In a game that featured nine ties and 14 lead changes through the first 30 minutes, the Nuggets took control in the final 10, outscoring the Lakers 30-15 in the fourth quarter to secure a 106-84 win at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center.

Neither team led by more than six points until the final 12 minutes, but Denver did outscore the Lakers in all four quarters. The Nuggets shot 52% from the field while holding the Lakers to 41% and outscoring them 62-26 in the paint. The Nuggets also outscored the Lakers in fast-break points (21-6) and points off turnovers (19-7).

Cole Swider had 17 points and six rebounds and R.J. Davis had 17 points and three assists off the bench to lead the Lakers (1-4 in Las Vegas, 3-5 overall this summer), who played without second-year guards Bronny James and Dalton Knecht.

Ethan Taylor added 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Sir’Jabari Rice had 14 points and three rebounds.

Curtis Jones paced the Nuggets (2-3) with 22 points, five rebounds, eight assists and two steals. Reyne Smith had 17 points off the bench, while Donovan Williams had 16 points and six rebounds and Terrence Hargrove Jr. contributed 12 points and six rebounds.

After going 2-1 at the four-team California Classic in San Francisco, the Lakers had a loss to Cooper Flagg and Dallas, a win against New Orleans and losses to the Clippers, Boston and Denver in Las Vegas.

The Clippers (3-1), who needed a blowout win to advance, trailed by 10 points after the first quarter and by 19 at halftime before staging a second-half rally that got them within three points with 1:08 left. Cam Christie missed a 3-point attempt with four seconds left, and the Nuggets (1-3) made a pair of free throws to close out the win.

Jordan Miller had 23 points on 6-of-13 shooting to go with 14 rebounds and four assists in 35 minutes to lead the Clippers. Patrick Baldwin Jr. added 16 points, six rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots in 27 minutes, while Christie had 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Trentyn Flowers added 12 points and five assists.

Neither team shot the ball well, with the Clippers shooting 36% overall and the Nuggets at 38.7%. The Clippers hoisted 38 shots from behind the arc but made just nine, with Christie (6 for 17 overall, 2 for 10 from 3-point range) and Flowers (5 for 19 overall, 2 for 11 from deep) struggling to find their range.

Second-year forward/center DaRon Holmes II continued a strong summer showing for the Nuggets with 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting to go with 16 rebounds, five assists and two steals. Spencer Jones added 17 points, six assists, three steals and two blocks and Tamar Bates contributed 11 points, seven assists and two steals.

The Clippers will conclude their summer league schedule against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday at 5 p.m.

James scored all of his team-high 18 points after halftime in the Lakers’ 87-78 Summer League loss to the Boston Celtics on Thursday night at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center. The second-year guard, who had six turnovers during his scoreless opening half, finished the night with five assists, three rebounds and one steal to go with eight turnovers. He shot 7 for 13 from the field (1 for 4 from 3-point range) in 28 minutes.

DJ Steward had 14 points and five assists, while shooting 6 for 11 from the field (2 for 5 from 3-point range). Christian Koloko contributed 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting, six rebounds and six of the Lakers’ 12 blocked shots to go with three assists and two steals in 25 minutes.

Cole Swider added 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting (2 for 5 from 3-point range) and four rebounds, but second-year wing Dalton Knecht was held to eight points and three rebounds while shooting 3 for 12 (1 for 6 from behind the arc) in 31 minutes.

The Lakers (1-3 in Vegas, 3-4 overall this summer) outshot the Celtics overall (44.3% to 38.5%), but Boston shot 12 for 38 from 3-point range (31.6%) while the Lakers were just 6 for 28 (21.4%) from the perimeter. The Lakers were also outrebounded 42-31, giving up 15 offensive rebounds.

The Lakers led 26-21 after one quarter, but the Celtics outscored them 19-9 in the second for a five-point halftime lead. The Celtics held a double-digit lead (65-55) going into the fourth and the Lakers never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.

Jordan Walsh had 17 points and six rebounds to pace the Celtics (3-1). Hugo Gonzalez added 13 points and five rebounds and Kenneth Lofton Jr. had 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in 20 minutes.

