"Definitely
easy to see when we're playing like s***, (along with) the fact that I
shot like s***," Bryant said with a smirk after one of the worst
performances of his career, making just 3 of 20 shots while committing a
game-high seven of the Lakers’ 24 turnovers in Sunday’s 103-99 loss to
Utah at Staples Center.
It was just the third loss in 22 home games
for the Lakers (28-17) and ended their five-game winning streak. Bryant
finished with 15 points, his third-lowest game total this season, and
blamed himself instead of the Jazz for his lousy game.
"Their
defense had nothing to do with the shots I missed. Did you see them?"
Bryant asked incredulously. “It was almost comical that I missed (such
good looks)."
Lakers center Andrew Bynum was unstoppable down low,
hitting 12 of 14 shots for 33 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Pau
Gasol finished 8 of 12 for 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Bynum was
frustrated that he and Gasol didn't get more touches.
"Early on,
those are opportunities to score," Bynum said. "And it is frustrating.
It sucks not to take advantage of those chances. But it wasn't only the
offense. I'm the defensive captain out there and I let too many guys
score (easy) baskets. Offensively, my game is coming along fine, but
defensively I still am learning and I need to get better. And I will."
He went on to say that the Lakers may have lost because they didn't feel the Jazz were in their class as a team.
"We've
had guys at times — including myself — who come out and don't play
(opponents) honestly," Bynum said, “and it causes us problems sometimes.
It's gotta get fixed.
"You've got to respect everybody as a pro,
and I feel like we didn't play hard on every defensive possession.
There's always room to grow (mentally), and we definitely can."
Jazz
forward Paul Millsap said his team won for just the sixth time in 22 road games because everyone, especially
the young players, came out with the fortitude to beat the Lakers.
Rookies Enes Kanter and Alec Burks both came off the bench to score 17
points, while second-year center Derrick Favors had 12 points and 10
rebounds.
"For those (young) guys to go out there and show that
kind of heart, I am surprised," Millsap said after scoring a team-high
24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. "I'm not going to sit here and say
that I'm not. For Kanter to come in against one of the best centers in
this league and do what he did is remarkable.
"We're helping
each other and we're being active. We're getting our hands on a lot of
deflections, and we have a lot of confidence on the defensive end.”
After
giving up 100 or more points just six times in their first 35 games,
the Lakers’ defense has regressed to the point where they've allowed
opponents to score 100 or more six times in their past 10 games.
Naturally, defensive -oriented coach Mike Brown is not at all pleased.
"We
talked to our guys about our defense slipping," Brown said. "We've
given up 100 points very easily to our opponents lately and that's not
who we are. We have to get back to committing to the defensive end of
the floor and not giving up easy buckets.
"For (Utah) to shoot 47 percent and score 103 points, that's mind-boggling."
Through
it all, however, the Lakers had a chance to tie the game with 12
seconds left, but Bryant missed a 3-point attempt. He said the team just
didn't make enough plays down the stretch.
"We had a breakdown in
communication, but they made some tough shots," Bryant said. "Millsap
made some tough shots and (Burks) got a three-point play on a tough
shot. We didn't play (enough) defense down the stretch to get us over
the hump. We threw the ball all over the place and couldn't make a shot.
“We're gonna have games like this every once in a while, but it's not a common occurrence. Just one of those nights."
NOTES:
The Lakers head for Texas to play Houston on Tuesday and Dallas on
Wednesday. … New point guard Ramon Sessions continues to learn the
offense, handing off six assists Sunday but shooting just 1 of 7 from
the field. He did make 8 of 10 free throws to finish with 10 points. …
Steve Blake is scoreless with eight assists since taking over the
starting point guard position following the Derek Fisher trade.
