SALT LAKE CITY _ For a change, the start after halftime wasn't the problem.
For a change, the Los Angeles Lakers came into the third quarter with some energy, turning a three-point deficit into a four-point lead.
Then the rerun began. A day after a lackluster third-quarter start at Portland doomed the Lakers, the third quarter bit them again, just a little bit later. The Jazz mounted a 16-0 run as the Lakers failed to score for six of the third quarter's final seven minutes, and rode that lead to a 96-88 win Thursday night.
It was the third straight loss for the Lakers, and their eighth in nine games.
All-Star Gordon Hayward had 24 points to lead all scorers, and Jazz center Rudy Gobert had nine points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots. Four Lakers hit double figures, with Ivica Zubac getting 16 points and 10 rebounds, but for the second time in as many games, the only starter to do so was Nick Young.
Rookie Brandon Ingram (0 for 6 from the field) and veteran point guard Jose Calderon each went scoreless.
Despite committing eight turnovers in the first half to Utah's four, the Lakers (16-34) trailed by three at the break, at 44-41. Zubac, Jordan Clarkson and Young each scored eight points in the first half, while Hayward scored 10 by the break.
The Jazz (30-18) led 44-41 heading into the third quarter, and Walton sent back his starting lineup of Calderon, Young, Timofey Mozgov, Luol Deng and Tarik Black to start the second half, hoping for a better result than the night before.
He got one.
The Lakers took a 56-52 lead, with the help of a very active Mozgov, who had three rebounds, a blocked shot, seven points and a steal in the first five minutes of the half. His dunk with 6:57 left in the third quarter proved a turning point. And not a good one for the Lakers.
For the next six minutes and nine seconds of playing time, the Lakers couldn't score. The period featured three blocks by Gobert, four Lakers turnovers and an emphatic alley-oop dunk from Utah's Joe Ingles to Hayward.
The bleeding finally stopped when Zubac made two free throws with 48.5 seconds left in the quarter, but by then the damage was done.
While the Lakers got to within four points late in the fourth quarter, on a steal and layup by Clarkson, they never really got close enough to threaten the Jazz.
The Jazz answered right back with a three-pointer by George Hill to take an 88-81 lead. Lou Williams scored next, but again the Lakers couldn't get a stop. Hayward made two free throws with 1:42 left in the game to give the Jazz a 90-83 lead, and Walton's team fell to 5-21 on the road.
