U.S. city of Salt Lake — The Utah Jazz defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 132–123 on Saturday night thanks to 29 points, 9 boards, and 5 assists from Lauri Markkanen.
With 27 points from Collin Sexton and 21 from Jordan Clarkson, the Jazz won their eighth consecutive home game and fifth overall. Keyonte George and John Collins each scored nineteen points. Collins had 13 rebounds, which was the most on the squad.
After winning just seven of their first twenty-three games this season, Utah finally broke even. Under Will Hardy's tutelage, the Jazz had never won five consecutive games before. It has been a while, but I believe we're establishing our identity on both sides of the court and we can perform consistently," Markkanen stated.
Anthony Davis got a triple-double in LeBron James's absence due to a left ankle injury, but the Jazz managed to turn the game around after the first quarter. The Utes were unstoppable in the fast break, scoring 27 points and converting 23 turnovers into scores.
The entire game should not have been played in the halfcourt, Hardy stated. Our rapid changeover gave us a sense of superiority. The squad executed a fantastic job of realizing this and racing to capitalize.
A career-best 39 points and eight assists were tallied by D'Angelo Russell, who spearheaded the Lakers. Rui Hachimura scored seventeen points and Austin Reaves scored nineteen points before fouling out in the last period.
Despite shooting only 5 of 21 from the field and committing six turnovers, Davis managed to rack up 15 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 assists.
Our defense isn't doing its job while our offense is. "Our offense isn't working when our defense is," Russell remarked. "What the fuck is happening?"