Lakers follow their leader Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant stared down the crowd as if he were staring down his teammates.

He shouted into the cavernous arena as if he were shouting into a huddle.

"I love you," he screamed. "Now let's get this party started!"

And so they did, the Lakers, the fans, everybody following their leader these days into this growing notion of greatness.

Wednesday was supposed to be Bryant's MVP celebration but, typical of his MVP season, he shared it with everyone else.

Derek Fisher brought the streamers, throwing in 22 points on soaring shots that seemed to scrape the scoreboard floodlights.

Lamar Odom brought the stick to break the piñata, muscling inside with a sweat-stained shirt, a strangely fierce stare and 16 rebounds.

Bryant was, as usual, the candles, a constant burn of 34 points, eight rebounds, six assists, MVP, MVP, MVP.

Today -- and you knew this last bad metaphor was coming -- there is icing on the face of the Utah Jazz, who lost Game 2 of this Western Conference semifinal by a score of 120-110.

Utah also, incidentally, may have also lost a series that they now trail two games to none.

Even traveling back to the toughest homecourt in basketball -- they lost just four times there this season -- the Jazz are also surely carrying a sense of dread.

They're not playing that bad. They're not playing Denver dead. They pound hard and pass well and always stay somehow connected.

But still, it seems as if they never really have a chance. It seems as if the Lakers are operating at a different speed, with a different intensity, in a completely different league.

"We want to continue to get better and better, we don't want to look back," said Odom. "We keep trying to find a way to win, we keep striving for perfection."

At 6-0 in this postseason, they have it, and are playing like it.

Take the Jazz's last great threat, when Utah closed to within five points with 5:38 remaining in the game.

What happens? Kobe happens. The Lakers happen.

Bryant goes sprawling into the lane, throws a pass to Sasha Vujacic from his back, and Vujacic hits a jumper.

Carlos Boozer goes down the middle of the lane at the other end, throws up a shot that Odom blocks, throws up another shot that Pau Gasol blocks.

Back on the Lakers end, Odom whips the ball to Vujacic, who whips it to Fisher, who hits another sky-diving three-pointer.