Boston plays Los Angeles, looks for 4th straight road win — and more

Boston Celtics (36-19, second in the Eastern Conference) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (34-21, fifth in the Western Conference)

Los Angeles; Sunday, 6:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Boston hits the road against Los Angeles trying to continue its three-game road winning streak.

The Lakers have gone 16-10 in home games. Los Angeles is seventh in the Western Conference with 25.4 assists per game led by Luka Doncic averaging 8.6.

The Celtics are 18-10 in road games. Boston is third in the league averaging 15.4 made 3-pointers per game while shooting 36.4% from downtown. Derrick White leads the team averaging 2.8 makes while shooting 32.1% from 3-point range.

The 116.2 points per game the Lakers average are 7.8 more points than the Celtics give up (108.4). The Celtics average 115.4 points per game, 0.7 fewer than the 116.1 the Lakers give up to opponents.

The teams meet for the second time this season. The Celtics won 126-105 in the last matchup on Dec. 6.

TOP PERFORMERS: Doncic is scoring 33.0 points per game with 7.8 rebounds and 8.6 assists for the Lakers. LeBron James is averaging 17.8 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 47.5% over the last 10 games.

White is averaging 17.1 points, 5.6 assists and 1.5 blocks for the Celtics. Jaylen Brown is averaging 20.6 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 48.9% over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Lakers: 6-4, averaging 115.7 points, 38.9 rebounds, 27.5 assists, 8.8 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 52.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 115.6 points per game.

Celtics: 8-2, averaging 108.3 points, 48.8 rebounds, 25.1 assists, 6.5 steals and 5.1 blocks per game while shooting 45.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 99.8 points.

INJURIES: Lakers: None listed.

Celtics: Jayson Tatum: out (achilles).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

On Monday, a day before the important Champions League clash with Atalanta, it wasn't Serhou Guirassy, Julian Brandt, or Gregor Kobel who appeared alongside coach Niko Kovac at the final press conference. No, it was Julian Ryerson who faced the journalists' questions next to the successful Croatian coach.

A coincidence? Certainly not.

Just three days earlier, the 28-year-old had delivered perhaps his best game for Dortmund in the 4-0 win against Mainz, assisting all four goals. Four assists. In one Bundesliga match. Historic. Since the start of detailed data collection in 2004/05, no one at BVB had achieved that.

Ryerson confidently spoke afterward of an improvement "on my part" and "good numbers." He now has eleven assists in the league. Only Bayern star Michael Olise has more assists across the league. Ten of these eleven assists came from crosses. That's the best in Europe's top 5 leagues.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the former wing worker has become one of the most dangerous playmakers on the continent.

From Five-Million Transfer to Mainstay

That Ryerson would one day be mentioned in the same breath as Europe's elite would not have been seriously predicted in January 2023. He came to Dortmund from Union Berlin for just five million euros.

At the Iron Ones, the Norwegian had established himself as a defensively reliable, tactically disciplined full-back. He fit perfectly with Urs Fischer's style, delivering no glamour and little spectacle. "Julian is an intelligent and positively very aggressive defending player," explained sporting director Sebastian Kehl at the time of the signing. There was no talk of offensive explosions.

Accordingly, the reaction among his own fanbase was muted. "Who the hell is Ryerson?" sneered the BVB blog 'schwatzgelb.de'. Most saw him at best as a solid rotation player.

📸 RONNY HARTMANN - AFP or licensors

But Ryerson proved his critics wrong. In the second half of the 2022/23 season, he immediately rose to become a regular player. He defended uncompromisingly on both the right and left, becoming an essential component in a half-season at the end of which BVB narrowly missed the championship. Offensively, his contribution remained modest with one assist. In the 2023/24 season, he added five scorer points (four goals, one assist).

Regardless, a part of the fans had long embraced their "war pig." Week after week, Ryerson delivered commitment, mentality, and reliability.

And yet a flaw remained. For Dortmund's high playing standards, he seemed football-wise too limited. His reputation was that of a slightly above-average Bundesliga full-back.

Between Mockery and Breakthrough

This image initially continued for the next year and a half. The right-footer was almost always a regular player, showed decent performances, and had a solid offensive output. But when BVB slipped into its first small crisis of the season in November of the previous year, Ryerson was even declared the symbol of the misery. "Leopard pattern on the head, but toothless on the football pitch," wrote 'Ruhr24' mockingly, referring to his rather wild hairstyle.

