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Lakers honor Kobe, take control of series vs. Blazers

LeBron James on the way to a 30 points and 10 assists performance to lead the Lakers against the Trail Blazers in Game 4 of the NBA first round playoffs. (AFP)
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Updated 25 August 2020
AP
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Lakers honor Kobe, take control of series vs. Blazers

  • The Lakers, the top seed in the Western Conference, can close out the series on Wednesday
Updated 25 August 2020
AP

Lake Buena Vista, FLA.: The Los Angeles Lakers jumped out to an apt 24-8 lead on Kobe Bryant Day and dominated the Portland Trail Blazers the rest of the way, taking a 3-1 advantage in their playoff series with a 135-115 victory Monday night.

LeBron James had 30 points and 10 assists in 28 minutes before heading to the bench late in the third quarter. The Lakers led by as many as 38 points for their third straight win in the opening-round series, the team’s first playoff appearance since 2013.

The Trail Blazers won the opener but have appeared gassed in the past two games. Damian Lillard, the MVP of the seeding games in the NBA bubble, had 11 points before leaving with a right knee injury in the third. Jusuf Nurkic had 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Anthony Davis added 18 points in 18 minutes for the Lakers before leaving the game midway through the third with back spasms.

The Lakers, the top seed in the Western Conference, can close out the series on Wednesday.

It was considered “Kobe Day” because Monday was 8/24, the two numbers Kobe Bryant wore during his 20-year career.

Bucks 121 Magic 106

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, Khris Middleton finally came alive with a huge fourth quarter Milwaukee beat Orlando to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round series.

Middleton scored 18 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 10 rebounds after being held to one field goal in the first three quarters on 1-of-9 shooting.

Wesley Matthews added 12 points for the Bucks, who can close out the Magic on Wednesday.

Nikola Vucevic continued his strong play for the Magic, finishing with 31 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Terrence Ross had 19 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

Milwaukee have now won three straight after losing the series opener to the eighth-seeded Magic.

The top-seeded Bucks led by three entering the fourth quarter before Middleton came alive.

Thunder 117 Rockets 113

Dennis Schroder scored a career playoff-high 30 points, and Oklahoma City rallied to beat Houston and even the first-round Western Conference playoff series at two wins apiece.

Oklahoma City trailed by 15 points in the third quarter and was down a point heading into the fourth.

Chris Paul scored 26 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder, who won despite allowing 23 3-pointers.

James Harden had 32 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds for Houston. Eric Gordon scored 23 points and Danuel House Jr. added 21 for the Rockets.

Former Thunder star Russell Westbrook sat out for Houston again with a strained right quad.

Heat 99 Pacers 87

Goran Dragic scored 23 points and fifth-seeded Miami completed a first-round sweep of Indiana.

Tyler Herro had 16 points and Bam Adebayo added 14 points and 19 rebounds for the Heat, who made it out of the first round for the first time since 2016.

Victor Oladipo had 25 points and Myles Turner added 22 points and 14 rebounds for the Pacers, who have dropped four straight postseason series to the Heat since 2012.

Miami’s bench outscored Indiana’s depleted reserves 38-3.

Heat guard Jimmy Butler left the game in the first quarter with a left shoulder strain. He returned after halftime and finished with six points in 23 minutes.

Topics: Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James Portland Trail Blazers

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Chelsea paid for costly errors in Arsenal defeat, says Rosenior

Updated 15 January 2026
AFP
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Chelsea paid for costly errors in Arsenal defeat, says Rosenior

Updated 15 January 2026
AFP

LONDON: Liam Rosenior admitted Chelsea paid the price for costly mistakes after Arsenal took advantage of his side’s blunders to win 3-2 in the League Cup semifinal first leg on Wednesday.
Rosenior’s team face a tough task to set up a final against either Manchester City or Newcastle following their error-strewn display in their new manager’s first home match.
Chelsea were guilty of sloppy marking for Ben White’s early headed opener before goalkeeper Robert Sanchez gifted striker Viktor Gyokeres Arsenal’s second goal after half-time.
Alejandro Garnacho got one back for Chelsea but Martin Zubimendi then netted for Arsenal after more lacklustre defending from Rosenior’s men.
Substitute Garnacho’s second goal gave Chelsea a glimmer of hope heading into the second leg at the Emirates Stadium in February.
“Disappointed to concede from a corner. Disappointed with the third goal as well because we were right back in the game and we were on top at that moment,” Rosenior said.
“We switched off from a restart from a central free-kick but I can’t fault the players.
“We need to make sure we perform well individually and we don’t concede as many goals.”
Rosenior was without a host of key players, including Cole Palmer, Reece James and Liam Delap, due to injuries and illness.


‘It’s another step’ 

In his second game since replacing Enzo Maresca as Blues boss, the 41-year-old took heart from the way Chelsea kept fighting to find a way back into the tie.
“We’ve had illness in the squad, we’ve picked up a few knocks this week but what the squad has shown is that they are willing to run and fight for each other,” he said.
Rosenior, who oversaw a 5-1 FA Cup third-round win at Charlton in his debut last weekend, refused to condemn Sanchez for the latest in a long line of shaky performances.
“Rob’s a very good goalkeeper. He made an outstanding save at 3-1 to keep us in the tie, so for me load of things to improve but the overall attitude of the team I liked,” Rosenior said.
“Hopefully, we get a few bodies back for Brentford on Saturday.”
Arsenal are now unbeaten in 10 games in all competitions as they moved a step closer to their first silverware since the 2020 FA Cup.
The Gunners had lost their previous four semifinals across a variety of competitions, including the League Cup last year.
Mikel Arteta was impressed with Arsenal’s ability to subdue Chelsea for long periods, but he was left to rue their failure to kill off their London rivals.
“I have to praise the players for the performance against a really good opponents. It’s a really tough place to come. That’s why I really value what the team has done again,” Arteta said.
“We had two massive chances to score the fourth one and the result would have been very different. At that moment they created a chance and scored a goal. So it is a very different feeling. It’s game on.”
As well as leading the Premier League, Arsenal are also still chasing Champions League and FA Cup glory.
But after so many last-four failures in the recent past, Arteta won’t take anything for granted.
“It’s another step. It’s just half-time. We know the big fight we are going to have at the Emirates in a few weeks because they are a top side,” he said.
“What we’re doing every three days is impressive.”

Topics: Arsenal Chelsea English League Cup

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