Lakers defeat Jazz, 111-103, in Game 2

Do the Lakers have the Jazz number at Staples Center? Well, yeah, pretty much.

On Tuesday night the Lakers looked mostly impressive with strong inside play and great leadership and shooting by Kobe Bryant to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven series with a 111-103 win. It marks the Lakers’ 16th consecutive victory over the Jazz at Staples Center.

Certainly, any questions about Bryant’s health were dashed with a 30 point performance, shooting 10 of 22 from the floor and 10 of 11 from the free-throw line. He also played 42 minutes, a lot for a player people thought needed some rest.

But, Bryant will get plenty of off time as the next game isn’t until Saturday in Salt Lake City.

Paul Gasol was also exceptional with 22 points and 15 rebounds. Andrew Bynum added 17 points and Ron Artest had 16.

The Jazz got a good game from Paul Millsap (26 points) and C.J. Miles (20) and Carlos Boozer (20).

With about three minutes to play the Lakers had still not completely put the game away with only a seven point lead with about three minutes to play.

But Bryant hit a two and followed with a slam and it was clear the Laker lead would hold up over the last two minutes. Not that the Jazz gave up closing it to six with less than a minute to play. Again, the Jazz had to foul Bryant and he put the final touches on the win with two free throws.

-- John Cherwa

Lakers 103, Jazz 96 (Fourth quarter, 2:55)

The Lakers came out of the timeout with a turnover and C.J. Miles made a basket and once again the lead was only four.

But Paul Millsap fouled Kobe Bryant and he made both stretching the lead back to six. Bryant was seven for seven from the line at that point.

After a Jazz miss C.J. Miles fouled Bryant and there he was back at the line and he missed his first free throw of the evening but made the second and the lead was seven.

The Jazz then lost a good opportunity when Carlos Boozer missed a slam and the Lakers were back at the line on the next trip down the court. But Derek Fisher missed both shots but the Lakers kept things alive with two offensive rebounds before Ron Artest got the put back on the third shot.

But Millsap made a quick bucket and the lead was at seven.

-- John Cherwa

Lakers 98, Jazz 92 (Fourth quarter, 5:34)

The Lakers came out of the timeout with Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant both on the court and Lakers fans were feeling better.

Paul Millsap got the lead to nine with a couple of free throws and then after a Jazz miss Gasol got the rebound to give him a double-double (20 points, 10 rebounds).

Carlos Boozer cut the lead to eight making one of two free throws and after a Millsap layup the lead was down to six. Nervous time?

Jordan Farmer committed an offensive foul and a turnover and after C.J. Miles converted two free throws the lead was a very shaky four.

But Gasol, a steady and strong influence inside, made his shot and the lead was six. After a Jazz miss, Shannon Brown was fouled on a breakaway and Jackson decided it was time for time out.

-- John Cherwa

Lakers 96, Jazz 85 (Fourth quarter, 8:11)

Phil Jackson opened the fourth quarter Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar, Luke Walton, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum, close to the same crew who gave up the big lead in Game 1.

And bad things started to happen Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap and Korver all scored and the lead was down to six. But Odom answered with a two and then after a Jazz miss, Farmar hit a three and the lead was back to 11.

Carlos Boozer and Bynum traded baskets and it looked like the Lakers might possibly escape the second team breakdown that made the first game so close.

-- John Cherwa

Lakers 87, Jazz 77 (End of third quarter)

The Lakers upped their lead back to 10 when Pau Gasol made one of two free throws coming out of the timeout. Gasol was 8 for 10 from the line at that point.

Kosta Koufos checked in for his first points with a bucket for the Jazz but Kobe Bryant answered with a twisting layup giving him his 13th point of the quarter and 21st of the game.

The Jazz turned it over on its last possession and the Lakers had a 10-point lead heading into the final quarter.

Of course, the thing that most Laker fans were thinking about was the start of the fourth quarter in Game 1 when the Jazz went on a 10-1 run against the Lakers second team.

Would it happen again Tuesday night? That was the big unanswered question.

Lakers 84, Jazz 75 (Third quarter, 1:12)

Pau Gasol picked up his 19th point coming out of the time out with a couple free throws. Despite some baskets by the Jazz the Lakers were able to hold on to a double-digit lead as thye clocked ticked toward the four minute mark.

Kobe Bryant silently upped his point total to 17 with a couple of free throws and a bucket. It was his ninth point in the quarter. But the Jazz kept fighting back with C.J. Miles hitting a three.

After a miss Bryant was fouled on the trip back down the floor and he made fourth and fifth free throw attempts in as many tries.

Wesley Matthews cut the lead to 11 with a three pointer and after a Bryant miss Matthews made another bucket and the lead was down to nine.

The teams traded baskets--including a Shannon Brown slam on a breakaway--and the teams headed into a time out with a nine-point lead with 1:12 left in the quarter.

-- John Cherwa

Lakers 74, Jazz 63 (Third quarter, 5:50)

The Lakers 12-point lead at halftime seemed like it came at will, especially after falling behind by seven in the first quarter. And how often do you see three Lakers in double figures and none of them are Kobe Bryant?

