Lakers gain momentum in win over Jazz ahead of All-Star break
The Lakers showed some love to their fans on Valentine’s Day with a 138–122 win over the Utah Jazz behind a stellar duo performance from Anthony Davis and Rui Hachimura, who combined for 73 points on Wednesday.
The Lakers head into a much-needed All-Star weekend break with a 30-26 record and have won six of their last seven games.
“We’re just playing the right way, sharing the basketball, playing together,” said Davis. “We’re just in a great groove.”
Davis (37 points, 15 rebounds) and Hachimura (36 points) are the first two Lakers since Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal in 2003 to score 35+ points.
With LeBron James out on a second night of a back-to-back, head coach Darvin Ham and staff went with Hachimura to fill in for the 39-year-old, similar to the same lineup that was successful in last season's Western Conference playoff run.
“I’ve been telling em, this is who we are. We’ve been trying a lot of different things, lineups, all this stuff. But this is the lineup we had in the playoffs, and that’s how we won. So, you know, it’s that simple,” said Hachimura.
Hachimura’s hot scoring night was a career-high for him, finishing 6-for-8 (75%) from three and 13-of-19 (68.4%) overall.
As the score remained close in the first half (70-69), the Lakers broke away in the second half with a strong start that resulted in L.A. outscoring Utah 38-23 in the third quarter.
Davis was the lead contributor in their third-quarter push, scoring 17 points.
Austin Reaves added a high-efficiency production for L.A. with 22 points on 9-of-13 from the field with seven assists, four rebounds, and three steals.
Known to be a streaky scorer and a sneaky playmaker, D’Angelo Russell attacked Utah’s defense as a distributor with a career-high 17 assists. His efforts led him to just one rebound away from a triple-double, finishing with 11 points and nine rebounds in 33 minutes.
The Lakers’ effort remained efficient and consistent throughout, shooting 45% (14/31) from three and 57% (52–91) overall while limiting their turnovers (9) and having 34 assists as a team.
The Lakers' next matchup is a much-needed seven days away on Feb. 22 on the road at Chase Center against the 26–26 Golden State Warriors.
The break couldn’t come soon enough for L.A., who were without LeBron, Jarred Vanderbilt, Cam Reddish, Max Christie, and Gabe Vincent in the win and mostly throughout on an injured-plagued team that has slowly found their rhythm.
