Back to Salt Lake? Not so great

Salt Lake City has the Mormon Tabernacle, scenic snow-capped peaks and a clean, crisp feel to it.

Kobe Bryant doesn’t want to go back there, though.

“I love Utah,” he said, “but I’d rather not see it again until next year.”

Without disrespecting the most populous city in the beehive state, Bryant summarized what all the Lakers were thinking: End this thing now.

The Lakers hold a 3-1 series lead over the Utah Jazz and can close out their first-round playoff series in Game 5 tonight at Staples Center.

It should happen, and it probably will, though the Lakers don’t want to take any chances. They’re planning to get out ahead quickly, win for the 13th time in their last 14 playoff home games, and then turn their attention toward Houston or Portland. They have no desire for a Game 6 on Thursday in Utah.

“You don’t give them any life, any hope. Set the tone early and control the game,” Pau Gasol said. “Make the game yours, and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”

Unfortunately for the Jazz, Bryant said he would stick with the same mind-set that he whipped up into a 38-point, 16-for-24 shooting night in Game 4. Other than a woeful five-for-24 effort in Game 3, he had yet to make an imprint on the series until Saturday’s outburst.

“I’m going to continue to be aggressive,” Bryant said Sunday. “If they trap and double-team, then I’ll get my guys involved that way.”

Only eight teams in NBA history have lost a series after being up 3-1, but the Lakers hold the honor of being the last team to blow such a lead by falling to Phoenix in seven games in a 2006 first-round series.

Of course, those were the old Lakers, when Smush Parker was in their starting backcourt, and these are the new ones.

“We’ve been pretty good at closing out games,” Gasol said. “Last year we closed out every chance we got. This year, we’ll try to keep it consistent.”

The Lakers might have to do it without a small forward or two.

Luke Walton sustained a sprained left ankle in Game 4 and Trevor Ariza sprained his right ankle during pregame warmups, then aggravated it in the first quarter.

Ariza will be a game-time decision. Walton might not play at all.

“I’m more optimistic about [Ariza] than I am about Luke,” Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said.

Ariza looked as if he was favoring the ankle until playing better late in Game 4. Walton had his best game of the series, finishing with nine points, five rebounds and three assists.

The Lakers’ woes, however, aren’t nearly as bleak as those on the Utah side. In fact, Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan canceled Sunday’s practice a few minutes after Game 4 ended Saturday night.

The Lakers will probably cancel practice Tuesday if they win tonight, the better to rest weary bodies that are closing in on their 90th game of the season.

“We’re all aware that if you close the series early, you get more days of rest and that usually helps for the rest of the postseason,” Gasol said.

Before they rest, they need to win.

“There’s a sense of desperation that’s going to be on the Utah side and they’re going to make us have to work real hard,” Jackson said. “They’re not going to give it away.”

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Bynum biding time

Andrew Bynum has been a non-factor in this series, averaging 5.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.5 fouls a game.

He came off the bench in Game 4 and played only seven minutes, though Jackson said he planned to put Bynum into the game on two other occasions only to be preempted when the Jazz went with a small lineup.

“That puts a lot of pressure on him to come out and defend, especially when they go to their speed lineup,” Jackson said.

Still, Jackson acknowledged that Bynum would be needed later in the playoffs, perhaps as early as the next round, where the Lakers -- if they get past the Jazz -- would confront Houston’s 7-foot-6 Yao Ming or Portland’s two-pronged center position (Joel Przybilla and Greg Oden).

“Andrew’s going to be real important for us,” Jackson said. “We understand that and we’ll cover that when it comes.”

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Winter update

Longtime Lakers consultant Tex Winter, hospitalized Saturday in Kansas because of a stroke, has made slight progress and could be moved out of the intensive care unit today or Tuesday if his condition continues to improve, a team spokesman said.

Winter, 87, was in Manhattan, Kan., for a college basketball reunion when he fell in the shower and was transported to a hospital. Winter coached the Kansas State team that went to the Final Four in 1958. He is in his ninth season as a Lakers consultant.

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com