Still, the Staples Center crowd seemed pretty much at ease, figuring this game looked like it was in a pretty comfortable position.

But Bryant, who played 22 of the first 24 minutes, got into double figures with a three-point play with about a minute gone in the third quarter.

The Jazz scored back-to-back baskets by Carlos Boozer and C.J. Miles but Derek Fisher answered with a three.

Kyryko Fesenko of the Jazz had the distinction of being the first player to get into foul trouble when he picked up his fourth on Andrew Bynum. The Laker center made both free throws and the lead was up to 14.

The Jazz then went on a 7-2 run with a couple of baskets by C.J. Miles but Bryant stopped the momentum with a layup. Carlos Boozer was one of the main sparks for the Jazz having scored seven points in the quarter. But, he picked up his fourth foul heading into a timeout with the Lakers up by 11.

-- John Cherwa

Lakers 58, Jazz 46 (Halftime)

The Lakers relied on their size advantage in the front court, led by Andrew Bynum’s double-double, to open up 12-point halftime lead over the Jazz.

Bynum looked particularly fresh and had his best half of the playoffs. Bynum hit five of his first six shots; he has 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Ron Artest and Pau Gasol also were active in the paint and rebounded well. Artest has 12 points, Gasol has 11.

The Lakers had a commanding 33 to 23 edge in rebounding in the first half.

Kobe Bryant has played 22 minutes and started the second quarter, which is unusual, as the Lakers tried to build on their first quarter lead. Bryant moved the ball around and leads the Lakers with seven assists; he also has eight points.

Paul Millsap, the Jazz’s reserve power forward, kept them in the game with 16 points, all near the hoop. Millsap had 14 points in the second quarter and scored over Lamar Odom and Ron Artest on successive plays.

The Jazz were also cold at the free throw line, missing six shots.

-- Barry Stavro

Lakers 45, Jazz 34 (Second quarter, 7:13)

The Lakers opened their biggest lead of the game on a Kobe Bryant dunk. Bryant scored on the Lakers’ last two possessions. The Jazz called a timeout and the Staples crowd is very animated.

Andrew Bynum continues to control play in the paint against Carlos Boozer, drawing a foul, for a three point play to extend the led 39-29. Bynum scored on his next possession, also against Boozer.

But Boozer has been active too, scoring on a floater in the paint and feeding Paul Millsap for a layup.

-- Barry Stavro

Lakers 36, Jazz 27 (Second quarter, 9:23 )

The Lakers extended their lead with some help from the bench.

Jordan Farmar hit a three-pointer to extend the led to 32-25. Another reserve Shannon Brown also scored in the paint.

The Lakers continue to push the ball inside to their front court.

Andrw Bynum scored on a hook shot in the paint over Carlos Boozer; Bynum’s height advantage is considerable.

Paul Millsap, who usually plays well against the Lakers, is off to another good start for the Jazz off the bench. He has four points in the quarter.

-- Barry Stavro

Lakers 27, Jazz 23 (End of the first quarter)

The Jazz opened an 11-4 lead but the Lakers came back with a balanced offense as six players scored in the opening quarter. Ron Artest was three-point happy, launching three of them, missing the first two before making one to tie the score at 18-18 with about three minutes to go. Artest leads the Lakers’ scoring with 10 points.

The Jazz also had balanced scoring in the quarter, getting points from five players. Deron Williams has seven points, Carlos Boozer has six for the Jazz.

For the Lakers, Kobe Bryant was playing the initiator in the opening quarter, and has three assists, including two feeds to Andrew Bynum for scores. Bynum also fed Lamar Odom for a layup as soon as he came in to replace Bynum. Bryant has four points.

Bynum was aggressive from the start and has four points and six rebounds in about seven minutes of playing time. The Jazz helped the Lakers by missing their first four free throws.

Carlos Boozer also had a tough sequence in the paint toward the end of the quarter, getting his shot blocked by Odom. Boozer grabbed the rebound and had his shot blocked again, this time by Pau Gasol.

-- Barry Stavro

Jazz 15, Lakers 13 (First quarter, 4:45)

The Jazz is off to a good start and has gotten balanced scoring.

Deron Williams hit a three-pointer to give the Jazz an 11-4 lead. He leads the team with six points.

Andrew Bynum scored on a layup off a nice pass by Kobe Bryant, and also scored on a dunk, again on a pass from Bryant. Bynum is hitting the boards early, he grabbed four in the first three minutes or so.

Bryant was hit with a technical at the 7:05 mark.

-- Barry Stavro

The Lakers are 5 1/2 point favorites for Tuesday’s Game 2 against the Utah Jazz at Staples Center.

The Jazz won’t be getting any extra help off the bench because forward Andrei Kirilenko has been ruled out of Game 2, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. Kirilenko might be ready for Game 3.

Of course, it’s tough for any NBA team to come back in a seven game series if they are down 0-2. And going into Game 2 the Jazz have lost 15 straight games to the Lakers at Staples Center, dating back to January, 2006.

Tip-off could be 7:35 p.m., but it may start a bit later because of the Magic-Hawks game, also on TNT.

-- Barry Stavro