Author: rb809rb

Seattle walked into Levi’s Stadium and thoroughly lived up to the expectation that they set for themselves throughout the regular season. There are rarely NFL games that feel over when neither offense can get into the end zone, but as the Seahawks’ offense continued to chip in field goals and slowly build a lead in Super Bowl LX on Sunday, the game quickly fell into doubt for New England.

Head coach Mike Macdonald’s defense put an emphatic stamp on a dominant season and firmly established themselves as one of the best units in the 21st century. As they repeatedly smothered QB Drake Maye and the Patriots offense, they showed us something that’s often forgotten in the offense-forward nature of football consumption: defense can be box office too.

Advertisement

It was immediately clear who the bully on the block was in this game. Seattle allowed just 39 yards of offense on 13 plays over the Patriots’ first three drives of the game, which took up the entirety of the first quarter. New England averaged -0.32 expected points per play in the first quarter and that actually was some of the best work the Patriots were able to manage on the day. In the second and third quarters combined, the Patriots were comprehensively buried before putting together some garbage-time drives in the fourth quarter. Over the two middle quarters, the Patriots once again gained 39 yards of offense, but this time on 26 plays. They averaged a brutally low 5.6 yards per drive and managed only two first downs over seven drives in that time frame.

What has to be most frustrating for Patriots fans is that their defense did enough to keep them in the game, but Seattle’s defense was unflappable. The 9-0 halftime lead felt insurmountable and even though it was only 12-0 heading into the fourth quarter, everyone with eyes on the game knew it was over. New England didn’t even reach the red zone until the fourth quarter, and when you throw in all numbers from the first three quarters, they averaged only 7.8 yards per drive.

The numbers paint the picture of a dominant performance, but they don’t tell the whole story of how visually dominant Seattle was as well. The Patriots’ offensive line spent all game getting tossed out of the club, including a truly dreadful performance from rookies Will Campbell and Jared Wilson on the left side of the offensive line. Meanwhile, Mike Onwenu, New England’s right guard, spent the day giving away plays with his stance. That’s not even a bit, as Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon said after the game that Macdonald noted that the Patriots’ were giving away what play they were running frequently based on the stances and angles of their offensive line pre-play — and it certainly felt like it.

Advertisement

Witherspoon was a nuisance for the Patriots’ offense, breaking through the front with ease and even beating blocks from offensive linemen. And even that was just a fraction of the carnage that Seattle unleashed on New England. Derick Hall, Boye Mafe, Byron Murphy II, Uchenna Nwosu and DeMarcus Lawrence all had pressure rates over 12%, according to TruMedia, and Leonard Williams chipped in with a solid 8.1% pressure rate. Those six, along with Witherspoon, had three pressures a piece as they just diced through the Patriots’ front over and over and over again.

It wasn’t just the physical beatdown in the trenches, it was also the clear coaching mismatch between the two sides, with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels being unable to keep pace with Macdonald’s aggressive plan of attack. New England head coach Mike Vrabel took two timeouts into halftime, and when they came out from the halftime break they were just beat with more of the same. The play-calling wasn’t helpful, the game management was poor and Macdonald took extreme advantage of that fact. For the NFL Coach and Assistant Coach of the Year, it was hard to tell who actually won those awards when the game was in action. They had no answers at all.

Advertisement

Dominance is fun, even when it leads to a low-scoring game. There aren’t many defenses that feel like must-see television, but the Seahawks had that appeal this season and proved it by hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. Sam Darnold will be the main focus of the remaining coverage of this game because quarterbacks rule all, but this team should forever be remembered for what got them here: one of the best defenses in the history of the league.

Day 4 of the 2026 Winter Olympics on Tuesday brought more hardware for Team USA, but no gold. A pair of U.S. contenders, however, looked very much like gold-medal favorites in preliminary action.

Meanwhile, there was more Olympic struggle for U.S. alpine great Mikaela Shiffrin, who blew an opportunity to secure her first Olympic medal since 2018 in PyeongChang.

Advertisement

And a Norwegian biathlete may have given the most bizarre post-competition interview in Olympics history.

Here are five of the top stories from Day 4 of the Milan Cortina Olympics.

USA women’s hockey dominates Canada

If this was a preview of the gold medal game, Team USA is a strong bet to take home the top prize.

