How to beat L.A.: Don't worry, be happy

The Jazz have shown they can’t beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs, losing each of the last three years. They have lost eight straight playoff games at the Staples Center. In fact, they haven’t consistently been able to beat the Lakers anywhere.

Going into Tuesday’s game they had won just seven of the last 30 against the Lakers, playoffs included.

So their 86-85 win did have a truly baffling twist: They finally hurt the Lakers when it didn’t really matter much to the Jazz.

Maybe they’re on to something.

Out of the playoff race, slowed by injuries, the Jazz won a regular season road game against L.A. for the first time since 2006. The headline on ESPN.com said “Jazz hurt Lakers hopes.” The Los Angeles Times headline said: “There’s only one word for Lakers’ 86-85 loss to the Jazz: ‘Inexplicable’”

The loss dimmed L.A.’s chances of finishing as the top team in the Western Conference.

Gordon Hayward’s 22 points were certainly good news for the Jazz, who do have a decent group of young players. But I wouldn’t yet consider Tuesday’s win a talking point. What does the Jazz win tell us? Not much, really. It doesn’t yet mean the Jazz are on the rebound and it doesn’t say they’ll ever be able to beat L.A. consistently, as long as Kobe Bryant is around. The Jazz were losing to the Lakers when they had far better teams than this.

It mostly says it’s an 82-game schedule and surprise happens, under the most unexpected circumstances. And that maybe the best way for the Jazz to beat L.A. is to catch the Lakers on a night when one of the teams — it doesn’t matter which — just doesn’t care.