Lakers Rally Past Bulls at Home
Lavar Ball's pressure and high expectations that he has put on the team and his son may or may not be affecting the Los Angeles Lakers as they look to rebuild quicker than first expected. They struggled again on Wednesday night early on, but were able to rally from a 19-point deficit to top the Chicago Bulls 103-94. Kyle Kuzma had 22 points, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 21, including 11 in the fourth quarter to lead the comeback. It was a 14-point deficit at the half, which was just three after a dominant third quarter that saw the Lakers outscore the Bulls 30-19. They added 31 in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Bulls, who were held to just 38 points in the second half. Brandon Ingram chipped in with 17 points, five rebounds, and five assists, as the Lakers won consecutive games for just the second time this season. Los Angeles's rough start included 13 turnovers that led to a 61-42 deficit, A 38-19 run helped the Lakers, which was fueled by Julius Randle, who had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the win. The Lakers' 8-10 start has them in eighth place in the Western Conference, which may not be where Ball wants them to be. His son is also not where he wants him to be, as he struggled again with just eight points, 13 rebounds, and four assists. The Lakers will visit the Sacramento Kings tonight, while the Bulls take their 3-12 record to Utah to take on the Jazz.
Blues Add to Oilers' Struggles
The Edmonton Oilers were preseason favorites to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals, but their disappointing start has caught everyone off guard. Those struggles continued on Tuesday night in an 8-3 blowout loss to the St. Louis Blues. Vladmir Tarasenko had two goals, while Brayden Schenn added two of his own, along with two assists in the win. Jake Allen made 26 saves for the Central Division leaders, who also have the NHL's best record at 16-5-1. Tarasenko is use to putting up the type of games he did on Tuesday, but there was a rarity within his game against the Oilers. The scorer got in to just the third fight of his career, which took place in the second period. Despite that, he stayed hot and now has 14 points in his last 13 games against Edmonton, and notched his 11th and 12th goals of the season. The Blues wasted little time getting going with two goals in each of the first two periods, before adding four goals in a wild third period. Edmonton pulled starting goalie Cam Talbot for the third time this season after he allowed two first-period goals on three shots. Backup Lauren Brossoit came in and allowed six goals on 37 shots in relief. Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse each scored for the Oilers, who suffered their 12th loss of they year. They will not get a day off as they visit the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night. The Blues take their NHL-leading 33 points to a Thanksgiving break before they host the Nashville Predators on Friday.
Wichita State, Notre Dame Set Up Matchup in Maui
The Maui Invitational always brings about fun matchups, and that's exactly what we have in a ranked showdown for the championship game. First, sixth-ranked Wichita State led the entire way to defeat Marquette 80-66 in a semifinal game on Tuesday. Landry Shamet had 19 points, while Connor Frankamp added 13 in their second straight win in Maui. That's a day after they needed a rally to avoid an upset on Monday against California in the tournament opener. The Shockers responded on Tuesday by shooting 54 percent to improve to 4-0 on the season. Andrew Rowsey had 26 points, while Markus Howard added 25 in the Golden Eagles' second loss of the year. Meanwhile, No. 13 Notre Dame had an even easier time by blowing past the LSU Tigers for a 92-53 blowout win. T.J. Gibbs led the way with 26 points for the Fighting Irish, who shot 51 percent from the floor, including 46 percent from three-point range. Notre Dame took care of Chaminade in the tournament opener in blowout fashion, as they head into the title game with a 5-0 record. LSU struggled after losing starting guard Brandon Sampson to an ankle injury in the opening minute of the game. The Tigers fell to 3-1 with the defeat and will face Marquette in the third-place game on Wednesday. The Notre Dame-Wichita State final matchup will take place on Wednesday night.
Lavar Ball's pressure and high expectations that he has put on the team and his son may or may not be affecting the Los Angeles Lakers as they look to rebuild quicker than first expected. They struggled again on Wednesday night early on, but were able to rally from a 19-point deficit to top the Chicago Bulls 103-94. Kyle Kuzma had 22 points, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 21, including 11 in the fourth quarter to lead the comeback. It was a 14-point deficit at the half, which was just three after a dominant third quarter that saw the Lakers outscore the Bulls 30-19. They added 31 in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Bulls, who were held to just 38 points in the second half. Brandon Ingram chipped in with 17 points, five rebounds, and five assists, as the Lakers won consecutive games for just the second time this season. Los Angeles's rough start included 13 turnovers that led to a 61-42 deficit, A 38-19 run helped the Lakers, which was fueled by Julius Randle, who had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the win. The Lakers' 8-10 start has them in eighth place in the Western Conference, which may not be where Ball wants them to be. His son is also not where he wants him to be, as he struggled again with just eight points, 13 rebounds, and four assists. The Lakers will visit the Sacramento Kings tonight, while the Bulls take their 3-12 record to Utah to take on the Jazz.
Blues Add to Oilers' Struggles
The Edmonton Oilers were preseason favorites to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals, but their disappointing start has caught everyone off guard. Those struggles continued on Tuesday night in an 8-3 blowout loss to the St. Louis Blues. Vladmir Tarasenko had two goals, while Brayden Schenn added two of his own, along with two assists in the win. Jake Allen made 26 saves for the Central Division leaders, who also have the NHL's best record at 16-5-1. Tarasenko is use to putting up the type of games he did on Tuesday, but there was a rarity within his game against the Oilers. The scorer got in to just the third fight of his career, which took place in the second period. Despite that, he stayed hot and now has 14 points in his last 13 games against Edmonton, and notched his 11th and 12th goals of the season. The Blues wasted little time getting going with two goals in each of the first two periods, before adding four goals in a wild third period. Edmonton pulled starting goalie Cam Talbot for the third time this season after he allowed two first-period goals on three shots. Backup Lauren Brossoit came in and allowed six goals on 37 shots in relief. Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse each scored for the Oilers, who suffered their 12th loss of they year. They will not get a day off as they visit the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night. The Blues take their NHL-leading 33 points to a Thanksgiving break before they host the Nashville Predators on Friday.
Wichita State, Notre Dame Set Up Matchup in Maui
The Maui Invitational always brings about fun matchups, and that's exactly what we have in a ranked showdown for the championship game. First, sixth-ranked Wichita State led the entire way to defeat Marquette 80-66 in a semifinal game on Tuesday. Landry Shamet had 19 points, while Connor Frankamp added 13 in their second straight win in Maui. That's a day after they needed a rally to avoid an upset on Monday against California in the tournament opener. The Shockers responded on Tuesday by shooting 54 percent to improve to 4-0 on the season. Andrew Rowsey had 26 points, while Markus Howard added 25 in the Golden Eagles' second loss of the year. Meanwhile, No. 13 Notre Dame had an even easier time by blowing past the LSU Tigers for a 92-53 blowout win. T.J. Gibbs led the way with 26 points for the Fighting Irish, who shot 51 percent from the floor, including 46 percent from three-point range. Notre Dame took care of Chaminade in the tournament opener in blowout fashion, as they head into the title game with a 5-0 record. LSU struggled after losing starting guard Brandon Sampson to an ankle injury in the opening minute of the game. The Tigers fell to 3-1 with the defeat and will face Marquette in the third-place game on Wednesday. The Notre Dame-Wichita State final matchup will take place on Wednesday night.
