The Los Angeles Lakers finally made it to the end of the 2022-23 regular season, but they couldn’t relax just yet as the last day had several playoff implications tied to it.
Los Angeles’ first order of business was to take care of a tanking Utah Jazz team and they did just that as they beat them 128-117 to finish out the regular season on a high note. Despite the Jazz sitting most of their regulars, they gave the Lakers a run for their money throughout the afternoon before the latter finally put their foot down in the fourth quarter.
Sensing a chance to try and lock up the favorable Play-In Tournament spot, LeBron James looked his sharpest and most aggressive since coming back from his right foot tendon injury. James took it upon himself to get Los Angeles up early and he did it with his jumper as he drained three triples in the opening quarter. His outside shooting carried into the second and particularly in the final quarter when he nailed a pair of deep 3s to put away the Jazz for good.
The King led all scorers with 36 points on 13-of-25 shooting, including a blistering 8-of-14 from deep. His jumper has come and gone since returning, but to see him shooting with this much confidence before the Play-In Tournament and potentially the playoffs is encouraging to say the least.
James’ co-star Anthony Davis had another quieter afternoon offensively as he managed to only score 16 points on 15 shots. However, Davis was forced on the defensive end as he smothered Utah in the paint and made sure that they thought twice when driving at the rim.
Davis managed to stuff the rest of the stat sheet, pulling down 13 rebounds to go along with three assists, four blocks and three steals.
D’Angelo Russell was the second-leading scorer for the purple and gold as he contributed with 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field while adding five assists. Russell has done well to blend in next to James and Davis and he’s settled well into his role, picking his spots on the floor and making the extra pass when available.
What’s next for Lakers
By virtue of finishing with the No. 7 seed, Los Angeles will host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena. If the Lakers win, they’ll have four days off before playing Game 1 against the Memphis Grizzlies. However, if they lose then they will play the winner of the New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder game on Friday.
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