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LOS ANGELES — When the NBA instituted its inaugural in-season tournament, the hope was that it would create an early-season buzz that would help make the first phase of the season feel more meaningful. So far, the plan has worked.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham said his team was “well aware” of what was on the line in Tuesday night’s home game against the Utah Jazz.
And they played like it.
The Lakers (9-6) led wire-to-wire in a 131-99 victory over the Jazz at Crypto.com Arena to go undefeated (4-0) in group play and secure their spot in the tournament quarterfinals. The Lakers, who beat Phoenix, Memphis, Portland and Utah by a combined 74 points, have clinched at least a top-two seed (likely No. 1) and will host a Western Conference opponent to be determined on Dec. 4 or 5
With dominating interior play from Anthony Davis (26 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and two steals), well-rounded performances from LeBron James (17 points, nine assists and seven rebounds), D’Angelo Russell (20 points on 7-of-9 shooting with eight assists) and Austin Reaves (19 points, five assists and five rebounds) in addition to strong supporting play, the Lakers clinched West Group A with the victory.
“Being home and able to sleep in our beds, not having to travel, that’s always good when you play well at home,” Davis said. “Kind of a rocky start early on on the road so this kind of helps us out having our fans behind us. But it feels good. We’re one step closer to winning the, uh, Cup? Is it the tournament Cup? NBA Cup? Something like that? So, one step closer.”
The signs of a dominant performance by the Lakers showed early, with Russell assisting James on an alley-oop for the game’s first points early in the first and two of the Lakers’ first baskets being dunks to take a 6-4 lead.
The Lakers, who have won three in a row, six of their past seven and improved to 7-1 at home, led by 15 at the end of the first quarter, by 21 at halftime and by 30 late in the third quarter before seeing the margin balloon to 39 during the fourth quarter.
The Lakers held Utah to 33% shooting in the first half while setting the tone for the night.
“They did a good job of just closing the floor on us and taking all the space that we had and forcing us to take tough shots,” said former Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson, who scored seven points on 3-of-9 shooting.
With the Lakers on the first night of a back-to-back and the game well out of hand, Ham sat James (24 minutes) and Davis (29 minutes) for the entire fourth quarter.
Christian Wood (season-high 16 points, eight rebounds), Rui Hachimura (12 points, six rebounds) and Jaxson Hayes (10 points) also scored in double figures.
Cam Reddish was ruled out of the game in the second quarter because of groin soreness. Ham said team doctors were going to monitor Reddish Tuesday night and they should know more about his injury Wednesday morning.
The Lakers have been at their best so far during tournament games. They outscored their opponents by 18.5 points per game in their four group play games, compared to going 5-6 and being outscored by six points per game in their non-tournament games.
The Lakers will return to Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday night to play the Dallas Mavericks.
MILESTONE
With a 3-pointer that put the Lakers ahead 11-7 with 7:11 in the first quarter, James scored his 39,002nd regular-season career point – becoming the first player in league history to score at least 39,000 points.
James, who became the league’s all-time leading scorer last season, entered Tuesday with 38,995 career regular-season points and exited at 39,012.
“I haven’t had an opportunity to really wrap my head around what that means,” James said. “There’s been so many great players that came across this league since the beginning of time and so many great scorers and to be able to accomplish something that’s a first of anything, that’s always pretty cool. And it’s a wild moment, that’s for sure.”
The four-time league MVP, who turns 39 next month, is averaging 25.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.6 steals in 33.6 minutes. No player in league history has averaged more than eight points in their 21st NBA season.
“We’re witnessing something that’s unprecedented, for him to be at that age and at this point in time in his NBA tenure,” Ham said. “And what he’s able to do still, it’s unprecedented in my opinion, especially being a predominantly perimeter player. Obviously, he can go in the post and get things done. But the majority part of his career, he’s been on the perimeter and it’s hard.
“What he’s still able to do at this point in time is nothing short of amazing. And you see why he pours all the resources that he puts into his body and making sure that, again, that he’s not only available but available at a super duper high level. We all should appreciate what we’re witnessing and not take it for granted.”
Anthony Davis speaks on the importance of being aggressive and the luxury of rest in a blowout. pic.twitter.com/8xo9P8MHsV
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) November 22, 2023
AD puts up big-time numbers as the Lakers win and clinch West Group A!
26 PTS
11/14 FGM
16 REBThe 4-0 @Lakers are moving on to the Knockout Round of the NBA In-Season Tournament 🔥 pic.twitter.com/9ywTH7ZfjZ
— NBA (@NBA) November 22, 2023
“At the end of the day, if we still wanna win ball games, we still gotta defend.” LeBron James breaks down the keys to the #Lakers success. pic.twitter.com/7wdbsor9vg
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) November 22, 2023
“He should be in the MVP race… what 38 year old do you know that is doing what he’s doing?”
Christian Wood on LeBron 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/QoSogBNngV
— NBA (@NBA) November 22, 2023
Darvin Ham speaks on Max Christie’s play tonight and the Lakers continuing to play the right way. pic.twitter.com/5C45VxR9KJ
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) November 22, 2023
NBA In-Season Tournament West standings update ‼️
– Lakers move to 4-0, clinch West A
– Suns (2-1) get a win, stay in contentionFor more, download the NBA App: https://t.co/T2ytjrfB0m pic.twitter.com/Kh5Ysku6hZ
— NBA (@NBA) November 22, 2023
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