The Los Angeles Lakers went into Sunday night losers of four of their last five, looking to get back on track against a Utah Jazz team that has been struggling.
The Lakers were severely short-handed in this one as Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, Cam Reddish and Jaxson Hayes were all out. Other guys stepped up though, as did their stars, to hang on for a 105-104 win.
With so many guards out, Gabe Vincent got the start for the Lakers and made his first shot. It was a slow start offensively for both teams but the Lakers were able to get out in transition with LeBron James finding Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht for dunks and then finishing a layup of his own.
When James went to the bench, Davis carried a lot of the load offensively with eight first quarter points. The Jazz hit a few 3s though to take a slim 27-26 lead into the second.
James scored back-to-back buckets to begin the second and then found Vincent for a triple, continuing to control things offensively for L.A. He then wasn’t able to get some foul calls from the officials though, which directly led to a 7-0 run for the Jazz.
The Lakers had an immediate response with Vincent and Knecht hitting triples and then Davis scoring on a drive. At the end of the first half, the Lakers held a slim 58-56 lead with their two stars leading the way.
The third quarter has been an issue for the Lakers all season and that looked to be the case again with the Jazz hitting back-to-back triples to begin the second half.
Davis had a nice response for the Lakers, making a 3 of his own and then finishing two buckets inside. Vincent also made a layup, giving him 10 points for the first time as a member of the Lakers. Things stayed close through the end of the third quarter with L.A. taking an 86-81 lead into the fourth.
Lauri Markkanen kept his team in it with a 3 to begin the fourth. Rui Hachimura provided the Lakers with some offensive firepower though with back-to-back triples to put them back up eight.
The Lakers offense went cold from there and the Jazz stayed within striking distance going into the final minute. L.A.’s lead was cut to just one before James made a huge left-handed layup.
Walker Kessler then had a putback to get it back to one, so the Lakers needed one more bucket to ice it. James missed a long 3, and the Jazz had one last chance at the buzzer to win it. Collin Sexton fumbled the ball, however, and then was blocked, so the Lakers escaped with the win.
What’s next for the Lakers
This was the first of a four-game road trip for the Lakers and also the first of a back-to-back as they will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night. They then finish up against the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks before returning home.
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