James Harden shoots as Detroit guard Cade Cunningham defends in the second half.
Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.
Newsletter Go beyond the scoreboard Get the latest on L.A.’s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter. Enter email address Sign Me Up You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
From Broderick Turner: James Harden was masterful in pouring in 50 points for a Clippers team that once again has endured a slew of injuries at the most inopportune time.
Harden was purposeful with his play in going 14-for-24 from the field, six-for-13 from three-point range and 16-for-20 from the free-throw line for a Clippers team that has been in a tailspin since the All-Star break.
Harden was mindful in playing 38 minutes and 27 seconds about how the wins and losses are paramount this time of the year for the Clippers.
Advertisement
He essentially was all encompassing for the Clippers in delivering them to a 123-115 win over the Detroit Pistons at the Intuit Dome on Wednesday night.
“Knowing we had a lot of guys out, which made me a little more aggressive,” Harden said. “Aggressive in scoring and making plays.”
Continue reading here
Advertisement
Clippers box score
NBA scores
NBA standings
Advertisement
Enjoying this newsletter? Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Become a subscriber.
RAMS
From Gary Klein: Now that the Rams have completed what Les Snead described as “a renewal of vows” with quarterback Matthew Stafford, the team’s longtime general manager turns his attention to what looks like an imminent breakup with star receiver Cooper Kupp.
Kupp, the 2021 NFL offensive player of the year, officially has been on the trading block since last month, when he announced on social media that the Rams had informed him they would try to move him.
Kupp, who signed a massive extension in 2022, is scheduled to earn about $20 million in salary and bonuses in 2025, with a $7.5-million roster bonus due next week.
“If there is a deadline in this situation,” Snead said Wednesday during a videoconference with reporters, “that roster date does weigh a good bit in the algorithm formula that we’re working through.”
Continue reading here
Advertisement
Matthew Stafford is ‘excited to be back’ on Rams
CHARGERS
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: The Chargers released star edge rusher Joey Bosa, the team announced Wednesday, cutting ties with their longest-tenured player before he was due to collect a $12.36-million bonus.
Bosa, 29, was drafted third overall in 2016 when the Chargers were in San Diego. He announced his presence as a game-wrecking force as the NFL’s defensive rookie of the year and joined Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau as the only Chargers defenders to be selected to four Pro Bowls in their first five seasons. But injuries derailed Bosa’s career in the last three seasons.
Battling groin, foot and hip injuries, Bosa appeared in just 29 of 52 regular-season and playoff games in the last three years with 14 sacks. After nine starts, five sacks and 22 tackles last season, Bosa commanded more than $36 million of the Chargers’ salary cap in 2025, the largest cap hit for any edge rusher in the league, according to Overthecap.com.
Already with the fifth-most cap space in the league, the Chargers will save $25.36 million by releasing Bosa.
Continue reading here
Advertisement
USC BASKETBALL
From Ryan Kartje: This was not the tournament contention Eric Musselman hoped his team would be fighting for come March, his first as USC’s coach. But the season had slid away through a frustrating February, and now his Trojans were left tiptoeing along the brink of the Big Ten tournament cutline, a discomfiting place he never expected them to be in his debut.
There was no changing all that now. What USC could still do, with the Big Ten’s last-place team on deck for its final home game, was win and all but ensure it’s in a field it should have easily made in the first place.
USC wouldn’t have much trouble with that Wednesday, as it dispatched Washington, 92-61, finally putting a stop to a frustrating five-game losing streak.
With the win, USC needs just a single Iowa loss — either tomorrow against Michigan State or Sunday at Nebraska — to secure its place in Indianapolis next week. But as the likely 15th and final seed in the tournament, it’s got a long, difficult road ahead if it hopes to get past that.
Continue reading here
USC box score
Big Ten standings
Advertisement
AP top 25 rankings
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: It took some four hours of work, roughly 1,200 Rubik’s Cubes, and years’ worth of knowledge with the six-side, 54-panel puzzle.
Ever since high school, minor league Dodgers reliever Jack Dreyer has been able to master the Rubik’s Cube; getting so good he not only solves them in as little as 20 seconds, but has learned to arrange them on canvasses by the hundreds to create multicolored murals.
