LeBron James avoids embarrassment as unreal Will Hardy mistake hands Los Angeles Lakers win

Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy may have saved LeBron James from a slew of talking points as the Los Angeles Lakers hung on for a narrow 105-104 win on Sunday night in Salt Lake City.

Hardy called a timeout with his Jazz down one and guard Collin Sexton streaking to the basket with two seconds left.

On the ensuing out-of-bounds play, Sexton had his shot blocked, and Utah tumbled to 4-16.

The Lakers, led by rookie head coach J.J.

Redick , narrowly improved to 12-8.

James went 0-9 from three as his stretch of poor shooting continues.

He clanked a potential dagger from deep the possession before Sexton missed a shot that would have put the Lakers up four.

Los Angeles Lakers consider reunion with $90million star in blockbuster NBA trade Anthony Edwards goes on fiery Minnesota Timberwolves rant as early-season crisis goes on The 39-year-old Lakers forward has not connected from three in his last three games, missing all 15 of his attempts.

He only made three of 11 the two games prior, bringing his combined tally over his last five contests to 3-for-26.

Notable X DPT Dr.

Evan Jeffries offered a simple solution to James's recent struggles: "tired legs." The four-time MVP has yet to miss a game this season and is up averaging 35.2 minutes per game.

Now, claiming Hardy bailed out James from embarrassment is not a perfect science - Lakers star Anthony Davis was lurking near the rim and could have comfortably swatted the ball deep into the Utah rafters.

Jazz coach Will Hardy wipes away Collin Sexton's game-winner with a timeout.

Lakers win.

pic.twitter.com/XSBpqh3yh7 Underdog NBA (@Underdog__NBA) December 2, 2024 Many conspiracy theorists may point to the Jazz's incentive to tank as to why Hardy elected to call a timeout.

At 4-16, they own the second-best lottery odds in the race for talented Duke freshman Cooper Flagg.

Still, Stu Lantz on the Lakers broadcast was in disbelief over the call.

"Why would he call a timeout," he admonished.

"I mean, Hardy was right there when they got the defensive stop and they look athe gave the motion like to keep going! Then when they get in a position to attack he's running to midcourt to call a timeout." Lauri Markkanen led the way for Utah with 22 points.

The former All-Star is averaging just 19.6 a game this season, a dropoff from the 23+ he scored each of the last two seasons.

Davis led the Lakers in scoring with 33 points and added 11 rebounds.

James had yet another double-double, scoring 27 points and sending out 14 assists - his 9.4 assists per game rank third in the NBA.

James and the Lakers will look to continue their winning ways on Monday night when they face the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis..

This article has been shared from the original article on themirror, here is the link to the original article.