(Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah's All Jefferson drives past Pau Gasol during first half action in the Jazz Lakers game at the Staples Center in in Los Angeles, CA Tuesday, December 27, 2011.

Jazz host rival Lakers

The Salt Lake Tribune

First Published Jan 11 2012 08:40 am • Last Updated Jan 11 2012 08:40 am

The history between the L.A. Lakers and the Utah Jazz is rich, and for the most part bitter. Typically, Utah has battled to make the playoffs, only to be shown the door by the Lakers.

Wednesday at the EnergySolutions Arena, both teams renew a heated rivalry. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

Both teams have gotten off to shaky starts. The young Jazz (5-3) are undefeated in four home games, while the veteran Lakers (6-4) are 0-3 away from Staples Center.

Winning regular-season games at home against teams such as Milwaukee and New Orleans is meaningless compared to knocking off Kobe Bryant at ESA.

Last time out for the Jazz, Gordon Hayward made a go-ahead free throw with 11 seconds remaining to move Utah by the Warriors 88-87 on Saturday night. Hayward scored a team-high 18 points as the Jazz came from behind in the final minutes to collect their first road win this season.

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