LATIMES.COM/SPORTS S D5
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Pacific W LOLPtsGFGA
Vegas 37 24 8 82 219 206
Edmonton 36 24 8 80 217 209
Calgary 36 26 7 79 207 210
Vancouver 35 26 6 76 222 211
Arizona 33 28 8 74 193 183
DUCKS 28 32 8 64 176 215
San Jose 29 34 4 62 176 214
KINGS 26 35 6 58 165 206
Central W LOLPtsGFGA
St. Louis 40 18 10 90 218 189
Colorado 40 19 8 88 229 183
Dallas 37 22 8 82 178 172
Winnipeg 35 28 6 76 208 199
Minnesota 34 26 7 75 212 209
Nashville 33 26 8 74 210 215
Chicago 31 29 8 70 206 214
Note: Overtime or shootout losses worth one point.EASTERN CONFERENCE
Metropolitan W LOLPtsGFGA
Washington 40 20 7 87 233 210
Philadelphia 40 20 7 87 229 193
Pittsburgh 39 21 6 84 215 183
Columbus 32 21 15 79 177 182
N.Y. Islanders 35 23 8 78 186 185
N.Y. Rangers 36 27 4 76 224 211
Carolina 35 25 5 75 208 187
New Jersey 27 28 12 66 181 221
Atlantic W LOLPtsGFGA
Boston 43 13 12 98 222 169
Tampa Bay 42 20 5 89 235 185
Toronto 35 25 9 79 236 226
Florida 33 26 8 74 225 226
Montreal 31 29 9 71 209 213
Buffalo 29 30 8 66 191 212
Ottawa 24 32 12 60 185 234
Detroit 16 48 5 37 138 258NHL STANDINGS
RESULTS
AT DUCKS 2
TORONTO 1Ryan Miller relieved injured John Gibson in the third
period as the two combined to stop 30 of 31 shots.AT NEW JERSEY 4
ST. LOUIS 2Cory Schneider made 31 saves as the lowly Devils
snapped a 12-game losing streak against the Blues.
AT DETROIT 2
CHICAGO 1Tyler Bertuzzi and Robby Fabbri scored and the Red Wings
hung on to stop their fifth six-game skid of the season.AT WINNIPEG 4
VEGAS 0Connor Hellebuyck had 29 saves for his league-high sixth
shutout of the season in the Jets’ fifth straight home win.
AT CALGARY 3
ARIZONA 2Matthew Tkachuk assisted on all three goals and the
Flames improved to 6-3-1 in their past 10 games.
AT VANCOUVER 6
COLORADO 3Zack McEwen scored twice, once on a power play, and the
Canucks stopped their four-game losing streak.
For complete NHL summaries, go to latimes.com/sports/scoresTODAY’S GAMES
Minnesota at KINGS, 1 p.m. Carolina at N.Y. Islanders, 10 a.m.
Washington at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m. Nashville at Dallas, 11 a.m.
Buffalo at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Montreal at Florida, 4 p.m.
New Jersey at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. Ottawa at San Jose, 4 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Boston, 4 p.m. Columbus at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
SUNDAY’S GAMES
Minnesota at DUCKS, 6 p.m. Carolina at Pittsburgh, 10:30 a.m.
Tampa Bay at Detroit, 2 p.m. Vegas at Calgary, 4 p.m.
St. Louis at Chicago, 4:30 p.m. Colorado at San Jose, 7 p.m.
Columbus at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
MONDAY’S GAMES
Colorado at KINGS, 7:30 p.m. Washington at Buffalo, 4 p.m.
Arizona at Winnipeg, 5 p.m. Florida at St. Louis, 5 p.m.
Vegas at Edmonton, 6 p.m.QUINN HUGHES(43) and the Canucks congratu-
late one another after a victory over the Avalanche.Darryl DyckAssociated PressLakers.
“What was more impres-
sive to me was his defense on
Giannis,” Lakers coach
Frank Vogel said. “Starting
in the first half ... for him to
take on that assignment and
still do what he did offen-
sively, just an incredibly re-
markable two-way perform-
ance.”
