National Basketball Association

Not-so-big 5-0: Hayward, Jazz hand Lakers their 50th loss

Published Mar. 20, 2015 1:34 a.m. ET

foxsports

Gordon Hayward scored 22 points, Trey Burke added 17 off the bench, and the Utah Jazz sent the Los Angeles Lakers to their 50th loss of the season, 80-73 on Thursday night.

The Jazz, coming off an 88-84 loss against that Washington that ended a season-best six-game winning streak, are 12-2 since the All-Star break.

The loss was the fourth in a row for the lottery-bound Lakers, who have dropped 25 of their last 30.

Tarik Black had 13 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double and second with Los Angeles and Wesley Johnson had 12 points for the Lakers.

They reached the 50-loss mark for the second straight season and only the fifth in the franchise's 67-year history. That compares to 32 seasons with 50 or more victories and 16 NBA championships.

Utah's sudden surge may be too little, too late in terms of salvaging their postseason chances. They are 7 1/2 games out of the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot with 14 games left on the schedule.

Utah center Rudy Gobert had just three points and seven rebounds, following a nine-game stretch in which he averaged 10.6 points and 17.4 boards.

The Jazz starting backcourt of rookies Rodney Hood and Dante Exum were a combined 0- for-11 from the field.

Utah took a 58-55 lead into the fourth quarter, and the lead changed hands three times before Hayward's two free throws put Utah ahead for good at 72-69 with 31/2 minutes to play. The Jazz increased the margin to 78-71 on Burke's layup and floating jumper 51 seconds apart, and another two foul shots by Hayward with a minute remaining.

The Lakers led 36-33 at halftime, closing the second quarter with a 14-2 run after trailing by as many as nine points.

TIP-INS

Jazz: The loss was their eighth straight on the road against Pacific Division teams since their 96-79 victory over the Lakers on Feb. 11, 2014. ... The Jazz split the other two meetings with the Lakers, winning 94-85 on Jan. 16 and losing 100-97 on Feb. 25. Both games were at Salt Lake City. ... Utah had only two offensive rebounds and was outscored 15-0 in second-chance points. ... Utah would have to go no worse than 11-3 the rest of the regular season to finish with a winning record.

Lakers: A moment of silence was observed in memory of former Laker and UCLA player Jack Haley, who died on Monday at age 51. ... The Lakers' only other 50-loss seasons prior to last year were 1974-75 (39-52), 1959-60 (25-50) and 1957-58 (19-53). The latter two were in Minneapolis. ... Byron Scott, in his first season as Lakers head coach, was a part of nine 50-win seasons during the 11 years he played for them. ... G Ronnie Price, who played his college ball at Utah Valley State and spent four seasons with the Jazz, is done for the season after surgery on his right elbow. ... The Lakers have a promotion in which each fan attending a home game gets a certificate for two free tacos from a fast-food chain if the team wins -- and allows fewer than 100 points. It's happened only six times all season in 34 home dates.

UP NEXT

Lakers: Host Philadelphia on Sunday.

Jazz: At Golden State on Saturday.