INGLEWOOD, Calif. — LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers were still processing a series of emotions Tuesday, but managed to dial it in at the Intuit Dome to secure a 122-97 victory over the crosstown rival Clippers.

Those emotions were still raw for members of the team on the same day they welcomed Luka Donicic, who joined them on the bench for the first time.

“My emotions were all over the place Saturday,” James said while reflecting on the events that took place over the weekend. “We were coming off a huge win in the (Madison Square) Garden and I was out with my family at dinner and the first time I heard it I thought it was fake and that it was a hoax.”

It wasn’t until James received a Facetime call from Anthony Davis that there was a true understanding of how real everything was. The two had a lengthy discussion but even after the conversation things still didn’t feel real for the 40-year-old superstar.

“I’ve never seen this one,” James said about the situation. “I have seen it all up until this one. I’ve never been a part of a transaction like that. That was different.”

All things Lakers: Latest Los Angeles Lakers news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Without his co-star with whom he won an NBA championship with in 2020, James produced 26 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in 31 minutes of play.

James cited that the roster changes still didn’t feel like his new reality until he saw Doncic in person.

Fourth-year guard Austin Reaves mentioned that it had been a tough couple of days because of the relationships he built with several of the players who had been traded away.

Reaves mentioned he’s leaned on veterans in the locker room like James to ask questions about having teammates who were no longer around and how he’s navigated his emotions throughout his career.

James remains committed to his role as the team’s leader and made it clear that he is willing to do whatever it takes to help Doncic succeed in Los Angeles.

Like most of the Lakers, Doncic is still “processing” what has transpired but still has his same overall career objective at the forefront.

“Win the championship,” Doncic said about his main objective as a Laker. “You don’t come here for nothing else but championships. I have everything left to prove and the goal is to win the championship.”

James had been spotted on the bench next to Doncic having a conversation and at times sharing a laugh.

“I’m really excited to be here,” Doncic said earlier in the day. “I get to play for the Lakers, not everybody can say that. Many, many legends played here with many, many championships. That’s pretty cool.”

If Doncic is successful in bringing a title to Los Angeles, it would be the 18th in the franchise’s history. The Lakers are currently second among teams in the league with the most titles, trailing the Boston Celtics.

Did Luka Doncic make his Lakers debut?

Doncic didn’t play for the Lakers on Tuesday, but an opportunity to play with the team before the NBA All-Star break was not completely ruled out.

The Lakers have three games remaining on the schedule before the break, but there will be an evaluation period with the newly acquired star before he puts on a Lakers uniform for an official game.

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said Doncic will initially be listed as day-to-day and work with the Lakers’ medical team to work toward having the guard play in a game soon. 

Doncic is expected to participate in 5-on-5 drills on Wednesday with the Lakers.

Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris were also sent to the Lakers as part of the trade. Kleber is dealing with a right ankle injury and was spotted with crutches and a walking boot on Tuesday morning. He is expected to have his surgically repaired foot re-evaluated in eight weeks.

Morris did suit up for the Lakers but did not record a statistic against the Clippers.

The Lakers remain in search of a big man

JJ Redick told reporters before the game that he’s open to making larger changes to the Lakers’ starting lineup after the team traded away two of their best-starting defenders (Anthony Davis and Max Christie). Redick said he and his staff will evaluate the entire group.

Jaxson Hayes started at center for the Lakers as the replacement for Davis. It was Hayes’ fifth start of the season. It remains unclear if Hayes will start at center the rest of the season but it isn’t completely out of the question.

Hayes finished with six points, six rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes of play.

While there’s a clear need for another quality big man on the roster, Pelinka hinted that a long-term solution may take more than the next few days before the trade deadline to discover.

‘We know we have a need for a big — the market for bigs right now leading into the last two or three days of the trade deadline is very dry,’ Pelinka said. ‘There’s just not a lot available. So maybe we’ll be able to do some stuff around the margins. I would say, in terms of a big move for that position, it’s probably more realistic that would be something that comes in the offseason.’

The Lakers have been tied to various centers across the league as potential trade targets, including Robert Williams III of the Portland Trail Blazers, Jonas Valanciunas of the Washington Wizards and Walker Kessler of the Utah Jazz.

‘We know that our roster has continued work to do to be complete,’ Pelinka said. ‘We’re going to build a roster that fits JJ Redick’s basketball philosophy.’

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

NEW ORLEANS – Xavier Worthy told USA TODAY Sports last March that the Kansas City Chiefs were his ideal landing spot.

