If anyone on the Los Angeles Lakers was out to disprove Kobe Bryant's assertion that none of them is ready to carry his torch when he retires eight games hence, well, they didn't make the strongest case Monday night.
The Utah Jazz handed the Lakers a beatdown of biblical proportions, blowing them out 123-75. The 48-point margin equals the worst loss in Lakers history, and also the biggest win in Jazz history.
Bryant may have been feted by the Utah fans, but he didn't do himself or the Lakers any favors. He shot 1-of-11 from the field and 0-of-4 from range, finishing with just five points and two assists in 28 minutes. Los Angeles was outscored by 44 points in those minutes, the worst single-game net rating of Bryant's career. The margin of defeat was also 12 points worse than any he'd ever experienced.
The Lakers as a team shot 30.6 percent from the field. Their starters were worse, combining to shoot 12-of-51 (23.5 percent). They were outscored by at least eight points in every quarter, and from the 7:43 mark of the first frame, they were never within single digits.
And all this on head coach Byron Scott's birthday.
"Every game you play, there's something to play for, and pride might be the biggest thing," the now-55-year-old said after the game, according to Lakers Nation's Serena Winters. "You've got to show this organization that you deserve to be here and you understand what wearing that purple and gold is all about.
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"I don't think a lot of guys in that locker room understand that."
On the other side, it was all sunshine and rainbows. Second-year shooting guard Rodney Hood had the half of his life, roasting Bryant and helping the Jazz build a 27-point halftime lead by hitting eight threes and scoring 30 points in the first two quarters. That was just two points fewer than the Lakers starters managed in the entire game. Shelvin Mack was a plus-49 in 29 minutes.
While the Lakers fell to 15-59 to further consolidate their stranglehold on the second spot in the draft-lottery order, the Jazz improved to 37-37 - back to .500 for the first time since Feb. 23 - and put a full game between them and the ninth-place Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference playoff chase.
