Here is a by-the-numbers look at L.A.’s 98-91 come-from-behind preseason victory over the Utah Jazz.
6
Game-leading amount of steals by Carlos Boozer, who also poured in 19 points and nine rebounds. The Lakers stole the ball 17 times and scored 34 points off 29 Utah turnovers.
”We just started reading what they were trying to do,” Boozer said. “This is the second time we played them in the last couple of days, so we kind of got used to what they were trying to get to. For us, we just tried to use our hands, be aggressive, get some deflections, get us out in transition, get some easy buckets.”
7
Number of Lakers who did not play due to injury, which included point guards Steve Nash, Jeremy Lin, Jordan Clarkson and Keith Appling. With most of his fellow ball handlers out, Ronnie Price played 38 minutes and contributed six points, 10 assists and four steals, though he also went just 2-for-10 from the field.
22
Utah’s largest lead of the night, which it reached with 2:42 left in the first half. However, from there the Lakers sprinted out to a 31-5 run and seized a 61-57 lead midway through the third quarter. During this stretch, the Lakers went 10-for-15 from the field, while forcing eight Jazz turnovers and allowing just two field goals on 14 attempts.
”We’re a grind-it-out team. Our personalities are just that way,” Kobe Bryant said. “The guys that we have on the floor, we’re all put-our-hardhats-on types of guys.”
26
Points scored by Bryant, who led all players. Bryant shot just 7-for-22 from the field, but also knocked down three of the Lakers’ four 3-pointers and went 9-for-11 from the free throw line.
86.7
Percentage of free throws made by the Lakers, who drained 26 of their 30 shots from the foul line. The number was a major improvement over L.A.’s performance in Thursday’s loss to the Jazz, when the Lakers made just 18 free throws in 31 tries.