Luka scores 39 points, Lakers wrap up Pacific title and No. 3 seed with win over resting Rockets

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic had 39 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and the Los Angeles Lakers clinched the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a 140-109 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night.

Austin Reaves scored 23 points for the Lakers, who also clinched the Pacific Division title for only the second time in the last 13 seasons and won 50 games for just the second time in 14 years.

LeBron James scored 14 points before sitting out the final 19 minutes of Los Angeles' sixth win in eight games. Doncic played only the first three quarters.

Taking care of business against Houston likely means James and Doncic will get at least a full week off between this game and the start of the playoffs.

Alperen Sengun, Dillon Brooks, Fred VanVleet, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason and Jae’Sean Tate all sat out for the Rockets, leaving Houston without six of its top seven scorers.

Cam Whitmore scored a career-high 34 points for Houston, which clinched the No. 2 seed in the West on Tuesday when the Lakers lost at Oklahoma City. Four starters then sat out Wednesday while the Rockets lost to the Clippers.

Bronny James played the final 4:23.

Rockets: “The argument is rest versus rust, I guess — getting them what they need with the layoff that’s coming,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said. “But we want to be smart about it. What I told the group was, you’ve earned the right to choose the path you want to take.”

Lakers: Dorian Finney-Smith had another strong perimeter game, hitting six 3-pointers.

When Udoka decided to rest four starters and two key reserves.

The Lakers have won 25 Pacific Division titles since the NBA began divisional play in 1970.

The Lakers visit Portland on Sunday, and the Rockets host Denver.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Entertainer Bruce Springsteen, lower right, sits with record executive Jimmy Iovine during the first half of an NBA basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets Friday, April 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic, left, shoots as Houston Rockets forward Jeff Green defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, April 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, left, flexes as center Jaxson Hayes celebrates after scoring during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt, center, dunks as Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard, left, and forward Cam Whitmore watch during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, April 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves celebrates after hitting a three-point shot during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James shoots during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard, right, reaches in on Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, April 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, left, dunks as Houston Rockets center Jock Landale defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, April 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Wednesday it is suing Maine’s education department for not complying with the government's push to ban transgender athletes in girls and women's sports, escalating a dispute over whether the state is abiding by a federal law that bars discrimination in education based on sex.

The lawsuit follows weeks of feuding between the Republican administration and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills that has led to threats to cut off crucial federal funding and a clash at the White House when she told President Donald Trump: “We’ll see you in court.”

The political overtones of the moment were clear, with Attorney General Pam Bondi — and several athletes who joined her on stage at the Justice Department — citing the matter as a priority for Trump. Bondi said other states, including Minnesota and California, could be sued as well.

"This has been a huge issue for him,” Bondi said of the president. “Pretty simple, girls play in girls sports, boys play in boys sports. Women play in women’s sports, men play in men’s sports.”

Trump campaigned against the participation of transgender athletes in sports in his 2024 race. As president, he has signed executive orders to do that and to use a rigid definition of the sexes, rather than gender, for federal government purposes. The orders are being challenged in court.

Trump’s departments of Education and Health and Human Services have said the Maine agency is violating the federal Title IX antidiscrimination law by allowing transgender girls to participate on girls teams. The Justice Department is asking the court to order the state to direct all schools to prohibit the participation of males in athletic competition designated for females.

Maine officials have refused to agree with a settlement that would have banned transgender students from sports, arguing that the law does not prevent schools from letting transgender athletes participate. Representatives for Mills and Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The complaint cites as examples the case of a biological boy who in February won first place in pole vault at Maine’s indoor track and field meet and a biological male who last year began competing in female cross country races in the state and placed first in the women’s 5K.

The lawsuit reflects a stark philosophical turnabout from the position on gender identity issues taken during Democratic administrations.

Under President Joe Biden, the government tried to extend civil rights policies to protect transgender people. In 2016, the Justice Department, then led by Attorney General Loretta Lynch, sued North Carolina over a law that required transgender people to use public restrooms and showers that corresponded the gender on their birth certificate.

Trump signed an executive order in February, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” that gave federal agencies wide latitude to ensure entities that receive federal funding abide by Title IX in alignment with his administration’s interpretation of “sex” as the gender someone was assigned at birth.

Bondi was joined at the news conference by former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, who has emerged as a public face of the opposition to transgender athletes. Gaines tied with a transgender athlete for fifth place in a 2022 NCAA championship and has testified before lawmakers across the country on the issue. She and others frame the issue as women’s rights.

During a February meeting with governors, Trump threatened to pull federal funding from Maine if the state did not comply with his executive order. Mills responded: “We’ll see you in court.”

Maine sued the administration this month after the Department of Agriculture said it was pausing some money for the state’s educational programs because of what the administration contended was Maine’s failure to comply with the Title IX law. A federal judge on Friday ordered the administration to unfreeze funds intended for a Maine child nutrition program.

Questions over the rights of transgender people have become a major political issue in the past five years.

Twenty-six states have laws or policies barring transgender girls from girls school sports. GOP-controlled states have also been banning gender-affirming health care for transgender minors and restricting bathroom use in schools and sometimes other public buildings.

Whittle reported from Portland, Maine. Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks with reporters at the White House, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Education Secretary Linda McMahon accompanied by Attorney General Pam Bondi, right, speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

FILE - Democratic Gov. Janet Mills delivers her State of the State address, Jan. 30, 2024, at the State House in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)