Jazz 80, Lakers 73
Gordon Hayward had 22 points, five assists and matched his career high with four steals as visiting Utah pulled away from Los Angeles in the final minutes.
Trey Burke added 17 points off the bench and Derrick Favors contributed 14 points and seven rebounds for the Jazz, who held their 12th straight opponent under 100 points, the longest current streak in the NBA. Trevor Booker scored 10 points and fellow reserve Joe Ingles had nine on 3-for-5 from 3-point range for Utah.
Tarik Black had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Wesley Johnson scored 12 and to lead the Lakers, who have lost 50 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in franchise history. Carlos Boozer added 11 points off the bench and rookie point guard Jordan Clarkson contributed eight points and matched his season high with eight assists for Los Angeles.
The 17th lead change of the game put the Jazz on top 70-69 with 4:15 left in the game and they didn’t let this advantage slip away. Burke made back-to-back baskets on drives into the paint to put Utah up by five with 1:45 left, Lakers forward Jordan Hill committed turnovers on back-to-back possessions and the Jazz polished off the victory at the free throw line.
Utah led by as many as nine in the second quarter but missed its final 10 shots of the first half and Los Angeles took a 36-33 lead into the break. After the lead continued to change hands through most of the third quarter, the Jazz held the advantage for a stretch before Jabari Brown sank a 3 to put the Lakers back on top 67-65 with 6:26 left in the game.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Utah’s starting guards Dante Exum and Rodney Hood combined to shoot 0-for-11 with two points. … The Lakers have lost four straight and nine of 10, but all the losses have been by seven points or fewer and their last 14 games overall have been settled by single digits. … Los Angeles hasn’t had a player score at least 30 points in the last 44 games, which is the longest stretch in franchise history.