J
Jasen Lee
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LOS ANGELES — After starting out the with a home-court win in their first game of the new season, the Utah Jazz looked to prevent the Los Angeles Lakers from accomplishing the same feat in their official home debut. But alas, they were unsuccessful as the Lakers proved too much, coasting to a 95-86 victory.
The Jazz looked to get their first road win at the expense of new-look Lakers who — like Utah — underwent significant roster changes in the offseason. The Lakers lost their season-opener to the Clippers 112-102 on the same court and were anxious to avenge that loss Friday at Staples Center — a fact Jazz guard Mike Conley — who finished the night with 13 points — was well aware of heading into the game.
“We all know that going in. We all watched the first game. We know that they want to win their first game at home just like all of us do,” he said in the Jazz locker room before tipoff. “There is a lot of energy and a lot of emotion that comes from that and we’ve got to be able to match that intensity.”
Led by forward Anthony Davis’ 12 points, the Lakers grabbed the early momentum, building a seven-point advantage at the end of the first quarter. From there, Los Angeles built a double-digit lead midway through the second quarter on the strength of eight second-chance points combined with 15 points scored off a dozen Utah turnovers.
Neither team shot particularly well from the floor — with both well below 40% for the entire first half. No Jazz player managed to find their groove, while Davis’ 17 points led all first-half scorers as the Lakers took a 43-37 lead into the break.
The Jazz entered the game without forward Bojan Bogdanovic, who sat out to nurse an ankle he rolled in the second quarter of Jazz’s opening-night victory over Oklahoma City. Without the services of Bogdanovic, Jazz coach Quin Snyder inserted Joe Ingles and Jeff Green into the starting five Friday.
Green noted before the the game that guarding LeBron James would be a challenge and it would take a collective effort.
“(LeBron) is a guy who does a lot of things for this team,” Green said. “He’s a tremendous passer, can shoot the ball and get to the rim. You just try to make it tough. It’s a team effort to (defend him), it’s not just one person.”
James finished the night with a game-high 32 points on 12-of-22 shooting. He also dished out 10 assists and grabbed seven boards.
The Jazz came out energized early in the second half, tying the game at 43 early in the period before the Lakers went on a 9-0 run to take 52-43 lead with just over nine minutes to go in the quarter. The Lakers extended the lead to 19 and finished the third period with a 74-55 lead.
Donovan Mitchell tallied 24 points in a losing cause to lead the Jazz.
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