This night, the game did not belong to the Lakers' bench.

So many times this season, Lakers reserves Shannon Brown, Matt Barnes and Steve Blake have been the best substitutes on the court, leading many to say L.A. has the best bench in the NBA, far better than last season's group.

But during the Lakers' 102-96 loss to the Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena, it was Utah's bench that shined, that was the difference-maker.

After the game, after the Lakers had their five-game winning streak ended, Coach Phil Jackson went easy on his bench.

"There will be some tough times on the road," Jackson said.

Consider this one of those times.

Entering the game, the Lakers' bench averaged 32.1 points a game, 11th-best in the NBA. The Jazz's bench averaged 23.9 points, the 28th-best mark.

It was a different story Friday night.

Utah used C.J. Miles, Francisco Elson, Kyrylo Fesenko, Gordon Hayward, Ronnie Price and Earl Watson.

They accounted for 20 points on seven-for-20 shooting, 15 rebounds and seven assists.

More important, they brought energy to the Jazz when it was needed the most.

The Lakers' bench produced 13 points on five-for-21 shooting, with two assists and seven rebounds.

"We've seen what the Lakers' bench has been doing," said Price, who had seven points that included a big-time dunk. "We've seen what Shannon Brown has been doing. He's been having a great year so far. Steve Blake has played well. Those guys are good additions. They are not really losing much with those guys on the floor. It kind of gives our bench an opportunity to see where we are."

It was the Jazz bench that turned the game around.

The Lakers built a 19-point lead early in the second quarter, but the reserves couldn't hold that lead.

"We came out and we lost the lead, really," said Brown, who was two for eight shooting from the field. "We got [their bench] going, got their crowd going, got everybody going, really, in that second quarter. That's something that we can't do, especially when you're not knocking down shots."

By the end of the second quarter, the Lakers' lead was down to four points.

Price had all seven of his points in the second quarter. Watson had all eight of his points in the second. He also had four assists and three rebounds in the second.

"Our role is just to come in and try and bring some energy," Price said. "We have such a great team that we knew if we could bring some type of energy to kind of help us get back reasonable, that our first group can come in and handle it."

Price threw down a left-handed dunk over a standing Lamar Odom in that second quarter.

That play seemed to ignite the crowd.

"Earl made the pass and I jumped," Price said. "Before I knew it, I saw the rim and I was like, 'OK, I can try to finish this.' "

The Lakers dressed slowly after the game, all of them putting on jackets and hats because of the cold weather here.

For Blake, it was a colder shooting night.

He missed all seven of his shots, including four three-pointers.

It was something he wasn't happy about.

"Myself personally, I didn't show up," Blake said. "I didn't make the shots I normally make. It was just one of those nights. I got good looks. It happens. I'll knock them down the next time."

broderick.turner@latimes.com

twitter.com/BA_Turner

Reporting from Salt Lake City

The script was setting up perfectly for the Lakers, their protagonist finally alive after a moribund three quarters, just in time to save the night.

Then there was reality, Kobe Bryant unable to save his team after a ragged final minute involving too many entities to avoid a run-on sentence.

Ron Artest missed two shots, the shot-clock operator drew the ire of Lakers Coach Phil Jackson, and Pau Gasol changed up a play on his own, leading to a costly turnover in the Lakers' 102-96 loss Friday to the Utah Jazz in front of a crowd that went from ornery to overjoyed.

A five-game winning streak was halted, merely an afterthought for a team that held a 19-point lead in the second quarter but couldn't get out of its own way the rest of the night at EnergySolutions Arena.

Bryant had 31 points and was percolating in the fourth quarter with 14 in a row, but he couldn't catch up to an unexpected pass from Gasol near the top of the key with 1:05 to play, Deron Williams scooping up the ball and feeding Raja Bell for an easy layup and 98-96 lead.

"I made the wrong decision," Gasol said. "We talked about something on the timeout and I decided to do something different on the play. He wasn't expecting it. I was supposed to fake [the pass] and take it to the rim myself. Didn't happen."

Bryant called it a miscommunication and Jackson said it "changed the context of the game."

Jackson also wasn't pleased with an off-balance 15-footer hoisted by Artest with 52.9 seconds left — "We've got to go back inside at that time" — and voiced one other grievance from the final minute.

"The 24-second clock operator," he said, irritated by a stoppage in play because the Lakers were told the shot clock was "stuck."

"What was going on there? That stopped a [fast] break on our part. That slowed us down. [ Derek Fisher] had a nice rhythm going on a transition with a three-point deficit. It stops the play, starts us out of bounds. That's just not right."

The Jazz (12-5) didn't look right in the beginning, failing to stop pretty much every Lakers player except Fisher on the way to a 36-17 deficit.

