Luka Doncic scored 33 points while adding 11 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 108-106 victory over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on Sunday night.
Austin Reaves tallied 22 points and 10 boards to help the Lakers notch their second consecutive win over Utah in a five-day span. LeBron James added 17 points and eight assists in his second game back from a sciatica injury. Rui Hachimura chipped in 13 points.
Los Angeles outscored the Jazz 26-18 in fastbreak points.
Keyonte George led Utah with 27 points and eight assists. Lauri Markkanen chipped in 20 points that included multiple baskets in the final minutes. Jusuf Nurkic added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Trailing by 11 with 3:33 left, the Jazz used a 12-2 run to make it a one-possession game in the final minute. Utah scored baskets on five straight possessions and cut the deficit to 107-106 on a running 3-pointer from Markkanen with 41 seconds left.
The Jazz had a chance at a game-winning basket after Doncic went 1-of-2 from the free throw line with six seconds remaining but George missed a go-ahead 3-pointer on the other end just before the buzzer.
The Lakers seemed poised to break the game open early in the third quarter after back-to-back baskets from Jaxson Hayes and Doncic gave them a 67-58 lead. Los Angeles had not trailed since James scored three straight baskets to put the Lakers up 48-47 late in the second quarter.
Utah countered with a 20-4 run to go in front 78-71. The Jazz scored baskets on seven straight possessions to kickstart the run. George scored two baskets and assisted two others to fuel the surge.
Utah’s lead slipped away when the Lakers scored 10 unanswered points, capped by James throwing down a dunk. It helped Los Angeles take an 84-81 lead into the fourth quarter.
An 11-0 run punctuated by a 3-pointer from Doncic extended the Lakers’ lead to 98-85 midway through the fourth quarter.
