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SALT LAKE CITY — Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham said he trusted his team not to look past the fading Utah Jazz on Tuesday.
Yet, early in the fourth quarter, there seemed to be an annoyance coming from the Lakers bench. The reason? The Jazz, who were without Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler and Jordan Clarkson (arguably their three best players), had just pulled ahead by 2 points.
That's when LeBron James took the ball, drove past Luka Samanic, Utah's newly signed player under a 10-day contract, and delivered a powerful two-handed slam. Message received? Not exactly.
If the Lakers were annoyed then, it was nothing compared to how they were feeling at the end of regulation. The Lakers held a 10-point lead with 1:43 left, but they still had to play in overtime.
Or even at the end of overtime, when James needed a late layup just to lift the Lakers to a 135-133 win over the Jazz Tuesday at Vivint Arena.
Yes, in a game where Utah started Udoka Azubuike and Samanic against the likes of James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers needed a heroic performance from their all-time great player just to squeak out a victory. James scored 9 of his 37 points in overtime, including the game-winning layup with 27 seconds remaining.
It was a game full of unexpected shots and runs, but was it a surprise? Maybe to some, but not to Jazz coach Will Hardy.
"I'm with these guys every day. I see how they interact with each other. I see how they prepare; they're preparing every night to win, they're not just coming out here to play," the Jazz coach said. "They are locked in in the film sessions. They ask questions in the film sessions. They're fully engaged in walkthroughs and shootarounds. The way they talk to each other in the locker room, the way they carry themselves.
"I'm not surprised at all because that's their intent every night, and we've had an attitude all season that people are out or lineups change, and it's just about making the most of your opportunity."
Utah had seven players reach double figures in scoring, led by Kelly Olynyk and Talen Horton-Tucker with 23 apiece. Olynyk scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, and he nearly willed the Jazz to an improbable victory.
He was also responsible for maybe the lasting image of the crazy last minute and change in regulation. With 42 seconds left, Olynyk pulled up from 28 feet out, and threw up a rocket shot. Olynyk sent the ball scorching to the hoop in a near straight line, but it was true enough that it banked hard off the backboard and into the hoop.
"Kelly's three was, uh — that was awesome," Hardy said as he tried to suppress a laugh. "We're lucky the backboard was there."
Laughter was the common reaction to the game, especially late. There were just so many head-scratching things about the end. Davis missed clutch a free throw, James committed an offensive foul, and Damian Jones — who the Lakers sent to the Jazz as a salary filler — drew a late foul on James and then made two free throws to tie the game.
The game didn't make much sense on the surface; but in this Jazz season, it fit right in.
"We just wanted to put ourselves in a position to give ourselves a chance to win, and I feel like we did that going down the stretch," Horton-Tucker said.
Horton-Tucker missed a fadeaway shot with 6.1 seconds left in overtime that would have tied the game up — and it was a shot that lingered long after the final whistle.
"Just talking to Lauri, he was telling me he hasn't made that shot either," Horton-Tucker said. "So trying to make me feel a little bit better. Obviously, there were the shots you grew up (dreaming of) hitting. Hopefully I get another opportunity."
