Utah Jazz Team Report - December 8

(Basketball News) - The Utah Jazz fell to the Los Angeles Lakers, 94-92, Sunday at Staples Center when Devean George’s three-pointer with 24.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter lifted the Lakers to the win.

Lakers forward Karl Malone missed his first chance to play against his former team since he departed Utah this past offseason as a free agent. The NBA suspended him one game for elbowing Dallas point guard Steve Nash in the face. The incident took place with 9:41 remaining in the third quarter of the Lakers’ 114-103 win over the Mavericks on Thursday.

Maurice Williams paced the Jazz with 16 points. DeShawn Stevenson netted 13 points and Aleksandar Pavlovic scored 12 for Utah, which suffered just its second loss in seven games.

Trailing by an 86-77 score, the Jazz went on a 13-3 run for a 90-89 lead with less than a minute to play in the game. Shaquille O’Neal was then fouled and the big center made both shots to give LA a one-point lead.

Williams followed with a jumper to give Utah back the lead at 92-91, but George knocked down a three from the right wing for the win. Williams and Raja Bell each had a chance to even the score, but their shots didn’t fall.

The Jazz host Paul Pierce and the Celtics tonight.