LOS ANGELES_It was ugly, that's for sure. But it was a win.
And now that the Los Angeles Lakers are actually jockeying for playoff positioning, something they didn't get to experience in any of the past five seasons, wins are important no matter how they come.
The Lakers beat the Utah Jazz, 90-83, on Friday night at Staples Center despite turning the ball over 24 times and having just 10 assists. For more than two and a half quarters, LeBron James was the only Laker to record an assist.
Still, they won for the seventh time in eight games in their return from a three-game road trip.
"Not a pretty win but we won with our defense tonight," Coach Luke Walton said. "We talked before the game, the first game back from a road trip is (difficult)."
James became more aggressive in the fourth quarter. He scored 22 points, nine of them in the fourth quarter, and hit a three-pointer with 3:17 left that gave the Lakers a nine-point lead. As he backpedaled toward Utah's basket, James held out his arms in celebration as the crowd cheered.
That three was important in giving the Lakers their 11th win of the season, but a defensive play minutes later really sealed the game.
Within five in the game's final minute, Jazz guard Alec Burks drove to the basket and James, Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma all converged on him and James blocked his shot. The play elicited the first "We want tacos!" chant of the season _ fans get free tacos from Jack in the Box when the Lakers win and hold an opponent under 100 points.
Ingram led all scorers with 24 points while Ball scored nine points with 10 rebounds. Burks led the Jazz with 17 points and five rebounds. Jazz star guard Donovan Mitchell left in the first half with a rib contusion and didn't return.
"Lonzo was great again as far as attacking the paint, 10 defensive rebounds," Walton said. " ... I thought Kuzma's defense on (Joe) Ingles was very impressive. ... Brandon had a pretty solid all-around game and LeBron was great for us down the stretch."
Last season the Jazz were a pleasant surprise. After losing star Gordon Hayward in free agency, rookie Mitchell became a breakout star. After the All-Star break they were by far the best defensive team in the NBA, with a defensive rating of 97.9.
In the playoffs, the Jazz surprised the Oklahoma City Thunder by beating them in a first-round series.
This year, however, the Jazz have struggled. They are 8-11 and have been a mediocre defensive team, with a defensive rating of nearly 110.
"There's always a sense that when you've accomplished something you can tap into it," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said before the game. "I don't think we've come in and taken anything for granted. At the same time there were times last year we weren't a very good team and we were able to work through that. That's why we became a good team. No different."
The Lakers, meanwhile, have been steadily improving on defense. They held their opponent under 100 points for the second time in three games.
Behind an assertive performance from Ingram, who had 11 points including two dunks in the first quarter, the Lakers led 22-16 after one.
At one point in the second quarter, neither team scored for two full minutes. The Lakers broke the drought, but it took the Jazz two more minutes before they finally scored with 3:17 left in the quarter.
Although the Jazz tied the game by halftime at 38, they didn't take their first lead of the game until 6:15 remained in the third quarter.
Ultimately, Utah couldn't overcome its second-lowest scoring night of the season. The lowest came last week when the Jazz scored 68 and lost by 50 to the Dallas Mavericks.
