Jazz host Lakers in Game 6 of West semis
Posted: Fri May 16 10:50 AM
(Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Lakers attempt to advance to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2004, as they visit the Utah Jazz for Game 6 of their Western Conference semifinal series tonight at EnergySolutions Arena.
LA leads this best-of-seven series 3-2. If necessary, Game 7 is scheduled for Monday at the Staples Center. The home team has won all five games in this set.
In Game 5, MVP Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, grabbed six rebounds and handed out seven assists as the top-seeded Lakers knocked off No. 4 Utah, 111-104, in Los Angeles.
Lamar Odom had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who improved to 5-0 at home in playoffs. Pau Gasol added 21 points, six boards and eight assists in the victory.
Deron Williams scored 27 points and dished out 10 assists for the Jazz, who were always in striking distance, but never led. Carlos Boozer had 18 points and 12 rebounds on 6-of-16 from the floor, while Mehmet Okur added 13 points and 13 boards in defeat.
The Lakers have won five of their last seven Game 6s in the playoffs. They are 2-2 on the road in this year's postseason. LA has dropped three of its last four games then it has the chance to eliminate its opponent from the postseason.
The last time the Lakers clinched a playoff series on the road was in 2002, when they completed their four-game sweep over the New Jersey Nets in the NBA Finals.
The Lakers advanced to the 2004 West finals when they defeated San Antonio in six games, 4-2. They beat Minnesota, 4-2, in that round and fell to the Pistons in five contests, 4-1, in the NBA Finals.
Utah, which has won two straight Game 6s in the postseason, is 4-1 at home in this year's playoffs. The Jazz have captured two of their last three contests when facing elimination.
This is the fourth time the Lakers and Jazz have met in the playoffs. Los Angeles defeated the Jazz in seven games in the 1988 West semis. Utah knocked out the Lakers in five, 4-1, in the 1997 semifinals and swept LA in the 1998 conference finals.
The Lakers, who swept the eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets, 4-0, in round one, have been victorious in four of their last five trips to the semifinals. They fell in six games, 4-2, to the Spurs in the 2003 Western Conference semis.
In the regular season, Los Angeles won its first Pacific Division crown since the 2003-04 campaign, when Shaquille O'Neal was trying to lead the Lakers to their fourth title in five years.
Utah, which won its second straight Northwest Division crown during the regular season, has made it to the West semis for the second straight year. Last year, the Jazz knocked off the Golden State Warriors, 4-1, in this round and fell to the San Antonio Spurs, 4-1, in the conference finals. The Jazz are 6-6 all-time in the semifinals.
The Jazz defeated Tracy McGrady and the fifth-seeded Houston Rockets, 4-2, for the second straight year in the opening round of the playoffs.