I told people not to overlook the Portland Trail Blazers. Historically they have played the Lakers really tough. Even though the Blazers were 32-50 last season, they won the season series against the Lakers last season. So there they were in the first quarter being run out of the Staples Center by the Blazers down 15 points. The Blazers seemed run their offensive sets as if they were in practice, and the Lakers couldn’t get......

Photo by Heath Biter/LAist It might seem hard to believe that tonight’s game between the Phoenix Coyotes and your Los Angeles Kings carries any weight, but it does, and I’ll tell you why. With 21 games left in the season, and a lowly 53 points to their cellar-dwelling name, the Kings would be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with a loss tonight. Not officially of course. After all, only 13 points separate the Kings......

Lakers 103, Washington Wizards 91 - The game wasn’t as close as the final score indicates. The Lakers led by 22 at halftime, and led by as much as 25 points in the third quarter. Kobe Bryant, who outscored the Wizards in the first quarter 19-15, ended up with 30 points on 10-15 shooting with eight free throws. Vladamir Radmanovic, Lamar Odom and Ronny Turiaf rounded out the starters with double-figure scoring, and Sasha Vujacic......

Ducks 2, Avalanche 1, OT - Even in a loss, Colorado's Peter Budaj proved why the goalie is the most important player in hockey. He made 36 saves to keep the Avs in the game, while his teammates managed just three shots in the third period and none in overtime. The final shots-on-goal margin was 38-12, so the scoreboard could have been a lot worse for Colorado. Anaheim showed a major improvement over their 16......

Ducks 4, Blue Jackets 3, OT - The Ducks managed to kill 7-of-9 power plays and converted three of their own to take down Columbus in overtime. Samuel Pahlsson scored for the OC boys on a penalty shot. Anaheim has won three of their last four and moved into a three-way tie for fourth in the Western Conference, just two points behind second place Dallas, who leads the Pacific Division. Kings 4, Canucks 2 -......

Lakers 111, Nuggets 107 - Allen Iverson lit up the scoreboard with 51 points but three Lakers responded with big nights of their own. Kobe Bryant scored 25, Vladimir Radmanovic added 21, and Derek Fisher had 20. Despite his big night, the Lakers only allowed Iverson one layup in the fourth quarter. Sonics 95, Clippers 88 - Seven is unlucky for the Clipper -- it's how many games they've lost in a row. Seattle led......

Bruins 83, Colonials 60 - UCLA (ranked #1 by ESPN/USA Today and #2 by the AP) hammered George Washington at home and got a lot of players involved. Darren Collison returned from a pre-season knee injury to score 14 and Alfred Aboya had six points despite a broken bone under his eye. Three other players scored in double digits, including highly touted freshman Kevin Love who had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Kings 3, Sharks......

Chivas USA 0, FC Dallas 0 - LA's top team hasn't lost since July, earning a draw last night with Dallas. Brad Guzan had his MLS-leading 12th save to increase Chivas' lead in the Western Conference to four points with two games left to play. Unfortunately, Chivas was unable to capitalize on a one man advantage for the last ten minutes of the match. Warriors 119, Lakers 106 - Ahhh, preseason. 14 of 15 Lakers......

Red Sox 4, Angels 0 - Josh Beckett was good. Scary good. He threw eight strikeouts and retired 19 in a row in a complete game shutout, the third of his playoff career. That put him second on the all-time list, one behind Christy Mathewson and tied with Whitey Ford and Mordecai Brown. In other words, only one other pitcher has been this good in about 100 years. He was also the only pitcher to......

If you see John Cusack in the stands, someone's in the playoffs or world series. You might recall the Chicago-native in the bleachers of Wrigley Field when the Cubs had a healthy Kerry Wood and Mark Prior and if not for Bartman would have made it further than the playoffs, and then a few years later you may have heard about him wanting to get tickets to see the White Sox as they played......

Ducks 2, Red Wings 1, OT - Down 1-0 with a few ticks left on the clock, Scott Niedermayer hit the back of the net to forced OT. Tweve minutes later Teemu Selanne scored and gave the Ducks a 3-2 series lead over Detroit. Anaheim could win the Western Conference Finals at home on Tuesday night. Angels 4, Dodgers 1 - LAnaheim swept the Freeway Series by a combined score of 19-4. On Sunday Kelvim......

Ducks 5, Red Wings 3 - Reeling from a nasty home blowout and with their best defender suspended for a game, Anaheim pulled off a big win to even the Western Conference finals against Detroit. The Red Wings actually dominated on shots (39-23), but the Angels found the back of the net more often. Angels 7, Mariners 3 - Things are moving along pretty well for Bartolo Colon. The LAnaheim pitcher is 5-0 after starting......

Dodgers 10, Reds 5 - All nine Dodger starters had at least one hit or run scored, giving the team moms something to be proud of. Cincinnati's Ken Griffey, Jr. didn't disappoint, either, going deep on Mother's Day for the sixth time in his career. Ducks 4, Red Wings 3, OT - The Ducks evened the Western Conference Finals against Detroit at a game each and claimed home ice advantage heading into the next two......

D.C. United 2, Chivas USA 1 - The MLS gets no respect. ESPN and SI.com lump it in with their general soccer coverage. Yahoo! Sports has them listed just below the WNBA. They might not party like their Euro counterparts, but LAist.com is willing to give Chivas USA top billing tonight. So here it goes ... after a scoreless first half, winless D.C. United found the net twice (the second on a penalty kick) and......

There was a strange look in Kobe Bryant’s face during Friday night’s game against the Phoenix Suns: It was a look of defeat. Kobe seemed tired and listless, playing only 17 points in their 93-85 loss. We shouldn’t waste too much sympathy on a multi-millionaire, but it’s been hard not to feel for Kobe, who has been playing some of the best basketball of his career without getting any consistent help from the rest......

