It's already a well-known fact that playing back-to-back games in the NBA is very difficult.
But playing a back-to-back where you face the reigning MVP at the league's highest elevation one night before traveling to meet a well-rested LeBron James the next night — that's about as brutal of a back-to-back you can find from anywhere in the league.
Unfortunately, that's the situation Utah found itself in on Monday night in Los Angeles.
Despite leading by as many as nine in the fourth quarter, the Jazz ran out of steam late and fell 101-95 to the Lakers on Martin Luther King Jr.