Lakers vs. Jazz Final result: The short-handed Lakers take the win in Utah

The Lakers had lost three rotation guards and, with big games from Anthony Davis and LeBron James, picked up a big road win on Sunday, defeating the Jazz by a final score of 105-104.

Anthony Davis finished the game with 33 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and a block. LeBron James scored 27 points with 14 assists, five rebounds and two blocks.

Gabe Vincent made it into the starting lineup without D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves and took full advantage of the opportunity to have his best game as a Laker, finishing with 10 points. Max Christie started with 12 points.

Dalton Knecht had six points and seven rebounds. Rui Hachimura finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and three helps. Jalen Hood-Schifino had four points, one rebound, one assist and one block in his 13 minutes of play.

Walker Kessler started things off with an and-one dunk for a quick Jazz lead. Both teams then exchanged baskets. AD missed a few shots that he normally fires easily.

Dalton’s first points came with a fastbreak dunk and an assist from LeBron. At the first timeout the score was tied at 11.

Gabe Vincent converted a layup and defended his start well. With three minutes left in the quarter, LA was down by six. Los Angeles slowly crept back as AD heated up offensively. After one quarter, the Lakers were down by one.

LeBron scored four straight points to give the Lakers a three-point lead early in the second period. Gabe drilled a 3-pointer of his own and LA looked like they were controlling the momentum until the Jazz fought back and went up by two points.

After Utah took the lead, LA countered with 3-pointers from Gabe and Dalton with 6:27 remaining until halftime. AD completed a 3-point play to give LA a lead.

The Lakers had an 8-0 run that quickly evaporated, while Utah used its own 8-0 run to regain the lead by five points. LA responded well with AD and Max scoring and a mid-range shot from Jalen Hood-Schifino putting the team in the lead.

A 12-5 run by the Lakers to end the half put them ahead by two.

At the start of the second half, the Jazz retook the lead with a one-point lead. They extended the score to four, but AD knocked down a mid-range shot, making it a two-point game. The Lakers regained the lead with a 3-pointer from AD.

Both teams were very evenly matched throughout the evening. There were constant basket changes and neither team was able to gain a double-digit lead. Utah’s biggest strength was the three-ball, as they had practiced 11 of their first 30 attempts.

With a lead of eight, the Lakers began to pull away. They had a record of 9-1 until Lauri Markkanen sank a three-pointer. Utah was consistently in the game and never let up.

At the end of the third period, the Lakers were ahead by five.

Lauri opened the final frame with a 3-pointer, helping the Jazz stay in the game. Utah had cut the deficit to two, but two 3-pointers from Rui put the Lakers ahead by eight.

The Jazz were able to reduce the deficit again and didn’t want to disappear. They were within five points, with Collin Sexton putting on a show with six straight points. The purple and gold fought back and LeBron grabbed the game-winning goal, giving them a seven-point lead.

After a fast break where Rui and LeBron traded back and forth, they went up by nine, which led to a dunk from LeBron. When LA started to distance themselves again, the Jazz fought back and were within four.

Neither team was able to score the ball for several minutes, the Lakers had several opportunities thanks to Rui but were unable to score. LeBron missed about four hundred 3-pointers down the stretch.

LA’s lead had been cut to two, but a mid-range shot from AD made it a four-point game.

Keyonte George was fouled on the shot and free throw and converted, leaving LA only one point ahead. LeBron hit an insane shot at the rim with his left hand to give the Lakers some cushion for their lead. However, Kessler’s putback layup ensured that there was only one point again.

After LeBron’s 3-pointer missed with just under 10 seconds left, Jazz coach Will Hardy called an incredible timeout when a shot from Sexton left them just seconds away from winning the game.

On the next play, Sexton lost the ball and three Lakers blocked the shot, allowing the Lakers to escape with the victory.

Key Takeaways:

LA needs to work on guarding the perimeter. Far too often, the opposing team’s shooters are left wide open for a three-point shot that they usually block. This was the reason Utah was consistently in the game.

LeBron and AD had slowed down in recent games, but rebounded in true superstar fashion tonight. However, LeBron’s three-ball was very concerning. He’s missed way too many and has done so for a few games.

Thanks for not turning the ball over too many times tonight, Lakers!

The Lakers’ next game is against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday at 5:00 p.m. PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.