Lakers vs. Jazz Final Score: Gordon Hayward drops 31, Lakers lose 102-100

The Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz slugged it out for four quarters but Utah prevailed in a 102-100 Lakers loss. Joe Ingles hit a dagger three-pointer following a shot clock violation with less than a minute left, polishing off a solid night of perimeter shooting. The Lakers had the final possession down two points, and D’Angelo Russell hit nothing but net with the game on the line.

It was an airball, of course. There was little movement from his teammates, with two set screens and four teammates waiting for him to take the shot. It did not end well.

This was a back-and-forth game featuring 18 lead changes. The Jazz couldn’t quite put the Lakers away, while the Lakers couldn’t keep a firm grasp on their halftime lead. Things started to really slip away in the third quarter for LA, but Lou Williams’ nine points steadied the ship temporarily for the Lakers. He went on to finish with 22 points off the bench.

Williams’ bench effort was for naught, though, and couldn’t stand up to a 31-point outing from Gordon Hayward. Gordon continued his trend of terrorizing the Lakers’ defense, attacking from everywhere on the court. He posterized Julius Randle with a two-handed thunder drop.

Randle led the way for the Lakers with a team-high 25 points and 12 rebounds, making big shots over the towering frame of Rudy Gobert down the stretch to get the Lakers in position to win. Russell scored four points, making just two of his 11 field goal attempts. He also had four assists and no turnovers.

The Lakers struggled as a team from deep (4-of-16) and got a combined eight points from their starting guards, which only makes it all the more surprising they were a made field goal or two away from beating Utah.

Another instance of the Lakers playing pretty good team basketball for 35 of the 48 minutes they needed to, and another loss on the year. Next up, the Dallas Mavericks in Los Angeles on Thursday.