On the heels of a 3-0 start in group play with a combined score of 15-1, the U.S. women’s hockey team was expected to face its first and stiffest test of the Milan Cortina Games on Tuesday against fellow gold-medal contender Canada. Instead, it was another USA blowout.

USA opened up a 2-0 first-period lead en route to a 5-0 blowout to improve to 4-0 at the Olympics. Abbey Murphy set the tone with a sensational no-look backward pass that set up Hannah Bilka for a one-timer and a 2-0 USA lead.

From there, it was a Team USA romp.

Advertisement

The loss was Canada’s first of the Games, and it’s still expected to advance to a gold-medal matchup against the U.S. But if the two teams meet again in the final game of the Olympics, there’s little from Tuesday’s game to suggest Canada will mount a challenge.

Mikaela Shiffrin’s Olympic struggles continue

Mikaela Shiffrin is widely considered the greatest female alpine skier of all time. But her struggles in Beijing were one of the biggest stories of the 2022 Olympics as she failed to medal in any of the six events she competed in and failed to finish in three of those races.

Her 2026 Games are off to a rocky start. Shiffrin made her Milan Cortina debut Tuesday in the team combined event with teammate Breezy Johnson.

Advertisement

Johnson followed up her individual gold medal in the downhill event with the fastest time in the downhill portion of Tuesday’s competition, putting Shiffrin in position to secure gold in the slalom portion with a strong run. Johnson and Shiffrin didn’t finish on the podium.

The most decorated female slalom skier of all time, Shiffrin finished 15th out of 18 slalom skiers. The cushion Johnson provided in winning the downhill was erased, and Johnson and Shiffrin finished in fourth place.

Shiffrin, who has three Olympic medals — including two golds from prior Games — told Olympics.com before these Games that she wants to “make peace” with the Olympics at Milan Cortina. She defined that peace as being able to “openly accept anything that happens.” And she acknowledged that she had been “a little bit” scared of the Olympics following her Beijing experience.

Advertisement

Shiffrin will have fewer opportunities to medal in Milan Cortina than she did in Beijing. She’s cut her competition schedule in half and is focusing on the slalom races that are her strength. With one race down, she’ll have two more opportunities to medal in the giant slalom (Sunday) and slalom (Feb. 18)

Ilia Malinin in position for second gold of Games

Ilia Malinin’s win in the free skate Sunday ensured a gold medal for Team USA in a tight team figure skating competition. Malinin is now in position for his second gold medal.

Malinin followed up Sunday’s medal-clinching effort with a nearly flawless short program Tuesday to take control of the men’s individual competition.

Advertisement

The “Quad God” completed two quad jumps and his signature back flip without notable error while executing a program with the highest technical difficulty in Tuesday’s competition.

He performed with joy and exuberance and no signs of nerves at his first Olympic Games.

The effort secured a score of 108.16, more than five points ahead of Tuesday’s second-place finisher and his top rival, Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama (103.07). Thanks in part to that cushion, Malinin will enter Friday’s free skate as the favorite to take home the gold medal.

But he’ll have to maintain his level of excellence to fend off Kagiyama, who was outstanding in the team competition and won the silver medal in this event in Beijing.

Advertisement

U.S. curlers settle for silver

U.S. curlers Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse already secured their Olympic dreams just by making it to Tuesday’s mixed doubles curling final, which ensured their place on the podium.

But gold would have been sweet. Ultimately, Dropkin and Thiesse fell painfully short in a dramatic gold-medal match that Sweden’s brother-sister tandem of Rasmus and Isabella Wranå won 6-5 and wasn’t decided until the final throw.

Dropkin and Thiesse made early mistakes that allowed Sweden to take a 4-3 advantage through six ends. USA rallied for a 2-point seventh to take a 5-4 advantage into the decisive eighth end.

Advertisement

But there, Isabella Wranå had a chance to close out a win for Sweden with the final throw of that match. Wranå, who was nearly flawless in Tuesday’s final, delivered to secure two points and a 6-5 win for the gold medal.

While surely disappointing in the moment, there’s no reason for Dropkin and Thiesse to hang their heads. Their run to the gold-medal match was an upset, and their hardware represents USA’s second Olympic medal in curling following John Shuster’s team that secured gold in the men’s competition in 2018.

Ashley Farquharson wins rare U.S. luge medal

Ashley Farquharson made U.S. Olympic history Tuesday with a bronze medal run to secure the nation’s second medal in women’s luge.

