Lakers at Jazz
The Los Angeles Lakers were victorious in Luke Walton's coaching debut with the franchise and look to make it two straight wins when they host
the Utah Jazz on Friday. Walton's young team put together a solid effort
by knocking off the Houston Rockets 120-114 on Wednesday.
The victory was Walton's first official win as a head coach as his 39-4 mark as a fill-in with the Golden State Warriors last season was credited to Steve Kerr. The Jazz suffered a 113-104 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in Tuesday's season opener and were encouraged when veteran swingman Joe Johnson erupted for 27 of his 29 points in the second half. Johnson signed a two-year, $22 million deal with Utah in the offseason with the organization feeling it is ready to break a four-season postseason drought. "I want to do what I can to help this team win," Johnson said afterward. "This loss hurts, because we were in a position to win, on the road, against a tough team. This was a tough loss but there are positives in this. We have got to grind and get better."
TV: 9 p.m. ET, Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles), ROOT (Utah)
ABOUT THE LAKERS (1-0): Los Angeles buckled down on defense in the fourth quarter of the opener and outscored the Rockets 30-18 over the final 12 minutes to record the comeback victory. Shooting guard Jordan Clarkson scored 25 points off the bench while point guard D'Angelo Russell scored 20 points and power forward Julius Randle had a superb all-around game with 18 points (on 9-of-11 shooting), seven rebounds and six assists. "It wasn't pretty, but we got the job done," Clarkson said afterward. "It was the first one. I feel like as the season progresses we'll do a better job of coming together and making the most of each possession."
ABOUT THE JAZZ (0-1): Johnson's superb second half in the opener was a welcome sight for the Jazz, who badly need his offensive capabilities with small forward Gordon Hayward (broken finger) sidelined. "Joe was really good for us," Utah coach Quin Snyder told reporters. "He's someone who is a veteran and we try not to put too much weight on his shoulders. He was able to get it going, and we saw he had it going and we tried to get him the ball." Power forward Derrick Favors (knee) sat out the opener and could be available on Friday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Jazz won three of last season's four meetings, with the Lakers' victory coming when Kobe Bryant scored 60 points on April 13 in his final NBA game.
2. Los Angeles PG Jose Calderon (calf) missed the opener and is listed as day-to-day.
3. Utah SG Rodney Hood, who averaged 14.5 points last season, scored 26 in the opener.