A congratulatory text from Patrick Mahomes after Worthy ran an NFL combine record 4.21 seconds in the 40-yard dash only intensified the wide receiver’s ambition. But not in Worthy’s wildest dreams did he envision it would come into fruition, and he’d be a part of the Chiefs’ historic quest for a three-peat.

“This is stuff you can’t imagine,” the Chiefs rookie wide receiver said. “Getting drafted here was one thing. Coming back-to-back-to-back Super Bowls is another.”

Worthy’s registered 59 receptions, 638 receiving yards and six touchdowns during the regular season. He ranked sixth in receptions and seventh in receiving yards among all NFL rookie receivers.

The rookie wideout has made strides in his route running and rapport with Mahomes in recent weeks. Worthy tallied a career-high eight catches for 79 yards in Kansas City’s Christmas Day win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the AFC championship game, Worthy produced a game-high six catches for a new career-best 85 receiving yards.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

One of Worthy’s catches was a highlight snag on a 50-50 ball where he snatched the football from two Buffalo Bills defenders on crucial third-and-5 in the first half.

It’s a play that underscored Worthy’s budding confidence and growth in his rookie campaign.

“Xavier has done a great job this year of getting better every week. Whether it’s his route running, whether it’s getting on the same page as Patrick (Mahomes). He’s worked very hard at that part of his game,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.

“It’s paid off later in the season here. He’s not a big guy. To be able to persevere through 17 games, plus some playoff games, is a tribute to him and his conditioning.”

Worthy leads Kansas City in postseason catches (11) and targets (13) entering Super Bowl 59. He and tight end Travis Kelce are the Chiefs’ only two players with over 100 receiving yards this postseason.

The Chiefs have been able to exploit Worthy’s speed versus opponents during their Super Bowl run. They’ve utilized his speed on reserve runs, short, intermediate and some long routes – all part of his expanded route tree in his rookie campaign.

“I always knew Xavier was gonna be a great football player. Obviously, the talent is there but the way he works. He gets after it (and) he’s extremely smart. We put a lot on his plate, and he wants more,” Mahomes said. “He wants to continue to be better and be great for the football team.”

Worthy’s progression has helped the Chiefs get to a third straight Super Bowl. He’s coming off arguably the best game of his young career.

Now, he’s a confident player going into the biggest game of his life. When USA TODAY Sports asked Worthy who is going to be the fastest player on the field on Sunday, his answer – and smile – said it all.

“You’re looking at him,” Worthy said.

There are 4.21 reasons why his response is valid.

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.

LOS ANGELES — When UCLA head coach Mick Cronin publicly calls out his team or goes off on other tangents, the college basketball world loves to fire back at the sixth-year head coach. How could it be constructive? How can his team succeed?

Well, maybe there is a method to the madness. 

After a sluggish four-game losing streak to start 2025 and some fiery words from their coach, the Bruins have flipped the script and rattled off six wins in a row. The latest one may be its most impressive yet: taking down No. 9 Michigan State in front of a revitalized Pauley Pavilion.

‘You can call them the hottest team in the league right now, and deservedly so,’ said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo.

Cronin’s rants could be one of several reasons why the Bruins are quickly riding high and contenders in the Big Ten. During the four-game skid that included two losses by double-digits, the offense averaged 65.5 points per game and made less than 45% of its buckets in each contest. Three of them were also in different time zones, something Cronin complained about.

UCLA started the season strong and looked like a contender for a top four seed in the NCAA Tournament, but the string of bad losses pushed it toward bubble territory. 

Then the Bruins returned to the West Coast, and things started to click. They haven’t left the Pacific Time Zone in three weeks, and the offense has pieced it together. In the five ensuing games, it averaged 80.8 points per game and made more than half of its shots in four of those victories. 

‘We knew we had to do something after those losses, and I think we did a great job of coming together and focusing on day-by-day, focusing on the next day, and just trying to stick through it,’ said forward Tyler Bilodeau. ‘We knew we were going to get over the hump and we just have to keep doing that.’

The rise of the 7-footer 

There’s been a catalyst during the run, and it’s happened by accident. In the Jan. 21 win over Wisconsin, 7-foot-3-inch Spain native Aday Mara entered the game after not getting any playing time the game before and completely dominated the Badgers. Offensively and defensively, Wisconsin had no answers for Mara’s dominance near the bucket as he posted a career-high 22 points.

Since then, Mara has seen his role increase, going from getting garbage time and spot minutes to the delight of the home crowd to being a difference maker on the court. He can effortlessly grab rebounds, shows finesse posting up around the rim and his long arms are resulting in opposing players having their shots swatted into the crowd or completely missing the net.

