Nickeil Alexander-Walker played 6 minutes in win over Lakers. Here's why they were so critical

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SALT LAKE CITY — Lauri Markkanen was fresh off posting 27 points and 13 rebounds. Mike Conley had just scored 8 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and also had 10 assists. Kelly Olynyk had 18 points and a team-high plus-minus of +17.

Yet, the first name Jazz head coach Will Hardy singled out following his team's 130-116 road win over the Los Angeles Lakers was Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the reserve that played a grand total of six minutes in the game.

It was a darn important six minutes.

The Jazz floundered as the third quarter ticked down, and a once 16-point lead had been trimmed down to 2 with 56 seconds left in the quarter. Utah's offense, which for most of the night was spectacular, got bogged down.

The Jazz forced bad shots and dribbled their way through poor possessions. On the other end, Russell Westbrook looked like his old Oklahoma City self and broke the paint and hit 3-pointers.

Crypto.com Arena got louder and louder as the Lakers cut more and more into Utah's lead.

That was the situation Alexander-Walker faced as he was called on for the first time all game. He was tasked with trying to stem the tide until the starters could get back in.

On his first possession, he cut to the basket and converted a 3-point play; that, alone, seemed to calm everyone down. By the time Alexander-Walker checked out with 6:26 left in the game, the Jazz had pushed their lead back to double-digits.

"It's a night where we have a lot of different guys contribute at a lot of different times in the game," Hardy said. "Somebody that stands out in particular is Nickeil Alexander-Walker coming in at the end of the third quarter when the momentum is not necessarily in our favor. He hadn't played all night and he came in and delivered for us, played great minutes to kind of stem the tide and let some guys sit on the bench and rest for a few minutes."

He finished with 6 points, including a big 3-pointer in the fourth quarter that, again, helped keep the Lakers at arm's length.

"Credit to Nickeil for being ready and coming in and making big plays to end the third and had us going," Markkanen said.

It was not just his production that made his six minutes so critical; it also allowed Hardy to give Conley an extended breather, and that paid dividends once Utah's veteran stepped back onto the court.

Conley scored 8 points in the closing six minutes, including a 3-pointer that just beat the shot clock and a game-sealing 3-point play with 2:22 left, to push Utah to victory.

"We've been in like two or three of these games this season already and we've won a few, we've lost a few, and we've learned a lot from each one," Conley said. "I think we got a lot of guys in the gym that don't get rattled."

Alexander-Walker showed on Friday he's one of them.