Here is a by-the-numbers look at the Lakers’ 94-85 loss to the Utah Jazz.
7
Assists tallied by the Lakers. Without primary ballhandlers Kobe Bryant and Ronnie Price, the Lakers tied their franchise low in assists, which was also set on Nov. 3, 2004 and March 26, 2010. L.A. had just two dimes in the second half, including zero in the fourth quarter. Against Cleveland on Friday, Bryant, who finished with a career-high 17 assists, had one more handout after just one quarter than the entire team had through the whole game on Friday.
“Most of (the problem) is because (Bryant’s) not here,” head coach Byron Scott said. “Obviously he knows how to get guys the ball, but the second part of it is we just didn’t do a good job moving the ball. It’s simple as that. We all tried to do it one-on-one, and we don’t have guys who can do that on a night-to-night basis.”
8
Three-pointers shot by the Lakers. The visitors only took one 3-point attempt in the first half and finished 3-for-8 on the night. Led by Gordon Hayward and Trey Burke, who had four triples apiece, Utah went 12-for-31 from beyond the arc. The Jazz were especially lethal in the second half when they went 9-for-18 on 3-pointers.
13
Free throws taken and made by Nick Young. L.A.’s sixth man had the best night at the foul line in his career and led his team with 23 points. Young found his rhythm in the fourth quarter, pouring in 16 points, while shooting 3-for-5 from the field, 2-for-4 on 3-pointers and 8-for-8 at the free throw line. Young’s performance was a personal breakthrough, as he entered the game averaging just 11.3 points in his last nine games on 27.6 percent shooting from the field, including a 19.6 percent clip on triples.
“I just went out there and stayed with it,” Young said. “It’s a game of runs. It’s basketball. You’ll have up and down weeks, so the basketball gods helped me out.”
15
Turnovers committed by the Lakers in the first half. L.A., which averages just 12.1 turnovers per game, eclipsed that well before the second quarter ended. Though the Jazz entered the game forcing a league-low 11.6 turnovers, the Lakers finished the game with 21 giveaways, which Utah translated into 17 points.
“That’s what we talked about at halftime: just not valuing the ball and making stupid turnovers,” Scott said. “I told them, I said, ‘ It’s going to one back to bite us in the butt.’ We ended up with 21, and obviously they hit some big shots at the end and their defense got a little bit more aggressive in the last couple of minutes. It just seemed like we kind of panicked, and that was pretty much it.”
31
Points scored by Hayward, who led all players. Hayward was firing on all types of shots, going 12-for-18 from the field, 4-for-7 on triples and 3-for-3 at the charity stripe. The Butler product took advantage of L.A.’s mistakes, scoring game-highs on fast breaks (nine) and off turnovers (seven), while also adding 14 points in the paint and a season-high seven assists.
Gordon Hayward Shot Chart