Toss Australia chose to bat against New Zealand

Australia captain Tim Paine won the toss and chose to bat first against New Zealand in the day-night first Test at Perth Stadium.

Kane Williamson's visitors were unable to choose Trent Boult as he continued his recovery from a side strain suffered against England, meaning a debut for the speedy Lockie Ferguson.

Australia's side was unchanged for the third match in a row, leaving David Warner to open the batting with Joe Burns. They have not lost a series at home to New Zealand since 1985.

Temperatures for Perth are currently nearing 39C, though they will ease and cool as the day turns into night.

Australia: 1 David Warner, 2 Joe Burns, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Travis Head, 6 Matthew Wade, 7 Tim Paine (capt, wk), 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood

New Zealand: 1 Tom Latham, 2 Jeet Raval, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 BJ Watling (wk), 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Trent Boult/Lockie Ferguson, 11 Neil Wagner

SAN DIEGO -- It was nearly a decade ago that the Los Angeles Angels missed out on the third baseman they so desperately coveted. Their owner, Arte Moreno, made a strong push for Adrian Beltre following the 2010 season, only to see him choose the division-rival Texas Rangers instead. It proved to be a devastating blow. The Rangers made the playoffs in four of the next six seasons, advancing all the way to the World Series. The Angels didn't win a single postseason game, and Beltre terrorized them at every opportunity.

On Wednesday, in the thick of an offseason they hope will kick-start another dominant run of contention, the Angels made their amends, signing superstar third baseman Anthony Rendon, the best available position player by a wide margin, to a seven-year, $245 million contract, as reported by ESPN's Jeff Passan.

The signing came one day after they finished a distant third for star pitcher Gerrit Cole. For Rendon, the Angels beat out the Rangers, who were motivated to add a superstar free agent to help christen their new ballpark, and the crosstown rival Los Angeles Dodgers, who were forced to come to the realization that Rendon was not necessarily interested in playing for them.

The Angels began the offseason with a desperate need for pitching. But rather than shift their focus to the next tier of free-agent starters when Cole spurned them for the New York Yankees, the Angels instead turned to the next available impact player -- Rendon, who makes their lineup fierce. He'll join Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani and Justin Upton and Albert Pujols and, eventually, Jo Adell, the promising prospect who projects as a perennial All-Star.

The starting pitching might now come via trade. Angels general manager Billy Eppler, speaking a few hours before getting serious in his negotiation for Rendon, said his phone has been "ringing a lot" with teams interested in their young, controllable, major league-ready players, a group headlined by starting pitcher Griffin Canning and infielder David Fletcher. Eppler could use either of those two -- or Luis Rengifo, Matt Thaiss, Patrick Sandoval or Jose Suarez -- to acquire someone who could serve either as a No. 1 or 2 starter via trade.

Corey Kluber of the Cleveland Indians, Yu Darvish of the Chicago Cubs and David Price of the Boston Red Sox are the big names available, but more conservative options like Robbie Ray of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Matthew Boyd of the Detroit Tigers exist.

The Angels also need catchers, and Eppler said he was engaged on up to four of them via free agency and another two on the trade front, one of whom is presumably Willson Contreras, who spent the past four years playing under new Angels manager Joe Maddon in Chicago. Considering the Angels began Wednesday roughly $70 million below the 2020 luxury-tax threshold, they might also be able to acquire a free-agent starter like Hyun-Jin Ryu, Madison Bumgarner or Dallas Keuchel.

In short -- the Angels want to win, they know there is a sizable gap to make up, and they're willing to do what it takes to accelerate their window. They made a promise to Trout, who eschewed free agency to sign a 12-year, $426.5 million extension despite barely ever sniffing October relevance. And they made a promise to Maddon, who chose to return to the organization despite having his pick of whichever managing job he wanted. They told them they were going to do what it takes to compete. And with the Houston Astros engulfed in a sign-stealing scandal that could yield significant punishment, perhaps now is as good a time as any to take the leap.

Only Trout, Mookie Betts and Christian Yelich have been worth more FanGraphs wins above replacement than Rendon, 29, over the past four years. During that stretch, from 2016 to 2019, Rendon batted .299/.384/.528, averaging 26 home runs and 101 RBIs. Last season, which ended in World Series triumph, he broke out, finishing third in National League MVP voting after batting .319/.412/.598 with 34 home runs and 126 RBIs for the Washington Nationals. His OPS was 1.010, 359 points higher than what Angels third basemen combined to produce.

