Jazz let opportunity slip as Doncic sparks Lakers win over Utah


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KEY TAKEAWAYS
  • Luka Doncic led the Lakers to a 140-125 win over the Jazz.
  • Doncic scored 37 points with 10 assists as the Lakers shot 60% overall.
  • Jazz's Keyonte George and Lauri Markkanen shined but couldn't secure the win.

LOS ANGELES β€” Even hot shooting performances from multiple Jazz players wasn't enough to help Utah overcome Luka Doncic and the now-healthy Los Angeles Lakers.

In what looked to be an all-time heat check performance from Keyonte George and sharpshooter Svi Mykhailiuk early on, it turned into a foul-fest as Doncic and Los Angeles rode the whistle to erase an early deficit and withstand the Jazz until their shots fell cold; and subsequently, the Lakers pulled away late to win 140-126.

After scoring 71 points in the first half and holding onto a 4-point lead, Utah managed just 54 points in the second half while allowing the Lakers to explode for 73 to finish with a season-high in points. It was Los Angeles' second time this season breaking the 130-point mark.

Doncic got the best of the Jazz, though the charity stripe had a lot to do with it. He finished with a 37-point double-double, in which he added 10 assists and five rebounds to go along with his 13 made free throws in the game.

The Lakers totaled 40 free throws in the win, while Utah finished with just 19. It was an undoubtedly large margin; but in the end, the Jazz stopped making shots and couldn't recover once Los Angeles took its first lead at 89-88 with 3:36 left in the third quarter.

The Lakers finished the game shooting 60% from the field.

George had it going early for the Jazz and seemingly couldn't miss in the first half. He finished the game with 33 points and seven assists on 12-of-22 shooting, including 5-of-13 from 3-point range.

Lauri Markkanen followed up his back-to-back 40-point performances with a 31-point night to give him his fourth consecutive game with at least 30 points this season. The veteran big made plenty of highlight-reel plays during the game, including an ankle-breaking pull-up shot and a 4-point play to give Utah the lead at the halftime break.

Jusuf Nurkic also put together a double-double performance for the Jazz with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Mykhailiuk finished 5-of-7 with 13 points.

Los Angeles head coach J.J. Redick got to see his team at full strength Tuesday with LeBron James making his season debut for the Lakers after missing the team's first 14 games due to sciatica. James didn't look for his shot Tuesday and took a modest seven shots, instead playing a primary passing role for Los Angeles.

With Doncic and Austin Reaves both among the top 10 scorers in the NBA and helping the Lakers get off to a hot start to begin the season, James used one of his most valuable abilities and tallied 12 assists in his return to the lineup.

The Jazz return home after a one-game road trip to host the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

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