This comment aged poorly. With the start of the second half of the season, Ryerson literally exploded. Eight of his eleven Bundesliga assists were collected in the current calendar year. Across all competitions, he has nine assists in 2026 so far – surpassed only by Michael Olise.

He is emblematic of Dortmund's upswing, currently reflected in six consecutive Bundesliga victories. And things are going well internationally too. In the 2-0 playoff first leg against Atalanta, he set up the 1-0 with a perfectly soft cross to Serhou Guirassy. Ryerson is suddenly not just a stabilizing factor. He is more of a true difference maker.

Crossing God and Set-Piece Conductor

The key to his development lies mainly in the area of set pieces. In the 4-0 against Mainz, Ryerson's crossing art took on almost historical dimensions. A perfectly executed free-kick to Guirassy, a pinpoint delivery to Beier, a razor-sharp corner again to Guirassy. Even for the fourth goal, his corner was the starting point.

"I have to put the ball on the spot, the others have to run there," he explained matter-of-factly afterward.

But indeed, BVB currently spreads fear and terror with set pieces. In the seven league games since the beginning of the year, Dortmund has scored seven goals from corners or free-kicks. Six of them came from Ryerson's deliveries.

📸 Alex Grimm - 2026 Getty Images

Assistant coach Robert Kovac, who took over set-piece training after the separation from Alex Clapham, apparently relies on simplification. Clear running paths, precise execution, and perfect timing are the order of the day. The motto: less frills, more efficiency.

Ryerson is the conductor in the concert of set pieces. His crosses come with a precision that has already led observers to compare him with the greatest footballers of all time. The 'kicker' recently even dubbed the BVB star "Ruhrpott-Beckham." And indeed: Hardly any other player in Europe currently delivers the ball so consistently dangerously into the opponent's penalty area.

Europe's Elite Takes Notice

This development does not go unnoticed, of course. According to media reports, top clubs like Liverpool, Barcelona, Newcastle, and Manchester United are currently lining up.

From the once ridiculed five-million transfer, he has become a full-back who decides games within three years – and not just with discipline and mentality, but now also with world-class crosses.

And so the circle closes to last Monday. That Julian Ryerson sat next to Niko Kovac on the podium was a clear signal. BVB knows to whom it owes its current upswing to a large extent.

From "Who the hell is that?" to perhaps the most sought-after full-back in Europe: Ryerson's journey is truly unparalleled. The rising star is now unwanted nowhere.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

Cleveland Cavaliers (36-21, third in the Eastern Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (43-14, first in the Western Conference)

Oklahoma City; Sunday, 1 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Cleveland hits the road against Oklahoma City looking to prolong its five-game road winning streak.

The Thunder have gone 23-7 in home games. Oklahoma City ranks fifth in the league with 34.3 defensive rebounds per game led by Chet Holmgren averaging 6.8.

The Cavaliers are 17-10 in road games. Cleveland is ninth in the Eastern Conference giving up just 115.3 points while holding opponents to 46.0% shooting.

The Thunder make 48.6% of their shots from the field this season, which is 2.6 percentage points higher than the Cavaliers have allowed to their opponents (46.0%). The Cavaliers average 14.6 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.3 more makes per game than the Thunder allow.

The teams meet for the second time this season. The Thunder won 136-104 in the last matchup on Jan. 19.

TOP PERFORMERS: Holmgren is averaging 17.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks for the Thunder. Isaiah Joe is averaging 14.5 points over the last 10 games.

James Harden is scoring 24.7 points per game and averaging 4.8 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Sam Merrill is averaging 2.7 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Thunder: 6-4, averaging 112.9 points, 44.4 rebounds, 25.4 assists, 9.1 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.4 points per game.

Cavaliers: 9-1, averaging 122.9 points, 44.0 rebounds, 29.6 assists, 10.4 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 51.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.8 points.

INJURIES: Thunder: Ajay Mitchell: out (abdomen), Jalen Williams: out (hamstring), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: out (abdomen), Thomas Sorber: out for season (knee).

Cavaliers: Evan Mobley: out (rest), Max Strus: out (foot).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Election campaigning in South Australia is officially underway, with candidates seizing the opportunity to begin making their formal pitches to voters before they head to the ballot box in March.