The Angels perceivably needed pitching coming into this offseason, but instead they got a bat, which has proved to be Moreno's preference. They did the same seven years ago, when they basically dismissed the possibility of signing Zack Greinke and instead made a shocking addition in Josh Hamilton.

This turn of events will probably turn out much better.

The San Jose Sharks became the latest NHL team to fire its head coach, as they parted ways with Peter DeBoer on Wednesday night.

Bob Boughner, an assistant coach with the Sharks, takes over on an interim basis. Meanwhile, the team also let go assistant coaches Dave Barr, Steve Spott and goalie coach Johan Hedberg.

You've probably got questions -- Was this really DeBoer's fault? Are there trades on the way? -- and we're here to answer them, along with doling out a grade on the move.

What took so long?

Please recall last May when the San Jose Sharks lost in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final to the St. Louis Blues. It was the second time Pete DeBoer got the Sharks to the conference final, after having won it in 2016, his first season in San Jose. He made the playoffs in all four of his seasons with the Sharks, and the team hit 100 points in back-to-back seasons coming into this one. Simply put, the team was successful and DeBoer was a reason for that success. So that, combined with another year on his contract worth over $3 million, bought him some time.

(Although one wonders how the Sharks bench would have looked in 2019-20 had they not had that miraculous comeback against Vegas in Game 7 of the first round. A great "what if" with DeBoer, no doubt.)

But it was clear something had to change this season with the Sharks. They were a perilously inconsistent team, taking some giant leaps backward while inching forward. A four-game losing streak to start the season; then a five-game losing streak; then a six-game winning streak; and then a five-game winless streak that ended up being the last straw for GM Doug Wilson. The Sharks went on the road for four games and lost all four of them, collecting only a single point in a shootout loss to Carolina. They were outscored 23-7 during this five-game streak.

This is a veteran team bumping up against the salary cap. That limited Wilson's options, but that experience also bought the group some time to steady the ship before the GM had to take action. On Wednesday, the ship was sinking and action was taken, and DeBoer was dumped after four-plus seasons.

How much of this was Peter DeBoer's fault?

DeBoer was undone by sub-replacement-level goaltending, and an offense that could no longer score enough to compensate for its defensive faults.

Over the last two seasons, no team in the NHL had a lower save percentage (.884) than the Sharks. Goalies Martin Jones (minus-11.0) was second to last and Aaron Dell (minus-5.1) was fourth to last in goals saved above average. Even if you make the argument that this duo faced high-quality chances due to the Sharks skaters' lax defense, they weren't making the save they needed to make: Jones was 54th in the NHL over the last two seasons in high-danger save percentage.

Bad goaltending gets coaches fired. Just ask John Hynes, formerly of the New Jersey Devils this season.

Last season, the Sharks were second in the NHL in goals per game (3.52) and sixth in power-play efficiency (23.6%). But the departure of center Joe Pavelski via free agency and some underwhelming play from their top offensive players has led to the Sharks being 24th in offense (2.64) and with a power play that's 23rd in the league (16.0%). There are probably tactical changes DeBoer could have made to solidify their defense better. But they would have ended up sacrificing more offense in a season when goals were already hard to come by.

No coach is without fault when they're fired for a lack of on-ice success. Where DeBoer can take some blame is in the discipline department, as the Sharks lead the NHL in penalty time per game (12:36) and times shorthanded (120). But overall, DeBoer is paying for this mess, rather than having made it.

Tell me about Bob Boughner.

Boughner, who was hired on an interim basis, is best known for his journeyman NHL career, which included stints with the Buffalo Sabres, Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche.

After retirement, he became the head coach of the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League, leading them to back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010. That led to a season as an assistant coach in Columbus, before he returned to Windsor from 2011-15. He served with DeBoer on the Sharks' bench from 2015-17, and then became head coach of the Florida Panthers for two seasons, compiling an 80-62-22 record but failing to make the postseason. He was replaced by three-time Stanley Cup winner Joel Quenneville last summer, and Boughner returned to the Sharks as an assistant.

He's known for his work with defensemen. Under Boughner, Sharks star Brent Burns was named a finalist for the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman in 2015-16 and won the award in 2016-17.

