The Sports Report: Lakers lose to 76ers, who were without two key players

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Dan Woike: JJ Redick’s voice over the last two weeks has begun to sound gravelly, the toll of screaming his way through basketball game after basketball game starting to wear on his vocal chords.

The yelling has been a necessity, the Lakers being a team that needs constant reminders of the points Redick and his coaching staff have tried to emphasize. And pregame Tuesday, Redick calmly delivered the biggest point they wanted to make.

“We have to play a smart game,” he said deliberately.

In their Monday night win in Charlotte, the Lakers played hard. But after the first quarter, they rarely played smart, recklessly passing the ball all over the court. That couldn’t happen again — even with the 76ers playing minus Joel Embiid and Paul George.

The Lakers, Redick said, needed to play a smart game.

They did not and paid dearly, losing 118-104.

The Lakers turned the ball over 22 times and trailed by as many as 25 points. James had eight of those turnovers, though he scored 31 points. Rookie Dalton Knecht had 24 points off the bench.

Tyrese Maxey led everyone with 43 points, the 76ers having now beaten the Lakers seven straight times in Philadelphia by an average of 18.3 points.

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Lakers box score

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DODGERS

From Jack Harris: The Dodgers’ latest offseason addition is complete.

On Tuesday night, the team agreed to a one-year, $13-million contract with veteran right-handed reliever Kirby Yates, according to a person with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly. The signing came a week after news emerged the Dodgers and Yates were in advanced discussions on a deal.

Yates, 37, joins the Dodgers coming off an All-Star season with the Texas Rangers in which he posted a 1.17 earned-run average in 61 games with 33 saves.

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GOLF

From Chuck Schilken: The Genesis Invitational will take place away from Riviera Country Club in the Pacific Palisades for the first time since 1998 and outside of Los Angeles County for the first time in the event’s near century in existence.

Tournament sponsor Tiger Woods told reporters Monday that the decision to move the invitational was “very difficult” but ultimately necessary after the firestorms wreaked havoc around L.A. in recent weeks.

While Riviera somehow went unscathed, Woods said the club “is just not ready” to host a signature PGA Tour event with a $20-million purse after the Palisades fire scorched more than 23,400 acres, destroyed more than 6,800 structures and killed at least 12 people.

The Genesis Invitational’s organizers announced last week that the Feb. 13-16 event will be moved, for this year only, to Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla and “will include a number of Los Angeles-related relief initiatives.” While no information has been released about those relief efforts, Woods indicated that they played a large role in the decision to keep the event as close by as possible.

“I think it’s important that we were able to stay in Southern California because everyone who’s born and raised out in Southern Cal can all relate to the fires,” Woods said following a TGL match Monday in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. “It’s a difficult situation, and we want to be very sensitive to that, and I think that because we’re in Southern California, I think we’re going to be able to raise more money for all the losses that have incurred.”

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USC BASKETBALL

From Ryan Kartje: Saint Thomas wiped his hands, tossing away the towel as he stepped to the free-throw line. Ninety-six seconds remained in the latest meeting of the crosstown showdown — a game that, in recent memory, had lent itself to late-game heroics on this very hardwood. USC had won five of six here over UCLA, and so the whole of Galen Center teemed with anxious delirium, expecting more rivalry magic.

Thomas had just pulled down a pivotal rebound in traffic on the other end, drawing a foul that finally could put USC in front of UCLA after an entire night spent clawing toward that end. In that moment, the senior forward roared to the arena’s rafters, hands clenched in fists. But now Thomas stood with his right toe on the stripe, steeling himself for two of the biggest free throws of USC’s season. He took a deep breath.

His first free throw went long, clanking off the back iron. Thomas took another deep breath. Then, the second rattled out.

Less than 30 seconds later, UCLA’s Sebastian Mack let a dagger fly from distance, and the Trojans, in the wake of an 82-76 loss to the rival Bruins, were left to wonder what might have been had they made just a few more free throws.

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GALAXY

From Kevin Baxter: Cobi Jones will join former teammates Landon Donovan and David Beckham in Legends Plaza at Dignity Health Sports Park next season with the team commissioning a larger-than-life bronze statue of the U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer, who scored the first goal in franchise history in 1996.

“It still hasn’t sunk in,” Jones said. “It’s such an honor. It’s almost a validation.

“I may be the third one, [but] I probably won’t be the last one. I’m going to relish it.”

