Kobe Bryant puts in the time to help Lakers finish off Jazz
Reporting from Salt Lake City -- The two Western Conference playoff games in Utah meant big minutes for Kobe Bryant.
Bryant might not have known before Game 4, before the close-out game against the Jazz on Monday night at Energy Solutions Arena that Lakers Coach Phil Jackson was going to play him so much.
But Bryant was more than willing to log the 42 minutes and nine seconds it took for him to help deliver the Lakers past the Jazz, 111-96.
He had 32 points on 11-for-23 shooting, helping the Lakers sweep the Jazz, 4-0, in the conference semifinals.
Bryant played 43:27 in Game 3, which was a one-point, last-minute victory for the Lakers.
“You approach it much the same way,” Bryant said. “The thing about close-out games, you have a tendency to lose focus. It was important for us just to maintain what we’ve been doing, the attention to detail that we’ve been doing. That’s really the key, is just to stay steady. We did that.”
The Lakers now will play the Phoenix Suns in the conference finals.
Games 1 and 2 of the series will be Monday and Wednesday nights, respectively, at Staples Center.
The Lakers won the season series, 3-1.
The Suns got to the conference finals by sweeping the San Antonio Spurs.
“We’re familiar with them as well,” Bryant said about playing the Suns. “The difference in how they played when we played them in the regular season and how they play now is just confidence. I think they believe in what they are doing.”
The Lakers have won six consecutive games.
They lost seven of their last 11 regular-season games.
Something seems to have clicked for the Lakers in the playoffs.
“We just got better,” Bryant said. “We just continued to work. We improved as a ballclub. That’s about it.”
Though the Lakers swept the Jazz, Bryant said it didn’t feel that easy to him.
Bryant knew that Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan would have his team ready to play.
“Anytime you play a Sloan team, you’re going to feel it after every game,” Bryant said. “Physically, you are going to feel it. His team competes, they play hard and they are physical.”
twitter.com/BA_Turner
Buy Lakers playoff tickets here
Clicking on Green Links will take you to a third-party e-commerce site. These sites are not operated by the Los Angeles Times. The Times Editorial staff is not involved in any way with Green Links or with these third-party sites.
All things Lakers, all the time.
Get all the Lakers news you need in Dan Woike's weekly newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