James finished with 37
points on 12-of-21 shooting,
with seven assists and eight
rebounds. Anthony Davis
added 30 points for the Lak-
ers. Antetokounmpo fin-
ished with 32 points, 11 re-
bounds and six assists.
“This is a game I call MVP
talk,” Jared Dudley said in a
post on Twitter moments af-
ter the game. “And one mans
game did a little more talk-
ing tonight. Took the chal-
lenge and guarded the reign-
ing MVP ... Make sure y’all
put that shot chart up!”
The Bucks came to town
with the best defensive rat-
ing in the NBA and that
showed in the first quarter.
The first quarter was the
Lakers’ second-lowest scor-
ing quarter of the season —
the 19 points they scored was
just two more than they
scored in a quarter in Mil-
waukee in December.
The Bucks weren’t much
more prolific — the Lakers
have the third-best defen-
sive rating in the league —
but the Lakers had trouble
handling Antetokounmpo
without fouling him. Davis
picked up two fouls in the
first four minutes of the
game and played only nine
minutes and 53 seconds in
the first half.“It was playoff intensity, I
felt like,” Vogel said. “I felt
like our guys had playoff
nerves or whatever. They
were just a little hesitant and
needed to settle down. ... It
definitely felt like two teams
feeling each other out and
had a playoff atmosphere to
it.”
Antetokounmpo and
James each had scored 12
points at the half, and their
teams were tied at 48. Brook
Lopez also contributed 10
first-half points for the
Bucks. The Lakers didn’t
have any other double-digit
scorers, but JaVale McGee
had an impressive defensive
half with three steals, one
block and six defensive re-
bounds in 10:43.
At halftime the Lakers
figured out how to score on
the league’s best defense.They scored 39 points in
the third quarter, outscoring
the Bucks by 11. Avery Brad-
ley took two charges in the
third quarter. James scored
14 points and Davis contrib-
uted 11. The Lakers made 14
of 23 shots and led by as
many as 15 points.
Milwaukee threatened to
spoil the Lakers’ night in the
fourth quarter. With James
on the bench, the Bucks cut
the Lakers’ lead to four but
couldn’t get closer.
On one play, James’ shot
rolled around the rim before
dropping through the net.
When he got to the free-
throw line, fans from the
courtside seats to the upper
decks stood and shouted
“M-V-P, M-V-P!”
They do that often, but
on this night it carried a little
more meaning.ANTHONY DAVIS GRABSa rebound against Milwaukee’s Pat Connaughton during the second half as
LeBron James watches. Davis had 30 points and nine rebounds despite some early foul trouble.
Gary CoronadoLos Angeles TimesLakers clinch playoff berth
[Lakers, from D1]
teammates in the pregame
huddle.
Then it was on, the battle
between basketball’s two
most famous first names.
M-V-who?
First quarter, Giannis
owns it.
Giannis drives through
four Lakers and lays the ball
in while being fouled by
Anthony Davis for a three-
point play. Giannis dunks.
Giannis drives and scores
and is fouled by Davis again.
Giannis scores the Bucks’
first seven points, and 10 of
the first 13 points.
LeBron passes. LeBron
turns down shots. LeBron
struggles. LeBron is called
for a cheap charging foul.
With 6:35 left in the first
quarter, Giannis has
outscored LeBron, 10-0. By
the end of the quarter, the
margin is 10-2.
Second quarter, LeBron
owns it.
LeBron hits a layup.
LeBron drives the baseline
and dunks. LeBron throws a
wrap-around pass to JaVale
McGee for a dunk. James
drive around Wesley
Matthews for a dunk.
In the final minute of the
quarter, LeBron steals the
ball from Giannis and
throws it down the court,
where Kyle Kuzma drains a
trey to land the game in a
halftime tie at 48.
Third quarter, LeBron is
still owning it.
LeBron hits Davis on an
alley-oop. James sinks a
three-pointer directly in
Giannis’ face. LeBron sinks
a fade-away jumper from
the corner and screams at
Jay-Z sitting courtside.
