Lakers Highlights: Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura Reach Rare LA Scoring Air Vs Utah
On the road against the favored Utah Jazz, two Los Angeles Lakers starters achieved a dual scoring mark not sniffed since the Shaqobe era.
And LeBron James didn't even play.
That's because power forward Rui Hachimura submitted a PR night in the Delta Center, scoring a career-most 36 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the field (making a career-most six triples, on eight tries). He also chipped in two rebounds, one assist and a block in just 33:38.
But he wasn't even LA's high scorer in a 138-122 blowout victory.
That'd be All-Star center Anthony Davis, who notched a commanding 37 points on 13-of-25 shooting from the field, along with 15 boards.
Per the Lakers' official X account, Hachimura and the Brow became the first Los Angeles tandem since Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant to notch 35 points or more in the same contest. How Bryant and Pau Gasol or James and Davis never accomplished this as duos is a bit befuddling to yours truly.
Hachimura, by the way, wasn't the only Laker to achieve a career high tonight.
Starting point guard D'Angelo Russell continued his personal 2024 renaissance, dishing out a career-most 17 dimes as he became his club's chief facilitator with the oldest player in the NBA resting. Here are all of them:
The game proved to be a defense-free, high-scoring affair in the first half (LA led 34-28 after the first quarter, but then allowed a 41-point Jazz performance in the second), with the Lakers leading by a minimal 70-69 margin. Hachimura led the way for LA with an efficient 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field (2-of-4 from long range) and 3-of-3 shooting from the foul line.
Until late in the third quarter, it was actually an uncomfortably close operation. The contest was knotted up, 84-84, with 5:23 remaining in the frame. Keyed by a 14-point Anthony Davis outburst the rest of the way, the Lakers went on a relentless 24-8 tear, building out a pretty definitive 108-92 edge heading into the fourth period.
Davis scored from all over the floor during this stretch, nailing free throws, tipping in putback dunks as well as stuffing epic running dunks (you can see the latter below), showing off a hook shot, making a midrange jumper, and, yes, even nailing his lone triple of the evening.
I want to take a break from the sunny vibes to address one little late-game decision with which I happen to disagree.
When Utah called for a timeout with 4:31 remaining in regulation and Los Angeles leading by 20 points, 129-109, head coach Darvin Ham for some reason opted to keep starters Hachimura, Davis, Austin Reaves, D'Angelo Russell and Taurean Prince (elevated back to a starting gig tonight with James out) in the game. Keep in mind this was on the second night of a back-to-back set of bouts, and every time Davis lands funny (a frequent occurrence) Lakers fans understandably hold their collective breath.
At least it gave Hachimura enough time to add even more buckets to his big night, I suppose.
To our knowledge, at least, no one did wind up getting hurt, despite playing a few unnecessary bonus minutes.
Against a competent-albeit-definitively rebuilding Jazz squad, the Lakers finished connecting on 57.1% of their field goal tries, 45.2% of their 31 triple attempts, and 83.3% of their foul line looks. All of LA's top six players scored in double digits: Davis, Hachimura, Reaves (22 points, seven assists), D-Lo and Prince (11 points apiece), and Dinwiddie (10). Seven Jazz players, meanwhile, achieved the feat, with point guard Collin Sexton's 18 points leading the way.
With the win (its third in a row, and sixth in its last seven), LA improves to a 30-26 record on the year. As an added tiebreaker bonus (should things come to that), the Lakers have now won their season series against the Jazz, with a 3-0 tally thus far. The team is still stuck the ninth seed in a loaded Western Conference, but now sits just 2.5 games behind the seventh-seeded Dallas Mavericks -- and just 3.5 contests clear of the sixth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans (i.e. the franchise LA would need to right now surpass to avoid the play-in bracket).
