The Los Angeles Lakers suffered their fourth straight loss after being walked over by the Utah Jazz at Vivint Arena 114-89 on Wednesday.

Donovan Mitchell was only 1-8 to get four points in the first half, but the Jazz still managed to establish an 18-point lead after burying 14 triples in the first half. It's hard to say whether it's the defensive price the Lakers had to pay by focusing on protecting the paint or the fact that the Jazz were simply shooting well.

In fact, compared with their defensive dilemma, the purple and gold should worry more about their sloppy offense. This was not their first game to go 8-33 from the arc. It's true that not each of their opponents has a DPOY-level (Defensive Player of the Year) rim protector like the Jazz do, but they can still choose to close, making sure that LeBron James does not crash his defender by charging the paint again and again if the 36-year-old superstar can still do it.

According to coach Frank Vogel, Dennis Schroder may be able to return in their next game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday. However, the German guard has averaged only one triple at a 3-point of 31.1 percent so far this season. He is hardly a prominent help to the team in this area.

The most probable solution may be for Schroder to work with Montrezl Harrell and make some surprises in screen plays if, of course, coach Vogel is willing to give Harrell a bigger role on the floor.

Compared with the struggling defending champions, the Jazz just pocketed the 22nd win of the past 24 games, and some of their victories were over strong teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Lakers. According to StatMuse, the Jazz are currently No. 1 in win percentage, net rating and triples, No. 2 in defensive rating, points allowed per game and triples allowed, as well as No. 3 in offensive rating, points per game scored, 3-point rate, field goal rate allowed and 3-point rate allowed.

Other games on Wednesday (away teams come first):

Golden State Warriors 111-107 Indiana Pacers

How did the Warriors win when they were only 5-26 in 3-pointers at Bankers Life FieldHouse on Wednesday? It's simple, the Pacers were just as bad offensively. James Wiseman and Kevon Looney's return saved the Warriors from being vulnerable in front of the opponents' big man pair of Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner.

Stephen Curry missed 10 of his 11 attempts from downtown, but he still managed to get 24 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, going 9-10 at the free-throw line. Draymond Green missed one rebound to score a triple-double with 12 points, nine rebounds, and 11 assists. It turned out he could make better contributions as long as Green stopped throwing diapers around.

Boston Celtics 112-127 Atlanta Hawks

The Celtics suffered their third straight loss. In fact, they were domed in the first half, after which the team already trailed by 72-49. They watched the Hawks drain 23 triples at a 3-point rate of 54.76 percent. Danilo Gallinari was boiling in field goals (13-16), especially from the arc (10-12), to score game-high 38 points off the bench for the Hawks. Trae Young had 33 points and seven assists.

The Celtics are in serious trouble this season. The departure of Gordon Hayward and the injury of Marcus Smart badly hurt the team's offense-launching ability. Kemba Walker came back with only half of who he was not helping either. Their major signing during the offseason, Tristan Thompson, proved to be a wrong decision. The Celtics still hold the biggest trade exception of $28.5 million in NBA history. Their general manager Danny Ainge may want to do something with it before it's too late.

Houston Rockets 96-112 Cleveland Cavaliers

Victor Oladipo came back for the Rockets and then suffered the ninth consecutive loss with the team. He was apparently still trying to find his form back as Oladipo went 1-8 behind the 3-point line, but honestly, it matters little since the Rockets allowed the Cavaliers, one of the worst offensive teams in the league, to score 64 points in the second half.

The Rockets released DeMarcus Cousins on Tuesday. Slowly but surely, more will leave for the team to start rebuilding.

Toronto Raptors 108-116 Miami Heat

Beating the Heat in triples made 20-17 did not give the Raptors a win thanks to their disappointing offense in the paint. The whole team only grabbed three offensive rebounds and earned 17 free throws. By contrast, Bam Adebayo alone got six on the offensive glass for the Heat.

The Heat, which made the NBA Finals last season, have been trying to pull themselves out of the pit named injury so far. Hopefully, Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic can speed up that process by finding their beat game back sooner.

Minnesota Timberwolves 126-133 Chicago Bulls

Zach Laine may be one of the happiest men in the world after he was named for the All-Star Game for the first time in his career on Tuesday. When he met the old teammates of the Timberwolves at United Center on Wednesday, Lavine hugged Karl-Anthony Towns in a truly warm way.

That did not mean he would go easy on the opponents in the game. Having gone 14-21 in field goals and 5-8 in triples, Lavine put down court-high 35 points to lead the Bulls to victory in overtime.

Detroit Pistons 118-128 New Orleans Pelicans

Zion Williamson had another dominant game at Smoothie King Center after making 13 of 18 shots, all under the rim, to drop 32 points. More importantly, he delivered six assists without committing any turnover. The sooner Williamson can learn how to exploit his incredible offensive threat, the more he can contribute to help the Pelicans.

The Pistons saw seven of their players reach double-digit points. That should help the team's front office make a smart decision over who their future foundation should before they finish rebuilding.

San Antonio Spurs 99-102 Oklahoma City Thunder

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored career-high 42 points for the Thunder against the visiting Spurs at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Wednesday. Only Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are younger than him when they got 40+points in franchise history. Sam Presti is truly impressive in picking promising young men.

The Spurs came to OKC without multiple key players, including DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay, but they still kept the game 50-50 until the last possession before Luguentz Dort beat the buzzer for OKC from the 3-point line.

Charlotte Hornets 124-121 Phoenix Suns

Devin Booker went 7-19 to score 16 points and two assists in the first quarter as a response to being selected by Commissioner Adam Silver to replace Anthony Davis as an All-Star. However, Booker was not the hero at Phoenix Suns Arena on Wednesday night. Malik Monk claimed 20 points for the Hornets in the second quarter alone, while LaMelo Ball contributed 16 points in the second half. Their efforts were why the Hornets managed to come back from a 13-point deficit to give the Suns the second loss in the past 11 games.