For all the scrutiny the Los Angeles Lakers have been under lately, they’ve found themselves on a hot streak as winners of five of their last six games, capped off by an impressive 110-97 win over the New York Knicks on Sunday without LeBron James, who missed his second consecutive game due to injury.

LA (39-25) continues its long homestand on Tuesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves (40-24), who the Lakers trail by one game for third place in the Western Conference.

The Timberwolves are coming off a blowout 119-92 loss to the Orlando Magic on Saturday in what was a bad all-around shooting performance, converting just 35.7% of their attempts for their second-fewest points scored in a game all season. They start off a four-game road trip in LA on Tuesday.

The Lakers have won both of the previous meetings with Minnesota, but both of those games happened during the first week of the season.

Here’s how to watch the Lakers take on the Timberwolves on Tuesday night:

How to watch Lakers vs. Timberwolves: TV channel, live stream

Start time: 11 p.m. ET
Location: Crypto.com Arena (Los Angeles)
TV Channel: NBC, Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles)
Live stream: Fubo; Peacock; NBA League Pass (subscription required); Spectrum SportsNet+ (subscription required)

Watch NBA games on Fubo

Lakers vs. Timberwolves injury report

(Updated 10:30 p.m. ET on March 9)

Lakers: LeBron James (right hip contusion, left foot arthritis; questionable)

Timberwolves: Kyle Anderson (right knee soreness; questionable)

Lakers next five games

March 12 vs. Chicago Bulls
March 14 vs. Denver Nuggets
March 16 @ Houston Rockets
March 18 @ Houston Rockets
March 19 @ Miami Heat

Lakers vs Timberwolves odds:

(Odds according to BetMGM)

Spread: Timberwolves (-2.5)
Moneyline: Timberwolves (-125), Lakers (+105)
Over/under: 233.5

The stakes are pretty clear for this 7 p.m. ET matchup at Estadio Hiram Bithorn in San Juan. Puerto Rico has enjoyed home field advantage, its pitching staff holding opponents to just two earned runs in 28 innings – a 0.64 ERA – while getting just enough hits from the likes of team captain Martín Maldonado. 

Puerto Rico ensured it’d move on for the sixth time in as many WBCs with a 4-1 win over Cuba March 9. A victory over Canada ensures it would clinch the Pool A title; a loss and Canada victory over Cuba March 11 would send the Canadians onward for the first time in six WBCs and relegate Puerto Rico to the No. 2 quarterfinal entrant. 

Those are no small stakes; the Pool A runner-up will likely slot against Team USA, which plays Italy at 8 ET this evening. Right-hander José De León, who has pitched parts of seven seasons in the major leagues, will start for Puerto Rico, opposed by right-hander Jordan Balazovic, who made 18 relief appearances for the Twins in 2024. 

Where to watch Puerto Rico vs Canada WBC game

Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Live stream: Tubi

Watch Puerto Rico vs Canada on Tubi

Puerto Rico WBC roster

Pitchers: Raymond Burgos LHP, Fernando Cruz RHP, José De León RHP, Edwin Díaz RHP, José Espada RHP, Rico Garcia RHP, Jorge López RHP, Seth Lugo RHP, Jovani Morán LHP, Luis Quiñones RHP, Ángel Reyes RHP, Yacksel Ríos RHP, Eduardo Rivera LHP, Elmer Rodríguez RHP, Gabriel Rodríguez LHP, Ricardo Velez RHP

Catchers: Martín Maldonado, Christian Vázquez

Infielders: Nolan Arenado, Edwin Arroyo, Darell Hernáiz, Emmanuel Rivera, Luis Vázquez

Outfielders: Willi Castro, Carlos Cortes, Matthew Lugo, MJ Melendez, Heliot Ramos, Eddie Rosario, Bryan Torres

Canada WBC roster

Pitchers: Logan Allen, Micah Ashman, Phillippe Aumont, Jordan Balazovic, Eric Cerantola, Indigo Diaz, Brock Dykxhoorn, Antoine Jean, Adam Macko, James Paxton, Cal Quantrill, Noah Skirrow, Michael Soroka, Jameson Taillon, Matt Wilkinson, Rob Zastryzny

Catchers: Bo Naylor, Liam Hicks

Infielders: Josh Naylor, Edouard Julien, Abraham Toro, Otto Lopez, Tyler Black, Matt Davidson, Adam Hall

Outfielders: Tyler O’Neill, Owen Caissie, Denzel Clarke, Jacob Robson, Jared Young

Despite UConn continuing its undefeated season by blowing out Villanova in the Big East Tournament Championship game, not everyone thinks the Huskies are the best team in the country.

