Lake Powell, the second-largest reservoir in the country, is at around 26 percent capacity. This is the lowest point since 1967, the space agency said on Wednesday. Located in northern Arizona and stretching up into southern Utah, Lake Powell can hold trillions of gallons of water and has more than 2,000 miles of shoreline. In excess of 3 million people every year visit the reservoir and the surrounding Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, according to online guide Arizona Leisure....

Lake Tahoe’s largest ski resort, Heavenly Mountain, is now a staging area for the firefighters. The resort itself also tried to quell the flames with snow machines that at this time would be used for summer recreation. Three miles south of South Lake Tahoe, now evacuated of residents and tourists, the fire was spreading northeast toward the border of California and Nevada, according to authorities. “We lost the winds aloft,” incident meteorologist Jim Dudley said....

James and fellow All-Star Anthony Davis were featured in David Blaine’s ABC special “The Magic Way” on Wednesday night. The popular illusionist visited the Lakers’ practice facility — this happened before the coronavirus pandemic, so don’t freak out about social distancing — to perform a classic card trick with a twist. MORE: Carmelo Anthony shares crazy boat story about LeBron James Blaine started with the standard “pick a card, any card” bit, allowing Davis to select his card and show it to James, JaVale McGee and other members of the organization....

He joined the Los Angeles Lakers as an afterthought, but has since made a small imprint on their season. Henry has done well with what little opportunity he has gotten. He showed us a glimpse of his athletic ability in the Lakers' surprise win over Clippers when he pulled out a one-handed dunk. And the best play of his short stay with the Lakers came Tuesday night when Henry used every bit of his athletic ability for a dunk over the New Orleans Pelicans' Jeff Withey, a teammate during his one season at Kansas....

Line: Cleveland -15.5 Total: 207 These two superstars have had a contentious relationship over the years, although it has mellowed now with Bryant playing in his final season. The 37-year-old Bryant is still extremely competitive and has had a point surge the last five games (26.4 PPG). He shot pretty well from the field in the first three (44.4 percent) before struggling badly in the last two (28.3 percent)....

Thus we are still looking at LSU phenom Ben Simmons first on the board, followed by Brandon Ingram No. 2. After that, there figures to be a level field of five players that will be sorted by team preferences and workout performances: Buddy Hield, Jamal Murray, Kris Dunn, Dragan Bender and Jaylen Brown. MORE: Which potential lottery winners would draft Ingram first? The first question to be answered, of course, is who’s going to get a crack at these players, and in what order?...

It would take a couple of moves to make that happen, but according to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes, that is what very well could occur. Haynes said: The big thing with Smith is that he has one season remaining on the four-year, $57 million deal he signed with the Cavaliers in 2016. The Cavaliers are trying hard to trade him, and because he has an expiring contract, he is appealing to several teams who could use the cleared out cap space next offseason....

Los Angeles is reportedly interested in the 33-year-old center after DeMarcus Cousins tore his ACL during a workout last week. League executives told USA Today’s HoopsHype that inking Howard to a minimum deal is a low risk, high reward scenario. “I think it’s worth the risk for them,” one anonymous executive said. “If it doesn’t work out, they can cut bait.” Howard was sent from the Wizards to the Grizzlies in early July....

The Lakers were the subject of many trade rumors involving the pick and thus were the draft’s first real wild card. Even if they stayed at No. 2, it was said they were torn between Russell and Duke center Jahlil Okafor until the final minutes. MORE: NBA Draft pick-by-pick analysis | Photos from the draft | Russell point man for post-Kobe era In the 19-year-old Russell, the Lakers add who some consider the player with the biggest upside in the draft....

With the Lakers and Cavs facing each other Wednesday night, ESPN published a story discussing how Los Angeles wanted to move the Black Mamba for The King. According to Cavs executives, it was the only time the team had heard an offer for James. MORE: Ranking every player in the All-Star Game Bryant, 28 at the time, came off a phenomenal season where he averaged 32 points a game. James, however, was 22 years old and an obvious up-and-coming star....

