The Sports Report: Lakers blow 17-point fourth-quarter lead and lose

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

From Dan Woike: As far as trades that haven’t happened go, this one has been talked about plenty.

The idea goes something like this: Buddy Hield is one of the best high-volume three-point shooters in the NBA, the kind of marksman that is a must on a winning LeBron James roster. Myles Turner is one of the best shot blockers in the league and pairing him with Anthony Davis would make life hell on attacking offensive players.

And for the price of two future first-round picks and Russell Westbrook’s matching salary, they could both be Lakers.

Monday, with the Pacers and the Lakers meeting for the first time this season, talk of that deal dominated postgame only to be outdone by a tight game with Westbrook smack in the middle of all of it and a rookie ready to punctuate it.

Indiana second-round pick Andrew Nembhard swished home a three-point shot at the buzzer to cap a 17-poiunt comeback and stun the Lakers 116-115.

“They made some big shots,� Westbrook said.

The Lakers lacked shooting, they struggled defensively on the wing and the good vibes they built crumbled late in a brutal loss.

Westbrook scored nine points in the third quarter pushing the Lakers out to a 16-point lead and an assist from Westbrook to Wenyen Gabriel put the Lakers up 17 with 10 minutes left in the fourth.

But the Pacers outscored the Lakers 32-14 from there to the finish line to steal the win, re-exposing so many familiar late-game problems from earlier in the season.

RAMS

From Gary Klein: As the Rams continue to lose star players because of injuries, it is becoming increasingly clear that coach Sean McVay and team executives could decide to have them return for the remainder of this lost season — or shut them down and reboot for next year.

Defensive lineman Aaron Donald is the latest casualty.

The three-time NFL defensive player of the year suffered a high-ankle sprain in Sunday’s defeat by the Kansas City Chiefs and his status for an NFC West game against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at SoFi Stadium and beyond is to be determined, McVay said Monday.

CHARGERS

From Jeff Miller: A Chargers defense that has struggled to stop the run will now face a back who topped 100 yards Sunday.

And Josh Jacobs did that just in overtime.

Jacobs lifted Las Vegas to a 40-34 victory at Seattle with an 86-yard touchdown run midway through the extra session. For the game, he totaled 229 yards — a Raiders franchise record — in 33 attempts.

At the same time, the Chargers were having all sorts of issues trying to contain James Conner and corral Kyler Murray in a 25-24 win at Arizona.

“We had to tackle better,� coach Brandon Staley said Monday. “We missed some tackles that contributed to some big gains, or bigger gains. It’s just playing team defense. Our tackling on the perimeter was at the heart of a lot of the plays.�

UCLA BASKETBALL

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: She knew the odds were long, but Charisma Osborne asked anyway.

Would UCLA, with a 14-12 record after losing to Oregon in the second round of the Pac-12 Conference tournament, have a chance to hear its name called during the NCAA selection show?

Coach Cori Close delivered the bad news.

“I could just see in her eyes, this will never happen again,� Close said.

One year after the Bruins missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2015, the senior guard has started her revenge tour averaging 20.1 points and 7.1 rebounds in leading No. 20 UCLA to its best start in three years.

DODGERS

From Jack Harris: The Dodgers are looking for another starting pitcher.

And on Monday, they talked with one of the biggest names on the market.

Justin Verlander had a meeting with the Dodgers, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, marking the team’s latest effort to woo the free-agent superstar and bolster its rotation.

With Walker Buehler likely to miss all of next year following Tommy John surgery, the starting rotation remains one of the Dodgers’ top priorities this winter.

“In an ideal world, we’re able to bring back Kersh,� president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said of Clayton Kershaw at this month’s general manager meetings, “and then address another starter and just maintain some depth to help us navigate a season.�

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Hall of Fame fate for Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens could be decided Sunday

UCLA AND USC FOOTBALL

USC is preparing for a rematch with Utah, the only team to beat the Trojans this season, in the Pac-12 title game. Crosstown rival UCLA, meanwhile, is facing a grim finish to a once promising season. College football reporters Ryan Kartje, Ben Bolch, J. Brady McCollough and Thuc Nhi Nguyen discuss key questions facing the two teams. Click here to read the discussion.

