Behind LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers is Jazz

Behind LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers is Jazz

NBA: Los Angeles Lakers at Utah JazzDec 1, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton (2) is tackled by Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23), forward/center Anthony Davis (3) and center Christian Koloko (10) in the final second of the second half at the Delta Center. blocked. Mandatory attribution: Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images

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 with a 105-104 win on Sunday night.

Davis finished the game with 33 points and 11 rebounds and LeBron James scored 27 points with 14 assists, giving the Lakers their second win in six games.

The Jazz trailed by nine points, 101-92, after James hit a floater with 5:33 left, but came back and had a chance to win the game in the final seconds.

Walker Kessler scored with a basket and then grabbed a defensive rebound with 8.2 seconds left. The Jazz then appeared to take the lead with under two seconds left when Collin Sexton hit a layup, but Jazz coach Will Hardy called a timeout just before Sexton fired the shot.

The Lakers then three-teamed Sexton on the inbound pass, causing him to lose control of the ball without firing a potential game-winning shot before the final whistle.

Lauri Markkanen led Utah with 22 points and John Collins scored 21 with nine rebounds in the Jazz’s fourth straight loss. Kessler had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Sexton scored 15 points.

The Jazz outscored the Lakers 50.6 percent to 44.3 percent, but had 15 turnovers, which led to 20 points for LA. The Lakers committed just five turnovers while giving Utah eight rebounds in nine games.

Los Angeles picked up the win despite a difficult 3-point shooting night. James, who made just 12 of 28 shots overall, missed all nine of his 3-point attempts as the Lakers won 7:33 from deep. Utah made 14 of 40 3s.

Despite the Jazz’s best efforts, the Lakers held strong in the fourth quarter.

Markkanen cut the Lakers’ lead to two with a 3-pointer after 24 seconds, but Rui Hachimura responded with consecutive 3-pointers within 26 seconds to give LA a 92-84 lead.

Sexton then scored three straight Jazz baskets to keep Utah in the game 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 lead.

James beat the shot clock with a left-handed floater, making the score 105-102 with 41 seconds left.

–Field level media

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