More intriguing are the new assistant head coaches. Roy Sommer, head coach of the Sharks' AHL team the Barracudas, comes on as an assistant coach. He's the all-time leader in wins (772) in the AHL. Mike Ricci, the gritty forward who played 1,099 games in the NHL -- including in San Jose for seven seasons -- has been brought on with Boughner. He was a development coach with the organization. Finally, Evgeni Nabokov, the Shark's all-time leader in games played (563), wins (293) and shutouts (50), moves from being a goaltending consultant to becoming the new goalie coach.

Will the Sharks make any big trades in tandem with this move?

Doug Wilson is never shy about making a big, aggressive move to improve his team -- witness the recent trades that brought Erik Karlsson and Evander Kane to San Jose. But he faces some obstacles in trying to pull off another one.

They have just $540,926 in available cap space at the moment, per Cap Friendly. They don't own their own first and third-round picks this season, nor their second-rounder next season. Their prospect pool also needs a refill: The Sharks have the 24th best farm system in the NHL, per ESPN's Chris Peters.

Never underestimate Wilson's ability to pull of a doozy of a deal, but for the moment the coaching change is the jolt he's sending through the locker room.

Can they turn it around and make the playoffs?

The Sharks are 15-16-2 for 32 points on the season, sitting five points out of the final wild-card spot and six points behind third place in the Pacific Division. Their .485 points percentage is the fourth-lowest in the conference. Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic calculates that the Sharks have an 11% chance of making the playoffs at the moment.

They can turn it around, however. It has to start with the offense. Logan Couture (29 points), Evander Kane (13 goals), Tomas Hertl (24 points) and Erik Karlsson (24 points) have contributed. Brent Burns (21 points) needs to be better. So does Timo Meier (20 points). They need to find some offensive outside their top six as well. But the real key is the power play, which was so valuable to this team last season. It's adjusted so poorly to life after Pavelski, who scored 12 of his 38 goals on the man advantage last season. If it can catch fire, the offense thrives off it.

Oh, and some better goaltending would be optimal, too.

What was the highlight of Peter DeBoer's time in San Jose?

The run to the Stanley Cup Final in his first season. The season prior, the Sharks had missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003. He came in and changed the culture, giving the veteran players more time off and changing the general attitude of the locker room. San Jose had been to the conference finals three other times in its franchise history without a Stanley Cup appearance. Even though they fell to the Penguins in an entertaining series, the Sharks went farther with DeBoer than they had before, or since.

Grade the decision.

B-plus. This wasn't working anymore, and the season was starting to get away from them. Wilson clearly feels he's built a playoff-caliber team, and clearly knows how much of ownership's money is invested in it. This lack of success wasn't on DeBoer, but after 33 games it was clear that he wasn't going to be the coach to rally this group after five seasons with their attention. As Wilson said, "When you have had a level of past success, change is never easy, but we feel this team is capable of much more than we have shown thus far and that a new voice is needed."

Dustin Johnson's surgically repaired left knee looked good on Royal Melbourne's 11th hole Thursday. However, the same couldn't be said for Johnson's putting stroke.

After driving the green at the 330-yard par 4 and leaving his tee shot some 4 feet away from the hole, Johnson had a chance to cut into a 3-down deficit. But Johnson missed low and settled for birdie.

He and Gary Woodland remained 3 down to Louis Oosthuizen and Abraham Ancer in the anchor fourball match on Day 1 of the Presidents Cup.

MELBOURNE, Australia – Well, that was fun. Tiger Woods was an absolute machine Thursday in the opening fourball session of the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne. It was a thing of beauty. Here are some thoughts from Woods and Justin Thomas’ 4-and-3 victory over Marc Leishman and Joaquin Niemann:

• There were many great moments during the match. Woods made six birdies and had little help from Justin Thomas, who was asked what worked well between them. “Tiger was working well between the two of us today,” Thomas quipped. #truth
• The greatest moment was obvious. Woods hit a laser at the pin on the par-3 fifth hole but it trickled and trickled and trickled over and off the back, right side of the green. He chipped in – which coincidentally I predicted on Twitter – and pointed at Thomas to go get the ball out of the hole for him. It was an awesome “go get that” moment, a la Jordan Spieth at The Open in 2017.

