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It was the first time Deandre Ayton played in a game on the same team as LeBron James, but not the first time they had connected on an alley-oop. That first bucket came when the now-27-year-old Ayton was in eighth grade. It was at James’ basketball camp in Las Vegas.
“I finished it,” Ayton said with a bewildered smile. “I couldn’t believe he threw it. Here I am again. I can’t believe he threw the lob.”
James’ return from sciatica spurred the Lakers to a 140-126 win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer made his impact while in play-making mode, dishing 12 assists — including the lob to Ayton in the second quarter — with 11 points and just one turnover. During the first quarter, James was honored on the big screen for being the first player to start his 23rd NBA season. He waved modestly to the crowd. He doesn’t play like it’s been that long.
“Running next to him, he’s running as fast as me down the floor,” Ayton said. “You don’t think that it’s his 23rd year. The dude’s a machine.”
Here are three takeaways from James’ first game of the season:
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Good vibes always
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The Lakers (11-4) accomplished plenty without James during their first 14 games. Luka Doncic jump-started his most valuable player campaign and rose to the top of the NBA scoring leaderboard. Austin Reaves is averaging career highs nearly across the board. Some wondered how much the team would really benefit from James’ return when it started 10-4 already.
Then the Lakers scored a season-high 140 points, shot a season-best 59.5% from the field and locked down on defense to allow just 32 points in the first 21 minutes of the second half before the benches cleared.
“I can fit in with anybody,” James said. “I don’t even understand why that was a question.”
Doncic continued his scoring spree with 37 points and 10 assists, but with eight turnovers. Reaves had 26 points.
The Lakers lauded their early season chemistry, and coach JJ Redick praised his players for leading themselves through difficult times. He purposely restructured timeouts to give players time to discuss alone before the coaches would join them, hoping that the opportunities for player-to-player communication would prompt stronger team connection. Adding James’ voice to the conversation was an easy transition.
“Us as a young team, I’m glad we got hold of accountability before LeBron got out there,” Ayton said. “I’m glad we went through some tough games and a little of hardships and ups and downs and adversity. And it made us prepare for times like this where he says one thing and we get it done right away.”
The Jazz (5-9) knocked the Lakers back with guard Keyonte George making five threes in the first half and 23 points on nine for 15 shooting. Utah jumped out to a 11-point lead in the first half, but the Lakers tied it with 18.8 seconds left in the second quarter and went into halftime down by four, prepared to make a push.
“I think the word we were using as a coaching staff was our poise as a group,” Redick said. “Not overreacting, not pulling apart, problem solving, all that stuff, in real time. Just continuing to play. That, at times, was missing last year, and for us to get that on the first night [fully healthy] was really good.”
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Second-half surge
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The Lakers shot a blistering 65.9% from the field in the second half en route to their season-best scoring performance, but they said the catalyst was their defense. The Lakers finished the third quarter on a 21-5 run, capped off by a three-pointer from Gabe Vincent when he scooped a low James pass seemingly off his shoelaces and hoisted it at the buzzer. The Lakers forced 11 missed shots during the run and allowed just two offensive rebounds, finishing defensive possessions quickly on the glass and pushing the ball ahead.
“I’m starting to realize this team, what gets us going is our defensive stops,” said Ayton, who finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds. “That’s what keeps our momentum push[ing].”
After giving up 71 points in the first half, Redick challenged his team at halftime to simply guard. George had just 11 points in the second half. Markkanen was held to just nine.
The Lakers have shown stretches of defensive dominance in the last two games. They locked Milwaukee down for 34 points in the first half last Saturday.
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Odd men out
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The Lakers were whole for the first time this season as Vincent (ankle) also returned alongside James. With the whole roster finally at his disposal, Redick changed up the rotation that left some mainstays on the bench.
Jarred Vanderbilt, who was averaging 18.4 minutes per game and was one of just two players who had appeared in all of the Lakers’ first 14 games, didn’t play Tuesday. Marcus Smart, who had starred in his role as a tenacious defender and tertiary ball-handler without James, played just 17 minutes off the bench, his fewest of the year. He finished with five points, one made three-pointer and three rebounds.
After signing with the Lakers as a free agent, Smart was a potential candidate to move into the starting lineup this season, but with all 14 standard contract players available for the first time, Redick stuck Rui Hachimura in the starting unit. Hachimura, who finished with six points and four rebounds Tuesday, had been averaging a career-high 15.8 points on sizzling 57.7% shooting. He started along with Ayton, Reaves, Doncic and James, who played 29 minutes and 37 seconds and could have played longer if the team needed him in a close game, Redick said.
“We’re going to make decisions based on how the team is playing and how the groups work together,” Redick said. “It’s not, like, beholden to one thing throughout the season. But I feel comfortable with that lineup. They’ve played a ton of minutes together at the end of last season, minus DA, so we’ll continue to build on that.”
The post ‘The dude’s a machine’: Three takeaways from LeBron James’ return to the Lakers appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