‘I saw him early in the year and I didn’t think he was very good,’ Izzo said. ‘I saw him in the last four or five games and I think he’s really good. He creates some problems for you offensively.

‘That kid’s gonna be really good,’ he added.

Defense gets to Spartans

The offense has been scoring for the Bruins, but Tuesday’s win over the Spartans was a vintage performance from a Cronin team. UCLA shot only 35% from the field – it’s worst shooting night of the season – and in the second half, went nearly eight minutes without a field goal as Michigan State clawed back.

But what did it do to stay in the game? Cause havoc defensively. 

Michigan State turned the ball over a whopping 16 times. Izzo joked fans sitting courtside should have had helmets ‘because the ball was just kind of flying over there.’ Those turnovers led to the Spartans unable to get into transition opportunities and 19 points off turnovers for the Bruins, who only coughed the ball up three times in the contest.

“I told the guys, if we get to the NCAA tournament and we play every game with three turnovers, we’ll cut the nets down,” Cronin said.

The defensive intensity was something Izzo didn’t think his team handled well, calling it “the most physical game I’ve been in the Big Ten in a long time.” The physicality is why a tough bucket by UCLA’s Eric Dailey Jr. with seven seconds left was the game-winner. 

Whether it’s shooting at a high percentage or clamping down defensively, UCLA is finding ways to win at the right time. In addition to the home crowd going from a snoozefest to a raucous one, the Bruins are creeping toward becoming a March Madness lock, getting the double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament and winning the conference. 

Could the fiery criticism from Cronin be the reason the Bruins turn it around? Don’t rule it out.

‘They lost four in a row and everyone pronounced them dead,’ Izzo said. ‘Sometimes you need a jolt, and he gave them one.’

“You better hope he keeps yelling.’

NEW ORLEANS – Jason Kelce is everywhere but the football field following his retirement from the NFL, a 13-year career all spent with the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Cam Jurgens took over the starting center role with practically impossible shoes to fill, but Kelce’s replacement on the gridiron hasn’t made his absence noticeable where it matters most for the Eagles. 

“I think he’s done a phenomenal job,” Philadelphia left guard Landon Dickerson said of Jurgens. “I mean, everybody’s going to compare him to (Kelce). But Cam is Cam. He’s going to do his own thing. He’s filled the role of playing center for the Philadelphia Eagles extremely well.” 

Jurgens, a third-year player from Nebraska, earned his first Pro Bowl selection in 2024. 

The role he stepped into never affected him, at least publicly. 

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

“I’m not trying to replace anybody. I’m just trying to be the best player I can be,” Jurgens said before the Eagles’ Week 1 game in Brazil. “That’s all I really care about. I mean, there’s gonna be scrutiny. Doesn’t really matter who I (replace).”

There hasn’t been much to criticize. Behind two elite offensive tackles in Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson (both second-team All-Pro selections in 2024) – and a strong interior of Dickerson, Jurgens and Mekhi Becton, a reclamation project turned suitable starter – Eagles running back Saquon Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards during the regular season.

For Jurgens, serendipity played a part in his role from the cattle farm he was raised on to the stage of the Super Bowl. 

“I got drafted to the best location,” Jurgens said Monday night. “I got to learn from (Kelce). I got to learn from everybody in that room.” 

Jurgens played 35 snaps during his rookie regular season (nine in the playoffs) and didn’t hit the field in Super Bowl 57. He entered 2023 as the starting right guard, playing alongside Kelce, but missed six games due to injury. The experience was nonetheless invaluable, Eagles offensive line coach and run game coordinator Jeff Stoutland said. 

“I don’t know that any of this would have ever happened for him had he not played the right guard spot and had a chance to be next to maybe the greatest center that ever played,” Stoutland said. 

Jurgens purposefully sat next to Kelce in every meeting. Listening to calls being changed at the line of scrimmage and organizing protections in the heat of the moment – whether it was during walkthrough or a game – while next to him, Stoutland said, “you have no idea how much that (helped).” 

How Jason Kelce helped Eagles pick Cam Jurgens: ‘We nailed that one’

Kelce’s curiosity is partially why Jurgens wound up with the Eagles. 

“Kelce always wants to learn everything, always wants to learn something,” Stoutland said. “And he’d say ‘Hey Stout, you mind if I come up and watch some tape with you? On how you evaluate players and stuff?’” 

One day during the early part of 2022, they pulled up the guy from Nebraska’s tape. 

“(Kelce) was like, ‘Wow, this guy,’” Stoutland recalled. “So he actually had a little part in that.” 

