Lakers Eighth, Not So Great

The race for eighth place, if it can be called that in mid-February, is still being won by the Lakers, thanks to a compliant Utah Jazz team that sat out the first half, the Lakers more than happy to take advantage.

A game separates the Lakers from the All-Star break, and a game and a half now separates them from the Jazz after a 94-88 victory Monday at Staples Center ended a 2-6 skid.

There were chances to fall to ninth in the Western Conference as a 26-point lead almost evaporated, but the panic button remained safely encased in glass, to be used for another day, if at all.

Laker Coach Phil Jackson refused to call it an important game, saying it was one of many more “before the final bell rings,” but he was relatively pleased with a decent enough effort after so few of them in the last two weeks.

“We still have to drive ourselves and drive the team forward,” he said. “I don’t think we finished the game well, but a win is good for us at this particular time because it builds some confidence.”

Lamar Odom had 17 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and Kobe Bryant had 23 points on a slow shooting night in which he made six of 20 shots. He did set a career high with seven steals, benefiting from a woeful Jazz offense that was carefree with the ball and made only eight of 33 shots (24.2%) in the first half.

Not long ago, the Lakers couldn’t win games, let alone take a lead, going two long nights in Charlotte and Oklahoma City without ever being ahead. But they jumped on the Jazz early, leading the rest of the way after overcoming a 12-11 Utah edge.

Jackson predicted it would be a “mud-wrestling contest,” not naming names but not really needing to, with Greg Ostertag, Matt Harpring, Jarron Collins and Kris Humphries taking up space in the Jazz frontcourt.

But it was the Jazz that got stuck in the slop in the first half.

Utah made only four of 21 shots to start the game and trailed, 31-15, before Harpring hit a 16-footer with 8:13 left in the second quarter.

Andrei Kirilenko missed six of seven shots, Devin Brown missed five of seven and the Jazz bench missed nine of 10 in the half. The Jazz committed 13 turnovers and Bryant had six steals.

“I’m just being more aggressive defensively,” Bryant said. “As of late I’ve been really active on focusing on getting the ball back.”

The Lakers were even able to hold Bryant to 36 minutes after he’d logged 45 in consecutive games. The Lakers finished the first half with a lineup of Smush Parker, Luke Walton, Andrew Bynum, Devin Green and Ronny Turiaf, who was playing in his first home game seven months after having open-heart surgery.

“I thought we had a really good defensive first half -- turnovers, steals,” Jackson said. “It was a nice opportunity to get some of our younger players in.”

It wasn’t all bountiful for the Lakers -- Kwame Brown missed his first five shots and then fumbled away a pass from Odom that drew boos from the crowd -- but they took a 48-22 lead on Bryant’s three-point basket with 3:32 remaining in the second quarter.

Brown, for his part, followed up Saturday’s 18-point, eight-rebound effort against Memphis with no points and eight rebounds in 31 minutes.

“I wish I could count on Kwame for more consistency, but that’s like the alter ego,” Jackson said. “He was Jekyll tonight and he was Hyde on Saturday, or whatever.”

The Jazz rebounded in the third quarter, pulling to within seven, but Sasha Vujacic’s three-pointer with 0.5 of a second left in the quarter put the Lakers up, 74-61.

The Jazz had a better second half and managed to shoot better than the Lakers overall (40.6% to 40.3%), but the Lakers took the victory, against a team that had won four of its last six.