After dropping their first preseason game of the 2015-16 season, the Los Angeles Lakers (0-1) were back in action Tuesday night, as they faced the Utah Jazz (1-0) once again, for their last game of two, at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii in another sellout game.
— What will Kobe Bryant make this season? Find out here! —
The Lakers managed to keep things steady at the beginning of the first game of the preseason Sunday, trying to find some type of rhythm and led by six heading into the second half. The team soon fell behind, as they struggled to get shots in and were handed a 90-71 loss.
This time around, the Lakers hoped to keep the momentum going and show some improvement, both offensively and defensively, to stop the Jazz throughout the game.
First Quarter:
Kobe Bryant opened the first quarter with a jump shot from the right side and a drive through the middle by Jordan Clarkson gave the Lakers an early 4-0 lead. Alec Burks made in a reverse layup, as he put in the first points for the Jazz. Two back-to-back steals by the Jazz put them up 11-7. Center Rudy Gobert went in for the layup and was fouled by D’Angelo Russell, who hit the floor hard and was carried off into the locker room. He did not return to the floor for the rest of the game. Gobert was able to convert the free throw for a three-point opportunity, 13-7. Midway through the game, the Lakers continued to suffer both offensively and defensively, giving up shots and committing turnovers left and right, as the Jazz continued to run them over, leading 21-9. With 4:22 left in the quarter, the Jazz pushed their lead to 19, 29-10, as the Lakers struggled to answer back and put shots up. Metta World Peace added an assist to Michael Frazier for a shot behind the arc, his first three of the night, but the Lakers still trailed, 31-17. With less than two minutes left in the first quarter of the game, the Lakers went on an 8-0 run, but Gordon Hayward hit a three from the corner, to put the Jazz up, 34-20. With 40 seconds to go, Brandon Bass put up a layup from under the rim with the assist of Lou Williams, as the Lakers were down, 11. Both teams attempted to get a shot in before the end, but failed, as the Lakers entered the second quarter down, 35-24.
Second Quarter:
After a sloppy first quarter by the Lakers on both ends of the spectrum, the Jazz and Lakers exchanged points, though the Lakers still trailed, 37-26. Kobe managed to bank in a turnaround jumper for the Lakers, 39-29. Following Kobe, Julius Randle put in a shot of his own with a fadeaway from Clarkson, as the Lakers cut the deficit to eight, 39-31. Midway through the second, Clarkson dialed it in with a three-pointer, Lakers still down, 41-34. With five minutes on the clock, Bryant managed a turnaround fadeaway shot, cutting the deficit to six, 43-37. World Peace followed with a fadeaway shot, 43-39. Less than three minutes left to play in the first half, after trailing by double-digits, the Lakers managed to cut that to six, 47-41. World Peace continued to stay solid and managed to pull a three-point play opportunity, after being fouled by Rodney Hood, as the Lakers moved closer to take a lead, down by three, 47-44. With two free throws by Bass, the Lakers were down by just one. Clarkson went in for a layup down the middle, unfortunately missed, but Bass came right behind for the rebound to tip the ball in, as the Lakers took the lead, 48-47. The Jazz managed to get a shot in to beat the buzzer, to take a one-point lead, 49-48.
Third Quarter:
After being down by at least 19 points in the first half, the Lakers managed to cut that deficit by one, heading into the third quarter. Clarkson started off the half with a floater and Kobe put up a shot from behind the arc with the assist from Clarkson, as the Lakers took a 53-51 lead. A no look bounce pass by Bryant to Randle for the finish, as the Lakers up, 57-55, eight minutes left in the game. Nick Young on the floor with a shot behind the arc with the assist from Randle, pushing the Lakers lead, to five, 60-55. Midway through the third, the Lakers led the Jazz, 64-59 and definitely showed energy throughout the court. A fast break by Randle ended up with a two-handed slam, to push the Lakers lead. Though Utah with consecutive shots, put them not too far behind. Kobe answered with a shot from behind the arc, for another three of the night, as the Lakers were up, 71-68. Less than two minutes left in the third, Jeff Whithey managed to tie the game with a dunk through the middle. Both teams went back-and-forth for the remainder of the game, but entered the fourth tied at 78.
Fourth Quarter:
The Lakers got on the board first as Randle showed off his athleticism with a tip jam. The Jazz immediately responded with five straight points to take an 83-80 lead. Randle continued his strong play with another basket to bring the Lakers to within a point. A no-look pass from Randle to Williams led to a basket and foul to tie the game at 85. Rodney Hood hit a huge three to put Utah right back ahead by three. The Lakers would quickly tie the game again, but another Jazz three, this time from Alex Burks kept them ahead. Three free throws from Hibbert would tie the game and he would split another pair to give the Lakers a one-point lead. Young hit his patented step-back jumper to put the Lakers back up a point and a pair of free throws put them up three. Both teams found themselves at the free throw line, but it was Hibbert knocking down two more to keep the Lakers ahead by four. A deep three from Young gave the Lakers a six-point cushion, but a dunk from Utah dropped the gap back to four. A floater from Hood cut the Lakers lead to two points and a dunk from Withey tied the game with under 30 seconds left. Williams missed a jumper to win the game and this game would go to overtime.
Overtime:
Nick Young split a pair of free throws, to start the scoring, but a pair of Burks free throws and a turnaround from Hood gave Utah a three-point lead. Lou Williams hit a jumper to cut the Lakers deficit to a point. Utah would quickly respond with four straight points to go ahead by five with two minutes left. Young hit a floater to bring the Lakers back within three. A mid-range jumper from Williams cut the deficit to a point with under a minute remaining. The Lakers got a stop, but Young missed a three with eight seconds left. Trey Lyles hit a pair of free throws as the Lakers had one more chance to tie the game. The Jazz intentionally fouled Williams who hit both free throws. Hood would knock down two free throws for the Jazz to put them back up three with 4.7 seconds remaining. Williams missed the three and the Lakers fell 117-114 in overtime.
