“That just made my back hurt,” LeBron joked when told that stat. “I was just telling him a fun fact,” Ayton said. “He threw me alley oop. I said, ‘That’s my second alley for me from you, the first one was when I was in eighth grade at your camp.’”
Then, in the second quarter, LeBron made the 2,561st regular-season 3-pointer of his career, passing Reggie Miller for sixth place on the NBA’s all-time regular-season list. (Next up on that list is Klay Thompson at 2,729, who LeBron is not likely to catch.)
However, it was LeBron’s passing that was on point all night — his 12 assists led to 28 Lakers’ points. Not bad for the guy Austin Reaves called a “G-League call-up” (LeBron practiced with the Lakers’ G-League team last week while the rest of the team was on a road trip).
After looking a little rusty in his first run, LeBron settled in more in his second stint and not only drained a couple of 3-pointers but also racked up three assists, plus grabbed a couple of rebounds and was more of a presence on defense.
There were moments during the game, like when he got the ball in transition and was a freight train moving downhill, that he looked like vintage LeBron. He was also sharp on the defensive end, calling out coverages and quarterbacking on that side of the floor.
The Lakers had to come from behind in this one because Keyonte George and the Jazz came out red hot. George had 13 points in the first quarter and 23 for the half, channeling his inner Damian Lillard with his play. Lauri Markkanen was his vintage self as well — moving off the ball, getting open and knocking down shots — on his way to 31 points on the night.
The third quarter started with a Luka Doncic takeover. He scored 17 points with three assists (for six points) in the frame, accounting for 74.2% of the Lakers’ points in the frame. It helped that the Jazz cooled off from 3 in the third, shooting 2-of-11 from beyond the arc. By the end of the quarter, the Lakers had started to pull away and LeBron was at the heart of it.
At halftime, coach J.J. Redick preached defense, and it worked.
After George had 23 points in the first half and couldn’t seem to miss, the Lakers held him to six points in the second half. Utah was also 3-of-18 from beyond the arc as a team in the meaningful part of the second half. The result is the Jazz have just 36 second-half points with five minutes to go in the game (after 71 in the first half).
That got the Lakers the win, and it’s plain to see how having LeBron back makes the Lakers better — and their lives easier.
