Lakers player grades: L.A. mounts big comeback to topple Jazz

After defeating the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers at home to start the new NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers hit the road for the first time this fall to face the Utah Jazz in a Sunday matinee matchup. Early on, it looked like perhaps the game started a little too early for the Lakers' liking.Their defense looked completely off-kilter in the first quarter, as they gave up 47 points and trailed by 18 at the end of the period. Rebounding was also a particularly big problem -- they would get outrebounded 51-30 and give up 32 second-chance points on the day.But the Lakers started to come alive in the second quarter, outscoring Utah 45-24 in the period to take a 74-71 lead at halftime. They had trouble gaining separation in the second half, as Utah fought hard and continued to exploit L.A. on the boards. But Los Angeles finally slammed the door on the Jazz and came away with a 132-123 victory to improve to 3-0.This was not a great team effort offensively by Los Angeles, as it had just 19 assists and only two of its players scored more than 13 points. But it shot a respectable 49.4% from the field and an excellent 42.6% from 3-point range, and it outscored the Jazz 18-4 in fast-break points. The Lakers also had only 10 turnovers while forcing the Jazz to commit 17 turnovers.Matisse Thybulle: A-minusThybulle made a contribution offensively by making four of his eight field-goal attempts and three of his seven 3-point tries to score 11 points. He made the Jazz pay for keying on the Lakers' main threats by camping out in the corner and hitting from there.Defensively, Thybulle was aggressive on the perimeter and came up with three steals and one block. He also had one rebound and one assist in 26 minutes.Ziaire Williams: BWilliams went just 3-of-9 overall, but he was 3-of-7 from 3-point range, giving him 11 points in 30 minutes. He also helped out on defense with one steal while contributing two rebounds and one assist.Walker Kessler: CAfter two outstanding games to start the season, Kessler wasn't much of a factor on Sunday against his former team. He had to deal with early foul trouble, and the Jazz prevented him from getting easy looks in the paint. Defensively, the Jazz took advantage of his penchant for going after blocks and put themselves in position for second-shot opportunities and easy layups on first-shot opportunities.Kessler only scored one basket on two shot attempts and had two points, seven rebounds and one block in 28 minutes. It's a good sign that the Lakers won in this type of fashion despite Kessler not playing up to his ability.Austin Reaves: AReaves went scoreless in the first quarter, but he quickly heated up in the second quarter to spark the Lakers' turnaround. He made four of his five shot attempts in the second period and scored 15 points in the first six minutes of the period, and overall, he went 7-of-12 from the field, 4-of-5 from downtown and 11-of-13 from the free throw line, giving him 29 points. He also had four assists, and he even blocked two shots, to go along with one steal and one rebound.Reaves is getting into the paint off the dribble more often and more easily than he did in the past. That is something that will open up opportunities not just for himself but for his teammates moving forward.Luka Doncic: AAfter shooting poorly in the Lakers' first two games, Doncic was a monster on Sunday. He scored 17 points in the first quarter to prevent the team from falling completely out of contention, and he hit the 3-pointer just before the end of the second quarter that put L.A. ahead. He then hit another trey to end the third quarter and ensure the Lakers took a 103-100 lead into the final frame.In that final frame, Doncic hit three 3-pointers, including back-to-back triples late in the period to put his team up by six points. He finished with 52 points on 17-of-30 overall shooting, 8-of-18 from beyond the arc and 10-of-11 from the charity stripe while dishing off 10 assists, grabbing eight rebounds and adding two steals.Collin Sexton: BSexton came in and again gave the Lakers energy on both ends of the floor. He scored 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting, and defensively, he created havoc, even though he wasn't credited with any steals. In 20 minutes, he added two rebounds and one assist.Sandro Mamukelahvili: BIn 20 minutes off the bench, Mamukelashvili had nine points on 2-of-4 shooting and 4-of-6 from the foul line, to go along with three rebounds and one block. His ability to grab defensive rebounds, push the ball upcourt and put pressure on opposing defenses should boost the Lakers' bench all season.Quentin Grimes: DGrimes was almost a non-factor in this game. He took just two shots in 20 minutes, making one of them, and he ended up with three points, one rebound and one assist.Jake LaRavia: C-minus/D-plusLaRavia played 15 minutes after missing Friday's game with a sprained ankle, and while he missed all three of his shot attempts, he did help in other ways. He had four rebounds, and he hustled on defense, allowing him to come up with two steals and one block.His 3-point shooting may be improved this season, but even when he's not hitting, he will still hustle to grab rebounds and make plays on defense in order to help the Lakers' cause.Kevon Looney: D-minusLooney played five minutes and only had one rebound, and he showed an ability to defend at or near the rim. It's starting to look like the Lakers are at a real disadvantage when he comes in to give Kessler a rest and play the center position.This article originally appeared on Lakers Wire: Lakers player grades: L.A. mounts big comeback to topple Jazz