After losing Deandre Ayton at halftime, the Lakers needed someone to step up in the second half of Sunday’s game against the Jazz. Some people expected Maxi Kleber to be that player.
After not playing in the first half, Kleber provided big minutes on both ends of the court in the second half, closing out the game and helping LA earn the win.
Although it is his offense that generally draws attention, Kleber’s defense was equally, if not more, stellar against Utah.
“Maxi coming in in the second half really changed the game for us with his physicality,” head coach JJ Redick said. “(He) made some plays at the rim, got big buckets late. He was great. Gabe was great, too. Those two guys playing on that extended run, that’s where our defense really stood out.”
“(The Jazz) scored 17 points in four and a half, five minutes of the third quarter and then by the last hurray, I think they had 22 points the rest of that half. It was stuck there at 94 (points). I thought it was our defense that won us the game.”
The Lakers had silenced the hosts for most of the quarter, before the Jazz’s final surge in the final minute. In the first nine minutes of the fourth, the Jazz only had 13 points as the purple and gold really shut things down.
While Kleber didn’t play all of those minutes, he was a big part of the team’s defensive performance throughout the half, as Redick said.
On the other end of the floor, Kleber only scored once but it was an important bucket. With Utah rallying in the final 90 seconds and the Lakers leading by only four points, Kleber attacked Jusuf Nurkic’s bad closeout for a crucial dunk.
“He was one of the best players on the field for us tonight,” Austin Reaves said. “Just the energy, the effort, the way he plays, the game he makes, it’s not easy to do that – sit through the entire first half and then come out there and do what he did – so you wish guys like that all the best. You want to see them succeed.”
However, Kleber’s biggest play of the night came in the final seconds. With the Lakers leading by two, Kleber shut down Nurkic on the final play and contested Keyontae George’s game-winning 3-point attempt, forcing him to double clutch and miss a shot.
Officially, this is not recorded as a statistic in the box score, but these were the type of big plays he made all night long.
“He was one of the guys who pushed us forward, especially defensively with his effort and energy,” Luka Doncic said. “He does all the little things that don’t show up in the stats and we needed every single one of those. I thought he played amazing today.”
Fans didn’t get to see much of Kleber throughout his time in LA due to injuries and being out of the rotation. But with Ayton missing Tuesday’s game against the Clippers, they’ll likely see Kleber for the second consecutive game.
While he almost certainly won’t light up the box score, Sunday was a great example of his ability and willingness to do all the little things you expect from a veteran. And if he continues to do that, he’ll prove his worth and hopefully help the Lakers win games.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter @jackbarood or on BlueSky at @jacobrude.bsky.social,
<a href=