Stoutland had his “parameters” for evaluating centers, and Jurgens certainly fell within them.

“Now, what are the chances someone’s gonna be there when your time is up on the board?’ Stoutland said. ‘A lot of things have to happen. It has to be like a roulette ball almost, you know, waiting to hit your number.” 

Jurgens’ name had yet to be called when the Eagles went on the clock in the second round of the 2022 draft (No. 51 overall). 

“We nailed that one,” Stoutland said. “I didn’t think he’d be around at that point, to be honest with you.”

Jurgens was recruited to Nebraska as a positionless athlete and entered the program as a tight end before moving to center. Eagles backup center Nick Gates said he can tell Jurgens touched the ball in his youth.  

“He’s a hell of an athlete, so that’s really cool to see him get out there, especially with the way we run certain plays, like our draws and stuff like that,” Gates told USA TODAY Sports. “That wouldn’t work without an athletic center and (him being) able to pull around and get around and get up on linebackers. It opens up a lot in our playbook.” 

Even though Jurgens, 25, is four years younger than his backup, Gates has noticed the way Jurgens prepares himself every week. 

“He teaches me a lot,” Gates said. “I can learn a lot from a young guy. It’s been pretty cool.”

Former NFL offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth, a Super Bowl 56 champion with the Los Angeles Rams and now an analyst for Amazon, had a chance to connect with Jurgens after he accompanied Kelce to the Eagles’ wild-card round win over the Green Bay Packers last month. 

Listening to Kelce and Jurgens go over some plays during their conversation was proof of how much Jurgens desires feedback, Whitworth said. 

“He’s got that demeanor, you can tell – a lot of the good centers I’ve been around (are) really never satisfied with every little part of the communication and how things fall. Like, ‘this could be better, that could be better,’ really driven that way,” Whitworth told USA TODAY Sports.

Having Johnson and Mailata to neutralize edge rushers makes Jurgens’ job easier than most centers, Whitworth said. Who his position coach is also helps.

“Stoutland is Stoutland for a reason,” Whitworth said. “He’s unbelievable and a great coach and, nothing to take away from Cam, that’s an unbelievable group that he’s getting to do with it, too.” 

That doesn’t diminish the external pressure Jurgens faced.

“I mean, what a task it is to replace a guy who’s an all-time player like Jason,” said Whitworth, who said Jurgens is “just a big ball of muscle” built for playing center. “It’s a really tough one.” 

Bringing the juice – and a mullet

Jurgens was the best man in former Nebraska and Eagles tight end Jack Stoll’s wedding over the summer, and Jurgens surprised the groom by showing up in a matching mullet. The hairdo has remained throughout the season. He said he might cut it after the Super Bowl. 

“It feels good on me, man, I will say that,” Jurgens said. 

Ready to fill any role – whether it’s being best man for a mullet or replacing arguably the most beloved athlete in Philadelphia history – comes easy to Jurgens. 

“Cam’s awesome. He just brings the juice and the energy,” Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said. “You see where his career is probably gonna take him. It’s gonna be a really special place, and we feel very fortunate to have him.”

“Weird,” Auriemma, Connecticut’s legendary coach, deadpans in bemusement.

Auriemma acknowledges that, once upon a time, he might have leaned into that villain role for a rivalry that boomed with a blur of talent and two iconic coaches.

Now, as a 70-year-old coach past his prime – his words – he’s more indifferent to his casting. And, frankly, this rivalry is past its prime, too. The sport grew. Other powers emerged. TV ratings don’t hinge so much on these blue bloods playing.

If some fans wearing orange for Thursday’s No. 5 UConn vs. No. 17 Tennessee game in Knoxville still see Auriemma as the villain, so be it.

What’s a rivalry without a villain, anyway?

“I just represent what is not necessarily copacetic for the people in Knoxville,” Auriemma told me Monday, “but I think I’m on a long, illustrious list of villains, so I feel pretty good about it.”

Whether Auriemma deserves that label probably depends, in part, on which side of the Tennessee-UConn rivalry you support, but there should be little debate on this: Auriemma’s magnetic, polarizing presence breathes some life into the embers of what once was the greatest rivalry in women’s team sports.

If Lady Vols faithful feel some type of way about Auriemma, he figures that must stem from his 17-9 all-time record against Tennessee, including a 6-3 mark in matchups played in Knoxville. Thirteen of Auriemma’s series wins came against Pat Summitt.

“Because we had the audacity to come in there and win, and win, and win, we become the villains,” Auriemma said.

