LOS ANGELES — All the Lakers could do to best impact their postseason fate was to win.
Games in Portland, Phoenix and Minneapolis would determine what would be ahead for them as they moved to the next stage of the season. In Los Angeles, a loss could make things worse.
But for the second time in a week, the Lakers didn't get an easy tally. Instead, playing a Utah Jazz team down to its third string at some positions, the Lakers needed every stop and every score in the final minutes of their 82nd game to assure that they would do their part.
LeBron James, who spent Saturday night in Portland, Ore., watching his son Bronny play in the Nike Hoops Summit, iced the victory with back-to-back threes Sunday afternoon to secure a 128-117 win.
After he made his eighth three-pointer of the game, with the crowd on its feet, James put an imaginary crown on his head.
James scored 36 in the win. Six other players scored at least 12 points, led by D'Angelo Russell's 17.
The Lakers finished the season with a 43-39 record.
