Anthony Davis and LeBron James had double-doubles and the Los Angeles Lakers survived a late rally by the Utah Jazz to escape Salt Lake City on Sunday night with a 105-104 victory.
Davis finished with 33 points and 11 rebounds and LeBron James scored 27 points with 14 assists to lift the Lakers to their second win in six games.
The Jazz trailed by nine points, 101-92, after James hit a floater with 5:33 remaining, but came back and had a chance to win the game in the final seconds.
Walker Kessler made it a one-point game with a bucket and then pulled in a defensive rebound with 8.2 seconds to go. The Jazz then appeared to take the lead with less than two seconds left when Collin Sexton hit a layup, but Jazz coach Will Hardy called timeout just before Sexton took the shot.
The Lakers then triple-teamed Sexton on the inbounds pass, forcing him to lose control of the ball without getting a potential game-winning shot off before the final buzzer.
Lauri Markkanen led Utah with 22 points and John Collins scored 21 with nine rebounds in the Jazz’s fourth consecutive defeat. Kessler had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Sexton netted 15 points.
The Jazz outshot the Lakers 50.6 percent to 44.3 percent but had 15 turnovers, leading to 20 points for L.A. The Lakers only committed five turnovers while handing Utah its eight setback in nine outings.
Los Angeles picked up the victory despite a rough 3-point shooting night. James, who only made 12 of 28 shots overall, missed all nine of his 3-point attempts as the Lakers went 7-for-33 from deep. Utah made 14 of 40 3s.
Despite the Jazz’s best efforts, the Lakers stood strong in the fourth quarter.
Markkanen cut the Lakers’ lead to two with a step-back 3-pointer 24 seconds into the period, but Rui Hachimura responded with back-to-back 3s in a 26-second span to put L.A. ahead 92-84.
Sexton then scored three straight Jazz baskets to keep Utah in the mix at 94-90.
James responded with four points, including a dunk, in a 5-0 run to give the Lakers their largest lead at 99-90 before Utah fought back with a 10-2 surge.
James beat the shot clock with a left-handed floater to make it 105-102 with 41 seconds left.
–Field Level Media
