Field Level Media
Jan 12, 2019
Donovan Mitchell finished with 33 points and a career-high nine assists to lead the Utah Jazz to a 113-95 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night in Salt Lake City.
Three Jazz players finished with double-doubles: Rudy Gobert (12 points, season-high 18 rebounds); Joe Ingles (14 points, career-high 12 rebounds); and Derrick Favors (15 points, season-high 13 rebounds).
Royce O'Neale added a season-high 17 points after shooting 5-of-12 from 3-point range.
Utah won its third straight at home and also earned its fourth victory in five games.
Michael Beasley scored 17 points to lead the Lakers. Brandon Ingram added 15 points, and Kyle Kuzma chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds.
Los Angeles lost for the sixth time in nine games without LeBron James in the lineup. James remained in Los Angeles due to a groin injury.
With all three Jazz point guards sidelined because of injuries, Mitchell and Ingles split primary ball-handling duties.
The Jazz started strong without a traditional point guard. Mitchell made three consecutive baskets and Gobert followed with a tip dunk to put Utah ahead 19-9.
Los Angeles answered with an 11-1 run, punctuated by 3-pointers from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Josh Hart, to tie it up at 20-20.
Utah halted the run with three free throws from Kyle Korver, and Korver's 3-pointer a minute later put the Jazz back up 28-22.
The Jazz broke the game wide open in the second quarter behind strong defense.
Utah held Los Angeles without a field goal for nearly seven minutes after Ivica Zubac made back-to-back baskets to cut the Jazz's lead to 41-34.
The Lakers did not get another bucket until JaVale McGee hit a short jumper with 55.1 seconds left in the half.
The Lakers scored a season-low 15 points in the second quarter.
Utah took advantage of the drought, using an 18-4 run to take a 59-38 lead. Mitchell fueled the lengthy run driving for a pair of baskets, blocking a layup attempt by Kuzma and feeding a no-look pass to Ingles in the corner to set up his first 3-pointer of the night.
Los Angeles trimmed Utah's lead to 76-66 in the third quarter after Beasley made back-to-back baskets and hit a pair of free throws to help fuel a 10-0 run. The Lakers couldn't cut it to single digits.
Utah later used a 14-5 run, capped by a layup from Gobert, to put it out of reach again and take a 95-73 lead with 7:03 left in the fourth quarter.
--Field Level Media