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National Basketball Association
Utah 96, L.A. Lakers 81
When: 9:00 PM ET, Saturday, October 28, 2017
Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Officials: #29 Mark Lindsay, #27 Mitchell Ervin, #5 Kane Fitzgerald
Attendance: 18306

SALT LAKE CITY -- Indecisiveness on offense characterized Donovan Mitchell's approach during his first few NBA games, and the rookie guard hated it. The Utah Jazz guard was putting too much extra thought into whether he should pass or shoot.

Facing the Los Angeles Lakers, Mitchell embraced a fearless mentality. He decided to just go out and start making plays and let everything else fall into place.

"I just wanted to go out there and impact the game defensively," Mitchell said. "That's really what started, just trying to find ways to impact the game and not really worrying about my shot much."

The Lakers had plenty of reasons to worry about the rookie's shot. Mitchell scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Jazz to a 96-81 victory on Saturday night.

Ricky Rubio added 21 points while Derrick Favors chipped in 14 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Utah (3-3) never trailed and won its fifth straight regular-season game over Los Angeles.

The Jazz made 13 3-pointers to stay a step ahead for four quarters. They also limited the Lakers to a season-low 36 points in the second half.

"The little things hurt us down the stretch," Los Angeles coach Luke Walton said. "They executed a little better than we did down the stretch. They hit the offensive glass. I mean, that's a big team, so it's not like it's our guys aren't fighting. I thought out guys did a good job of fighting."

Mitchell lit the fire for Utah's offense at critical junctures. He helped quell a third-quarter run by the Lakers with a thunderous tip-dunk and a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions to put the Jazz up 75-64 heading into the fourth quarter.

Los Angeles hung around in the fourth quarter and pulled within 77-72 after Corey Brewer drove for a layup. That's as close as the Lakers got.

Utah got some breathing room again on a 3-pointer from Rubio. The Jazz kept adding to the lead until they took a 91-79 lead on another 3-pointer from Mitchell with 1:47 remaining.

Mitchell said that Rubio talked to him at halftime and told him to not let negative plays bother him and draw energy from positive ones. That pep talk reshaped his whole attitude in the second half.

"I think that's what really changed after talking to him," Mitchell said. "Not being indecisive. Just going out there and making plays. I was loose and just went out there and played. I think that's when everything changed."

Brandon Ingram scored 16 points and Jordan Clarkson added 15 off the bench to lead Los Angeles. The Lakers (2-4) suffered their first road loss this season after making 31 of 81 shots from the field. Their 38.3 shooting percentage represented a season-low.

Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo Ball had a quite night, collecting nine points on 3-of-10 shooting to go along with four assists, two rebounds and five turnovers.

Utah used hot perimeter shooting to take control out of the gate. The Jazz were 5 of 11 (45.5 percent) from outside during the quarter. It helped Utah string together a 16-3 run and take a 21-7 lead.

Rubio and Rodney Hood opened the spurt with back-to-back baskets. Mitchell capped it with a jumper.

The Lakers struggled to find their shot until the second quarter. Los Angeles was 7 of 22 from the field in the first 12 minutes. That included a 1-of-7 clip from the perimeter.

"The offense was coming easy at certain points," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "I thought we made some really good plays and good decisions in the first quarter and I thought we competed."

Even after Los Angeles started shooting better in the second quarter, it wasn't enough to make a serious dent in Utah's lead until late in the third quarter. At that point, the Lakers had trimmed their deficit to 70-64 on a 3-pointer from Kyle Kuzma.

Then Mitchell and Rubio stepped up with big baskets and kept Los Angeles from seriously threatening.

"Utah did a good job of controlling the tempo tonight, but some of it is on us continuing to get better and more comfortable at the pace that we want to play at," Walton said.

NOTES: Lakers F Kyle Kuzma had nine points, three rebounds and three assists in his return to Salt Lake City. Kuzma played at the University of Utah for three seasons, averaging 10.1 points and 5.5 rebounds in 96 career games before Los Angeles drafted him 27th overall in June. ... Jazz G Donovan Mitchell was 13 of 52 (25.0 percent) from the field in his first five NBA games before going 9 of 16 against the Lakers. ... Los Angeles PG Lonzo Ball led NBA rookies with 8.4 assists per game coming into Saturday. Ball finished with just four against Utah.
Top Game Performances
 
L.A. Lakers   Utah
Brandon Ingram 16 Scoring Donovan Mitchell 22
Lonzo Ball 4 Assists Joe Ingles 4
Larry Nance Jr. 10 Rebounds Derrick Favors 10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 3 Free Throws Made Ricky Rubio 5
Brandon Ingram 4 Steals Joe Ingles 3
Brook Lopez 2 Blocks Rudy Gobert 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
L.A. Lakers 81 38.3 5-22 14-20 17 39 4 12 16
Utah 96 46.8 13-31 9-13 18 49 5 9 23
Upcoming Games
  • Utah will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Jazz have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .667 after a loss.
  • L.A. Lakers will play their next game at home against Detroit. The Lakers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .667 after a loss.