Rick Bowmer / Associated Press
Utah Jazz may play more important games against the Los Angeles Lakers in the future, but they won the temporary bragging rights on Wednesday.
Utah defeated Los Angeles 114-89 in a possible final Western Conference showdown at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson led in a balanced effort for the winners, who are the best in the NBA with 26-6 overall and 11-1 in the last 12 games.
Solid performances by LeBron James and Montrezl Harrell were not enough for the 22-11 Lakers, who are still without Anthony Davis and Dennis Schroder and have now lost four in a row.
Notable player statistics
- Donovan Mitchell, G, UTA: 13 PTS, 10 REB, 8 AST, 2 STL
- Rudy Gobert, C, UTA: 18 PTS, 9 REB
- Mike Conley, G, UTA: 14 PTS, 8 AST, 8 REB, 2 STL, 4 of 6 3PT
- Jordan Clarkson, G, UTA: 18 PTS, 4 REB
- LeBron James, F, LAL: 19 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST
- Montrezl Harrell, F, LAL: 16 PTS, 6 REB
Balanced Jazz Steamroll Lakers in Statement Win
Jazz cannot fully prove itself to the doubtful ones until the playoffs after two consecutive starts in the first round, but dealing with the title champions in a national broadcast represented an opportunity to make a statement.
Perhaps it was appropriate, then, for the underrated Conley to be the best player on the pitch in stretches right after he was kicked out of the All-Star squad. He immediately caught fire from the bottom while executing the attack and controlling the pace.
It was far from a one-man show when Jazz jumped to a 16-point lead. Clarkson was electrified off the bench, Bojan Bogdanovic found his bottom shot and Gobert controlled the boards.
The fact that Utah had such a commanding lead at halftime against a championship contender, even though All-Star Mitchell was just 1 of 8 pitches, underscored the overall depth of the team.
To Mitchell’s credit, he found other ways to impact the game, even when his kick wasn’t falling. He worked in pick-and-roll with Gobert and Derrick Favors to create easy rim looks for the big ones and fought for boards even in the backcourt.
The effort helped Jazz to continue to do well in the second half, especially when he connected from a distance and entered the track to reinforce his own score numbers.
Six players scored double digits for Utah, which further proved that it is not necessary to have one or two players to win every night. There is external shooting, rim protection, a stable point guard in Conley and an option that can light up the score or create for others in Mitchell.
Jazz is a contender for the championship, and they looked alike on Wednesday.
LeBron plays less minutes in blast loss
There is good and bad news for the Lakers right now.
The good news is that they know they don’t need the advantage of playing at home to win a title after winning it last season at Walt Disney World Resort. The regular season is just a dress rehearsal for a team that is in the championship or losing phase and will be much better when Davis and Schroder return.
The bad news is that the Lakers seem as vulnerable as they have been since the 2018-19 playoff campaign and are betting heavily on the legs of James, 36. In fact, he came into play with an average of 38.2 minutes a night in February, after playing 43 in Monday’s overtime loss to the Washington Wizards.
Los Angeles could not have been much worse in the beginning, especially on the defensive side, as Utah connected with the open perimeter and had many open lanes to the edge.
If there were any silver lining, it was the realization that LeBron would not have to carry that much weight in an explosion.
Even when he was there for much of the third half, the king was content with outside jumpers and did not exactly pressure opponent ball handlers or chase someone on the open ground. He was still the offensives’ best option, however, with a soft touch in the midfield and the ability to dominate defenders to the end in some possessions.
That wasn’t even close enough against red-hot jazz, but James at least managed to sit for the entire fourth time.
What is the next?
Both teams are in action on Friday, when the Lakers host the Portland Trail Blazers and Jazz travels to face the Miami Heat.