Jazz's Jusuf Nurkic: Returns with 15 points

Nurkic produced 15 points (5-8 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 4-11 FT), eight rebounds, seven assists and one steal in 32 minutes during Thursday's 143-135 loss to the Lakers.

Nurkic's return from a one-game absence allowed Lauri Markkanen's (groin) to take a night off for injury management, but the Jazz needed more interior contributions to keep things competitive with the Lakers. Nurkic had the opportunity to exploit an interior playing without Deandre Ayton, and he fared well with eight boards. Ultimately, Nurkic's poor performance at the charity stripe played a major role in the final result. He converted only four of 11 attempts at the free-throw line, dropping his season percentage to an abysmal 48.5 percent.