#los-angeles-lakers

#los-angeles-lakers

That may not have happened, as hoped, but the Raptors put Mount Olympus on notice, surely earning the respect of the West - we are no fluke now. However, Toronto has seen last night's story play out many times. An underdog Toronto team keeps fighting, gets close to pulling an upset, and then gets its heart stolen and stomped. What seemed like a game that would go into overtime ended in regulation as Rui Hachimura cashed the buzzer-beating corner 3.

"I just remember his demeanor. That's why we nicknamed him 'Easy E,' " Scott told The Times. "He was just so cool, nothing speeding him up. He was going to take his time. He was just easy. He was such a good dude. I loved Easy, man."

The Lakers' new big man went to the free throw line. The team's former big man was on the mind of fans. "I miss you, AD!" a Lakers fan shouted into the silence as Deandre Ayton prepared to shoot a free throw in the first quarter Friday. Former Lakers star Anthony Davis played his first game in L.A. since being traded to the Mavericks last season, finishing with 12 points, five assists, five rebounds and three blocks in the Lakers' 129-119 win at Crypto.com Arena.

Claire Rothman, a trailblazing sports and entertainment industry executive indelibly tied to the Los Angeles Lakers during their 1980s heyday, has died. Family members confirmed her death, on Saturday, was due to complications from a fall. She was 97. As the president and general manager of the "Fabulous Forum," Rothman was pivotal in bringing big-name musicians to the Inglewood venue and had deep ties to the Lakers when it was the team's home during the "Showtime" era, when the Lakers won five championships in a decade.

Farhan Zaidi and Andrew Friedman, two key executives with the Los Angeles Dodgers, have begun playing advisory roles with theLos Angeles Lakersas part of the ownership transition from the Buss family to Mark Walter, multiple sources told ESPN. Zaidi, currently a special adviser to the Dodgers and renowned for his analytics background, is functioning as Walter's representative in helping with the transition, sources close to the situation said.

There are few individuals in sports history who achieved what he accomplished in his hometown as a basketball standout. He led Poly to the City championship over Manual Arts in 1961, helped UCLA win two NCAA titles under coach John Wooden, including a record-setting 42-point performance in the 1965 final, and won an NBA title as the Lakers' leading scorer in 1971-72 on a team that had a 33-game winning streak and featured fellow future Hall of Famers Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain.

Deandre Ayton, Rui Hachimura and Nick Smith Jr all achieved season-best point totals as the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers notched a 123-115 victory over the hosts Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night. Ayton had 29 points on 14-of-19 shooting and collected 10 rebounds and three blocked shots against his former teammates. Hachimura had 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Little-known guard Smith was the biggest surprise with 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range.

"And I'm not being combative right now," Redick said. "I just want to acknowledge that you guys, like the last four days, like it's becoming a little bit obsessive with all these questions about opportunities lost. So, I will answer it again. These are the cards that we were dealt. I sure would like everybody to be healthy."

Natalia Bryant has made her debut as a creative director with a short film that features a subject matter with which she's very familiar. The 70-second piece is called "Forever Iconic: Purple and Gold Always," and it's all about the worldwide impact of the Lakers - something Bryant has experienced throughout her life as the oldest daughter of one of the Lakers' great icons, Kobe Bryant.