Alabama 68-60 on Monday night in the MGM Grand Main Event.Valpo will play BYU in the championship game on Wednesday.Peters made 7 of 12 from the field and all of his seven free-throw attempts. Jubril A

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Lakers began the game without four injured regulars, and lost a fifth in the second half. The Utah Jazz were merely without their coach and second-leading scorer.In a game defined by who was missing, Gordon Hayward and the Jazz continued to assert themselves in the Western Conference.Hayward scored 23 points and Utah overcame the absence of ill coach Quin Snyder for its sixth victory in seven games, 107-101 over the depleted Lakers on Monday night.Rodney Hood scored 16 points and hit two difficult shots in the waning minutes to keep the Jazz on track to win their only road game in a nine-game stretch. They made up for the absence of George Hill with scoring balance: seven players managed at least nine points.Veteran assistant Igor Kokoskov ran the Jazz for Snyder, who fell ill earlier in the day and decided he couldnt coach shortly before game time. Utahs bus also got stuck in traffic and arrived late at Staples Center.Its difficult, but to be a pro, you have to be there and be prepared for your team, Kokoskov said of his last-minute NBA head coaching debut. The team needs you, and you have to step up. Thats what we ask from our guys, and thats what you do as a coach.Players on both benches stepped into important roles.Lou Williams had 38 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers, who rallied in the fourth quarter and nearly stole a victory despite finishing their eighth loss in 11 games without a large chunk of their roster.Tarik Black sprained his right ankle in the third quarter and joined DAngelo Russell, Nick Young, Jose Calderon and Larry Nance Jr. on the sidelines as Los Angeles lost its third straight while playing its ninth game in 14 days. Injuries and a brutal schedule have conspired to slow down the Lakers encouraging start under first-year coach Luke Walton, but Williams led another thrilling rally.Its been tough, because were kind of short-handed right now, said Jordan Clarkson, who scored 17 points. It just shows we aint backing down from anybody, and we aint letting up. This time will pass and well get back to winning games.Williams scored nine points early in the fourth quarter, and Julius Randles layup trimmed Utahs lead to 98-95. But Hood nailed two tough shots during Utahs ensuing 9-2 run to ice it.Quin is our leader, so it definitely was a different situation for us, Hayward said after his eighth consecutive 20-point game. I thought Coach Igor and the rest of the staff did a great job.LOUUUUUTwo nights after scoring 40 points in Memphis, Williams put together the first back-to-back 30-point games of his 12-year NBA career. He also became the first Lakers player to score at least 38 points in successive games since Kobe Bryant in March 2013.When we need him, he has stepped up on the court, Walton said. That gives other people a lot of confidence.KOKOSKOVS TURNKokoskov got his first game in charge of an NBA team after a long career as an assistant with six franchises and as a head coach in Europe. The 44-year-old Serbian first arrived stateside in 1999 as an assistant to Snyder at Missouri.RON-RON RETURNSWith his top two point guards out, Walton came up with an unorthodox starting lineup due to injuries. Seldom-used veteran Metta World Peace joined a group with no players under 6-foot-7 as a counter to the Jazzs big lineup. World Peace became the 11th player to start a game for the Lakers this season. The 37-year-old veteran hadnt started since March 18, and he had appeared in just four of the Lakers previous 14 games.TIP-INSJazz: Kokoskov is the head coach of Slovenias national team in his spare time. He also spent seven years as Georgias head coach. ... Hill missed his third straight game with a sprained left big toe.Lakers: Calderon will be out at least two more weeks with a strained right hamstring. ... Russell will be re-evaluated Tuesday to determine how much longer he will be sidelined by a sore knee. He had a platelet-rich plasma injection in the joint two weeks ago.UP NEXTJazz: Host the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.Lakers: At the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. sWell Bottle Stockists . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. Swell Bottle Black . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. http://www.swellbottlesnz.com/ . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. Swell Bottle Nz 500ml . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. Swell Water Bottle Clearance . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. During last nights game he tweeted: "Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to (minor-league) Hamilton for David Desharnais please. LAS VEGAS -- Alec Peters scored 24 points, including three 3-pointers, and grabbed 10 rebounds and Valparaiso beat Alabama 68-60 on Monday night in the MGM Grand Main Event.Valpo will play BYU in the championship game on Wednesday.Peters made 7 of 12 from the field and all of his seven free-throw attempts. Jubril Adekoya added 16 points and Shane Hammink scored 10.After Alabamas Braxton Key hit a 3 to give Alabama (2-2) a 45-44 lead -- its first of the half -- with 11:50 to play. The Crusaders rresponded with a 17-6 run, capped by a Peters 3-pointer, to make it 61-51 with 2:51 remaining.ddddddddddddTwo free throws by Corban Collins trimmed the Tides deficit to four with 1:18 left, but Peters converted a 3-point play and Valpo (4-1) held on.Collins and Riley Norris scored 10 points apiece for Alabama. The Tide made of 9 of 28 (32.1 percent) second-half shots. ' ' '