Jazz play final note
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Utah Jazz Ronnie Price drives around Los Angeles Laker Lamar Odom on Friday, but the Lakers won 108-105.
Lakers 108 Jazz 105
SALT LAKE CITY — Kobe Bryant scored 34 points and Los Angeles held off a furious rally by the Utah Jazz for a 108-105 victory Friday night, putting the Lakers in the Western Conference final for the first time in four years.
The Jazz trailed by 19 at halftime and 16 at the end of the third quarter, but hit a flurry of three-pointers to get within two points in the final minute. The Jazz had a chance to tie it at the end, but Mehmet Okur and Deron Williams missed three-pointers in the closing seconds and Utah’s season was over.
It was the only win by the visiting team in the series and kept the Lakers from having to host a Game 7 on Monday, instead giving Bryant a chance to rest his ailing back. The Lakers made 11 of 13 foul shots in the fourth quarter while barely holding off Utah’s rally.
Bryant also had eight rebounds and six assists. Pau Gasol added 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Lakers, who get to sit back and wait for the winner of the San Antonio-New Orleans series, which will be decided with a Game 7 on Monday.
Williams led Utah with 21 points and 14 assists.
Carlos Boozer had 12 points and 14 rebounds, and Mehmet Okur had 16 points and 10 boards, hitting two three-pointers in the fourth quarter during Utah’s comeback. The Jazz were 5-for-8 from beyond the arc in the final period, but could not quite overcome the huge lead the Lakers had built through the first three quarters.
Los Angeles stopped Utah’s pick-and-roll and just about everything else the Jazz tried inside until the fourth. The Jazz started hurrying outside shots, which weren’t going in and the rebounds seemed to always bounce Gasol’s way. Nine of his 11 rebounds in the first half were defensive.
Utah finally started hitting from the outside and getting inside the lane for points in the fourth, but Bryant kept the Lakers from blowing the lead by scoring 12 in the period.
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