Davis drags Lakers to win
Anthony Davis led a stunning late fightback as the Los Angeles Lakers overturned a 19point fourth-quarter NBA deficit to defeat Milwaukee 128-124 in double overtime.
With LeBron James ruled out through injury, a bangedup Davis spent nearly 52 minutes on court to rally the Lakers to victory against an in-form Bucks side that went into the clash on a six-game winning streak.
Davis finished with 34 points, 23 rebounds and two assists while also making four blocks in a towering defensive display.
The Lakers veteran was backed offensively by Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell, who both finished points apiece.
Reaves bagged only the second triple-double of his career, with 14 rebounds and 10 assists to go alongside his 29 points.
Milwaukee meanwhile was left wondering where it all with 29 went wrong after leading the game from the start of the first quarter until the Lakers tied it up at 101-101 courtesy of two free throws from Taurean Prince with 44 seconds remaining.
Two seesaw periods of overtime saw the lead go back and forth until a Reaves threepointer and two free throws from Russell gave the Lakers a decisive 126-121 advantage with 14 seconds remaining.
Malik Beasley’s threepointer closed the gap to two points for Milwaukee, but two more Davis free throws sealed victory.
“That was a hell of a team win right there,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.
Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers take centre stage on Friday as Major League Baseball’s new season gets under way on US soil against the backdrop of a gambling scandal that has engulfed its brightest star.
When the Dodgers won the race to sign Japanese superstar Ohtani in December on a $700m deal, the move was widely hailed as a blockbuster coup.
A two-time American League Most Valuable Player, Ohtani’s once-in-ageneration combination of elite pitching and hitting has seen him compared to the legendary Babe Ruth.
The Dodgers launched their regular season with two games in Seoul against San Diego, splitting the series 1-1.
The results however were a footnote to the scandal that erupted around Ohtani after his longtime friend and interpreter Ippei Mizuhara was accused of swindling him out of millions of dollars to pay off gambling debts.
Ohtani’s camp said the superstar had been the victim of a “massive theft” by Mizuhara, who was promptly sacked by the Dodgers.