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The LA Lakers returned to winning ways against Utah Jazz in their last game on the back of dominant outings from LeBron James and Stanley Johnson. The former finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while the latter recorded 15 points and two blocks off the bench on seven of nine shooting.
The Lakers were down four with eight minutes left on the game clock when Stanley Johnson took over and made some clutch plays on both ends of the floor, especially in offense. He scored ten points in the fourth quarter alone to lead LA to a 101-95 win. Johnson seemed unfazed going up against a rim protector like Rudy Gobert.
Speaking after the match, the Lakers forward revealed that he was simply following LeBron James' instructions that led to him being so effective for the Lakeshow down the stretch.
Here's what Johnson said in this regard (via Mark Medina):
"LeBron's a smart player, so (if he says) 'do this' alright I'll do it, 'do this' okay I'll do it. So that's just it...Like he saw something, I think if you watch basketball the last couple years, some teams have had success attacking him (Gobert) with smaller guys off the bounce."
Stanley Johnson finished with a team-high box +/- score of +18. The Lakers' defense has received a huge boost ever since they signed the 25-year-old about a month ago on a ten-day hardship contract. He signed two ten-day contracts after that.
Considering the way he has performed thus far, all signs point towards the Lakers signing him to a standard NBA contract for at least the rest of the ongoing season.
LeBron James keeps his promise, leads LA Lakers to arguably their best win of the season
The LA Lakers have come under heavy scrutiny in the current campaign. They have performed below expectations in large swathes and have consistently been at the .500 mark. Their lack of intensity, especially on defense, has been a significant reason behind their dismal showings.
Before Monday's game against Utah, LeBron James and Co. suffered their worst loss of the year against a short-handed Denver Nuggets by a whopping 37-point margin. Former players like Magic Johnson expressed their concerns regarding the LA Lakers' poor showings following the loss. There was also a great deal of unrest among the Lakers fans.
LeBron James did not speak to the media after the match, but took to Twitter the following day, offering his apology to LA Lakers fans and assuring the team would only get better from there on. That's exactly what they did against one of the best two-way teams, the Utah Jazz.
The LA Lakers managed to hold the league's No.1 offense to only 95 points, their second-lowest tally this year, allowing them to convert only 36% of their overall field-goal attempts. LA managed to outscore the Jazz 29-17 in the fourth quarter, a commendable achievement considering their recent struggles to close out games against weaker opponents.
Guess the Lakers players!
