Gabe Vincent goes supernova with 10 points as shorthanded Lakers win in Utah

With a whole host of injuries, the shorthanded Lakers picked up a big win on the road against the Jazz behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Down three rotation guards, the Lakers rode big games from Anthony Davis and LeBron James to pick up a big road win on Sunday, knocking off the Jazz by a final of 105-104.

Anthony Davis ended with 33 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and a block. LeBron James scored 27 points with 14 assists, five rebounds and two blocks.

Gabe Vincent slipped into the starting five with D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves out and took full advantage of it to have his best game as a Laker, ending with 10 points. Max Christie pitched in with 12 points.

Dalton Knecht had six points and seven rebounds. Rui Hachimura ended with 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Jalen Hood-Schifino chipped in four points, a rebound, an assist and a block in his 13 minutes of action.

Walker Kessler started with an and-one dunk for a quick Jazz lead. Both teams traded baskets to follow. AD was missing a few shots that he usually easily drains.

Dalton’s first points came on a fastbreak dunk on an assist from LeBron. At the first timeout, the game was tied at 11.

Gabe Vincent converted on a layup and defended well in his start. LA was down six with three minutes left in the quarter. Los Angeles slowly crept back into it with AD heating up offensively. After one quarter, the Lakers were down one.

LeBron scored four straight points to put the Lakers up by three to start the second. Gabe drilled a 3-pointer of his own and LA looked like they would be controlling the momentum, until the Jazz hit back to go up two.

After Utah jumped ahead, LA countered with 3-pointers from Gabe and Dalton to make it a two-point game with 6:27 left until the half. AD completed a 3-point play to put LA up one.

The Lakers were on an 8-0 run that vanished immediately with Utah on their own 8-0 run to retake the lead by five. LA responded well with AD and Max scoring and a Jalen Hood-Schifino midrange shot putting the team up one.

A 12-5 Lakers run to end the half had them ahead by two.

The Jazz retook the lead by one to start the second half. They extended it to four, but AD knocked down a midrange shot to make it a two-point game. The Lakers snatched the lead back with a 3-pointer by AD.

Both teams were very evenly matched all night. There was constant basket trading and neither team had established a double-digit lead. Utah’s biggest strength was the three ball as they had drilled 11 of their first 30 attempts.

The Lakers were beginning to distance themselves with a lead of eight. They were on a 9-1 scoring run until Lauri Markkanen drained a 3-pointer. Utah was consistently in the game, never letting up.

At the end of the third, the Lakers were up five.

Lauri opened the final frame with a 3-pointer, helping the Jazz stay in the game. Utah had cut the deficit to two, but two 3-pointers by Rui put the Lakers up by eight.

The Jazz yet again cut the deficit and wouldn’t go away. They were within five with Collin Sexton putting on a show with six straight points. The purple and gold punched back with LeBron shouldering the scoring, making it a seven-point lead.

They then went up nine after a fastbreak with Rui and LeBron passing back and forth, leading to a dunk by the latter. Again, as LA started to distance themselves, the Jazz hit back and were within four.

Neither team could score the ball for a solid few minutes, the Lakers had several opportunities thanks to Rui, but couldn't score. LeBron missed about four hundred 3-pointers down the stretch.

LA’s lead had been shortened to two, but a midrange shot by AD made it a four-point game.

Keyonte George was fouled and converted on the shot and free throw to make it a one-point lead only for LA. LeBron connected on an insane shot at the rim with his left hand to give the Lakers some cushion on their lead. Kessler’s putback layup, though, made it a one-point game again.

After a missed LeBron 3-pointer with just under 10 seconds remaining, Jazz coach Will Hardy took an outrageous timeout when they were seconds away from possibly winning the game on a shot by Sexton.

On the ensuing play, Sexton lost the ball and three Lakers blocked the shot, allowing the Lakers to escape with the win.

Key Takeaways:

LA needs to work on guarding the perimeter. Far too many times the opposing team's shooters are left wide-open for a 3-pointer that they usually drain. This was the reason why Utah was consistently in the game.

LeBron and AD had been slowing down the past few games but bounced back in true superstar fashion tonight. LeBron’s three-ball has been very concerning, though. He missed far too many and has been for a few games.

Thank you for not turning the ball over too much tonight, Lakers!

The Lakers’ next game will be Monday against the Minnesota Timberwolves at 5:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.