The clock was ticking and the ball, as it had for most of the last two decades of professional basketball, was in LeBron James’ hands.
Throughout the fourth game, he was relentless in finding ways to score, the mismatch was always in his favor and to a large extent the ball just didn’t go his way. On one key possession in the fourth, the Lakers grabbed offensive rebound after offensive rebound. James missed three 3-pointers in the same possession.
But this was the style of play that resulted in the championship, building James’ reputation as one of, if not the greatest to ever play. However, it is not the intended style for JJ Redick’s Lakers.
The Lakers stuck with it during the fourth quarter Sunday, missing another three and opening the door for the Jazz to steal the win. But Utah coach Will Hardy called a late timeout and James missed a three, the whistle blowing a blink before Collin Sexton hit the game-winner.
After the break, the Jazz didn’t get a clean look as the Lakers escaped with a 105-104 win and began a four-game road trip with much of their roster unavailable.
Anthony Davis scored 33, James added 27 on a night when he missed all nine 3-pointers and Rui Hachimura had 13 for the shorthanded Lakers.
The symptoms for sufferers are real. For D’Angelo Russell and Cam Reddish, it was illnesses that kept them out of the arena on Sunday. And for Austin Reaves, it was the pain from Friday’s terrifying fall that made standing even a little tricky.
But the NBA world is unsympathetic. And problems for Reaves, Russell and Reddish meant opportunities for Gabe Vincent, Max Christie and forgotten sophomore guard Jalen Hood-Schifin.
Minus 40% of their regular rotation (including an injured Jaxson Hayes), the players around James and Davis had no choice but to figure it out.
Vincent scored a season-high 10 points and forced a key late turnover while aggressively defending John Collins in the post.
Reaves’ back injury, which the Lakers are calling a left pelvic contusion, ended a streak of 129 straight regular-season games, which includes 21 playoff games, two playoff games and one season finale.
The Lakers play again on Monday in Minneapolis.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.