Kobe Drops 40 As Lakers Get Jazz Out of Tune With 113-100 Win

Posted by Jeff Sack under NBA Game Recap

Kobe Bryant greeted 2009 with a bang Friday night as he scored a game high 40 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers sent the Jazz back to Utah with a 113-100 loss to think about. Los Angeles had a dominant first 12 minutes of play, and the Jazz although coming close during the final quarter, could never quite over come that obstacle. The Lakers have won 5 straight games 8 out of their last 10, and lead the NBA Pacific Division by 7 games over the Phoenix Suns.

L.A. really set the tone for this game in the first quarter getting the Staples Center crowd pumped, as they burst out of the gates scoring 37 points, and grabbing a 37-20 lead. The Jazz cut the gap a little in the second quarter but the Lakers were still on top at the half by a score of 57-43. Things did not get much brighter for Utah in the third quarter, as Los Angeles would maintain their double digit dominance, and led 81-66 heading into the final quarter of the evening. The Jazz made their run in the fourth cutting the gap to just 4 points, when Andrei Kirilenko slammed the ball through the cylinder with 2:58 to play making it a 97-93 contest. But that is when the wheels fell off the come back wagon for Utah, as Trevor Ariza drove the lane putting the ball up and in and putting the Lakers ahead 104-93 with 2:02 remaining. Utah never was able to get back in the game after that.

Kobe Bryant had a game high 40 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block, in the Los Angeles victory. Pau Gasol recorded a double-double, 21 points, 11 boards, 6 assists, and 1 block, while Lamar Odom came off the bench and scored 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block. Trevor Ariza also had a big game off the bench as he added 12 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals, and 2 assists, Derek Fisher put up 11 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal.

Mehmet Okur had a double-double, 21 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks, while Ronnie Brewer put up 20 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist. Paul Millsap recorded a double-double, 16 points, 17 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals, Deron Williams was also credited with a double-double as he had 10 points, 12 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 block, and 1 steal. Andrei Kirilenko also scored 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist, and 1 block. Los Angeles is now 26-5, Utah has a 19-15 record.

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