Davis drops 42 on Jazz as Lakers clinch West 1st seed

The Los Angeles Lakers bounced back in a big way as they outgunned the Utah Jazz, 116-108, to formally clinch the Western Conference first seed at Disney World Orlando on Monday night, August 3 (Tuesday, August 4, Manila time.)

Anthony Davis likewise rebounded from a subpar individual outing in the loss against defending champion Toronto Raptors with 42 points, 12 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals.

Meanwhile, LeBron James collected a standard line of 22 points, 9 dimes and 8 boards as Dwight Howard added 11 points and 5 boards in just 17 minutes off the bench.

Donovan Mitchell paced the Jazz with 33 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists while his backcourt mate Mike Conley posted 24 points and 8 dimes. All-Star big man Rudy Gobert churned out a 16-point, 13-board double-double in the losing effort.

The Lakers established control late in the 4th quarter as they erected a 14-point lead, 107-93, off a Davis dunk at the 3:54 mark.

However, the gutsy Jazz stormed all the way back after an 11-3 run sliced the deficit down to 6, 104-110, after a Conley three with a minute left in regulation.

Davis then brought the ball up and calmly responded with a step-back triple plus the foul for the 10-point advantage, 114-104, with just 42.9 ticks left.

Although Mitchell answered right back with a 4-point play of his own, it was too little too late as Davis iced the game on his last two free-throws in the final possession.

The Lakers moved up to 51-15 on the season to lead the West while the Jazz fell to 5th place behind the Houston Rockets with a 42-25 record. – Rappler.com