The Lakers face the Denver Nuggets on Friday at 7 p.m.

Ohtani announced a new children’s book, “Decoy Saves Opening Day,” with an Instagram post of his dog, Decoy, on Thursday.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Shohei Ohtani | 大谷翔平 (@shoheiohtani)

The 32-page book, which Ohtani co-authored with Michael Blank, is set for release next February. The cover is an illustration of Ohtani and his dog, who is holding a baseball in his mouth.

According to the publisher HarperCollins, the plot follows an excited Decoy before he has to throw the first pitch of Opening Day. But Decoy realizes that he left his lucky baseball at home.

“Can he get his ball and make it back to the stadium before it’s too late?” teases the blurb on the Harper Collins website.

Ohtani is hoping to use the book’s sales to support animal rescue nonprofits, according to the publisher.

The three-time league MVP is batting .276 with 32 home runs, 60 RBIs and 91 runs scored this season, with the team set to resume play Friday night against the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium. Slowly resuming his two-way star duties, Ohtani has pitched nine innings over five games since mid-June as he returns from elbow surgery in September 2023.

Decoy memorably delivered a ceremonial first pitch before a Dodgers game against the Baltimore Orioles last August, coinciding with a bobblehead giveaway that featured both Ohtani and his dog.

Decoy and Shohei with the cutest first pitch you've ever seen. pic.twitter.com/fEoFRxMOH4

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 29, 2024

Bouanga scored his 11th goal when he sent a right-footed shot past Dayne St. Clair into the top left corner in the 42nd minute. The PK was awarded after Jeremy Ebobisse was fouled by defender Nicolás Romero, who received a yellow card.

Lloris finished with three saves for his league-high-tying ninth clean sheet of the season for LAFC (10-5-5, 35 points), which won in Minnesota for the first time ever in its seventh try (1-5-1).

Dayne St. Clair entered with nine shutouts and totaled five saves for Minnesota United (11-5-7, 40 points), which had a four-match unbeaten streak (3-0-1) end and dropped to 6-3-3 at home.

Both goalkeepers had to make diving two-handed saves to prevent goals in the first 22 minutes and keep the game scoreless. St. Clair’s came in the eighth minute when he turned away Bouanga’s curling free kick outside the box that was headed for the left corner, while Lloris stopped Joaquin Pereyra’s left-footed try from outside the middle of the box by the right post.

LAFC, playing its first match without team captain and star center-back Aaron Long, who ruptured his left Achilles tendon in a 2-0 victory over FC Dallas on Saturday, employed a five-man back line that shut down the Loons in the second half. Minnesota’s best scoring chance came in the 71st minute when Joseph Rosales tried a sharp-angle shot from the left side of the box that Lloris easily saved.

Bouanga twice had chances to add an insurance goal late in the game, but his one-on-one chip try against St. Clair from the middle of the box in the 87th minute went wide and St. Clair made a sliding kick save on his breakaway right-footed try in the 90th minute.

LAFC, which posted a 1-0 victory over Minnesota at home in the season opener, improved to 2-3-4 on the road. The club has outscored Colorado, FC Dallas and Minnesota 6-0 in its past three games.

UP NEXT

LAFC plays host to the rival Galaxy on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Miller had a strong offensive effort that helped offset James’ best performance of the summer, igniting a game-ending run that led the Clippers to a 67-58 victory in an NBA Summer League game on Monday night at UNLV’s Thomas and Mack Center.

The Clippers (3-0) held the Lakers to 22 field goals and 34.4% shooting while forcing 19 turnovers. Trailing with 3:26 left, the Clippers closed the game on an 11-0 run that started with a Miller 3-pointer. Zavier Simpson added a pair of free throws with 2:30 left, then a Miller driving layup made it a 63-58 lead with a minute left.

The Lakers’ Dalton Knecht missed a corner 3-point attempt with 45 seconds left, then a Miller steal and layup with 13 seconds left essentially iced the game. Miller tacked on another layup in the final seconds, giving him nine points during the game-clinching surge.

The Lakers (1-2 in Las Vegas, 3-3 overall this summer) missed their final seven shots of the night.

