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Russell OK After Fall, While Hibbert and Others Break Out

HONOLULU — For about 10 minutes, the collective thoughts of Lakers fans were on the same wavelength: “Not again.”

Almost an entire year since Julius Randle’s rookie season was ended just 14 minutes into LA’s season opener, second-overall pick D’Angelo Russell went down after a brutal fall in the first quarter of Tuesday’s exhibition that required help from teammates to walk the 19-year-old off the floor and back to the locker room.

Fortunately for the Lakers, Russell, who was hurt after contesting a shot by Rudy Gobert, was diagnosed with simply a bruised glute — an ailment that the team wouldn’t have kept him from returning if it were a regular-season game.

“I feel fine, man,” Russell said after the team’s 117-114 preseason loss to Utah. “I wanted to get back out there, but (head athletic trainer) Gary Vitti and the rest of the staff said they didn’t think it would be a smart idea. So I just ice and try to take care of it the best way possible. I’m trying to get out there as soon as possible.”

Russell and head coach Byron Scott aren’t sure if he will practice Wednesday or play in the team’s next exhibition in Ontario, California, on Thursday.

“I didn’t see exactly how he went down until halftime,” Scott said. “He took a pretty good, hard fall. I was just hoping it wasn’t anything broken. The way he came down, I could tell he was going to be sore.”

Bryant, Randle Put On Show
Right from the start, it was a vintage-looking Kobe Bryant who took the floor against the Jazz on Tuesday. The 37-year-old took the game’s first shot and swished it before following up two minutes later with a 3-pointer on his next attempt.

Bryant was efficient with his shooting and distributing, finishing with 13 points (5-of-9) and three assists in 21 minutes.

In spite of his own success, Bryant’s attention — like many others’ — was taken by Julius Randle, who put together perhaps his best showing in a Lakers uniform.

“He was excellent,” Bryant said. “He played extremely hard. He played extremely well. He put the ball on the floor, made plays, attacked the rim, offensive glass, moved his feet defensively. He played extremely hard.”

The Kentucky product gave the Jazz fits with his strength and motor, dotting the box score with each part of his game. Randle finished with 16 points (7-of-12), five rebounds, four assists and three steals in 26 minutes.

Bryant referred to Randle as “Lamar Odom in a Zach Randolph body,” and Roy Hibbert had even more praise for the 20-year-old.

“Julius is an animal,” Hibbert said. “He’s the future of this team. He’s a future face of the NBA. That boy can play. The things that he does at his size — dribbling the ball up the court, dunking — the sky’s the limit. I’ve never seen anybody like him.”

Hibbert Leads Effort
Despite the loss, the Lakers were encouraged by a much stronger showing than the one put forth in Sunday’s 90-71 loss to Utah. In particular, the 7-foot-2 Hibbert stood out in more ways than just height, as his 16 points and 11 rebounds fueled LA on both ends of the court.

Hibbert shot just 4-of-11 from the field, but consistently drew fouls (8-of-10 on free throws) and denied Utah on the boards with six offensive rebounds.

“I just wanted to be aggressive,” Hibbert said. “Win, lose or draw — it’s preseason, so you don’t really take too much of the wins or losses. It’s just how you play. Just playing with aggression and playing together like we did — I like how we played even though we lost.”

The first-year Laker also made a stand for one of his new teammates midway through the third quarter. When Randle was shoved by Trevor Booker, Hibbert confronted the Utah power forward. Then Booker struck Hibbert’s head, for which he received two technical fouls and an ejection.

“(That’s) NBA basketball,” Scott said.

Lakers Unable to Close

The Lakers’ offensive flow was much improved from Sunday, as they shot 43.4 percent (36-of-83) — a nice leap from the 28.9 percent (26-of-90) that they hit two days prior.

After falling behind by 19 points just seven minutes into the game, the Lakers managed to claw within 11 before surging past the Jazz in the second quarter. LA outscored Utah 24-14 in this frame, nearly taking the lead into halftime.

After controlling most of the second half, the Lakers led by six with 2:21 left in the game, but Utah stayed alive as Jeff Whitey slammed the game-tying dunk with 28.1 seconds to go.

The Jazz never lost their overtime lead, though LA brought the game within one point twice. Still, Lou Williams’ last-second 3-pointer was off the mark, giving Utah the 117-114 win.

Notes
Lou Williams led the Lakers with 20 points, while Nick Young pitched in 13. However, both players shot just 4-of-13 from the field. Williams did punish Utah at the foul line, hitting all 12 of his free throw attempts. … Alex Burks led the Jazz with 27 points, including 19 in the second half and overtime. Rodney Hood followed with 21 points off the bench. … Marcelo Huertas did not play due to a strained right hamstring. … A sellout crowd of 10,300 packed the University of Hawaii’s Stan Sheriff Center.