The Lakers found out first-hand why the Utah Jazz hold the NBA’s best record this season — they make a bunch of threes and play shut-down defense.

The Jazz got the best of the Lakers, 111-97, Monday at Staples Center to avenge a loss to them two days earlier. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Jazz got the best of the Lakers, 111-97, Monday at Staples Center to avenge a loss to them two days earlier

  • Both teams could claim short-handed status — the Lakers went without Anthony Davis and LeBron James, while Utah played without Donovan Mitchell

  • Talen Horton-Tucker scored a career-high 24 points and was one of the few consistent scoring sources for the Lakers

  • There was one positive off-the-court note for the Lakers — this might have been their last game without Davis, who could return for Thursday’s game in Dallas

Both teams could claim short-handed status — the Lakers went without Anthony Davis and LeBron James while Utah played without Donovan Mitchell — but the Jazz had better balance top to bottom in their lineup.

Former Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson scored 22 points while Joe Ingles added 21 for the Jazz, who led the entire way and made 15 three-pointers, just under their record-setting pace of 16.9 a game.

“Guys were getting open threes, Rudy [Gobert] getting a couple dunks,” said Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma, who scored 17 points. “They do an excellent job of just playing together.”

Talen Horton-Tucker scored a career-high 24 points and was one of the few consistent scoring sources for the Lakers, who trailed by as many as 25 early in the fourth quarter.

Utah (43-15) showed why it owns the league’s fourth best defensive rating by stifling the Lakers’ big men throughout the game. Andre Drummond scored only eight points on subpar three-for-12 shooting, while Montrezl Harrell scored only two points. Markieff Morris had a quiet night (four points) after a string of solid outings.

The Lakers (35-23) mustered only one blocked shot the entire game and got outrebounded by Utah, 42-32.

There was one positive off-the-court note for the Lakers. This might have been their last game without Davis, who could return for Thursday’s game in Dallas. 

Related Stories

Davis missed his 30th consecutive game Monday but has been ramping up his regimen and could practice with the team Tuesday or Wednesday, getting his game up to speed after missing more than two months because of calf and Achilles’ tendon soreness. If he doesn’t play Thursday, he’s almost a shoo-in to play Saturday in a relatively quick rematch against Dallas.

“His ass better play,” Kuzma said jokingly. “Hopefully he’s ready to go. Obviously we miss him a lot out there.”

Lakers Coach Frank Vogel said Davis would be on a minutes limit his first two games, likely playing only 15 minutes each time. And still, the Lakers will obviously take whatever he can give them.