Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton each posted 22-point, 10-rebound double-doubles on Sunday to help the Los Angeles Lakers earn a 131-107 victory over the visiting Utah Jazz in the regular-season finale.
LeBron James completed his 23rd regular season, finishing with 18 points in 17 minutes for the Lakers (53-29), who will be the No. 4 seed in next week’s Western Conference playoffs and face the Houston Rockets in the first round. Dalton Knecht scored 17 points, Nick Smith Jr. added 12 and Bronny James chipped in 11 for Los Angeles, which finished with its most victories in a season since the 2010-11 campaign (57).
Marcus Smart had five points and 10 assists as the Lakers won their third straight.
Oscar Tshiebwe led Utah (22-60) with 29 points and 17 rebounds, while Ace Bailey and Brice Sensabaugh added 15 points apiece. Cody Williams and Bez Mbeng both scored 14 points and Blake Hinson had 10 for the Jazz, who recorded their second 60-loss season in franchise history and their second in as many years.
Utah trimmed its 17-point halftime deficit to 12 when Tshiebwe and Mbeng combined for a 7-0 Jazz spurt.
The Lakers finished the third with seven straight points, including Bronny James’ 3-pointer to send Los Angeles into the fourth with a 95-74 advantage.
After Williams’ layup cut Utah’s deficit to 19, Knecht buried consecutive triples and Jarred Vanderbilt dunked to extend the lead to 107-80 with 8:22 remaining. Reserve Chris Manon’s layup with 3:30 left ensured that all 14 Los Angeles players scored in the lopsided win.
Los Angeles grabbed its first double-digit lead midway through the first quarter, as LeBron James’ layup gave the Lakers a 21-10 edge. James had 10 first-quarter points to help Los Angeles take a 32-22 lead into the second.
Mbeng’s 3-pointer pulled Utah within nine, before Smith and Jake LaRavia each drilled triples to stamp a 9-2 Los Angeles run, pushing the lead to 54-38.
Hachimura’s third trey of the opening half was followed by James’ layup, giving the Lakers a 62-45 halftime lead. Hachimura and James each scored 18 points apiece in the first half, while Sensabaugh’s 15 paced Utah.
–Field Level Media