In the latest USA TODAY Sports’ women’s basketball coaches poll, UConn is no longer the unanimous No. 1 team. One coach on the panel believes that UCLA is the best team in the country.

And there’s a legitimate argument to be made for the Bruins, after they comfortably beat Iowa by 51 points in the title game of the Big Ten Tournament on Sunday, March 8. UCLA has 18 Quad 1 wins – which is 10 more than UConn – and it is No. 1 in WAB (wins above bubble) while UConn is fourth. The Bruins are also first in strength-of-schedule based on the average NET rating of their opponents, while UConn is 58th.

Heading into Selection Sunday, UConn is first in the coaches poll, UCLA is second, Texas is third and South Carolina is fourth. And that’s likely how the No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament will shake out as well, according to the latest bracketology from USA TODAY Sports.

Elsewhere in the poll, Duke was the biggest riser, gaining four spots to check in at No. 10 after beating Louisville in the ACC Tournament Championship in Duluth, Georgia. Maryland and Baylor each fell three spots after suffering early exits in their conference tournaments.

Alabama fell out of the poll and Notre Dame jumped in at No. 25 after advancing to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. The Fighting Irish had been ranked as high as 13th this season, but hadn’t appeared in the poll since Jan. 13.

Rhode Island, Fairfield, Rice and South Dakota State were among the mid-major teams that also received votes.

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark will play in her first game in eight months on Wednesday, March 11.

But don’t expect Clark to play big minutes as part of Team USA’s FIBA World Cup Qualifying roster, playing in Puerto Rico from March 11-17. USA Basketball coach Kara Lawson and her staff will figure out what lineups work best and two other points guard ― veteran Chelsea Gray and fellow newbie Paige Bueckers ― are also on the roster.

“This is a different stage,” Clark said. “You’re not going to come out here and be the star player. That’s not how it’s going to be for USA Basketball. You’re going to find a way to help the team win. You’re going to find a way to compete to the best of your ability.”

Team USA plays Senegal on Wednesday (5 p.m. ET, TNT/HBO Max), marking Clark’s first game since July 15, when she strained her right groin in Boston against the Connecticut Sun. That strain, her fourth muscle strain of the season, knocked her out of the WNBA All-Star Game. An ankle injury in early August forced her to miss the remainder of the WNBA season as the Fever advanced to the semifinals.

After extensive rehab and practice to get back to 100%, Clark is ready to go. It will be her debut on the USA Basketball Senior National team. She admits some butterflies.

“Maybe nerves, to a certain extent, but probably almost like butterflies,” Clark said. “Like, this is a super cool opportunity. And if you didn’t feel that way, you probably don’t really care enough about it. Like, certainly that’s how I feel about it.

“I haven’t played basketball in eight months, so getting to do it at this level for my first time back, like there’s no better way than to get tossed out into the fire and figure it out. … I’m going to be hyped up and probably a little anxious, but in a good way.”

USA Basketball has already qualified for the World Cup, which is set for Sept. 4-13 in Berlin, but the organization is playing in the qualifying tournament to get reps for younger players and try out lineups and rotations.

How to watch Team USA: Schedule

All times Eastern

Team USA Women’s World Cup Qualifying 2026 – Team Roster

Below are the players selected to represent the U.S. at the upcoming FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

Monique Billings
Paige Bueckers
Rae Burrell
Caitlin Clark
Kahleah Copper
Chelsea Gray
Dearica Hamby
Rhyne Howard
Kiki Iriafen
Kelsey Plum
Angel Reese
Jackie Young

Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter.

