This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Anaheim, Calif. • Kobe Bryant dropped 27 points on the Utah Jazz tonight. A game high. Ten more than anyone else on the court, for either team.But the Jazz left the Honda Center happy with what the team, and especially Gordon Hayward, did defensively on Bryant."I think that's as good as you can do on Kobe," forward Derrick Favors said of his teammate's efforts. "Kobe's one of those great players. He's not going to miss too many shots. The only thing you can do on him is make him make tough shots."Bryant scored 27, but he needed 23 shots to get there."He seeks contact, so it makes it difficult," said Hayward, who picked up four fouls in the process of guarding Bryant. "It's fun, though, to go against a guy like that. Although it's preseason, I need all the reps I can get. I can watch the film, see what I did well against him, see what I need to improve on."Jazz coach Quin Snyder called it a "great experience" for Hayward."He'll make you make a mistake," Snyder said. "You've got to guard him a number of different times in one possession. I thought Gordon did a good job. He fouled him a couple times, but that's something he can build on."Hayward himself lamented Bryant's 13 foul shots on the night. But Thursday's effort showed some of the advances Hayward has made since the first time he faced off with the future Hall of Famer."I'm a little bit stronger. I don't think he pushes me around as easily," Hayward said. "Just being able to have the experience guarding him is huge because he's really crafty and he's really sneaky. You've got to be able to try to stay down in his face and try to not foul him, which is tough to do."• Despite the blowout victory, Snyder wasn't pleased with the team's offensive effort. "I thought we were kind of sloppy to be honest with you," the coach said. "I thought the ball stuck a little bit. We had a fair amount of assists (30), but I wasn't as pleased with kind of our flow offensively. I thought there was too much dribbling."Added Hayward, "If teams try to take us out of the offense, we should be bam-bam onto the next read."• Hayward also wants to see some defensive fixes: "There are still things that teams score on the same action multiple times in a row and that's got to be cleaned up."• After getting pushed around and committing eight turnovers against the Clippers on Monday, rookie Dante Exum had 13 points, six assists and no turnovers tonight. "I thought he had his best game," Snyder said afterward. Exum will have a chance for some redemption against the Clippers Friday night, when the two teams meet up at Staples Center. It will be the Jazz's first back-to-back this year.— Aaron Falk