Johnston leans on Mack as he continues to push forward
The Sporting Tribune's Fernando Ramirez writes Quentin Johnston is receiving advice and support from Khalil Mack this season.
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1. Johnston leans on Mack as he continues to push forward
The Sporting Tribune's Fernando Ramirez writes Quentin Johnston is receiving advice and support from Khalil Mack this season.
This is different from the start Quentin Johnston envisioned when he was drafted with the 21st pick overall by the Los Angeles Chargers.
Eleven games into the season, his strongest game has been five catches for 50 yards against the Chicago Bears in week eight. He scored his first touchdown two weeks later against the Detroit Lions.
He is coming off two forgettable games against the Packers and Ravens. In Green Bay, he had a chance to make a game-changing catch on a crucial third down, which fell right out of his hands.
In the following game, Johnston had only one catch for seven yards. He injured his ribs in the third quarter and didn’t return.
Teammates have tried to rally around the rookie receiver to show him support.
2. Lakers struggle in OKC and take a big loss, 133-110
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder had their way all night as the Lakers road struggles continued, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Holdenn Graff.
The last few games for the Lakers have not been close ones at all, with 3 games in a row being decided by 23 points or more. Unfortunately, Thursday night’s game against the Thunder saw them on the wrong side of the situation. After a solid first quarter of play in which Los Angeles grabbed a 37-30 lead, Oklahoma City took command in the second.
They won the quarter 42-23 and took a 12-point lead into halftime. While the third quarter was closer, the Thunder still managed to extend their lead to an even 20 points and grab total control of the contest. They would eventually run through the tape with a 133-110 victory and snap a 2-game losing streak to collect win number 12 on the season.
3. Ducks fall to Capitals, lose eighth consecutive game
The Ducks lost their eighth consecutive game on Thursday night, falling 5-4 to the Washington Capitals, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Derek Lee.
A seven-game losing streak for the Ducks was extended to eight games on Thursday night after they failed to overcome a sloppy first period against the Washington Capitals.
Anaheim was down early after Anthony Mantha gave the visitors the lead just 90 seconds into the game, but Tristan Luneau equalized 22 seconds later. It was the first NHL goal for Luneau, who followed up his initial blocked attempt and shot into an essentially wide open net. The Ducks would take the lead just six minutes later when former Capital Brett Leason followed up on a rebound chance after Leo Carlsson undressed Capitals forward and former Duck Sonny Milano on a drive to the net.
“(Luneau) was terrific,” said Ducks head coach Greg Cronin. “You can see how dynamic he is offensively and how confident he is with the puck. He doesn’t look for safe plays. If they’re there, he’ll use the safe outlet, but when he has open ice and he has an opportunity to create a scoring chance, he does. It’s a nice weapon to have back there. You think about it, he’s a 19-year-old kid and he’s just getting better and better each game.”
4. Clippers fall short in another disappointing loss to Warriors, 120-114
The Warriors control the game in second half as the Clippers' woes continue in the second game of a back-to-back, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Grant Mona.
After a great bounce back victory in Sacramento on Wednesday, the Clippers put forth another lackluster effort against Golden State on Thursday. Steph Curry controlled the scoring throughout and Klay Thompson turned back the clock in the second half to down a lackadaisical Clippers squad in the second night of a back-to-back.
This team is an absolute rollercoaster. One night they look like they finally find their footing and the next they put forth a lethargic effort with bad rotations. This is the worst team play in this Paul George and Kawhi Leonard era so far.
While there were some positives in the first quarter, it just seemed like the Clippers could never catch the Warriors, both figuratively and literally. It was clear who the younger team was, as the Warriors found a ton of exploitations and wide-open shots were more common than not. Even without Chris Paul, Andrew Wiggins, and Gary Payton II, the Warriors looked like the superior team. Even on the second night of a back-to-back, there is no excuse for the effort put out by this team.
5. Golden Knights recover from stumble with 4-1 win in Vancouver
The Knights got one back in the win column on Thursday night to close a disappointing November for the team, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Will Despart.
The Golden Knights were able to once again end a subpar road trip on a high note. This time it was in Vancouver, the tail end game of a 3 game Western Canadian tilt against three worth opponents. After two gut-wrenching overtime losses in a row, the Knights got a much needed three points with a 4-1 victory on Thursday night.
The Knights jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period courtesy of goals from Ivan Barbashev and Jack Eichel. A William Karlsson goal on the power-play in the second period and one from Brett Howden to open the third pushed the Knigts lead to 4-0.
Vancouver would get one back late on Andrei Kuzmenko’s fourth goal of the season.
6. Video of the Day presented by Circa Resort & Casino
Sports Illustrated has come under fire after a report that the publication not only published articles written using artificial intelligence, but articles that were portrayed as being written by journalists who themselves were AI-generated.
7. Odds and Ends presented by Circa Sports
Here are some odds at Circa Sports if you’re thinking about placing a wager today:
8. Ticket Time presented by Golden Gate
Here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game today:
5:00 p.m. – Pac-12 Championship Game (Las Vegas) – $25
9. On the Air presented by The D Las Vegas
Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region today:
5:00 p.m. – Pac-12 Championship Game (Las Vegas) – FOX
10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune
Listen to The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune on The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii. You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher. You can also watch every Friday on BLEAV on FuboTV.
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That’s it for today. Talk to you on Monday!