The star-studded Los Angeles Lakers, who were considered pre-season favourites to come out of the Western Conference, have plenty of work ahead of them to make the playoffs, let alone contend for a title. The squad not only makes an appearance on our Panic Meter but are also part of the biggest storylines heading into the second half of the season. That said, here’s a preview to the Lakers’ second of the season including their playoff odds and a breakdown of their remaining schedule,...

Never one to shy away from confrontation, Bryant responded by calling ESPN’s employees “idiots.” Now, Lakers owner and president Jeanie Buss came to Bryant’s defense in a “SportsCenter” interview. MORE: Owners vote down lottery reform | Under pressure in ‘14-15 | Impact Rookies “Any free agent that would be afraid to play with Kobe Bryant is probably a loser, and I’m glad they wouldn’t come to the team,” Buss said....

Former Pacers and Magic coach Frank Vogel is expected to interview for the position Thursday in California, The Los Angeles Times reported, citing unidentified sources. Vogel likely will meet with team owner Jeanie Buss, along with general manager Rob Pelinka and the rest of Buss’ staff. Vogel worked with the Lakers as a scout in 2005-06. The news of the interview comes after negotiations fell through to hire former Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue as LA’s new coach....

For Los Angeles, a groin injury to LeBron James led to a midseason slide and concern it might miss the postseason. The Lakers are currently in 10th place in the West. MORE: Watch Lakers vs. Rockets live with fuboTV (7-day free trial) For Houston, led by James Harden, various health problems and lack of reliable depth led to an abysmal start it still hasn’t fully escaped from after earning the top seed in the West in 2018....

The next NBA team in line for a trip would be the Los Angeles Lakers, led by LeBron James. The Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in last year’s NBA Finals. The last NBA team to visit the White House was the James-led Cleveland Cavaliers in November 2016, about five months after the only NBA title in their franchise history. Barack Obama was the president at the time, and Trump was the president-elect....

The Ravens’ starting quarterback said he didn’t realize before OTAs that Baltimore’s offensive schemes were changing, even though the team hired Greg Roman to replace fired offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. “Coming in, I didn’t know we would have a totally different offense,” Jackson told reporters. “When I got here, coach was like, ‘Yea, we have a totally new system. You’re going to have go through this and that.’ It’s been getting to me a little bit....

Jackson was injured in the second quarter after completing a pass to Mark Andrews. The Ravens’ quarterback was hit low by Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and was down in pain after the play. NFL PLAYOFF PICTURE: Updated AFC, NFC playoff races Jackson was helped to the sideline and entered the blue medical tent to receive treatment, and he was carted to the locker room shortly thereafter. He was sitting in the front of the cart with a dejected look on his face....

MORE: Lamar Odom, through the years The reality television program released photos taken from Odom’s time in the hospital, and video of Kanye West rapping to him at bedside. West, who showed up with Odom at Kobe Bryant’s last game this year, may have helped out more than he expected with his raps. Kim Kardashian revealed Lamar had told her: “Kanye’s music helped me so much. That’s when I realized I could start thinking again and things were coming back to me and I could start articulating it....

The Argentina winger has not played since a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool in the same competition last October due to a persistent hip problem. Spurs 8/1 to win EFL Cup It had been hoped the 25-year-old would be ready to play some part in this week’s encounter at Wembley, having recently returned to training, but Pochettino says he is still unclear when Lamela will be ready. “No, Erik is not on the list,” he told a news conference....

The veteran guard is going back to Indiana, back to where his career started (word to the late, great Michael Jackson) after inking a three-year contract worth $12 million, according to ESPN’s Chris Haynes. The deal to acquire the 6-5, 230-pound guard, who played his first four seasons in Indianapolis, comes the morning after Pacers superstar Paul George harshly criticized his teammates. George, a four-time all-star and free agent following next season, sounded fed up after scoring 37 in a 115-114 loss to the Timberwolves....