Advertisement

She needed a dramatic comeback to make it happen.

Germany’s Julia Taubitz and Merle Malou Fräbel were in control in first and second place as the country sought its eighth straight gold medal and fourth consecutive gold-silver finish in the event. But Fräbel had a rocky third run and dropped into eighth place, opening the door for other competitors to move onto the podium.

Farquharson took advantage, jumping from fifth to third place with her third run. She entered her fourth and final run knowing she was in control of her place on the podium. When she crossed the finish line with a clean run and a time of 52.909, she knew that she’d secured at least a bronze medal.

Taubitz earned Germany’s eighth straight gold medal in the event while Latvia’s Elina Bota secured silver.

Advertisement

Farquharson joins Erin Hamlin (bronze, Sochi 2014) as the only U.S. women to medal in the history of the event.

Highlight of the day

All three U.S. skaters at Tuesday’s men’s short program qualified for Friday’s free skate, including Maxim Naumov, who’s competing under tragic circumstances.

Both of Naumov’s parents died in the Washington plane crash in 2025 that claimed 67 lives when an American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter mid-air. His parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, were world champion skaters for Russia who competed in the 1994 Olympics.

Naumov held up a picture of his parents as he awaited his score on Tuesday following his short program.

Naumov is in 14th place after Tuesday’s short program and will advance alongside his U.S. teammates Malinin and Andrew Torgashev (8th place) to compete in Friday’s free skate.

Advertisement

One more thing

Norway’s Sturla Holm Lægreid secured bronze in the 20km biathlon on Tuesday. He immediately celebrated by admitting on live TV that he cheated on his girlfriend.

Wait, what?!

Here’s Lægreid’s post-race interview with Norway’s NRK:

And here’s what he said, via BBC translation:

“There’s someone I wanted to share it with who might not be watching,” he said, fighting back tears. “Six months ago I met the love of my life — the most beautiful and kindest person in the world. Three months ago I made my biggest mistake and cheated on her.

“I had the gold medal in life, and I am sure there are many people who will see things differently, but I only have eyes for her.”

That’s one way to come clean.

Lægreid also said that he already told his girlfriend the bad news last week. At least he didn’t break it to her on live TV?

San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Keion White was shot in the ankle during an event on Monday morning.

White was shot at 4:06 a.m. on the 17th block of Mission Street in San Francisco, a San Francisco Police spokesman said, via The Athletic. There was an altercation between two groups that broke out at an event there that led to the shooting, though specifics of that incident are not yet known. White is not believed to have been part of that altercation.

Advertisement

He was taken by police to a nearby hospital, and is expected to be OK. The 49ers confirmed the shooting, and said that White underwent surgery on Monday afternoon. Further specifics of his condition are not yet known, but he did post an update to his Instagram on Tuesday afternoon.

“Thank you to everyone who has reached out with their prayers and concerns on my behalf,” he wrote on a photo of him in a hospital bed. “I’ve undergone successful surgery. For those who know me, y’all know this won’t stop me from spreading peace and joy to the world. Full steam ahead. I’m in great spirits and ready to make the most of this offseason.”

An investigation is ongoing.

The incident took place hours after the Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium on the other side of the Bay Area. The stadium sits more than 40 miles away in Santa Clara, south of San Francisco. White was at the Super Bowl, and was spotted wearing a Patriots hat.

Advertisement

White was traded to the 49ers in October from the Patriots, who selected him with the No. 46 overall pick in 2023. White had 18 total tackles and 1.5 sacks in 14 games this season. The 27-year-old has one year left on his initial four-year, $7.7 million deal. The 49ers went 12-5 this past season and reached the playoffs, though they were knocked out in the divisional round.

White is now the second 49ers player to be shot in recent years. Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery in San Francisco ahead of his rookie season in 2024. Pearsall ended up returning to play in 11 games during that season.

Nordic combined is one of the original sports to appear at an Olympic Winter Games, blending cross-country skiing with ski jumping. It also happens to be the only sport in the Winter Games where women cannot compete, despite the fact that there are other global competitions that do allow women. (Take it up with the International Olympic Committee, they’re the ones who make the rules.) This year, Team USA will send two men to compete in Nordic combined: Ben Loomis, who previously competed in the 2018 and 2022 Games, and Niklas Malacinski, who makes his first Olympic appearance.

