Luka Doncic leads Lakers to victory

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Austin Reaves took the baton from Luka Doncic when Doncic sat out Sunday, and when the roles were reversed Monday, Doncic passed it to his teammates.

Doncic had 32 points and 10 assists in a 124-114 win over the Atlanta Hawks as the Lakers relied on their depth to secure their sixth consecutive win and stay atop the Western Conference despite a short, tired bench.

One night after sitting out with low back tightness, Doncic struggled with his shot, but he reached double-digit assists for the third time this season. He also had eight rebounds and five steals. Lakers center Walker Kessler had 21 points with 10 rebounds, his sixth double-double in the past seven games, and forward Sandro Mamukelashvili had what Lakers coach JJ Redick called “his best game as a Laker” with 23 points and eight rebounds off the bench to help overcome the absences of Reaves and Quentin Grimes.

Reaves, who scored 43 points in a thrilling win over Detroit on Sunday, didn’t play because of illness. Grimes suffered a sprained finger on his right hand against Detroit, although Redick doesn’t anticipate the injury keeping the guard sidelined for long. X-rays were negative, Redick said, and Grimes could return as soon as Wednesday in Milwaukee.

The Lakers (10-2) didn’t look like a team playing on consecutive nights. They blitzed the Hawks (7-5) with 13 unanswered points at the end of the first quarter and ran up the lead to 20 midway in the second quarter. Kessler and guard Collin Sexton connected on back-to-back alley-oops during the second quarter to inject life into a shorthanded second unit.

Puka Nacua headed to IR

From Gary Klein: The Rams’ receiver corps — and the team’s aspirations for another Super Bowl title — continue to sustain major hits.

Star Puka Nacua likely will be placed on injured reserve because of a right knee sprain he suffered during the Rams’ victory over the Washington Commanders, coach Sean McVay said Monday.

Nacua caught 14 passes for a season-best 150 yards and a touchdown in the 20-13 victory on Sunday in Landover, Md., but he was injured after running a jet sweep on the Rams’ final offensive play.

An MRI scan revealed that Nacua sprained his medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments. He also has a turf toe injury, McVay said.

Olympian turned chef

From Kevin Baxter: A debate has broken out above the empty plates and bowls covering Danny Everett’s dinner table. Is Everett, a former world and Olympic gold medalist, a better chef than he was a runner?

“Chef,” votes Everett’s niece, Anya.

Tiarzha Taylor, Everett’s wife, offers a more diplomatic answer.

“I can’t pick one. They’re both equal,” she says. “And it says something about his cooking that I wouldn’t put Olympian over chef.”

Everett, seated at the head of the table, isn’t sure if he’s being complimented or criticized. Five times he ran a race faster than any man in history before trading his spikes for a spatula 30 years ago. Still, those who have seen him do both say it would take a photo finish to separate his performances in the kitchen from the ones on the track.

Ask Everett and he’ll tell you he was better at running. Cooking, however, is just an extension of that.

UCLA men’s basketball moves into top 10

UCLA climbed into the top 10 in the first regular-season Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll of the season on Monday while Florida remained No. 1 and the top four were unchanged.

The Gators, who began the season with wins over then-No. 14 Miami and Jacksonville, earned six more first place-votes and had 53 of the 60 from a national media panel. Duke earned the other seven first-place votes, Illinois held down No. 3 in the poll, and UConn was fourth after winning an NCAA championship game rematch with then-No. 16 Michigan on Friday night.

Michigan State rounded out the top five Monday, taking the place of Arizona, which lost its opener to the Bruins a week ago.

USC is ranked No. 21.

USC women’s basketball still No. 3 in AP rankings

USC remained No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll released Monday, garnering one first-place vote ahead of its showdown on Sunday with top-ranked South Carolina.

Defending national champion UCLA tied for 10th in the rankings with Iowa after collecting two home wins over Lehigh and UC Irvine last week. The Bruins host Arizona on Thursday.

South Carolina remained the No. 1 team in the top 25 in the first regular-season poll after wins over Maryland and North Carolina, two ranked teams, to start the season. The Gamecocks received all other first-place ballots from the national 33-member media panel.