LeBron has a perfect assist
to a wide-open Danny
Green for a trey. LeBron
drives into two Bucks and
scores on Giannis’ goaltend-
ing. LeBron drives around
Giannis for a layup and here
come the MVP chants. The
Lakers outscore the Bucks
by 11 in the quarter, and
James’ fire is a big reason
why.
Fourth quarter, LeBron
seals it.
LeBron steals under the
Bucks basket. LeBron hits a
driving layup. LeBron hits
another driving layup and is
fouled. He dances in front of
the Laker bench and here
come those three letters
again, loud and unanimous.
“M-V-P! M-V-P!”
The game ends with
LeBron spinning and dunk-
ing on Donte DiVincenzo,
then hitting a free throw to
give the Lakers a 113 -10 3
victory and make a huge
statement about a potential
title rematch with the
rough-and-tumble pre-
sumptive NBA favorites.
The Lakers can defend
these guys. The Lakers can
rebound with these guys.
The Lakers can handle
these guys.
Meanwhile, the individu-
al battle ends with LeBron
outscoring Giannis 37-32,
with LeBron recording one
more assist and Giannis
grabbing four more re-
bounds.
And, with about 20
games remaining, for many
the question still looms:
Who should be the MVP?
Is it Giannis, 25, last
season’s MVP, the incum-
bent who is in the top four in
the league in scoring and
rebounding while ranking
first in player efficiency
rating?
Or is it LeBron, 10 years
older, four-time MVP who
amazingly hasn’t won the
award in six years, leads the
league in assists — assists!
— while ranking 12th in
scoring and averaging five
more minutes a game than
Giannis.
Even before Friday night,
people were arguing, influ-
ential people, convincing
people, staunchly taking
both sides of the issue.
“Oh, it’s Giannis by a
landslide,” said analyst and
former MVP Charles Bark-
ley to the Times’ Brad Turn-
er.
Not so fast.
“I’m just amazed they
talk about anybody other
than [James] for MVP,” said
New Orleans Coach Alvin
Gentry to reporters lastweekend.
It turns out, both men
are right.
Barkley is correct that
the voting should be a land-
slide. But Gentry is correct
that the landslide should be
for LeBron.
LeBron is the MVP. He
deserves it more. He’s ac-
complished more. He
should have already
clinched it. If folks can see
through the clutter of num-
bers to the clarity of the
situation, he has to win it.
This is coming from a
columnist who ripped him
as much as anyone last
season, publicly scolding
him for being uninterested
and disengaged. This is
coming from a LeBron
skeptic who, after his first
winter as a Laker, couldn’t
understand all the fuss.
I understand now.
I’ve seen it now. I’ve
witnessed how James has
lifted the Lakers from em-
barrassment to powerhouse
under conditions ranging
from troublesome to hor-
rific.
I’ve watched Kirk Gibson
carry the Dodgers in 1988,
and this is it. I lived through
Shaquille O’Neal lifting the
Lakers in 2000, and this is
that.
“I’m not sure what the
definition of MVP is,” Gen-
try told reporters in exas-
peration.
This season James
hasn’t only earned it, he’s
redefined it.
8 An MVP is someone
who bonds and leads and
often carries a basically
brand-new lineup from 37
wins to the second-best
record in the league. That
lineup added the great
Davis, yet Davis arrived here
without consistent dura-bility or winning creden-
tials. Under LeBron, he has
since shown both. The
renewal of the entire Lakers
team, from Dwight Howard
to Alex Caruso, has ex-
ceeded all expectations, and
LeBron has enabled it.
8 An MVP is someone
who, by his play on the
court, settles a potential
nightmare on the bench.
Remember last summer’s
front-office meltdown?
Remember how it ended
with the hiring of little-
known Frank Vogel as
coach? There were jokes,
there was immediate talk of
mutiny, it could have been
ugly. Yet by both his empow-
ering actions and his open
praise, LeBron gave Vogel
the credibility necessary to
implement his smart and
savvy game plan. LeBron
not only leads the league in
assists on the court, but off
the court as well.
8 An MVP is someone
who holds the team to-
gether during tragedy. Since
the Jan. 26 death of Kobe
Bryant, the grieving Lakers
have somehow managed
keep playing hard and fo-
cused through the pain. In
the first game after Bryant’s
passing, LeBron gave a
remarkable pregame
speech. He promised the
mourning Staples Center
fans that the Lakers would
honor Bryant with their
play. They have done just
that.