Here’s a complete schedule of all Team USA Nordic combined events at this year’s games. While every event will stream on Peacock, you can also find all of them broadcast on USA, too. (To see specific air times, check out the official NBC Olympics broadcast schedule, and toggle your search to “TV Only.”).

Advertisement

If you want to learn even more about every event at this year’s Winter Games, here’s a guide to everything you need to know about the Milan Cortina Games.

How to watch Nordic combined at the 2026 Winter Olympics

Dates: Feb. 11 – 19

Location: Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium and the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium

TV channels: USA

Streaming: Peacock, DirecTV, and more

Where can I stream Nordic combined at the 2026 Winter Olympics?

Where to watch Nordic combined on TV:

Team USA Nordic combined coverage will be broadcast on USA. (To see specific air times, check out the official NBC Olympics broadcast schedule, and toggle your search to “TV Only.”). You can stream USA on DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV and more.

North Carolina didn’t get caught looking ahead of last week’s Duke game.

Instead, the hangover got the Tar Heels. Fresh off one of the most dramatic wins in the history of the UNC-Duke rivalry, North Carolina lost to unranked Miami, 75-66, Tuesday night.

Advertisement

Miami started hot with a 17-9 lead at home and never trailed. UNC managed to keep things competitive, but the Hurricanes never allowed the Tar Heels to seize control. Miami closed out the game on a 12-6 run to secure the upset of the nation’s 11th-ranked team.

The loss snaps a five-game win streak for North Carolina that included a road win over No. 14 Virginia in addition to Saturday’s home thriller over No. 4 Duke. The win adds a strong résumé boost for a Miami team on the NCAA tournament bubble.

Miami (19-5, 8-3 ACC) also moves a game ahead of North Carolina (19-5, 7-4) into fifth place in the ACC standings.

Hurricanes contain Caleb Wilson

Miami limited UNC’s All-America candidate Caleb Wilson to 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting. Wilson left the game around the 15-minute mark of the second half and returned with 8:47 remaining with his left wrist taped.

Advertisement

Wilson sat for the final 1:43 as North Carolina tried to mount a late rally from a 66-60 deficit. The nature of what was bothering Wilson wasn’t immediately clear, nor was it clear if his wrist impacted coach Hubert Davis’ decision to bench his star freshman for the game’s final moments.

Miami attacks UNC’s frontline

On offense, Miami attacked a talented UNC frontline that’s been vulnerable on defense against physical opponents.

Senior center Ernest Udeh Jr. feasted inside when he sought his shot, tallying 15 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 7 of 8 from the field.

He secured his own rebound off a missed free throw for a layup that gave Miami its 66-60 lead in the final two minutes.

Advertisement

Udeh was one of four Miami starters to score in double figures as the Hurricanes shot 47% from the field. Miami limited North Carolina to 40% shooting while securing a 41-35 rebounding advantage and 11-8 edge in takeaways.

The Hurricanes struggled from 3 (3 for 13, 23%) and from the line (14 of 23, 61%). But they attempted 13 more free throws than North Carolina, which went 8 of 10 at the line.

The win for Miami was its first over a ranked opponent since a victory over No. 16 Clemson in the 2013-14 season. Miami fans rushed the court Tuesday to celebrate the program’s biggest win in years.

Collin Sexton’s feud with the basket at the Barclays Center has turned costly.

The NBA fined the Chicago Bulls guard $35,000 on Tuesday night after he flipped off the hoop during the team’s 123-115 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.

Advertisement

Sexton was shooting free throws late in the third quarter, and his first attempt was off the mark. Sexton ended up making his second attempt, but he immediately looked at the rim and raised his left middle finger angrily as he jogged back the other way.

While the “inappropriate gesture” was very brief and didn’t impact the game whatsoever, it will draw a fine from the league every time.

Sexton finished the night with 21 points and five rebounds, going 6-of-8 from the free-throw line. The 27-year-old has averaged 14.4 points and 3.7 assists while shooting better than 48% from the field this season, his eighth in the league.

Advertisement

Monday was just Sexton’s second game with the Bulls. He was dealt there ahead of the trade deadline last week in a deal that sent Coby White to the Charlotte Hornets.

The Bulls have now lost five straight and eight of their last nine games. They will enter Wednesday’s game against Boston Celtics, their final contest before the All-Star break, with a 24-30 record. While there is still time to rally, Sexton and the Bulls are very much on pace to miss the playoffs for a fourth straight season.

