Jazz at Lakers
The disjointed Los Angeles Lakers are eight games below .500 and vying to break a four-game losing streak when they host the torrid Utah Jazz on Friday. Utah has won four consecutive contests and eight of 10, while Los Angeles has lost 10 of 12 and center Dwight Howard is again ailing after aggravating a shoulder injury. The Jazz are 2-0 against the Lakers this season and have won the last four meetings.
The Lakers keep talking about new starts and find themselves eight games below .500. Only three teams in the entire Western Conference sport worst records. Los Angeles held a team meeting prior to Wednesday’s contest and then went out and lost to the Memphis Grizzlies. Utah has the seventh-best record in the West and has a chance to build on its success because seven of its next eight games are at home, where the Jazz are 14-4 this season. Utah is 9-15 on the road.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ROOT (Utah), Time Warner Cable SportsNet (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (23-19): Center Al Jefferson has posted five consecutive double-doubles and six in seven games. Jefferson is averaging 18.2 points and 10.4 rebounds over his last five games and is playing much better than he did early in the season. Jefferson has 21 double-doubles on the season – including both games against the Lakers – and is averaging 17.1 points and 9.8 rebounds overall. Utah defeated the Washington Wizards 92-88 on Wednesday and had to sweat out the final minutes despite leading by 15 entering the final stanza. “It’s a concern when we lose big leads, but we’re winning the game so we’re not going to go crazy about it,” Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. “You’d like to learn a lesson not to relax when we’re up.”
ABOUT THE LAKERS (17-25): Howard played just 14 minutes in the loss to the Grizzlies before again hurting the shoulder he originally injured on Jan. 6. He missed three games at the time and averaged 22 points and 15.3 rebounds in his first three games back but struggled to averages of five points and 4.3 rebounds over his last three outings, which included being ejected against the Toronto Raptors. Howard and Kobe Bryant haven’t meshed on or off the court and getting the two on the same page is essential if Los Angeles is to turn around its season over the second half.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Utah’s four-game winning streak against Los Angeles is the longest in franchise history.
2. The Lakers have lost 10 games in a single month for the first time since April 2005.
3. The Jazz have made 270 3-pointers and are on pace to shatter the franchise record of 439 set in 2009-10.