“Just like whoever the football coach is at Georgia is the villain, or whoever the coach is at Alabama is the villain, or Florida, or any other school that Tennessee has these intense rivalries with, I just think by the nature of the sport and who you are and the success that you’ve had automatically makes you a villain.”

Call him what you like, but, face it, at this stage in the series, Auriemma’s the best thing going for what’s left of the rivalry.

Future of Tennessee-UConn women’s basketball rivalry

Thursday will mark the fifth meeting between these teams in the past six seasons. The Huskies won the previous four games.

The Lady Vols will play at Connecticut next season. That game’s date and location – UConn splits home games between Storrs and Hartford – have not been announced.

After next season, the series enters an undecided future.

Auriemma, on Monday, made neither a strong pitch to continue nor end the series. The Big East, he said, will add two conference games next season, upping the number to 20. That affects non-conference scheduling.

“We’ll have to take a look at, how many SEC schools can we play? Who do we want to start a new series with? How many different conferences can we add to our non-conference schedule?” Auriemma said. “A lot goes into it. And, their coaching staff might decide, ‘Hey, this is not worth it for us, given what our schedule looks like.’”

Geno Auriemma contrasted, complemented Pat Summitt

Competing for ‘king of the mountain.’ That’s how Auriemma describes the rivalry’s prime.

The two heavyweight programs clashed as many as three times in a season in an unmatched collection of talent, each team led by coaches on the Mount Rushmore of women’s basketball coaches.

Summitt and Auriemma were contrasting but complementary forces that fueled a sport. She, a pioneer for women’s sports and gender equity at the vanguard of the Title IX generation and the winner of eight national championships. He, a male interloper in women’s basketball who owns an unmatched 11 national championship rings.

She, the dairy farmer’s daughter turned steely Southern woman who ran her program as a disciplinarian while radiating class and grace. He, an Italian-American immigrant, the son of factory workers, a ruthless winner and a sharp-tongued feather-ruffler.  

The rivalry uplifted the sport but challenged the coaches’ relationship, while Auriemma stirred emotions around a Tennessee program he once dubbed the “evil empire.”

Summitt halted the series following their 2007 meeting. The rivalry went dormant until 2020. Summitt later wrote in her book, “Sum It Up,” her decision to stop playing the Huskies stemmed from her becoming upset with UConn’s recruiting methods. Auriemma offered a contrasting viewpoint, telling the Hartford Courant in 2007 that Summitt put the kibosh on the series because “she hates my guts.”

They later mended their relationship. Auriemma became the first coach to donate to the Pat Summitt Foundation to fight Alzheimer’s. Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease caused Summitt to retire in 2012. She died in 2016 at age 64.

Kim Caldwell, 36, now coaches the Lady Vols, their third coach since Summitt and the first not attached to the Summitt coaching tree. She’s instilled a fresh vision, while Auriemma’s Huskies remain a contender on the heels of last year’s Final Four run, but neither program holds the perch it once did.

Auriemma becomes pensive when he considers that most of his contemporaries have either retired or passed away.

“All the experiences that I’ve had, and all that I’ve been through with so many (coaches) – and, certainly, probably none bigger than the rivalry with Pat and with Tennessee – it was a unique time. It was a fun time. It was a stressful time,” Auriemma said. “Every emotion you can imagine was involved in those rivalry games.”

Geno Auriemma: ‘No sneaking past Tennessee’ in rivalry’s heyday

Point Auriemma toward memory lane of the Tennessee-UConn rivalry, and he’s quick to identify his favorite aspect.

“If there were 30 great players in America at the time, 10 of them were on the floor in the Tennessee-Connecticut game all the time. All the time,’ Auriemma said. ‘There was no sneaking past Tennessee.”

And the worst aspect of the rivalry?

“The worst part was when it became personal. It wasn’t Tennessee and Connecticut anymore. It was Geno-Pat. And, that kind of sucked,” Auriemma said. “That part sucked, because it didn’t need to be that. Certainly, our fan base contributed to it. Their fan base contributed to it. I guess that’s just the nature (of a rivalry). What can you do?”

Before this series resumed in 2020, a few former Lady Vols who played for Summitt shared their feelings on the rivalry, including Abby Conklin. She summarized her thoughts on Auriemma thusly.

“I think Geno’s an ass,” Conklin told me then.

Some who will fill the seats in Thompson-Boling Arena on Thursday likely share her opinion.

Auriemma maintains, though, that some folks in Knoxville retain fondness for him, including at a bar that shall go unnamed that he’s known to visit while in town.

“They love me there,” he says. “I’m not a villain everywhere.”

Blake Toppmeyer is a columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer. Subscribe to read all of his columns.