Bynum doesn’t help much

Andrew Bynum didn’t run out of gas in Game 3. He didn’t play long enough.

Sore knee and all, he continued to struggle against the Utah Jazz, running into early foul trouble and never getting untracked Thursday.

He finished with four points and two rebounds in seven minutes.

Lakers Coach Phil Jackson, cognizant that Bynum totaled only 17 points and seven rebounds in the first two games, spoke of being surprised by Bynum’s stats.

“Yeah, I really am,” Jackson said. “He had some really terrific games for us coming back and playing well. He can perform better than he is right now.”

On Thursday, Bynum picked up a foul, missed a hook shot and moved too late to block Deron Williams’ driving layup attempt. And that was only in the first minute of the game.

Bynum picked up his second foul with 7:39 left in the first quarter and was replaced by Lamar Odom. He checked back in to start the second quarter but left again after picking up his third foul, a charge, with 10:17 left in the quarter.

Bynum was benched in favor of Odom at the start of the third quarter. He reappeared with 2:28 left in the quarter and picked up an offensive foul 13 seconds later. He smiled. It just wasn’t his night. He was removed less than a minute later when he picked up his fifth foul.

“I think he’s dealing with a small lineup, a different type of a team, some awful quick action coming at him,” Jackson said.

Bynum has also had trouble with his screen-and-roll defense, not to mention foul problems. Then there’s his right knee.

Bynum sat out most of Wednesday’s practice because of soreness in the same knee that caused him to miss 32 games because of a torn medial collateral ligament.

“I don’t think it’ll be an issue,” Bynum said. “I’m just going to fight it out, play, keep going. In the off-season, I’ll be able to train and get the strength back in the leg.”

Bynum will continue to wear a brace even though it seems to be rubbing on the outside of his knee.

Bynum said the brace “turns my foot in kind of pigeon-toed. It’s just a little bit weird. I’ve got to get used to wearing it.”

Now we know

Reserve guard Shannon Brown has been a pleasant surprise for the Lakers, coming on late in the season after being a bit player for Cleveland, Chicago and Charlotte for most of his first three seasons in the league.

Kobe Bryant thought he knew when the turning point took place.

“After the first day of practice [with Brown], when I told him to shoot the damn ball,” Bryant said. “The teams that he played with in the past, they didn’t want him to shoot, they wanted him to drive all the time. Here, it’s not like that. If you’re open, you shoot it. He obviously came here with a jump shot that nobody really knew he had because he didn’t have an opportunity to showcase it.”

Bryant gets emotional

Mike Krzyzewski, who coached Team USA to a gold medal last August, had this observation of Bryant when the team was training for the Beijing Olympics.

“We were in Las Vegas and the players had to try on their uniforms to make sure that they fit,” Krzyzewski told NBA.com. “They go into this room individually and they’re going to try them on and get tailored and Kobe comes to his uniform and it’s lying there and has his number and it says USA on it.

“And before he touches his uniform, he just stands there and as he’s standing there, he starts crying. And he starts having a few tears and the guy who’s helping with the equipment asks him what’s wrong and Kobe said, ‘You don’t understand. I’ve always dreamed of playing for my country. I’ve always dreamed of having the USA uniform on.’ ”

Times staff writer Broderick Turner contributed to this report.

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com