Overview
- Luka Dončić scored 52 points with 10 assists to lift the Los Angeles Lakers to a 132-123 comeback win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday, finishing the game with eight rebounds and multiple late clutch threes.
- The Lakers erased an 18-point deficit after surrendering 47 points in the first quarter and winning despite being outrebounded 51-30 and giving up numerous second-chance points.
- Austin Reaves scored 29 points and hit the game-sealing three with 34 seconds left after Dončić’s go-ahead buckets put the team in position to close the game.
- Walker Kessler, who joined the Lakers in a July sign-and-trade that included two unprotected future first-round picks and two first-round swaps and a reported four-year, $130 million deal, was limited to two points and seven rebounds in his first game back in Utah after an explosive two-game start in Los Angeles.
- Dončić’s night was historically notable for the franchise as he became the first Laker since Elgin Baylor in 1963 to record at least 50 points and 10 assists in the same game, and the performance raises questions about whether Los Angeles can fix early defensive and rebounding weaknesses as the season continues.