They say you can’t have the best of both worlds, and Lakers fans got a harsh reminder of that at halftime. While everyone was busy replaying Luka Doncic’s jaw-dropping alley-oop, the one where he dribbled right between Kevin Love’s legs before threading a perfect pass to Jaxson Hayes, the news dropped that made every frown deepen. Deandre Ayton was ruled out for the rest of the game after exiting midway through the second quarter with a right knee contusion. One moment you’re celebrating highlight reels, the next you’re cringing at the injury report. 

Head Coach JJ Redick shared an update on him after the game, saying, “DA, I don’t know what’s going on with him. I think he hit his leg in the first half, was kinda limping through it, and then couldn’t go on in the second half. So Maxey coming in in the second half really changed the game for us with his physicality, made some plays at the rim.”

He was further asked if Jarred Vanderbilt would be next in line if Ayton remains unavailable. Redick said, “I think everybody’s gotta be ready. Again, I don’t want to speculate on DA, but we feel confident that we have enough options.”

Even without Ayton on the court, the Lakers edged out the Jazz in a nail-biter, clinching a 108–106 victory.

(This is a developing story…)