Anthony Davis and LeBron James both had double-doubles, and the Los Angeles Lakers held off a late push from the Utah Jazz to secure a 105-104 win on Sunday night in Salt Lake City.
Davis finished with 33 points and 11 rebounds, while LeBron James contributed 27 points and 14 assists to help the Lakers earn their second win in six games.
The Jazz were down by nine points, 101-92, after James scored a floater with 5:33 remaining. However, they rallied and had a chance to win in the final moments.
Walker Kessler cut the lead to one point with a basket, and then grabbed a defensive rebound with 8.2 seconds left. The Jazz seemed to take the lead when Collin Sexton made a layup with less than two seconds remaining, but Utah’s coach, Will Hardy, called a timeout just before the shot.
On the inbounds pass, the Lakers triple-teamed Sexton, causing him to lose control of the ball, and preventing him from getting a game-winning shot off before the buzzer sounded.
Lauri Markkanen led the Jazz with 22 points, and John Collins added 21 points and nine rebounds in Utah’s fourth straight loss. Kessler finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Sexton scored 15 points.
Although the Jazz outshot the Lakers 50.6% to 44.3%, Utah had 15 turnovers, which allowed the Lakers to score 20 points off those mistakes. Los Angeles committed only five turnovers, helping them win despite struggling with their 3-point shooting. The Lakers made only 7 of 33 3-pointers, while Utah hit 14 of 40.
The Lakers stayed tough in the fourth quarter, with Markkanen cutting the lead to two points with a step-back 3-pointer early on. However, Rui Hachimura answered with back-to-back 3s, giving the Lakers an 92-84 lead.
Sexton scored three straight baskets for the Jazz to bring them within 94-90, but James responded with four points, including a dunk, in a 5-0 run to give the Lakers their biggest lead at 99-90. Utah came back with a 10-2 surge, but James made a left-handed floater to beat the shot clock and push the Lakers’ lead to 105-102 with 41 seconds remaining.
