In an odd scheduling quirk, the Los Angeles Lakers had four days off in between games heading into their Sunday night clash against the Utah Jazz. While rest is generally good for NBA teams, this lengthy layoff seemed to sap any sort of rhythm from the Lakers. But they hit their stride when it mattered the most and held off a late charge from the Jazz to claim a 108-106 win to move to 12-4 on the season.

Luka Doncic had himself another incredible outing, finishing with 33 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists in the winning effort. And as is the case with the Slovenian superstar, there is never a dull moment with him. In the second quarter, Doncic exhilarated even the away crowd with his display of some classic Luka Magic.

With 4:43 left in the first half, Doncic intercepted a poor pass from Kevin Love. Just to rub even more salt into the veteran Jazz big man's wounds, the Lakers star dribbled the ball between his legs to spark a major transition attack that culminated in an emphatic lob jam to Jaxson Hayes.

Doncic is at his best whenever he's having fun out there on the court. And the Lakers have given him the ecosystem in which he can thrive. LA has given him the keys to the team, and there's no coincidence that they've enjoyed a strong start to the new campaign.

And at 26 years of age, Doncic is going to be doing this for the Lakers for a long time — which should scare the rest of the NBA.

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Lakers dodge a major bullet towards the end against the Jazz

Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) holds the ball
© Rob Gray-Imagn Images

With the game in its dying minutes, it looked as though the Lakers were going to waltz into the finish line without much fuss. They were up by double digits with less than three minutes to go, but they let their foot off the gas pedal and allowed the Jazz to claw back into the game, leaving it up for grabs until the final seconds.

Alas, Keyonte George missed what would have been the game-winner in the end, and the Lakers can now breathe a sigh of relief.