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Jazz-Lakers Preview

Jan 10, 2016 - 7:30 AM The Utah Jazz haven't had too many problems overcoming a short-handed roster in many of their recent home games. It's been a different story on the road but a matchup with the lowly Los Angeles Lakers gives them a chance to end a season-worst skid there.

The Jazz will try to avoid an eighth consecutive loss away from home by sending Los Angeles to its fourth in a row overall Sunday night.

Utah (16-20) has won six of eight on its own floor with Alec Burks, Derrick Favors and Ruby Gobert missing most of those games. The Jazz, though, are mired in their longest road losing streak since March 16-April 12, 2014.

"Guys can still compete and they can still defend, and that's the hand you're dealt," coach Quin Snyder said. "There's no sense in lamenting it."

The Jazz got Gobert back in the starting lineup for the first time since Nov. 30 in a 98-83 win over Miami on Saturday. He ended an 18-game absence because of a knee injury in a 103-94 loss in Houston on Thursday.

Favors (back spasms) and Burks (leg) remained out while Rodney Hood (ankle) missed his second game this season. Gordon Hayward lifted his depleted team with a season-high 34 points.

"We've talked about trying to get better throughout whatever challenges we have with injury and fatigue on back-to-backs and playing through adversity," Snyder said. "I think our players could've been down. And we just tried to maintain the strength of character as a group and not let those things affect us.

"That's a credit to our players. ... I'm not sure I could do what they're doing right now."

D'Angelo Russell was limited to seven-plus minutes for the Lakers (8-30) in a 117-113 loss to Oklahoma City on Friday because of an ailing right ankle. The No. 2 overall pick suffered that injury while scoring a career-high 27 points in a 118-115 defeat in Sacramento on Thursday.

Russell is considered questionable ahead of his first potential matchup with Utah. Lakers star Kobe Bryant has been dealing with a sore right shoulder but is deemed probable.

Bryant has scored a combined 47 points in the past two games despite that ailment but missed a tying shot in the final seconds Friday. Lou Williams had a career-high 44 points and is averaging 24.5 on 50.0 percent shooting in his last six contests.

He has also connected at 41.5 percent from 3-point range and gone 44 of 48 from the line. Williams converted all 15 of his free throws against the Thunder.

"My game has evolved over the years. I'm not as athletic as I used to be. I can't play above the rim like when I first came into the league," he said. "(After an ACL tear in 2012-13), I started to learn how to draw fouls, how to create contact and use my reputation to bait guys to get those fouls. That's one of the things I've been able to bring here."

Williams totaled 30 points in his two games against Utah last season after averaging 20.3 in his previous six matchups. Roy Hibbert had a combined 51 points in his two meetings in 2014-15 while with Indiana but is averaging a career-low 6.8 in his first season with the Lakers.

Hayward is averaging 23.5 points and shooting 52.5 percent in his last four games against Los Angeles.