Bryant, Odom help Lakers edge Jazz to take series lead
Posted: Thu May 15 2:15 AM
Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Kobe Bryant, bad back and all, scored 26 points, doled out seven assists, and grabbed six rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers held off the Utah Jazz, 111-104, to take a three-to-two lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.
Lamar Odom had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who will try to advance to the conference finals with a win in Utah. Game 6 is scheduled for Friday night in Salt Lake City. To do so, the Lakers will have to reverse the incredible string of home-court dominance in this round of the playoffs.
The Lakers improved to 5-0 at home in playoffs, and, coupled with the Celtics' win over the Cavaliers in Boston on Wednesday, home teams are a commanding 19-1 in the second round.
Pau Gasol added 21 points, eight assists, and six boards for LA.
Deron Williams scored 27 points and tallied 10 assists for the Jazz, who were always in striking distance, but never led. Carlos Boozer had 18 points and 12 boards on 6-of-16 shooting, and Mehmet Okur added 13 points and 13 boards for Utah.
In the fourth quarter, as in the third, the Jazz were able to pull even with the Lakers, but couldn't edge in front.
"Coming down the stretch we just couldn't seem to score, even though we got the ball inside. We had some opportunities," said Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan.
The LA lead stood at 101-96 after two Derek Fisher free throws at the 2:43 mark, but Sasha Vujacic earned a technical foul for trash-talking Kyle Korver, and Korver sank the free throw to make it a four-point game. Williams then drained a three just before the shot clock expired to again pull the Jazz within one, at 101-100.
Vujacic shot 1-for-11 on the night, 1-for-8 from behind the arc.
"That was the best matchup I could get. I wasn't happy with how Sasha played, but I liked the matchup," said Lakers head coach Phil Jackson when asked why he stayed with Vujacic in the fourth quarter.
Utah could never get the defensive stop it needed after cutting its deficit to one, however, and an Odom dunk put LA back up by three. An Okur putback made it 103-102 with 1:18 to play, but Gasol dropped in consecutive buckets, sandwiching Okur's miss on a wide-open three-point look. Gasol's second basket, a putback of another Vujacic missed three, gave LA a 107-102 lead with 20.5 seconds left. Okur had him boxed out on the play, but appeared to dive and draw a foul, giving Gasol a clean shot at the rebound.
"Gasol was wide open, I don't know what happened," said Sloan. "I'll have to see it on the film."
Williams missed a three at the other end, and Bryant sealed the win at the free throw line.
"We got to the foul line in the fourth quarter," said Jackson. "Our bench came in and gave us some offense in the fourth quarter, which was the difference."
Showing no ill effects from the back injury he suffered in Game 4, Bryant drained a three to start the game, and a three from Fisher gave the Lakers an early 8-2 lead. Ronnie Brewer powered the Jazz early, scoring their first eight points.
Vladimir Radmanovic provided the Lakers with an offensive spark later in the frame, drilling consecutive threes, the second pushing LA ahead 25-16 with 3:34 left. Korver came off the bench and canned a three for the Jazz, however, and Utah was able to trim to deficit to 29-26 after Boozer was fouled by Odom at the buzzer, and sank one of two free throws.
The Lakers opened up a 10-point lead early in the second quarter with a 7-0 spurt, and a Vujacic three put LA ahead 43-33 with 7:12 left. The Lakers lead reached 12, at 51-39, on an Odom layup with 4:31 to play. But an Okur three kick-started an 11-2 run, and a Williams jumper pulled Utah within 53-50 with 1:53 remaining.
Gasol scored six points in the last 1:19, however, and his putback layup in the final seconds of the half gave the Lakers a 61-54 lead heading into the break.
The Jazz quickly cut to within one point with an 8-2 push to start the third quarter, cutting to within 63-62 on an Andrei Kirilenko layup at the 9:48 mark. The Lakers pulled back away by five points, and the Jazz cut back to within one, setting the pace for the rest of the quarter.
Bryant scored the last six points of the quarter for LA, but a Ronnie Price layup with 8.4 seconds left tied the game at 81-81, which was the score as the pivotal fourth quarter began. Game Notes
Despite not getting the rebounds when it mattered most, Utah did outrebound the Lakers 44-34...Gasol blocked four shots...Fisher scored 14 points for the Lakers...Brewer finished with 16 points and five assists for the Jazz, and Kirilenko had 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting.