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LOS ANGELES – While some traditionalists complained about recent changes to the NBA rules and their final scores skyrocketed, a case was presented late Friday that progress may be made.
What happened at Staples Center was a disaster: two teams that could not keep possession of the ball, could not hit 3-point shots and missed dunk's overconfident attempts. This is the kind of mud fight that brings even the most ardent defense advocates to pray for buckets.
As has often been the case this season, LeBron James has been a great help. He scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half, helping the Lakers (11-7) to stumble on a 90-83 win over visiting Jazz (8-11) despite season lows in points and assists ( 10) and a business figures at the height of the season (24).
It was the third consecutive win for the Lakers and eighth in 10 games. This is not the model of victory that the Lakers usually follow – a brilliant energy that scores a lot of points – but in an increasingly competitive Western Conference, the only way to win is sometimes ugly.
"We will not win a lot of games like this, if you turn the ball over 24 times and you only have 10 helpers," said James. "But at the end of the day, when you do not play well on the offensive, you can not let that stop you from stopping. And this is the sign of a growing team. "
The Lakers dominated the 13-9 Jazz in the last six minutes, which included a Lonzo Ball lay-up, a deep 3-James James and a JaVale McGee dunk.
But James may have had the most memorable piece of the forgotten affair: an authoritarian blocking on a shot by Alec Burks that officially wiped out the hopes of the Jazz at a last minute return. James finished with 10 rebounds and seven assists, leading the Lakers in both categories.
Brandon Ingram was also a brilliant element in a rather distressing game, scoring 24 points on a shot of 8 against 14.
In other areas – better not look. The 24 gifts offered by the Lakers have earned 27 Jazz points, giving Utah a lifetime even though it only fired 39%. Coach Luke Walton also lamented the missed opportunities in transition as the team converted just 5 of 13 quick shots. The weakness of the audience was a byproduct of tired legs coming out of a trip, which meant that the transition attack was not up to par.
"We had the ball in front of us and they had two or three guys back," Walton said. "There was nowhere to go with that but try to leave it behind or finish with people. If we want to become a good race team again, the wings must be at the front of the pack and you must put pressure on the defense. We have not done a good job in this area. "
From the beginning, it seemed that the Lakers were following the advice to be more aggressive: with a confident entrourn of Ingram and Ball, a basket of baskets initially gave the advantage to the local team at the 19 – 8 .
But that was the end of the easy attack, while the rest of the game was bogged down with turnovers, misses, and minimal ball movements. James got the first five assists in the game for the Lakers, but no other Laker cashed a goal before the middle of the third quarter.
During a second quarter segment, for a good two minutes, no points were scored.
The Jazz played a big part of the game without the help of their budding star, Donovan Mitchell. After a disappointing 2-on-9 start on the field, Mitchell headed to the locker room in the first period with a rib contusion. He did not return to the game. Burks led the Jazz with 17 points.
The Lakers gave the best possible face, claiming that they were proud of their defense. The team forced 11 interceptions and held the Jazz at only 4 in 23 perimeter shot. But one night when two teams played ugly and lost their pace, there was a real difference, that Jazz coach Quin Snyder summed up well.
"It's LeBron James," he said, "and he's been playing plays."
? The Lakers are busy doing business tonight in a low-key affair, beating the 90-83 Jazz #LakersWin pic.twitter.com/l4cjlPL5nt
– Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 24, 2018
"We are trying to be a very good team and there will be games for which we will have to do it defensively, we did it." @Roi James on the #Lakers pick up on the defensive when the offensive was lacking with @LakersReporter. pic.twitter.com/lejrZPtjfT
– SportsNet Specter (@SpectrumSN) November 24, 2018
Luke Walton explains how the team's defense is responsible for the win despite a peak in the season. #LakersWin pic.twitter.com/oebXahm4Wv
– Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 24, 2018
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