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  • Isaiah Hartenstein nabs first triple-double as Thunder blast Magic

    (Photo credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images)

    Isaiah Hartenstein had his first career triple-double and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder blew out the Orlando Magic 128-92 at home Tuesday.

    Hartenstein had 12 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists, securing the triple-double when he picked up an assist on Isaiah Joe’s 3-pointer five minutes into the fourth quarter.

    Joe came off the bench for a game-high 22 points, tying a season high, while Luguentz Dort scored 18 and Chet Holmgren had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

    The Thunder jumped out to a big lead early and were never seriously threatened the rest of the way in their third win in four games.

    Jalen Suggs led Orlando with 20 points, going 7 of 11 from the field. Paolo Banchero had 17.

    After a quick start, Gilgeous-Alexander cooled considerably, but used a third-quarter burst to keep his streak of 20-plus games alive. Gilgeous-Alexander has now reached the mark in 121 consecutive games, moving him five games from tying Wilt Chamberlain for the NBA record.

    Whether Gilgeous-Alexander would continue the streak was about the only drama left in the second half, after the Thunder outscored the Magic 39-14 in the first quarter.

    The Magic’s 14 points were their lowest in the first quarter since scoring 11 in the first quarter against Golden State in March 2024.

    Orlando missed its first 10 3-point tries, not connecting until early in the second quarter.

    The Magic fell behind big early for the second consecutive game. In Sunday’s loss in San Antonio, Orlando trailed by as many as 18 points in the first quarter.

    Hartenstein’s night was done shortly after his 10th assist as Oklahoma City’s starters were able to get rest late on the first night of a back-to-back.

    By the time Gilgeous-Alexander hit his first shot, he had three assists and three rebounds. Gilgeous-Alexander assisted on the first two made shots of the game — both Dort 3-pointers.

    Gilgeous-Alexander finished 8 of 22 from the field, and added nine assists, five rebounds and two steals. He had 10 points and six assists in the first quarter.

    Joe delivered the highlight of the first half, cutting down the lane through the basket, taking a bounce pass from Hartenstein and finishing with a thunderous dunk over Banchero and drawing the foul midway through the second quarter.

    After trailing by as many as 35, Orlando cut the deficit to 23 midway through the third quarter but Oklahoma City quickly widened the lead again and the Magic never got any closer.

    The Magic shot a season-low 38.2% from the field.

    –Field Level Media

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  • Bench boosts Bulls heading into matchup with Hornets

    (Photo credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images)

    Looking to stamp a winning homestand, the Chicago Bulls host the reeling Charlotte Hornets on the second night of a back-to-back for both teams on Saturday.

    Chicago beat the Orlando Magic 121-114 on Friday to improve to 3-2 on its weeklong stretch of home games. A third straight win on Saturday would push the Bulls over the .500 mark for the first time since late November.

    The Bulls had three reserves contribute heavily vs. Orlando. Kevin Huerter’s 20 points, Ayo Dosunmu’s 17 and Patrick Williams’ 15 paced a Chicago group built on balance.

    ‘I thought the bench was great (on Friday),’ Chicago coach Billy Donovan said. ‘I thought Patrick gave us some really good minutes. I think someone had mentioned to me that it’s now 13 straight games that our bench has scored over 30 points, and I think our bench is like third or fourth in the league in scoring. We need everybody, and I’ve tried to preach that to our guys.’

    The Bulls’ need for more hands on deck has been magnified by Josh Giddey’s left hamstring strain, which will leave the 23-year-old out for an extended period of time.

    Giddey is tied with Coby White — who is out because of right calf tightness — for the team lead in points per game (19.2). Giddey also is tied with Nikola Vucevic’s team-high 8.9 rebounds per contest, and he paces the Bulls (and ranks third in the NBA) with 9.0 assists per game.

    In addition to Giddey and White, Chicago forward Zach Collins won’t play on Saturday due to a sprained right toe.

    The Bulls and Hornets will meet for the third time this season after the teams split a pair in Charlotte. The Hornets won 123-116 on Nov. 28, and Chicago posted a 129-126 victory on Dec. 12.

    Charlotte has dropped its past three games, including a heartbreaking 122-121 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.

    Rookie Kon Knueppel’s 26 points and Miles Bridges’ 25 were nearly enough to lead the Hornets to just their fifth road win of the season, but Giannis Antetokounmpo’s dunk with 4.7 seconds left extended Charlotte’s losing streak. Brandon Miller misfired on a drive to the basket at the buzzer.

