Jazz knock around Lakers in blowout loss

In his last visit to Utah, LeBron James spent much of the fourth quarter on the bench, feeling good enough to watch the proceeding blowout in his socks.

The 36-year-old star got a similar rest on Wednesday night, but even behind a mask, his disapproval was evident.

Even if a 114-89 loss to the league-leading Utah Jazz (26-6) was predictable heading into Vivint Smart Home Arena, it was not well-received by James or the Lakers (22-11) – a short-handed roster aside. The worst loss of the season never is.

James had a 19-point effort to lead the Lakers on a futile evening, in which the Jazz started pulling away in the second quarter then ripped the rug out in the third. While “Strength in Numbers” was once a motto of the Golden State dynasty, it well applies to this Utah team, which got double-digit efforts from six players down the roster – no one with more than 18 points.

The Lakers know they’ll look different when they are whole. The Jazz know it, too. Injured All-Star big man Anthony Davis (right calf strain) would give the Lakers a midrange scorer and a shot-blocker who could better meet Rudy Gobert at the rim. Starting point guard Dennis Schröder (COVID-19 protocols) would give them a player with a lightning first step that most defenders in the league struggle to stay in front of.

But the machine-like efficiency of the Jazz was something to behold. Utah never seemed to sweat in the first half, launching 3-pointer after 3-pointer, making a dozen before 19 minutes had ticked off in the game. Then they effortlessly converted to their rim-attacking pick-and-roll in the second half, with Gobert slipping into the paint for dunks that looked elementary.

“Nobody’s playing as well as Utah Jazz in the NBA right now,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said, “the way they shoot the ball, the way they’re connected defensively, the continuity bump that they’re having by having the same team come back.”

What he didn’t have to say was how the Lakers haven’t been able to lean on any of those things lately during their four-game skid, which ties the longest losing streak the team has had under his coaching tenure.

Utah’s leading scorer Donovan Mitchell didn’t even make his second field goal until the third quarter – which was also the period when he was skyrocketing for a dunk. The Lakers weren’t at full strength, but the Jazz didn’t need to pour in full effort to wallop them out of town.

It spoke to something the Lakers feel in their own heads, that they’re feeling bogged down with the All-Star break a week away but seeming like an age. James hoped the team could steel themselves.

“We just hit a rough patch,” he said. “It happens throughout the course of a season. You know, you don’t want it to happen but when it does, I think it defines character. It challenges you. And you just get ready for the bounce back.”

Standing on the sideline in a sweater for much of the game, Davis was captured by TV cameras shaking his head in helpless frustration a few times. When the Jazz return to Staples Center in April, he’s likely to have more of a hand in solving the problem.

Vogel made lineup changes to try to balance out some of the Lakers’ scoring and playmaking, starting Markieff Morris and Talen Horton-Tucker while bringing Kyle Kuzma and Wesley Matthews off the bench. Vogel said the hope was to play James with another ball-handler, which would reduce his workload – a shadowy question that is hanging over everything the Lakers do lately.

At first, it seemed to serve its intended effect, especially on defense, where the Lakers started by successfully keeping the Jazz out of the paint. After a quarter, they were only down a point and appeared to have a puncher’s chance of stealing a win in a venue where James has historically struggled.

Reality rolled in during the second quarter when former Laker and Sixth Man of the Year candidate Jordan Clarkson led an 8-for-11 blitz from beyond the arc. By halftime, the Jazz had already made nine more 3-pointers than the Lakers, placing the visitors in a 16-point pit. Dazzling shooting exhibitions have been common for the team leading the league in 3-pointers: In the previous game, they set a franchise mark with 28 against Charlotte.

Utah kept pouring it on. When Derrick Favors finished an alley-oop in the third quarter, the Lakers were down by 26 – the largest margin they’ve faced all season. Even as they got stomped, the Lakers couldn’t help but admire the Jazz’s sound mechanics.

“They have their own identity defensively for what they want to do,” said Marc Gasol, who finished with eight points in 19 minutes. “They do make adjustments on both ends of the floor, and they’re very unselfish – all of them. So it’s pretty fun to watch. Not so fun when you play against them and it works for them and not for you.”

The Jazz made 22 3-pointers, shot 46% from long distance and had 28 assists on 41 field goals. Defensively, they held the Lakers to 40% shooting, including an 8-for-33 showing from 3-point range.

Mike Conley (14 points, eight rebounds, eight assists) and Mitchell (13 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists) both finished just shy of triple-doubles before Coach Quin Snyder pulled his starters midway through the fourth quarter, shoring up some of the doubts that continue to trail the small-market team as they continue to romp through the league (22 wins in their last 24 games, 20 of them by double-digits).

Meanwhile, the Lakers have tailed in the other direction, losing four straight games for the first time in more than a calendar year. They return home on Friday to try to turn around their skid (five losses in six games) against the Portland Trail Blazers, and Vogel said Schröder might be available to play as long as he continues to test negative for coronavirus.

But the loss to the Jazz didn’t suggest an easy answer. And the Lakers don’t expect one to come along soon, and in some sense, they hope that struggle helps build them into the team they want to be.

“We hope that we’re crowned the champion, but we like to put in the work,” James said. “And I’m always about the process – the good, the bad and the ugly. And everything that comes with it.”

“It’s a tough stretch for us, but this won’t define who we will be for the rest of the season or the long haul.” @KingJames on the #Lakers losing streak and the absence of AD and Schröder. pic.twitter.com/giAyXMlKzD

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 25, 2021

Markieff Morris talks post-game about Utah’s hot shooting and some of the #Lakers fatigue with the injuries in the last couple of weeks. pic.twitter.com/SROrF78bwz

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 25, 2021

“They’re the hottest team in the league.” Frank Vogel on the Utah Jazz and an update on Dennis Schröder. pic.twitter.com/TTnj5kbymB

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 25, 2021

Rudy Gobert wanted NO part of that LeBron dunk. pic.twitter.com/uIaMrOIpg0

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 25, 2021

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