Marcus Smart praised the Lakers’ defensive intensity following their 143-135 win over the Utah Jazz on Thursday at Delta Center.
“Just urgency, you know, we picked up our urgency. We were in passing lanes, helping one another. Those straight-line drives… we were putting a body in front of them, making everything as tough as possible,” Smart said.
Smart reflected on his scoring contributions, noting early three-pointers helped set the tone. “Played me how every other team’s been playing me… shout out to Luka and those guys, LeBron, finding me and then just being ready to knock down the shot,” he added.
The veteran guard emphasized the challenges of playing defense in a tightly called game. “Any contact you make, even if you’re not the one creating it, it’s going to be a foul on you. Offense always gets the benefit of the doubt, so it makes it hard,” Smart explained.
He also stressed the importance of forcing misses rather than hoping for them. “Guys are too good in this league for you to hope they miss. We got to get up in guys, make every shot difficult, make contact early… and they started to miss some shots they were hitting early on,” he said.
Smart described the halftime frustration over free throws and offensive contact. “A lot of things… as a defender, you’re already at a disadvantage. The offensive guy can put his hands on you, duck his shoulder, push you off, and it’s nothing,” he said. “Out of both teams, there were around 80 free throws to get today, and that’s a lot. Everybody was frustrated tonight.”
Despite the challenges, Smart credited Luka Doncic’s composure and leadership down the stretch. “Luka stayed in mentally, held it together, and did what he does best—control his team and help us come up with this victory,” he said.
The Lakers overcame the absence of Deandre Ayton and Austin Reaves, with Doncic posting 45 points, 14 assists, and 11 rebounds. LeBron James added 28 points and 10 assists, while Jaxson Hayes scored 16 points on perfect 7-of-7 shooting, powering Los Angeles to outscore Utah 41-29 in the fourth quarter.
Utah led 78-73 at halftime behind 65% shooting but could not hold off the Lakers, who improved to 19-7. Doncic’s final assist to Hayes with 0.4 seconds left sealed the comeback in a high-paced scoring affair.
