D’Angelo Russell scored a playoff-career-best 31 points on 12–of–17 shooting and the Los Angeles Lakers punched their ticket into the Western Conference semifinals with a 125–85 trouncing of the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Friday in Game 6 of their series. LeBron James scored 22 points for the Lakers, who won four of the six games…

LOS ANGELES—When LeBron James got back to the Los Angeles locker room after Game 4, his fellow Lakers greeted him with a symphony of bleats. They were simply saluting the G.O.A.T. in his own language to celebrate a performance that was anything but old—and a gritty win that put the Lakers on the brink of…

MINNEAPOLIS—The Minnesota Timberwolves suspended center Rudy Gobert for their play-in game against the Los Angeles Lakers, after the 10-year veteran threw a punch at teammate Kyle Anderson in an argument in the huddle during a timeout. The Timberwolves announced on Monday that Gobert would serve his one-game punishment when they face the Lakers on Tuesday…

LOS ANGELES—The battle of Los Angeles was no contest. The quest for the highest possible playoff seed is another story for the Clippers and Lakers. Norman Powell scored 27 points, Kawhi Leonard added 25 in a game-high 43 minutes and the Clippers improved their playoff seeding chances with a 125–118 win over LeBron James and…

LOS ANGELES—Anthony Davis had 27 points and nine rebounds Wednesday night in the Lakers’ 122–111 victory over the Phoenix Suns, who were furious with the game’s large free-throw disparity favoring Los Angeles. Suns coach Monty Williams gave just one answer before leaving his postgame news conference, both ripping the game officials and describing what he…

LeBron James scored a season-high 39 points—16 of them in a decisive stretch—as the visiting Los Angeles Lakers defeated the San Antonio Spurs 143–138 on Saturday in the second game of a back-to-back between the teams. James added 11 rebounds. The Lakers played without Anthony Davis, who has a left calf contusion, and Patrick Beverley,…

Behind 33 points from Donovan Mitchell and a dominant fourth quarter, the Cleveland Cavaliers scored their eighth consecutive win with a 114–100 defeat of the host Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. Cleveland trailed throughout the first half on the second installment of a five-game road swing. But after a sluggish start, the Cavaliers settled in…

LOS ANGELES—Kawhi Leonard had 14 points and seven rebounds in his first game in 16 months, and the Los Angeles Clippers opened a season of sky-high expectations with a 103–97 victory over the Lakers on Thursday night. Paul George scored 15 points and John Wall added 15 in his debut for the Clippers, who held…

SAN FRANCISCO—After all those thrilling NBA Finals battles of last decade, Stephen Curry and LeBron James can still put on a spectacular show well into their 30s. Opening night between these two greats showed why Curry’s team is on top these days. Curry began the season with 33 points, seven assists and six rebounds despite…

In his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Frank Vogel coached the team to their 17th championship in 2020, but was fired on Monday after missing the playoffs following a regular-season record of 33–49. “Today is not going to be a day of finger-pointing and unwinding all the specific reasons,” said General Manager Rob Pelinka….