Lonzo accepts blame for Lakers falling to Jazz: 'Put this loss on me'

Donovan Mitchell clearly outshined Lonzo Ball - who was drafted 11 slots ahead of him this summer - in the battle of rookie guards during the Utah Jazz's 96-81 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers Saturday night.

Following the defeat, Ball recalled a stretch late in the third quarter when Mitchell scored five points in roughly 14 seconds as the Lakers were closing the gap on the scoreboard. His failure to box out on the glass, as well as a turnover the following possession, are reasons why the face of the Big Baller Brand is taking full responsibility for his side losing.

"Put this loss on me," Ball said, according to ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. "We were coming back. Two dumb plays by me, and they got up."

As Jazz guard Alec Burks' 3-pointer clanked off the back of the rim, the 6-foot-3 Mitchell skied up and threw down a thunderous putback slam to ignite the crowd at Vivint Smart Arena. Off the inbound, Ball then proceeded to throw a bad pass up the floor that was picked off by veteran Joe Johnson, which then led to a 3-pointer from Mitchell.

"That was my fault," Ball added. "If you think about it, that kind of changed the whole course of the game. ... I should have boxed him out. Then I threw the turnover."

Mitchell led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting off the bench, while Ball had nine points (all from behind the arc), two rebounds, four dimes, and five turnovers in 36 minutes of action.

It was the first time all season the UCLA alumnus had failed to record seven or more rebounds, which he attributes to the sheer size of Utah's frontcourt.

"That's just a big team, man, to be honest," said Ball. "(Rudy) Gobert, he is very hard to keep off the glass. (Derrick) Favors as well. They were around the rim constantly, kind of picking up everything."

Los Angeles is now 2-4 on the season, having lost three of its last four games. They'll look to bounce back at home Tuesday against the visiting Detroit Pistons.