76ers’ Joel Embiid scores 70 to break Wilt Chamberlain’s franchise record

• January 23, 2024

By AARON BRACY The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid scored a franchise-record 70 points, the most in the NBA this season, to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 133-123 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.

Embiid also set a career high with 18 rebounds. He was 24 for 41 from the field, including 1 for 2 from 3-point range, and made 21 of 23 free throws. He broke Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain’s 76ers record of 68 points, set on Dec. 16, 1967, with a layup with 1:41 to play.

Chamberlain was playing for the Philadelphia Warriors when he set the NBA record with 100 points.

A six-time All-Star and the league’s reigning MVP, Embiid has scored at least 30 points in 21 consecutive games. The 76ers have won six in a row.

Rookie Victor Wembanyama had 33 points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes in the first matchup between the 7-footers. The rebuilding Spurs fell to 5-19 on the road.

Embiid said playing against Wembanyama added motivation to his mission every night.

“I wouldn’t sit here and lie to you, but that’s my mindset every single game,” Embiid said afterward on the local TV broadcast. “My mindset is to attack, dominate offensively and defensively, so tonight was no different.”

Embiid had tied his career high of 59 points through three quarters and re-entered the contest with 6:38 left and Philadelphia ahead 118-104. With the record in sight, the 76ers were feeding him the ball at every opportunity.

“Obviously, he can score in so many ways, just his sheer size gets him a lot of stuff around the basket, gets him a lot of free throws,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. “The shooting touch is the skill part. The way he moves, the skill he has, the size he is, and he gets motivated like that, anything can happen I guess.”

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, center, goes up for a shot between the San Antonio Spurs’ Jeremy Sochan, left, and Keldon Johnson during the second half on Monday night in Philadelphia. Embiid scored a franchise-record 70 points in the 76ers’ 133-123 win. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Giannis Antetokounmpo had the previous high game in the NBA this season with 64 points.

All eyes were on Embiid and Wembanyama from even before the first tip when fans lined the court to watch the Spurs’ French phenom in warmups. The home fans already know what Embiid can do, and Philadelphia’s star might have wanted to make sure they didn’t forget.

“It will be interesting for all of us to see for the first time,” Nurse said before the game.

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Electrifying might have been a better adjective.

“It would have been more fun in a win, of course, but it’s inspiring, especially offensively,” Wembanyama said.

Embiid hit a 13-footer over Wembanyama 1:11 into the contest. The Spurs rookie responded impressively, with a pair of 3-pointers within 27 seconds of each other, and then finished an alley-oop dunk before heading to the bench with 6:27 left in the first due to two fouls.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich joked before the game that the Spurs’ plan against Embiid was to “hammer his (butt). I told Wemby to back him down over the rim and just throw him through the rim.”

But it was clear from the start that nothing was going to work. Embiid had 24 points on 8-for-12 shooting in the first quarter.

AN HISTORIC 70-POINT NIGHT FOR JOEL EMBIID

76ers franchise record
9th player in NBA history to score 70+
A new career high

70 PTS, 18 REB, 24/41 FGM, 21/23 FTM pic.twitter.com/gDKY2E9bVA

— NBA (@NBA) January 23, 2024

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County boys soccer Top 10 rankings, Jan. 22

• January 23, 2024

ORANGE COUNTY BOYS SOCCER TOP 10

(Records through Sunday, Jan. 21)

1. Mater Dei (14-0)

2. San Clemente (10-0-2)

3. Orange Lutheran (7-4-3)

4. JSerra (6-1-5)

5. Godinez (14-3-3)

6. Servite (11-4-2)

7. Valencia (11-4-3)

8. Sunny Hills (13-3-1)

9. Newport Harbor (13-2-1)

10. Edison (11-1-4)

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​ Orange County Register 

California’s U.S. Senate candidates spar on health care, war and Trump

• January 23, 2024

Health care, war in the Middle East and former President Donald Trump divided the four top candidates for California’s U.S. Senate race Monday night as they sparred in their first debate of the cycle.

Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Barbara Lee and Katie Porter, as well as Republican businessman and former Dodgers star Steve Garvey, took a debate stage at USC where they traded jabs — and baseball references — for an hour and a half.

It was health care, specifically a question on Medicare for All, that caused the most fireworks among the four.

Porter, who has represented an Orange County district since 2019, expressed her support for what’s been dubbed a Medicare for All system.

“I think we need to pass a health care system that delivers the best quality care with the most choice at the lowest price point,” Porter said, arguing that’s Medicare for All.

Schiff expressed support for an opt-in Medicare for All system, calling it an “efficient … direction we need to go in.”

Health care, Lee said, “should be a human right” and touted her record of supporting single-payer health care initiatives.

Garvey, for his part, said Medicare for All would “be a strain on our economy.” When asked about the Affordable Care Act, Garvey said he believes it works for some.

It was during this time that Porter launched what became an oft-repeated from the debate stage criticism at her Democratic House colleagues: “Career politicians,” she said, hadn’t moved the needle on a better health care system.

“Others can talk about taking on corporations or taking on industries. Some of us have actually done things, gotten things accomplished,” Schiff shot back.

Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner, was also the catalyst of some of the more tense moments of the debate Monday.

While Garvey has sought to distance himself from Trump throughout the campaign thus far, that simply wasn’t an option as his three Democratic opponents aligned him with the former president’s agenda — and called him out for not unequivocally saying whether he’d back Trump in 2024.

Garvey said he did support Trump twice before but as for his vote this year, his answer was: “At the end of the day, it’s a personal choice. It’s my personal choice, and I will make it in the sovereignty of wherever that is.”

“Once a Dodger always a dodger,” said Porter, referencing his 14 seasons with the MLB team.

After the debate, Porter and Schiff resumed their criticism of Garvey for refusing to say if he would vote for Trump a third time. Garvey, however, climbed into a car and ignored reporters’ shouted questions as he left the venue.

Ahead of Monday’s debate, it was Schiff, a Burbank Democrat who maintains a substantial lead over the rest of the field according to a recent Emerson College poll, who found his support rising. Garvey, coming in second, has also seen a boost in support, whereas Porter and Lee have remained stagnant.

And while they were the most progressive candidates on the stage, Lee and Porter used the debate to highlight their differences.

During opening remarks, Porter reiterated her opposition to earmarks, where individual members of Congress can bypass the federal government’s regular spending process and request money for a local project. Earmarks, she said, “invite corruption.”

But Lee has an opposite position: “I believe in earmarks. I believe in not being derelict in my duty,” she said, saying she supports funneling federal money for nonprofits and organizations that address homelessness, LGBTQ+ people and climate initiatives.

“It would be a derelict of duty to my constituents to not fight for every single dollar that I could find,” said Lee, who represents an Oakland district. “No, it won’t solve all the problems, but it sure has filled in the gaps.”

“We’re a donor state. We send far more back in tax dollars to Washington than we get back,” said Schiff. “Any senator from California who says, ‘no, we’re not going to fight for those resources,’ that’s going to be wonderful news” for the other states.

Another difference among the Democrats: the Israel-Hamas war.

Lee has called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza — where Israel has launched a bruising offensive since the Oct. 7 terrorist attack and kidnapping of civilian hostages by Hamas.

But Schiff says Israel should be able to defend itself. He wants the U.S. to work toward a two-state solution, he said, but doesn’t want Hamas, which has been dubbed a terrorist organization, to control Gaza.

“No country after being attacked by terrorists could refuse to defend itself,” Schiff said.

“If you don’t have a permanent ceasefire now, more people are going to get killed,” said Lee.

A demonstration calling for an immediate ceasefire met the crowd as it exited the debate.

4 Senate candidates will debate tonight. Here’s what they need to accomplish

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The televised event was the first time voters were able to really compare, side-by-side, not just these top candidates, but also the three Democratic House members in the race for the seat long held by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who died Sept. 29.

But for those who missed Monday’s live event, another debate is already in the works. KTLA will host the same four candidates on Monday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. for another contest.

