This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A year ago, Ty Lawson seemed to be on his last legs. His life off the floor was in shambles, and that made him a risk for any NBA team before the Sacramento Kings signed him to be a backup point guard this summer.
On Wednesday night, Lawson was a central figure in a 94-93 Kings win agains the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena. He dominated the Jazz guards, and looked like his peak years with the Denver Nuggets.
"I thought Lawson's penetration was the biggest factor for them offensively," Utah coach Quin Snyder said. "He just controlled the game at that end, at both the rim and finding people."
In turning a 20-point Jazz lead into a rousing Kings comeback win, Lawson was unstoppable for a huge stretch of the second half. By the time Sacramento's rally was complete, Lawson had 19 points and five rebounds. He went 7 of 11 from the field, and caused havoc for the Jazz defense with his ability to blow by whichever defender was in front of him on his way to the basket.
Lawson knows he's been given multiple chances, and had brushes with the wrong side of the law in past seasons. But he seems to be taking advantage of a new situation and a new coach in Sacramento.
Kings coach Dave Joerger said Lawson has been playing his best basketball in the past three weeks, and his backup point guard has been earning more minutes in the fourth quarter. The trust has given Lawson a chance to find his rhythm. That confidence helped him become more aggressive against the Jazz on Wednesday night.
"I think it's just about finding my niche here," Lawson said. "I have to be aggressive, but being here has changed my whole mindset. It feels good getting into the paint, playing like I normally do. There's a lot of space out there and I'm actually getting to the basket. I don't remember the last time I was getting to the basket consistently and making layups. It feels good."
The Kings putting DeMarcus Cousins at the center spot helped open space for Lawson and the other Sacramento guards to drive to the basket. With Cousins occupying Jazz center Rudy Gobert on the perimeter, the rim protection wasn't always there when Lawson got to the basket.
"You started to see flashes of what he was in Denver," Utah forward Gordon Hayward said. "Super dynamic, extremely quick. I don't think we communicated as well as we should've on the defensive end. We had too many breakdowns and there were too many easy buckets for him."
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