WORLD CUP

From Kevin Baxter in Qatar: In four years with the U.S. national team, Gregg Berhalter has coached 58 games, traveled tens of thousands of miles, auditioned dozens of players and run too many training sessions to count.

All that work will now come down to 90 minutes Tuesday when the U.S. faces Iran in its final group-stage match of the 2022 World Cup with a berth in the knockout rounds at stake. And the scenario couldn’t be simpler: win and the U.S. goes on, lose or draw and it goes home.

“It sounds kind of illogical to judge four years on one game, but that’s our business,� Berhalter said. “We said that this team is going to be judged on what we do at the World Cup. So that’s fine. We’ll deal with it.�

What the Americans have accomplished so far in Qatar would probably get a “C� on most report cards: they’ve done just enough to get by, drawing Wales and England to enter the final group game both unbeaten and winless. But they’ll have to bring their A game against Iran, the lowest-ranked team in the group but the only one standing between the U.S. and the next round.

“This is a knockout game for both teams,� he said. “So it’s going to be a high level of intensity.�

The U.S. made the Round of 16 three times in the four previous World Cups it has played in this century. To do that again, however, it is going to have to score and its only goal so far in this World Cup came 36 minutes into its first game with Wales. The Americans have put just one other shot on goal.

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Monday’s results

Group G
Cameroon 3, Serbia 3
Brazil 1, Switzerland 0

Country, W-D-L, GD, Pts
y-Brazil, 2-0-0, +3, 6
Switzerland, 1-0-1, 0, 3
Cameroon, 0-1-1, -1, 1
Serbia, 0-1-1, -2, 1

Friday: Serbia vs. Switzerland, 11 a.m., FS1, Universo, Peacock
Friday: Cameroon vs. Brazil, 11 a.m., Fox, Telemundo, Peacock

Group H
Ghana 3, South Korea 2
Portugal 2, Uruguay 0

Country, W-D-L, GD, Pts
y-Portugal, 2-0-0, +3, 6
Ghana, 1-0-1, 0, 3
South Korea, 0-1-1, -1, 1
Uruguay, 0-1-1, -2, 1

Friday: Ghana vs. Uruguay, 7 a.m., Fox, Telemundo, Peacock
Friday: South Korea vs. Portugal, FS1, Universo, Peacock

Today’s schedule
All times Pacific

Group A
Qatar vs. Netherlands, 7 a.m., FS1, Telemundo, Peacock
Ecuador vs. Senegal, 7 a.m., Fox, Universo, Peacock

Country, W-D-L, GD, Pts
Netherlands, 1-1-0, +2, 4
Ecuador, 1-1-0, +2, 4
Senegal, 1-0-1, 0, 3
x-Qatar, 0-0-2, 0, 0

Group B
Wales vs. England, 11 a.m., FS1, Universo, Peacock
United States vs. Iran, 11 a.m., Fox, Telemundo, Peacock

Country, W-D-L, GD, Pts
England, 1-1-0, +4, 4
Iran, 1-0-1, -2, 3
United States, 0-2-0, 0, 2
Wales, 0-1-1, -2, 1

Other Groups

Group C
Country, W-D-L, GD, Pts
Poland, 1-1-0, +2, 4
Argentina, 1-0-1, +1, 3
Saudi Arabia, 1-0-1, -1, 3
Mexico, 0-1-1, -2, 1

Wednesday: Poland vs. Argentina, 11 a.m., Fox, Universo, Peacock
Wednesday, Mexico vs. Saudi Arabia, FS1, Telemundo, Peacock

Group D
Country, W-D-L, GD, Pts
y-France, 2-0-0, +4, 6
Australia, 1-0-1, -2, 3
Denmark, 0-1-1, -1, 1
Tunisia, 0-1-1, -1, 1

Wednesday: Australia vs. Denmark, 7 a.m., FS1, Telemundo, Peacock
Wednesday: Tunisia vs. France, 7 a.m., Fox, Universo, Peacock

Group E
Country, W-D-L, GD, Pts
Spain, 1-1-0, +7, 4
Japan, 1-0-1, 0, 3
Costa Rica, 1-0-1, -6, 3
Germany, 0-1-1, -1, 1