But to use words that haven't been written often this season, the Lakers' second unit let them down, a cushy lead chopped up in surprisingly short order. The halftime score stood at 50-46, Lakers.

It only got worse for the Lakers (13-3), their shot chart as messy as ever going into the fourth quarter: Bryant was six for 17, Shannon Brown and Fisher were each one for six and Steve Blake was zero for six.

Meanwhile, Williams was crushing the Lakers in multiple ways, totaling 29 points and 12 assists and also raising Jackson's eyebrows for other reasons.

"He's tough and he gets away with a lot of stuff out there," Jackson said. "He did some things tonight that were very unusual. Fish couldn't run through the lane. His strength kind of kept us at bay."

But Bryant felt the momentum as the Lakers led by three during a timeout with 1:33 to play, even engaging in banter with a fan holding a sign that said, "The only thing bigger than Kobe's ego is the Laker payroll."

Bryant laughed and said, "It's huge," holding his hands around his head and sticking out his tongue.

On this night, though, Jazz fans had the last laugh.

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

twitter.com/Mike_Bresnahan

The Lakers aren't expected to sign a free-agent center to fill the gap between now and Andrew Bynum's return in the next couple of weeks.

The situation could change, but they've currently decided against adding a veteran big man in part because it would cost about $35,000 a week in non-guaranteed salary and another $35,000 in luxury taxes per week.

The Lakers have a $95.6-million payroll, the league's largest, and lost some depth last week when reserve center Theo Ratliff was sidelined at least three to five more weeks after surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee.

The Lakers' mild interest in Erick Dampier became even more muted because he wanted a guaranteed contract for the rest of the season, which he received this week from the Miami Heat. The Lakers also pondered veteran backups Jake Voskuhl, who didn't play in the NBA last season, and Paul Davis, who played two games for the Washington Wizards last season.

Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom have played extra minutes in the absence of Bynum and, to a lesser degree, Ratliff. Gasol played 45 minutes and Odom played 41 in the Lakers' 102-96 loss Friday against Utah.

"I don't expect anything to happen and if it does, so be it," Gasol said. "I always face reality. Sometimes it's not easy to play 40-plus [minutes], but I think we're managing very well. I don't feel over-fatigued or anything."

Bynum is still recovering from off-season knee surgery but might begin practicing next week. In fact, he worked out for an hour on the court before Friday's game, shooting from the outside and working on his post game while being guarded lightly by assistant coaches Brian Shaw and Chuck Person.

All done?

The cross-country banter that Lakers Coach Phil Jackson started earlier this week was finally ended Friday night in Utah … perhaps.

Jackson said he had "no idea" his comments about a possible coaching change in Miami would cause such a ruckus.

"I haven't been to the Sunshine State for a long time and I don't know what tickled their fancy down there so much about that statement," Jackson said Friday. "I didn't realize that Stan was that sensitive about the issue, and that's unfortunate."

Stan would be Orlando Coach Stan Van Gundy, who jumped to the defense of Miami Coach Erik Spoelstra this week after Jackson said Spoelstra might eventually be replaced by Pat Riley if the Heat didn't improve.

Van Gundy said at the time that Jackson's comments were "inappropriate" and "ignorant."

Turkey Trotters

For what it's worth, the Lakers' big men scored a rare three-point victory over the guards in the team's annual Turkey Trot scrimmage.

"For the second time only in the history of the game, the big guys won," Jackson said.

Odom, trying not to smile, said, "They played hard, but we were determined and we made the most plays down the stretch."

Neither Kobe Bryant nor Gasol played in the scrimmage Thursday.

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

twitter.com/Mike_Bresnahan

Times staff writer Broderick Turner contributed to this report.

Lakers tonight

at Utah

When: 6 p.m. PST.

Where: EnergySolutions Arena.

On the air: TV: Channel 9; Radio: 710; 1330.

Records: Lakers 13-2, Jazz 11-5.

Record vs. Jazz (2009-10): 3-1.

Update: Jazz guard Deron Williams stirred things up a bit when he said this season that he hates the Lakers. "They're good," Williams told the Salt Lake Tribune. "I hate them because they win all the time. They're a tough team. We definitely talk about it. It's not a secret. We hate the Lakers." The Jazz is in first place in the tough Northwest Division that also has Oklahoma City, Denver and Portland.

—Broderick Turner

Thursday, while so many around the nation and Southland were enjoying some turkey on Thanksgiving Day, the Lakers had a little practice, nothing serious, just enough to get a sweat and perhaps to get in a little trash-talking in the process.

The Lakers held a scrimmage that Coach Phil Jackson calls the "Turkey Trot."

It's something he has done since his days as coach of the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s and here with the Lakers.

"Instead of having a serious practice, we have a fun practice in which there is a lot of levity," Jackson said. "We still try and get something accomplished because that's part of what we do whenever we take the court."

