by Alma Bean
Feature Image by Ryan Sun of AP Photo
The Utah Jazz (4-9) takes on the Los Angeles Lakers (8-6) in Utah’s final In-Season Tournament qualifier game.
Flashing Lights and Bright Court
Utah came into this game trying to run a fast-paced offense trying not to use more than half the shot clock. This did not have a positive result for Utah as they had a scary 38.5/14.3/25 shooting splits compared to 55.6/25/75 for Los Angeles. Looking at the percentages you would think that Utah was being heavily contested on each shot, but many of the perimeter shots were slightly contested with space. Success within the perimeter can be credited to Anthony Davis (26/16/4) who when 5/7 (71.4%) in the first quarter. Quickly in the first quarter, LeBron James (17/7/9) became the first player in NBA history to score 39,000 points in a career. Utah struggled to find an answer for Los Angeles’ dominant first quarter as they trailed 32-17 at the end of the period.
In the second quarter, D’Angelo Russell (20/3/8) didn’t want Utah to have any glimmer of hope. Shooting a perfect 3/3 (100%) from the field, Russell had a field day in the first half accounting for 12 points in the half. Collin Sexton (14/3/4) tried to match Russell’s energy as Sexton shot 2/2 (100%) from the field. Even with Sexton’s contribution in the first half, Utah struggled to score shooting 16/48 (33.3%) from the field and 4/23 (17.4%) from the perimeter. Los Angeles proved in the first half that home court advantage and talent can take you a long way as they held a 62-41 lead over Utah at the half.
Then There Was One
Utah managed to find their footing going into the second half. John Collins (15/4/1), who had shot 3/7 (42.9%) from the field in the first half, shot 3/5 (60%) from the field in the third quarter. Max Christie (7/5/4), who replaced Cam Reddish early in the first quarter due to an injury suffered earlier in the game, made his presence known quickly. Near the six-minute mark, Christie drained an open three-point shot and immediately responded with a block on Keyonte George (9/3/2) leading to an assist to James. Utah managed to score an incredible 34 points in the quarter, but Los Angeles out scoring 40 in the quarter led to a 102-75 lead at the end of the third.
Coming into the fourth quarter down by 27 points, Utah decided to play their reserve unit and came the emergence of Omer Yurtseven (18/6/1). After having little to no presence in the paint, Utah putting in Yurtseven allowed the floor to space out as he shot 8/11 (72.7%) in the second half from the field. Yurtseven having the hot hand, the offense almost ran exclusively through him as he accounted for five of the nine made baskets for the quarter. Los Angeles had already decided to pull their starters going into the fourth but that didn’t mean their bench unit was going to make things easy. Austin Reaves (19/5/5) showed that he’s a threat off the bench as he went 4/6 (66.7%) from the field and never laid off the gas. With high hopes coming in, Utah’s road to the In-Season Tournament Knockout Round has been cut short as Los Angeles wins, 131-99.
What’s Next
Utah will have to quickly forget this game as they go on to face the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday for their third back-to-back of the season.
The Hive Sports 
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