Good morning. Adrian Kempe scored in the first 90 seconds and didn’t stop, finishing with a hat trick as the Kings beat San Jose 7-2 for only their second home win of the season. In Sacramento, Luka Dončić scored 40 for the third straight game, and the Lakers won their third straight. The Clippers led most of the night against Miami and lost 117-116 in overtime on a Klay Thompson 3-pointer with one second left. That’s seven straight losses. On the football side, the Rams lost cornerback Jaylen Watson for the season, and Jim Harbaugh is standing by Justin Herbert. Tonight: the Golden Knights are in Detroit at 4, the Ducks are in Edmonton at 5, and three women’s basketball teams play. Let’s get into it.
🚨 HEADLINES
🏒 Hat trick. Adrian Kempe scored three and the Kings routed San Jose 7-2 — Brady Charette at Crypto.com Arena.
🏀 40, 40, 40. Dončić’s third straight 40-point game carried the Lakers past Sacramento 116-103 — Carlos Yakimowich.
🏀 One second. Klay Thompson’s corner 3 beat the Clippers 117-116 in overtime, their seventh straight loss — Colin Costigan at Intuit Dome.
🏈 Season over. Rams cornerback Jaylen Watson will have shoulder surgery — The Sporting Tribune.
🏈 “That’s not what I see.” Jim Harbaugh defends Justin Herbert as the Chargers’ touchdown drought reaches 27 drives — Fredo Cervantes.
🏈 Youth movement. Rookies Mike Washington Jr. and Trey Zuhn III are earning bigger roles with the Raiders — Derek Hegna.
See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.
📋 SCOREBOARD — WEDNESDAY
🏒 NHL: Kings 7, Sharks 2 · AHL: Barracuda 3, Reign 2 (OT)
🏀 NBA: Lakers 116, Kings 103 · Heat 117, Clippers 116 (OT)
🏒 KEMPE STRIKES THREE TIMES
Less than 90 seconds in, Artemi Panarin sent Adrian Kempe in alone, and Kempe scored. With 3:51 left in the first, he one-timed an Erik Gustafsson pass from the right circle for a 2-0 lead. Later, another one-timer made it 5-1 and completed his fifth career hat trick, his first since 2022-23. He also assisted on a Quinton Byfield goal. The Kings won 7-2.
Brady Charette writes that Kempe now has 37 career multigoal games, passing Dustin Brown for ninth in franchise history. Erik Haula scored on a backhand, and Kenny Connors, called up from Ontario for his season debut, set it up for his first NHL point. The Kings wore their Hometown Remix uniforms and got only their second home win of the season.
“He’s played so well and I feel like he hasn’t really been rewarded,” Peter Laviolette said of Kempe. “It was a big game for us,” Kempe said. “I think everyone came out and responded well.” The Kings are 5-7-2 and host Pittsburgh on Saturday.
GO DEEPER
› Brady Charette: Adrian Kempe’s hat trick fuels Kings in 7-2 rout of Sharks (The Sporting Tribune)
› TST Images: Sharks at Kings (The Sporting Tribune)
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🏀 FORTY AND ONE SECOND
Luka Dončić scored 40 for the third straight game. He had nine rebounds, seven assists and six 3-pointers, and the Lakers beat Sacramento 116-103. Eric Lambkins II writes that Dončić has 308 points through eight games, the most by anyone in that span since Michael Jordan’s 303 in 1988-89. The offense sputtered, so the defense carried it: 13 blocks, 11 steals and 23 points off turnovers. Walker Kessler had four blocks and three steals. “Definitely got my tail kicked a little bit in the first three quarters,” Kessler said. “But I relied on my teammates.” Austin Reaves scored 21 with no turnovers. The Lakers are 7-2 and host Portland on Friday.
The Clippers lost another lead. They led Miami most of the night before Klay Thompson hit a corner 3 with one second left in overtime for a 117-116 Heat win. Colin Costigan writes that the Clippers have blown four leads of 11 or more this season, including 21- and 20-point leads in their last two games. Darius Garland scored 26, including all nine of the Clippers’ overtime points, and Bam Adebayo had 35 for Miami. Thompson finished with 30 and eight 3-pointers. “We’re close, we’re just not finishing the game,” Ty Lue said. The Clippers are 1-7 and host New Orleans on Sunday.