Basically, it was players 6 feet 4 or under, or the "smalls," going up against the "bigs," the forwards and centers.

Jackson explained how it works.

"We put our bigs at guards and our guards at centers," Jackson said. "We let them play roles that they never get to play, but they still have to work it out in the offense.

"Last year, I think the … guys under 6-4 scored like 120 points. And our [bigs] got about 25 points, so it's really tough."

Lakers expect physical Jazz team

The Lakers know it will be all about business when they face the Utah Jazz on Friday in Salt Lake City.

The light practice Thursday, combined with no practice Wednesday, gave the Lakers time to heal their bodies and get ready for a physical game against the bruising Jazz.

"We just know when we go to see Utah it's going to be a real intense ballgame," Jackson said. "We have to prep ourselves for that physical nature and how they play it on their home court, the drive they have and how they are going to play."

Lamar Odom said the Jazz likes to pack the paint and run its offense inside-out.

Still, Odom said physical play is not something the Lakers shy away from — whether it's the Jazz or any other team.

"We can play any kind of style you want to," Odom said. "We've got different kinds of lineups for that."

Utah will put bodies on players and set hard screens.

"They are very physical," guard Steve Blake said. "That's the kind of players they have on their team. That's the type of game they want to make it. There are no cuts when they don't hit you. Offensively, they are always ducking in, trying to get their body on you to seal you. You've got to be ready for that."

broderick.turner@latimes.com

twitter.com/BA_Turner

Forget Miami. The Lakers might be starting a rivalry with Orlando too.

Sure, the teams played in the 2009 NBA Finals, but there hasn't been much fervor between them since then…until Wednesday, when Orlando Coach Stan Van Gundy said he didn't like Phil Jackson's comments on the Miami Heat coaching situation.

Jackson on Tuesday said he could eventually see Pat Riley coming down from the front office to coach the Heat if Erik Spoelstra can't reverse Miami's surprisingly poor start with LeBron James.

"To second-guess another coach and comment on a situation he knows nothing about, I think, it's inappropriate and it's also ignorant," Van Gundy told reporters. "I don't mean that commenting on Phil's intelligence, he's obviously a very smart guy. I mean it as ignorant — he doesn't know what that situation was and he doesn't know what that situation in Miami is now.

"I don't think that, unless their relationship's changed drastically, that he and Pat talk on a regular basis. So I doubt he would have any insight ever on what's going on in Miami."

Van Gundy stepped down as the Heat's coach in 2005 because of family and personal reasons, and Riley replaced him.

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade was also unhappy with Jackson's comments.

"The only thing surprising about it is a coach saying it about another coach in this league," Wade said to reporters. "I expect that from someone else to say it, but not another coach. It's unfortunate. But I guess Coach Jackson has earned the right to say what he wants, and he continues to exercise that right."

Jackson on Tuesday said if Miami didn't improve its play, "the weight's going to fall there."

He added: "It's easier to change coaches than it would be to change teams after they made all those player adjustments."

The Lakers did not practice Wednesday, and Jackson was not available for comment about Van Gundy's remarks.

Artest idling

The Lakers had just finished putting away Chicago on Tuesday, but Ron Artest didn't seem satisfied.

He sat out the entire fourth quarter while the Lakers went with a three-guard lineup, hammering the Bulls with three-pointer after three-pointer on the way to a 98-91 victory.

Artest wanted more action.

"I can't wait for a challenge. I'm telling you... I can't play any ball because these games are just ridiculous," he said. "I can't wait to play a team where I can strap up, put on my jockstrap and play some damn basketball. But it's fun. We are playing well. But it's been tough. We're up 30, 20 at halftime…I want to play basketball, I can't even play. But we've got guys, we've got a great team."

Artest made one of eight shots against the Bulls and scored only two points in 17 minutes, bringing his season average down to 8.7 points a game.

It's safe to say he was looking forward to the Lakers' game Friday at Utah.

"Utah's tough," he said, smiling. "They're serious. Definitely serious."

So are the Lakers, it appears, with plenty of depth and a 13-2 record despite the absence of Andrew Bynum.

The Lakers' victory over the Bulls added a slight historical context to a still-young season. They became the sixth Jackson-coached team to win 13 games before losing for a third time. The other five teams went on to win an NBA championship (1992, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2009).

The Lakers are also off to the third-best start in team history through 15 games, one behind the 14-1 teams of 2001-02 and 2008-09.

More reserve fuel

So much has already been made of the Lakers' reserves, but the Bulls saw first-hand what Shannon Brown, Steve Blake and Matt Barnes have done in just one month together.

The trio combined for 37 points and made nine of 17 three-point attempts Tuesday.