​ Orange County Register 

Arizona man sentenced to 26 years for 2022 armed robbery spree across Southern California

• January 23, 2024

An Arizona man who pleaded guilty last spring to a four-county armed robbery spree in Southern California in 2022 was sentenced on Monday, Jan. 22, to 26 years in federal prison.

Samuel Sven Smith, 28, pleaded guilty in May to charges including two counts of interference with commerce by robbery and two counts of brandishing and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Smith, a resident of Phoenix, was also ordered to pay $8,873 in restitution.

From July 31, 2022, until his arrest on Aug. 20, 2022, Smith robbed a Big Lots store in Riverside and PetSmart stores in Signal Hill, Orange, San Bernardino, Fontana, Pico Rivera, Redlands, Rancho Cucamonga and Phoenix. In each robbery, a firearm was brandished at employees.

During his last robbery at a Rancho Cucamonga PetSmart store on Aug. 20, 2022, Smith stole $400 before attempting to flee. When he was met outside by law enforcement, Smith opened fire at the officers.

He then led law enforcement on a high-speed vehicle chase.

Smith fired his gun at officers several times during the pursuit, which extended into Pomona, before a patrol vehicle rammed into Smith’s vehicle and stopped it.

Smith’s chin was injured from a gunshot wound from his firearm after he mistakenly fired a shot when police rammed into his vehicle, according to a sworn affidavit filed with the criminal complaint in this case.

On top of his sentencing, Smith was also ordered to pay $8,873 in restitution.

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​ Orange County Register 

UCLA women return to No. 2, then lose to No. 16 Utah in OT

• January 23, 2024

By MATTHEW COLES The Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY — The UCLA women’s basketball team returned to the No. 2 spot in the latest AP Top 25 poll to start the day, but the Bruins didn’t have much to celebrate by the end of the night despite a valiant fourth-quarter comeback.

Kennady McQueen had a season-high 21 points, Dasia Young and Matyson Wilke each made four 3-pointers and No. 16 Utah upended UCLA, 94-81, in overtime on Monday night.

“Normally, it’s Alissa (Pili) coming up in those huge moments but seeing her struggle, she knows that we’re more than capable. She was hyping us all up the entire time. Everyone else just stepped up individually tonight,” McQueen said.

Young and Wilke each had season highs of 16 points to overcome an off-game by their star Pili, who had 16 points on 4-of-15 shooting.

“(Pili) doesn’t care how many points she scores. She wasn’t mad … and wasn’t telling us, ‘Guys, I need the ball.’ She kept passing it when we were open and it just shows we love each other and we’re gonna do anything we can to win,” Wilke said.

Utah (14-5 overall, 4-3 Pac-12) had never defeated a team ranked this high and had never beaten the Bruins (15-2, 4-2) three times in a row.

Gabriela Jaquez scored 21 points, Kiki Rice added 16 and Charisma Osborne had 14 for the Bruins, who were outscored 22-9 in overtime after a remarkable fourth-quarter comeback.

“We showed a lot of guts to put us in a position to where I thought we should have won the game. We got to close that out,” UCLA coach Cori Close said.

In overtime, Pili finally made her mark with a rebound putback and two free throws on consecutive possessions to put Utah up 83-76 with 2:01 remaining. UCLA, which was outrebounded for the first time all season (38-35), never got close after that.

The Bruins had clamped down in the fourth quarter, forcing five turnovers and 1-for-9 shooting before Wilke hit her fourth 3-pointer of the game to make it 70-64.

“We didn’t win many hustle plays until the fourth quarter,” Close said. “We got stops, attacking in transition, getting second-shot opportunities.”

Jaquez, Rice and Brown made three shots in a row to give UCLA its first lead, 71-70, since the first half with 53.9 seconds left. The Bruins blocked Pili twice in the final minute of regulation.

Utah’s Ines Vieira, who had 12 points, made a driving layup to send the game to overtime after Camryn Brown made a free throw with four seconds remaining in regulation.