Miller finished with a team-high 19 points to go with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Simpson added 12 points, six assists, four rebounds and two blocked shots, while Patrick Baldwin Jr. contributed 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks and rookie first-round draft pick Yanic Konan Niederhauser had 10 points, two rebounds and two steals. Cam Christie added eight points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals.

James shot 6 for 10 from the field on his way to a team-best 17 points, while adding five rebounds and five assists in 24 minutes. Cole Swider had 16 points, five rebounds and three steals while shooting 6 for 14 from the field (4 for 11 from 3-point range).

Knecht added eight points, seven rebounds and two assists on a poor shooting night (3 for 15 overall, 1 for 8 from behind the arc), while Christian Koloko had eight points, three rebounds and three steals. Darius Bazley was held to one point, four rebounds and two assists while attempting just one shot.

On a night when neither team shot well, the Clippers opened a 22-13 lead after the first quarter. James and the Lakers right themselves some in the second quarter and outscored the Clippers 18-10 to trail by just one at halftime.

UP NEXT

The Lakers face the Boston Celtics on Thursday at 6 p.m. The Clippers face the Denver Nuggets on Thursday at 8 p.m.

Both teams will play at least one additional game on either Friday, Saturday or Sunday, with the Clippers still alive for a spot in the semifinals.

Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel responded to Tina’s Burritos at 2628 East Vernon Ave. at 9:30 p.m. regarding an injured worker in the factory’s kitchen. When firefighters arrived, they learned one person had died, ABC7 reported.

Police told ABC7 that the man was cleaning an industrial food processor when it turned on unexpectedly.

Other workers heard him yell and tried shut down the machine but couldn’t. The victim was dead when police arrived, ABC7 reported.

The factory was closed pending an investigation, according to KABC, but police believe the fatality was an industrial accident and do not suspect foul play.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health was expected to start their investigation into the worker’s death Monday.

There were no further details available.

City News Service contributed to this story.

The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Munroe slashed .346/.451/.593 with 13 home runs, 13 doubles and 61 RBIs in his only season at Louisville after two seasons at Logan Community College in Illinois. He was named to the all-tournament team at the College World Series last month.

Combined with the four pitchers they selected on Sunday, the Angels ended up with 14 pitchers (four left-handers) among their 21 total picks, to go with three outfielders, two third basemen, a shortstop and a second baseman.

Of their 21 total selections, nine players came from high school programs, including left-handers Talon Haley (12th round) and Xavier Mitchell (13th round). The 6-2 Haley, a Vanderbilt commit from Lewisburg, Mississippi, is a cancer survivor (non-Hodgkin lymphoma) who has already had two Tommy John surgeries. The 6-3 Mitchell is a Texas commit from Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, Texas. He pitched for the U.S. 18-and-under national team last summer but was shut down this season with shoulder fatigue.

After selecting Munroe, the Angels went back to pitching in the fifth round, taking 6-2 high school right-hander CJ Gray (140th overall) from Kannapolis, North Carolina. The N.C. State commit had scholarship offers to play quarterback at several mid-major programs and has a power sinker that reaches 96 mph to go with a slider and a solid changeup.

After selecting 6-4 right-hander Luke Lacourse from Auburn, Michigan, in the sixth round (No. 169 overall), the Angels grabbed Clemson sidearm specialist Lucas Mahlstedt in the seventh (No 199 overall). The 6-3 right-hander was the Tigers’ closer as a senior.

The Angels selected Arizona State outfielder Isaiah Jackson (No. 229) in the eighth round and Georgia third baseman Slate Alford in the ninth round (No. 259). The 6-3 Alford had a big senior season for the Bulldogs, slashing .331/.440/.649 with 19 home runs, 16 doubles and 63 RBIs in 60 games.

Missouri State second baseman Nick Rodriguez was their 10th-round pick (No. 289). The left-handed hitter slashed .368/.444/.702 with 18 homers, 22 doubles and 56 RBIs on his way to Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year honors.