    ‘I thought our guys competed their tails off,’ Hornets coach Charles Lee said. ‘I thought there were some stretches where we could have taken complete control of the game. But credit to our players for their competitive spirit.’

    In what’s shaping up to be Charlotte’s fourth straight losing season, the franchise has found a star in Knueppel. The 20-year-old former Duke standout leads all first-year players with an average of 19.5 points per game, and he has scored in double figures in each of his past 15 games.

    Hornets center PJ Hall earned his first career start in the loss at Milwaukee, and he finished with four points and a team-high eight rebounds in 19 minutes. After brief stints with the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies, the 23-year-old Clemson product is catching Lee’s eye on the youth-filled roster.

    ‘I think PJ coming into this environment really early in his career shows how good of a player he is,’ Lee said. ‘He leaves an impact on the game on both sides of the floor. I’m glad about his ability to step into the starting lineup and give us a good boost.’

    –Field Level Media

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  • NBA roundup: Giannis Antetokounmpo sets 30-10-5 mark in Bucks’ win

    (Photo credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images)

    Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points and threw down a game-winning alley-oop slam to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a thrilling 122-121 victory over the visiting Charlotte Hornets on Friday.

    Antetokounmpo grabbed 10 rebounds and dished five assists, giving him the most 30-point, 10-rebound, five-assist games in NBA history, 158. He broke the record he briefly shared with Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

    Ryan Rollins added 29 points, on 11-of-13 shooting, and eight assists for Milwaukee. Bobby Portis contributed 20 off the bench as the Bucks won for the third time in four games.

    Milwaukee native Kon Knueppel led Charlotte with 26 points while Miles Bridges added 25. Brandon Miller, who just missed what would have been a buzzer-beating game-winner, added 19. The Hornets have lost three straight.

    Spurs 123, Pacers 113

    De’Aaron Fox led all scorers with 24 points and Stephon Castle flirted with a triple-double as San Antonio handed host Indiana its 11th straight loss with a win in Indianapolis.

    Dylan Harper complemented Castle’s 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists with 22 points off the bench. Keldon Johnson chipped in with 16 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter. The Spurs improved to 10-3 this season without star Victor Wembayama, who is sidelined with left knee soreness.

    Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Andrew Nembhard added 19 points and Micah Potter finished with a career-high 16 points in his first start of the season.

    Thunder 131, Warriors 94

    Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 30 points in 28 minutes as Oklahoma City thumped short-handed Golden State in San Francisco.

    Chet Holmgren added 15 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks while Branden Carlson recorded 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Thunder, who have won four in a row. The margin was their second largest of the season.

    Playing without Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler III and Draymond Green on the front end of a back-to-back, the Warriors saw a two-game winning streak end. Moses Moody, Will Richard and Al Horford each scored 13 points.

    Wizards 119, Nets 99

    Justin Champagnie scored 20 points off the bench and Alex Sarr added 19 points and four blocks to allow Washington continue visiting Brooklyn’s recent woes.

    CJ McCollum added 17 points, and Tre Johnson and Marvin Bagley III chipped in 12 points apiece for Washington, which has won four of its last five after a 5-23 start. Bilal Coulibaly added 11 points for the Wizards, who shot 51.% from the field for the game.

    Day’Ron Sharpe, Terance Mann, Ziaire Williams and Drake Powell each scored 14 points for the Nets, who dropped their third straight. Nolan Traore added 12 points but Brooklyn made only 6 of 29 shots from distance and were outrebounded by 18.

    Cavaliers 113, Nuggets 108

    Darius Garland scored 18 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:13 remaining, as Cleveland outlasted visiting Denver.

    Donovan Mitchell had 33 points and Jarrett Allen posted eight points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who won their third straight after trailing by double digits early in the third quarter. Garland added eight assists and De’Andre Hunter had 16 points.

    Jamal Murray scored a game-high 34 points and had six rebounds and seven assists for Denver, which was without four starters, topped by three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who is out until February after hyperextending his left knee Dec. 29. Christian Braun (left ankle), Aaron Gordon (right hamstring) and Cam Johnson (right knee) also were inactive.

    Bulls 121, Magic 114

    Matas Buzelis scored 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished seven assists as Chicago beat visiting Orlando to win for the seventh time in nine games and get to .500.

    Kevin Huerter added 20 points while Nikola Vucevic (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Jalen Smith (11 points, 10 rebounds) both notched double-doubles for Chicago, which scored eight of the game’s final 12 points to ice the victory.

