Slam Dunk Central

I think it is safe to say that Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant’s back is 100%; as it were, the Lakers were, according to coach Phil Jackson, relying on him a bit too much.  Depending on your point of view, that could have been the case on Friday - although the result came out in Los Angeles’ favor.  Bryant scored 34 points while the Lakers stalled a strong rally as they held off the Utah Jazz 108-105 to advance to the Western Conference finals.

Los Angeles pretty much owned the first half, outscoring Utah 33-20 in the first quarter and 29-23 in the second period; they went into halftime sporting a 62-43 advantage.  The Jazz outscored the Lakers by 3 to narrow their deficit to 16 entering the fourth quarter; Paul Millsap led a 14-5 Jazz run early in the final period.  Deron Williams made a reverse layup to cut it to 91-80, then the Lakers turned the ball over as Carlos Boozer stole the ball for Utah while Millsap dunked to make it 91-82.  After Los Angeles called a timeout, Utah’s Matt Harpring drew 2 consecutive fouls on Bryant; Harpring made 2 free throws to get the Jazz to within 93-86, but Bryant drained a 3-pointer to give Los Angeles a 10-point lead.

The Lakers held a 101-91 lead with about 2 minutes remaining in the game when Utah made their last serious push; Mehmet Okur made 2 treys then Andrei Kirilenko made a 3-pointer to reduce the Lakers’ lead to 3.  But Los Angeles’ Lamar Odom hit a pair of free throws, followed by another trey by the Jazz’ Kirilenko, then Bryant  would make a pair of free throws to give Los Angeles a 107-103 lead with 15.5 seconds left on the clock.  Utah scored a quick 2 points with a dunk by Williams while Los Angeles’ Derek Fisher made only 1-of-2 from the charity stripe - giving the Jazz a break. The Jazz only needed a 3-pointer to tie the game, but unfortunately, they missed their 2 attempts, effectively ending their season.

Los Angeles was led by the aforementioned Bryant with 34 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists but committing 5 turnovers while Pau Gasol scored 17 with 13 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 blocks; Fisher added 16 with 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals.  Utah was led by Deron Williams with 21 points, 4 rebounds, 14 assists and a steal while Okur scored 16 with 4 three-pointers, 10 rebounds, an assist and a block; Millsap added 15 with 8 rebounds, an assist and 3 blocks while Carlos Boozer recorded a double-double, scoring 12 with 14 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.  Los Angeles will face the winner of the New Orleans-San Antonio series, which is currently tied at 3 games apiece.

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