Lakers Hold Off Jazz 108-106 After Four-Day Layoff
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SALT LAKE CITY — Returning from an unusual four-day break, the Los Angeles Lakers edged the Utah Jazz 108-106 on Sunday night at Delta Center, moving to 12-4 in the young season.
The visitors started quickly behind 40-year-old LeBron James, who opened the scoring with a transition dunk and later found Austin Reaves for an easy layup. Turnovers briefly stalled the offense, but Luka Doncic ignited a 10-0 run that pushed Los Angeles to a 32-30 lead after one quarter.
Utah grabbed a brief advantage early in the second period before James attacked the rim to restore momentum for L.A. Doncic added a highlight assist, sliding the ball through Kevin Love’s legs to Jaxson Hayes for an alley-oop. A late three-pointer by Rui Hachimura sent the Lakers to halftime up 62-55.
The Lakers lost starting center Deandre Ayton to a right knee contusion at intermission. Hayes opened the third quarter in his place with a three-point play, but the Jazz countered with a 17-6 burst to move ahead 72-68. Over the final 10 minutes of the period, all Los Angeles points came from Doncic, James and Reaves, giving the Lakers an 84-81 edge entering the fourth.
Doncic stretched the margin to double digits with mid-range jumpers and a deep three, yet Utah refused to fold. Consecutive baskets by Lauri Markkanen cut the gap to four inside two minutes, and his subsequent three made it 107-106 after a James miss. Markkanen’s potential go-ahead jumper rimmed out on the next possession, and Doncic hit one of two free throws with 8.7 seconds left.
Keyontae George took the Jazz’s final shot but misfired from the right corner as time expired, sealing the Lakers’ narrow victory.
Up Next
The Lakers return to Crypto.com Arena for the final two games of Emirates NBA Cup group play, facing the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday and the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.
Source: LakersNation.com
