The Los Angeles Lakers took care of business at home against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, but didn’t have much time to celebrate as they boarded a plane to take on the Utah Jazz in their final game before the All-Star break.
Even without LeBron James, the Lakers were able to sweep the back-to-back set with a dominant 138-122 victory over the Jazz.
D’Angelo Russell got Los Angeles going early with a couple of layups, and back-to-back 3-pointers from Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura had the team up 14-11. Hachimura built off the strong game he had the night before as he was able to score easily in the halfcourt.
Los Angeles did well to force misses and corral the defensive boards, allowing them to take their first double-digit lead of the night off a 12-3 run. The Jazz were able to narrow the gap at the end of the quarter, but the Lakers still went into the second leading 34-28.
Spencer Dinwiddie and Russell led the second unit offensively to begin the second, facilitating and scoring to push Los Angeles’ lead back up to 11. Hachimura also continued to shine offensively, bullying his way to buckets to keep Utah at bay.
However, despite Hachimura’s scoring outburst, the Jazz quickly worked their way back into the game thanks to Jordan Clarkson, who caught fire from the field. Anthony Davis was able to stop the bleeding with some timely baskets, but L.A.’s lead was down to 70-69 going into the halftime locker room.
Hachimura set a new career-high for points in the first half with 21.
Collin Sexton reeled off five quick points at the top of the third as the Laker defense was slow out of the gate. Hachimura continued to torch the nets, but the Jazz kept it close throughout.
Davis was able to settle Los Angeles back down by scoring 10 consecutive points, though it still wasn’t enough to pull away from Utah. Davis remained aggressive on the offensive end and put the Lakers up 108-92 going into the fourth.
Christian Wood sprained his ankle after a 3-point shot attempt, though was able to remain in the game after walking it off. Utah cut into the lead a bit, but Davis returned and picked up where he left off scoring.
Hachimura set a career-high in points at 36 after knocking down his fifth triple of the night, increasing the Laker lead to 17. Utah’s defense had no answers for Los Angeles’ offense and the latter would pick up a great win before the break. Davis had a big night himself, leading all scorers with 37 points.
Up next for the Lakers
The Lakers get the week off because of the All-Star break, but will return to play next Thursday against the Golden State Warriors.
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