Tall order: Lakers have too much inside for Jazz

Series heads to Utah with Lakers leading, 2-0.
By KEVIN DING
The Orange County Register
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LOS ANGELES For the first time, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol stood tall together in a postseason game … at least for a while.

With two skilled 7-footers on top of their games, putting the ball in the basket became as easy for the Lakers as it would've been picking apples off a tree. The Lakers were completely overwhelming early and even after Bynum went cold still held off the Utah Jazz, 119-109, on Tuesday night at Staples Center.

The Lakers took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series and are now in position to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Portland held off visiting Houston on Tuesday night to even that series, 1-1 – just what the Lakers hoped would happen as they seek to dispose of Utah quickly and rest while Portland and Houston exchange haymakers for the right to face the Lakers in Round 2 of the playoffs.

Bynum made all five shots he took in the first quarter, following up Trevor Ariza's feat from Game 1 of setting a career playoff high in scoring in just one period. Meanwhile, Gasol made all four of his shots and kept it up long after Bynum slowed down; Gasol finished with 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting and had two key blocks on one late possession.

Lamar Odom played his role of Bynum's backup perfectly, attacking tired Utah defenders with fresh zest and making all three shots he took in the final 4:42 of the first quarter after Bynum went to rest. Odom finished with 19 points on 8-of 9 shooting.

Utah's offensive execution was good enough that the game never became a total blowout. The Jazz hung around and cut the Lakers' lead to 109-106 with 3:17 left on five consecutive points by Utah's Carlos Boozer.

Yet what happened thereafter only made it a more painful defeat for Utah: Even though Ronnie Brewer made consecutive defensive stops for the Jazz right after Boozer's hot stretch – first stymieing Kobe Bryant, next Gasol – the Lakers still extended their lead because an Ariza steal triggered a fast break.

Ariza and Odom are set to become free agents this summer when Lakers owner Jerry Buss is uncertain about paying for both, but they unselfishly executed a 2-on-1 break against Williams perfectly. Ariza made the last pass for Odom to score on the layup with 2:39 left for a 111-106 Lakers lead.

The Lakers pulled away from there, with Ariza sinking a 3-pointer off Bryant's pass for a 116-108 lead. Ariza had another offensive uprising to surprise Utah, delivering 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting with nine assists. He averaged 1.8 assists in the regular season.

Utah point guard Deron Williams met all the expectations that he would score more efficiently after his 4-for-14 shooting produced just 16 points in Utah's Game 1 defeat. Williams set a playoff career high with 35 points on 12-of-23 shooting and also had nine assists.

Bryant had 26 points and nine assists. He was content to set up his teammates early on, when the Lakers stunningly made 19 of their first 22 field-goal attempts.

They made 18 of 21 in the first quarter and led, 41-29. The last time a team made 80 percent of its shots in a playoff quarter was three years ago, when Dallas hit 15 of 18 (83.3 percent) at San Antonio.

Jackson had instructed the team to look for Bynum early and often, saying before the game: "We'll have to make that emphasis." Bynum hadn't done much in Game 1, and Jackson was intent on building his 21-year-old's confidence.

In part because of Bynum's early thrust, the Lakers never trailed in the game. His struggles in shooting 0 for 6 after the first quarter will undoubtedly give Jackson something else to study before Game 3 in Utah on Thursday night.

Jackson hadn't been satisfied with the Lakers' focus to the finish in Game 1.

"The attention span was lost," Jackson said about the opener. "I didn't like that."

The Lakers were more engaged throughout this game, even though they didn't make it a cakewalk. Utah did a lot of good things – many of them different from Game 1 – and pleased Jazz coach Jerry Sloan by competing – yet the Lakers still won. Seven Lakers scored in double figures, including still-hot newcomer Shannon Brown (12 points).

Asked after this game if the Lakers let up again, Jackson said: "No."

Source of article: www.ocregister.com