After controlling the game for most of the second half, the Lakers survived a frenzied rally from the Jazz late to hold on to a 108-106 win.
The Lakers built their biggest lead of the game, 13, in the fourth,
but then saw a huge Jazz run in the final seconds trim the deficit down to two. A potential Keyonte George game-winning 3-pointer missed and the Lakers moved to 8-2 on the road.
The game began with an emphatic dunk from LeBron, which led to a quick timeout call from Jazz head coach Will Hardy. Out of the break, Keyonte George scored on a floater. Luka was the leading scorer for LA with seven points through the opening minutes.
Svi Mykhailiuk and Jusuf Nurkić had a combined 10 points for Utah. Los Angeles was down by three at the halfway mark of the period.
Smart knocked down what was just the second triple out of seven attempts for the purple and gold. Hachimura and Reaves each had seven points. All starters except for Ayton scored in this quarter. The Jazz were able to close the gap to within two points by the end of the frame.
Utah extended its run to 8-2, putting them in the lead to start the second period. LaRavia came in and scored a quick five points for LA. Isaiah Collier had nine off the bench for the Jazz.
Both teams had a stretch of sloppy basketball and missed shots. LeBron surged for six points to put Los Angeles up by one. Luka was not just scoring but dazzling the crowd with his handles, leading into a lob to Jaxson Hayes, who converted on the dunk.
The Lakers were shooting a solid 52% from the field. They converted on more triples, but were shooting 35% from the arc. At halftime, LA was up by seven.
Hayes started the second half for Ayton, who was left the game with a right knee contusion and did not return. George drained a pair of 3-pointers early, his second and third of the game.
Utah had a nine-point surge that helped them tie the game. Ace Bailey then threw down a slam to put Jazz up by two. After George converted on a layup, the Lakers called a timeout, trailing by four.
The start of the quarter was rough for Los Angeles as they were shooting 30% from the field. The Jazz were shooting 52%.
Look away if you happen to be a Mavericks fan…a block by Maxi Kleber led to a 3-pointer by Luka on the other end and LA found themselves within one.
Los Angeles was on a 10-0 scoring run and had gone up by three. From there, it was a back-and-forth affair that eventually saw LA lead by three going into the fourth.
The fourth period started well for LA as they extended their lead to 13. It was the first time all game that they were able to get a double-digit lead. The lead disappeared in the blink of an eye as Utah went on a 9-3 scoring run to make it a one-possession game.
Los Angeles was struggling to defend Lauri Markkanen, who started heating up, suddenly shooting 57% from the field. His surge allowed the Jazz to either tie or win the game. George tried to win it at the buzzer with a 3-pointer, but it didn’t convert, and the Lakers survived.
Key Player Stats:
Luka Dončić took over in the fourth to put some distance between the Lakers and the hosts, finishing with 33 points with 11 rebounds and eight assists. Austin Reaves tallied 22 points with 10 rebounds. The two of them combined to shoot just 4-20 from three.
LeBron James had a slow start, going just 1-7 to open the game before hitting seven of his next 11 shots to finish with 17 points. Rui Hachimura had the opposite game, starting fast before fading in the second half to finish with 13 points and six rebounds.
Marcus Smart had six points off the bench while both Jaxson Hayes and Jake LaRavia had five.
The Lakers’ next matchup is Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers at 8:00 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