There’s a new (old?) team atop the USA TODAY Sports NBA power rankings.

As the NBA calendar turns to the final month of the regular season, races for playoff seeding are tightening.

In the East, the difference between the top two teams, the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics, is just 2 ½ games. In the West, that margin between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs is only 3 games.

But there’s also a glut of teams in the middle of the Eastern Conference vying to climb out of the play-in picture, all of which points to a thrilling finish in the 2025-26 regular season.

Here are USA TODAY Sports’ NBA power rankings after Week 18 of the 2025-26 regular season:

USA TODAY Sports NBA power rankings

Note: Records and stats through March 9. Parentheses show movement from last week’s rankings.

NBA Week 19 power rankings: Top 10

1. Oklahoma City Thunder, 51-15 (+1)

2. San Antonio Spurs, 47-17 (+1)

3. Detroit Pistons, 45-18 (-2)

4. Boston Celtics, 43-21 (—)

5. Minnesota Timberwolves, 40-24 (+1)

6. New York Knicks, 41-25 (-1)

7. Cleveland Cavaliers, 40-25 (— )  

8. Houston Rockets, 39-24 (—)

9. Los Angeles Lakers, 39-25 (+1)

10. Denver Nuggets, 39-26 (-1)

The Pistons have picked a terrible time to sputter. For the first time this season, Detroit is on a four-game losing streak, and the Pistons have lost those games by an average margin of 8.0 points. One of those losses came against the 17-win Nets. Detroit’s defensive rating in the last four games? It’s 119.7, which ranks 25th in the NBA. Compare that to the team’s overall defensive rating this season: 108.9, which ranks second in the league.

That has opened the door for the Thunder to reclaim their spot as the top team in the NBA. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Oklahoma City are doing this with mounting injuries, and SGA is coming for his second-consecutive Most Valuable Player award.

Not only that, but the return of Jayson Tatum has given the Celtics a massive boost, and with Boston sitting just 2 ½ games back of Detroit, the Celtics may very well make a push for the top seed in the East. Boston, according to Tankathon.com, has the third-easiest remaining schedule in the NBA.

NBA Week 19 power rankings: Nos. 11-20

11. Phoenix Suns, 37-27 (+1)

12. Miami Heat, 36-29 (+3)

13. Orlando Magic, 35-28 (+1)

14. Toronto Raptors, 36-27 (-1)

15. Los Angeles Clippers, 32-32 (+4)

16. Atlanta Hawks, 31-31 (—)

17. Philadelphia 76ers, 34-30 (-4)

18. Charlotte Hornets, 32-33 (-1)

19. Golden State Warriors, 32-32 (-1)

20. Portland Trail Blazers, 31-34 (—)

The most exciting race in the NBA? It might be the fight for the No. 5 and 6 seeds in the Eastern Conference, where six teams (Raptors, Magic, Heat, 76ers, Hawks, Hornets) have a legitimate shot to climb into those spots.

The team with the most momentum in that group is Miami, which is on a five-game winning streak. In the absence of All-Star Norman Powell, Tyler Herro has returned to form and the Heat have the NBA’s top offensive rating (123.3 points per 100 possessions) over the last five games. The key will be to keep that consistency and offensive flow once Powell returns. The Hawks have also won six consecutive and the Magic have four in a row. Things are tightening up.

And, with a huge win Monday, March 9 over the Knicks, the Clippers climbed back to .500 for the first time since Nov. 3, when L.A. was 3-3. Kawhi Leonard has been ultra consistent, and the moves for Darius Garland and Bennedict Mathurin (18.4 points per game since joining the Clippers) have stabilized the offense.

