The Los Angeles Lakers return home Tuesday, putting their season-best five-game winning streak on the line against the Utah Jazz in an NBA Cup West Group B game.
Recently, the Lakers have capitalized on facing undermanned teams. Their victories in this streak include wins over the Philadelphia 76ers without Joel Embiid, the Memphis Grizzlies without Ja Morant, and the New Orleans Pelicans without CJ McCollum and Dejounte Murray on Saturday.
In their 104-99 win over the Pelicans, the Lakers had their own personnel challenges, with Cam Reddish (foot) and Rui Hachimura (ankle) both sidelined. Rookie Dalton Knecht stepped up, starting and scoring a career-best 27 points.
Over his past three games, including two starts, Knecht has averaged 20.0 points in 31.5 minutes per game. He was 5 of 10 from three-point range against the Pelicans and has hit 12 of 19 (63.2 percent) from beyond the arc in his recent stretch.
Lakers veteran LeBron James overcame a slow start to score 21 points and deliver key baskets down the stretch. He is averaging 23.3 points, 9.2 assists, and 8.6 rebounds in his 22nd season.
The Jazz have shown improvement but are coming off their second consecutive loss, a 116-105 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
Trailing 99-76 with 11:06 remaining, the Jazz rallied to within 110-103 with 3:18 left on a three-pointer from Jordan Clarkson. However, the Clippers responded with a quick 5-0 run to secure the victory.
Clarkson finished with 21 points off the bench, while Lauri Markkanen added 18 points and 10 rebounds. Keyonte George scored just nine points on 4-of-12 shooting and was replaced in the starting lineup for the second half by Isaiah Collier.
Markkanen believes the Jazz can build on their fourth-quarter effort from Sunday.
John Collins leads the Jazz with 17.5 points per game, followed closely by Markkanen at 17.3 points. Walker Kessler, the team’s leading rebounder at 10.7 per game, will miss his fifth straight game Tuesday due to a right hip injury.
In NBA Cup group play, the Lakers are 1-0, while the Jazz are 0-1.
