Category: Los Angeles Lakers Blog

The AP reports: Andrei Kirilenko blocked Kobe Bryant twice in overtime and converted a three-point play with 35 seconds remaining as the Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-115 on Sunday, tying the Western Conference semifinals at 2-2. The Jazz went 8-for-8 from the foul line in overtime and outscored the Lakers 15-7 in the extra 5 minutes. Deron Williams had 29 points and 14 assists, while Carlos Boozer scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half and grabbed 12 rebounds. Mehmet Okur added 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Kirilenko finished with 15 points and five blocks — stuffing Bryant twice as the Lakers tried to rally in overtime… Los Angeles rallied from a 12-point deficit in the final four minutes to force overtime. Derek Fisher scored 10 straight for the Lakers and blocked a shot by Williams just before the end of regulation with the score tied at 108. The Lakers struggled in overtime and didn’t score until a layup by Bryant with 1:10 remaining cut Utah’s lead to 112-110.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Jazz shot 52.5%, the Lakers 47.4%. But the Lakers took 97 shots, the Jazz just 76. Three-point shooting was close, but the Jazz had 37-of-45 free throws, the Lakers just 14-of-25. Rebounding was even but the Jazz won the assists category 32-20. Turnovers were almost even.

For the Jazz, Deron Williams on just 13 shots (9-of-13, 3-of-4 threes) had 29 points, 14 assists and 2 steals. Mehmet Okur had 18 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. Andrei Kirilenko only only 4 shots (4-of-4) had 15 points and 5 blocks, though 0 rebounds and more turnovers than assists. Carlos Boozer (just 5-of-15) had 14 points and 12 rebounds. Kyle Korver scored 14 plus 2 steals, and Matt Harpring had 12.

For the Lakers, Kobe Bryant (just 13-of-33) had 33 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists. Lamar Odom (10-of-18, just 5-of-10 free throws) had 26 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. Pau Gasol (terrific 11-of-16) had 23 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Derek Fisher (5-of-8, 4-of-5 threes) had 15 with 2 steals. Sasha Vujacic (4-of-6, 3-of-5 threes) scored 11.

The AP reports: So much for Carlos Boozer’s slump and the Lakers’ unbeaten run through the playoffs. Boozer scored 27 points and tied a career playoff-high with 20 rebounds to lead Utah to a 104-99 victory Friday night, cutting Los Angeles’ lead in the Western Conference semifinals to 2-1. The Jazz handed the Lakers their first loss of this season’s playoffs and got back into the series by doing at home what they couldn’t do on the road. The Jazz hit exactly half their shots and forced the Lakers into 18 turnovers, looking very little like the team that stumbled through two straight losses in Los Angeles to open the series… The Jazz took the lead early in the second quarter and never gave it up. Utah held off a late push by the Lakers and league MVP Kobe Bryant, who had 34 points, seven assists and six rebounds but could not carry the team alone. Nobody else scored more than 13 points for Los Angeles… Utah’s offense was stagnant in the first two games, but on Friday the Jazz started hitting from the outside and moving the ball around enough to clear the inside for the layups their offense is designed to create. Boozer started slowly, but finished 12-for-21 and had 11 points and seven rebounds in the fourth quarter.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Jazz shot 50.0%, the Lakers 48.5%. Both teams struggled from three-point range, but the Jazz were slightly better (and Mehmet Okur hit four threes). The Lakers were better at the free throw line, going 30-of-37, the Jazz 20-of-28. Rebounding was close, but the Jazz had 21 assists, the Lakers 14. And the Lakers threw the ball away more.

For the Jazz, Boozer had 27 points and 20 rebounds. Mehmet Okur (8-of-14, 4-of-7 threes) had 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, but 5 turnovers. Deron Williams (6-of-12) had 18 points and 12 assists. Andrei Kirilenko (5-of-9) had 12 points and little else. Matt Harpring (4-of-8) scored 12 off the bench.

