Hello, I’m your host, Iliana Limón Romero. She replaces Houston Mitchell. She’s probably preparing to watch Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s first press conference as a Dodger. Let’s get to the news right away.
From Andrew Greif: Clippers star Kawhi Leonard remained sidelined Tuesday, but coach Tyronn Lue said he is making “day-to-day” progress in his recovery from a hip contusion.
But the Clippers also need to improve on something else they’ve been missing over the past three games: defense.
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Sometimes things rarely change. The Clippers’ 113-104 victory over Charlotte at Crypto.com Arena was their 14th consecutive home victory over the Hornets since 2009. With the win, Los Angeles improved to 18-12 and 1-2 in the game. Without Leonard.
Other things have changed a lot recently. In recent weeks, as the Clippers’ defense has pushed the team into the upper echelons of the NBA after a tumultuous November, several veterans have said that the foundation of a strong defense, even with Lue’s talent, is Leonard. He also pointed out that the team is not supported by just one defender. Rather than focusing on a shut down cornerback, the focus is on the game plan and the effort of five interconnected teammates to execute it. That’s why maintaining a strong defense for 82 games proved so difficult.
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Clippers vs. Hornets Overview
nba score
NBA standings
lakers
From Broderick Turner: Even after the Lakers’ strong play against the NBA’s best team, the Boston Celtics, his mind reminded him of what he could have done better.
“I’m always thinking about shots I could have taken,” Anthony Davis said. “Defensive plays you could have made. Rebounds you could have made. Free throws you could have made. Things like that could have changed the game.”
Davis had a dominant performance with 40 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 assists in 38 minutes, 50 seconds, but he stopped the Lakers from losing 126-115 to the Celtics at Crypto.com Arena on Christmas Day. His performance was not good enough.
He made 15 of 26 field goals. He made 8 of 10 free throws.
But Davis lamented missing one free throw in the third quarter, which was a key moment of the game for the Lakers.
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rams
From Gary Klein: Sean McVay, whose team enjoyed something of a mini-bye, was like millions of others who spent most of their holiday weekends watching NFL football.
While the Rams’ coach is focused on getting his players ready for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants, McVay was keeping a close eye on how the NFC playoffs unfold as the games unfold.
“I’m paying very close attention to it,” he said Tuesday in a video conference with reporters. Do I? ‘”
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NFL standings
nfl score
horse racing
From John Chawa: Are there any records for 3-year-old colts running on dirt that trainer Bob Baffert doesn’t have at Santa Anita?
Perhaps, but winning the $300,000 Grade 1 Malibu Stakes isn’t one of them. That’s because Speed Boat Beach easily won by a length and a half on Tuesday’s opening day, giving the horse a record-tying sixth win in a seven-furlong race. against his stablemate Hijazi.
If you’ve never heard of Speedboat Beach, don’t think about Triple Crown. Because, like all racing thoroughbreds, the $200,000 bargain will turn 4 years old on January 1st. Hejaj bought it for $3.55 million.
It was Speedboat Beech’s fourth win in seven career starts, ridden by jockey Flavien Prat. His last finish was fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, also at Santa Anita. He was the favorite to win Tuesday, and he paid $5.20 to win.
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soccer
From Kevin Baxter: For more than a decade, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been at the center of a fierce and largely unresolved debate over who is the greatest soccer player in history.
Ten years from now, they may still be part of that discussion. The question then may be: Who were those two guys before Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland?
That may sound like a bit of a stretch, but consider the evidence.
Ronaldo, 38, and Messi, 36, broke records, redefined greatness and took the sport to new heights. Soccer is more popular, more profitable, and better played than at any point in history. A big reason for that is Ronaldo and Messi, who defined an era, if not the sport as a whole.
Messi of Barcelona and Ronaldo of Real Madrid have spent most of their careers playing against each other in Spain’s La Liga, and have helped each other improve, winning a combined 19 league titles, four Champions League titles, and the Ballon d’Or. They achieved a great level together, winning the award 13 times. Neither could have been reached alone.
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high school
From Eric Sondheimer: From an entertainment standpoint, the game fans wanted to see in Tuesday’s St. Francis Tournament basketball opener between Pilibos junior guard Ant Balian and Blair sophomore guard Timmy Anderson He gave me everything.
Varian contributed 38 points and Anderson contributed 37 points. Pilibos won 96-78.
Anderson averaged 34 points per game and Varian averaged 30 points. Varian scored 16 points in the second quarter to give Pilibos (9-3) a 52-35 lead at halftime.
