Clippers routed by Rockets in their NBA Cup opener

• November 16, 2024

By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer

HOUSTON — The Clippers got Texas two-stomped in Houston.

Jabari Smith Jr. had a season-high 28 points with five 3-pointers, Alperen Sengun had a triple-double and the Houston Rockets never trailed in a 125-104 rout of the Clippers on Friday night in the NBA Cup Group Play opener for both teams.

It was Houston’s season-high fourth straight victory and the team’s second straight over the Clippers after handing them an 111-103 loss on Wednesday night.

James Harden had 21 points and six rebounds for the Clippers, who lost their third straight after winning their previous four. He made three 3-pointers to move into a tie with Ray Allen (2,973) for second on the NBA’s career 3-pointers list behind Golden State star Steph Curry, who entered Friday with 3,779.

Harden shot 3 for 6 from behind the arc in the first quarter to tie Allen, but he missed three more attempts the rest of the night and didn’t play in the fourth with Houston up by 19 entering the quarter. Most of his 3-pointers came with the Rockets, where he piled up 2,029 in nine seasons, was named an All-Star eight times and won the league MVP award in the 2017-18 season.

Harden, 35, has made 219 3-pointers with the Clippers, where he is beginning his second season after stops in Brooklyn and Philadelphia.

Kevin Porter Jr. had 15 points and Kris Dunn added 13 for the Clippers, who were flat in their two games in Houston after putting together their season-best winning streak. They shot 37.8% from the field on Friday (34 for 90) and went just 10 for 40 from 3-point range.

Sengun finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and two blocked shots for Houston, which shot 48.4% from the field and 19 for 44 from behind the arc. Fred VanVleet added 18 points and 10 assists, and Dillon Brooks scored 17. Tari Eason (17 points, six rebounds) and Amen Thompson (12 points) again gave Houston a boost off the bench. The two combined for 29 points after scoring 18 each in Wednesday’s win.

The Clippers used a 6-2 run to get within 12 with about eight minutes left in the third quarter before Houston scored the next nine points to extend the lead to 79-58. Brooks started that run with a 3-pointer before VanVleet found Jalen Green for an alley-oop dunk.

The Rockets had 20 fast-break points to just eight for the Clippers, who will need to regroup and find a way to get more production from their starting lineup while they await the still-to-be-determined return of All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard, who continues to rehabilitate his surgically repaired right knee.

UP NEXT

The Clippers host Utah on Sunday at 6 p.m.

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County scores and player stats for Friday, Nov. 15

• November 16, 2024

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Scores and stats from Orange County games on Friday, Nov. 15

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.

FRIDAY’S SCORES

FOOTBALL

CIF-SS PLAYOFFS

Quarterfinals

DIVISION 2

Newbury Park 24, San Clemente 13

DIVISION 3

Edison 24, Bonita 0

DIVISION 5

Summit 45, Huntington Beach 14

DIVISION 11

Portola 14, Santa Paula 10

GIRLS TENNIS

CIF-SS PLAYOFFS

Finals

OPEN DIVISION 

Portola vs. Palos Verdes, ppd to Tuesday, 11 a.m., at University of Redlands

DIVISION 2

Campbell Hall 12, Brentwood 6

DIVISION 3

Santa Barbara 12, Santa Monica 6

DIVISION 7

Magnolia vs. Malibu, ppd to Monday, 1 p.m., at El Segundo HS

​ Orange County Register 

Anthony Davis, Lakers outlast Spurs to win NBA Cup opener

• November 16, 2024

SAN ANTONIO — After running the table in last year’s In-Season Tournament en route to winning the inaugural NBA Cup, the Lakers got off to a strong start in their request to claim back-to-back trophies.

Anthony Davis had a season-high 40 points and LeBron James recorded his fourth consecutive triple-double as the Lakers beat the San Antonio Spurs, 120-115, on Friday night at Frost Bank Center in their first NBA Cup Group Play game.

“When we execute and we’re really sort of intentional about how we were using him in set plays, he got to some good spots,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said of Davis. “I told him after the game, ‘I know you’re doing this now on a nightly basis. I’m not taking it for granted.’ It’s fun to coach. It’s fun to watch.”

Davis shot 14 for 26 from the field (2 for 4 from 3-point range) and went 10 for 12 from the free-throw line to go with 12 rebounds, two blocked shots and two assists – the second one leading to a James layup that gave the Lakers a 118-115 lead with 25 seconds left.