    Paolo Banchero put up a game-high 31 points for the Magic and Anthony Black had 18 points, but Orlando faded in the fourth quarter, shooting 33.3% in the period and 1-for-11 from long range.

    Suns 129, Kings 102

    Devin Booker scored 33 points, Dillon Brooks added 18 points and host Phoenix pulled away in the second half to beat slumping Sacramento and improve to 3-0 on the season against the Kings.

    Collin Gillespie, Mark Williams and Oso Ighodaro chipped in 15 points apiece for the Suns, who have won five of their past six overall. Keegan Murray put up 23 points, Russell Westbrook added 17 and Keon Ellis had 14 off the bench for the Kings, who have lost four in a row and 14 of 17.

    Booker tossed in 27 points in the first half to help the Suns to a six-point halftime lead. The Suns subsequently outscored the Kings 67-46 in the second half to cruise in their first game back from a 3-1 road trip. Booker, Brooks and Williams did not play in the fourth quarter.

    Trail Blazers 122, Pelicans 109

    Deni Avdija scored 34 points and dished 11 assists as Portland sent host New Orleans to a sixth consecutive loss.

    Caleb Love connected on a career-high-matching six 3-pointers en route to 22 points off the bench for the Trail Blazers, who earned their third win in four games. Donovan Clingan posted 11 points and 15 rebounds.

    Zion Williamson logged a season-high 35 points plus eight rebounds for the Pelicans, who were without injured starters Trey Murphy III, Derik Queen, Herbert Jones and Saddiq Bey.

    Hawks 111, Knicks 99

    Jalen Johnson recorded a triple-double for visiting Atlanta, which withstood a late rally by New York to earn a win.

    Johnson finished with 18 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in his seventh triple-double of the season and the ninth of his five-year career. Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Onyeka Okongwu scored 23 points apiece for the Hawks, who led by as many as 26 late in the third quarter on their way to winning a second straight game.

    The Hawks won despite the absence of Trae Young (quad), who missed a third straight game. OG Anunoby (19 points, 10 rebounds) had a double-double and Jalen Brunson finished with a game-high 24 points for the Knicks, who got within single digits late. New York set season lows for points scored and 3-point shooting percentage (20.9%, 9 of 43).

    –Field Level Media

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  • NBA roundup: Tyrese Maxey nets career-best 54 in 76ers’ OT win

    (Photo credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images)

    Justin Edwards’ only 3-pointer of the game opened the scoring in overtime and gave Philadelphia a lead it never relinquished and Tyrese Maxey scored a career-best 54 points as the 76ers pulled away for a 123-114 victory over the host Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night.

    In a game without injured stars Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Edwards played hero in hitting his seventh 3-point shot of the game just 40 seconds into overtime. His offensive rebound on a missed foul shot with less than a minute to play led to two lead-extending free throws by Quentin Grimes.

    Maxey hit four overtime free throws — all in the final 22.7 seconds — to complement key late contributions by Edwards and Grimes, who nailed a 3-pointer with the 76ers up just one with 1:23 to play.

    Playing in just his second game of the season, Paul George chipped in with 21 points in 25 minutes for the 76ers, who improved to 2-0 in overtime games this season.

    Ryan Rollins amassed a team-high 32 points and a game-high 14 assists and six rebounds for the Bucks, who lost their third straight. Turner also had a double-double with 14 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

    Grizzlies 137, Kings 96

    Santi Aldama tied his career high with 29 points and Jock Landale added 21 as Memphis snapped a five-game losing streak with a victory over visiting Sacramento.

    The Grizzlies set a franchise record with 42 assists while handing Sacramento its eighth straight loss. Aldama was 11-of-18 shooting with five 3-pointers, while Landale made eight of his nine field-goal attempts. Rookie Cedric Coward finished with 19 points and big man Zach Edey scored 16 points — all in the opening half — on 7-of-7 shooting. Vince Williams Jr., filling in at point guard for the Grizzlies, had a career-high 15 assists.

    Sacramento was led by Zach LaVine, who scored 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting. Maxime Raynaud added 12 points and Keegan Murray, making his season debut after returning from preseason thumb surgery, finished with 11 points. Russell Westbrook also scored 11 for the Kings.

    Magic 129, Clippers 101

    Jalen Suggs knocked down five 3-pointers on his way to a team-high 23 points, and Orlando continued the tailspin of visiting Los Angeles.

