The Los Angeles Lakers have suffered 29 losses already this season, but the 118-115 defeat against the Kings on Thursday night had its high points.
Kobe Bryant put on a show in the first half, the young players got to lead a comeback from down 21 points before falling short late, and rookie D'Angelo Russell had a breakout game after an up-and-down start to his career.
Russell finished the night with a career-high 27 points, 19 of which came in the second half, to propel a comeback attempt. The Lakers were down 102-86 to start the fourth quarter. It was the type of performance that was expected from Russell, 19, when he was drafted second overall after leaving Ohio State.
"Y'all ain't seen nothing yet that's all I'm going to say," Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters tweeted Russell saying after the game. "They [Kings] got lucky but the world hasn't seen anything yet."
Those appear to be strong words from a rookie, especially one who NBA observers say has looked tentative and has had his role change several times with the team. Lakers fans are used to having franchise players such as Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant display confidence to the point of cockiness. They're just hoping Russell has turned a corner in his young NBA career.
The D'Angelo Russell Breakout Tour might have to be put on hold for a while. He was diagnosed with an ankle sprain after landing awkwardly late in the game and is listed as day to day.
Fashion on par
Rickie Fowler is easily recognizable by his wardrobe on the PGA Tour, with his flat-brimmed hats and colorful outfits. It seemed like his clothes got more mention than him being one of the Tour's premier players, until his victory in the 2015 Players Championship.
This week, Fowler's been prepping for one of his more extreme departures from the typical golf uniform. He's been wearing high-top tennis shoes and shortened jogging pants in Hawaii at the Tournament of Champions.
Fowler's latest wardrobe has drawn considerable interest the first week of 2016, when pundits are checking out what equipment or sponsor changes players made in the offseason.
"During a recent meeting, Rickie expressed interest in wearing a high-top cleat shoe that could be worn with more progressive apparel," Puma's head of golf footwear, Grant Knudson, said in a statement. "The result is a stylish, cleated performance high-top that includes a lace and Velcro closure."
Hard to get over
Jordan Spieth had a great 2015 season, winning the first two legs of golf's Grand Slam -- the Masters and the U.S. Open. Spieth was asked this week at the Tournament of Champions about which loss in his career destroyed him the most.
"I made a double or triple on the last hole with a two-shot lead to a kid when I was 10," Spieth said. "Eddie DeVane. That one. Yeah."
He then talked about which loss post-adolescence hurt the most.
"I would say the Masters in 2014," Spieth said of the 54-hole lead he shared with eventual champion Bubba Watson. "That was the toughest loss I've had. Now it opened up a lot of doors for me, that's why it's, you can look at it a couple ways. But in my mind, when I look back now, that would be it.
"[Losing] just kind of sits deep within me. Just like an anger. But, fortunately, it makes me want to get out there and work a bit harder, just without really thinking about it."
QUIZ
Who was drafted third in the 2015 NBA Draft after Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell?
ANSWER
Jahlil Okafor was drafted third by the Philadelphia 76ers
Sports on 01/09/2016