Lebron James

Clipper Kris Dunn grabs Laker Maxi Kleber ‘s jersey in front of a ref Saturday at the Intuit Dome.

(Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)

The Lakers have been assessed five technical fouls in the last two games because of conduct with officials as frustration over inconsistent calls is starting to boil over. After Doncic, Jaxson Hayes and Marcus Smart were all given technical fouls in the third quarter of Thursday’s win over Utah, Doncic and Smart were T’ed up again Saturday in the first and third quarters, respectively.

“I think if any coach, any player, what we ask for is consistency,” Redick said. “And that’s not to single any official out or any crew out, it’s not about that. We need to know what it is night to night.”

Smart also drew a technical foul against Utah after attempting to talk to an official at halftime. When Smart walked away frustrated, he raised his middle finger toward the official, a gesture that got him fined $35,000 Saturday, the NBA announced.

“Sometimes you got to take the hit to get your point across,” Smart said Saturday.

Redick expressed additional frustration with the lack of transparency in the replay system and murky communication with officials. He said he has not received any feedback when he requests it and the distinction between plays that can and can’t be challenged appears to change every night.

The lack of communication has been frustrating for players as well, Smart said, who met with referees before the Utah game as a team captain, but still had his questions dismissed.

“The captain should be able to come talk to them,” Smart said. “They still don’t want to hear it. So control what you can control. They don’t want to talk, you know, you try and you move on. But it definitely is frustrating when you pour your heart out to this game and the feedback is literally waving you off, telling you to get out your face, and then giving you a tech because you’re asking a simple question.”

SALT LAKE CITY — When Brice Sensabaugh drilled a wide-open three pointer in the third quarter, Lakers coach JJ Redick quickly called a timeout and began to gesture with both hands toward his players, clearly showing his displeasure with their defense.

The Lakers responded.

They especially picked up their defensive intensity for an important spurt in the fourth quarter, slowing down the Utah Jazz and in the process the Lakers’ offense took off, the two converging at the right time to push them to a 143-135 win Thursday night at the Delta Center.

The Lakers gave up 41 points in the first quarter and a season-high 78 at the half. They allowed 57 points in the second half and put the Jazz away by scoring 41 points in the fourth quarter.

“Obviously we know this Utah team can score points at a very high rate, but it was very imperative that we got stops,” said LeBron James, who had another productive night with 28 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. “We had to get stops to start that fourth and then it allowed our offense to click.”

But even with the Lakers building a 12-point lead in the fourth, the Jazz continued to put stress on L.A.’s defense, getting within four points late in the game.

The Lakers’ Lebron James dunks over the Jazz’s Kyle Filipowski at Delta Center Thursday night in Salt Lake City, Utah.

(Alex Goodlett / Getty Images)

The Lakers had answers every time, keeping the game in their hands behind Luka Doncic’s triple-double — 45 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds.

His 45-point triple-double and five steals made Doncic just the second player in NBA history to accomplish that feat since steals became official in 1973-74. Detroit Cade Cunningham (46 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals) is the other player to do so, producing that against the Wizards on Nov. 2025 in overtime.

Doncic was 14-for-28 from the field, four-for-12 from three-point range and had just one turnover in 39 minutes and 33 seconds of play.

Doncic also was the first Laker to have a 40-point triple-double since Magic Johnson in 1981.

“I think, honestly, I could do so much more,” Doncic said. “But I think that one turnover is the best stat-wise on this stat sheet. So, we had seven turnovers, which is impressive for us and we won the game. And again, that’s what matters. But I think we locked in a lot in the second half. We did a great job.”

The Lakers got a scare when James went down holding his left knee after a collision with Utah’s Walter Clayton Jr.

James was dribbling the basketball near the three-point arc when Clayton went for a steal, but instead his knee hit the inside of James’ knee, knocking the Laker to the floor with 7:52 left in the second quarter.

James eventually got up and continued to play, taking a rest with 4:53 left in the half.

James described what happened on the play.

“Just a little bolt to the knee, like a sharp pain to the knee,” James said. “Got kneed on the the inside, like the medial side of the knee. And just kind of wanted to take my time a little bit as it calmed down or whatever the case may be. Or hoping it calmed down. Told Mike (Mancias) my trainer, I said, ‘We dodged a bullet there.’ ”

The Lakers were already without starters Austin Reaves (left calf strain) and Deandre Ayton (left elbow soreness), but then they added key role player Gabe Vincent (lower back tightness) to the injury list, leaving them without three main players entering the game at Utah. Vincent will be reevaluated in a week.

Lakers guard Luka Doncic celebrates after making a play during the second half of a win over the Jazz Thursday night at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

(Alex Goodlett / Getty Images)

Jaxson Hayes started at center in place of Ayton and Smart started at guard for Reaves.

Injuries also hit the Jazz, as star forward Lauri Markkanen, the ninth-highest scorer (27.8) in the NBA this season, was out because of a right groin injury.

Smart had 17 points, which included him going three-for-four from three-point range in the fourth quarter.