NBA Week 19 power rankings: Nos. 21-30

21. Milwaukee Bucks, 27-36 (—)

22. Chicago Bulls, 26-38 (+1) 

23. Memphis Grizzlies, 23-40 (-1)

24. Dallas Mavericks, 21-43 (—)

25. New Orleans Pelicans, 21-45 (—)

26. Utah Jazz, 20-45 (—)

27. Brooklyn Nets, 17-47 (+2)

28. Washington Wizards, 16-47 (-1)

29. Indiana Pacers, 15-49 (-1)

30. Sacramento Kings, 15-50 (—)

Frankly, there’s not a whole lot to be excited about in this group, other than the upcoming draft. The bottom three teams in the West by record, the Pelicans, Jazz and Kings have each won their most recent games. That may not seem like much, but it is progress.

Consider this: as NBA reporter Tom Haberstroh (and later, Marc Stein) noted at one point last week, the bottom 10 teams in the league had combined to lose their last 44 games.

One team that hasn’t been looking to tank, however, the Bucks, have sputtered even as Giannis Antetokounmpo has returned. Milwaukee has lost five of their last six, as new addition Cam Thomas has been wildly inconsistent.

MILAN — The 2026 Winter Paralympics are underway, and Team USA is looking for a medal haul. Get to know the top American athletes competing at the Milano Cortina Games.

Declan Farmer, Sled hockey

The most decorated Paralympic hockey player of all time, Declan Farmer enters his fourth Paralympic Games holding the U.S. sled hockey record for goals, assists, and total points – along with three gold medals.

Declan debuted with U.S. sled hockey at 14, and the Tampa, Florida native played in his first Paralympic Games at 16. With 420 career points, the forward has tallied a whopping 141 points more than the second-place player.

“It’s like having Michael Jordan on your team. It’s the biggest advantage in the world,” teammate Jack Wallace said.
”You can just get him the puck in pretty much every situation, and something good’s gonna happen.” — Alex Carpenter

Steve Emt, Wheelchair mixed doubles curling

A veteran leader and the oldest member of Team USA at 56, Steve Emt takes the ice for the Paralympic Games’ newest curling discipline, wheelchair mixed doubles.

With more than a decade of experience, the 56-year-old motivational speaker and former UConn Huskies walk-on guard is determined to help Team USA win its first medal in Paralympic curling.

“Our program has come through the roof. The USOPC basically told USA Curling, hey, we gotta start winning medals,” said Emt. “The brass and USOPC have all done a great job of putting expectations on us. We’re in a business. USOPC wants medals. That’s fine, alright … So we’re going to start delivering some medals.” — Alex Carpenter

Oksana Masters, Para biathlon

The 36-year-old Oksana Masters is a dual-season Paralympian, who owns 10 gold, seven silver and three bronze medals across both the Summer and Winter Games. The 20th medal, which she earned March 7 in the women’s sitting biathlon, made her just the sixth American ever to win 20 or more Paralympic medals.

She’s earned six of her 10 gold medals in the winter, holding the title for most decorated Winter Paralympian of all time.  Masters is an eight-time Paralympian, qualifying for every Summer and Winter Paralympics since 2012. 

Masters’ first-place showing in the women’s sitting biathlon gave Team USA its first gold medal of the 2026 Winter Paralympics. — Trevor McGee

Brenna Huckaby, Para snowboard

Three-time Paralympic gold medalist Brenna Huckaby returns to her third Winter Games in Milano Cortina.

The 30-year-old Para snowboarder debuted at the 2018 PyeongChang Games and came home with gold medals in the women’s snowboard cross and the first-ever women’s banked slalom gold – the only two events she competed in. 

Huckaby added another gold in the banked slalom in Beijing in 2022.

Huckaby garners a large social media following while balancing life as a mother of two. She has over 120,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 500,000 followers on TikTok. Huckaby is also a co-founder of the media collective “Culxtured.” — Trevor McGee

Audrey Crowley, Para Alpine skiing

Audrey Crowley is a young phenom who is looking to make waves during her first Paralympic Games.

Crowley, 19, was born into a skiing family and has been looking forward to this moment her entire life.

“This is a really big opportunity to just kind of show everyone what I’m capable of, kind of what I’ve been working toward,” Crowley said.

In her first year competing in the 2025 FIS Para Alpine Skiing World Cup, she won bronze in the women’s standing giant slalom, igniting onto the para skiing scence.

