PITTSBURGH (AP) — Washington Nationals pitcher Jorge López was ejected from Wednesday night's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates after a pitch near Andrew McCutchen's head led to the benches briefly clearing.
In the seventh inning, López hit the previous batter Bryan Reynolds with a pitch before facing McCutchen, who had to fall to the ground to avoid getting hit by a 92 mph ball near his head.
As the umpires gathered to discuss the incident, McCutchen and López started arguing, which caused both benches to empty. Pirates outfielder Tommy Pham was also seen yelling while being held back by teammate Oneil Cruz.
Cruz hit a grand slam later in the inning off Eduardo Salazar to give the Pirates a 6-0 lead. Pittsburgh won 6-1.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Pittsburgh Pirates' Andrew McCutchen, left, is retrained by Oneil Cruz as benches cleared after Washington Nationals pitcher Jorge López nearly hit McCutchen with a high inside pitch during the seventh inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Andrew McCutchen (22) gets out of the way of a high and inside pitch from Washington Nationals pitcher Jorge López during the seventh inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo blocked a shot by LeBron James and stole the ball from him on consecutive possessions in the final minute, and the Milwaukee Bucks blew a fourth-quarter lead before rallying for a 105-101 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
Kevin Porter Jr. scored 22 points, and he hit two free throws to break a tie after Antetokounmpo blocked a driving layup attempt by James with 39 seconds left.
Antetokounmpo then knocked the ball out of James' hands from behind with 2 seconds left, and Porter hit two more free throws to seal Milwaukee's fifth win in seven games — its first over a team with a winning record since Dec. 11. Antetokounmpo finished with 21 points in his lowest-scoring effort since returning from his right calf strain.
Luka Doncic had 24 points and nine assists on 8-of-25 shooting for the Lakers. He had his lowest-scoring performance since Christmas, and he fouled out on Porter's 3-point attempt with 16.2 seconds to play.
James had 26 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, but Antetokoumpo got the best of the top scorer in NBA history at crunch time. Los Angeles has lost six of 10.
Milwaukee surged to a double-digit lead in the first half even with Antetokounmpo on a minutes restriction in his injury return. Doncic scored 12 points in the third quarter but also committed four fouls in the period, including his fifth of the game.
Los Angeles abruptly erased its deficit by going on a 17-4 run to open the fourth, with James putting the Lakers ahead when he stole the ball from Antetokounmpo for a layup with 6:02 left. Milwaukee missed nine of its first 12 shots in the period, but Porter's layup tied it with two minutes left.
Lakers starters Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura remain sidelined by injury, but Hachimura (calf) might return early next week from his six-game absence, coach JJ Redick said.
Bucks: At Denver on Sunday.
Lakers: At Sacramento on Monday.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart, left, tries to shoot as Milwaukee Bucks guard Gary Trent Jr. defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic, left, and Milwaukee Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. go after a loose ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