Hayes had 16 points, making all seven of his field goals.

Redick talked to his team at halftime about their poor defensive effort and he did again in the third quarter during that timeout.

His message was simple.

“The players gotta go out and do it,”: Redick said. “So it’s not, I don’t know if it sparked ‘em or not, and I just know that after that they were better.”

PHOENIX — LeBron James missed the first free throw that would have tied it. Then, bailed out by a foul with 3.9 seconds remaining, he missed the second. A long-awaited swish finally quieted a restless Phoenix crowd.

The Lakers squandered a 20-point, fourth-quarter lead and survived only after the Suns’ Devin Booker fouled James on a three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left, pulling out a 116-114 win on Sunday.

Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 29 points, James added 26 and Deandre Ayton had 20 points and 13 rebounds against his old team. Playing without Austin Reaves (calf strain), the Lakers attempted 43 free throws in a testy game that featured five technical fouls and one late ejection.

Dillon Brooks hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 12.2 seconds left to complete the Suns’ comeback, but he was ejected after he bumped chests with James and got his second technical foul. Brooks received a technical in the first quarter and James drew a technical in the third after a perceived slight from Brooks, who slapped a loose ball toward James during a pause in the action.

Brooks had 18 points and missed most of the third quarter after picking up his fifth foul.

The Lakers finished that quarter on a 15-0 run, largely off hustle plays from Jake LaRavia. The forward who has averaged 5.1 points in the last 10 games, including two scoreless outings, played more than eight minutes in the first half and had nothing to show for it besides two missed shots and a foul. He made just one shot in the third quarter and watched an easy layup roll around the rim and pop out. But he made an impact on defense with two steals, a block and four rebounds in the quarter.

His defense led to the offensive highlight of the third as he stole a pass and shoveled the ball to Jaxson Hayes in transition. The 7-foot center cocked the ball behind his head on a violent, two-handed dunk over Oso Ighodaro and finished the three-point play from the free-throw line.

Hayes had 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench. After getting just five bench points from anyone not named Marcus Smart in losing their last game to the San Antonio Spurs, the Lakers (18-7) got a balanced 30-point lift from their reserves, including seven from Jarred Vanderbilt, who played his first significant minutes in a month.

Vanderbilt had been relegated to the bench since the return of James, but brought a much-needed lift Sunday as the team hoped to rediscover its defensive mentality. The forward was active on defense, had seven rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench and even hit a three-pointer.

But the Lakers fell out of their rhythm when that second unit went to the bench in the fourth quarter. With their starting five in for the final three minutes, the Lakers let a 111-97 lead evaporate as they missed shots, gave up threes and committed fouls and turnovers.

The answer was entirely predictable: “Good.”

The question that elicited the response above from Austin Reaves: How was he feeling physically?

Reaves doesn’t make excuses, and he wasn’t about to start now, not in the wake of a 132-119 defeat by the San Antonio Spurs at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday night.

Except Reaves didn’t look “good” in the loss.

He finished with a modest 15 points, including only four in the first half.

The underwhelming performance followed an 11-point game against the Philadelphia 76ers three days earlier.

“Just didn’t get the ball to go in the basket,” Reaves said.

Or was it something more?

Was the offensive burden he shouldered up to this point starting to take a toll on him?

Had the former undrafted free agent really elevated his game to a new level or was he just on a six-week heater?

The answers will be revealed in the coming weeks.

The Lakers, however, already know they can’t win with Reaves playing the way he did against the Spurs, when he made only two of six shots in the opening half.

Reaves has to score for this version of the Lakers to beat a team like the Spurs. He has to score because they can’t stop anyone.

Their on-ball perimeter defense is atrocious.

Their three-point defense is dreadful.

Their transition defense is shocking.

“Very few teams don’t have something that you can expose and we consistently got exposed to the same things,” coach JJ Redick said.

Bill Parcells once said you are what your record says you are, but that might not be the case with the Lakers, who are 17-7.

In their last six games, Lakers opponents have shot 49%, including 45% on threes. Redick’s team has allowed an average of 122 points per game.

“The things that help you win on the margins, we’re just not very good at right now,” Redick said.

The defense against the Spurs was particularly awful, the visitors making 50% of their threes in the first two periods to take a 70-58 lead into halftime with their franchise player Victor Wembanyama sidelined with a calf injury.

The Spurs’ athleticism clearly troubled the Lakers, who lack footspeed on the perimeter.

“They were just going downhill, driving and [kicking],” Lakers guard Luka Doncic said. “They scored like 10 three-pointers in the first half. They got up real quickly.”

Spurs guard Stephon Castle finished the game with 30 points. He was one of seven players to score in double figures. The Lakers were behind by as many as 24 points.

“Obviously, it’s a unique team,” Lakers forward LeBron James said. “They got six or seven guys that can break you off the dribble. Super fast, super quick.”

Unlike the Lakers, who have slow-moving guards in Doncic and Reaves, a 40-year-old player in James and an inconsistent center in Deandre Ayton.

