Jeremy Lin Struggles, Jordan Clarkson Soars High as Lakers Beat Jazz

Behind another career night by rookie point guard Jordan Clarkson, the Los Angeles Lakers (15-41) cruised to their second straight win after defeating the Utah Jazz (21-35) 100-97 on Wednesday at the Energy Solutions Arena.

Clarkson, the 46^th overall draft pick out of Missouri last year, poured in a new career-best 22 points on 10-for-16 shooting with four rebounds and three assists in 34 minutes of action. Wayne Ellington recorded 15 points and 10 rebounds while Jordan Hill tallied 16 points off the bench, but the point guard served as the driving force behind the Lakers' 15^th win of the season.

Averaging 8.2 points on 42 percent shooting, Clarkson has been super since he was inserted into the starting lineup by head coach Byron Scott following Kobe Bryant's season-ending shoulder injury.

His strong play attracted several suitors days leading up to last week's trade deadline, but the Lakers front-office made it clear right away that they were not going to trade away the young playmaker.

"I'm just trying to prove people wrong," Clarkson said in an interview with ESPN. "I've got a chip on my shoulder every time I step on the court. I was just playing aggressive. We were getting stops on the defensive end and getting out and making plays in transition. Just kind of one of those days where it was going for me. I was getting to my pull-up jump shot and it started falling for me."

Fresh from two huge wins against Western Conference elites Portland Trail Blazers and the San Antonio Spurs, the Utah Jazz started the game strong and took a six-point lead at the break. With Rudy Gobert manning the middle, Utah appeared on their way to a third straight win after building a nine-point lead at the end of the third.

But the Lakers won't back down without giving a fight. Led by a hot-shooting Clarkson along with excellent defense, the visiting team made a furious rally in the fourth and then knocked down big shots late to pull off only their seventh win on the road.

Jeremy Lin, who is averaging at least 20 points on 67 percent shooting in the past two games, had a bad shooting night as he finished with 8 points on 3-for-12 shooting in 24 minutes of action.