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LAFC

From Kevin Baxter: Mark Delgado was born and raised in Southern California and played six MLS seasons here. But last Friday, he joked, was the first time he worried about getting lost on his way to practice.

“I had to pull out the GPS and make sure I was going the right way,” Delgado said after his first training session with LAFC in a back corner of the Cal State L.A. campus.

The reigning MLS champion Galaxy, struggling to squeeze under the league salary cap, sent Delgado up the freeway last week when it traded him to LAFC for $400,000 in general allocation money. For Delgado, the deal was both a surprise and an opportunity.

“It was interesting how everything went down. But at the end of the day, there’s rules in this league,” he said, referencing the salary cap. “So no hard feelings. I said my goodbyes to close that chapter on a good note and it’s on to the next chapter, right?”

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DUCKS

Mason McTavish scored the tying goal early in the second period and assisted on Robby Fabbri’s go-ahead goal 4:35 later, sending the Ducks to a 6-4 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.

Troy Terry, Cutter Gauthier, Jackson LaCombe and Frank Vatrano also scored for the Ducks, who took the lead for good with three goals in the first eight minutes of the second. The Ducks have won three straight after losing seven of eight and have scored at least five goals in three consecutive games.

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Ducks summary

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NFL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE

Super Bowl LIX: Start time, teams, how to watch and halftime show

Super Bowl 59
Sunday, Feb. 9
at New Orleans
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs
3:30 p.m., Fox

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1950 — In an Associated Press poll of sports writers and broadcasters, Jack Dempsey is voted the greatest fighter of the last 50 years. Dempsey received 251 votes to 104 for Joe Louis.

1958 — The St. Louis Cardinals give Stan Musial a contract for $100,000, making him the highest paid player in the National League.

1963 — Eleven players and six officials are elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Jim Thorpe, Red Grange, Bronco Nagurski, Sammy Baugh, Dutch Clark, Johnny McNally, Ernie Nevers, Mel Hein, Pete Henry, Cal Hubbard and Don Hutson are the players. The six officials are Bert Bell, Joe Carr, George Halas, Curly Lambeau, Tim Mara and George Preston.

1971 — Hal Greer of Philadelphia becomes the sixth player in NBA history to score 20,000 points as the 76ers lose to Milwaukee 142-118.

1985 — Bryan Trottier of the New York Islanders scores his 1,000th point with a goal in a 4-4 tie with the Minnesota North Stars.

1994 — Julio Cesar Chavez suffers his first loss in 91 fights when Frankie Randall knocks him down in the 11th round and wins the WBC super lightweight championship on a split decision.

2000 — Utah’s Karl Malone becomes the third player in NBA history to score 30,000 points when he makes a layup with 8:53 left in the third quarter of a 96-94 loss to Minnesota.

2005 — Serena Williams fends off six break points in the fifth game of the second set, then wills herself to overcome an aching back in a 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory over Lindsay Davenport in the Australian Open final.

2005 — Irina Slutskaya joins the elite company of Katarina Witt and Sonja Henie by winning a sixth title at the European Figure Skating Championships.

2006 — Roger Federer wins his seventh Grand Slam title, overcoming an early challenge from unseeded Marcos Baghdatis to win the Australian Open 5-7, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2.

2010 — Bernard Lagat wins his eighth Wanamaker Mile at 103rd Millrose Games in New York. Lagat, who finishes in 3:56.34, had shared the record with Irish great Eamonn Coghlan.

2012 — Lydia Ko becomes the youngest person ever to win a pro golf tour event by winning the Bing Lee/Samsung Women’s NSW Open on the ALPG Tour. She is 14 and 8 months, one year younger than Ryo Ishikawa.

2012 — Novak Djokovic outlasts Rafael Nadal to defend his Australian Open title in the longest ever Grand Slam final and becomes the fifth man to win three straight majors in the Open Era. Djokovic completes a 5-hour, 53-minute 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 victory over Nadal at 1:37 a.m.

2014 — Ben Scrivens sets an NHL record for saves in a regular-season shutout with 59 in a spectacular performance that help the Edmonton Oilers beat the San Jose Sharks 3-0.

2017 — Roger Federer wins his 18th major title by beating Rafael Nadal 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to capture the Australian Open.

2018 — Australian Open Men’s Tennis: Roger Federer beats Marin Čilic 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to win his record 20th Grand Slam title.

Compiled by the Associated Press