    Orlando overwhelmed Los Angeles defensively, holding the Clippers to just 36-of-89 (40.4%) shooting from the floor while forcing 21 turnovers. The Magic rode their defensive dominance to their fifth win in the last six games. Franz Wagner complemented Suggs with 20 points, Tristan da Silva added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Desmond Bane converted 3-of-6 from 3-point range on the way to 15 points.

    The Clippers mounted little offensive threats outside of James Harden, who led all scorers with 31. The only other Clipper to score in double figures was Ivica Zubac with 14 points. Zubac also grabbed a game-high 19 rebounds.

    Spurs 135, Hawks 126

    De’Aaron Fox hit for 26 points and Keldon Johnson added a season-high 25 off the bench as host San Antonio beat Atlanta for its third straight win.

    The Spurs led by as many as 19 points in the second quarter but entered the final period up just three. Atlanta briefly took the lead on a layup by Nickeil Alexander-Walker with 9:17 to play but San Antonio swung back, forging a 10-0 run capped by Jeremy Sochan’s dunk to make it 110-101.

    Alexander-Walker poured in a career-high 38 points for the Hawks, who lost their second consecutive game after winning five in a row. Jalen Johnson added 26 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

    –Field Level Media

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  • Lowly UCF, Oklahoma State eager to snap losing streaks

    (Photo credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images)

    In the past eight weeks, UCF and Oklahoma State have combined for just one win.

    This week may be both teams’ last chance for a victory this season when they clash in Orlando on Saturday.

    The Cowboys (1-9, 0-7 Big 12) haven’t done much good this season as they fired long-time coach Mike Gundy in September and have yet to beat a FBS squad, dropping nine straight games. Oklahoma State is one of two teams in the bottom six nationally in scoring offense and scoring defense.

    Oklahoma State had a promising outing last week against Kansas State, trailing 7-6 entering the fourth quarter. But Zane Flores threw two interceptions, including one in the fourth quarter when Oklahoma State was at the Kansas State 27, in what became a 14-6 loss.

    ‘You do all the things necessary to get down there and then you turn it over, you’re not going to beat too many teams doing that,’ said interim coach Doug Meacham on Monday. ‘ … But I’m proud on a lot of levels, about a lot of different things, and wish that we could find a way to break through.’

    The Knights (4-6, 1-6) continued to struggle offensively in their 48-9 loss at No. 6 Texas Tech Saturday. UCF was held under 300 yards for the third straight game as the defense allowed a third consecutive 400-yard game.

    Quarterback Tayven Jackson struggled, passing for just 178 yards, the fifth time in his last six games he’s thrown for fewer than 200.

    Backup Davi Belfort saw some game action, but mostly was used as a threat on the ground. He had 36 rushing yards against Houston two weeks ago and had four yards with no passes attempted against the Red Raiders.

    Coach Scott Frost alluded that he may give Belfort more opportunities and use him more to mix UCF’s offense up.

    ‘Davi will continue to improve in everything he does as he gets more reps,’ Frost said Monday. ‘It hasn’t been completely fair to him to put him in the situation he’s in without having gotten a lot of reps over the course of this year … but Davi is capable of running our whole offense.’

    The Knights beat the Cowboys the last time they matched up, a 45-3 romp in 2023.

    –Field Level Media

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  • Warriors’ Jimmy Butler returns to Florida to take on Magic

    (Photo credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images)

    The Jimmy Butler two-show Florida reunion tour kicks off Tuesday night when the former Miami Heat standout takes center stage as the Golden State Warriors visit the Orlando Magic.

    Dealt early last February from the Heat to the Warriors, Butler joined Golden State in time for both its visits to Florida last season, which came on separate Southeast excursions.

    The first of the two saw him play a complementary role in new teammate Stephen Curry’s 56-point explosion in a 121-115 win at Orlando in late February. Butler had only five points in the game but tied Brandin Podziemski for game-high assist honors with seven.

    Four of Butler’s assists came on Curry 3-pointers as the all-time distance-shooting king buried 12 in all, including four in a 22-point third-quarter flurry.

    Butler assisted on two of the third-quarter threes then a last one that extended Golden State’s lead to 111-104 lead with 2:37 to go.

    Butler himself inflicted pain upon the Magic many times during his days with the Heat, going for 20 or more points on five separate occasions, including 38 in a visit in March of 2023. He has 358 points, 93 assists and 43 steals in games at Orlando in his career.

    Golden State visits Miami on the second night of a back-to-back on Wednesday.

    Butler took time after his last visit to Orlando to describe Curry’s impact on the Warriors.