Current Record: 37-39, T-3rd Pacific, T-8th West Last Week: The Clippers entered the week with the opportunity to take control of their playoff fate and to put themselves in the drivers’ seat for one of the three remaining playoff spots. This morning, they are left still in control of their destiny, but very much in a fight for survival. Things started well with a narrow victory over the Lakers on Wednesday, piling on to their......

After a heartbreaking loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday night, the Lakers redeemed themselves by scorching the Sacramento Kings 126-103 at Staples Center on Sunday night. Kobe had a season-high 13 assists, while Maurice Evans and Luke Walton scored 21 and 18 respectively. The Lakers' number two man, Lamar Odom, was crippled by foul trouble, but plenty of other players stepped up to the plate, demonstrating that the Lakers can be a deep......

Clippers 104, Bucks 103 - The roller coaster continues for Los Angeles. They watched a 22 point third quarter lead crumble away in the fourth. With less than a minute to play, Milwaukee held a three point edge. Then the Clippers got a basket from Corey Maggette with 45 seconds and another by Jason Hart with only three ticks left. The win pushed LA back into sole possession of the eighth seed in the Western......

Clipper 103, Bulls 89 - The struggling Clippers defeated a strong Chicago squad despite missing Sam Cassell due to injury. Cuttino Mobley led the way with 25, followed by Corey Maggette with 22. Elton Brand had 21 and 12 rebounds. Los Angeles is essentially even with Golden State for the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference playoffs. Three teams (Dallas, Pheonix, and San Antonio) are already in. Dodgers - LAist discovers that beer......

Spurs 93, Clipper 84 - With all the talk about the winning streak from that team in Texas, it's easy to get confused. That's because the Mav's 17 game streak is over, but San Antonio is on their own run of 13. Los Angeles was the latest victim, and in convincing fashion. The Spurs had 18 points from the charity stripe compared to just 3 for the Clippers, who also gave up 22 points off......

Current Record: 29-33, 3rd Pacific, 8th West Last Week: Let’s see, the Clippers lost all three games they played by an average of 14 points. But with the madness going on in the NBA this season, the Clippers continue to hold on to the last playoff spot in the West, despite their best efforts to mail it in. They even inched closer to the sixth spot by losing one less game than the Lakers last......

Timberwolves 117, Lakers 107, 2OT - Kobe had 37 points in regulation but could only manage 3 in two overtime periods as Los Angeles fell to Minnesota. The star of the game was Timberwolves' center Mark Blount. Unlike most 7 foot tall dudes, he was able to rain down three pointers when it counted. With a trio of trays in the final three minutes, he helped the T-Wolves even up and send the game into......

Ice hockey isn't the most popular game in a land of beaches and palm trees, especially when you're losing. With this town's reputation for bandwagon fans, it's no surprise that the Kings -- dead last in the Western Conference and playing like jokers -- have been shuffled to the bottom of the deck. They even tossed away an ace, team captain Mattias Norstrom, in a gamble to add future draft selections (they now have 21......

Kings 4, Ducks 3, OT - LAist revels in rivalries, especially local ones. Take Los Angeles and Anaheim. Despite gaining parity in baseball and cartoon production, they've seen a major gap in hockey. The Kings are at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, while the Ducks have spent most of the season on top. Yet when the teams face off, that doesn't mean a thing. Los Angeles won in overtime, giving them three wins......

Torn Ligaments 3, Intact Ligaments 1 - This is very bad news for Clipper fans. Shaun Livingston snapped his knee like a twig (WARNING: ABOVE VIDEO IS GRAPHIC AND NOT FOR THOSE WITH WEAK STOMACHS) and is out for the season --not this season, next season. It may be a career ending injury. Anybody remember Joe Theismann or Napoleon McCallum? This looked even worse. Kings Clean House - In three deals made hours before......

Lakers 118, Wizards 102 - Some say the Gilbert Arenas - Kobe Bryant rivalry has sprouted, and LAist is pretty sure it's budding. Both players have denied any personal friction despite mild trash talking in the media. Their exciting play against each other in Washington demonstrated talent and mutual admiration. Kobe had 39 points and Arenas had 37, several of which came on spectacular plays against one another.     Kings 7, Panthers 0 - It wasn't the Miracle On Ice, but it......

Hornets 113, Lakers 103 - After a devastating loss to Dallas on Thursday, the Lakers fizzled against a lesser team in Oklahoma City. It may have helped the Hornets that leading scorer David West returned from injury. Maurice Evens helped lead the Lakers with a team and career high of 23. Kobe also had 23, but only three points in the first half on an 0-3 performance from the field (he hit three free throws).......

Mavericks 114, Lakers 95 - Coming into the game, Dallas had won 18 of their last 19. The loss? Lakers. The revenge? Resounding. The Mavericks were up by as many as 28 and got double digit performances from six players. They did just about everything, including performing the national anthem before the game. Dallas is midway through the season and holds the best record in the league. They look to exact more revenge on Sunday......

Grizzlies 128, Lakers 118 - This young Lakers squad has been playing to the level of their opponents. After a clutch victory over Dallas, the NBA's top squad, they were mauled by Memphis, the NBA's laughingstock. Los Angeles outscored the home team in all quarters but the third, when the Grizzlies exploded for 46 points compared to just 22 for the Lakers. Down by as many as 24, Phil Jackson threw in the towel early......

Blues 5, Kings 2 - Trailing for most of the game, the Kings tried for a third period comeback. They scored two goals in the first 3:30 of the period, but St. Louis responded with two of their own to put the game on ice. The Blues are still in last place in the Western Conference, but inched within 5 points of the Kings and have played two less games. Elsewhere - ESPN's Desmond Howard......