on Friday and trailed Portland at halftime. Then they outscored the Blazers 34-15 in the third quarter, and Luka Dončić finished with 53 in a 124-118 win. The Lakers are 8-2, their best start since the 2019-20 championship season. The Ducks came back from two goals down in Calgary to win their fourth straight and sweep their Western Canada trip. The Wave’s season ended with a 1-0 home loss to Utah in the NWSL quarterfinals. Today: UCLA football is at Minnesota at 9, LAFC, the Galaxy and San Diego FC all close the MLS regular season at 4, and the Kings host Pittsburgh at 6. Let’s get into it.
🚨 HEADLINES
🏀 53. Dončić scored 20 in the third quarter, and the Lakers rallied past Portland 124-118 — Carlos Yakimowich at Crypto.com Arena.
🏀 8-2. Dončić is the MVP favorite, but Arash Markazi writes that the Lakers are becoming something bigger — Arash Markazi at Crypto.com Arena
🏒 Four straight. Cutter Gauthier’s late goal finished a comeback from 3-1 down in Calgary — Brady Charette.
⚽ Season over. The No. 2 seed Wave lost 1-0 to No. 7 Utah in the NWSL quarterfinals — Angel Rodriguez at Snapdragon Stadium.
🏀 29 in his home debut. UCLA freshman Nikola Kusturica led a 114-63 rout of North Florida — Jack Haslett at Pauley Pavilion.
🏀 By 72. Hawaii beat Bethesda 116-44, the biggest win in program history — The Sporting Tribune.
See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.
📋 SCOREBOARD — FRIDAY
🏀 NBA: Lakers 124, Trail Blazers 118 · G League: Coachella Valley Lakers 104, Salt Lake City Stars 98
🏒 NHL: Ducks 5, Flames 3
⚽ NWSL quarterfinal: Utah Royals 1, Wave 0
🏀 MBB: UCLA 114, North Florida 63 · Hawaii 116, Bethesda 44 · WBB: UNLV 69, UTSA 51
🏀 FIFTY-THREE AND COUNTING
The Lakers missed their first 12 3-pointers. At halftime they were 4 of 23 from deep and trailed Portland, a team that had already beaten them this season, 60-53. “We talked in the locker room about belief, and we all believe in each other,” Dončić said.
They came out on a 20-8 run, outscored Portland 34-15 in the third quarter and took an 87-75 lead into the fourth. Dončić scored 20 of his 53 in the third. The Lakers forced 24 turnovers and grabbed 17 offensive rebounds. Austin Reaves started 0 for 7 and finished with 25, and Walker Kessler had 16 points and 12 rebounds. “He’s my MVP,” Kessler said of Dončić. “I think it’s pretty clear right now.”
Dončić has 361 points through nine games, the most since Wilt Chamberlain’s 472 in 1962-63. His 40.1 points a game ranks third in NBA history through a player’s first nine games, behind two Chamberlain seasons. It was his fourth 50-point game as a Laker. “Basketball was my dream,” he said. “Playing in the NBA was my dream, so I’m just playing my dream.”
Arash Markazi writes that the bigger story is the team forming around Dončić. More than 45 minutes after the game, Dončić and Reaves were still yelling at each other across the locker room. Reaves traces the chemistry to the offseason trip Dončić organized to Slovenia. “I think it’s a group that cares about one another,” Reaves said. “That’s our leader doing his job.” JJ Redick won’t get ahead of himself. “You don’t become a resilient team in 10 games,” he said. “It takes a full season.”
GO DEEPER
› Carlos Yakimowich: Lakers rally past Blazers behind Dončić’s 53 points (The Sporting Tribune)
› Arash Markazi: Luka Dončić is the MVP favorite, but the 8-2 Lakers are the real story (The Sporting Tribune)
› TST Images: Trail Blazers at Lakers (The Sporting Tribune)
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🏒 A SWEEP IN CANADA, A LOSS IN SAN DIEGO
The Ducks keep finding a way. Down 3-1 in Calgary, they scored the last four goals. Tristan Luneau and Leo Carlsson, on the power play, tied it, and Cutter Gauthier won it with a one-timer with 1:34 left, his 10th goal in five games. Lukáš Dostál, in his first start since a blown third-period lead in Vancouver, stopped all 10 shots he faced over the last two periods. “He kept us in the game,” Mikael Granlund said. “We found a way.” Brady Charette writes that the Ducks (9-7-1) swept their three-game Western Canada trip for six points. They host Pittsburgh on Sunday in their new Hometown Remix jerseys.
The Wave’s season ended early. The No. 2 seed lost 1-0 at home to No. 7 Utah on Kiana Palacios’ goal in the 30th minute, the first playoff goal in Royals history. Utah goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn made the save of the night in the 61st minute. Angel Rodriguez writes that the Wave had beaten Utah twice in the regular season and finished on a seven-game unbeaten run, and that this is their second straight quarterfinal exit. “I refuse to let that define our season,” Jonas Eidevall said.
