Doncic explodes for 52 to lead Lakers past Jazz

Luka Doncic scored 52 points and added 10 assists and eight rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 132-123 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday in Salt Lake City. Doncic made 8 of 18 3-point attempts as part of 17-of-30 shooting as the Lakers improved to 3-0. It marked the 10th time he scored 50 or more points in a regular-season game. Doncic made several critical baskets late to help the Lakers win for the ninth time in their last 10 games against Utah. He finished off a 14-5 go-ahead run with two 3s in a span of 40 seconds that gave Los Angeles a 127-121 lead with 1:42 left. The second trey put him at 50 points. Austin Reaves added 29 points for the Lakers. Doncic and Reaves combined for 21 of 24 from the free-throw line. Walker Kessler tallied only two points and seven rebounds in his first game back in Utah after being sent by the Jazz to Los Angeles in a trade over the summer. Lauri Markkanen scored 28 points to lead Utah, which blew an 18-point second-quarter lead. Keyonte George tallied 24 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for the Jazz. Jaren Jackson Jr. added 20 points while Ace Bailey chipped in 17 points and 12 rebounds. Bailey made 7 of 8 shots and scored 15 points in the first quarter to help Utah race out to a 47-29 lead by quarter’s end. Markkanen added 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting in that stretch, culminating with a deep buzzer-beating 3-pointer. George dished out seven first-quarter assists — a career-best. Utah shot 61.3% from the floor and had 14 assists on 19 made baskets in the first quarter. Defensively, the Jazz held the Lakers to 34.8% shooting from the field in that stretch. Doncic scored 17 of Los Angeles’ first 25 points. Reaves made three 3s and tallied 15 points in the second quarter, giving the Lakers a lift on offense. Los Angeles also clamped down on defense, forcing a slew of turnovers to erase the deficit before halftime. Doncic hit a stepback 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds left in the half to give the Lakers their first lead at 74-71. Doncic added 14 points in the third quarter and Los Angeles took a 103-100 lead into the final stanza. Doncic capped the scoring with two free throws with 12.5 seconds remaining in the game. Los Angeles shot 48.8% from the field for the game, including 20 of 47 from 3-point range. Utah connected on 48.4% of its attempts and made 10 of 35 from behind the arc. The Jazz held a commanding 52-31 rebounding advantage.