Lakers end regular season on high note for playoff push.
LOS ANGELES — The Lakers ended the regular season on a high note with a 121–107 win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday to finish the season with a 43–39 record.
With Sunday's win and a win from the Golden State Warriors, the Lakers' hopes to secure the 6th seed and avoid the play-in were dashed. The Lakers are now locked in at the 7th seed and set to play the Minnesota Timberwolves for a chance to stay at the 7th seed, where they would face the 2nd seed Memphis Grizzlies. If they lose, they will play the winner of the 10th and 11th play-in seeds to be the final 8th seed.
“I mean, not the fact that they traded me has anything to do with it, but the fact that they’re in the way of what we’re trying to get done,” said D’Angelo Russell on playing against his former team. “That’s all that really matters to me, honestly.”
Their back-and-forth contest against the Jazz was characterized by inconsistency. Despite building a double-digit lead several times, they allowed the Jazz to remain competitive until the end. Ultimately, they were able to secure the win thanks in part to the clock, but their inability to hold onto their lead was a persistent issue throughout the game.
Dealing with inconsistency from the three-point line all season has been an issue that’s hurt LeBron, but tonight he found his rhythm from deep, shooting 8-for-14 (57%) from three.
LeBron finished with a game-high 36 points on 13-of-25 shooting, adding six rebounds, six assists, one block, and one steal in 33 minutes of action.
Anthony Davis showed flashes of dominance at protecting the paint, having a huge sequence of back-to-back blocks as he finished with four total.
Davis finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks, and three steals in 33 minutes.
After starting the season 2–10, the Lakers got hot at the right time to secure a playoff spot, finishing with the second-best record in the NBA since the all-star break with a 16–7 record.
The Lakers will host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday at 7 p.m. on TNT to play for the chance to stay at the 7th seed and face the 2nd-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs.