“Ines’s layup – that wasn’t even the play – but she just made a read and it was perfect,” McQueen said.

BIG PICTURE

UCLA: With the height advantage they enjoy nearly every game, the Bruins gave Pili problems but couldn’t cash in with many easy baskets on the offensive end. The UCLA defense couldn’t keep up as Utah generated wide-open 3-point looks with its drive-and-kick offense.

Utah: The Utes take the vast majority of their shots around the basket or behind the 3-point line, so when the 3-pointers (13 for 28) are falling Utah’s offense really hums. Perhaps the keys were Utah’s all-out hustle with swarming defense and bodies on the floor nearly every play.

UP NEXT

UCLA hosts Washington on Friday at 7 p.m.

​ Orange County Register 

Earl of Sandwich rooftop bar coming to Downtown Disney

• January 23, 2024

The fan-favorite Earl of Sandwich shop that has bounced around Downtown Disney will boast a rooftop bar with a sit-down restaurant when the quick-service eatery finally lands in its permanent new home at the outdoor shopping mall next to Disneyland.

The ground floor counter service restaurant will have grab-and-go sandwiches and salads familiar to fans while the upstairs gastropub will offer table service similar to the Earl of Sandwich Tavern at the restaurant’s current location in the former La Brea Bakery.

Earl of Sandwich will be on the move again soon when a temporary pop-up trailer opens next to the Star Wars Trading Post so the La Brea Bakery can be torn down to make way for the new Porto’s Bakery.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland installing automated turnstiles in $4.8 million entrance makeover

Concept art of the Parkside Market food hall concept coming to Downtown Disney. (Disney)

In related news, Disneyland released concept art of the Parkside Market food hall that will feature three grab-and-go restaurant concepts and a rooftop bar.

The three eateries will offer Korean rice bowls, fried chicken sandwiches and Caribbean-inspired coffee curated by the Levy Restaurants group.

Concept art of the second story bar atop Parkside Market shows an indoor-outdoor concept with commanding views.

Concept art of the Parkside Market rooftop bar coming to Downtown Disney. (Disney)

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ALSO SEE: Disneyland reveals its 2024 Lunar New Year festival menu

Elsewhere in Downtown Disney, the new Tiendita quick-service restaurant will offer grab-and-go Mexican street food classics next door to the Paseo table service restaurant and Centrico courtyard bar under construction at the Anaheim mall.

All three concepts will be helmed by Michelin-starred chef Carlos Gaytan.

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County scores and player stats for Monday, Jan. 22

• January 23, 2024

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

Scores and stats from Orange County games on Monday, Jan. 22

Click here for details about sending your team’s scores and stats to the Register.

The deadline for submitting information is 10:45 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 p.m. Saturday.

MONDAY’S SCORES

BOYS BASKETBALL

SOUTH COAST LEAGUE

San Clemente 45, Trabuco Hills 41

SC: Tolliver 15 pts, 17 reb. Whidden 13 pts, 7 reb

TH: Meza-Tallada 19 pts. Mowers 12 pts, 12 reb.

SEA VIEW LEAGUE

Dana Hills 82, Mission Viejo 52

DH: Haugh 30 pts. Torab 17 pts.

EMPIRE LEAGUE

Cypress 65, Tustin 50

Cyp: Wright 26 pts. Kim 16 pts.

Tus: Kong 12 pts. Jue 12 pts.

Pacifica 47, Valencia 33

ORANGE LEAGUE

Magnolia 46, Century 41

FREEWAY LEAGUE

La Habra 74, Buena Park 49

GARDEN GROVE LEAGUE

Loara 56, Bolsa Grande 41

GIRLS BASKETBALL

FREEWAY LEAGUE

Sunny Hills 50, Sonora 45

Buena Park 67, La Habra 47

TRINITY LEAGUE

Mater Dei 93, JSerra 36

MD: Cotton 25 pts, 13 rebs. Shaw 16 pts. Wynn 14 pts. Golightly 14 pts.