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bowl schedule
always pacific
Tuesday’s results
quick lane bowl
Minnesota 30, Bowling Green 24
first responder bowl
Texas 45, Rice 21
guaranteed rate bowl
Kansas 49, UNLV 36
today’s match
military bowl
11 a.m., ESPN
Tulane vs. Virginia Tech
dukes mayo bowl
2:30 p.m., ESPN
North Carolina vs. West Virginia
holiday bowl
5 p.m., Fox
No. 15 Louisville vs. USC
texas bowl
6 p.m., ESPN
No. 20 Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M
Thursday
fenway bowl
8 a.m., ESPN
No.24 SMU vs. Boston College
pinstripe bowl
11:15 a.m., ESPN
Miami vs. Rutgers
pop tart bowl
2:45 p.m., ESPN
North Carolina State University vs. Kansas State University
alamo bowl
6:15 p.m., ESPN
No. 12 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Arizona
Friday
gator bowl
9 a.m., ESPN
No. 22 Clemson vs. Kentucky
sun bowl
11 a.m., CBS
No. 19 Oregon State vs. No. 16 Notre Dame
liberty bowl
12:30 p.m., ESPN
Iowa State vs. Memphis
cotton bowl
5 p.m., ESPN
No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Missouri
Saturday
peach bowl
9 a.m., ESPN
No. 10 Penn State vs. No. 11 Ole Miss
Music City Bowl
11am, ABC
Auburn vs Maryland
orange bowl
1 p.m., ESPN
5th place Florida State University vs. 6th place Georgia State
arizona bowl
1:30 p.m., The CW
Toledo vs. Wyoming
Monday
Lillia Quest Bowl
9am, ESPN2
No. 13 LSU vs. Wisconsin
citrus bowl
9am, ABC
No. 17 Iowa vs. No. 21 Tennessee
fiesta bowl
9 a.m., ESPN
No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 23 Liberty
rose bowl
2 p.m., ESPN
1st place Michigan vs. 4th place Alabama
sugar bowl
5:45 p.m., ESPN
2nd place Washington vs. 3rd place Texas
Monday, January 8th
1:30 p.m., ESPN
College Football Playoff National Championship Game
All past bowl scores
This date in sports
1953 — The Detroit Lions defeat the Cleveland Browns 17-16 to win the NFL Championship. Doak Walker’s extra point following a 33-yard scoring pass made the difference.
1959 — The Baltimore Colts defeat the New York Giants 31-16 for the NFL Championship. Pat Summerall’s three field goals gave the Giants a 9-7 lead after three periods, but Baltimore’s defensive backfield threw three interceptions that led to the score.
1964 — After a scoreless first half, the Cleveland Browns break through with 17 points in the third quarter to defeat the Baltimore Colts 27-0 and win the NFL title.
1974 — Ohio State junior running back Archie Griffin wins the Heisman Trophy.
1981 — Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers has four goals and one assist in a 10-3 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Kings, becoming the fastest NHLer to reach 100 points in a season (38th game). ).
1987 — Steve Largent of the Seattle Seahawks becomes the NFL’s all-time receptions leader in the Seahawks’ 41-20 loss to Kansas City. Largent earned a 752 with six catches, surpassing San Diego’s Charlie Joyner’s 750. Gail Thielens, who will announce games on NBC, will be the first female play-by-play announcer in NFL history.
1999 — Joe Sakic scores his 1,000th career point with a second-period assist to help the Colorado Avalanche defeat the St. Louis Blues 5–1.
2000 — Mario Lemieux makes a remarkable comeback three and a half years after retirement, scoring a goal and assisting two others (1) as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-0. is the first pass of the first shift, with at least one assist).
2005 — Rudy Carpenter passes for 467 yards and four touchdowns as Arizona State holds off Rutgers for a 45-40 victory in the Insight Bowl. Both teams combined for 1,210 yards, a bowl game record.
2008 — Pat White, the most prolific running quarterback in college football history, has the best passing game of his career as he leads West Virginia to a 31-30 victory over North Carolina State in the Meineke Bowl. The senior was named bowl MVP for the third straight year and finished 4-0 in postseason games, becoming the first quarterback to accomplish this feat.
2010 — Nicklas Kronwall scores the game-winning goal with 1:18 left in overtime, Chris Osgood stops a season-high 46 shots in the Detroit Red Wings’ 4-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. He became the 10th goaltender in NHL history. 400 wins.
2015 — Julio Jones’ dramatic 70-yard touchdown reception gives the Atlanta Falcons a 20-13 victory over Cam Newton and the Panthers, 14-1, ending Carolina’s bid for an undefeated season.
2015 — Kansas City beats Cleveland 17-13 to win nine straight, clinching a playoff spot despite Pittsburgh losing to Baltimore. The Chiefs and the 1986 Jets are the only teams in NFL history to win nine games and lose five in the same season.
2017 — Raheem Sterling scores as Manchester City beat Newcastle United 1-0 at St James’ Park. EPL record 18 consecutive wins. Their winning streak ended with a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace 31/12.
2022 — The Dallas Mavericks defeat the New York Knicks 126-121, making Luka Doncic the first player in NBA history to record a triple-double with a record of 60-21-10. The first 60-point game in Mavs franchise history.
Edited by Associated Press
And finally
Take a look back at the Times Sports staff’s favorite stories from 2023.
Until next time…
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