Lakers defeat Jazz with assistance from G League call-up
Tonight, your Los Angeles Lakers took on the Utah Jazz in what would be only their first of two games this week. Both coincidentally against the Jazz.
There was one storyline heading into tonight’s game that you would have to be living under a rock to miss. Tonight marked the return of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, LeBron James, as he suited up for the Purple and Gold for the first time in the 2025-26 season.
With Lauri Markkanen playing fantastic basketball over the last few games, the Jazz were not a team to look past. Here’s how the big night played out.
The return of LeBron James
Tonight was LeBron’s first game back after dealing with a sciatica injury all season, and questions were certainly there.
With Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves looking so good, how would throwing James into the mix look? How will the team adjust as a whole to LeBron after they’ve been playing such good synergenistic ball lately?
All those questions were answered, at least for tonight. The game was two-fold for LeBron. On one hand, it was another record-breaking night. He passed Reggie Miller on the NBA’s career three-point shooting list, set a record with 23 seasons played, and continued his impressive streak of games with 10+ points by racking up 11.
On the other hand, it never felt like he dominated the usage rate or took away from Dončić or Reaves; he actually led the team tonight in assists with 12. There was even a stretch of 5:30 of gameplay in the 4th where Lebron accounted for six assists in that span.
While James’ lungs may have needed a ramp-up, his vision certainly didn’t. If LeBron can continue to mesh into this team with playmaking and defense, the sky is the limit for Los Angeles.
More Luka Magic in the 3rd quarter
Part of what secured the game for Los Angeles was their third-quarter run, spurred by Luka Dončić.
While the second half did start off more back-and-forth, like the first, Luka quickly said enough and changed that. He finished the quarter with a whopping 17 points, three rebounds, and three assists while being +15.
During much of that scoring outburst, he led the Lakers on a 17-3 run, which effectively earned the lead they didn’t lose. For the game, he totaled 37 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds.
The one downside
Tonight’s game was fun and filled with headlines like LeBron’s return, another outstanding Luka performance, and the Lakers’ highest point total of the season (140). There was an issue, however.
I hate to be the debbie-downer here, but in the first half, it was clear that with LeBron’s return, a change would need to be made in the starting lineup. It unfortunately involves benching a fan favorite.
In the first half, Utah was able to do whatever they wanted offensively. While Markkanen has been playing great, that’s still unacceptable for a team with championship aspirations. When looking at who to replace, the choice is clear. It has to be Rui Hachimura.
For as fantastic as he has been all season, the defensive punch of either Marcus Smart or Jake LaRavia is needed. It’s obviously too soon to make an official decision, but it’s certainly something to monitor.