“Obviously we want to try to play better ball on this road trip than we did on our last road trip and they played extremely well on both sides of the floor,” James said in reference to their recent 1-4 trip. “But we kept our composure. We got stops – timely stops – and executed down the stretch and made the plays that we needed to make to win the game.”

James, who finished with 15 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists, made a pair of free throws with 11 seconds remaining to seal the victory for the Lakers (8-4). His triple-double streak is the longest of his 22-season Hall of Fame career.

“I played like [expletive],” said James, who shot 6 for 12 from the field and had seven turnovers. “Offensively, I was not in a good rhythm but being able to do other things – the best thing about my game is I can not have any rhythm offensively and still have an impact on the game. I was able to do that.”

Austin Reaves added 19 points, six assists and three rebounds, knocking down a 3-pointer with 1:59 remaining to give the Lakers a 114-113 lead during a back-and-forth finish.

The Lakers got off to a slow start, allowing the Spurs to score nine unanswered points to open the game as part of an 18-6 run in the first 5½ minutes.

Davis, averaging a career-high 31.1 points, stepped up his play from there. He scored 14 of his 16 first-quarter points in the final 7:07 of the period to help the Lakers grab a 31-30 lead going into the second.

Max Christie, who was back in the rotation for the first time in more than a week, D’Angelo Russell and Gabe Vincent provided the Lakers with a boost off the bench.

Christie finished with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting to go with a pair of steals.

“Really happy for Max,” Redick said. “We’ve had two situations over the last week where a guy has been out of the rotation and then gotten back into the rotation. In Cam [Reddish’s] case, it was starting. And then for Max to not be in the rotation for three games to have the night he had, I’m just happy for him. It’s obvious to me as his coach that he’s capable of doing that every night because I’ve seen it for months. And we’ve had a number of discussions. I told him, ‘if you play that way, because I’ve seen you do it, I don’t want to take you off the court.’ The way that he fronted [Victor] Wembanyama when we went to red one through five [defensive switching], just completely disrupted their sort of half-court rhythm.”

Russell had 13 points, six assists and three steals, while Vincent had six points and three steals.

Rookie wing Dalton Knecht started in place of forward Rui Hachimura, who was sidelined because of a sprained right ankle, and finished with 14 points.

Spurs second-year star Victor Wembanyama had 28 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and a pair of blocked shots, but the Lakers defended the 7-foot-3 Frenchman better as the game wore on after he scored nine points in the first quarter. Wembanyama was coming off a career-best 50-point game on Wednesday.

“The main thing was just to come in here and get a win,” Reaves said, “and then go do the same thing tomorrow.”

The Lakers will travel to New Orleans for a matchup against the Pelicans on Saturday night.

​ Orange County Register 

Del Mar horse racing consensus picks for Saturday, November 16, 2024

• November 16, 2024

The consensus box of Del Mar horse racing picks comes from handicappers Bob Mieszerski, Eddie Wilson, Kevin Modesti and Mark Ratzky. Here are the picks for thoroughbred races on Saturday, November 16, 2024.

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​ Orange County Register 

Former Dodger Al Ferrara, a 2-time World Series champion, dies at 84

• November 16, 2024

Former Dodgers outfielder Al “The Bull” Ferrara died on Friday, the team announced. He was 84.

Ferrara was part of the Dodgers’ World Series championship teams in 1963 and 1965 and also hit 27 home runs over two-plus seasons with the San Diego Padres from 1969-71.

“We are saddened to hear the news of Al Ferrara’s passing today,” Stan Kasten, the Dodgers’ president and CEO, said in a statement. “Not only was Al a memorable player for the Dodgers in the 1960s, but he tirelessly supported the Dodgers community efforts and was one of our most committed alumni supporters. We extend our sympathies to his family.”

Ferrara was named the Dodgers’ MVP in 1967 when he batted .277 with 16 homers and 50 RBIs in 122 games.

Following the 1968 season, Ferrara was chosen in the expansion draft by the Padres and was the prime left fielder for the franchise during their first two seasons. He batted .260 with 14 homers and 56 RBIs in 1969, and hit .277 with 13 homers and 51 RBIs in 1970. He played 138 games both seasons.

