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3:09 AM ET

As if the Los Angeles Lakers weren’t already struggling enough, down two starters heading into Wednesday’s game against the Utah Jazz, a blowout 114-89 loss only highlighted the rut the defending champions are in.

With Anthony Davis (right leg) and Dennis Schroder (health and safety protocols) sidelined, the Jazz jumped all over the Lakers. They led by as many as 29 points in handing L.A. its fourth loss in a row and fifth in its past five games since Davis aggravated his tendinosis and suffered a calf strain a week and a half ago.

Utah has won 15 straight at home.

“They’re playing like the best team in the league right now,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said of Utah, which shot 22-for-48 from 3 in the rout.

And the Lakers, still third in the Western Conference standings at 22-11, aren’t playing anywhere near

Getty Images

So much for the clash of the titans. With the Utah Jazz surging their way to 21 wins in their past 23 games and the Los Angeles Lakers wearing the crown as defending NBA champions, Wednesday’s battle between the two looked, on paper, like one of the marquee games of the year. But with Anthony Davis dealing with a calf strain and Dennis Schroder out due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the Lakers didn’t have close to enough firepower to hang with the NBA’s best team so far this season. The Jazz blew them out, 114-89. 

The Lakers will see the Jazz again for a two-game series in April and, by then, Davis and Schroder should be back in the lineup, but they were completely outgunned in this one. No Laker scored even 20 points.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Jarrett Allen tied his career high with 26 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and blocked four shots as the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled away for a 112-96 win over Houston on Wednesday night, extending the Rockets’ losing streak to nine games.

It was another outstanding performance by @_bigjayy_ (26 points, 10-11 FG, 18 rebounds, 4 blocks), but he accepts none of the credit — he gives it all to his @cavs teammates for finding him, and to the fans for cheering him on.#BeTheFight | @Angel_Gray1 pic.twitter.com/XbeWcAUaK8

— FOX Sports Cleveland (@FOXSportsCLE) February 25, 2021

Allen, who leads the NBA making 67.2% of his field goals, went 10 of 11 from the floor as Cleveland won for the second straight evening after dropping its previous 10 contests. It beat Atlanta 112-111 on Lamar Stevens’ dunk with 4.1 seconds left Tuesday.

“At 22 years old, Jarrett is not near

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The full roster pool for the 2021 NBA All-Star game is now set. Reserves were revealed on TNT on Tuesday night and starters were announced last week. As always, 12 players from each conference were selected, but there has been one slight change. Devin Booker has been named as an injury replacement for Anthony Davis. 

The conference restrictions were only for voting purposes, as the league will use a player draft for the third straight season with the leading vote-getter in each conference serving as the captain. This year, LeBron James and Kevin Durant will serve as the two captains. The draft is set for March 4. The All-Star game itself will be played on March 7 in Atlanta. 

Here’s a look at the full list of 2021 All-Star selections: 

Eastern Conference

Head coach: Doc Rivers, Philadelphia

Devin Booker will replace the injured Anthony Davis as a Western Conference All-Star reserve, the NBA announced Wednesday. Booker, an All-Star last season, was widely considered to be among the biggest snubs when rosters were announced on Tuesday. Now in his sixth season, Booker is averaging 24.7 points, 4.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game on a Suns team that currently has the fourth-best record in the NBA. 

But Booker struggled, at least by his standards, early in the season to fit alongside new Suns guard Chris Paul. Booker dipped to 22.9 points per game in his first 14 outings, and then missed his next four after that due to a hamstring injury. But once he returned, Booker averaged 26.8 points per game across his next 12 games to get the nod. 

Davis, an All-Star starter last season,

9:03 AM ET

Tim BontempsESPN

Although he lost the chance to celebrate winning the 2019 NBA championship because a law enforcement officer wrongly prevented him from stepping on the court, Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri said what he thinks about is the many other minorities who find themselves losing far more after encounters with police.

“As much as we say ‘Yeah, this happened to me,’ there’s worse that’s happened to other people, right?” Ujiri said during an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” that aired Wednesday morning. “I lost a moment. People have lost their lives.”

It was Ujiri’s first television interview since the lawsuit against him by Alameda County Sheriff’s deputy Alan Strickland was dropped earlier this month.

“I say it as humbly as I can: The privilege of the job I have is to fight for this,” Ujiri said. “They are wrongly accused, there

1:07 AM ET

Golden State Warriors star guard Stephen Curry dropped 37 points in a 114-106 win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night, delivering a scoring performance that has become commonplace in a career defined by big nights. But this particular performance was even more impressive given that it came just days after being a last-minute scratch in Saturday’s 102-100 loss to the Charlotte Hornets as Curry battled an illness that left him “disoriented” and out of sorts.

“Steph was tremendous,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the game. “Just amazing. He was moving beautifully, obviously there were no ill effects from his illness the other night. Moving really well right from the start. New York is a great defensive team. They’re big and physical, so they make it tough, but Steph found a way to score. It was not easy, but he found a way and

7:00 PM ET

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker was selected Wednesday to replace injured Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis in the NBA All-Star Game.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver choose Booker to take Davis’ spot a day after Booker was snubbed by the league’s head coaches for a reserve spot in the March 7 game in Atlanta.

“Devin Booker is the most disrespected player in our league!!! Simple as that,” Lakers star LeBron James tweeted after Booker was left out Tuesday.

Davis, voted in as a reserve, is sidelined by a strained right calf.

Booker received his second straight All-Star selection, both as an injury replacement. He’s averaging 24.7 points, 4.3 assists, 3.8 rebounds and shooting a career-high 50.1% from the field.

Booker and fellow All-Star Chris Paul have helped Phoenix to a 20-10 record, fourth-best in the NBA. The Suns last