LeBron James fires 36 points as the Lakers beat Utah Jazz 128-117 and set up play-in game vs. Minnesota Timberwolves after finishing as the Western Conference’s seventh seed
LeBron James scored 36 points as the Los Angeles Lakers won their final regular season game 128-117 to surge into the postseason as the seventh seed in the Western Conference.
The Lakers superstar hit eight 3-pointers while Anthony Davis had 16 points and 13 rebounds in the victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday.
D’Angelo Russell had 17 points for the Lakers, who won nine of their last 11 games and went 18-9 after revamping their roster at the trade deadline.Â
Los Angeles (43-39) learned it will host Minnesota (42-40) in a play-in game on Tuesday night about 30 minutes after the regular-season finale ended.
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The Lakers never pulled away from the Jazz, who stayed within one possession down the stretch despite resting several key players.Â
LeBron James scored 36 points as the Los Angeles Lakers won their final regular season game
James celebrates with forward Anthony Davis (3) after a 3-pointer in win over the Utah Jazz
James finished the regular season in style and he and his teammates face Minnesota next
James hit his sixth 3-pointer with 3:32 to play and added his seventh with 1:07 left before burying the eighth with 39 seconds to play, finishing one shy of his single-game high in 3’s.
Kris Dunn had 26 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists while Kelly Olynyk scored 23 points for the Jazz, who wrapped up their first non-playoff season in seven years with their ninth loss in 11 games.Â
After trading Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert in the offseason ahead of what appeared to be a thorough franchise rebuild, Utah still stayed in playoff contention for most of this season under rookie head coach Will Hardy until a March swoon.
Simone Fontecchio added 20 points for Utah, which was without its top three scorers due to injuries and rest.Â
The Jazz wrapped up the season without Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, rookie Walker Kessler, Rudy Gay and former Lakers Jordan Clarkson and Talen Horton-Tucker.
Jazz rookie Ochai Agbaji was ejected in the third quarter, apparently for yelling at an official and throwing the ball too aggressively in his direction. Agbaji had eight points on 4-for-13 shooting.
Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell, left, celebrates during 128-117 victory Sunday
