"He did a great job on both ends of the floor," Corbin continued, "not only making plays offensively, but I thought he did a great job defensively playing Kobe, not being afraid of who he is and just doing a good job of staying down, staying in front — between him and the basket."
Hayward received all sorts of advice from his elders for defending Kobe on the last play.
"Big Al and Paul (Millsap) came up to me right away and said, stay down on his fake," Hayward said. "And it's tempting. He puts the ball right there and it's a really good shot fake and you want to go for it. But (I tried to) stay disciplined and stay down and force a tough look."
Hayward admitted he didn't touch the ball when Bryant lost it, but he was in the right place at the right time.
And that's seemed to be the case more often for the youngster who seems to be growing up on a game-by-game basis for the Jazz as his rookie season progresses.
"Confidence is the big key for him because he's got the skills. He got a high IQ of the game," Jefferson said. "When he get his confidence he's going to be an unbelievable player, and he's showing it now. "
Favors also had a strong finish with six fourth-quarter points. Millsap also had 22 points for the Jazz, who improved to 37-41 with the rare win over the 55-22 two-time defending champs.
"We did a great job of bringing a lot of energy and they really played hard concentrating on what we wanted to get done, executing our offense, and putting pressure on them defensively," Corbin said. "Down the stretch the rookies did a good job of just fighting hard in there. It's a great win for us."
Email: jody@desnews.com
twitter: DJJazzyJody
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14



Did Hayward just became the go to guy?
Those of you who think Kobe was just off today should remember that two possesions in the 4th when CJ guarded Kobe. Kobe made 5 points. Then they put Hayward back on Kobe and Hayward pretty much shut More..
@CJ Miles
Obviously Kobe will never admit it, but Kobe had no where to go. He can't shoot over Hayward, Hayward's got 2 inches on him. Even the fade-away didn't work. So I think Kobe tried to go for a lay-up type of thing or a pass, but More..
@CjMiles
Don't make that excuse for CJ...matter of fact stop making excuses for him. Hayward is WAY better than CJ right now as a rookie, yes its true
Hayward has figured out how to play in this offense, not to mention he plays More..