The Lakers were eliminated in the playoffs last season by a more physically gifted team in the Minnesota Timberwolves and they once again look incapable of overcoming such a disadvantage this time around.

Asked what they could do to remedy their defensive shortcomings, James replied: “I mean, obviously, you can’t do it individually by yourself. It has to be five guys on a string, communication always at an all-time high, letting you know what’s going on behind you and things of that nature.”

Redick shared a similar view, but made it sound as if the process could take time. In the meantime, he said he expected Reaves to recover from his two-game slump.

Even after the Spurs game, Reaves ranked ninth in the NBA in scoring at 27.8 points per game.

“Yeah, look, the reality is the guy carried us for six weeks and that takes a toll on you,” Redick said. “He kept fighting and I appreciate that. But he’s gonna have a lot more great nights than frustrating nights.”

He better. More frustrating nights for Reaves figure to result in more frustrating nights for the Lakers.

PHILADELPHIA — LeBron James needed to send this message.

He still sits on his throne.

The Lakers superstar scored 10 consecutive points late in the fourth quarter to seal a 112-108 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, finishing with 29 points, seven rebounds and six assists to help the Lakers (17-6) nab two wins out of a difficult three-game trip.

Philadelphia (13-10) crawled back from a 10-point deficit in the third quarter and tied the score with 1:28 remaining on a shot by Joel Embiid. James answered with a fadeaway three-pointer over Quentin Grimes with 1:11 left. He all but iced the game with a 20-foot fadeaway over Grimes with 27.3 seconds remaining.

Running back up the court, James held both hands low in a “too small” signal. He placed an invisible crown on his head. He soaked in the roars from the crowd and punctuated it with his signature silencer celebration.

“That was vintage Bron,” said Luka Doncic, who finished with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists after a two-game absence for the birth of his second child. “We’re happy he was there to save us.”

James played in his 1,015th win, passing Robert Parish for the second most in NBA history. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the record with 1,074. The Lakers won for the first time in Philadelphia since Dec. 7, 2017.

Doncic rejoined the team Saturday after he flew from L.A. to his native Slovenia on Dec. 1. Between the 12-hour flight, a nine-hour time difference and being present for the birth of his daughter Olivia, the last week was a blur for Doncic.

Doncic still made his return look effortless, notching his second triple-double of the season.

But the 26-year-old acknowledged he was mentally and physically tired by the fourth quarter. Austin Reaves, who has averaged 40 points in games Doncic missed, misfired on his first eight shots and finished with just 11 points.

Lakers star LeBron James dunks in front of Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, left, during the first half Sunday.

(Chris Szagola / Associated Press)

Calling on James as their third scoring option showcases the Lakers’ embarrassment of riches.

“His play throughout the game gave us such a lift,” coach JJ Redick said, noting James’ screening and ability to create advantages. “… LeBron was like our connector tonight.”

Trailing by 10 with less than a minute remaining in the second quarter, the Lakers started the third on a 9-3 run to cut the deficit to one before building a 10-point lead with 1:40 left in the quarter. Then James’ heroics helped them hold on.

Deandre Ayton had 14 points on seven-for-seven shooting with 12 rebounds. Rui Hachimura scored 17 points as all five starters finished in double figures to hold off a fourth-quarter charge from the 76ers, who were led by 28 points, nine assists and seven rebounds from star guard Tyrese Maxey.

“That’s the beautiful thing about our team,” Reaves said, “is it’s not even just us three.”

With Doncic and Reaves off to career-best starts, the Lakers are 11-5 without James, who missed the first 14 games because of sciatica. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer had never missed the beginning of a season — in his life, James stressed. Missing training camp, preseason games and practices affected James not only physically but also mentally. James had to remind himself to fall “in love with the process” to rediscover his rhythm.

His trust paid off Sunday as he scored 12 of the Lakers’ 25 fourth-quarter points.

“It’s important to be reminded every now and then of what you’re capable of,” Redick said. “For him to have the injuries, and then to sort of start the season playing catch-up in a way, and start the season playing catch-up with a team that is also in a really good rhythm, and that’s, as a player, I don’t care how good you are, that’s tough to figure out.”

Three weeks shy of his 41st birthday, James missed the previous game in Boston because of sciatica and joint arthritis in his left foot. While he made the winning assist in the Lakers’ thrilling victory in Toronto, he also lost his 1,297-game streak of scoring 10 or more points. It felt like he finally was starting to show signs of his age.

Then he unleashed a signature one-handed tomahawk dunk in transition during the first quarter against the 76ers. It was a not-so-gentle reminder that James won’t ride into the twilight of his career quietly.

“Just at 40 years old, I mean, it just takes awhile for my body to kind of get back into a rhythm,” James said. “And so it felt good tonight to kind of feel like myself a little bit, being able to run and jump and cut and catch my second wind a lot faster tonight. Hopefully that stays.”

Every made basket from James made the Philadelphia fans clamor for more. Even the road fans hope James stays longer too.