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With eight minutes to go in the first, Austin Reaves fed Luka Doncic the ball. A screen from Rui Hachimura set up a one-on-one matchup with Jazz center Walker Kessler.
A quick hesi and between the legs. A stepback three over Kessler’s outstretched arm.
Bang.
The LA crowd erupted into a standing ovation for Doncic’s first points in the purple and gold.
“The first of many to come for Luka Doncic,” ESPN announcer Dave Pasch said.
The crowd had anticipated this moment. Just a week before, fans saw one of the wildest trade deadlines in League history, capped off by a historic deal that sent the Mavericks superstar and franchise cornerstone to the Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis.
But Doncic hadn’t played since Christmas due to a calf strain. When news of the superstar’s status was changed to active, yellow No. 77 jerseys scattered the Crypto.com Arena. It was a night to remember in the City of Angels.
In front of a nationally televised audience, the Lakers made sure Doncic’s debut wasn’t to be ruined, as the Lake Show dominated the Jazz in a 132-113 romp on Monday night.
Lakers coach JJ Redick was adamant that Doncic would be eased back into action. Doncic played under a minutes cap of 24 minutes, finishing with 14 points on 5-14 attempts from the field and tallying five boards and four assists. However, the flashes of Luka Magic were evident.
Doncic showed off his hustle by crashing the glass hard for an offensive rebound on a Hachimura miss, which turned into an easy layup. He then squared up on Johnny Juzang and drilled a Dirk-esque fadeaway with the man himself watching from the crowd.
“The way they receive me—everybody, teammates, front office, everybody here. I heard a lot of noise when I was introduced. So I really appreciate it, it was a special moment,” Doncic said. “I think the ball was moving very well on the offensive end, I think we can locking down a lot of players, so I was just happy to be on the court again.”
Aside from Luka’s magic, the Lakers handled business as a squad. The team shot 54.3 percent from the field and knocked down 35.7 percent of their shots from beyond the arc. A total of seven Lakers finished in double-digit scoring, with LeBron, Austin Reaves and Hachimura finishing with 24, 22 and 21 points respectively.
Off the bench, Gabe Vincent added 11 points and Jordan Goodwin added 17 points on 8-11 shooting in only his second game for the squad.
To top it off, all the discourse from fans criticizing the Lakers center depth were silenced after Jaxson Hayes scored 12 points on thunderous slams and alley-oops from Doncic and James.
The Jazz struggled to generate consistent offense, shooting an inefficient 30 percent from beyond the arc and 46.4 percent from the field. The team also 19 turnovers, which the Lakers turned into 25 points.
John Collins and Lauri Markkanen led Utah with 17 points each. Collins and Kessler both had double-doubles, with the two snagging 11 and 12 boards respectively.
The game was within reach for Utah in the first quarter, but a 25-point halftime deficit was too large for the Jazz to overcome.
With the victory, the Lakers improve to 32-19 and currently sit in fourth place in the Western Conference. Utah falls to 12-40, and is now tied for last place in the Western Conference with the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Lakers and Utah will now square off in a rematch in Utah on Wednesday at 9 p.m.
