Doncic notches 40-point triple-double as Lakers escape Jazz 143-135

SALT LAKE CITY — Facing one of the top teams in the Western Conference, and being without Lauri Markkanen, the Utah Jazz would need their young core to step up in order to knock off the Los Angeles Lakers.

Despite a great team shooting performance to go along with its young core picking up the scoring in Markkanen's absence, Utah was not able to overcome the 73 points scored between LeBron James and Luka Doncic and fell to Los Angeles 143-135.

Keyonte George continued to play like one of the conference's elite guards, once again showcasing his ability as a scorer and as a facilitator. George finished with 34 points to lead the Jazz in scoring, while adding eight assists on 9-of-20 shooting.

"He's pretty freaking good," Jazz head coach Will Hardy said. "To do it tonight against that team, when Lauri's not on the court, I do think speaks volume to the level that he's at right now. To do it efficiently, I think again, it just speaks to the work that Keyonte puts in."

Utah led throughout the majority of the game, with the biggest lead of 10 in the first half. The team carried the lead into the second half, with the Jazz able to withstand many of the punches that Los Angeles threw at them over the course of the third quarter.

Those punches got tougher to withstand in the fourth quarter, though, as Doncic took over the game to finish with a triple-double in the win.

He finished with 45 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds, which is the 10th time Doncic has recorded a 40-point triple-double in his career and the first with the Lakers.

After carrying the load for Los Angeles in the first half, Doncic got some help from the Lakers' role players, who made key buckets that allowed the visiting team to cut into the deficit. Los Angeles took its first lead of the game in the fourth quarter, where things began to unravel for the Jazz.

Without Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton available, the Lakers found a way to pull away late and outscored Utah 41-29 in the final period. But the young Jazz team didn't go down without a fight.

Led by George, Utah fought until the end before ultimately succumbing to the historic performance from Doncic.

Five other players scored in double figures for the Lakers, including James, who added 28 points and nearly finished with his own triple-double of 10 assists and seven rebounds. Los Angeles got big shots down the stretch from Marcus Smart, who added 17 points of his own, including two momentum-building 3-pointers during LA's fourth-quarter run.

Even in a loss, Hardy was proud of his team's effort, who at times was outmatched by the Lakers' size — and Doncic just being Doncic.

Utah shot 65% from the field and 60% from 3-point range to gain the edge at the halftime break, but finished the game shooting 53% from the field. The biggest blow in the loss, though, was the team's poor free-throw shooting, in which the team shot 66% on 47 shot attempts.

Isaiah Collier had a season-high 13 assists as he found ways to be a playmaker off the bench to give George a break at bringing the ball up the court. Collier poured in 18 points to secure his second double-double of the season.

"It's one of (Isaiah's) best games that I've seen him play," Hardy said. "I think he's continuing to apply pressure on the paint for our team. He's doing such a good job of playing off two feet. He's making a lot of really good decisions for us."

"The main thing is going out there to compete honestly," Collier said. "We know Lauri is a big piece, but you have to take advantage of your opportunity. Just going out there, competing, playing as hard as we can."

Utah will host the Orlando Magic on Saturday as the team looks to build off the strong performances from key players and remain in the playoff hunt as the season progresses.

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