    ‘It makes everyone want to be great on the defensive side,’ he told reporters after the game, ‘so we can get him the ball back and watch him do something incredible. In a weird way, isn’t it kind of expected?’

    Curry had 46 and 49 points last week when the Warriors, after falling at Oklahoma City, rebounded with a pair of victories at San Antonio. They then won a third in a row Sunday at New Orleans, riding Moses Moody’s 32 points to a 124-106 win.

    The Orlando visit is a reunion of sorts for Moody as well. He played his final two prep seasons at Montverde Academy near Orlando, where he joined Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham and Day’Ron Sharpe on a 25-0 club in 2020.

    The Magic has won three of their last four, seeing a winning streak come to an end in a 117-113 overtime loss at Houston on Sunday night.

    The head-to-head with Golden State will be the first for Desmond Bane since he was acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies via trade in June. He’s averaged 22.3 points over the last four games, connecting on multiple 3-pointers in each of the last three.

    Bane faced the Warriors 22 times during his days with Memphis, including in the 2022 playoffs, when he outshot Curry 48.5% to 32.9% on 3-pointers in the Grizzlies’ 4-2 loss to the eventual champs in the Western semifinals.

    With star Paolo Banchero out for a second straight game with a groin injury, Bane found the ball in his hands with a chance to play hero at the end of regulation at Houston. However, he had his driving attempt blocked by Alperen Sengun with five seconds left and later wished he had it to do over again.

    ‘Something that we’ve talked about — getting the last shot of the game. I went a little bit too fast,’ he admitted to reporters. ‘We had our opportunities. Hopefully we learn from those moments and become better because of it.’

    –Field Level Media

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  • Kai Trump, president’s granddaughter, will play in LPGA Tour’s Annika event next month

    Kai Trump, President Trump’s eldest granddaughter, a high school senior and University of Miami commit, has secured a sponsor invitation to play in an LPGA Tour event Nov. 13-16.

    The 18-year-old will compete in the Annika at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla. She currently attends the Benjamin School in Palm Beach and is ranked No. 461 on the American Junior Golf Assn. rankings. She also competes on the Srixon Medalist Tour on the South Florida PGA. Her top finish was a tie for third in July.

    “My dream has been to compete with the best in the world on the LPGA Tour,” Trump said in a statement. “This event will be an incredible experience. I look forward to meeting and competing against so many of my heroes and mentors in golf as I make my LPGA Tour debut.”

    Sponsor invitations have long been used to attract attention to a tournament through a golfer who is from a well-known family or, in recent years, has a strong social media presence. Kai Trump qualifies on both counts.

    She is the oldest daughter of Donald Trump Jr. and his ex-wife, Vanessa, and has nearly 8 million followers combined on Instagram, Tiktok, YouTube and X. In addition to posting her own exploits on and off the course, she creates videos playing golf with her grandpa and chronicled their visit to the Ryder Cup.

    She also recently launched her own sports apparel and lifestyle brand, KT.

    “Kai’s broad following and reach are helping introduce golf to new audiences, especially among younger fans,” said Ricki Lasky, LPGA chief tour business and operations officer, in a statement.

    The oldest of the president’s 11 grandchildren, Kai became known nationally when she made a speech in support of her grandfather’s campaign at the 2024 Republican National Convention. Her parents divorced in 2018, and her mother has been dating Tiger Woods for about a year.

    Steve Henson

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  • Fever close regular season with win over WNBA-best Lynx

    (Photo credit: Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

    Kelsey Mitchell scored 18 points, four teammates finished in double figures and the Indiana Fever never trailed during an 83-72 victory over the WNBA-leading Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday in Indianapolis.

    Odyssey Sims added 15 points, Aliyah Boston had 10 points and eight rebounds and Natasha Howard and Damiris Dantas scored 10 each for the playoff-bound Fever (24-20) in their regular-season finale.

    Jessica Shepard had 16 points, Maria Kliundikova scored 12 and Alanna Smith added 11 for the Lynx (33-10), who had long since clinched the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. They will conclude the regular season at home against the Golden State Valkyries on Thursday.

    Minnesota played without DiJonai Carrington, who is sidelined by a shoulder injury, and MVP candidate Napheesa Collier, who rested.

    Indiana salvaged the finale of the three-game regular-season series with Minnesota, but the Fever also defeated the Lynx 74-59 on July 1 to win the Commissioner’s Cup. The Lynx won two recent meetings — 95-90 at Indianapolis on Aug. 22 and 97-84 in Minneapolis two days later.

