From Broderick Turner: Luka Doncic and LeBron James were listed as questionable for the Lakers’ back-to-back game Tuesday night against the Atlanta Hawks. Doncic because of left groin soreness, James because of left foot joint arthritis and right sciatica.
Also, checking the stat sheet before the game, the Lakers were listed as one of the worst three-point shooting teams and one of the worst defensive shooting percentage teams in the league.
Well, Luka played and LeBron played and the Lakers shot lights-out from three-point range and were solid across the board on defense while building a 32-point lead in the third quarter and rolling over the Hawks 141-116 at Crypto.com Arena.
“We didn’t expect him (James) to be able to play. I mean, that’s just the nature of a 41-year-old body who plays heavy minutes. And he just said, “I’m going to try. I’m going to try to do everything I can, do my normal routine if I’m able to go.’ And same thing with Luka,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
“So, both those guys I thought just completely led the group tonight and it was evident 22 assists between them. Obviously they made some shots too, but I just thought they did a great job of leading the group.”
Why LeBron James’ Lakers jersey has a new ‘super cool’ patch
Chargers fire their OC
From Sam Farmer: Two days after their playoff fiasco at New England, the Chargers achieved something they were unable to do on the field.
They created separation.
That came in the form of firings, with the team parting ways with offensive coordinator Greg Roman and offensive line coach Mike Devlin.
The move came in the wake of yet another one-and-done performance in the postseason, a 16-3 loss in the AFC wild-card playoffs in which the Chargers generated 207 yards of offense and converted one of 10 third downs.
NFL playoffs schedule
All times Pacific
Divisional round
NFC
Saturday
No. 6 San Francisco at No. 1 Seattle, 5 p.m., (FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes)
Sunday
No. 5 Rams at No. 2 Chicago, 3:30 p.m. (NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, Universo)
AFC
Saturday
No. 6 Buffalo at No. 1 Denver, 1:30 p.m., (CBS, Paramount+)
Sunday
No. 5 Houston at No. 2 New England, noon (ESPN/ABC, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes)
Conference championships
Sunday, Jan. 25
AFC
Noon, (CBS, Paramount+)
NFC
3:30 p.m. (FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes)
Noon
Super Bowl
Sunday, Feb. 8, NBC, Time TBA
Jordan Marsh leads USC past Maryland
From Ryan Kartje: The last time USC played on its home floor, more than three weeks ago, the tone of the Trojans’ season felt decidedly different. They were 12-1, ranked in the top 25. Everything seemed to be trending in the right direction.
By the time they’d returned in the new year, that picture looked far more bleak. Two blowout losses in Michigan and a narrow overtime escape from Minnesota had made clear how tenuous the Trojans’ early success had been. Then the timeline for star freshman Alijah Arenas’ return was pushed back indefinitely, another foreboding sign in a season filled with them.
But after some dark days away from home and in desperate need of a night to find its footing, USC came to life Tuesday on its home court in an 88-71 win over Maryland.
“We went through adversity on that road trip,” forward Jacob Cofie said. “I feel like we bounced back.”
Alijah Arenas’ return is delayed
From Ryan Kartje: The long-awaited debut of star USC freshman Alijah Arenas will have to wait at least another week.
Arenas is “progressing well” from the knee injury he suffered in the summer, but not ready to return, a person familiar with his status not authorized to speak publicly told The Times.
The five-star prospect has already been ruled out for this week’s matchups against Maryland or Purdue, which had initially been the target for his return.
UCLA gets big bucks
From Ben Bolch: Bob Chesney and Mick Cronin could have a new major ally in their bid to compete in the Big Ten.
A $17.3-million gift from late alumnus and longtime donor Lawrence “Larry” Layne will benefit the UCLA football and men’s basketball programs, giving them essential financial resources as they try to keep up with their cash-infused conference counterparts.
The football team will receive $9.6 million and the men’s basketball program $7.7 million as part of Layne’s more than $40-million pledge to various university programs. The donation to the athletic department is believed to be the biggest in more than a decade.
The money will be used to support the teams in a variety of ways, but cannot be used for name, image and likeness purposes. It is not currently known when the money will be distributed.
