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- The Utah Jazz defeated the Lakers 131-119, showcasing balanced scoring and strong shooting.
- Jordan Clarkson and Isaiah Collier nearly achieved triple-doubles, while Keyonte George secured a double-double.
- Lauri Markkanen led all scorers with 32 points, and coach Will Hardy praised the team's resilience.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz got its revenge on the Lakers after Monday's blowout loss in Luka Doncic's Los Angeles debut with a 131-119 win at the Delta Center on Wednesday.
"The team showed the ability to learn and bounce back," head coach Will Hardy said. "There's going to be nights when it doesn't go our way, but the way they approached tonight's game is the piece that I'm most proud of."
The Jazz got double-digit scoring from its top six players and a little extra from three of them. Jordan Clarkson and Isaiah Collier each fell a few rebounds and assists short of a triple-double, and Keyonte George managed a double-double with 20 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.
"We had our two young guards with nine and 10 assists, respectively, with six turnovers (between them)," Hardy said of Collier and George. "The way they took care of the ball and got it moving for us was great. Six guys in double figures. It's a great team win."
Utah led 33-30 after one quarter and never trailed again. It took a 64-56 lead into the halftime break and essentially put the game away with an 11-0 run in the third quarter.
The Jazz put together a nice shooting night, as well, putting down 52.3% of shots from the field and 78.8% from the free-throw line, compared to just 44.6% and 56.7% for LA.
Lauri Markkanen led all scorers in the game with 32 points on six 3-pointers against fellow European star Doncic in just his second game as a Laker. Only Donovan Mitchell has more games with 30 points and five 3-pointers in a Jazz jersey, according to StatMuse.
Lauri Markkanen scores 32 PTS on 61.1 FG% to lead the @utahjazz to the big win at home! pic.twitter.com/SwDb3Rcebp
— NBA (@NBA) February 13, 2025
Doncic put up 16 points after entering Wednesday with a "questionable" health tag. LeBron James was also questionable coming into the game but managed a balanced 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds in his second game in Salt Lake City this season.
Rui Hachimura led the Lakers with 19 points on the night, and Austin Reaves joined George as the only players with double-doubles in the game, putting up 15 points and 11 assists.
Hardy praised George for his maturity after he moved out of the starting lineup and into a sixth-man role for the Jazz in recent weeks.
"Keyonte has understood that this is not meant to be a punishment," he said of the change. "It's meant to get the best out of him and put him in a position where he can be successful.
"He's done a good job of kind of refocusing on a lot of the things that aren't scoring. He's such a talented offensive player, but I think he's really diving into all the things that equate to winning."
The Jazz are back at the Delta Center Thursday against the Los Angeles Clippers before heading into the All-Star break.
