The Los Angeles Lakers’ recent surge continued relatively unabated with a 135-133 overtime win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday — but it wasn’t pretty.
Los Angeles gradually built a double-digit lead by halftime, and it looked like it was going to cruise to a relatively uneventful victory. But its lead started to diminish midway through the third quarter, and it disappeared when Utah took a 99-97 advantage with 9:53 left in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers surged ahead for a few minutes afterward, but they couldn’t defend the 3-point shot. As a result, they almost dropped this contest. According to head coach Darvin Ham, another huge culprit was the fact they started walking the ball upcourt instead of pushing the ball and looking for transition opportunities with regularity.
Luckily for them, they survived, and as a result, they are on the brink of a big milestone. With a win on Wednesday over the Los Angeles Clippers, they would take over sole possession of fifth place in the West.