Another sluggish start dooms Utah

The calm before the (Lakers) storm found Jazz reserve forward Andrei Kirilenko quietly tucked in his corner in the cramped clubhouse reserved for the visitors at Staples Center.

He was flipping through a book between interruptions from reporters.

“Fiction,” Kirilenko said.

And the plot line? Something scary?

“Nothing,” he said, adding that it was just something to do to pass the time before tipoff.

Frankly, who would want to read something intimidating or scary before facing Kobe Bryant and Co.?

Non-fiction, Lakers style, around Staples Center is a lot scarier than fiction.

How about the Lakers shooting 86% in the first quarter on their way to a 119-109 victory over the Jazz in Game 2 of their playoff series on Tuesday night?

That made their hot start in Game 1 look positively pedestrian.

“We started the game a little bit sloppy,” Kirilenko said before Game 2 of Sunday. “At halftime, we talked about it a little bit and we analyzed what we’re supposed to do and we did way better in the second half.

“I think in order to win tonight, we have to be very concentrated from the beginning. Not let the Lakers jump on our back and get that lead. Kind of stay focused offensively and defensively.”

Despite those intentions, that’s what happened. The Lakers jumped on Utah, practically going for a piggy-back ride through the first half.

“It was a game they felt like they needed to win. They didn’t want to go down 2-0,” Lamar Odom said.

He called Utah “well-coached” and disciplined.

But that wasn’t enough, not even in this yo-yo of a Game 2.

“Our biggest problem is trying to handle them inside,” Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan said. “The people we have right now don’t have a lot of length. . . . There are a number of things we can do a better job of.”

And the much-talked about nastiness of the Jazz? Or the lacking of nasty?

“I didn’t mean anything derogatory,” Sloan said. “It can mean a lot of things.”

Said Kirilenko: “Everybody talking about nasty. Being nasty. In my opinion, basketball is not about nastiness. Just about being concentrated and focused on what you’re doing.

” . . . There are always ups and downs. We have to make sure our ups are way more than our downs.”

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Etc.

Matt Harpring, talking briefly before the game, looked like someone who had been suffering from a gastric situation.

The Jazz reserve forward missed Tuesday’s morning shootaround, and said he hadn’t been able to practice on Monday, either. Harpring played just 51 seconds in the first quarter and seven minutes overall.

Harpring said he was hit by a nasal infection last week and “got real sick.” A doctor prescribed antibiotics for him. He started taking them Wednesday and by Sunday his stomach was reacting poorly to the antibiotics.

As expected, Jazz center Mehmet Okur (right hamstring strain) did not play. He hurt the leg in the second-to-last game of the regular season and said he wouldn’t play until he was close to 100%.

Not close enough on Tuesday.

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lisa.dillman@latimes.com