The Los Angeles Lakers completed an unbeaten streak in the group stage at the NBA In-Season Tournament with a 131-99 victory over the Utah Jazz.
LOS ANGELES — LeBron James scored his 39,000th point en route to 17 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers completed an unbeaten streak in the group stage at the NBA In-Season Tournament with a 131-99 victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.
Anthony Davis had 26 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who will host a quarterfinal game early next month to begin the round of 16 in the league’s first tournament of the season. Los Angeles beat Phoenix, Memphis, Portland and Utah by a combined 74 points, capped by this Jazz blowout for the Lakers’ sixth victory in seven games overall.
Already the leading scorer in NBA history after surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points) last season, James, 38, became the first player in league history to surpass 39,000 points in start of the first quarter.
“I’ve been congratulated by my teammates and my coaches, (but) I haven’t had a chance to really understand what that means,” James said. “There have been so many great players that have come through this league since the dawn of time, and so many great scorers. Being able to accomplish something that’s the first of something, I think that’s always pretty cool. It’s a crazy time, that’s for sure.
This milestone was another step in James’ implementation of previous global standards for basketball Longevity: He entered the night averaging 26.4 points per game, by far the most production of any player in NBA history reaching a 21st season.
D’Angelo Russell added 20 points and eight assists for the Lakers, who went up by 30 in the third quarter and had their two superstars out for good before the start of the fourth. James only played 24 minutes, while Davis dominated in his 29 minutes, making 11 of 14 and even adding four assists.
“Being able to sleep in our beds and not have to travel is always good,” Davis said of the Lakers’ position in the tournament. “We’re about to win the, uh, Cup?” Is this the Tournament Cup? NBA Cup? Something like that? So, one more step.
Austin Reaves scored 19 points and Christian Wood had a game-high 16 as Los Angeles improved to 7-1 at home this season and Utah fell to 1-6 on the road.
John Collins scored 15 points and Omer Yurtseven had a game-high 18 for the undersized Jazz, who fell to 2-2 in tournament play with their seventh loss in nine games overall. Utah shot miserably, hitting just 33 percent of its shots in the first half.
“They did a good job of closing down the floor for us, taking all the space we had and forcing us to take tough shots,” said former Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson, who scored seven points on 3 out of 9 shots.
Starting power forward Cam Reddish played just five minutes before leaving with a sore groin, adding another injury to the Lakers’ roster and leaving them with just nine players available. Jarred Vanderbilt (left heel) and first-round pick Jalen Hood-Schifino (right kneecap) have not played this season. Gabe Vincent will miss at least 16 games before returning from a left knee injury, likely next month.
The Lakers dominated the first half again, taking a 23-point lead in the second quarter behind 17 points and 10 rebounds from Davis. Utah made just 4 for 23 from 3-point range while falling behind 62-41 at halftime.
“I think our lack of physicality, especially on offense, led us to have some very sloppy offensive possessions,” Utah coach Will Hardy said. “And when you add in not really making shots… playing against that team in transition over and over again is tough. There were a lot of things rolled into one that led to a bad match.
FOLLOWING
Jazz: at Portland on Wednesday.
Lakers: Host Dallas on Wednesday.
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