One of the Lakers’ young studs went toe-to-toe in a battle between star rookies. Another made the ambitious shift from power forward to point guard (out of necessity).
And while Kyle Kuzma and Julius Randle each stepped up to the moment, they could not carry the Lakers to victory, as their shorthanded squad fell to Utah, 117-110.
In his homecoming, Kuzma — who played collegiately in Salt Lake City for the Utah Utes — dazzled from mid-range, dropping 26 points while baiting the Jazz into 12 free throw attempts (though he only made seven).
“It’s always cool to come back here,” Kuzma said. “I really pretty much grew up here, maturity-wise, being here at Utah. It just has a place in my heart. Just really special to have a reception like that.”
Kuzma ranks second among rookies in scoring this season. The only player ahead of him, Donovan Mitchell, matched his 26 points in this game.
Meanwhile, Randle packaged together a strong all-around effort, coming just one dime shy of a triple-double.
With Lonzo Ball, Isaiah Thomas and Brandon Ingram all out due to injuries, Randle played stretches of point forward. The role shift led to a stat line of 12 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, though he shot just 3-of-9 from the field.
“We tried running Julius at the point tonight, and he actually looked pretty good at it,” Walton said. “He made some plays for us. But then I think that kind of got him out of his beast mode rhythm that he’s been in.”
Randle did an especially nice job of driving and kicking out to 3-point marksmen, particularly Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who led the Lakers with 28 points and five triples.
As a team, the Lakers (33-44) hit half of their 28 shots from deep.
“Other teams always collapse on (Randle),” Walton said. “They don’t think he’s gonna play-make and they know how hard he is to stop one-on-one. He did a really nice job of finding shooters.”
While the Lakers were able to crack Utah’s league-best defense, they had trouble corralling the Jazz (45-33) on the other side.
Ricky Rubio caught fire from the perimeter, finishing with 31 points and eight assists. Meanwhile, Utah also took care of business down low, enjoying large scoring advantages in the paint (50-34) and on second chances (23-12).
Notes
Tyler Ennis had 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists. … L.A. shot just 24-of-36 on free throws. … This was the Lakers’ last game of the season outside of Los Angeles. … A sold-out crowd of 18,306 packed Vivint Smart Home Arena.