Jazz Hoping To Bounce Back Against Motivated Lakers

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – After suffering a 110-94 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Utah Jazz will look to bounce back against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday evening.

The Jazz struggled against the Thunder, shooting 39 percent from the field and 25 percent at the free throw line. Meanwhile, Oklahoma City was effective shooting the ball with a 53 percent clip from the field and 38 percent from beyond the arc.

Monday’s matchup with the Lakers will mark the third of eight reseeding games for the Jazz. They are currently 1-1 in the NBA bubble.

competition 𝓪𝓵𝔀𝓪𝔂𝓼#TakeNote | #WholeNewGame pic.twitter.com/z260wEiEIu

— utahjazz (@utahjazz) August 2, 2020

Playoff Standings

The Jazz currently sit in fourth place in the Western Conference standings with a 42-24 record. They are one game behind the Denver Nuggets for the third spot and are three games behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the second seed. The Oklahoma City Thunder are a half of a game behind the Jazz for the fourth seed. The Houston Rockets are tied with the Thunder. The Dallas Mavericks are in seventh place currently and are three games behind the Jazz.

The Lakers are in first place in the Western Conference with a 50-15 record. They are 5.5 games ahead of the Clippers, 7.5 games ahead of the Nuggets and 8.5 games ahead of the Jazz.

Lakers Are Motivated

The Lakers will be motivated heading into the this game as they will clinch the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference with a win over the Jazz. Los Angeles has a 1-1 record in the reseeding games after beating the Clippers in the bubble opener, 103-101. They suffered a 107-92 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Saturday.

They are led by dynamic duo LeBron James and Anthony Davis. James had 16 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists in the win over the Clippers and dropped 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in the loss to Toronto.

Back to work on Monday. pic.twitter.com/s6JMgMYjtM

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) August 2, 2020

Davis led LA with 34 points along with 8 boards against the Clippers and struggled versus the Raptors, recording 14 points and 6 rebounds.

This season, LeBron is posting 25.5 points, 8 rebounds and a league-best 10.5 assists per game.

Throughout the season, Davis is averaging 26.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.

Season Series

The Lakers won both meetings during the regular season before the shutdown. The first game was on Friday, October 25 in Los Angeles with the Lakers pulling off a 95-86 win. Donovan Mitchell had 24 points for the Jazz. James recorded 32 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists.

The second game was in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, December 4. Los Angeles picked up a 121-96 victory. Mitchell finished with 29 points, Bojan Bogdanovic added 23 points. Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 26 points while LeBron chipped in 20 points and dished out 12 assists.

Tip-off on Monday between the Jazz and Lakers will be at 7 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on ESPN and AT&T SportsNet.