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Spurs pursue season-series-clinching win against Lakers

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NBA: Dallas Mavericks at San Antonio SpursFeb 7, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) shoots in the first half against the Dallas Mavericks at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

Surging toward the All-Star break, the San Antonio Spurs will begin a back-to-back scenario before some much-deserved rest when they hit the road to face the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

The second half of the back-to-back for the Spurs, who arrive in California on a four-game winning streak, will be against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday in San Francisco. The All-Star Game will be in the Los Angeles area on Sunday.

The Lakers were on a three-game winning streak and had an eight-point lead in the third quarter on Monday before falling 119-110 to the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder. Los Angeles was without Luka Doncic (hamstring) for the second consecutive game.

The Spurs got past the Thunder 116-106 on Wednesday, then earned consecutive victories over the Dallas Mavericks, including a 138-125 home decision on Saturday when they scored a season-high 81 points in the first half.

Stephon Castle poured in a career-high 40 points in a triple-double that included 12 rebounds and 12 assists. Victor Wembanyama added 16 points and 11 rebounds.

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“Having a game like this is definitely a dream come true,” said Castle, who shot 15 of 19 from the floor. “It’s good to have (going) into the break and definitely a good sign. It felt good to be out there and comfortable with every shot I took and to see them go in.”

With a victory on Tuesday, San Antonio would match its longest winning streak of the season, five games, done twice before.

The Spurs have a 2-1 record against the Lakers going into the season finale between the teams. Castle is scoring 20.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists against Los Angeles this season.

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In the most recent game between the teams, the Spurs earned a 107-91 home victory on Jan. 7 behind 27 points from Keldon Johnson, matching his season high. It was the Lakers’ second-lowest scoring game of the season.

LeBron James logged 22 points and 10 assists in the Lakers’ loss to the Thunder on Monday in the opener of the back-to-back. James played a team-high 36 minutes. The 41-year-old veteran, in his record 23rd NBA season, has played on consecutive days just twice this season, both times in mid-January.

Marcus Smart added 19 points for Los Angeles while Austin Reaves had 16 in his fourth game after missing more than a month with a calf strain. The Lakers made half of their 84 shots in the game but were outscored 26-19 in the fourth quarter.

“I was pretty bad in that second half,” said Reaves, who shot 1 of 7 from the floor and was called for a technical foul after halftime. “I have to be better than that.”

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Now the Lakers will have limited preparation time following a loss to the top team in the Western Conference before facing the second-best club, the Spurs.

“When you play the best teams … you have to have a really high level of effort and you have to have a really high level of execution,” Los Angeles coach JJ Redick said. “It’s gotta be both. I thought for the most part our effort was fantastic (against the Thunder), and in the key stretches of the game, our execution wasn’t great.”

While the Lakers are 14-8 in home games this season, the Spurs are 16-10 in road games.

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–Field Level Media

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WWE scraps planned WrestleMania 42 title match due to real-life injury

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WWE has been forced to scrap a planned WrestleMania 42 title match due to a real-life injury. With the Show of Shows edging closer with each passing day, the promotion has been hit with a few unfortunate injuries.

Last week, Jordynne Grace was injured during a WWE Main Event taping ahead of SmackDown. She was involved in a match with Alba Fyre, and a video showed her landing awkwardly on her ankle as she came off from the top rope.

The referee threw up an X sign, and the match was stopped with doctors checking on Grace. After the match was restarted, Fyre quickly got the pinfall to finish the bout early.

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The former TNA Knockouts Champion later uploaded a photo on social media and was seen wearing a walking boot. Now, it has emerged that her injury has led to WWE scrapping major plans for her at WrestleMania 42.

During the recent edition of Self Made Sessions, Self Made Pro revealed that he was informed that there were plans to have Jordynne Grace compete against Giulia and Tiffany Stratton in a Triple Threat match for the U.S. championship at the Show of Shows in Las Vegas.

“I did hear from somebody that there was an idea to do Giulia vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Tiffany Stratton at WrestleMania for the United States Championship,” he said.

However, he noted that the match may not happen now due to Grace’s injury.

“Now, whether or not this was actually the case, it’s not going to happen anyway because Jordynne Grace has hurt her ankle unless it’s an ankle sprain,” he added.

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Jordynne Grace issued a statement after suffering an injury in WWE

Following the injury, Jordynne Grace shared a photo on Instagram in which she can be seen wearing a walking boot alongside Chelsea Green, who is also dealing with an ankle injury.

Grace noted that she had gone 16 years without an injury, but soon after turning 30, she found herself hurt.

She has been getting the chance to shine on SmackDown and recently faced Jade Cargill in a Women’s Championship match. It remains to be seen how long the injury will keep Grace out of action.