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Public health officials have launched a new, coordinated attack to contain a persistent outbreak of tuberculosis on downtown Los Angeles' skid row, including a search for more than 4,500 people who may have been exposed to the disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has dispatched scientists to Los Angeles to help local health officials determine why the disease is spreading and how to stop it. Officials say 11 have died since 2007. Sixty of the 78 cases were among homeless people who live on and around skid row. Scientists have recently linked the outbreak to a tuberculosis strain that is unique to Los Angeles, with a few isolated cases outside the area.

Lakers 111 - Blazers 107 (end of regulation) The Lakers got a game they absolutely needed, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 111-107. Kobe Bryant scored 40 points on 15-23 shooting, hitting four clutch free throws down the stretch, but it was a Steve Nash fadeaway with 1:44 left in the game that was the difference. Nash struggled all night, hitting just 2-11 from the field -- missing his only free throw -- but the last two of his four points gave the Lakers a lead they never relinquished.

  VS. PORTLAND. When: 7:30. Where: Staples Center. On the air: TV: TWC SportsNet, TWC Deportes; Radio: 710, 1330. Records: Lakers 26-29, Trail Blazers 25-29. Record vs. Trail Blazers: 1-1. Update: The Lakers have been awful in Portland, going 4-17 there since 2002, but it's a different story at Staples Center, where they have won 13 of their last 15 against the Trail Blazers. Point guard Damian Lillard is a rookie-of-the-year candidate, but Portland has lost its last six games.

For days, residents of the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles believed something was amiss. At least one said there was flooding in one of the fourth-floor rooms, while others complained about weak water pressure. At least one of those complaints led a hotel maintenance worker to check Tuesday on one of the large metal water cisterns on the roof, where he discovered the body of an unidentified woman in her 20s at the bottom of the tank. Authorities said late Tuesday that the body was that of Elisa Lam, 21, a Vancouver, Canada, woman last seen at the hotel Jan. 31. Police gave scant details about how the body might have ended up in the tank.

What the future holds for Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf is uncertain. So the future might as well be now. The Ducks stars and pending free agents each scored in Monday's 3-2 victory over Columbus at Honda Center to give the home team its fifth straight victory and ninth in 10 games this month. "We knew it'd be a tough test. It's not easy to come off the road like that and play at home two days later," Perry said after flicking in a third-period goal that served as the decisive margin.

The man who won the Northern Trust Open in a playoff Sunday called it "one of the great par fours we play. " The man who lost in the playoff called it "funky" and added, "They might as well put a windmill out there. " So, although the record books will show that Long Beach's John Merrick won the golf event in a playoff with Charlie Beljan, the real winner appeared to be, as usual, No. 10 at Riviera Country Club. That's where the tournament ended, same as last year. Second playoff hole, same as last year.

Third-round leader Bill Haas is trying to become only the eighth player to win what is now called Northern Trust Open in consecutive years. The first player to do it was Macdonald Smith in 1928-29. The last to do it was Phil Mickelson in 2008-09. The others are Ben Hogan (1947-48), Paul Harney (1964-65), Arnold Palmer (1966-67), Corey Pavin (1994-95) and Mike Weir (2003-04). Haas is also trying to become the first player to successfully defend a title on the PGA Tour since Steve Stricker won the John Deere Classic in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

- If there was any surprise about Clayton Kershaw being selected the Dodgers' opening-day starter by Manager Don Mattingly on Saturday, it was that there was any announcement at all. "I don't even know why he had to announce it," catcher A.J. Ellis said. Kershaw, who turns 25 next month, will pitch on opening day for the third consecutive year. The Dodgers start the season April 1 against the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. "He's the guy who's there for the big games, opening day, first game after the break," Ellis said.

Clippers 125, Lakers 101 (final) The Clippers dominated the Lakers on Thursday night, winning their third consecutive meeting this season against their Staples Center roommates. After storming to a big lead with a 15-0 run in the first quarter, the Clippers eased back enough to let the Lakers close to within three points in the first half but it didn't last. Blake Griffin was on fire early with 18 first-quarter points, finishing with 22.  Chris Paul led the Clippers with 24 points and 13 assists.  Chauncey Billups added 21 points as the Clippers shot 51.7% from the field.

For the first time in 17 days, the Clippers played a game at home. It was smooth at times and choppy at other times, the jolt of energy early on waning as the game against the Houston Rockets at Staples Center progressed. But with five players scoring in double figures, the Clippers defeated the Rockets, 106-96, on Wednesday night. The Clippers had returned home from an eight-game, 13-day trip early Tuesday morning, tired and weary but content having gone 4-4. They scored 46 points in the first quarter against the Rockets and opened a 23-point lead in the first half, making the game look easy.