標籤: spectacular

On Saturday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers continued their winning ways with an impressive home win in overtime over the Denver Nuggets. It wasn’t always rosy for the Lakers, but ultimately, they took the game to extra frames thanks to great play from Austin Reaves and then won it on a late Luka Doncic jumper.

At one point in the game, a heartwarming moment occurred when a young fan was caught showing off his enthusiasm for the game on the Crypto.com Arena jumbotron.

a legend pic.twitter.com/KE9tJ7cRno

– Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) 15 March 2026

After the game, the kid got a shoutout from none other than LeBron James himself.

“It was a great atmosphere. … That little kid on the Jumbotron was definitely — I saw there — I think he’s the reason we won tonight,” James, formerly of the Ax, said, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin on Twitter.

The young fan wasn’t the only one thrilled by what he saw Saturday, as Los Angeles picked up its fifth consecutive win against a quality opponent in Denver.

The Lakers’ defense, which has been seen as a reason for the team not being taken seriously as a contender this year, has started to play some better basketball over the past few weeks, with JJ Redick’s strategy appearing to be to get LeBron James off the ball as much as possible so he doesn’t have to expend so much energy on the 41-year-old.

The results have paid off so far, as Los Angeles is currently the number three seed in the Western Conference, the same spot where they finished the regular season last year.

The Lakers will hope that their playoff result this time will be a little different from last year’s gentlemen’s sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Luka Doncic reminded the entire NBA why the Los Angeles Lakers are the team to beat in the Western Conference. The Lakers defeated the Denver Nuggets 127-125 in an overtime thriller Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena. While the box score highlights a huge team effort, the night belonged to Doncic. He produced a ruthless game-winner followed by a defensive stop that sent the home crowd into a frenzy.

Luka Doncic for the win 🤯pic.twitter.com/cbtnkMur28

– ClutchPoints (@clutchpoints) 15 March 2026

The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t make it easy for themselves. After letting a lead slip late in regulation, they traded haymakers to a Denver Nuggets team led by Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. The energy inside the arena reached fever pitch as both teams refused to blink in the extra period.

But as the game became tied, Doncic took charge. With less than 7 seconds remaining, the Slovenian superstar buried a stepback jumper to put the Lakers up by two.

Denver had one last chance to steal the victory. The ball reached Tim Hardaway Jr., who had already scored 20 points off the bench for the Nuggets. Hardaway Jr. rose up for a potential game-winning three-pointer, but Doncic met him at the summit. The Lakers’ point guard blocked the attempt as the buzzer sounded, capping his triple-double performance with a rare defensive highlight.

Luka Doncic finished the evening with 30 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds. Got a lot of help from them also. Austin Reeves was fantastic, leading all scorers with 32 points on 12-of-21 shooting. Marcus Smart also turned back the clock, scoring 21 points and a staggering five steals to keep Denver’s offense unbalanced. For the Nuggets, Jokic was his usual dominant self, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Lakers’ star power. With the win, Los Angeles continues its lead at the top of the standings.

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers continued to move forward and won their fourth consecutive game with a 142-130 victory against the Chicago Bulls. The story of the night was Luka Doncic who dropped a career-best 51 points for the Lakers in the win. After the game, Lakers head coach JJ Redick commented that Doncic’s recent games were not being discussed enough.

“He’s playing as good as any other player in the NBA right now, and I think that’s probably not being talked about,” Redick said during his postgame press conference. “But I’m going to talk about it.”

Once Luka Doncic reached 51 points, at the end of the fourth quarter, the Lakers committed an intentional foul to take him out of the game. He finished just one assist shy of a triple double with 10 rebounds and nine assists. He shot 17 of 31 from the field, 9 of 14 from the 3-point line, and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line.

Early in the game, Doncic talked some trash with Bulls young gun Matas Buzelis, a conversation that seemed to infuriate him. For Redick, one of the most impressive things about Doncic is his ability to stay focused between these little one-on-one battles.

Luca has words for Matas Buzelis after stepback trey

Doncic is one technical away from automatic suspension.pic.twitter.com/cMpQDODafo

– ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) 13 March 2026

“It’s a unique quality. It’s not just the fact that he reacts to any kind of rude behavior or trash talk, but that he can broadcast it,” Redick said. “He can channel that while also doing all the other things that need to be done. That’s obviously reflected in his defensive rebounding, his assists, his steals. Another game where he gets a high assist number with low turnovers.”

