Donovan Mitchell dominates as Jazz thrash Lakers
SALT LAKE CITY — Donovan Mitchell had 33 points and a career-high nine assists, helping the Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Lakers 113-95 on Friday night.
Utah (22-21) made 15 3-pointers in its fourth win in five games. Rudy Gobert had 12 points and a season-high 18 rebounds. Joe Ingles had 14 points and a career-high 12 boards, and Derrick Favors finished with 15 points and a season-high 13 rebounds.
Article continues after this advertisementThe Jazz also got a solid performance from Royce O’Neale, who went 5 for 12 from 3-point range on his to a season-high 17 points.
Michael Beasley scored 17 points for the Lakers. Brandon Ingram added 15 points and Kyle Kuzma had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Los Angeles (23-20) lost for the sixth time in nine games without LeBron James in the lineup. James is out with a groin injury.
Article continues after this advertisementAll three Jazz point guards — Ricky Rubio, Dante Exum and Raul Neto — were sidelined with injuries. But Mitchell helped make up for his missing teammates.
Utah broke the game open in the second quarter by holding Los Angeles without a field goal for nearly seven minutes. The Lakers trailed 41-34 after Ivica Zubac scored back-to-back baskets with 7:35 left. They did not get another basket until Javale McGee hit a short jumper with 55.1 seconds left in the half.
Utah took advantage of the drought. The Jazz used an 18-4 run to open a 59-38 lead. Mitchell fueled much of the run with his play on both ends of the court. He drove for a pair of baskets, blocked a layup attempt by Kyle Kuzma, and fed a no-look pass to Ingles in the corner to set up his first 3-pointer of the night.
Los Angeles trimmed Utah’s lead to 76-66 in the third quarter after Beasley made back-to-back baskets and hit a pair of free throws as part of a 10-0 run. The Lakers couldn’t cut it to single digits.
Utah used a 14-5 run, capped by a layup from Gobert, to put it out of reach again and take a 95-73 lead with 7:03 left in the fourth quarter.
TIP-INS
Lakers: James did not travel to Utah. … Kuzma went 0 of 8 from the field in the first half and shot just 4 of 18 (.222) from the floor overall. … Ingram scored just three points over the final three quarters.
Jazz: Favors now has 3,986 career rebounds with Utah and passed Greg Ostertag (3,978) for fourth place on the Jazz rebounding list. … Mitchell scored 25-plus points for the fourth consecutive game. … O’Neale’s five 3-pointers equaled the team total for the Lakers.
UP NEXT
Lakers: Host the Cavaliers on Sunday.
Jazz: Host the Bulls on Saturday.