After a strong end to their road trip, the Los Angeles Lakers returned home and looked to keep things rolling on Tuesday night when they hosted the Utah Jazz.
Lakers star LeBron James missed the first 14 games of the season due to sciatica, but he worked hard to come back and was able to make his 2025-26 debut, becoming the first in league history to play in 23 seasons. With James back, the Lakers took care of business with their third straight victory, 140-126, to improve to 11-4 on the season.
It was the Jazz that came out of the gates hot with three early triples to take the lead. James missed his first shot attempt, which was a 3-pointer, and the Lakers were forced to take a timeout already trailing by double digits at 16-6.
Keyonte George had it going offensively early for Utah, but Luka Doncic helped the Lakers settle in with a couple of buckets and some free throws. Jake LaRavia then caught a body and hit a corner triple, although the Lakers still trailed 36-27 at the end of the first.
The Lakers finally started to play some defense to begin the second, allowing them to get out in transition. Austin Reaves was attacking the paint at will to cut the deficit to 41-36.
James’ first bucket was a wing triple and then he threw a lob to Deandre Ayton. While the Lakers were chipping away though, George continued to stay hot to keep him team in front.
Once Doncic returned, he got going offensively again with some deep 3s and more free throws. He had 20 points in the first half, and then James and Reaves both hit triples with the latter getting fouled to tie the game. Unfortunately, Lauri Markkanen ended the half with a four-point play of his own to send his team into the locker room with a 71-67 lead.
Both teams remained hot to begin the third quarter with the Lakers’ trio of Doncic, James and Reaves leading the way offensively. After a layup by Doncic, L.A. fought all the way back to take its first lead.
It became a full Doncic take over from there as he was scoring from wherever he wanted. James then found Gabe Vincent for a corner triple to beat the third quarter buzzer, giving the Lakers a 104-93 lead.
The start of the fourth was James’ turn to take control as he was finding Ayton and Jake LaRavia for easy buckets to continue to grow the lead. The Lakers stretched the lead to 20 from there and never looked back.
In his first outing of the season, James finished with 11 points, three rebounds and 12 assists on 4-of-7 shooting in 30 minutes. As usual, Doncic led the way with 37 points, five rebounds and 10 assists.
What’s next for the Lakers…
The Lakers will now get some time off, allowing them to rest, recover and practice before they next take the court again against the Jazz on Sunday night in Utah.
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