Giannis has better stats
than LeBron, but he has
achieved them under far
less difficult circumstances.
Granted, he stars for a
team with the NBA’s best
record, but that team won
60 games last season. They
were supposed to be this
good. He doesn’t need to
extend himself every night
like James. While LeBron
has clawed, Giannis has
cruised.
Granted, he’s not playing
with the someone like Davis;
his top supporting actor is
Khris Middleton, but the
bulk of his lineup was to-
gether last season. He didn’t
have to worry about a learn-
ing curve. He didn’t have to
break in a new coach. He
could just play.
The chants continued
deep into Friday night, the
question that will circle the
league for the rest of the
season already answered by
many of 19,000 witnesses of
this dramatic title fight.
M-V-who? M-V-King.MVP? That race is now settled
THE GAME within the game featured LeBron
James, left, versus Giannis Antetokounmpo.Gary CoronadoLos Angeles Times[Plaschke, from D1]
Carter Rowney and Ad-
am Henrique scored and
John Gibson and Ryan
Miller combined to stop 30
shots in the Ducks’ 2-1 win
against the Toronto Maple
Leafs on Friday.
Gibson made 26 saves be-
fore he left the Honda Cen-
ter ice with 9:40 remaining,
after Henrique’s goal. Gib-
son appeared to be injured
while making a save on a
shot by John Tavares.
Miller stopped four shots
in relief. It was the 778th ap-
pearance of his career, which
moved him past Tom Bar-
rasso for second place for
games played by U.S.-born
goaltenders.
The Ducks have won two
straight and four of their last
six.
“It’s not a good feeling,
but it’s better when you’re
staring at a two-goal lead,”
Miller said about enteringthe game late. “Thankfully
we had the buffer and we had
a good win. I thought the
guys played a good game.
Gibby was really sharp all
night. It’s too bad he had to
leave.”
William Nylander scored
with three minutes remain-
ing for Toronto, which
snapped a Leafs’ scoring
drought of 144 minutes, 33
seconds. Jack Campbell
made 29 saves as Toronto
has lost its last three, includ-
ing a sweep by the Southern
California teams.
“We were hard on them
and didn’t allow them to get
turned up the ice in the neu-
tral zone,” Miller said. “They
wanted to turn around and
we were on them. It was a
pretty effective way to keep
them frustrated.”DUCKS 2, MAPLE LEAFS 1
Toronto ....................................0 0 1 — 1
DUCKS ....................................1 0 1 — 2
FIRST PERIOD: 1. DUCKS, Rowney 8 (Backes, Del
Zotto), 3:17. Penalty—DUCKS bench, served by Steel
(delay of game), 11:38.
SECOND PERIOD: Scoring—None. Penalties—Holl,
Tor. (tripping), 7:48. Clifford, Tor. (fighting), 14:40.
Deslauriers, DUCKS (fighting), 14:40. Marner, Tor. (trip-
ping), 18:38.
THIRD PERIOD: 2. DUCKS, Henrique 25, 10:20. 3.
Tor., Nylander 30, 17:00. Penalties—Backes, DUCKS
(boarding), 3:25. Sherwood, DUCKS (tripping), 11:45.
SHOTS ON GOAL: Tor. 8-8-15—31. DUCKS 13-13-2—- Power-play conversions—Tor. 0 of 3. DUCKS 0 of 2.
GOALIES: Tor., Campbell 11-12-3 (28 shots-26
saves). DUCKS, Gibson 20-26-5 (26-26), DUCKS,
Miller 8-6-3 (5-4). Att—15,984 (17,174). T—2:25.
DEFENSEMANMatt Irwin checks Toronto’s Al-
exander Kerfoot against the boards at Honda Center.Marcio Jose SanchezAssociated PressMiller finishes
off win after
Gibson exits
Ducks goalie helps
fend off Maple Leafs
to secure team’s fourthwin in six games.
DUCKS 2, TORONTO 1wire reports