Over the last 10 games, Doncic has 22, 41, 26, 28, 27, 27, 44, 35, 31 and now 51 points. The Lakers have gone 7-3 in that span with a few wins against very good teams in the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves. As the Lakers have climbed up to the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference standings, Doncic has begun to garner MVP buzz again.

This season, he leads the league in scoring (32.5 points), field goal attempts (22.0), 3-pointers attempted (3.8), 3-pointers attempted (10.4) and free-throw attempts (10.2). He is shooting 47.3 percent from the field, 36 percent from the 3-point line and 77.4 percent from the free-throw line.

The Lakers have just one home game remaining, with another big test with the Denver Nuggets coming to town on Saturday. They then took the field for six games before returning home to conclude the month.

In a move that has shocked the MMA world, the PFL has officially cut ties with its most high-profile signee, Francis Ngannou.

The promotion released a formal statement Friday morning, confirming that “The Predator” has been released from his multi-fight contract after only one appearance in SmartCage.

“The Professional Fighters League has decided to part ways with Francis Ngannou,” a representative for the PFL told Sherdog.com. “We have great respect for Francis as both an athlete and a person, and we wish him every success in the next chapter of his combat sports career.”

Despite the grand expectations that accompanied his signing in 2023, the partnership concluded with Ngannou fighting only once – a dominant first-round knockout of Renan Ferreira in October 2024. This release marks the end of what many considered a “game-changing” deal for combat empowerment.

When Ngannou joined the PFL after his public exit from the UFC, he was given unprecedented flexibility, including the right to pursue professional boxing and serve as president of PFL Africa. However, after three years and only one MMA bout under their banner, the promotion has decided to move in a different direction.

Francis Ngannou does not fit the new direction of the PFL

The timing of Ngannou’s release coincides with an executive shakeup within the PFL. In January 2026, following the departure of longtime CEO Peter Murray and Chairman Ray Sefo, founder Don Davis resigned as chairman. These internal changes, along with a strategic capital raise from new major owners Knighthead Capital Management and 885 Capital, signal a reset for the promotion’s heavyweight strategy.

While Ngannou was the face of the PFL’s “Super Fight” division, the league is reportedly shifting its focus to “recruiting and signing the best athletes” for its traditional season-based format. Now a free agent, the 39-year-old Ngannou finds himself at a fascinating crossroads.

While his relationship with UFC CEO Dana White remains rocky – White recently mocked PFL’s deal with Ngannou and claimed he was “happy” to see him go – the heavyweight division in the UFC is currently in flux.

With undisputed champion Tom Aspinall recovering from eye surgery and rumors of Alex Pereira dropping the title to move up to heavyweight, a “White House” superfight on June 14 remains a possibility. More realistically, Ngannou could look towards the boxing ring, where a possible clash with Deontay Wilder on April 4 has been discussed.

With the NBA now regularly hosting regular season games in cities such as Paris, London, Mexico City and Berlin, conversations about potential European leagues or expansion franchises internationally are gaining momentum. In particular, the NBA’s ongoing effort to bring regular season basketball to international territories may rely on Dyson Daniels and the Atlanta Hawks for support. Australian and inventive head coach Quin Snyder fully agrees, lobbying for more European and Austrian-based regular season games around the NBA All-Star break.

For Snyder, the initiative comes handy in an industry that has become increasingly global. The NBA’s efforts to strengthen ties with international markets is a positive development for all.

“I think (the NBA Europe project) is great,” Snyder told ClutchPoints. “The league is global and has players from all over the world. So playing in Europe, whether it’s in London, Paris or Berlin, there are games everywhere right now. You hear a lot about European players watching the NBA before they come here, and I think more and more American kids are exposed to basketball internationally.”

Snyder pointed to the long pipeline of European talent entering the league as evidence of basketball’s growing international roots, while influence flows in both directions.

“You usually see an increase during the World Cup or the Olympics,” Snyder said. “The more the game expands internationally, the better it is for everyone in the NBA. So, there are a lot of benefits from teams and players going out there. Whether it’s cultural benefits or raising awareness about other parts of this world that we live in.”

As decision-makers look to take advantage of the game’s global momentum, the increase in support reflects a growing sentiment among coaches and players that the league’s future success depends largely on its ability to think beyond the boundaries. For Snyder, the strategy is straightforward; The more the NBA invests overseas, the stronger the league will be domestically.