• Woods birdied Nos. 1, 2 and 5 and was 3 up at that point. The Internationals won the next two holes to tighten the margin, but Woods birdied Nos. 11, 14 and 15 to end the match. Aside from the aforementioned chip in, Woods next-best shot was on the par-4 11th hole. He drove it in a bunker 50 yards short, right of the hole. He hit it to 3 feet and made the birdie.
• Not only was Woods the best American player on the course, he was the best player on either team. And it wasn’t particularly close.
• To be fair, the International team did not play well either. Leishman was wayward with his driver and Niemann seemed to have good touch on the greens but nothing significant dropped. “They got off to a really hot start,” Leishman said. “I don’t think either of us play our best golf. Like I said at the start of the week, we have to play good golf to beat these guys.”
• Steve Stricker was the designated captain while Woods was playing. After the match was over, Woods did an interview with television, walked to the side, donned an earpiece and microphone and declared, “I’m in.” He was then officially the captain for the rest of the session.

India haven't gone hard at the opposition while batting first in T20Is of late, but they hung up caution and unleashed a no-holds-barred assault on West Indies in the series decider in Mumbai on Wednesday. More than three years after West Indies had overpowered India in the T20 World Cup semi-final at this very venue, India swapped their safety-first approach for all-out attack. And they attacked relentlessly to floor Kieron Pollard's men.

On the eve of T20I series decider, Rohit Sharma, India's limited-overs vice-captain, reckoned that the hosts might not have to do a West Indies to beat West Indies. However, on a flat Wankhede pitch and a quick outfield, India's batsmen pulled out one big hit after another, West Indies-style, to rack up 240 for 3 in their 20 overs - their third-highest total in the shortest format.

ALSO READ: Stats - Kohli's fastest fifty, and Wankhede's highest T20I total

In a similar scenario - a series decider - against South Africa in Bengaluru in October, Virat Kohli had challenged India to bat first and break out of their comfort zones. After India managed just 134 for 9 and watched South Africa mow it down with considerable ease, Kohli had said: "In the past, in certain games in T20 cricket, we have been 20-30 runs short batting first. That has cost us the game. So, the idea again as I said at the toss, was to come out of our comfort zone and then try to get that big score because we are batting till No. 9. But quickly we realised the pitch didn't allow us to keep doing that."

The bash-through-the-line Wankhede track and its short boundaries allowed India to keep landing the punches on West Indies after they were asked to bat first on Wednesday. They didn't hold back at any point, with all of Rohit, Kohli and KL Rahul repeatedly executing the big hits to near-perfection.

ALSO READ: India find T20 pulse with Dube's promotion to No.3

The carnage began when Rohit opened up his stance and regularly threw his hands at the ball, taking more risks than he usually does at the start of his innings. Left-arm seamer Sheldon Cottrell found some inswing with the new ball, but Rohit didn't care, laying down the marker with a hard-handed jab-punch through extra-cover.

In the second over of the game, Jason Holder swung the ball away from Rahul, but he didn't care either. He cleared his front leg and his head fell over, but he still swiped at the ball and edged it past the keeper to the third-man boundary. Then Rahul hit five boundaries in six balls, including three on the trot off seamer Kesrick Williams, to vault India to 72 for no loss at the end of the powerplay. It never stopped.

"You don't really feel much pressure when you have 20-25 extra runs on board and boundaries play a major part. In a span of three-four balls, you can maximise that phase for your team" Virat Kohli

Rohit then lined-up left-arm fingerspinner Khary Pierre and clouted him for 6, 6, 4 to take India past 100 by the end of the eighth over. In the recent past, India have opted to sit back in such scenarios, but in the third T20I, they just didn't take their foot off the gas.

Facing up to Holder, Rohit swung for the hills - so much that he nearly swung himself off his feet - and wound up nicking it past the wicketkeeper to the third-man fence. High-risk, high-reward.

After Rohit holed out for a 34-ball 71 off Williams, while attempting a pull, India bumped a power-hitter to No. 3 for the second successive game. Enter Rishabh Pant. This, after allrounder Shivam Dube had muscled 54 off 30 balls in the second T20I in Thiruvananthapuram.

Pollard tricked Pant with a slower cutter and removed him for a two-ball duck, but that didn't stop India from continuing to go after West Indies' bowlers. Kohli launched his fifth ball - from legspinner Hayden Walsh Jr. - over the wide long-on boundary and kept clearing his front leg to ping the leg-side boundaries.

Holder and Pollard tried out their variations, but Kohli still found enough power and manufactured pace for himself to send them in the arc between long-on and midwicket. Williams, though, had greater control over his lines and lengths, and even used the crease tactfully, to keep Kohli quiet briefly.

