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

Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

From Dan Woike: Luka Doncic stared at officials and argued for a call while the Knicks drove with the ball in the other direction, his frustration dangerously close to boiling over.

It was that kind of night.

LeBron James pushed and shoved Karl-Anthony Towns in the paint, working with everything he had to get a stop, only to roll his eyes when the Knicks worked a little bit harder to rebound and score.

It was that kind of vibe.

JJ Redick, who has overseen a defense that has been in the right place at the right time for more than a month, looked to the crowd in helpless frustration as the Lakers struggled to get a stop.

It was that kind of second quarter.

And Austin Reaves, playing for the first time since sustaining a calf injury, got the ball spiked off his head by Towns after putting up a shot.

It was that kind of struggle.

Through it all, the Lakers fought. They dug into their energy reserves and found a way to keep going. And just when it seemed there would be nothing left to give, the Lakers found a way to win their eighth consecutive game.

Doncic scored the first five points of overtime and James hit four critical free throws to lift the Lakers to a 113-109 comeback win over the New York Knicks at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night.

From Jack Harris: A month ago, Dave Roberts was asked if the Dodgers’ hope was for Shohei Ohtani to be back in the team’s pitching rotation by May this season.

“I think that’s about right, yeah,” the manager responded, speaking on Feb. 1 at the club’s preseason fan fest event. “And it might be earlier.”

Fast forward to Thursday, however, and Roberts’ answer to the same question had substantially changed.

While Ohtani, the two-way star who missed all of last season as a pitcher while recovering from Tommy John surgery, has continued to play catch on a regular basis at Dodgers camp this week, the right-hander has not thrown a bullpen session since Feb. 25 — a change in his throwing program that has coincided with his return as a hitter to game action in Cactus League play.

According to Roberts, it has been a collective, and precautionary, decision; intended to prevent the reigning National League MVP, who also underwent surgery on his non-throwing left shoulder this offseason to repair a torn labrum, from over-taxing his body as he prepares for opening day as a designated hitter.

From Ben Bolch: UCLA coach Cori Close’s gesture signaled it was the end of practice, players quickly following her lead.

Clap-clap-clap, clap-clap-clap.

Everyone gathered in a circle, feet touching in a show of unity. Anyone who wanted to say something about the practice could speak. Timea Gardiner said she felt the team was locked in. Other coaches and players shared equally positive messages.

It was a familiar routine in unfamiliar territory, the Bruins joining rival USC among the newcomers in their first Big Ten women’s basketball tournament.

After dominating their new conference counterparts during the regular season, the top-seeded Trojans and second-seeded Bruins are widely expected to meet again in the tournament championship Sunday afternoon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Should the anticipated title matchup materialize, the Bruins can avoid going uh-oh-and-3 against the Trojans after dropping the first two games, including an 80-67 setback Sunday at Pauley Pavilion.

From Gary Klein: While the Rams continue their attempt to trade star receiver Cooper Kupp, they moved Thursday to make sure quarterback Matthew Stafford still has another familiar face to pass to.

The Rams have agreed to terms with pending free-agent receiver Tutu Atwell on a one-year contract that includes $10 million in salary and bonuses, a person with knowledge of the situation said Thursday. The person requested anonymity because the deal has not been finalized.

Atwell, 5 feet 9 inches and 165 pounds, was a surprise second-round draft pick in 2021. After a rough rookie season, the speedy and diminutive Atwell became a solid contributor in a receiver corps that eventually included Kupp, Puka Nacua and Demarcus Robinson.

From Clara Harter: For many U.S. Olympic athletes, going for gold can also mean going broke as they shell out thousands of dollars for elite coaching and equipment while forgoing employment to train around the clock. Athletes have reported relying on food stamps, racking up credit card debt and resorting to crowdfunding to make it to the Games.

On Wednesday, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced a new financial assistance program for all Team USA athletes — a $100,000 retirement benefit per each Olympic Games that they participate in.

This program seeks to address the financial challenges athletes face, which “have led many to choose between leaving their sports to find full-time work or continuing to train and compete while struggling with poverty or financial insecurity,” according to a 2024 report by the Commission on the State of U.S. Olympics and Paralympics.

From John Cherwa: Trevor Denman, whose familiar voice has punctuated horse races in Southern California for more than four decades, announced his retirement Thursday. He will be replaced at Del Mar by Larry Collmus, who is best known for his NBC calls of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Breeders’ Cup.

Denman is considered one of the greatest race callers of all time. His signature expressions such as “And away they go” at the start of each race to occasionally saying “they would have to sprout wings” to catch a horse that was far in front. He also would refer to horses close to the rail as “scraping the paint.”

Denman, 72, has contemplated retirement for a few years, reducing his workload to just the summer meeting at Del Mar. He has called every season, except one, at Del Mar since 1984.

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1921 — Cy Denneny of the Ottawa Senators scores six goals in a 12-5 victory over the Hamilton Tigers.

1951 — Ezzard Charles wins a unanimous 15-round decision over Jersey Joe Walcott to retain the world heavyweight title in Detroit.