This day in sports history

1940 — The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Philadelphia Eagles 7-3 in a penalty free game at Forbes Field. Philadelphia’s George Somers hits a 36-yard field goal in the first quarter. Coley McDonough of the Steelers scores on a one-yard rush in the third quarter.

1945 — Top-ranked Army shuts out No. 2 Notre Dame 48-0 at Yankee Stadium. Glenn Davis scores three touchdowns and Doc Blanchard scores two, while the Cadets roll up 441 yards to the Irish’s 184.

1963 — Don Meredith of the Dallas Cowboys passes for 460 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-24 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

1963 — Detroit’s Gordie Howe becomes the leading career goal scorer in the NHL with his 545th in a 3-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

1974 — Hernri Richard and Gut Lafleur score two goals apiece to lead the Montreal Canadiens to an 11-1 over the Washington Capitals. Jack Egers gets the Capitals only goal.

1978 — Larry Holmes knocks out Alfredo Evangelista in the seventh round to retain the WBC heavyweight title in Las Vegas.

1984 — Wyoming’s Kevin Lowe rushes for 302 yards, and Rick Wegher of South Dakota State rushes for 231 to set an NCAA record for most yards gained by two opposing players. Wyoming wins 45-29.

1984 — Wild Again holds off Slew O’ Gold and Gate Dancer to capture the $3 million Breeders’ Cup Classic in the inaugural Breeders’ Cup at Hollywood Park.

1984 — Maryland completes the biggest comeback in NCAA history, overcoming a 31-0 halftime deficit to beating Miami 42-40 in the Orange Bowl. Led by back-up quarterback Frank Reich, the Terrapins score on six consecutive drives in the second half and stop Hurricane running back Melvin Bratton’s two-point conversion attempt on the goal line late in the fourth quarter.

1990 — The Phoenix Suns shatter the NBA record with 107 points in the first half of a 173-143 victory over the Denver Nuggets.

1991 — Martina Navratilova beats Monica Seles for the California Virginia Slims tournament, her 157th title, equaling Chris Evert’s record for career victories.

1996 — Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino surpasses 50,000 career yards passing in a 37-13 win over Indianapolis. Marino also reaches 4,000 completions, another NFL first, with his 10th completion of the game.

2001 — San Jose State beats Nevada 64-45, setting an NCAA single-game record for total offense with 1,640 yards. San Jose State has 849 yards to Nevada’s 791, eclipsing the previous record of 1,563 yards set by Houston and TCU on Nov. 3, 1990.

2007 — San Jose center Jeremy Roenick scores his 500th NHL goal at the expense of his former team in a 4-1 win over Phoenix.

2007 — Navy and North Texas set a major-college record by combining for 136 points in the Midshipmen’s 74-62 win. The previous record for college football’s top tier of competition was 133 points in San Jose State’s 70-63 win over Rice on Oct. 2, 2004.

2007 — Notre Dame loses for the ninth time this season, a school-record, falling 41-24 to Air Force. The last time the Irish lost to two military academies in the same season was 1944.

2012 — Ka’Deem Carey of Arizona rushes for a Pac-12 record 366 yards and ties the conference record with five TDs in the Wildcats’ 56-31 rout of Colorado.

2013 — Marc Marquez becomes the first rookie in 35 years to win the MotoGP championship after protecting his points lead in the Valencia Grand Prix. Needing a top-four finish to secure the title, the 20-year-old Marquez finishes third on his Honda behind race winner and defending champion Jorge Lorenzo. The last rookie to win the title was American Kenny Roberts in 1978.

2017 — John Carlson and T.J. Oshie score rare home power-play goals, and Braden Holtby becomes the second-fastest goalie in NHL history to 200 victories in Washington’s 4-1 win over Pittsburgh. Holtby stops 27 of the 28 shots he faces to pick up victory No. 200 in his 319th game, second only to Hall of Famer and six-time Stanley Cup winner Ken Dryden, who did it in 311.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time...

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