The clock was ticking and the ball, as has been the case for most of the last two decades in professional basketball, was in LeBron James’ hands.
Throughout the fourth he was ruthless in finding ways to score, the mismatch was always in his favor and for the most part the ball just didn’t go in. On one crucial possession in the fourth, the Lakers grabbed offensive rebound after offensive rebound, only for James to miss three three-pointers on the same possession.
But this was a style of play that resulted in championships, and building a reputation for James as one of, if not the, best to ever play. However, it’s not the intended style for JJ Redick’s Lakers.
The Lakers were stuck in this all Sunday in the fourth quarter, missing another three and opening the door for the Jazz to steal a win. But Utah coach Will Hardy called a late timeout after James missed three, and the whistle blew with a wink before Collin Sexton scored the game winner.
The Jazz didn’t get a good look after the timeout as the Lakers escaped with a 105-104 win and began a four-game trip with much of their roster unavailable.
Anthony Davis scored 33, James added 27 on a night when he missed all nine threes and Rui Hachimura had 13 for the shorthanded Lakers.
The symptoms for those affected are real. For D’Angelo Russell and Cam Reddish, illnesses kept them from coming to the arena on Sunday. And for Austin Reaves, it was the pain of a scary fall Friday that even made standing a bit of a sticky situation.
But the NBA world is unsympathetic. And problems for Reaves, Russell and Reddish meant opportunities for Gabe Vincent, Max Christie and forgotten sophomore guard Jalen Hood-Schifino.
Minus 40% of their regular rotation (including the injured Jaxson Hayes), the players around James and Davis had no choice but to figure it out.
Vincent scored a season-high 10 points and forced a key late turnover when he aggressively defended John Collins in the post.
Reaves’ back injury, which the Lakers are calling a left pelvic contusion, ended a streak of appearing in 129 straight regular-season games, a stretch that also included 21 playoff games, two play-in games and one season tournament finale included.
The Lakers play again on Monday in Minneapolis.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
