The Utah Jazz were supposed to beat the Los Angeles Lakers last night. That holds doubly true considering that Lakers star Anthony Davis went down with a potentially serious injury midway through the third quarter.
Of course, nobody should take a win for granted when LeBron James is on the opposing side. As talented as this Jazz team is, nobody on it factors into best player of all time discussions.
Utah Jazz defeated by an all-time great
With Anthony Davis in the locker room and Russell Westbrook…being Russell Westbrook, LeBron James was forced to step up to the plate. Unfortunately for the Utah Jazz, that’s a responsibility he’s more than comfortable with.
James scored 15 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, fueling a furious Lakers run. The Jazz were up by as much as 12 points in the final frame, but the Lakers made a 19-4 run to finalize a 106-101 victory.
LeBron James has as strong of a force of will as anyone to ever play the sport of basketball. It’s a team game, but we can effectively say that James put the Lakers on his back in this contest.
Donovan Mitchell tried to do the same for his Utah Jazz. He fell just short.
Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell needed help
Nobody could say Mitchell didn’t give this game his best effort. He finished with 37 points on 13/24 shooting from the field and 5/11 shooting from three-point range. He added 5 assists and 4 steals on the evening as well.
Mitchell was outstanding. He defended rigorously while carrying the offense on the other end. His shot selection was pristine. He was aggressive, but not overaggressive.
There aren’t enough platitudes to heep on his performance last night. Unfortunately, we couldn’t say the same about the supporting cast.
Bojan Bogdanovic was fine. He finished with 15 points on 5/14 shooting from the field. Jordan Clarkson was ok. He had 13 points on 6/14 shooting.
Still, the latter particularly looked like he was playing his own game for stretches last night. Clarkson’s ball dominance and disruption of the team’s offensive flow resulted in a 1/6 shooting night from downtown. Those shots did not come within the game plan: they were forced.
Royce O’Neale was helpful, finishing with 10 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals. He played his usual brand of defense, and any offensive production from O’Neale is a bonus.
Mitchell wasn’t the only Jazzmen to receive a passing grade last night, but he was the only one with anything to brag about.
Several Utah Jazz players fall flat
Otherwise, there wasn’t much for the Jazz to celebrate in this one.
Mike Conley couldn’t get anything going. He finished with 6 points on 2/9 shooting and 5 assists.
Rudy Gobert did contribute 11 rebounds and 3 blocks. Still, Quin Snyder was probably hoping for more than 5 points on 2/3 shooting from the field. Surely, Gobert will get back into his offensive groove as he shakes off the rust.
Otherwise, there wasn’t a noteworthy performance from the Jazzmen last night. They’ll need their supporting cast to improve their play to continue winning throughout the season.
After a six game winning streak, the Utah Jazz were bound to cool off eventually. LeBron James just happened to make sure that happened last night.