LeBron James had 32 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds as the host Los Angeles Lakers rolled to a 95-86 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night in their home opener at Staples Center.
Anthony Davis added 21 points, five blocks and seven rebounds, while guard Troy Daniels came off the bench to score 15 points for the Lakers, who bounced back following their season-opening loss to the L.A. Clippers on Tuesday.
Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz with 24 points. Mike Conley chipped in 13 points but missed eight of his 11 attempts from the floor and four of his five 3-pointers. It was the second consecutive game Conley struggled offensively. He shot just 1 of 16 in the Jazz's victory over the Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
Utah forward Joe Ingles also had a tough outing, scoring just two points and taking just two shots. Reserve point guard Emmanuel Mudiay finished with 12 points, while center Rudy Gobert had eight points and nine rebounds for the Jazz.
The Jazz played without forward Bojan Bogdanovic, who was held out of the contest after sustaining a sprained ankle against the Thunder.
With the game tied at 43-43 two minutes into the third quarter, the Lakers rode a 31-12 surge for a 74-55 lead heading into the fourth quarter. James had 12 points in the third as Los Angeles outscored Utah 31-18 in the quarter.
The Jazz got no closer than nine the rest of the way.
The Jazz rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second quarter before the Lakers took a 43-37 lead at the break. Both teams endured rough stretches offensively in the first half, with the Jazz managing 36.8-percent shooting compared to 34.8 percent for the Lakers. Utah committed 13 first-half turnovers compared to 10 for Los Angeles.
Overall, the Lakers shot 39.5 percent to 41.4 percent for the Jazz. Los Angeles finished with 14 turnovers to 22 for Utah.
The Lakers played without point guard Rajon Rondo (sore calf) and forward Kyle Kuzma (stress reaction, left foot) for the second game in a row.
Utah guard Dante Exum also missed the contest as he recovers from knee surgery.
--Field Level Media
Utah | L.A. Lakers | |
Donovan Mitchell 24 | Scoring | LeBron James 32 |
Joe Ingles 4 | Assists | LeBron James 10 |
Rudy Gobert 9 | Rebounds | Anthony Davis 7 |
Donovan Mitchell 10 | Free Throws Made | Anthony Davis 7 |
Donovan Mitchell 3 | Steals | Danny Green 3 |
Jarrell Brantley 1 | Blocks | Anthony Davis 5 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Utah | 86 | 41.4 | 8-25 | 20-21 | 19 | 40 | 2 | 8 | 23 |
L.A. Lakers | 95 | 39.5 | 8-26 | 19-24 | 19 | 42 | 9 | 14 | 14 |