Nick Young carries Lakers to 119-104 win over Jazz
Lakers 102, Utah Jazz 87 (end of regulation)
The Lakers had everything to gain with a loss in Utah on Monday night, but Nick Young wasn’t thinking about the team’s lottery standing when he scored 41 points to lead the Lakers to a 119-104 win.
Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Lakers started the fourth quarter on a 16-1 run. The Jazz never recovered, falling to 24-57 on the season with one game left to play.
Utah can clinch at least the fourth position in May’s 2014 NBA draft lottery with a loss Wednesday to the Minnesota Timberwolves. If the Orlando Magic (23-58) win their final game (vs. Indiana Pacers, 55-26), a Jazz loss would create a third-place lottery tie.
The Lakers (26-55) drop to sixth in the lottery with the win, falling behind the 25-56 Boston Celtics.
Young shot 14 of 23 from the field, 6 of 11 behind the arc and 7 of 9 from the free-throw line. Jodie Meeks gave the Lakers 23 points while Jordan Hill added 21. Kendall Marshall dished 15 assists. Robert Sacre and Wesley Johnson each scored 12.
The Lakers shot 54.9% from the field. The Jazz hit a solid 51.9%, but turned the ball over 18 times -- and fell apart defensively in the fourth quarter, yielding 33 points to the Lakers.
Alec Burks led Utah with 22 points. Gordon Hayward netted 21 while Enes Kanter notched a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Poised to finish in sixth for the draft lottery, the Lakers will have a 6.3% chance at the top overall pick in June’s NBA draft. They’ll also have 7.1% odds at the second pick, 8.1% at third, 43.9% at sixth, 30.5% at seventh, 4.0% at eighth and 0.1% at ninth.
Lakers 86, Jazz 86 (end of third quarter)
Nick Young hit a three-pointer with 2.9 seconds left to tie the game up in Utah at 86. With lottery standings on the line, both teams have 12 minutes left to get the loss.
Naturally the players on both teams are doing their best to get their teams the victory. The Jazz had a strong third quarter, scoring 35 to the Lakers’ 29.
Gordon Hayward scored 21 for the Jazz. Enes Kanter had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
The Lakers shot 53.2% from the field but gave up 55.6% to Utah.
Young led all scorers with 24 points. Jordan Hill had 21 on 10-of-13 shooting. Kendall Marshall dished 15 assists in 23 1/2 minutes.
Lakers 57, Jazz 51 (halftime)
The Lakers closed the half on a 19-2 run, pulling ahead of the Jazz by six points.
Nick Young scored 17 points in 17 minutes, slightly more than Jodie Meeks’ 16 points in 18.
Kendall Marshall dished 11 assists as the Lakers shot 51.2% from the field.
Utah turned the ball over 12 times while shooting 48.8%. Gordon Hayward scored. Alec Burks added 10.
The Lakers turned the ball over six times.
Jazz 30, Lakers 23 (end of first quarter)
The Jazz opened up an early seven-point lead after a quarter against the Lakers.
Alec Burks scored 10 points on a perfect 3 for 3 from the field as Utah shot 57.1% from the field.
Jodie Meeks led the Lakers with seven points. Jordan Hill scored six as the Lakers hit 47.6% and just 1 of 4 from three-point range (25%).
Pregame
After falling to the Memphis Grizzlies (48-32) on Sunday night, the Lakers (25-55) travel to Utah to play the Jazz (24-56).
In relation to the NBA draft lottery, both teams need to lose to improve their chances at a top pick.
The Lakers will play without Pau Gasol (vertigo), Chris Kaman (calf), Kobe Bryant (knee), Xavier Henry (knee, wrist), Steve Nash (back) and Kent Bazemore (foot).
Marvin Williams (knee) likely will not play for the Jazz.
For a more in-depth breakdown, check out Preview: Lakers at Utah Jazz
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Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.
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