Austin Reaves injured in Lakers’ victory

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: The Lakers won their seventh straight game. They could lose something bigger.

Star guard Austin Reaves left Wednesday’s 123-112 win over the Milwaukee Bucks with a left heel injury and did not return.

Reaves, who scored 18 points with five assists and three steals, landed awkwardly on a blocked dunk attempt during the third quarter but stayed in the game despite appearing to be in discomfort on the bench during an ensuing timeout. He remained in the game for three minutes before appearing to aggravate the injury on a drive toward the basket. He asked to sub himself out on the next possession.

Reaves’ initial X-rays were negative, Lakers coach JJ Redick said, and the guard, averaging a career-best 23.5 points on 50.8% shooting, will undergo further imaging. Initial tests have ruled out any potential Achilles injury, Redick said.

The Lakers finished their first extended trip of the season unscathed in the standings, improving to 11-2 and still the best record in the league, but had to limp across the finish line Wednesday after injuries struck.

Historic victory for UCLA men

Serbian star Nikola Kusturica scored 17 points and Jaylen Pettit added 16 as No. 9 UCLA routed Arkansas Pine Bluff 106-37 Wednesday night and set a program record for margin of victory.

The Bruins (3-0) won by a record 69 points. UCLA’s previous largest margin of victory was 65 points, accomplished three times and most recently in a 122-57 win over Portland in 1967, a mark that stood for 59 years.

Trent Perry finished with 11 points and 11 assists for his first double-double.

Macaleab Rich led Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-3) with 11 points.

UCLA used a 20-0 run early to build a 33-4 lead in the first half.

USC men defeat Cal

Alijah Arenas had 19 points and seven rebounds, Rodney Rice added 18 points and five rebounds, and No. 21 USC beat California 77-65 on Wednesday night in a nonconference matchup between the former Pac-12 foes.

Jacob Cofie contributed 13 points, matched his career high with rebounds and dished out six assists and KJ Lewis scored 16 for USC (3-0), which dominated on the boards 53-36.

Sammie Yeanay scored 14 points and Nojus Indrusaitis 13 to lead the Golden Bears (2-2) on a night 5,087 fans turned out for the 8 p.m. tipoff.

Chargers trade is called off

From Austin Knoblauch: The Denver Broncos announced Wednesday night that a proposed trade for Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley has been called off.

The trade was pending the results of a physical, but the Broncos did not explain why the deal will not be finalized. Henley was listed on the injury report last week with a shoulder injury, but he practiced in full Thursday and Friday before the Chargers’ 44-22 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday.

Shortly before the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, the Chargers reached an agreement with the Broncos for Henley in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round draft pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick.

Ducks lose to Nashville

Shane Wright, Nils Hoglander and Jayden Struble had a goal and an assist apiece, and the Nashville Predators extended their winning streak to six games with a 4-2 victory over the Ducks on Wednesday night.

Hoglander put Nashville ahead with a remarkable between-the-legs goal in the second period, and Justus Annunen made 27 saves to win his fourth consecutive start. Steven Stamkos also scored late in the third period.

One night after a comfortable shutout of the Kings, the Predators completed the Southern California sweep by cooling down the surging Ducks, whose five-game winning streak ended.

Will the Dodgers sign Tarik Skubal?

From Maddie Lee: The Dodgers’ early offseason to-do list includes a meeting with top free agent Tarik Skubal, the two-time Cy Young winner who they acquired at the trade deadline this year.

Other than the Dodgers’ National League Championship Series exit, the three-month fling was as happy of a partnership as either side could have hoped.

Skubal jelled with the group immediately, becoming especially close friends with fellow lefty Blake Snell, who promised that he’d worked to recruit Skubal back this offseason. And after posting a 2.61 ERA in 10 starts, Skubal, the Dodgers’ Game 1 starter in both playoff series, limited postseason opponents to a total of three runs.

“I know that he enjoyed his time here, we loved having him, so I think that’s certainly helpful as far as these conversations go,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said Tuesday at General Managers meetings. “And outside of that, he’s earned the right to be in this position and figure out what’s best for him and his family.”

This day in sports history

1892 — William “Pudge” Heffelfinger becomes the first pro football player by getting $500 to play for the Allegheny Athletic Assn. against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. Heffelfinger doesn’t disappoint his bosses, returning a fumble for a touchdown to give Allegheny a 4-0 victory.

1920 — Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis is hired as baseball’s first commissioner.

1931 — Maple Leaf Gardens opens in Toronto, with the Chicago Blackhawks winning 2-1 before 13,233 fans.

1967 — Travis Williams of Green Bay returns two kickoffs for touchdowns against Cleveland, and the Packers beat the Browns 55-7. The Packers score 45 points in the first half, 35 in the opening quarter.

1972 — Richard Petty wins a record fourth NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National championship after finishing third in the Texas 500.

1972 — Don Shula becomes the first NFL coach to win 100 regular-season games in 10 seasons when the Miami Dolphins beat the New England Patriots 52-0.

1994 — Prairie View loses 52-7 to Jackson State, breaking an NCAA Division I-AA record with 45 straight losses. Columbia lost 44 straight from 1983-88.

1995 — Miami’s Dan Marino breaks Fran Tarkenton’s NFL career record of 47,003 yards passing with a 9-yard pass to Irving Fryar during the Dolphins’ 34-17 loss to the New England Patriots.

2006 — Indianapolis edges Buffalo 17-16 to become the first team to have consecutive 9-0 records.

2007 — Top-ranked Roger Federer loses consecutive matches for the first time in 4 1/2 years, falling to No. 7 Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 4-6, 7-6 (1), 7-5 at the Masters Cup.

2010 — Minnesota’s Kevin Love grabs a franchise-record 31 rebounds and scores 31 points, the NBA’s first 30-30 game in 28 years. Love grabs 15 rebounds in the third quarter alone, and the Timberwolves rally from a 21-point, third-quarter deficit to stun the New York Knicks 112-103. Moses Malone was the last player to have a 30-30 game — 32 points, 38 rebounds for Houston against Seattle in 1982.

2013 — Keith Dawson tips in a miss with less than six seconds left to give No. 2 Michigan State a 78-74 victory over top-ranked Kentucky. It’s the earliest meeting of 1 vs. 2 in AP poll history and the first since 2008.

2016 — Anthony Moeglin throws a 24-yard touchdown pass to William Woods with 39 seconds left to lift John Carroll to a 31-28 win over Mount Union. The loss ends the Purple Raiders’ NCAA-record 112-game regular-season winning streak. The Division III powerhouse hadn’t lost since Oct. 22, 2005.

2017 — Brittany Force becomes the NHRA’s first female Top Fuel season champion since Shirley Muldowney in 1982 in the season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals. Force is the daughter of 16-time Funny Car champion John Force.

2019 — Former Houston Astros MLB pitcher Mike Fiers reveals the team secretly “stole signs” via camera from visiting teams.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time...

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.