Luka Doncic scored 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while LeBron James added 17 points and eight assists as the Los Angeles Lakers narrowly defeated the Utah Jazz 108-106 at Delta Center on Sunday.
Austin Reaves contributed 22 points and Rui Hachimura added 13 to help Los Angeles extend its winning streak to four games despite Deandre Ayton leaving with a knee bruise in the second quarter.
The Lakers led by as many as nine points before the Jazz rallied in the third, with Utah going on a 16-2 run to take a 74-69 advantage midway through the quarter.
Doncic’s 3-pointer sparked a 13-0 Lakers run with 6:06 remaining, giving Los Angeles a 98-85 lead that proved decisive down the stretch.
Lauri Markkanen scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to bring Utah within one, but Keyonte George’s final attempt bounced off the rim as the Lakers held on.
Maxi Kleber made his 1,000th career field goal with a dunk late in the fourth to help seal the win for Los Angeles, who improved to 12-4 on the season.
George led Utah with 27 points and eight assists, while Markkanen and Jusuf Nurkic added 20 and 11 points respectively. The Jazz fell to 5-11, struggling to overcome the absence of key contributors in a tightly contested matchup.
The Lakers will host the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, while Utah visits Golden State on Monday.