After that, it was 6-5 Georgia lefty Alton Davis II in the 11th round, Haley and Mitchel in the 12th and 13th, high school outfielder TJ Ford (Trinity Christian School, Georgia) in the 14th round and 6-2 high school right-hander and South Florida commit Mikey Cascino (A3 Academy in Flordia) in the 15th. He threw a 17-strikeout no-hitter this past season.

The Angels selected speedy Florida State outfielder Gage Harrelson in the 16th round, 6-4 high school righty Cole Raymond (Avon Old Farms School, Connecticut) in the 17th, 6-foot UCF right-hander Angelo Smith in the 18th round, high school shortstop Ivan Tatis (Georgia Premier Academy) in the 19th round and 6-5 college right-hander Sam Tookoian (Mississippi) in the 20th round.

Patrick Baldwin Jr. had 22 points, 13 rebounds and three steals to pace the Clippers (2-0), while Cam Christie and Jordan Miller each added 21 points. Trentyn Flowers had 15 points and second-round draft pick Kobe Sanders contributed 13 points in 18 minutes off the bench, while Zavier Simpson added 12 points, four rebounds and five steals in 24 minutes.

Center Yanic Konan Niederhauser, the Clippers’ first-round draft pick last month, had two points, three rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot in 23 minutes. Kobe Brown, who left Friday night’s game against the Houston Rockets with what the team called a right ankle contusion, was held out.

The Clippers led by four points at halftime, but the Bucks closed the third quarter on an 8-2 run to take a 74-73 lead into the final period. The Bucks missed their first 10 shots of the fourth, and the Clippers took advantage, using a 15-0 run to open an 88-74 lead with 6:08 left. Christie scored the first six points of the run with three free throws and a 3-pointer.

Milwaukee used a 10-2 surge to get within 95-86 with 2:48 left, but the Clippers ended the threat.

Chris Livingston had 21 points to pace the Bucks (0-2), while the big man duo of Pete Nance (18 points) and Bogoljub Marković (14 points) provided a steady inside presence.

The Clippers shot 14 for 32 from 3-point range on a night when the teams combined for 42 turnovers (22 for the Bucks) and 53 fouls in the 40-minute game. Baldwin shot 4 for 10 from behind the arc, while Christie was 3 for 6 and Miller was 3 for 7. Simpson shot 2 for 3.

Swider shot 8 for 17 from the field, including a 4-for-9 showing from 3-point range, to go with 10 rebounds, four assists and a steal. With his father, Lakers star LeBron James, watching the team from a courtside seat, Bronny James added 14 points on 5-for-11 shooting (1 for 5 from behind the arc) to go with three assists, two steals and one blocked shot in 24 minutes.

Darius Bazley stood out with 12 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and five blocks despite a 4-for-12 night at the free-throw line. Christian Koloko had his best outing of summer league play with 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and three blocks. Arthur Kaluma (12 points) and RJ Davis (nine points, five assists) provided a spark off the bench.

The Lakers (3-2 overall this summer, 1-1 in Las Vegas) led by just three points with five minutes to play before using a 12-0 run to secure the victory. Bazley started the run with a long 2-point jumper, then DJ Steward (nine points) and Swider added 3-pointers. Bazley and James each added a free throw before Koloko made a short jumper to cap the surge for an 84-69 lead with 2:31 left.

The Lakers got off to a slow start. The Pelicans opened a 9-0 lead while the Lakers missed 10 of their first 11 shots, but James and the Lakers found their rhythm and held a 22-19 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Lakers held a 40-36 lead at halftime and and held a 64-59 advantage going into the fourth quarter.

Antonio Reeves paced the Pelicans (0-2) with 20 points, six rebounds and three steals, and first-round draft pick Derik Queen had 12 points and 13 rebounds in 27 minutes. Jeremiah Fears had 15 points on 5-for-21 shooting.

Second-year swingman Dalton Knecht was held out of the game for the Lakers. Second-round pick Adou Thiero, whom the Lakers selected with the No. 36 pick in last month’s draft, is not participating in the team’s summer league games. He’s in the final stages of his return-to-play process from a left knee ailment he dealt with at Arkansas and is expected to be fully cleared in time for training camp.

The Lakers’ next summer league game is against the Clippers on Monday at 7:30 p.m.