SALT LAKE CITY - Apparently the Lakers didn't learn their lesson.They didn't learn the danger that awaits them when they dig a big hole for themselves, when they don't play enough defense, when they don't match their opponent's energy.
For the second straight night the Lakers fell into a gigantic hole, and this time they couldn't recover. They wound up on the wrong side of a blowout Friday night, 120-96 losers against a Utah Jazz team playing without its two All-Stars.
"We were really slow, ineffective," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "One of my coaches said 'We're soft as Dairy Queen ice cream tonight.' "
It was a season high in points allowed by the Lakers, and the 70 that their porous defense surrendered in the first half was a season high for a half. They trailed by 19 at the break, after Utah's Paul Millsap threw down a one-handed dunk over Lamar Odom just before the buzzer sounded.
As for Odom, he had another inconsistent game and once again showed a lack of composure when things didn't go his way.
He had seven points, took just five shots and turned the ball over four times in 28 minutes. He even had an exchange with Lakers coach Phil Jackson.
"He didn't approach the game mentally the way I wanted him to play," Jackson said. "I felt that was unfortunate because there were a number of situations that Lamar was in position to help us out. He just seemed not to be focused with what we were trying to do."
Kobe Bryant had 28 points and did his best to keep the Lakers in the game, at one point making back-to-back three-pointers and a 360-degree, hanging layup while being fouled.
Jordan Farmar added a career-high 21 of the Bench Mob's 45 points, but Bryant was very unhappy with his team's play, a snarl frequently on his face.
"It's frustrating because they outworked us," Bryant said.
The Lakers committed 20 turnovers. They were outrebounded 48-34. They made just 8 of 24 threes.
A night after sparking the Lakers by combining for 42 points off the bench, Luke Walton and Sasha Vujacic totaled 10 on 4-for-13 shooting
Deron Williams, meanwhile, had his way with the Lakers, scoring a career-high 35 points on 14-for-24 shooting. Andrei Kirilenko had a triple-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists and had six steals and four blocks. Millsap had 20 points and nine rebounds.
The Jazz had its way inside, scoring 70 points in the paint.
"They were just having a frolic in the lane," Jackson said, and added, "There were a lot of things wrong. Everybody played poorly."
And the Jazz did this without starting big men Carlos Boozer (sprained ankle) and Mehmet Okur (back spasms), who average a combined 37.3 points and 16.3 rebounds.
It was a season high in points allowed by the Lakers, and the 70 that their porous defense surrendered in the first half was a season high for a half. They trailed by 19 at the break, after Utah's Paul Millsap threw down a one-handed dunk over Lamar Odom just before the buzzer sounded.
As for Odom, he had another inconsistent game and once again showed a lack of composure when things didn't go his way.
He had seven points, took just five shots and turned the ball over four times in 28 minutes. He even had an exchange with Lakers coach Phil Jackson.
"He didn't approach the game mentally the way I wanted him to play," Jackson said. "I felt that was unfortunate because there were a number of situations that Lamar was in position to help us out. He just seemed not to be focused with what we were trying to do."
Kobe Bryant had 28 points and did his best to keep the Lakers in the game, at one point making back-to-back three-pointers and a 360-degree, hanging layup while being fouled.
Jordan Farmar added a career-high 21 of the Bench Mob's 45 points, but Bryant was very unhappy with his team's play, a snarl frequently on his face.
"It's frustrating because they outworked us," Bryant said.
The Lakers committed 20 turnovers. They were outrebounded 48-34. They made just 8 of 24 threes.
A night after sparking the Lakers by combining for 42 points off the bench, Luke Walton and Sasha Vujacic totaled 10 on 4-for-13 shooting
Deron Williams, meanwhile, had his way with the Lakers, scoring a career-high 35 points on 14-for-24 shooting. Andrei Kirilenko had a triple-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists and had six steals and four blocks. Millsap had 20 points and nine rebounds.
The Jazz had its way inside, scoring 70 points in the paint.
"They were just having a frolic in the lane," Jackson said, and added, "There were a lot of things wrong. Everybody played poorly."
And the Jazz did this without starting big men Carlos Boozer (sprained ankle) and Mehmet Okur (back spasms), who average a combined 37.3 points and 16.3 rebounds.
by Broderick Turner
PE.Com
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