Sports
Lakers start Vincent for LeBron in opener preview
LOS ANGELES — Using Friday’s preseason finale as a “dress rehearsal” for next week’s regular-season opener, Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick put Gabe Vincent in the starting lineup to fill in for the injured LeBron James.
Vincent capped a strong individual training camp with 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting (4-for-5 from 3), but the Lakers lost 117-116 to the Sacramento Kings to finish the preseason 1-5.
The regular season starts Tuesday night when the Lakers host the Golden State Warriors. Though the Vincent decision was made, there is plenty more for the Lakers to figure out in the next few days.
“We have two more practices, so we need to clean up some things,” said Luka Doncic, who scored a game-high 31 points to go with nine assists in 33 minutes.
Vincent said the coaching staff informed him about the lineup change Friday morning. If the staff was uncertain about the choice, Vincent helped his cause in the Lakers’ preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday when he scored 18 points in the first four minutes, going 5-for-5 from 3.
“I think I just bring what I’ve been doing since I’ve been here,” Vincent said when asked about his fit with the starters. “Just defending, try to defend at a high level. Playmake when I have opportunities, space the floor while Luka and [Austin Reaves] are creating themselves.”
James is not expected to return to the lineup until mid-November, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania, as he continues to recover from sciatica affecting the right side of his body.
Though Vincent will join Doncic, Reaves, Deandre Ayton and Rui Hachimura on the court to tip off the 2025-26 season, Redick made it clear that the current starters are not permanent.
“I don’t know anything about who I’m going to be starting the rest of the season because, again, there’s injuries and there’s things that happen throughout a year,” Redick said. “I have a pretty good idea who’s going to start Game 1. After that, I don’t know. But I do think in that lineup there’s lot of shooting around Luka and DA, and Gabe is another ball handler, another tough defender.
“I think he fits in well, but you have to take a look at every matchup we play against and have to make a decision there.”
Redick has downplayed the magnitude of his starting lineup decision repeatedly during training camp, pointing out that he used 25 starting lineups last season.
He and his team sounded far more concerned about their defense after allowing 59 second-half points to a Kings team that shot 54.7% overall and 44.8% from 3.
“I think in practice we were more physical,” Doncic said. “We need to work on our physicality.”
The Lakers were without one of their more physical defenders in center Jaxson Hayes for the second half Friday. He left the game because of a right wrist contusion after finishing a lob dunk in the first quarter. Redick said X-rays on Hayes’ wrist were negative, and the Lakers will have a further update on Hayes when they practice Sunday.
Former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, who had 14 points and four steals off the bench against Sacramento, vowed to help with the physicality in the meantime.
“Just follow my lead,” Smart said. “That’s really it. I’m going to try to set the tone each and every night. And just kind of piggyback off me.”
Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmatí will be out for five months after undergoing surgery on a broken leg on Tuesday, the Catalan club have confirmed.
Bonmatí, 27, fractured her fibula in Spain training over the weekend and returned to Barcelona immediately to begin her recovery.
“Bonmatí has undergone successful surgery on a fractured fibula in her left leg,” Barça announced in a short statement on Tuesday.
“The procedure was performed by Dr. Antoni Dalmau at Hospital Barcelona under the supervision of the club’s medical services. The expected recovery time is around five months.”
The three-time Ballon d’Or winner picked up the injury on Sunday as Spain prepared for Tuesday’s UEFA Women’s Nations League final second leg against Germany.
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She had initially wanted to stay with the Spain camp to support the team in their quest to retain the trophy, but was advised to return to Barcelona for treatment.
On Friday, she had played in the first leg in Germany, which ended in a goalless draw.
Bonmatí will now miss the majority of what remains of the club season, although there is a chance she could return for the run in.
The Champions League final, should Barça get there, is scheduled to take place in Oslo on May 22, with the final round of Liga F matches not set to take place until a week later.
The loss of Bonmatí complicates Barça’s options in the middle park, especially in the short-term, with both Patri Guijarro and Kika Nazareth also unlikely to feature again this calendar year due to injuries.
In the meantime, Laia Aleixandri will continue to push up from defence alongside Alexia Putellas, with youngsters Vicky López, Sydney Schertenleib and Clara Serrajordi set to compete for the final place in the middle of the park.
BYU men’s basketball star Kennard Davis returned from a two-game suspension Thursday after a DUI arrest earlier this month, scoring 18 points and adding five rebounds in the Cougars’ 72-62 win over Miami.
The forward played 32 minutes as BYU improved to 5-1 after winning in the Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Events invitational in Florida. Davis, who is averaging 9.0 points and connecting on 50% of his 3-point attempts, hadn’t played since Nov. 8.
Miami fell to 5-2.
He was arrested earlier this month after an accident that preceded his arrest on suspicion of DUI and possession of marijuana. He was treated for minor injuries. In his first court appearance, Davis pleaded not guilty.
The arrest threatened to complicate his career at BYU because the school’s honor code bans the abuse of alcohol and narcotics. A violation of that honor code can result in expulsion.
But Davis, whom BYU coach Kevin Young has called one of the top defenders he has ever coached, was back on the court for a Cougars team that has national title aspirations.
A former England international soccer player was arrested at Stansted Airport on Sunday on suspicion of attempted rape of a former partner.
ESPN has confirmed the identity of the individual, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Essex Police confirmed to ESPN that the man has been bailed until “late February 2026” pending further inquiries.
A police spokesperson said in a statement: “A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted rape and has been bailed to a date in late February 2026 while we continue our enquiries.”
The man was stopped at a passport control point at Stansted, as first reported by The Sun Newspaper. The complaint is believed to have been made by a former partner several weeks ago.
Barcelona confirm Bonmatí out for five months after surgery
Sean Penn’s charge shakes the Academy as boss breaks silence
BYU’s Davis scores 18 in return from 2-game ban
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