So, when the Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani to his record-breaking $700-million contract in late 2023, Dreyer decided to commemorate the moment with a unique piece of art, creating a Rubik’s Cube portrait of the two-way star that was displayed at the team’s Camelback Ranch facility last spring.
“I was like, ‘Hey, he’s the face of baseball right now,’” Dreyer recalled Wednesday. “I think it would be kind of cool to have the fans get to see something like that.”
Dreyer is unsure if Ohtani ever saw the piece. And now, he said with a laugh (and hint of sorrow), it no longer exists, having been knocked over and shattered last year.
Advertisement
According to Roberts, Dreyer (and his Rubik’s Cube) almost reached the majors last year, with the Dodgers coming close on several occasions to calling him up for his MLB debut.
Continue reading here
KINGS
Robert Thomas scored the decisive goal in the shootout and scored a goal in regulation to extend his point streak to 11 games as the St. Louis Blues beat the Kings 3-2 on Wednesday night.
Jake Neighbours also scored for St. Louis late in the first period while Jordan Binnington made 21 saves as the Blues played their second game of six-game trip and the first of three in Southern California.
Quinton Byfield and Trevor Moore scored for the Kings, who have now lost five straight. Darcey Kuemper made 28 saves.
Continue reading here
Advertisement
Kings summary
NHL scores
NHL standings
DUCKS
Carson Soucy scored the winner as the Vancouver Canucks downed the Ducks 3-2 on Wednesday night.
Jake DeBrusk put away his team-leading 22nd goal of the season for the Canucks on a second-period power play. Teddy Blueger followed with a goal and Filip Hronek contributed a pair of assists.
Kevin Lankinen stopped 14 shots for Vancouver, which improved to 2-4-0 since the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
Advertisement
The Ducks lost starting netminder John Gibson midway through the second period after he suffered an apparent injury in a collision with Canucks winger Drew O’Connor.
Continue reading here
Ducks summary
NHL scores
NHL standings
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1920 — Mickey Roach of Toronto scores five goals to lead the St. Patricks to an 11-2 rout of the Quebec Bulldogs.
Advertisement
1964 — Boxing legend Cassius Clay joins the Nation of Islam and changes his name to ”Muhammad Ali″, calling his former title a “slave name”.
1976 — Dorothy Hamill wins the World Figure Skating Championships in Goteberg, Sweden.
1977 — Montclair State’s Carol Blazejowski scores 52 points against Queens College, setting a new collegiate scoring record (for men or women) in the current Madison Square Garden in New York.
1982 — The San Antonio Spurs and Milwaukee Bucks combine for 337 points in the highest scoring game in NBA history, to that point. The Spurs win, 171-166, in three overtimes.
1983 — The 12-team United States Football League begins its first season with five games.
1984 — Dale Hawerchuck of the Winnipeg Jets sets the NHL record for most assists in one period, with five in the second period of a 7-3 triumph over the Kings.
1988 — Julie Krone becomes the winningest female jockey in history with her 1,205th career victory. Krone rides a filly named Squawter to victory in the ninth race at Aqueduct Racetrack.
1996 — Detroit’s Chris Osgood becomes the third goalie in NHL history to score a goal, firing the puck into an empty net with 11 seconds remaining in the Red Wings’ 4-2 victory over Hartford.
Advertisement
2000 — Shaquille O’Neal of the Lakers scores an NBA season-high 61 points and had 23 rebounds in a 123-103 victory over the Clippers.
2001 — George Mason beats North Carolina-Wilmington 35-33 in the second-lowest scoring game in the shot-clock era of NCAA basketball.
2010 — Devin Harris scores 31 points and the New Jersey Nets erased an early 16-point deficit to beat New York 113-93. The Knicks miss all 18 attempts in the most futile three-point shooting night in league history.
2011 — Lindsey Vonn clinches her third discipline title in three days with a super-G victory to wrap up a memorable weekend of ski racing in Tarvisio, Italy. Vonn took the super-combined and downhill titles the previous two days.
