Los Angeles @ Utah preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 28, 2017 ) L.A. Lakers 81, Utah 96

The Utah Jazz have their sights on a playoff berth as they look to continue their recent domination of the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. Utah, which is in sixth place in the Western Conference, will be seeking its sixth straight victory over the Lakers.

The Jazz won 25 of their past 30 games and are just one game behind the fourth-place San Antonio Spurs but also just two games clear of the ninth-place Denver Nuggets in the tightly packed race. "It's been amazing," Utah coach Quin Snyder told reporters after Sunday's 121-97 road trouncing of the Minnesota Timberwolves. "You can move up four spots in one game, or you can move down four spots. There's so much pressure on you every time you play." The Lakers dropped seven of their last nine games and just posted their second-lowest scoring output of the season in Sunday's 84-83 setback against the Sacramento Kings. "We are going to have to play a lot better for the remainder of the season," Los Angeles coach Luke Walton told reporters after the loss. "We have some really good teams coming in town that are playing for something pretty significant. We are going to have to elevate our game a lot, or it is going to be a long six games to end the season."

TV: 9 p.m. ET, Spectrum Sports Net (Los Angeles), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah)

ABOUT THE LAKERS (33-43): Los Angeles looked like a team with little to play for when it never got the offense untracked in the loss to the Kings. Being without point guard Lonzo Ball (knee) and small forward Brandon Ingram (concussion) didn't help - it is possible that Ball is cleared to play against Utah - but rookie small forward Kyle Kuzma is aware a better effort needs to be made. "We just got to bring it," Kuzma told reporters. "We are playing playoff teams, a lot of teams fighting for seeding, so they are going to try to pound us. We just got to fight back and bring our 'A' game."

ABOUT THE JAZZ (44-33): Utah's dismantling of Minnesota on Sunday was a solid step toward reaching the playoffs and it left standout center Rudy Gobert feeling giddy. "It's a win over a direct playoff competitor," Gobert told reporters after the triumph. "That was big for us. They are all big at this point, but this one was especially big." Standout guard Donovan Mitchell tallied 20 or more points in nine consecutive contests, the best stretch by a rookie guard since Allen Iverson rolled off 11 straight during the 1996-97 season.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Jazz won eight of the past nine meetings, including a 96-81 home victory on Oct. 28.

2. Los Angeles PF Julius Randle is averaging 23 points over the past 11 games.

3. Utah PG Ricky Rubio scored 23 points against his former Minnesota teammates and tallied 20 or more in four of his past six outings.

PREDICTION: Utah 104, Los Angeles 93