The Los Angeles Lakers showed no ill-effects of being on the second night of a back-to-back, blowing the Utah Jazz out on their home court.
The Los Angeles Lakers picked up an impressive victory over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night in the first half of their back-to-back set. The Utah Jazz were on the docket for the second half of that back-to-back set.
Traveling for consecutive games is difficult enough. Going to a place as hostile as Utah is even more difficult. Utah entered the game with an 8-1 record at home, and as favorites over the Lakers. That didn’t phase Los Angeles, as they blew the doors off of the Jazz.
The Lakers avoided the dreaded slow start and got going against the Jazz early and often. They scored 34 points in the first quarter, leading by eight points, and just opened things up even more as the game went on.
By halftime, Los Angeles was up by 18 points and ended up winning the game by 25, 121-96. This was an important outcome in large part because it basically amounted to a load management game for their superstars, Anthony Davis and LeBron James.
Load management has been a topic of discussion all season as some stars are resting, attempting to copy the formula that Kawhi Leonard used to lead the Toronto Raptors to an NBA Championship last season. Tonight essentially was a load management game for the superstar duo, as they both played under 30 minutes.
James played 29 minutes, scoring 20 points with 12 assists and four rebounds. James didn’t shoot the ball too well, going 9-of-21, but still controlled the pace with his playmaking. AD played 26 minutes, scoring 26 points with six rebounds, one assist, one steal and three blocks.
Off the bench the Lakers also received some monster performances. Dwight Howard scored seven points, including a 3-pointer, with nine rebounds, one assist and three blocks in only 19 minutes.
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Rajon Rondo nearly triple-doubled in 31 minutes, scoring 14 points with 12 rebounds and nine assists. He also knocked down 2-of-3 3-point attempts. Kyle Kuzma scored 13 points and tied Rondo for the team lead with a +25 plus/minus ratio. JaVale McGee was the only Laker with a negative plus/minus ratio in the game.
For Utah, Donovan Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic did everything they could to keep them in the game. Donovan scored 29, while Bogdanovic scored 23.
Overall, the Jazz shot only 41 percent from the field, as the Lakers played excellent defense inside the 3-point line. However, the perimeter still proved to be an issue, as Utah knocked down 45.2 percent of their 3-pointers, 14 total.
The Lakers were able to keep pace behind the arc, however. They made 14 total as well, knocking down 48.3 percent of their attempts from distance. Rondo, Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Danny Green all shot above 50 percent from the 3-point line.
The Lakers will now have a day off before facing off against the Portland Trail Blazers to finish their road trip. Their record now sits at 19-3, which is tied with the Milwaukee Bucks for best in the NBA. Los Angeles is leading the Western Conference, however, as they are three games clear of the LA Clippers.