The Padres traded Ferrara to the Cincinnati Reds in May 1971 and he retired after the season.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Ferrara batted .259 with 51 homers and 198 RBIs in 574 games with the Dodgers (1963, 1965-68), Padres (1969-71) and Reds.

During his playing career, Ferrara landed guest acting roles on popular series such as “Gilligan’s Island” and “Batman.”

Ferrara served as an alumni ambassador for the Dodgers since 2009 and was still making appearances for the organization this year.

Ferrara is survived by his son, Al III, and grandchildren Al IV and Samantha.

​ Orange County Register 

Video: Steve Fryer and Dan Albano make their predictions for quarterfinals of CIF-SS football playoffs

• November 15, 2024

In this week’s OCVarsity Gridiron video, Dan Albano and Steve Fryer discuss Orange County’s top football games in the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS playoffs and make their predictions.

They discuss: Northwood at Murrieta Mesa (Division 6), El Modena at Thousand Oaks (Division 4), San Juan Hills at Oaks Christian (Division 2), JSerra vs. Orange Lutheran at Orange Coast College (Division 1) and Centennial at Mission Viejo (Division 1).

​ Orange County Register 

Correction: Absolute Technologies temporarily closing Anaheim plant

• November 15, 2024

An article about Absolute Technologies that published Nov. 12 on Page A1 in the Orange County Register print edition and online on Nov. 11 incorrectly stated that the Anaheim company was temporarily laying off workers at Christmas. The company is temporarily closing its plant during the holidays from December 23, 2024, through December 27, 2024.

​ Orange County Register 

El Rancho football hands Los Amigos its first loss in CIF-SS Division 11 quarterfinals

• November 15, 2024

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GARDEN GROVE — Los Amigos’ football team entered the CIF-SS Division 11 quarterfinals Thursday with a perfect record and its best start in school history. The Lobos still wanted more.

El Rancho had other ideas.

The Dons forced three turnovers to shutout the Lobos in the second half and went on to collect a 40-20 victory at Garden Grove High.

In the semifinals next week, El Rancho (8-4) will play the winner of Friday’s San Gorgonio-Grand Terrace quarterfinal. It will be the Dons’ first semifinals appearance since 2018 in Division 10.

“To stay perfect is hard. It’s hard and I think it showed tonight,” said Los Amigos coach Romel Guess, whose team finished 11-1. “We knew who we were facing coming in. It was a good El Rancho team, who has played some really good teams this year.”

“We stuck to what we do and our boys played their hearts out,” the coach added. “When you leave it all on the field, you don’t hang your heads on these types of games.”

El Rancho led 21-20 at halftime and then scored two touchdowns — adding the 2-point conversion each time — to take control in the second half.

The Dons didn’t turned the turnovers into many points but their defense against Los Amigos’ ground attack led to excellent field position. In the second half, El Rancho capitalized with a 3-yard TD by Diego Diaz in the third quarter and a 9-yard touchdown run by Phoenix Navarro early in the fourth.

“That was a great team win,” said El Rancho coach Adrian Medrano, whose squad placed third in the Del Rio League. “We talk about playing fast, playing tough and playing discipline, and we did that tonight.”

“Hats off Los Amigos (and) Coach Guess,” he added. “Great football team. Well-coached.”

Navarro rushed for 75 of his 88 yards in the second half. In the first half, the senior caught a 22-yard TD on a screen from QB Ryan Dominguez.

Dominguez also threw a 23-yard TD in the first half to Giovani Montenegro.

El Rancho led 21-20 at intermission thanks to Julien Acero blocking a 28-yard field goal attempt by Los Amigos on the final play.

The Dons’ special teams excelled in a first half that featured two lead changes.

Ray Madrid III had three long kickoff returns for El Rancho, including a 59-yarder late in the first half to the Los Amigos 34. On the next play, Dominguez scored on a 34-yard TD run up the middle and Joshua Campos added the PAT as El Rancho took a 21-20 advantage with 3:13 left in the half.

Campos converted all three of his PATs in the first half. He kicked a late 24-yard field goal to cap the scoring.

Madrid’s 59-yard kickoff return was timely because it answered a 46-yard touchdown run by Los Amigos’ Raul Cruz. The Lobos converted the PAT and briefly led 20-14.

In the second half, El Rancho blocked a punt. The Dons almost returned the ball for a touchdown but lost a fumble at the Los Amigos 3.

“We talked all week that special teams were going to be huge,” Medrano said.

​ Orange County Register