ENCOURAGING OPENER IS HISTORY LAKERS HIT FRANCHISE LOWS IN LOSS TO JAZZ UTAH 104, LAKERS 78.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

SALT LAKE CITY - The only way the second night of the Lakers' season could have gone any worse would have been if the Utah Jazz's meddlesome mascot, Bear, got on the phone for another prank phone call from Karl Malone.

That was last season, when the Jazz searched for any psychological edge against a Lakers team stocked with four future Hall of Famers and paid a $15,000 fine for the poor taste with which they did so.

This time, Utah used its home opener to stomp what remains from that team, plain and simple, on a historically bad Wednesday night at Delta Center.

Flirting with a franchise record for fewest points, the Lakers instead settled for setting new marks for the fewest field goals, fewest assists and worst shooting percentage in a game, the bottom line on a 104-78 loss.

``For us, it's a learning experience,'' Kobe Bryant said. ``It's no more, no less than that.''

Brian Grant added: ``We just didn't match their intensity. They got every loose ball, they got every offensive rebound, they made things happen out there with hard cuts. By the time we matched it, we were down 25.''

Bryant took care of the fourth-quarter intrigue, making two free throws with 3 minutes, 26 seconds remaining to ensure the Lakers would not break their all-time low of 70 points scored in a game, set two years ago in Cleveland.

The Lakers still rewrote their record book in three places, with just 20 made field goals and seven assists. They went 20 of 68 from the field for a 29.4 shooting percentage, also an all-time record.

``We ran into a buzz saw,'' Lakers coach Rudy Tomjanovich said.

One set of back-to-back games down, the Lakers figured out little concerning their identity. They never trailed Tuesday against the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center, then never led against the Jazz some 24 hours later.

They also have the Western Conference favorite San Antonio Spurs coming to town Friday night.

Bryant got hot in the third quarter, scoring 17 points, but it was too little, too late. He led the Lakers with 38 points but made just one of his first eight shots, backing in Raja Bell for his only field goal of the first half.

If Bryant was looking for a lesson in playing with nine new teammates, sans Shaquille O'Neal, he got it Wednesday. With the Lakers out of sync all night, Bryant took 21 shots, made nine, and had but a single assist.

``The guy's just got heart, and we had to do something,'' Tomjanovich said of Bryant. Lamar Odom was the only other Laker in double figures, with 14 points.

The team that so easily took care of Denver on Tuesday couldn't even get past Andrei Kirilenko's right and left hands Wednesday. Kirilenko finished with eight blocks and 16 points.

Of the Lakers' 33 shots in the first half, Kirilenko got a piece of five of them. Utah blocked 14 shots and scored 18 second-chance points. Carlos Boozer led the Jazz with 27 points and 11 rebounds.

``I think Kirilenko set the tone early with the blocks,'' Tomjanovich said. ``We made some aggressive moves to the basket, and he erased them and got the momentum going.''

The night started out badly - with Kirilenko dunking home a Gordan Giricek miss while being fouled by Chris Mihm - and deteriorated. Even Phil Jackson might have felt the need to take a timeout, as Tomjanovich did not even three minutes in.

Caron Butler shot just 1 of 8 for the game, and Kareem Rush was 0 for 4 coming off the bench. The Lakers attempted to rally in the fourth quarter with a lineup of Tierre Brown, Luke Walton, Brian Cook, Odom and Bryant on the floor.

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

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The Lakers' Kobe Bryant made 9 of 21 shots for 38 points Wednesday, and had one of the Lakers' seven assists on a day the team made just 20 shots.

Douglas C. Pizac/Associated Press

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