Brad Underwood couldn’t get his team to rally after last week’s overtime loss in East Lansing.

No. 8 Illinois, despite leading by double digits in the second half, fell apart down the stretch Tuesday night at the State Farm Center. Wisconsin fought out of a 12-point hole and grabbed a 92-90 overtime win, which marked the Badgers’ second road win over a top-10 opponent this season. It was also the program’s first win in Champaign in seven years.

Wisconsin, which forced the extra period after a late 3-pointer from Austin Rapp near the end of regulation, then opened overtime on an 11-3 run to suddenly break open an eight-point lead — which matched the Badgers’ largest of the game.

Advertisement

Illinois finally responded as Zvonimir Ivisic made a layup and then Keaton Wagler drilled a 3-pointer not even a minute later to make it a one-possession game yet again near the 90-second mark.

Though it looked like Illinois was going to get one last shot at a game-winner, Nolan Winter was somehow able to track down a miss from John Blackwell and call a timeout before falling out of bounds. That gave Wisconsin the ball back with just 14.8 seconds left in overtime and a two-point lead in hand, which was enough to ride out the two-point win.

Wagler led Illinois with 34 points and seven assists, and Ivisic added 19 points and 11 rebounds. Illinois had 13 turnovers, compared to just four from the Badgers.

Advertisement

Illinois has now lost back-to-back games for the first time all season. No. 10 Michigan State survived a scare at home on Saturday night to beat the Illini. Illinois is now 20-5 on the season and firmly in second in the Big Ten race behind Michigan. They’ll likely need some help and a win over the Wolverines later this month at home, in order to claim the regular-season conference title.

Nick Boyd led Wisconsin with 25 points after shooting 10-of-19 from the field. Blackwell added 24 points on five 3-pointers, and Rapp finished with 18 points off the bench. Wisconsin improved to 17-7, boosting its NCAA tournament status as the regular season starts to wrap up.

There are some bad losses on the Badgers’ résumé, including double-digit losses to both TCU and Villanova, and a one-point loss at Indiana last week that they’d like to have back. But Wisconsin has now won eight of their last 10 games, which includes road victories over both Illinois and Michigan. They’ve got Michigan State up next on Friday, too, and Purdue waiting again in Wisconsin’s final game of the regular season.

Though they may not be there quite yet, the Badgers are starting to look like a dangerous threat not only in the Big Ten tournament in a few weeks, but in the NCAA tournament, as well.

TCU pulled off its biggest win of the season on Tuesday night, and may have saved its chances at reaching the NCAA tournament.

The Horned Frogs survived late to knock off No. 5 Iowa State 62-55 at Schollmaier Arena. It marked just their second win over a ranked opponent all season after a pretty rough run against the top half of the Big 12 conference so far. Naturally, that sparked a huge court storm celebration in Fort Worth.

Though they never led by more than double digits, the Cyclones (21-2, 8-3 Big 12) felt in control of the contest — at least until the final stretch. After mounting a 10-0 run to take the lead back in the second half, Iowa State shut down offensively. The Horned Frogs (15-9, 5-6) closed the game on a 12-0 burst of their own, and held the Cyclones to just a single made field goal in the final four minutes.

Advertisement

Micah Robinson led TCU with 17 points and six rebounds. Tanner Toolson added 17 points off the bench and was the only other player to hit double figures. TCU went just 5-of-18 from the 3-point line, and missed eight free throws.

The win was an important one for TCU’s tournament résumé. While they beat Florida early on, the Horned Frogs have dropped every other ranked matchup they’ve had this season and entered Tuesday having lost six of their last 10. Undoubtedly, their hopes at an NCAA tournament big were dwindling fast.

Tamin Lipsey led Iowa State with 12 points and five assists, and Joshua Jefferson added 12 points with nine assists and eight rebounds. Iowa State committed 17 turnovers and also only made five 3-pointers in the loss. The Cyclones made it to the free throw line only eight times, compared to the 23 for the Horned Frogs.

Advertisement

The loss snapped a five-game win streak for the Cyclones, and came ahead of what is sure to be a rough stretch for them to end the regular season. They’ll host No. 9 Kansas next on Saturday, and the Jayhawks are fresh off a win over top-ranked Arizona on Monday night. The Cyclones will then take on No. 3 Houston and No. 22 BYU next week, and still have No. 16 Texas Tech and Arizona waiting for them before the end of the regular season. Though several wins there would make a big difference, Iowa State’s chances at actually securing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament are suddenly looking significantly slimmer.

