This was the slowest I'd seen the lightning-quick Lakers play all year. Maybe they were still in a food coma from Thanksgiving dinner. I know I was, and I didn't even play professional basketball tonight.
The Jazz tried to make the Lakers play at their grind-it-out pace of play, and to an extent it worked. Donovan Mitchell went down with a rib injury in the middle of the second quarter, which didn't bode well for Utah's chances. They just couldn't drum up enough offense to steal one on the road against the Lakers. The Lakers are now 9-2(11-7 overall) since Magic Johnson allegedly unleashed a tirade of cusswords at Luke Walton. If there's any conclusion to draw from this observation, it's that if you shit on Luke Walton the universe will reward you. Check out the quarter-by-quarter recap below.
Game Recap
First Quarter
LA rushed out to grab the upper hand real quick, going up 8-2 off transition points and solid D. The Jazz didn't take long to respond, scoring five quick points off a triple and a basket in the paint. After the Jazz rallied to make it 7-8 Luke Walton called timeout. Normally, the Lakers would come out of a timeout throwing an ill-advised three-pointer or mid-ranger, but this time they came out ferociously going to the hoop! Lonzo, Ingram, and LeBron were all charging into the paint looking to attack. They weren't making any secret of their plan, but the Jazz kept letting them have it. The Lakers went back up by seven as the Jazz called their first break in the action 14-7.
LA kept Utah at a stiff arms distance en route to a 22-16 first quarter lead. Aggressive Lonzo Ball carried over from the Cavs game last Wednesday. He did great in the quarter, blocking shots and hustling back on the other end to make himself ready for offense. The Lakers would be in a good place if they got that from him all night.
Second Quarter
The Lakers went with a bench unit spearheaded by Ingram at the PG to start the second. This lineup gets run often to start the second quarter, and after being initially optimistic I'm not a fan of it anymore. Ingram started his first couple sequences off with a fumbled dribble and and a ball thrown into the third row. Not the most promising opening possessions. Josh Hart managed to create his own shot and nail a three to give the Lakers some breathing room right as the Jazz came alive. LA was still ahead as the Jazz called time once more to reconfigure their approach, 28-22.
Utah cut it down to three 27-30 after a streaky sequence by Thabo Sefolosha. The Jazz tried slowing this thing down in an attempt to make Lakers play their brand of basketball. The Jazz controlled the pace, but they weren't converting on enough to their shots to jump ahead of the Lakeshow. An unfortunate thing happened midway through the second quarter when Donovan Mitchell went to the locker room with an apparent rib contusion. He was questionable to return.
Meanwhile, LA was getting out and running like they did during the preseason. Every one of them was pushing the pace and attacking the basket. They were taking noticeably fewer threes per usual, ultimately creating some beautiful, aesthetically pleasing basketball. They really look like they're at their best when they're pushing it in transition and looking for clever back cuts. While it may have looked pretty at times, it wasn't efficient enough to give them a lead - much less even forty points at the half. Utah rallied to tie it all up at 38 after two quarters of play. This looked like the lowest scoring first half of the year for the Lakers. It was probably right in that ballpark for the Jazz
Third Quarter
The Lakers came out in the third trying to execute their push-the-pace gameplan, which worked to limited success in the opening minutes. Utah stepped things up defensively and made the Lakers work for every basket they threw up. We were still playing that Utah snails-pace brand of basketball as things sat near-even on the scoreboard 48-49.
One thing that killed the Lakers all night was turnovers. Utah already had 22 points off of them while the Lakers only drummed up seven. It was off a turnover that Utah took the lead for the first time all night 51-50. It didn't stay that way for long as the lead switched hands like Markelle Fultz with the ball at the free throw line. Things were pretty messy overall for the Lakers(20 turnovers), but Brandon Ingram emerged as a bright spot with 21 points just past midway through the third. The Lakers ended up gaining the advantage to end it 64-63. This game felt like it could swing either way. Whoever got hot at the right time would run away with it.
Fourth Quarter
The Lakers came out pounding the paint just like they had been all damn game. This time it yielded some LeBron dunks which set the Friday night Staples crowd on fire. And then Lonzo Ball came out with some amazing defense to pour gasoline on the blaze! He picked up a Utah ball-handler at full-court and tipped the inbounds pass away, then dove into the corner to keep it alive which was followed by multiple Lakers hounding the Jazz. No basket came out of it but it made the crowd feel alive in a game that was going to be decided by momentum. LA had the five-point lead with under six minutes to play 79-74.
Since Donovan Mitchell got hurt, Alec Burks had free reign to lead the Jazz on offense. He was slashing, driving and kicking for the Jazz as they tried getting back in it with five minutes to go down four 77-81.
LeBron stretched the lead to nine 77-86 off a way-too-long three that would've been a bad shot if it didn't go in. Utah countered with a bucket in response, but Lonzo Ball followed it up with a pretty dish to JaVale down low. The Jazz managed cut the lead to five off some late momentum. This game that was once in the bag felt like it was within reach for the Jazz. With a serious chance to cut it down to a one-possession game, Alec Burks drove into the lane with a crowd of three Lakers ready to face him up - and LeBron got the clean rejection which bounced off the Jazz for Laker ball. The purple and gold executed at the line to walk away with their seventh win in their last eight games 90-83.
Takeaways
This game was one that the Lakers would've easily blown at the beginning of the year. They seem to be settling into their overall gameplan and have done a better job of not getting rattled at the end of games. Utah rallied at the end and I was half-expecting the visitors to steal this one. I think LA is just developing better chemistry as a whole though. LeBron is taking more on-court ownership of this team and the guys have responded.
I think my favorite thing about this game was the continuity of aggressive play by Lonzo Ball. I don't recall the last time I saw him being that aggressive going to the rim for two games in a row. Apparently, everybody on the team is telling him to play more aggressively.
That goes for Brandon Ingram too. He's much more suited slashing and dashing into the lane with his lanky frame. He tends to fall in love with the midrange shot and it's just not a good zone for him. As much as I hate the Rockets philosophy of basketball, he should be taking a Houston Rockets approach to his offense: get layups, go to the line, hit threes. If both of them can keep applying that aggressive mindset for their game they'll elevate the whole unit in addition to themselves.
Ugly win but the letter W is the only thing that matters. The Lakers seem to be grinding more of these hard battles out. Little by little by we see improvements with this Laker squad. Like LeBron says, "Everybody wants it to be instant oatmeal but it's not." Thanks for reading and check out the highlights below!
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