Another game, another step closer to the playoffs.
This one, though, didn't come easy as the Jazz overcame a lackluster defensive effort to squeak out a 117-110 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night in Salt Lake City.
Utah (45-33) now sits in fifth place in the Western Conference standings, one game behind the San Antonio Spurs and half a game ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder—and only two games ahead of the Denver Nuggets, who are in ninth place.
Utah's starting backcourt of Ricky Rubio (31 points) and Donovan Mitchell (26 points) led the way, while Derrick Favors added 15 points and eight rebounds in the victory.
Rudy Gobert stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocks. Joe Ingles and Jae Crowder also finished with 12 points.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored a team-high 28 points for the Lakers (33-44), while former University of Utah standout Kyle Kuzma added 26 points on 9-for-18 shooting.
Tuesday's Best
Ricky Rubio was the hero Utah needed Tuesday night, keeping the Jazz in the game early with 10 first-quarter points—and then somehow getting better with 15 more in the second quarter. In all, Rubio finished with 31 points, six rebounds, eight assists and a net rating of +17 in 32 minutes. It was the fifth time he's scored at least 30 points in his career, with four of those coming this season.
Key Stretches
The Lakers made their first eight shots before Kuzma (finally) missed a jumper with 6:29 left in the first period. The Jazz, though, had kept pace and only trailed 20-15 at that point. Rubio had 10 of those points while Mitchell had three and Favors put in a dunk. A 3-pointer by Crowder pulled Utah within two.
A floater by Tyler Ennis put the Lakers up 43-31 early in the second quarter, but a putback layup by Gobert and corner three by Ingles gave the Jazz a much-needed lift. A dunk by Mitchell, two free throws by Rubio, and a three by Rubio (off a slick pass from Mitchell) pulled Utah within three at 46-43 and forced a Lakers timeout. Mitchell hit nothing but net on a floater, and then a dunk by Gobert gave Utah its first lead of the game.
After leading by five at the half, the Jazz pushed their lead to 15 midway through third quarter. Rubio put in two more buckets, Favors added four points of his own, and Ingles waltzed into the lane and sank a one-handed push shot. Ingles and Mitchell capped Utah's 19-5 run wth back-to-back threes.
The Lakers kept it close throughout the fourth quarter until back-to-back layups by Gobert and Mitchell gave the Jazz an eight-point lead. A corner three by Ingles pushed Utah's lead to 11 with just over two minutes remaining.
Significant Stats
42.4
The Jazz had a solid shooting night from beyond the arc, connecting on 14 of their 33 3-point attempts (42.4 percent). Rubio (4-for-7), Mitchell (4-for-8), Ingles (3-for-6) and Crowder (3-for-7) combined to hit all of Utah's threes.
+16
The Jazz owned the low block, outrebounding the Lakers 47-39 (including 14-7 on the offensive glass) and outscoring them 50-34 in the paint.
179
With four 3-pointers, Mitchell now has 179 for the season. The all-time record for threes by a rookie is 185, set by Damian Lillard during the 2012-13 season.
Coach's Quote of the Night
Jazz head coach Quin Snyder
Notable
Mitchell has now scored 25+ points 26 times this season. ... Raul Neto (wrist) missed his 11th straight game for the Jazz. ... Lonzo Ball (knee), Brandon Ingram (concussion) and Isaiah Thomas (hip) did not play for the Lakers. ... The Jazz outscored the Lakers 23-12 on second-chance points. ... Utah shot only 63.0 percent (17-for-27) from the free-throw line. ... The Jazz are now 26-13 at home this season.
Up Next
The Jazz will stay at home to face the LA Clippers on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 7:00pm MT.
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