The end of the 2025-26 season finally arrived for the Los Angeles Lakers, though it’s a bittersweet time as the team was robbed of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves heading into the playoffs.
Without Doncic and Reaves, the Lakers’ championships odds are not high, but the team has remained steadfast in its quest to compete for a title. To close out the regular season, Los Angeles hosted the Utah Jazz who entered the matchup looking to add one more loss on their record in hopes of better odds in the NBA Draft Lottery.
With the Jazz looking to add to their pile of losses, the Lakers had no problem cruising to a 131-107 victory to end the regular season on a high note.
The matchup carried playoff seeding implications for Los Angeles as they needed a win plus a Denver Nuggets loss to secure the third seed.
Deandre Ayton has been asked to do more offensively in the absence of Doncic and Reaves, and he’s done well to respond. Against a young and undermanned Utah team, Ayton had his way near the basket as he outworked and outmuscled defenders for easy buckets.
Ayton found himself open for lobs on several pick-and-roll plays, applying pressure to the Jazz and consistently forcing them into rotations. With Los Angeles trailing big, Ayton didn’t see the fourth quarter but he still finished the night with a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds on an efficient 10-of-14 shooting from the field.
Rui Hachimura also found it easy to get open looks against the porous Utah defense, making them pay from the perimeter. Hachimura has been one of the most accurate 3-point shooters by percentage in the NBA this season and he showed why after burying three of his five attempts.
Hachimura tied Ayton for a team-high 22 points to go along with 10 rebounds and one steal.
With the game already decided in the fourth quarter, Dalton Knecht got a chance to end the season with a hot shooting display. It was a disappointing sophomore season for Knecht, so it was good to see him with a mini breakout of 17 points in just 12 minutes of action.
Lastly, Jake LaRavia’s appearance against the Jazz meant he became the only member on the team to appear in all 82 regular season games.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers will host the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of the first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs next Saturday.
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