The Los Angeles Lakers overcame an 18-point first-quarter deficit to defeat the Utah Jazz 132-123, and head coach JJ Redick believes the victory could prove important for his team’s development.
Led by Luka Doncic’s 52-point performance, the Lakers recovered from a disastrous opening quarter to secure their first road win of the season.
Redick believes the comeback gives his new-look roster something to build on moving forward.
“I think I talked about this last year, but particularly with a new group of guys, and this feels like a newer team because of all the new faces, you need to build reference points,” Redick said on Spectrum SportsNet, as covered by Lakers Nation. “And whether we had responded to the adversity of that first quarter, not being ready to play and not doing any of the stuff we talked about pregame, it still would be a reference point. Because we ended up coming back and winning, now it becomes a positive reference point. It’s a reference point for resiliency.”
The Lakers struggled on both ends of the floor early, allowing Utah to establish a commanding lead while failing to capitalize on defensive stops.
However, Austin Reaves helped spark the turnaround with 15 of his 29 points coming in the second quarter, while Doncic finished with 52 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
Redick acknowledged the difficulty of winning in Utah and praised his players for responding after their poor start.
“Winning on the road is hard in the NBA,” Redick added. “These guys always play us tough, particularly here, at least since I’ve been here. So wasn’t surprised with how they came out and played offensively. But we talked at the beginning of the second quarter and there was an immediate response and we had to gut out a win. We had to guy out a win. Just proud of the group for that.”
The Lakers also received important contributions from Collin Sexton, Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams and Sandro Mamukelashvili as they completed the comeback.
With several new faces on the roster, Redick will be hoping Sunday’s performance provides a foundation for the Lakers to build on throughout the season.
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