The Los Angeles Lakers dominated the Utah Jazz on Wednesday evening, giving them three straight wins heading into the All-Star break. Los Angeles now sits with a record of 30-26 on the year, and they have won six of their last seven contests.
They have improved their play on the court, giving them some solid momentum heading into their long break. The team is finally looking like the squad that many believed they could be, with the win over Utah being big for potential tiebreaker purposes.
Star LeBron James sat out the game against the Jazz, but the other players stepped up in his absence. Nobody did this more than forward Rui Hachimura, who dropped 36 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the field.
Hachimura made six three-pointers in the game on his way to his career-high in points. He also added two rebounds, one assist and one block in the contest. After the game, Hachimura broke down his career night that helped lead to a big victory. “When I get into the game I want to impact the game… I want to be the X-Factor… be aggressive, use my size, whatever it takes to help us win.”
Hachimura’s minutes have been a major talking point this season, but he made the most of his time on Wednesday. When he is aggressive, the Lakers are at their best. He gives them another strong scoring option with his size. His ability to knock down the three-point shot adds a new dimension to this Lakers team, so the hope is that he can continue to receive consistent minutes. Hachimura came up massive in the postseason last year, leading to the team re-signing him in the offseason. The team needs him to play with that type of fierceness each game, which will likely help them make another run toward the playoffs.
