SALT LAKE CITY — Before their game Wednesday, Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike Brown remarked how easily Kobe Bryant had been scoring and in so many different ways.
Against Utah, with four or five players taking turns guarding Bryant, nothing came easy as the Jazz pulled off a 95-86 victory to drop the Lakers to 1-4.
“It’s tough for anyone to stop him one-on-one," Jazz guard Randy Foye said. “I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates. Me, Gordon (Hayward), Marvin (Williams), Mo (Williams), Alec (Burks). All of us. It worked well, but I’m lucky the game finished when it did because any longer and he was starting to get it going."
Bryant led all scorers with 29 points, 16 in the fourth quarter. But he shot just seven of 17 overall after entering the game shooting nearly 60 percent. He also was zero of four from 3-point range, and was only three of 10 after three quarters.
While the Jazz were limiting the Lakers to 34 percent shooting, Al Jefferson and free-agent acquisition Foye provided a 1-2 punch.
Jefferson scored 18 points and Foye added 17 off the bench on five 3-pointers, including three straight in the fourth quarter.
“Oh man, I was feeling it," said Foye, who finished five of nine from beyond the arc and made all of Utah’s 3s. “I was just trying to go out there and be aggressive. I’ve got to give a lot of credit to my teammates. My teammates found me at the right spots and I just knocked down shots."
Foye said the Lakers shouldn’t have been surprised that he was a dangerous 3-point shooter.
“They know me," he said. “Last year I played for the Clippers and had big games against them. They knew. But it was either Big Al with the layup or I get a 3."
The Jazz led by as many as 16 points early, but the Lakers were within five with 8:27 left before Foye hit three straight 3-pointers to give Utah a 79-68 lead with 6:40 remaining.
Jefferson scored on back-to-back baskets for Utah as the Jazz boosted their lead to 13.
Bryant’s 16-point fourth helped Los Angeles get within five, but his dunk with 12.5 seconds left was too little, too late.
“We’re all frustrated," Brown said. “I’m very frustrated too for the simple fact that I just don’t think we played the game like we talked about going in. We wanted to be the ones to hit first ... but we didn’t."
Utah, which beat Dallas in the opener only to lose three straight on the road, started fast and finished strong.
Utah held a 44-36 advantage in points in the paint and a 15-7 edge on the fast break.
The Jazz also forced 19 Lakers turnovers, including six by Bryant and five by Dwight Howard.
“A lot of it just comes from reading each other, getting in sync with each other," said Bryant, who was playing his 79th career game against the Jazz but only fifth with new teammate Howard.
Howard (19 points, nine rebounds) said the Lakers’ intensity was low.
Everyone acknowledged Utah is a different team at home.
The Jazz led by seven early as Mo Williams and Hayward started fast. Hayward left Bryant on the floor after stealing the ball from him at one end and dunking at the other for a 9-2 Utah lead.
The Lakers pulled within 19-17 on Pau Gasol’s jam off a pass from Bryant. But Utah closed on a 6-0 run to take a 25-17 lead, with a pair of baskets from Derrick Favors and a 17-foot jumper from big man Enes Kanter.
Also on Wednesday:
Nuggets 93
Rockets 87
HOUSTON — Ty Lawson scored 21 points and Kenneth Faried had 16 points and 16 rebounds to help Denver to a victory over Houston.
Suns 117
Bobcats 110
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Shannon Brown hit six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and finished with 24 points to lead Phoenix over Charlotte.
Heat 103
Nets 73
MIAMI — Dwyane Wade scored 22 points on 10-for-14 shooting, LeBron James finished two assists shy of a triple-double and Miami improved to 4-0 at home for the first time in franchise history.
Clippers 106
Spurs 84
LOS ANGELES — DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin each had double-digit points and rebounds while leading a dunkfest in Los Angeles’ victory over San Antonio, who lost for the first time this season.
Hawks 89
Pacers 86
ATLANTA — Kyle Korver scored eight straight points in a late 18-0 run as Atlanta rallied from 14 points down early in the fourth quarter.
Timberwolves 90
Magic 75
MINNEAPOLIS — Luke Ridnour had 19 points and five rebounds, and Greg Stiemsma got Minnesota’s rout started with six straight points to end the third quarter.
Celtics 100
Wizards 94
BOSTON — Brandon Bass scored five straight points in overtime, helping Boston win the back end of a home-and-home set with Washington.
Grizzlies 108
Bucks 90
MILWAUKEE — Zach Randolph had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Memphis shot 53 percent from the floor in a win over Milwaukee.
76ers 77
Hornets 62
NEW ORLEANS — Jrue Holiday had 14 points and 12 assists, and Philadelphia held New Orleans to its lowest point total ever.
Mavericks 109
Raptors 104
DALLAS — O.J. Mayo and Chris Kaman each scored 22 points as short-handed Dallas won its third straight.
Warriors 106
Cavaliers 96
OAKLAND, Calif. — David Lee played through an illness to finish with 22 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, and Golden State outlasted undermanned Cleveland.
Kings 105
Pistons 103
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — DeMarcus Cousins had 21 points and 11 rebounds to help Sacramento hold off winless Detroit.