However, once Williams missed his length by the slightest of margins, Kohli cleared his front leg and shovel-whipped him into the stands beyond long-on. It was only fitting that he capped India's innings with a six, his seventh and the 16th overall for the hosts on Wednesday evening.

In response, West Indies could hit only 12 sixes, and they ultimately lost the game by 67 runs and the series 2-1. In 2016 in that semi-final, India had mustered a mere four sixes in comparison to West Indies' 11. How the tables have turned.

"There's one thing talking about getting a big score, but when you do it on the field you remember how you did it," Kohli told Star Sports at the post-match presentation. "I think two guys in the middle with clarity - Rahul and Rohit - the way they played… I think that's the key for us.

"Batting first, we've been too tight and hesitant in terms of should we go for it or not. But this pitch allowed us to play freely. It's a good lesson for us and now we need to remember that. You don't really feel much pressure when you have 20-25 extra runs on board and boundaries play a major part. In a span of three-four balls, you can maximise that phase for your team."

It might not be as easy to find the boundary consistently on the larger grounds in Australia next year, but India shedding their conservative style of play and being more flexible could well be their biggest takeaway from this series against the reigning world champions in the shortest format.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Tiger Woods the player is doing far better than Tiger Woods the captain so far at the Presidents Cup.

Woods birdied the first two holes and chipped in for another at the fifth at Royal Melbourne on Thursday to help him and partner Justin Thomas to a 4 and 3 four-ball (best ball) victory over Marc Leishman and Joaquin Niemann.

But as great as the start was for Woods, the rest of his U.S. team was struggling as he finished off his match against the International squad on the first day of the 13th Presidents Cup.

For the first time since 2005, the Americans were in danger of trailing after the first session, a huge boost for the International side, which has lost the last seven Presidents Cup and whose only victory came here at Royal Melbourne in 1998.

The International side has not led after any session of the Presidents Cup since the second day in 2005. It was leading three of the matches on the course.

Woods, the first playing captain at the Presidents Cup since the inaugural competition in 1994, put himself out in the first group with Thomas and immediately hit a tight approach on the short par-4 first, followed by another birdie at the par-5 second.

When he chipped in from over the green at the par-3 fifth, the Americans were 3-up, and although the International squad pulled with 1 after seven holes, it never got closer. Woods' birdies at the 11th and 14th holes kept the advantage, and he closed out the match with a 5-footer for another birdie at the 15th.

"It was important for us and the U.S. side to get off to a quick start," Woods said. "We got up on them early and kind of held on from there."

Woods might be playing the best of any American player at the moment. He won the Zozo Championship for his 82nd PGA Tour victory in October and finished fourth last week at the Hero World Challenge.

Despite a 26-hour journey to Australia and cool temperatures on Thursday morning, Woods showed no ill effects, swinging effortlessly and looking solid. He more or less carried Thomas, who contributed two birdies to winning holes.

"Tiger was working well out of the two of us today," Thomas said. "He played great. I didn't really take advantage of the opportunities I had, and that's what you have a partner for. It's nice knowing that and it's nice because I know he's playing well.

"He played great today. It's no coincidence why we won. He really carried me out there, and it was a tough day, and to have as many birdie putts as he had on a couple of holes was the reason we won the match."

Woods had been 0-4 in his previous four-ball matches in two Presidents Cups at Royal Melbourne and 7-9 overall. He improved his overall record to 25-15, pulling within one victory of the U.S. record for wins in the Presidents Cup held by Phil Mickelson.

The format on Friday switches to foursomes (alternate shot), with Woods and U.S. captain Ernie Els to put forth the pairings for the five matches at the conclusion of play on Thursday.

TORONTO -- The LA Clippers lost Patrick Beverley for the game with a concussion suffered early in the third quarter against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

Beverley ran into a Marc Gasol screen and took an inadvertent elbow to the head. He left with 9:36 remaining in the third quarter, then was evaluated and ruled out by the Clippers.

The Clippers, who won 112-92, next play at Minnesota on Friday and are already banged up. They played the Raptors without shooting guard Landry Shamet (ankle), guard Rodney McGruder (hamstring) and forward JaMychal Green (tailbone).

Beverley left with 11 points in 19 minutes. He entered the game averaging 7.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals on the season.

Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward left the court in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night's loss to the Indiana Pacers after he was inadvertently hit in the nose.

After the team's 122-117 loss, Hayward told reporters in Indianapolis that he didn't break his nose but did have a headache. Boston coach Brad Stevens said initial tests showed that Hayward had no concussion symptoms.