    Smith made a field goal and a 3-pointer to complete a 9-0 run for the Lynx to start the third quarter, pulling the visitors within 49-45. Boston made two free throws for the Fever’s first points of the period after 2 1/2 minutes and started a 21-8 run that gave Indiana a 70-53 lead at the end of the third quarter.

    The Fever produced the first 10 points of the game as four different players scored. Kliundikova’s short jumper produced the Lynx’s first points after nearly three minutes and started a 6-0 run.

    Aerial Powers made two 3-pointers and scored a total of eight points as Indiana rode an 18-8 run to a 28-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.

    Shepard made a layup to start the second-quarter scoring and Kliundikova followed with another layup before the Fever took their biggest lead of the half, 47-30, on a field goal by Mitchell.

    Smith made four three throws and Courtney Williams added a basket just before the buzzer to help the Lynx trim the deficit to 49-36 entering halftime.

    –Field Level Media

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  • Lynx, striving to clinch top playoff seed, visit improving Sun

    (Photo credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images)

    As they close in on clinching the top seed in the WNBA postseason, the Minnesota Lynx are slumping for the first time this season and doing so even with the return of Napheesa Collier from an ankle injury.

    The Lynx attempt to avoid consecutive losses for the second time this season as Collier plays her third game since returning Saturday night in a visit to the Connecticut Sun in Uncasville, Conn.

    The Lynx won six straight and 10 of 11 earlier this summer, a stretch that featured three wins over the New York Liberty. Starting with an 85-75 loss at New York on Aug. 19, Minnesota (30-8) is 2-3 in its past five games.

    Collier returned from missing seven games in Sunday’s 97-84 win over the Indiana Fever and scored 32 points. On Thursday, Collier shot 7-of-23 from the field and was held to 18 in a 93-79 home loss to the Seattle Storm, when the Lynx blew a 21-point lead by getting outscored 60-33 in the second half.

    ‘Play some defense, man,’ coach Cheryl Reeve said after Minnesota allowed 11 3s in the second half and a season-worst 16 overall. ‘Act like that, and (it) matters. We have not done that in a long time. And that was the focus. You play one quarter of defense, and that’s it.’

    The Lynx shot 44.1 percent Thursday as they took their largest margin of defeat this season, and it marked the fourth time in six games they shot 45 percent or lower.

    Connecticut (10-28) will finish with a losing record in a full season for the first time since 2016 but is playing better of late. The Sun dropped 10 straight June 8-July 6 and five straight Aug. 3-11 but since the second skid, they are 5-2 with the two losses coming by a combined eight points.

    The Sun are returning home after earning a 101-95 win over the Dallas Wings on Wednesday. Rookie Leila Lacan led the Sun in scoring for the third time in this improved stretch by scoring a career-high 22 points for the second straight game.

    Lacan started for the 10th in 11 games Thursday and reached double figures for the ninth time this year.

    ‘It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,’ veteran Tina Charles said of Connecticut’s recent improvement. ‘I think we’re definitely defining that. Everybody’s coming together.’

    –Field Level Media

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  • Hard-hitting Dodgers grab four-game split with Rockies

    (Photo credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images)

    Freddie Freeman and Andy Pages homered and finished with two hits apiece, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 9-5 in Denver on Thursday.

    Alex Freeland had three hits and Mookie Betts contributed two hits for Los Angeles, which earned a split of the four-game series without Shohei Ohtani.

    Ohtani was out of the lineup a day after he was hit by a comebacker from Orlando Arcia while he was pitching.

    The Dodgers scored at least one run in each of the first five innings to back Clayton Kershaw (8-2), who allowed three runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings.

    Brenton Doyle homered among his two hits and drove in four runs, while Jordan Beck finished with two hits for Colorado.

    Los Angeles jumped on starter Chase Dollander (2-10) in the first inning. Betts led off with a walk and Freeman smashed his 16th home run 451 feet to center to make it 2-0.

    Colorado got a run back in the bottom of the inning. Tyler Freeman led off with a single, went to second on a sacrifice, advanced to third when Kershaw was called for a disengagement violation and scored on Hunter Goodman’s groundout.

    In the second, Pages hit a double and went to third on Tyler Freeman’s error in right field. Alex Call walked and Miguel Rojas reached on a bunt single to drive in Pages. Betts loaded the bases with a single and Dollander hit Will Smith to bring in another run.

    Call had an RBI single in the third inning to make it 5-1, and the Dodgers chased Dollander in the fourth. Betts and Freeman led off with singles, Betts scored on a sacrifice fly and Freeland’s double made it 7-1.