2014 — The Clippers rout the rival Lakers 142-94. It’s the most lopsided victory ever for the Clippers’ franchise and the most one-sided loss in Lakers history.
2015 — Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim is suspended for nine games, with the school punished for ignoring the “most fundamental core values of the NCAA” for academic, drug and other violations committed primarily by the men’s basketball program. The school is put on probation for five years and the basketball team is forced to vacate 108 wins in which ineligible players participated.
Advertisement
2015 — Shane Walsh scores the winning goal in the fifth overtime to lead UMass to a 4-3 victory over Notre Dame in the longest game in NCAA Division I ice hockey history.
2019 — LeBron James scores his 32,293rd point in the 2nd quarter of a Lakers’ 115-99 loss to Denver to pass Michael Jordan into 4th place on the NBA all-time point scoring list.
Compiled by the Associated Press
The Sports Report: James Harden scores 50 points in Clippers’ victory
- Advertisment - 
Recent Comments
on David and Victoria Beckham so ‘Charmed’ by Tom Cruise They Have His Photos on Display at Their Home
on Boston College vs. Army live stream, how to watch online, CBS Sports Network channel finder, odds
on Big Tech companies will cover travel expenses for employees’ medical procedures, including abortion
on Russian cruise and ballistic missiles kill 4 in Ukraine and Ukrainian rockets kill 2 in Russian city
on A weaker dollar, skyrocketing prices and ‘record’ visitor numbers: Good luck in Europe this summer
on GameFly Sale Offering Nintendo Switch Sports at a Mind-Blowing Price, Don’t Miss the Opportunity!
on Ford Blue Cruise: US regulators investigate fatal crashes involving hands-free driving technology
on San Mateo County Community College District sues five companies over role in ‘pay to play’ scandal
on 2024 Super Bowl: CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports HQ to combine for 115 hours of weeklong coverage
on Despite strong Lunar New Year holiday data, consumer spending in China isn’t roaring back just yet
on 2023 NFL All-Rookie Team: CBS Sports draft expert, former GM unveil league’s best first-year players
on Devout athletes find strength in their faith. But practicing it and elite sports can pose hurdles
on The Rev. Al Sharpton to lead protest after Florida governor’s ban of African American studies course
on After UFC Fallout, Conor McGregor Offers a Valuable Piece of Advice to Free Agent Francis Ngannou
on CONCEPT ART: New Details Revealed for Disney Cruise Line Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point Destination
on Saipan, placid island setting for Assange’s last battle, is briefly mobbed – and bemused by the fuss
on CONCEPT ART: New Details Revealed for Disney Cruise Line Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point Destination
on David and Victoria Beckham so ‘Charmed’ by Tom Cruise They Have His Photos on Display at Their Home
on Iowa State starting RB Jirehl Brock among latest college football players charged in gambling probe
on Biden to tout bill’s prescription drug prices, energy provisions in pitch to Americans, aide says
on Iowa State starting RB Jirehl Brock among latest college football players charged in gambling probe
on The Rev. Al Sharpton to lead protest after Florida governor’s ban of African American studies course
on Sports World Hails ‘Superwoman’ Lindsey Vonn for Her Grand Comeback Despite Career-Changing Injury
on San Mateo County Community College District sues five companies over role in ‘pay to play’ scandal
on Saipan, placid island setting for Assange’s last battle, is briefly mobbed – and bemused by the fuss
on ‘Pokémon Scarlet’ and ‘Violet’ Fan Theories Suggest Legendary Time Travel, Alternate Dimension Plot
on Joe Manchin and Tommy Tuberville introduce bill on name, image and likeness rules for college sports
on Inside the Michael Jordan ‘Air’ movie, plus why NFL, others are buying into the sports film industry
on If you’re a frequent traveler, these wrap tops from Aday will revolutionize your on-the-go wardrobe
on How Does Jack Nicklaus Travel? Exploring the Private Jets Owned by the ‘Golden Bear’ Over the Years
