Paul George’s 33 sends Clippers past Lakers 116-109 on ring night.
LOS ANGELES » Paul George scored 26 of his 33 points in the second half, Kawhi Leonard added 26 points and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied past the Los Angeles Lakers on the NBA champions’ ring ceremony night for a 116-109 victory Tuesday.
George went 13 of 18 with five 3-pointers in an outstanding first game since agreeing to add four years and $190 million to his contract with the Clippers, who never trailed in the latest meeting of Southern California’s two NBA powerhouses. The Clippers beat the Lakers in the season opener for the second straight year while winning coach Tyronn Lue’s debut.
LeBron James scored 22 points and Anthony Davis had 18 for the Lakers just 72 days after they finished off the Miami Heat in the NBA bubble.
College football
NO. 13 BYU 49, UCF 23 (BOCA RATON BOWL) » Zach Wilson threw for 425 yards with three touchdown passes and two rushing scores as No. 13 BYU routed UCF.
Wilson, considered a top NFL prospect, completed 26 of 34 in what likely was his final college game.
The Cougars (11-1) led 3510 at halftime and finished with 655 yards of offense to UCF’s 411.
AUBURN HIRES BOISE STATE’S HARSIN TO LEAD
FOOTBALL PROGRAM » Auburn hired Boise State’s Bryan Harsin as its head coach on Tuesday, luring him away from his alma mater and into the powerful Southeastern Conference.
The 44-year- old Harsin is 69-19 with three Mountain West titles in seven seasons at Boise State, but winning in the SEC affords greater chances for playoff berths and national titles.
The Auburn job is also sure to bring a major pay raise, though contract details for Harsin weren’t immediately available. CLEMSON’S LAWRENCE,
ALABAMA STARS MAX
WELL AWARD FINALISTS » Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Alabama stars Mac Jones and DeVonta Smith are the finalists for the Maxwell Award given to college football’s top player.
The winners will be announced Jan. 7 during ESPN’s college football awards show. Lawrence
and Jones are also finalists for Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, along with Florida’s Kyle Trask. SOUTH CAROLINA PULLS OUT OF BOWL » South Carolina won’t be going to a bowl game, after all.
The Gamecocks, who finished 2-8, opted out of the Gasparilla Bowl against UAB due to positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing within the program. The game in Tampa, Florida, was scheduled for Saturday.
FLORIDA, MULLEN SANC
TIONED FOR NCAA RECRUITING VIOLATIONS » Florida received a year of probation and football coach Dan Mullen was sanctioned after the school and the NCAA agreed to resolve an infractions case involving impermissible contact with recruits last year.
None of the infractions was deemed Level I, the most serious, but the NCAA said the head coach did not promote an atmosphere of compliance. It did not name Mullen, who has been Florida’s coach since 2018.
Many of the penalties, including reduced evaluation days and number of permissible phones calls to recruits, were implemented earlier this year.
NFL
HASKINS APOLOGIZES AF
TER PHOTOS SHOW MASKLESS PARTYING » Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins publicly apologized after photo evidence came to light of him partying with several people unmasked after playing Sunday
Haskins said on Twitter he spoke with coach Ron Rivera and took full responsibility for putting the team at risk during the pandemic.
There was no immediate word whether Haskins would be fined or suspended for violating COVID-19 protocols. The team fined him earlier this season for a separate violation while on the road.
College basketball
FLORIDA’S JOHNSON LEAVES HOSPITAL » Florida forward Keyontae Johnson is being released from the hospital, 10 days after collapsing on the court at Florida State and needing emergency medical attention.
The school released a statement from his family saying, “We continue to be amazed at the pace of his recovery and look forward to spending Christmas together as a family.”