Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Lakers: Postgame Grades and Analysis for Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers fell to 13-17 with a 105-103 loss to the Utah Jazz on Friday night. They've now lost four games in a row.

After Jordan Hill tied the game at 103 with 18 seconds to go, the Lakers were unable to lock down on defense and box out Derrick Favors, who punctuated Utah's ninth win of the season with a put-back slam with less than three seconds remaining. 

"You can fault the hustle from our guys," head coach Mike D'Antoni said referring to his team's effort on Utah's final possession, according to Lakers Nation's Serena Winters. 



Nick Young was one of six Lakers to finish in double figures, pouring in 21 points off the bench, while Gordon Hayward led the Jazz with 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting. 



The Lakers shot a steady 50 percent from the field in the loss but managed just 16-of-23 from the free-throw line, which wound up being the difference. Utah converted on 80 percent of its looks from the stripe and assisted on 25 of 40 made field goals. 

 

Key Players

Nick Young, Sixth Man

One of the few sources of true off-the-dribble scoring on Friday night, Young came off the bench to do his patented brand of entertaining, instant offense.



Young's 21 points on 10-of-17 shooting in 28 minutes led all scorers, and his intensity on both ends of the floor helped contribute to a 9-0 Lakers run in the third quarter. In fact, during a brief stretch in the third, Young scored or assisted on 13 straight L.A. points. 



Although the Lakers offense didn't move the ball particularly well, Young found plenty of ways to score in isolation before fouling out with 5:45 remaining in the fourth quarter. 

It's also worth noting that Young committed four turnovers while dishing out just three assists in the loss. 

Grade: B+



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