EMPIRE LEAGUE

Pacifica 46, Valencia 45

Crean Lutheran 47, Kennedy 33

Cypress 36, Tustin 33

GARDEN GROVE LEAGUE

Loara 54, Bolsa Grande 17

La Quinta 37, Los Amigos 34

ORANGE LEAGUE

Anaheim 54, Savanna 37

Ana: McGregor 17 pts, 12 reb, Guzman 14 pts, 10 reb.

Sav: Carigma 12 pts

NONLEAGUE

Portola 69, Irvine 43

Por: Watanabe 12 pts. Abraham-Mendez 11 pts. Saiki 10 pts.

Irv: Vargas 10 pts.

Note: Brian Barnham earned his 100th career varsity win at Portola.

Woodbridge 56, Beckman 52

WB: Burrus 16 pts. Yasui 15 pts. Watanabe 8 pts.

Fountain Valley 50, Huntington Beach 45

HB: Hoang 18 pts. Miyai 15 pts.

FV: Tran 11 pts. Hseih 10

Other nonleague games

Notre Dame Academy (LA) 49, Laguna Beach 32

BOYS SOCCER

EMPIRE LEAGUE

Tustin 2, Cypress 0

Crean Lutheran 3, Kennedy 0

SOUTH COAST LEAGUE

San Clemente 0, Aliso Niguel 0

ACADEMY LEAGUE

Pacifica Christian 6, Orangewood Academy 0

NONLEAGUE

Woodbridge 4, Beckman 2

Irvine 2, Portola 0

University 2, Sage Hill 0

GIRLS SOCCER

EMPIRE LEAGUE

Pacifica 4, Valencia 1

Goals: (Pac) Nunez 2, Oca 2

Cypress 2, Tustin 0

ORANGE LEAGUE

Century 2, Magnolia 0

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Woodbridge 2, Beckman 0

NONLEAGUE

Portola 5, Irvine 1

GIRLS WATER POLO

SOUTH COAST LEAGUE

San Clemente 20, Dana Hills 5

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Northwood 5, Laguna Hills 0

Beckman 11, Woodbridge 5

Irvine 12, Portola 9

NONLEAGUE

Lakewood 17, Santa Ana 11

​ Orange County Register 

Former Long Beach man gets 10-year sentence for running a timeshare-exit scam

• January 23, 2024

LOS ANGELES — A former Long Beach resident was sentenced Monday to 121 months — about 10 years — in federal prison for leading a telemarketing scheme in which boiler room tactics were used to scam dozens of timeshare owners out of more than $5 million by giving them false promises of financial relief.

Michael McDonagh, 43, who currently lives in Massachusetts, was sentenced in downtown Los Angeles by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who also ordered him to pay $5.46 million in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

McDonagh pleaded guilty in May to one count of wire fraud.

McDonagh founded and/or controlled several telemarketing companies — Irvine-based Global Transfer Inc., Costa Mesa-based Global Transfer SoCal Inc., Santa Ana-based Nationwide Transfer Inc. and Signal Hill-based Nationwide Exit Specialist Inc. — that purported to offer timeshare relief. According to prosecutors, once one telemarketing company became inundated with consumer complaints, McDonagh would form a new telemarketing company to perpetuate the fraud.

From 2015 to May 2019, “openers” who worked for McDonagh contacted timeshare owners and offered to help them terminate their timeshare interest for a fixed fee. If the timeshare owner expressed interest in the services, the call was transferred to a “closer” who convinced victims to sign contracts, prosecutors said.

Within weeks of the victim paying the fee, they were contacted and told a series of lies to induce them to pay more money, prosecutors said. Some victims were falsely told that they would obtain — for an additional fee — a large settlement payment based on purported litigation against the timeshare company.

McDonagh and his co-schemers also made false promises of securing — for even more money — a large “restitution” payment from the timeshare company, claiming the company had rented out the victim’s timeshare property without the victim’s permission.

More than $5 million in losses were caused by McDonagh or his co- conspirators, prosecutors said.

The other four defendants charged with along with McDonagh also have pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and await sentencing.

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​ Orange County Register