    Dollander allowed seven runs on nine hits in 3 2/3 innings.

    Doyle hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth for Colorado. But Pages led off the fifth with his 21st home run and Smith drove in another run with a single in the eighth.

    Doyle, who had an RBI single in the sixth, hit a two-run homer 442 feet to left in the bottom of the eighth, his 13th.

    –Field Level Media

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  • JP Sears faces Giants as Padres get a second look at left-hander

    (Photo credit: Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images)

    JP Sears gets a second chance to make a good impression on the San Diego Padres.

    Acquired from the Athletics on July 31 as part of the six-player blockbuster trade that involved closer Mason Miller and former San Diego top prospect Leo De Vries, Sears will start for the Padres Wednesday night when they continue their four-game series against the visiting San Francisco Giants.

    Sears (7-10, 5.12 ERA) started his first game with San Diego on Aug. 4 at Arizona and struggled, suffering a 6-2 defeat as he was touched for 10 hits and five runs over five innings. The left-hander went down to Triple-A El Paso the next day and won his only outing for the Chihuahuas, scattering six hits and allowing two runs over five innings in a 9-7 game on Aug. 12 against Triple-A Reno.

    The Padres hope Sears will perform better in his second stint for two reasons: Petco Park’s tendency to suppress offense and his career numbers against San Francisco. He’s 2-1 with a 1.82 ERA in four career starts, striking out 26 batters over 24 2/3 innings. He fired six scoreless innings against them on July 4 in an 11-2 win.

    After a series-opening loss on Monday, San Diego evened the series Tuesday night with a 5-1 victory, getting two hits and an RBI each from Manny Machado and Ryan O’Hearn. It scored in four different innings, taking advantage of a variety of Giants mistakes that included errors, bases-filled walks and hit batters.

    ‘It was hugely important for us to get back into the win column,’ said O’Hearn of the Padres, who open play Wednesday two games behind the Los Angeles Dodges in the National League West but in wild-card position.

    The Padres won without Jackson Merrill (ankle) and Jake Cronenworth (elbow). Merrill missed his second straight game and Cronenworth got the night off after being drilled by a Robbie Ray fastball in Monday night’s 4-3 defeat.

    While San Diego now tries to put together a winning streak after snapping a four-game losing skid on Tuesday, San Francisco will attempt to clean things up after a sloppy showing. The Giants managed just four hits against four pitchers, striking out 12 times, and committed two errors for the third straight game.

    Shortstop Christian Koss’ throwing error to start the bottom of the first led to an unearned run, while third baseman Casey Schmitt’s wild throw after an infield hit led to an extra base and a run in the sixth. Reliever Carson Seymour could have escaped that inning with a double play ball but his throw to second for the force wasn’t a good one, requiring Koss to make a great catch just to get an out as the Padres’ final run scored.

    The Giants played without shortstop Willy Adames, held out with right side soreness. Manager Bob Melvin said it wasn’t easy to get him out of the lineup.

    ‘It was a bit of a fist fight to talk him out of it,’ Melvin said. ‘He wants to play.’

    Landen Roupp (7-6, 3.45) gets the start Wednesday night for San Francisco. He gave up five runs on five hits in three innings of the team’s 7-6 loss Friday night against Tampa Bay. He did not figure into the decision.

    Roupp is 0-1 in six career appearances (three starts) with a 1.93 ERA against San Diego.

    –Field Level Media

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  • Wedbush Securities joins downtown L.A. exodus, opting for smaller, more flexible office in Pasadena

    Wedbush Securities joins downtown L.A. exodus, opting for smaller, more flexible office in Pasadena

    One of downtown Los Angeles’ familar tenants is pulling up stakes as the office rental market continues to contract from shrinking occupancy stoked by the pandemic.

    Financial services firm Wedbush Securities has begun its move from a prominent office tower to Pasadena, where it will occupy much smaller offices meant to accommodate employees who now work remotely much of the time.

    The firm is leaving behind Wedbush Center, which overlooks the Harbor Freeway and sports two signs on top bearing the company name. Wedbush has been headquartered in the Wilshire Boulevard building since 2001 and its lease expires next year.

    “It’s a big deal, a very big decision for the firm,” President Gary Wedbush said of the move. “The pandemic and COVID created a different kind of office for us.”

    With most employees required to be in the office only a third of the time, Wedbush is creating an office oriented toward shared workspaces that can be used as needed by various employees instead of assigned desks, he said.

