The Lakers were looking to extend their winning ways with a road matchup against the Utah Jazz. Having just faced off versus the Jazz a few nights ago and dismantling them in the fourth, they were sure to come out with a lot of aggression on their home court.
First Quarter LAL25 – UTA25
Both teams were shooting well to begin the game, but the Lakers held an early advantage due to the play of Pau Gasol. He collected an early 4 rebounds and played great D. Our length advantage was obvious as the team consistently went down low to Andrew, Pau and Ron. Unfortunately, Ron was whistled for two quick fouls and had to sit down making way for Shannon Brown. Kobe was obviously affected by the broken finger, missing his first four attempts from the field. Once he moved over to the small forward spot, he hit a few jumpers and was able to pick up his game on the offensive end of the floor. Neither team was able to establish a consistent offensive rhythm and the quarter ended at 25-all.
Second Quarter LAL28 – UTA34
The first four minutes of the quarter belonged to the Jazz as they played aggressive defensive and built a 9-point lead. Matthews was obviously offended by my comments in the last recap and WENT OFF and carried the Jazz both quarters. Without the play of the post, the Lakers wouldn’t even be in this game right now. Pau continued his great rebounding and was able to continually box out his man, and Bynum made multiple blocks down low and converted a lot of and-1’s. With a little more than five minutes remaining the starters returned to the court and mounted a less than furious comeback. At one point the team was down 9 and if it wasn’t for some great shots by D-Fish it could have ended worse. The quarter ended with the Lakers down 6, and the Jazz wearing the jersey of “Mr. Mo” as Stu would say.
First Half Notes/Highlights:
• The Kobe Injury: Kobe is obviously affected by the broken finger and hasn’t been as aggressive as usual. Unfortunately the team hasn’t compensated and it’s hurt the flow of the offense.
• D-Fish: He loves coming back to Utah and it shows in his play. He’s been on fire all night and I believe had 13 in the first half. You could add the point totals for like 10 of his games up this season and it wouldn’t eclipse 13 points.
Third Quarter LAL18 – UTA21
The Jazz opened the quarter on fire hitting their first few field goal attempts to push the lead to 10 at 63-53. The next few minutes saw each team firing back and fourth from the outside and the Jazz keeping the lead around 10-12. No Laker could really get anything going, and Ronnie Brewer was on FIRE hitting his first 4 shots of the quarter for 9 points. From there things just spiraled out of control, with the Jazz pushing the ball on every opportunity and executing their offense to perfection. Without the Mamba in his true form, the Lakers continually floundered offensively.
Fourth Quarter LAL23 – UTA22
With the Lakers starting the quarter down double digits, it was up to the second unit to try to chip away. But the fourth showcased more of what we saw in the third: domination by the Jazz. Pau was never able to get anything going, he was constantly doubled teamed and the passes that came out were less than stellar. You can’t blame him, the whole team was just camping the perimeter with no movement towards the hoop. Phil stayed with the starters even though the lead stayed at 10+ points for most of the quarter. Even with two minutes remaining, Phil had Kobe in the game. It wasn’t meant to be though, as the Lakers fell to the Jazz 102-94, snapping the winning streak and breaking the hearts of Laker fans everywhere
Second Half Notes/Highlights:
• Lakers Offense: The entire game the team played out of sync, most likely due to the sickness of Kobe coupled with the finger injury. He was forcing it all night and was 1-9 from deep. The Lakers had only 16 assists and 17 turnovers, never a good sign. Oh yeah, and they were 3-21 from three. Wow.
• Jazz Execution: The Jazz had 29 assists on 40 made baskets- a great stat when you think about it. The other alarming stat is their field goal percentage: 51.9%
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