CONSISTENCY ISSUES CONTINUE FOR LAKERS NBA: AFTER BIG HOME VICTORIES, L.A. LETHARGIC IN ROAD LOSS AT UTAH. UTAH 120, LAKERS 96.

Byline: Elliott Teaford

Staff Writer

SALT LAKE CITY -- Two steps forward, one step back.

The Lakers continued their meandering ways Friday night, wobbling this way and that during an unsuccessful attempt to achieve some semblance of consistency.

The Utah Jazz was without injured standouts Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur, but still managed to play a more complete game while routing the Lakers, 120-96, in front of a sellout crowd of 19,911 at EnergySolutions Arena.

Unlike their victories Thursday over the Denver Nuggets and Tuesday against the Seattle SuperSonics, the Lakers were unable to overcome a slow start against the Jazz.

Actually, slow isn't the best word to describe their 19-point halftime deficit against Utah.

Lethargic and pedestrian worked better in the final analysis.

"We were really slow, ineffective," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

"One of my assistants said we were as soft as Dairy Queen ice cream. They were just frolicking in the lane. Our big guys didn't step up and play and our guards didn't control the dribblers."

Kobe Bryant made a 10-foot jump shot to give the Lakers a 2-0 lead in the opening seconds, enabling him to pass former Jazz great John Stockton to move into 31st place on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 19,738 points.

And it was mostly downhill from there.

Bryant finished with 28 points to lead the Lakers (9-7), who had rallied from a 17-point deficit in the second quarter to beat the Nuggets on Thursday at Staples Center. They could not rally from a 28-point third-quarter deficit Friday, however.

Deron Williams led Utah with a career-best 35 points, most on drives past the Lakers' guards. Andrei Kirilenko and Paul Millsap added 20 apiece for the Jazz (12-5).

Kirilenko also had 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his third career triple-double.

The Jazz scored 70 points in the paint to only 40 for the Lakers.

"We want to play consistently, at least at one end of the floor," Lamar Odom said. "Right now, we're still trying to find it."

Utah shredded the Lakers' defense en route to a 70-51 lead by halftime. It was the most points the Lakers had given up in any half this season, topping the 65 the New Jersey Nets dropped on them in the second half Sunday at Staples Center.

The Lakers simply couldn't stop Williams.

Derek Fisher couldn't do it in his return to Utah.

Neither could Jordan Farmar, who countered with a career-high 21 points.

Nor could Sasha Vujacic.

Even Bryant took a turn or two late in the half.

"He's a great player, a fantastic player," Bryant said of Williams, who torched all comers en route to 18 points in 8-for-14 shooting in the first half.

Williams charged to the basket again and again, and the Lakers were powerless to halt him. He was a big reason the Jazz shot 58percent (29 for 50) in the first half.

The Lakers had no answer.

"It's frustrating because they outworked us," Bryant said.

Bryant scored 22 points, but no other Laker had more than Andrew Bynum's eight in the first half.

The Lakers shot 43.6percent (17 for 39), but that wasn't their problem. Their inability to play sound defense was their biggest shortcoming.

The Jazz scored 52 of its first 70 points in the paint. They were 1-for-4 from beyond the 3-point arc, which had to be counted as three of their worst possessions of the first half since the Lakers interior defense was so porous.

Utah was better off hammering the ball at the Lakers and taking advantage of all they had to offer nearer the basket. There was no reason to play on the perimeter.

Williams recognized that fact quicker than the rest of the Jazz, igniting his teammates with drives past Lakers defenders midway through the second quarter. He scored 15 points in the second, helping to turn a 30-22 lead into a 19-point advantage.

Meanwhile, Fisher misfired repeatedly while scoring three points in his first game in Utah since asking the Jazz to release him from his contract last summer so he could relocate his family to a city better suited to serve the medical needs of his infant daughter.

Last spring, Tatum Fisher was discovered to have a rare form of eye cancer.

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Photo:

The Lakers' Kobe Bryant drives past Utah guard Ronnie Brewer during the first half. Bryant led the Lakers with 28 points in their loss Friday.

Steve C. Wilson/The Associated Press