Although the Los Angeles Lakers had a few days off, they still wound up shorthanded against the Utah Jazz on Thursday night.
The Lakers ruled out Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton and Gabe Vincent for the contest, leaving head coach JJ Redick with an even thinner rotation than usual. The Jazz were also without Lauri Markkanen, so on paper the purple and gold had the edge in terms of talent.
However, Utah came out of the gates hot as they seemingly couldn’t miss against a Los Angeles defense that’s been scuffling throughout the 2025-26 season. While the Lakers were able to keep pace offensively, their inability to get stops prevented them from ever taking the lead against the Jazz in the first half.
The second half was a different story as L.A. finally started to get stops and rebounds, igniting their own breaks that eventually led to them taking the lead. Although the game came down to the final minutes, the Lakers did enough to hold on for a 143-135 victory.
Luka Doncic has had no problems scoring this season and in a high-pace game against Utah he definitely did his part. Doncic dazzled with an array of moves that kept the Jazz on their heels, but he was also effective as a rebounder and playmaker.
In the fourth quarter, the Lakers were able to take the lead and when Doncic came in he ensured they kept it as he hit multiple deep 3-pointers. Doncic may have been frustrated with the officiating, but his massive triple-double of 45 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists was enough to get the job done. He also added five steals for good measure.
Like Doncic, LeBron James was able to use his size and physicality to bully Utah’s defenders for buckets and free throws. James also saw the floor well, moving the basketball and keeping the Jazz defense in rotations.
James may be the oldest player in the league, but he still somehow finds himself going viral as he threw down a poster dunk that got the crowd on its feet. James narrowly missed out on his own triple-double, but finished with a strong stat line of 25 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists.
Marcus Smart has started to find his footing offensively and he was the difference in the fourth quarter, knocking down clutch 3-pointers to keep the Lakers run going. He recorded 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers will return home to Los Angeles, though it’ll be a road game at Intuit Dome against the L.A. Clippers on Sunday night before heading back out on the road.
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