TCU, on the other hand, now has a real shot at making a run before the Big 12 tournament next month. With just one ranked game left in the regular season, a strong finish would put the Horned Frogs in position to make the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in the past five seasons.

The Toronto Blue Jays got bad news Tuesday as they look ahead to defending their AL pennant.

Right fielder Anthony Santander needs surgery on his left labrum and is expected to miss five-to-six months. The latter end of that timeline projects a return sometime in August, well past the All-Star break.

Advertisement

Manager John Schneider announced the news to reporters Tuesday. Santander will likely miss more than half the 2026 season on the heels of playing just 54 games in his first season in Toronto.

Contract so far not paying off for Blue Jays

Santander, 31, made his first All-Star team in 2024 as a member of the rival Baltimore Orioles, sending him into the offseason as one of the better hitters available in free agency. He joined the Blue Jays that winter on a five-year, $92.5 million contract.

Various injuries including to his shoulder limited Santander to 54 regular-season games in 2025. He returned for the final week of the regular season and appeared in five postseason games in the ALDS against the Yankees and the ALCS against the Mariners.

Advertisement

But the Blue Jays removed him from their ALCS roster before Game 4 due to a back injury, and he did not make Toronto’s World Series roster.

Why have the surgery now?

Schneider told reporters Tuesday that Santander was “feeling good after the season” and the goal this offseason was to avoid surgery while resting and rehabbing in November and December.

But he experienced a setback when he returned to hitting in January, prompting the Blue Jays and Santander to ultimately opt for surgery. He’ll have the procedure Wednesday, more than three months after the conclusion of Toronto’s season in a Game 7 loss to the Dodgers in the World Series.

“Unfortunate with the timing, obviously, after the season he had, too, for sure,” Schneider said. “But just a setback after he started hitting and ramping up in January.”

Victor Wembanyama does it all on the basketball court. On Tuesday he put his scoring hat on.

The San Antonio Spurs superstar scored 25 points against the Los Angeles Lakers — in the first eight minutes of the game.

Advertisement

It was a remarkable scoring output that no other Spurs player has produced in the play-by-play stat-tracking era dating back to 1997-98. That includes the tail end of David Robinson’s career, Kawhi Leonard’s Spurs prime and the entirety of Tim Duncan’s career.

He did it from inside and out and tallied most of those points during a stretch in which he scored 17 consecutive Spurs points.

Wembanyama went 8 of 9 from the field and 3 of 4 from the 3-point line while adding three rebounds during the opening flurry. The Spurs piled up a 47-30 lead against a Lakers team playing without Luka Dončić, LeBron James or Austin Reaves. The missed game was James’ 18th of the season, which made him ineligible for end-of-season awards and snapped his unprecedented 21-year All-NBA streak.

Advertisement

By halftime, Wembanyama had 37 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the floor, 10-of-12 shooting from the line and 3-of-5 shooting from behind the arc. He added 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in a stat line that would be outstanding for any NBA star for a full game.

The Spurs built an 84-55 lead at that point over the shorthanded Lakers. And with San Antonio on the first half of a back-to-back set, there wasn’t a ton of motivation to play him much after halftime.

Wembanyama dropped three points in the third quarter to get to 40 on the night. It was the sixth 40-point game of Wembanyama’s three-season career, one more than Duncan totaled in his 19 seasons.

By the end of that period, the Spurs’ lead had ballooned to 34 points. From there, the Spurs cruised to the 136-108 win without any further heroics needed from Wembanyama. He finished shooting 13 of 20 from the field with 12 rebounds and two assists to go with his 40 points.

Advertisement

Luke Kennard led the Lakers with 14 points and five assists. Drew Timme added 14 points off the bench and Jaxson Hayes finished with 13 points. The Lakers fell to 32-21 with the loss. They’ll host the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday in their final game before the All-Star break.

Carter Bryant added 16 points off the bench for the Spurs to go with Wembanyama’s night. Dylan Harper finished with 15 points and Harrison Barnes added 11. They were the only other three players besides Wembanyama to hit double figures for San Antonio.

The Spurs have now won five straight to get to 37-16 on the season. They’ll take on the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.