"Everybody in the league knows that their bench is like a transition team, where they get out in the open and try to shoot a lot of [three-pointers]," Bulls guard Derrick Rose said. "And they were hitting [Tuesday]."

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

Twitter.com/Mike_Bresnahan

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

It was only two baskets, but it was two big baskets, two baskets that pushed the Lakers forward and put the Chicago Bulls on their heels.

Steve Blake made just two field goals, but both were three-pointers and both were back-breakers for the Lakers during their 98-91 victory over the Bulls Tuesday night at Staples Center.

"He was good, wasn't he?" Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said about Blake, smiling.

Blake finished the game with six points on two-for-three shooting. But he made both of his three-pointers and he made them both in the crucial fourth quarter.

"He's a kid who doesn't look to shoot it, but he'll shoot it if it's available and if it's the right opportunity," Jackson said. "Both of them were. They were big plays."

The Lakers' lead was down to three points when Blake struck.

He made a three-pointer off a pass from Shannon Brown for an 89-83 Lakers lead.

"When Shannon swung me that first [pass], as I caught it, I could see that there was five seconds on the shot clock," Blake said. "So that's a time, even if the defender is there, I've got to get into a shot."

The Bulls called a timeout after Blake's shot to regroup.

After Matt Barnes made a three-pointer, Blake came up big again.

He made a three-pointer off a pass from Brown again for a 95-83 Lakers lead that forced the Bulls to call yet another timeout with 4:58 left.

All the Lakers on the bench came over to high-five and chest-bump with Blake after that dagger of a three-pointer.

"The second one was just in transition, and Shannon found me and I knocked it down," Blake said. "It's all about the opportunities.

If it's up to Jackson, Blake would take advantage of more of his opportunities.

Jackson has faith in the 6-3 reserve guard to shoot threes at any time.

"I thought he turned one three-pointer down at the top of the key," Jackson said. "He was open about a minute before his first three-pointer, and I kind of yelled at him, 'Take the shot if you're open.' He's a really good shooter."

Blake doesn't want to rush anything.

He has confidence in his shooting ability, but he would rather take his shots in the context of the triangle offense.

"I kind of wait for my opportunities," Blake said. "We have so much talent, I don't think it's good for the team for me to be rushing things and taking quick shots in the offense. Now, if I'm open wide in the shot clock, I'm going to take it."

broderick.turner@latimes.com

twitter.com/BA_Turner

Showing I'm as much in the little box we could call Lakerdom, or Clipper Nation, or fans of any team in any town, I didn't set out to do it.

I was thinking about Tuesday night's Lakers game against the Bulls, which I was assigned to cover, what it meant, what I could say about it when it struck me.

A 2-year-old boy died in Staples Center at a Lakers game not 48 hours before.

As storied as the arena has become in its 11 years, nothing that important ever happened there.

No NBA Finals game. No Bruce Springsteen concert. No Grammys.

I don't know how Lucas Tang fell to his death from a third-level luxury suite after Sunday's game. The only thing I know about Lucas himself is he was 2 years old.

What else do you need to know?

A 2-year-old died at a Lakers game.

It's one of those moments that puts everything in perspective...

That's what we always say, after which life goes back to the way it was, with everyone in Staples living and dying with Lakers' fortunes.

Today, like all days, you can go online and see athletes trashed, denounced and cursed and fans raging at each other on the athletes' behalf.

It's what we call "passion" and it lights up our lives. I make a nice living out of it myself.

I write stuff like that all the time ... people living and dying with their teams, the passion lighting up their lives ... and it's total bull.

We just saw living and dying. It has nothing to do with winning a game or an NBA title.

So we have moments of silence, as the Lakers had for Lucas before Tuesday's game.

We promise never to forget him and dedicate this and that to his memory.

It doesn't change the fact that Lucas' life ended, and his loved ones are living the nightmare of everyone with loved ones.

How can it be?

In any medium with a mass audience — basketball game, newspaper, TV network — something tens of thousands, or hundreds of millions care about as a pastime has impact exponentially beyond something a few people care everything about.

Thus, major league sports, with their worldwide impact ... and no importance at all, aside from the fact their incredible impact makes them an incredible economic force.

If hard questions must be answered about Lucas' death, it's not my place and beyond my competence, apart from the unasked question in everyone's mind.

There may be a parent somewhere who has never looked away for a moment and lost any of his children.

I'm not one. I lost my daughter, then about 6, for 30 minutes in the endless cruise at a water park, while she went to our prearranged rendezvous point, and left before I got there, and the park people told me they didn't make announcements.

Among the blessings my daughter brought us is her preternatural calm. She just went back to the endless cruise and rode her inner tube until I found her, or she found me.

For everyone who found their kids so they can take them to games, or just drive them to school, we're luckier than we know.

Remember that when you think of Lucas, and think of Lucas a lot.

mark.heisler@latimes.com