Rebounding, protecting leads need to be priorities for Lakers

The opportunity to take a 3-0 lead in the first-round series, to put the Utah Jazz in a vise grip, was there for the Lakers on Thursday night.

Instead, the Jazz turned the playoff tables on the Lakers, putting them in a tenuous position with Game 4 tonight at EnergySolutions Arena.

The Lakers lost Thursday because of poor rebounding, because they blew another lead and because Andrew Bynum was in foul trouble and therefore ineffective. The Lakers now lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.

“Until we’re able to win a game here, they still have their chances,” Pau Gasol said Friday. “That was the bad part about [Thursday’s] loss, that we couldn’t get the advantage when we had a really good chance to.”

There are several things the Lakers must clean up in Game 4.

* Rebounding.

The Lakers were outrebounded, 55-40, in Game 3. Utah’s Carlos Boozer had 22 rebounds. Gasol said the Lakers must “put bodies on people and really go after the ball.”

“If we take that away from them, they are really, really going to struggle,” Gasol said. “So if we can do a better job there and collectively make a conscious effort [that] this is what we need to do, we’re going to have a huge chance to win the game and get a good lead in the series.”

That would be wise, considering the Jazz is averaging 43.6 rebounds per game compared with the Lakers’ 36.

* Blowing leads.

This is a broken record, a broken record, a broken record. But in all three games, the Lakers have seen leads disappear. Only in Game 3, the Lakers lost all of their 13-point lead and the game.

“You’ve got to continue to do the things it took to get you that lead and don’t get away from them,” Gasol said. “That’s what we tend to do.”

The Lakers must continue to move the basketball, swing the ball to open teammates, move bodies and communicate on defense. “When we stop that offensively and then it carries over defensively, we lose those leads and we give the opponent an opportunity to come back into the game,” Gasol said.

* Andrew Bynum.

He has played in only seven games since returning from a torn ligament in his right knee. But the Lakers need their young center. He had five fouls in only seven minutes Thursday night.

In three games this series, he’s averaging only seven points, three rebounds and more turnovers (2.3) than blocked shots (1.3).

He’s not the most assertive person, but Bynum needs to demand the ball more down low and then deliver.

Utah had to be happy with its Game 3 performance for several reasons.

* Defense.

The Jazz limited the Lakers to 36.8% shooting. Utah threw double teams at and trapped Kobe Bryant into a five-for-24 shooting performance.

* Rebounding.

That has been Utah’s calling card all series, especially on offense, where the Jazz has collected 43 in three games.

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broderick.turner@latimes.com