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Los Angeles • As he was being helped back to the locker room last week, trainers flanking him and propping him up, a wave of fear overtook Rodney Hood.
"I was thinking worst-case scenario," the Utah Jazz shooting guard said.
But just a few days — and only one missed game — after landing awkwardly and rolling his right ankle, Hood was back in the starting lineup against the Lakers on Sunday. He played 32 minutes, the second most of any Jazzman, finishing with 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
"He obviously played really well," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said after the Jazz's 86-74 win. "During the course of the game, I felt like he hit big shots. He was able to create some shots and make some tough shots, and he did a really good job defensively. It's hard to play both ends like that against Lou [Williams]. Lou's playing great, and it's a really tough matchup."
"He's a fighter and I love that about him," forward Gordon Hayward said of Hood. "Obviously he still probably isn't 100 percent, and it's still hurting him. But for him to play like that says a lot about who he is as a person."
The second-year guard said his ankle felt sore after the game, but with a couple of days off before the Jazz take on Portland on Wednesday, Hood believed he would be good to go against the Blazers.
"I thought it was way worse," he said of the injury. "But it was great the test came back negative and I was able to heal quicker than I thought I would."
Rebounding rook
Forward Trey Lyles went scoreless in the second half of Saturday's game against Miami and had a goose egg in the points column Sunday against the Lakers, but that won't bother his coach much.
"Trey's confidence has continued to increase," Snyder said of the rookie forward this week. "I think the biggest thing for Trey is he's realizing he doesn't have to make shots to be an effective player."
Just 20 years old, Lyles is already one of the Jazz's most instinctual players on the court when it comes to making reads on offense. But Lyles has been particularly solid on the glass, grabbing 9, 10 and 9 rebounds in his last three games respectively.
Favors' back?
Derrick Favors traveled to L.A. with the team, but after trying to warm up his injured back did not play against the Lakers. Still, Favors looked a bit more comfortable on the court than he has in recent days and Snyder said the forward is "getting close" to his return after missing 10 straight games with back spasms.
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