Ryan Garcia returns to the ring
From Edward Cauich: Ryan Garcia will return to the ring nine months after his loss to Rolando “Rolly” Romero in May 2025, and he will do so in a world championship fight against Mario Barrios, the current World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion. The 12-round bout will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Feb. 21.
Turki Alalshikh, president of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia, confirmed the matchup. The event will be called “The Ring: High Stakes” and broadcast by DAZN pay-per-view.
Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs) won the WBC welterweight world championship in September 2023 and has defended the title twice, both times in fights that went the full 12 rounds. In November 2024, he fought to a split draw against Abel Ramos, and in July 2025, he recorded a majority draw against legendary former world champion Manny Pacquiao.
Ducks end winless streak
Chris Kreider and Beckett Sennecke scored goals, Lukas Dostal survived a barrage of shots in the final minutes, and the Ducks beat the Dallas Stars 3-1 on Tuesday night to end a nine-game skid.
Jacob Trouba also scored for the Ducks, and Dostal stopped 24 shots — many of them from point-blank range after Dallas pulled the goalie twice in the final minutes. The Ducks were 0-8-1 since a 4-1 win against Columbus on Dec. 20.
The Ducks had given up five goals or more in each of their last five games, and they played one of the NHL’s best teams without their three top point scorers in Leo Carlsson, Troy Terry and Cutter Gauthier, who sat out because of injury or illness.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1943 — Montreal’s Alex Smart scores three goals in his first NHL game and leads the Canadiens to a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
1962 — Margaret Smith wins her third straight Australian Open with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Jan Lehane.
1968 — The Green Bay Packers win their second straight Super Bowl. The game draws the first $3 million gate in football history. Bart Starr, the game’s MVP, completes 13 of 24 passes for 202-yards.
1973 — The Miami Dolphins, who went 14-0 in the regular season and won two playoff games, beat the Washington Redskins 14-7 in the Super Bowl to become the only undefeated team in NFL history.
1990 — Joe Montana sets an NFL record when he tosses his 30th and 31st postseason touchdown passes as the San Francisco 49ers beat the Rams 30-3 in the NFC championship game. Terry Bradshaw had thrown 30.
1990 — John Elway passes for 385 yards and three touchdowns as the Denver Broncos advance to their fourth Super Bowl with a 37-21 victory over the Cleveland Browns in the AFC Championship.
2001 — Led by Kerry Collins’ five touchdown passes, the New York Giants reach their first Super Bowl in a decade with a 41-0 romp past the hapless Minnesota Vikings — the biggest rout in NFC championship history.
2006 — Johnny Weir win’s his third straight title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and Sasha Cohen takes the women’s division.
2007 — In Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria, Julia Mancuso and Lindsey Kildow captures the top two places in a World Cup super-combi and Resi Stiegler just misses making it an American sweep. The 1-2-4 finish is a first for American women in a World Cup alpine skiing event.
2012 — Tom Brady throws for a record-tying six touchdown passes, five in the first half and three to Rob Gronkowski, to lead the New England Patriots to a 45-10 win over Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos in the divisional playoffs.
2012 — Alex Smith completes a 14-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis with 9 seconds left just after Drew Brees put the high-powered Saints ahead, and the resurgent San Francisco 49ers capitalize on five New Orleans turnovers for a thrilling 36-32 playoff victory.
2017 — Top-ranked UConn breaks its own NCAA record with its 91st consecutive victory, scoring the first 21 points and romping past SMU 88-48. Coach Geno Auriemma and the Huskies (16-0) surpass the record of 90 that his team first accomplished more than six years ago. The four-time defending national champion Huskies haven’t lost a game since falling in overtime at sixth-ranked Stanford on Nov. 17, 2014.
2017 — New England’s Dion Lewis becomes the first in NFL postseason history to have a rushing TD, receiving TD and kickoff return for a TD in a single game, which led to the Patriots’ 34-16 division playoff win over Houston.
2020 — Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora is fired amid Major League Baseball’s investigation into sign-stealing by the Houston Astros; Cora was the Astros’ bench coach before moving to Boston
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.