GO DEEPER
› Carlos Yakimowich: Lakers beat Kings behind Luka Dončić’s third straight 40-point game (The Sporting Tribune)
› Eric Lambkins II: Lakers offense stumbles, defense carries in 116-103 win over Sacramento (The Sporting Tribune)
› Carlos Yakimowich: Luka Dončić is giving the Lakers every reason to think MVP (The Sporting Tribune)
› Colin Costigan: Crushing Clippers defeat in OT extends losing streak to seven (The Sporting Tribune)
🏈 THE INJURY REPORT AND THE DROUGHT
The Rams lost another starter. Cornerback Jaylen Watson will have season-ending shoulder surgery. “He’s been such a stud for us,” Sean McVay said, adding that this season’s injuries are “more than any year including ‘22.” Emmanuel Forbes Jr. and Josh Wallace move into bigger roles. The good news: Myles Garrett and Terrance Ferguson were limited participants in practice, and the Rams hope both can play Sunday at Washington. Matthew Stafford, 38, said of his elbow, “I haven’t missed a rep at practice.”
Harbaugh isn’t blaming Herbert. The Chargers are 0-7 and have gone 27 straight drives without a touchdown. Fredo Cervantes writes that Herbert has 10 interceptions and five touchdowns. Asked about Rams safety Quentin Lake’s criticism of Herbert, Jim Harbaugh said, “Everybody’s entitled to their opinion, that’s not what I see.” The Chargers host Houston on Sunday.
The Raiders are turning to rookies. Derek Hegna writes that fourth-round running back Mike Washington Jr. carried 25 times against the Jets to Ashton Jeanty’s two, third-round guard Trey Zuhn III played every snap in his first start, and cornerback Jermod McCoy got extended snaps. The Raiders play San Francisco on Sunday.
USC remembers the stand. Holdenn Graff goes back to the goal-line stand before halftime against Ohio State, when the Trojans held at their own 1. “Just not giving up a blade of grass,” defensive end Luke Wafle said. USC plays at Indiana on Nov. 14.
GO DEEPER
› Rams cornerback Jaylen Watson to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery (The Sporting Tribune)
› Fredo Cervantes: Jim Harbaugh isn’t ready to admit there’s a problem with Justin Herbert (The Sporting Tribune)
› Derek Hegna: Raiders looking at rookies to provide added spark in the lineup (The Sporting Tribune)
› Holdenn Graff: Not a blade of grass: USC’s defense remembers its defining stand (The Sporting Tribune)
🍔 THE DEALS BOARD
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🌮 Jack in the Box — two free tacos with any drink after the Lakers’ win in Sacramento. Code LETSGOLAKERS in the Jack app or online.
🍦 McDonald’s — free McFlurry with a $2 minimum in the app, if the Kings scored in the final minute of the second period against San Jose.
🏟️ FIVE GAMES, ONE THURSDAY
Golden Knights at Red Wings at 4 on ESPN+. Vegas won in Pittsburgh on Tuesday on Tomas Hertl’s late goal, and Victor Olofsson could return from an upper-body injury.
Ducks at Oilers at 5 on Prime Video. Cutter Gauthier has hat tricks in back-to-back games, and the Ducks (7-7-1) have 10 power-play goals in their last three.
Women’s basketball: North Texas at San Diego State at 11 a.m., with more than 4,000 students expected; Hawaii at San Francisco at noon; and UC Irvine at defending champion UCLA at 7.
📌 AROUND THE MARKETS
The Reign’s skid hit five. Cam Lund scored 17 seconds into overtime, and the San Jose Barracuda beat Ontario 3-2. Sabrina McClain writes that the Reign are 1-5 at home. They play two at Abbotsford this weekend.
GO DEEPER
› Sabrina McClain: Reign plummet to 5-game losing streak in overtime loss to Barracuda (The Sporting Tribune)
📺 WATCHLIST — THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5
🏀 WBB: North Texas at San Diego State — Viejas Arena — 11:00 a.m. — Pac-12 YouTube
🏀 WBB: Hawaii at San Francisco — Yeunling Center — 12:00 p.m. — MW+
🏒 NHL: Golden Knights at Red Wings — Little Caesars Arena — 4:00 p.m. — ESPN+
🏒 NHL: Ducks at Oilers — Rogers Place — 5:00 p.m. — Prime Video
🏀 WBB: UC Irvine at UCLA — Pauley Pavilion — 7:00 p.m. — B1G+
🎟️ 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.
🏀 UC Irvine at UCLA (WBB) — Pauley Pavilion — $4
🏀 Blazers at Lakers (Fri.) — Crypto.com Arena — $69
🏒 Penguins at Kings (Sat.) — Crypto.com Arena — $46
🌴 TST TRIVIA
Adrian Kempe passed Dustin Brown on the Kings’ list of multigoal games. How many Stanley Cups did Brown win as the Kings’ captain?
Answer at the bottom.
🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY
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Trivia answer: Two, in 2012 and 2014.
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