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Kobe, Lakers back to winning ways against Jazz

MVP plays through pain to lead L.A. to Game 5 win, 3-2 series lead

Image: Los Angeles Lakers guard kobe Bryant Reuters
Lakers guard Kobe Bryant scored a team-high 26 points against the Jazz on Wednesday.

A dunk by Odom put the Lakers ahead by three points before Okur’s basket made it 103-102. Gasol scored the game’s next four points to put the game away.

“We got the basketball inside, we had some opportunities, missed shot shots we’d like to have back, but that’s the way it goes,” Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. “We never could get over the hump and put pressure on them.”

The Jazz, who trailed by as many as 12 points in the second quarter, outscored the Lakers 15-8 to start the second half, tying the game at 69. Bryant scored 10 points in the quarter, including his team’s final six, but the game was tied 81-all entering the final period.

The game was tied for a fourth and final time early in the fourth quarter before the Lakers went ahead for good on a foul shot by Luke Walton — his only point of the game — with 9:54 to play.

After a scoreless first quarter, Gasol shot 6-for-9 and scored 15 points in the second period, helping the Lakers outscore the Jazz 32-28 for a 61-54 halftime lead. Utah trailed by only seven points despite committing 15 turnovers in the opening 24 minutes.

“I don’t think Kobe was the one who killed us tonight,” said Utah’s Matt Harpring. “I think it was the rest of their team, and Kobe did a good job passing the ball. Down the stretch, we had our chances to win it, we missed some shots and they got some hustle plays and you can’t let that happen if you want to win the game.”

Bryant showed right away his back wasn’t going to be a major problem, firing in a 3-pointer and another jumper in the opening 50 seconds to give the Lakers a quick 5-0 lead. The Jazz made their first four shots — all by Brewer — but trailed 15-8 thanks to five turnovers.

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Radmanovic, who averaged 5.5 points in the first four games of the series, made consecutive 3-pointers to give him 10 points and the Lakers a 25-16 lead before the Jazz trimmed the deficit to 29-26 entering the second quarter.

Notes: The Lakers have won seven straight home games over Utah. ... The Lakers have won 18 of their last 21 home games in the postseason, while the Jazz have lost seven of their last nine road playoff games, including four in a row. ... The Lakers are 36-6 when winning Game 5 of a best-of-seven series and 13-17 when losing Game 5. ... Lakers G Jordan Farmar shot 2-for-5 and scored six points, including a three-point play with 8:38 remaining that gave the Lakers a 90-86 lead. The 21-year-old former UCLA star shot 1-for-16 and scored four points in the previous four games of this series. ... Utah and Boston were the only NBA teams to beat every other team at least once during the regular season.

© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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