Thursday: Japan vs. Spain, 11 a.m., FS1, Telemundo, Peacock
Thursday: Costa Rica vs. Germany, 11 a.m., Fox, Universo, Peacock

Group F
Country, W-D-L, GD, Pts
Croatia, 1-1-0, +3, 4
Morocco, 1-1-0, +2, 4
Belgium, 1-0-1, -1, 3
x-Canada, 0-0-2, -4, 0

Thursday: Croatia vs. Belgium, 7 a.m., Fox, Universo, Peacock
Thursday: Canada vs. Morocco, 7 a.m., FS1, Telemundo, Peacock

x-eliminated
y-clinched Round of 16
Note: Top two in each group advance to the Round of 16.

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Complete World Cup coverage

Qatar World Cup: Start times for every match and how to watch

Iran World Cup showdown with U.S. overshadowed by protests against Islamic regime

For Iran coach Carlos Queiroz, playing against U.S. will have special meaning

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1890 — Navy beats Army 24-0 in the first matchup of this historic series.

1934 — The Detroit Lions play their first traditional Thanksgiving Day home game and lose to the Chicago Bears 19-16 in front of 26,000. CBS Radio does the first national broadcast of an NFL game.

1987 — The New Orleans Saints hold off the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-16 to assure themselves of their first winning season in their 20-year history.

1992 — New York Jets defensive end Dennis Byrd is paralyzed in his lower body after colliding with teammate Scott Mersereau and breaking his C-5 vertebra in a 23-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

1995 — Grant Fuhr becomes the 11th NHL goalie to win 300 games as the St. Louis Blues beat Winnipeg 4-1.

1998 — Miami’s Dan Marino becomes the first player to throw 400 career TD passes, passing for 255 yards and three TDs in the Dolphins’ 30-10 win against New Orleans.

2003 — LeBron James, 18, becomes youngest player in NBA history to score 30 or more points in a game with his 33-point effort in the Cavaliers’ 122-115 double-overtime loss to Memphis. Kobe Bryant was 19 when he reached 30 for the Lakers in 1997.

2003 — Maryland’s Bruce Perry rushes for 237 yards while Wake Forest’s Chris Barclay gains 243 yards, marking the first time in ACC history and only the fifth time in NCAA history that opposing backs have more than 200 rushing yards in the same game. Perry scores three touchdowns in the Terrapins’ 41-28 win.

2004 — Brett Favre celebrates his 200th straight regular-season start with three touchdown passes and yet another record in the Green Bay Packers’ 45-17 rout of the St. Louis Rams.

2008 — Chris Duhon passes out a franchise-record 22 assists in New York’s 138-125 victory over Golden State. Duhon breaks Richie Guerin’s team record of 21 assists set in 1958. New York scores 82 points in the first half to break the record for most first-half points at the present Madison Square Garden, set when Kansas City scored 81 on Dec. 8, 1979.

2009 — Francesco and Edoardo Molinari become the first brothers to win the World Cup of Golf, giving Italy its first title in the team event with a one-stroke victory over Sweden and Ireland.

2009 — The Indianapolis Colts earn their 20th straight regular-season victory with a 35-27 win over Houston. The Colts came back from fourth-quarter deficits in each of their past five games to become the first NFL team to win five in a row when trailing in the fourth quarter of each contest.

2012 — Drew Brees throws a career-high five interceptions and his record touchdown streak of 54 consecutive games ends in New Orleans’ 23-13 loss to Atlanta. Brees completed 28 of 50 passes for 341 yards.

2013 — David Fales throws for 543 yards and six touchdowns in an entertaining showdown with Derek Carr and San Jose State ends No. 16 Fresno State’s run toward a possible BCS bowl with a 62-52 victory. Carr passes for 519 yards and six touchdowns.

2015 — Andy Murray gives Britain its first Davis Cup title in 79 years when he beats Belgium’s David Goffin 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 in the first of reverse singles. The win gives Britain an unassailable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five series.

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

Dan Marino’s 50 most electrifying plays. Watch and listen here.