He will be re-evaluated when the team returns to Boston. The Celtics host the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.

Hayward was making a move toward the basket when he was struck in the face by Pacers forward Doug McDermott's hand with 6 minutes, 28 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Celts led 100-96 at the time of his exit.

He finished with nine points, one rebound and three assists in 25 minutes.

It was Hayward's second game since returning from a monthlong absence due to a broken left hand.

ORLANDO -- Having already made amends with one former fan base, as Dwight Howard and the Los Angeles Lakers faithful are embracing each other again, Howard looked to patch up another old relationship Tuesday in Orlando.

"I think it takes everybody a while to get over things, but time should heal wounds, and if not, got to let that s--- go," Howard said before the Lakers played the Magic. "That's how -- I'm sorry -- that's how I look at it. I've let a lot of things go in my heart, things that have kind of held me down. Things that I had towards the Magic and just how the situation ended. How I was treated by the fans and stuff like that. But I had to let that bitterness go. There's no need to hold onto it. When I let it go, it just made my life a lot better. Just more free."

Howard was traded from the Magic to the Lakers in the summer of 2012. At the time he was 26 years old and viewed as a franchise player, having established himself as the premier defensive center in the game in Orlando.

Late in the 2011-12 season, Howard -- who was drafted by the Magic No. 1 in 2004, helped lead Orlando to the NBA Finals in 2009 and won Defensive Player of the Year three straight seasons while wearing the black and blue -- rescinded his trade request and said he wanted to stay with the only team he'd ever known.

However, the change of heart was temporary and he was dealt to the Lakers five months later, the first of five stops for Howard in the next seven years as he bounced from city to city before landing back in L.A.

"I got blessed to come back and play with the Lakers, and I'm in a really good situation," Howard said. "I'm pretty sure there were a lot of people here who were super hurt and disappointed that I left. And I'm sorry for that. You know, I apologize if they felt that way. But I never would have been the person I am today if I would have stayed here. So I'm very thankful that everything that has transpired has transpired and it's made me the best version of Dwight Howard. I never thought this would happen. So, I'm happy that it happened. I know that it broke a lot of people's hearts. It broke my heart, too. But, man, at the end of the day, I'm free. I feel really good."

Most of the vitriol from Magic fans had left the building come Tuesday. There was one sign held up in the stands that read, "The Dwightmare Before Christmas," but other than that the crowd reaction to Howard was pretty mild up until the fourth quarter when Howard, Jared Dudley, Michael Carter-Williams and Wes Iwundu got into a shoving match after Magic big man Mo Bamba fouled Howard. After an official's review, Howard and Carter-Williams both received technical fouls while Dudley and Iwundu were ejected.

Howard, who turned 34 this week, revealed when he signed with the Lakers that he hit "rock bottom" in his personal life this past summer before putting the pieces back together.

"I was super bitter at a lot of the things that transpired behind closed doors that none of the Magic fans or people really know about," he said without revealing specifics. "I never said anything about it. I never bashed or talked anything bad about this team. But I did have a lot of bitterness in my heart towards the organization and even the fans of how they treated me when I came back. But I let it go. I was super bitter but I let it go. And by letting it go, it just dropped all the weight that I had and it just made me a better person."

His play has been a revelation for the Lakers, averaging 7.0 points on an incredible 74.2 percent from the field along with 7.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 20 minutes per game off the bench.

"It's been fantastic. I'm really enjoying my time with him," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said of Howard's fit in L.A.. "He's at a place in his career where he had to adjust some things with regard to the role that he's going to play on a team. ... He's really bought into and bringing a seriousness about his business and his approach. He's been all business. He's really bought into that defensive-rebounding, lob-threat, roller type of role. It's a big shift but he's really embraced it and excelled in that. He's been a star in his role."

Had Howard never left the Magic, perhaps he doesn't have the down years he experienced in Atlanta, Charlotte and Washington. But perhaps he never ends up on a contender like this year's Lakers.

"I don't look at the years that were bad in people's eyes as, 'Oh, man, I should have stayed where I was at,'" he said. "I was very comfortable here in Orlando and I needed to get out of that comfort zone, find out who I am as a person and as a man and it just made me a lot better. So, I'm very thankful for that. And there is times where I thought what would have happened if I would have stayed here and stuff like that, but I'm at the right place at the right time and that's really the only thing that matters."