1954 — The Minneapolis Lakers and Milwaukee Hawks experiment with the baskets raised from 10 feet to 12 feet during an exhibition game. George Mikan and the Lakers win 65-63.

1970 — Austin Carr scores an NCAA tournament record 61 points as Notre Dame routs Ohio University 112-82. Carr hits 25 of 44 field goals and 11 of 14 free throws.

1974 — New Orleans is granted an NBA franchise.

1977 — Anthony Roberts of Oral Roberts scores 65 points in a 90-89 loss to Oregon in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.

1983 — Phil Mahre wins the Alpine World Cup championship for the third straight year to become the third person to win three consecutive titles.

1987 — Thomas Hearns wins his third championship, the WBC light heavyweight title, with a 10-round TKO of Dennis Andries.

1996 — Magic Johnson becomes the second NBA player to reach 10,000 career assists, getting the milestone on the go-ahead basket in the Lakers’ 102-90 victory over Sacramento.

2012 — Lionel Messi becomes the first player to score five goals in a Champions League soccer match, helping defending champion Barcelona crush Bayer Leverkusen 7-1 to advance to the quarterfinals with a 10-2 aggregate win.

2012 — Kikkan Randall adds a World Cup crystal globe to her stash and carves out another slice of history for the U.S ski team. Randall is the first American in 30 years to win a cross-country championship by clinching the overall sprint title. Randall’s 11th-place finish at a race in Norway secures the championship with one race left in the season.

2014 — The U.S. women’s soccer team’s two-year unbeaten streak ends at 43 games with a 1-0 loss to Sweden at the Algarve Cup in Albufiera, Portugal. The U.S. had been 36-0-7 since a 1-0 loss to Japan at the Algarve Cup on March 5, 2012.

2015 — Kentucky (31-0) becomes the first men’s basketball team from a major conference to go undefeated in the regular season since Indiana in 1976. Wichita State of the Missouri Valley Conference went undefeated in the regular season in 2014.

2016 — Peyton Manning announces his retirement from the Denver Broncos and the NFL.

2016 — Stephen Curry scores 41 points and becomes the first player in NBA history to make 300 three-pointers in a season, and the Golden State Warriors set another record by holding off the Orlando Magic 119-113 for their 45th straight home victory.

Page 2

Luka Doncic stared at officials and argued for a call while the Knicks drove with the ball in the other direction, his frustration dangerously close to boiling over.

It was that kind of night.

LeBron James pushed and shoved Karl-Anthony Towns in the paint, working with everything he had to get a stop, only to roll his eyes when the Knicks worked a little bit harder to rebound and score.

It was that kind of vibe.

JJ Redick, who has overseen a defense that has been in the right place at the right time for more than a month, looked to the crowd in helpless frustration as the Lakers struggled to get a stop.

It was that kind of second quarter.

And Austin Reaves, playing for the first time since sustaining a calf injury, got the ball spiked off his head by Towns after putting up a shot.

It was that kind of struggle.

Through it all, the Lakers fought. They dug into their energy reserves and found a way to keep going. And just when it seemed there would be nothing left to give, the Lakers found a way to win their eighth consecutive game.

Doncic scored the first five points of overtime and James hit four critical free throws to lift the Lakers to a 113-109 comeback win over the New York Knicks at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night.

“You build more chemistry in those games,” Doncic said. “Those games are really sweet to win.”

After the Lakers (40-21) rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter, Doncic hit a fadeaway on the first possession of overtime and a rainbow three-pointer on the second, forcing the Knicks (40-22) to play catch-up.

And after Jalen Brunson, who the Lakers couldn’t contain all game, left the game with an ankle injury, James iced it for the Lakers with his final free throw.

“Our guys, in what felt like a playoff game at times, really just gutted out a win,” Redick said.

In between big plays from the Lakers’ stars, Reaves hit a three-pointer — his first of the game — in overtime to keep the comeback on track. Before that, Dalton Knecht ended the third quarter with a buzzer-beating three, and Gabe Vincent hit a trio of three-pointers in the fourth.

“Gabe won the game,” Doncic said.

And the Lakers’ defense, which struggled in transition and on the glass, toughened up in the fourth to hold New York to 15 points on five-of-14 shooting and to two-of-10 shooting in overtime.

“The defense gave up 15 points in the fourth quarter and we hang our hats there when we weren’t shooting the ball well,” James said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well for quite a while. Especially from the three-point arc. But we laid our hat on our defense and then those outside shots started to flow.”

Doncic led the Lakers with 32 points and 12 assists and James added 31 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Along with a returning Reaves, they combined to miss 20 of their 27 three-point attempts. But hot shooting from Knecht and Vincent coupled with timely baskets from Doncic and Reaves helped them complete a perfect six-game homestand that saw the Lakers take control of second in the Western Conference.

The Lakers open a four-game trip in Boston on Saturday followed by stops in Brooklyn, Milwaukee and Denver.

“We gotta approach next game with the same mentality, go game by game,” Doncic said. “I know we got a tough stretch but we gotta approach these games with the same mentality.”