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SALT LAKE CITY — For three and a half quarters, it was the Donovan Mitchell show. The Utah Jazz All-Star guard had put on a maestro performance — hitting 3-pointers, getting to the hoop, and completing highlight-reel passes.
All that was left was to see was how many points he would end up with — or so it appeared.
With six minute remaining, the Jazz had a 12-point lead and all the momentum; then the wheels fell off. Russell Westbrook got loose on a few drives, the Jazz got loose with the ball, and once LeBron James sensed a weakness he took over.
The first three quarters may have belonged to Mitchell, but winning time belonged to James.
James scored 15 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Lakers came back from a late double-digit deficit to beat Utah 106-101 Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena.
Quin Snyder said it "can't be that easy" to give up a 12-point lead. Mitchell added that there was "no way we should have lost this game."
It was a collapse — pure and simple. Was James phenomenal in the fourth quarter? Sure, but only after the Jazz gave the Lakers life. The Lakers went on a 16-2 run to take the lead in the closing minutes of the game; it was a run that was fueled by poor offensive possessions giving way to transition buckets.
The run started when Royce O'Neale threw a lazy pass that was intercepted and led to a Russell Westbrook dunk. The Lakers then turned a missed 3-pointer from Jordan Clarkson into an Austin Reaves' layup on the other end; and a desperation 3-pointer from Mitchell into a driving layup from Westbrook.
By the time James got involved, the comeback was already halfway complete. James took it from there and scored 10-straight points, including two 3-pointers and a rim rocking dunk, to put the Lakers on top for good.
"These guys, they can score in transition, and that's what they do," Snyder said of the Lakers. "And then the game tightens up and they go to LeBron and he makes plays, but we had plenty of chances to make plays, too; we just didn't."
Mitchell, who finished with 37 points on 13-for-24 shooting, had just 2 points in the final six minutes of regulation. The Jazz were just 2 of 8 from the 3-point line in the fourth quarter and committed four turnovers.
"I had two turnovers that maybe cost us the game," O'Neale said.
The first was the one that started the Lakers' run. The second came in the final minute with the Jazz down by 3 points. O'Neale received a pass in the corner where he was open but hesitated and allowed the defender to close out. A side dribble freed him up once again, but he still didn't shoot and instead tried to swing the ball around the 3-point line. His pass was intercepted.
"Definitely should have shot the last shot that I had," O'Neale admitted. "Just got to be more aware of myself and take what the defense gives me."
O'Neale's gaffe stood out due to the time left in the game, but he was far from alone in the Jazz miscues. The Lakers erased a 12-point fourth-quarter lead in just over three minutes. Mitchell said the team played the second half like they were up 40.
They were in control — just not that much control. Mitchell was electric and his 15-point first quarter had rescued the Jazz from an awful start that saw the team go down 11-0 in the first few minutes.
In the second quarter, Lakers center Anthony Davis landed on the back of Rudy Gobert's heel, which caused his ankle to turn severely. Davis collapsed onto the floor and grabbed his ankle in obvious pain. He was helped to the locker room by a pair of teammates and was unable to put any weight on the ankle; he didn't return.
X-rays determined a right ankle sprain, but Davis will have an MRI on Thursday.
The injury sucked the energy out of the building and the Jazz capitalized. By the third quarter, the Jazz had a 14-point lead and all the momentum.
In a break between the third and fourth quarters, LA coach Frank Vogel reminded the ESPN broadcast his team had beat the Jazz last month without Davis, and he believed they could do it again.
That proved to be prophetic.
"It can't be that easy to give up a 12-point lead," Snyder said. "We've got to make teams work to come back and grind. It was just too easy."