GO DEEPER
› Brady Charette: Ducks erase two-goal deficit, defeat Flames for fourth straight win (The Sporting Tribune)
› Angel Rodriguez: San Diego Wave’s title hopes end in 1-0 quarterfinal defeat to Utah Royals (The Sporting Tribune)
› TST Images: Utah Royals at Wave (The Sporting Tribune)
🏀 FRIDAY NIGHT HOOPS
UCLA’s freshman lit up Pauley. Nikola Kusturica scored 26 of his 29 in the first half, on 10 of 12 shooting for the night, and No. 22 UCLA beat North Florida 114-63 after a 28-3 run. “I just kept shooting,” Kusturica said. “I see the ball go in and I just kept shooting.” Jalen Petty added 22.
Hawaii broke a 64-year-old record. The Rainbow Warriors beat Bethesda 116-44 in the opener of the 60th Rainbow Classic. The 72-point margin broke the program record of 67, set in 1962, and gave Eran Ganot his 200th career win. Hawaii plays UT Arlington on Sunday.
UNLV’s women got their first win. Before tipoff, the Lady Rebels retired Las Vegas native Desi-Rae Young’s No. 23. Then Jasmyn Lott scored 22 in a 69-51 win over UTSA. “Nobody deserves it more than her,” Lott said of Young.
Bronny James had 22 in the Coachella Valley Lakers’ first game, a 104-98 win over Salt Lake City in front of 5,241 at Acrisure Arena. And San Diego State captain Bailey Barnhard became the first Aztec to win the Kay Yow Servant Leader award.
GO DEEPER
› Jack Haslett: Freshman phenom leads the way in No. 22 UCLA’s beatdown of North Florida (The Sporting Tribune)
› Hawaii sets program record with 72-point rout of Bethesda (The Sporting Tribune)
› Arion Armeniakos: Lott takes over in Lady Rebels’ dominant first win (The Sporting Tribune)
› Ernesto Madrigal-Rodriguez: Coachella Valley Lakers era starts off with a win (The Sporting Tribune)
› Eric Evelhoch: Barnhard earns Kay Yow Servant Leader honor (The Sporting Tribune)
🍔 THE DEALS BOARD
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🌮 Jack in the Box — two free tacos with any drink after the Lakers’ win over Portland. Code LETSGOLAKERS in the Jack app or online.
Today’s triggers: an LAFC win brings a DoorDash code ($10 off $20 or more) on LAFC’s Instagram story. A San Diego FC home win gets a free Western Bacon Cheeseburger at Carl’s Jr. If the Kings score in the final minute of the second period, McDonald’s app users get a free McFlurry tomorrow.
🏟️ A FULL SATURDAY
UCLA at Minnesota at 9 a.m. on FOX. The Bruins are 8-0 and No. 5 in the AP poll.
MLS Decision Day at 4 on Apple TV: LAFC at Seattle, still chasing a top-four seed; the Galaxy at Real Salt Lake, where a win clinches a playoff spot; and San Diego FC at Sporting Kansas City.
Penguins at Kings at 6 on ABTV. Adrian Kempe had a hat trick in the Kings’ last game.
Also: San Diego State’s men play Colorado in the Bill Walton Classic at 12:30 on USA; Samford at UNLV’s men at 1; Hawaii football at UTEP at 6:30 on FS1; and Wyoming at UNLV football at 7:30 on CBSSN.
📌 AROUND THE MARKETS
Southern Section Division 2 is set. Austin Montgomery has top seed Chaparral and Bishop Amat as the favorites, Pacifica as a dark horse, and Crean Lutheran beating Inglewood in the final. The first round is Friday.
GO DEEPER
› Austin Montgomery: CIF Southern Section Division 2 preview (The Sporting Tribune)
📺 WATCHLIST — SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7
🏈 CFB: UCLA at Minnesota — Huntington Bank Stadium — 9:00 a.m. — FOX
🏀 MBB: San Diego State vs. Colorado — Pechanga Arena — 12:30 p.m. — USA
🏀 MBB: Samford at UNLV — Thomas & Mack Center — 1:00 p.m. — MW+
⚽ MLS: LAFC at Sounders — Lumen Field — 4:00 p.m. — Apple TV
⚽ MLS: Galaxy at Real Salt Lake — America First Field — 4:00 p.m. — Apple TV
⚽ MLS: San Diego FC at Sporting KC — Children’s Mercy Park — 4:00 p.m. — Apple TV
🏒 NHL: Penguins at Kings — Crypto.com Arena — 6:00 p.m. — ABTV
🏈 CFB: Hawaii at UTEP — Sun Bowl — 6:30 p.m. — FS1
🏈 CFB: Wyoming at UNLV — Allegiant Stadium — 7:30 p.m. — CBSSN
🎟️ GOING TO A GAME?
Get-in prices across Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii — brought to you by TickPick, the no-hidden-fee ticket marketplace.
🏒 Penguins at Kings — Crypto.com Arena — $53
🏈 Wyoming at UNLV — Allegiant Stadium — $24
🏒 Penguins at Ducks (Sun.) — Honda Center — $48
🌴 TST TRIVIA
Only Wilt Chamberlain has scored more points through nine games than Luka Dončić. What was Chamberlain’s scoring average for the full 1961-62 season, still the NBA record?
Answer at the bottom.
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Trivia answer: 50.4 points per game.
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