Lakers improve to 3-4 with 108-94 preseason win over Utah Jazz

By Eric Pincus

Oct. 22, 2013 10:08 PM PT

The Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 108-94 on Tuesday night at Staples Center in their seventh game of the preseason.

Jordan Farmar scored 20 points off the bench on five-of-seven shooting, and had a leaping block of Utah’s 7-foot-1 Rudy Gobert. The 6-foot-2 Farmar played 24 minutes off the bench behind Steve Nash, who was given an easy night (15 minutes) by Coach Mike D’Antoni.

Lakers forward Wesley Johnson had his best game of the preseason, scoring 14 points, all in the first half.

The Jazz scored the game’s first nine points before the Lakers got on the board, eventually building up a 12-point lead.

The Lakers responded with a 23-point turnaround, going up 64-53 midway through the third quarter.

Brian Cook, a former Laker, led the Jazz with 18 points. Derrick Favors notched a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

The Lakers played without Chris Kaman, who has been out the past few days battling gastroenteritis. Shawne Williams was given the start at power forward with Pau Gasol sliding up to center.

D’Antoni is still considering the Gasol-Williams tandem as a possible starting unit during the regular season -- with Kaman off the bench.

“We’re just going to see if it works,” D’Antoni said before the game. “See if they can hold their own being posted up, see if it spreads the floor, see if it helps Pau’s game, see how the interaction is and see if it’s better to start with it or play with it during the game. That could be an ongoing process for a while.”

Starters Nick Young, Williams and Gasol each scored nine points. Jodie Meeks contributed 15 off the bench.

With the win, the Lakers improve to 3-4 through the exhibition season.

The Lakers and Jazz meet again on Friday in Anaheim in the Lakers’ preseason close-out. The Lakers’ regular season starts on Oct. 29 at home against the Clippers.

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Email Eric Pincus at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.