Notebook: Jazz 96, Lakers 87

By Andrew Aragon, for NBA.com
Posted Sunday February 5, 2012 1:46AM

THE FACTS: The Utah Jazz regained their edge -- and in the process handed the Los Angeles Lakers a stunning defeat.

Playing in a feisty and gritty manner that has helped them be successful for much of the season, the Jazz defeated the Lakers 96-87 on Saturday night. Al Jefferson scored 18 points and had 13 rebounds, and backup point guard Earl Watson engineered a fourth quarter push to put the game away for Utah. Paul Millsap had a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

The Lakers got 71 of their points from three guys. Kobe Bryant had 26 points, Pau Gasol had 24 and Andrew Bynum had 21.

QUOTABLE: "We found it (our edge). We have to have it. If we don't have it, we're a good team that can be beat at any given time. If we have it, we're a good team that can be great and we can beat great teams."
-- Jazz guard Watson on the difference it makes when the Jazz play with an edge.

THE STAT: The Lakers' depth issues, as well as Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin's trust of his bench, were magnified in Utah's victory. Utah's bench outscored Los Angeles' 49-12. Three Jazz reserves scored in double figures as Josh Howard and Derrick Favors each had 12 points, and Enes Kanter had 10. The Lakers' bench shot 4-for-18.

TURNING POINT: Lakers coach Mike Brown flipped out -- and it changed the momentum of the game. With Utah leading 72-68, Watson stole the ball from Gasol, and there was contact on the play. Watson then led the Jazz on a fast break and dished to Favors for a dunk. Brown erupted over the non-foul call, earning two technicals and an ejection. The sequence sent Jazz fans into a tizzy, and Utah went on to complete a 14-0 run. A 3-pointer by Watson capped the spurt, giving the Jazz an 83-68 lead with 6:18 left in the game.

HOT: Jefferson exorcised some Laker demons in the win. He had scored a total of 15 points on 7-for-33 shooting in two previous losses to L.A. this season. He bested both his point total and baskets made (8-for-17) in Saturday's win. Watson was questionable to play because of a severely sprained ankle he suffered against the Clippers three days ago, but managed to go. He played the entire fourth quarter, scored all of his eight points and dished six of his 11 assists in the final period. Favors had a solid game, shooting 6-for-9 while collecting eight rebounds.

NOT: Lakers point guard Derek Fisher shot poorly, going 1-for-6 while scoring two points. He lost out on some minutes to rookie Andrew Goudelock, who didn't fare much better. He shot 1-for-5 and scored four points. Los Angeles left its shooting touch in the locker room at halftime as it shot a miserable 27.8 percent in the second half. The Lakers scored one point in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter. Jazz point guard Devin Harris shot 0-for-6 and scored one point in 21 minutes. Harris' starting backcourt mate, Raja Bell, struggled as well, shooting just 2-for-10 and scoring five points.

QUOTABLE II: "If you would have seen his ankle this morning and how swollen it was. He said, 'I'll be alright' and I looked down at his ankle and it was puffy. That's just who he is. He's a true, true professional. He's a tough guy and he wants to be on the floor and help his team win. I know he's in pain and he fought his way through it. I have tremendous respect for the guy. "
--Jazz coach Corbin on Watson playing through pain.

GOOD MOVE: Corbin has played Watson for the majority of fourth quarters in several past games, but usually subs in Harris to finish them. Not this time. Corbin said he figured if he took Watson out, he wouldn't get him back in the game because of his ankle injury possibly flaring up. Sticking with Watson proved to be one of Corbin's best moves of the night.

BAD MOVE: Brown had a right to be angry over Watson's non-foul call against Gasol, but his reaction didn't help his team. On his way off the court, he told Fisher to "win the (expletive) game."

QUOTABLE III: "I was trying to give our guys some juice. I got techs. I shouldn't have gotten two techs. I put our guys in a deeper hole than we were already in, and that probably cost us the game. I apologized to our guys. I shouldn't have done what I did."
-- Lakers coach Brown on being ejected with 8:35 left in the game.

ROOKIE WATCH: Kanter gave the Jazz some important minutes, a durable defender against the Lakers' big bodies and a few baskets. He shot 5-for-9 and grabbed six rebounds in 17 minutes, and held his own in defending Bynum and Gasol.

NOTABLE: The Jazz are 7-1 when holding opponents to 90 points or fewer. The Lakers are 1-5 when scoring fewer than 90 points.

UP NEXT: For the Lakers, Monday @ Philadelphia, Thursday @ Boston, Friday @ New York. For the Jazz, Monday @ New York, Tuesday @ Indiana, Friday vs. Thunder.