on Hollywood Reporter: Tom Cruise negotiated with movie studios over AI before the actors strike began
on Ford Blue Cruise: US regulators investigate fatal crashes involving hands-free driving technology
on Dozens of boats cruise the Seine in a rehearsal for the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony on July 26
on Devout athletes find strength in their faith. But practicing it and elite sports can pose hurdles
on Despite strong Lunar New Year holiday data, consumer spending in China isn’t roaring back just yet
on David and Victoria Beckham so ‘Charmed’ by Tom Cruise They Have His Photos on Display at Their Home
on CONCEPT ART: New Details Revealed for Disney Cruise Line Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point Destination
on CBS Sports announces Matt Ryan will join NFL studio show. Longtime analysts Simms and Esiason depart
on Boston College vs. Army live stream, how to watch online, CBS Sports Network channel finder, odds
on Boise State vs. Air Force live stream, odds, channel, prediction, how to watch on CBS Sports Network
on Biden to tout bill’s prescription drug prices, energy provisions in pitch to Americans, aide says
on After UFC Fallout, Conor McGregor Offers a Valuable Piece of Advice to Free Agent Francis Ngannou
on 2024 Super Bowl: CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports HQ to combine for 115 hours of weeklong coverage
on ‘Best Intention’: Chris Kirk Has Absolute Trust in Jay Monahan and PGA Tour’s Widely Debated Model
on 2023 NFL All-Rookie Team: CBS Sports draft expert, former GM unveil league’s best first-year players
on “Completely Knocked Me Out”: Rob Lowe Recalls Boxing Match With Tom Cruise On 1983 Brat Pack Classic
on CONCEPT ART: New Details Revealed for Disney Cruise Line Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point Destination
on “Completely Knocked Me Out”: Rob Lowe Recalls Boxing Match With Tom Cruise On 1983 Brat Pack Classic
on CBS Sports announces Matt Ryan will join NFL studio show. Longtime analysts Simms and Esiason depart
on Carlos Sainz’s Soccer Fanboy Emerges as Spaniard Shares Defining Moment With This Real Madrid Legend
on Biden: ‘At this point I’m not’ planning to visit East Palestine, Ohio, after toxic train derailment
on ‘Best Intention’: Chris Kirk Has Absolute Trust in Jay Monahan and PGA Tour’s Widely Debated Model
on Ahead of big sports weekend, dispute with Disney leaves millions of cable subscribers in the dark
on A heavy wave of Russian missile attacks pounds areas across Ukraine, killing at least 4 civilians
on 2024 Super Bowl: CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports HQ to combine for 115 hours of weeklong coverage
on 2023 NFL All-Rookie Team: CBS Sports draft expert, former GM unveil league’s best first-year players
on Army vs. Coastal Carolina live stream, how to watch online, CBS Sports Network channel finder, odds
on AL Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez Spreads Joy and Sportsmanship to the Youth of Loma de Cabrera
on After UFC Fallout, Conor McGregor Offers a Valuable Piece of Advice to Free Agent Francis Ngannou
on Dubai International Airport sees 41.6 million passengers in first half of year, more than in 2019
on Devout athletes find strength in their faith. But practicing it and elite sports can pose hurdles
on Despite strong Lunar New Year holiday data, consumer spending in China isn’t roaring back just yet
on Dave Portnoy: Taylor Swift’s security should ‘drag Kim Kardashian to jail’ if she attends Eras Tour
on CONCEPT ART: New Details Revealed for Disney Cruise Line Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point Destination
on “Completely Knocked Me Out”: Rob Lowe Recalls Boxing Match With Tom Cruise On 1983 Brat Pack Classic
on CBS Sports, Serie A announce new TV rights deal; Paramount+ to air over 400 Italian soccer matches
on Cam Newton’s Violent Public Incident Draws Hilarious Reaction From 3x All-Star: “Where Do I Sign Up
on Boston College vs. Army live stream, how to watch online, CBS Sports Network channel finder, odds
on Angel Reese Launches Foundation Dedicated To Empowering Women Through Sports & Financial Literacy
on A weaker dollar, skyrocketing prices and ‘record’ visitor numbers: Good luck in Europe this summer