For the Lakers, Kobe Bryant on just 20 shots had 34 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists (4 turnovers). Lamar Odom (3-of-3) had 13 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks. Derek Fisher (3-of-6) had 13 points and 3 steals. Pau Gasol (6-of-10) had just 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks, but 5 turnovers. And Luke Walton scored 11 with 2 steals off the bench. Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic combined to go 0-for-9 for 0 points.

The AP reports: The Los Angeles Lakers celebrated Kobe Bryant’s MVP award the best way possible. Bryant had 34 points, eight rebounds and six assists Wednesday night, and the Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 120-110 to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals and remain the NBA’s only unbeaten team in the postseason… Derek Fisher, who played for Utah last season, added 22 points, Pau Gasol scored 20, and Lamar Odom had 19 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who shot 57.4 percent from the field and made 35 free throws—22 more than the Jazz. Seven Utah players scored in double figures, led by Deron Williams, who had 25 points, including three 3-pointers in the final minute, and 10 assists. Paul Millsap added a career playoff-high 17 points and 10 rebounds, Mehmet Okur scored 16 points and Andrei Kirilenko added 14. Okur and Kirilenko both fouled out in the final minute. Carlos Boozer was held to 10 points—all in the second half. He played less than seven minutes in the first half because of foul trouble… The Lakers led 55-40 before Williams made a 3-pointer for his only points of the first half. It was 63-49 at halftime, and it might have been worse for the Jazz had Millsap not scored 13 points—three more than his previous playoff high.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Lakers shot 57.4%, the Jazz 44.6%. The Lakers nailed 7-of-11 three-pointers, the Jazz 7-of-18. The big story was free throws: 35-of-43 for the Lakers (Bryant and Gasol had 12 FT attempts each), 13-of-16 for the Jazz. The Jazz had the slight edge in both rebounds and assists, and Utah committed five fewer turnovers than L.A. did. The Lakers blocked 9 shots, the Jazz just one.

For the Lakers, Bryant had 34 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, but 5 turnovers. Derek Fisher on just 10 shots (and 4-of-5 threes) had 22 points and 3 steals. Pau Gasol on just 11 shots had 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks. Lamar Odom on just 10 shots had 19 points and 16 rebounds.

For the Jazz, Deron Williams (9-of-17) had 25 points and 10 assists. And six other Jazz players scored between 10 and 16 points. Andrei Kirilenko had 14 points and 5 assists. Paul Millsap (7-of-13) was the team’s second leading scorer with 17 points and the only good Jazz rebounder tonight with 10 boards.

The AP reports: Kobe Bryant, celebrating what’s expected to be his first NBA MVP award, converted six of his franchise playoff-record 21 foul shots in the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Lakers held off the Utah Jazz 109-98 Sunday to begin the second round of the playoffs. Bryant finished with 38 points, six rebounds and seven assists, and the Lakers made it five straight victories to begin the postseason after winning eight of their last nine regular-season games to earn the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference… The Lakers shot 38-of-46 from the foul line, while the Jazz went 22-of-30. The teams spent most of the final period going from one foul line to the other, with Los Angeles going 14-of-19 from the line and Utah 10-of-12. Twenty-four of the 60 personal fouls were called in the last 12 minutes… There were some other unexpected numbers. For one, the Jazz outrebounded the Lakers 58-41, with 25 of their rebounds at the offensive end. For another, Utah attempted 95 shots to match its regular-season high, but converted only 36 (37.9 percent).

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Lakers hit 5-of-10 threes, the Jazz just 4-of-19. Utah did dominate the glass, getting 58 rebounds to LA’s 41. Assists, turnovers and blocks were close.

For the Lakers, aside from Bryant, Pau Gasol (8-of-13) had 18 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks. Lamar Odom (5-of-12) had 16 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Sasha Vujacic on just 6 shots had 15 points and 4 rebounds off the bench. Vladimir Radmanovic scored 10.

For the Jazz, Mehmet Okur on 19 shots and 0-of-5 threes had 21 points, 19 rebounds and 3 assists. Carlos Boozer on 14 shots had 15 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists but 7 turnovers. Deron Williams shot just 5-of-18 for 14 points but he did rack up 9 rebounds and 9 assists. Ronnie Brewer, Andrei Kirilenko and Kyle Korver each scored 11.