She graduated from the Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy last May and will enroll at the University of Denver this fall. — Jordan Smitherman

Zach Miller, Para Snowboard

Seven-time world cup medalist Zach Miller enters his second Paralympic Games with more to give. 

The Silverthorne, Colo. native was born with cerebral palsy and joined his first snowboard team at age 13. 

Now, a leader on the U.S. Para Snowboard team, Miller won his first world title in 2022 but injured two discs in his back shortly before his Paralympic debut in Beijing. He competed with the injury but finished 11th in snowboard cross.  

The following year, Miller was named the “Best Athlete with a Disability” at the 2023 ESPY awards. Through early competition in the 2026 Games, Miller has already beat his previous best with a 6th-place finish in snowboard cross. 

Healthy and ready for the magnitude of the moment, Zach Miller is an athlete to watch. — Allie Campbell

Allie Campbell, Alex Carpenter, Trevor McGee and Jordan Smitherman are reporters for the Paralympics Project, a partnership between USA Today Network and the College of Communication and Information at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

We’re less than a week until this whole deal becomes official.

Before hitting Selection Sunday, conference tournaments will determine which teams burst the NCAA bubble, which Cinderella teams serve as bid stealers and which four teams land on the No. 1 line.

There are changes at the top of the updated USA TODAY Sports bracketology as Florida rises and replaces Connecticut, which ended the regular season with a thud by losing to Marquette.

That loss handed the Big East regular-season crown to rival St. John’s and likely results in the Huskies earning a No. 2 seed.

Meanwhile, the defending national champs have rounded into form by winning 11 in a row to win the SEC regular-season title by three games. This torrid run more than offsets Florida’s non-conference loss to UConn and has the Gators in position to secure a No. 1 seed by avoiding an early exit from the conference tournament.

The bubble remains a mess. Virginia Commonwealth has joined the field. For now, Indiana slides in as the last at-large team in the field despite a 3-11 mark against Quad 1 and a 3-2 record Quad 2 competition. But there’s hope for Cincinnati, West Virginia, Auburn and others to make a move in conference tournaments.

Eight teams have already punched their tournament tickets in Long Island (Northeast), Queens (Atlantic Sun), High Point (Big South), Northern Iowa (Missouri Valley), Tennessee State (Ohio Valley), Furman (Southern Conference), North Dakota State (Summit League) and Troy (Sun Belt.).

March Madness bracketology: NCAA Tournament projection

Teams in bold have clinched tournament berth.

March Madness last four in

Santa Clara, Virginia Commonwealth, SMU, Indiana.

March Madness first four out

Cincinnati, West Virginia, Auburn, Stanford.

NCAA tournament bids conference breakdown

Multi-bid leagues: SEC (10), Big Ten (10), ACC (8), Big 12 (8), Big East (3), West Coast (3), Atlantic 10 (2), Mountain West (2).

The NBA is taking action after Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic’s latest interaction with officials.

At the 4:35 mark of the third quarter in the Lakers’ 110-97 win over the New York Knicks on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena, Doncic attempted to draw a charge on Knicks forward Mohamed Diawara on a fast break, but no foul was called and the Knicks got a transition layup.

While still laying on the floor, Doncic rubbed his fingers together on both hands, making the universal money sign.

Two days later, Doncic has been fined $50,000 for ‘directing an inappropriate and unprofessional gesture toward a game official,’ NBA executive vice president and head of basketball operations James Jones announced via a statement released by the league on Tuesday.

This is the latest instance of Doncic butting heads with referees. On March 6, he received his 15th technical foul of the season, putting him just one call away from an automatic one-game suspension. He’s currently the player with the second-most technicals in the NBA, behind only Dillion Brooks.

Luka Doncic stats

Gesture aside, Doncic played as well as he has all season in Sunday’s game, scoring 35 points on 44% shooting with eight rebounds and four assists. His season averages are on par with his career numbers and his 32.5 points per game leads the NBA, positioning himself to win the scoring title and as a legitimate contender in the MVP race.