    The move was also influenced by the changed nature of downtown’s financial district since thousands of office workers departed during the COVID-related shutdown and probably won’t return again in pre-pandemic numbers. Many shops and restaurants remain closed and office tenants have said the streets feel less safe than they used to.

    Although Wedbush said “downtown has been fantastic for us,” other locations have become more attractive. “There are places like Pasadena that seem to have recovered more fully from the pandemic than downtown Los Angeles has. That was a part of the decision-making” to move.

    The firm leases more than 100,000 square feet at Wedbush Center but will occupy about 20,000 square feet in an office complex on Lake Avenue in one of Pasadena’s leading commercial districts.

    “The amenities on Lake Avenue are fantastic,” Wedbush said. “Casual restaurants to really fine dining, fitness centers — it just had everything.”

    Wedbush’s move, which will take place formally in the first half of 2025, reflects a trend that has been affecting downtown and much of Los Angeles County for the last few years, real estate brokerage CBRE said in a recent report on office leasing.

    “The Greater Los Angeles office market continued its search for the bottom” in the third quarter, CBRE said, as both tenants and landlords “navigate the ongoing supply and demand imbalance exacerbated by the shift to hybrid and remote work.”

    Companies adapting to new work models are leaving behind large chunks of office space, and the change is particularly noticeable downtown, where CBRE said overall vacancy is more than 30%, triple the amount considered to be a healthy balance between tenant and landlord interests.

    Wedbush Securities’ shift to hybrid work, with people in the office some days and not others, created the chance to make a different kind of office with a smaller footprint and more shared spaces to collaborate or work away from a traditional desk, Wedbush said.

    About 70% of the office will be considered “hotel” space where employees can choose a workstation on days they are present while the remaining 30% will be offices for financial advisors and others who need privacy to meet with clients.

    A stark difference will be that the shared workstations will be around the windows with views of the city and the offices will be in the center of the building. In the old arrangement, individual offices were much larger and occupied the prime space along the windows, Wedbush said.

    One of the two floors Wedbush Securities leased in Pasadena has a rooftop deck that Wedbush plans to make into an outdoor office space with conference tables, workstations where people can plug in their computers and places to unwind.

    “It’s not just going to be a couple of tables and umbrellas,” he said. “The opportunity to build out this new space was a big driver in us moving out of our building that we’ve loved for so, so many years.”

    Wedbush Securities was co-founded in 1955 by Wedbush’s father, Edward, in Los Angeles and now has close to 900 employees in 28 cities across the country, Wedbush said. “We’re really proud of our Los Angeles legacy.”

    Wedbush’s decision to dramatically shrink its headquarters underscores not only the continued struggles of the office rental market in the wake of the pandemic but broader vulnerabilities in commercial real estate throughout L.A. County.

    A report released by real estate services firm NAI Capital said that in the third quarter of 2024, Los Angeles County’s commercial real estate market experienced a sharp 18.4% year-to-date decline in sales volume and a rise in real estate cap rates, a metric used to estimate an investor’s rate of return based on the income that the property is expected to generate.

    It may be a low point in the real estate cycle for property sales, NAI Capital Chief Executive Chris Jackson said.

    “With cap rates on the rise, California regulations, and high interest rates throughout 2024, the commercial real estate market took a bit of a dip” with office properties “hit particularly hard,” Jackson said. “However, with interest rates expected to decline more substantially in 2025, we anticipate a significant rebound in real estate sales.”

    Sales are being further limited by taxes and government fees, particularly Measure ULA, the property transfer tax in Los Angeles that took effect in 2023, the report said. Dubbed the “mansion tax,” Measure ULA imposed a 4% tax on real estate transactions over $5 million and a 5.5% tax on those exceeding $10 million. In June, those thresholds increased to $5.15 million and $10.3 million.

    The tax has contributed to a nearly 40% year-over-year drop in sales of office, retail, industrial and multifamily properties, or $1.9 billion below last year’s total, the report said.

    Roger Vincent

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  • The Third Black Heroes of Fandom Draft

    The Third Black Heroes of Fandom Draft


    In honor of Black History Month, the Midnight Boys present the third (and final) “Black Heroes of Fandom” draft (08:12). Bringing the best of Black heroes across fandom and their hearts along with an honorary category to honor the passing of Carl Weathers.

    Hosts: Charles Holmes, Van Lathan, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman
    Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman
    Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal
    Social: Jomi Adeniran

    Subscribe: Spotify / Apple Podcasts



    Charles Holmes

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