Live from Staples- Lakers vs. Utah, Game 2

7:45-  Wow, there's been a lot of scoring in this game.  Very wide open right now, both teams finding some space offensively.  The Lakers are getting inside, and the Jazz is moving the ball extremely well.

7:11- Lakers down 13-12.

Kirilenko fouls Gasol, sending him to the line and finally giving me a quick chance to type.  Thus far, I'm not even sure you can say the defense for each team has been bad, but the execution of both offenses has been very sharp. Neither team is in much of a hurry, both are moving the ball. The Jazz already has four assists as a team. LA is shooting 85% from the floor, and has a couple dimes of its own. 

6:25-  Solid work from the Lakers, who have picked up the intensity on the defensive end.  More hard traps, more aggressively trying to put non-ball handlers in tough spots.  In this case, Brewer was very tight on Kobe, and when he spun away from him, Rad came over hard to trap.  Brewer was forced to burn a TO. 

15-13, and for a nationally televised playoff game, this thing is flying by.  Pau still doesn't have a shot nearly six minutes in, but he's had some touches.  They're still not letting him get comfortable in the post.  Not that they're obligated to, mind you.

5:29- Boozer pushes Gasol in the back, and he'll have to sit down with his second foul.  That's a huge boost for the Lakers, who right away put LO in the post and he hits a shot over Millsap off the glass.  These become big minutes for LA, with one of Utah's best players on the bench. 

4:37- Brewer plays a step off Kobe, who sticks a triple in his face.  On the other end, Fish gets a steal, and the Lakers take it back the other way. 

4:03- Lakers up 22-13.   

3:38- The Lakers have cranked it up defensively, and all that great ball movement the Jazz was showing at the beginning of the game has gone.  They look tentative, and unsure where to go with the ball. Moreover, they're already in the penalty with nearly four minutes left in the quarter.  The Lakers, on the other hand, have one team foul.  So they're throwing Utah off and playing with aggression, but not drawing whistles.  The Jazz, however, is burning through them quickly. 

2:55- Timeout on the floor, Lakers up 25-15.  They are, quite frankly (let's all channel our inner Stephen A.) playing near perfect ball, considering the opponent.  Very few bad shots (they're 9-13 from the floor), getting it down low, are hassling the hell out of Utah right now, and have quickly built a 10-point lead.   This changes the entire context of the game.  Obviously it's not over, but they've put the Jazz in a situation where they're in a hole right away.

Another foul, the second on Okur.  Two on Mehmet, two on Boozer.  Gasol misses both FT's though.  They can't take advantage.  That sends Okur to the bench.  Kirilenko returns, but the Jazz is certainly down some O. 

1:00- Turiaf stops Williams with a straight block at the basket, just as he did in Game 1.  The Lakers continue to play very stout defense. 

:28.9- Kobe picks up an offensive foul, his second.  He'll have to sit, and play with some care until the half.  Sasha replaces him.  Lakers up 33-18.

END OF THE FIRST:

Well, that  couldn't have gone much better for the Lakers.  Short of getting shut out completely, I think if you'd asked Jerry Sloan to lay out a nightmare scenario for the start of the game, this first quarter probably would have fit the blueprint.  The Lakers outshot Utah 67% to 33%, and unlike Sunday, this wasn't simply a matter of the Jazz missing shots.  LA forced them into six turnovers, including four steals.  They're holding down the fort on the boards (10-9 Utah), and making the Jazz work hard for everything.  Meanwhile, on the other end they're getting down low, and putting a lot of pressure on the Jazz, who are fouling a ton. 

33-18 LAL.  AK with the second.

SECOND QUARTER

11:40 - Those with Carlos Boozer on their playoff fantasy squads are about to become particularly unthrilled as he picks up a third foul going over Gasol's back on a rebound.  For everyone, particularly Laker fans, the cameo appearance is a nice development.  Utah's All-Star will end up sitting the half. 

9:34 - PJ takes a timeout, and with good reason.  The lead's dropped from 13 to 9, courtesy of an 8-2 Utah run.  Ronny Turiaf has picked up two fouls in less than a minute and every shot save a 19-footer from Jordan Farmar has clanged rim.  Regrouping to settle down is a good call.  They need to weather a few more minutes of Kobe-free ball while 24 nurses two fouls and those minutes can't chip away at their lead.

8:21 - LO draws a foul on Millsap while driving to the basket and earns two freebies at the stripe.  Only one of two drop, giving Lamar 9 early points to go with 4 boards, a dime and a swat.  On the next possession, he taps away Korver's missed trey to himself, then shuttles the loose ball to Farmar, who draws a blocking foul and a trip to the line.  A really good start to the game for LO.

5:30 - Gasol gets the ball just outside the paint, then works Okur down closer to the basket to knock in the chippie.  Gasol seems much better adjusted to Utah's physicality the second time around.  He's not missing the close ones with contact, nor is he looking rattled by the bumping.

3:49 - Fisher receives the rock about one foot outside the arc, take stwo dribbles to get a foot in front, then cans a 21-footer for his dozenth point.  Like Game 1, Fish is finding success against his old mates.  But with a 5-6 (and hopefully counting) clip from the floor, he's doing it in ways that involve the scoring column.

1:00 - Kobe and Korver trade quick buckets, keeping the margin at 10 in the Lakers' favor.  Ten seconds later, it bumps up to a dozen when LO hits a pair after drawing a foul on Millsap.  Utah, by the way, is running into some serious foul trouble with its frontcourt, an issue that is done no favors after Jarron Collins gets whistled for Pau's gain.  Whenever Collins is on the court to begin with, it's a sign that the Jazz isn't having its way.  But when he's in the game and collecting fouls, it's an even bigger problem.

The game winds down with the Lakers up 63-49.  Another solid quarter for the Purple and Gold.  The opening three minutes were a little shaky, but once they settled down, the momentum of Utah's 8-2 run was pretty much staved off.  They bent a little at times, but never came close to breaking when it came to maintaining control of the action.  In the meantime, every starter save Vlad Rad is in double figures and the team's shooting 61% to Utah's 42.  They're also winning the rebound battle that was considered the biggest issue heading into the game.  Not much to hate.  We'l see what happens when BK controls the third.

THIRD QUARTER:

It's cliche, but these first three minutes are huge.  If the Lakers can hit the six- minute mark up by eight or ten, that's a very big thing.

9:10- LO takes a baseball pass from Kobe and drops in the dunk, giving LA a 12- point lead.  Boozer was trailing the play, but couldn't even consider making a move on the ball because it likely would have caused him his fourth.

Williams has been much better coming out of the half, but the Jazz is still down 11-now nine, as Williams hits Brewer on the break for an easy dunk.  LO had missed his second layup of the quarter on the other end to give the run out opportunity. 

7:30- Williams is trying to put his team on his shoulders, cutting into the lane and laying in the scoop shot around Gasol for the bucket.  it's not going to make much of a difference for the Jazz if they can't start getting stops on the other end. They don't on the next trip, as Kobe draws an and-one against Brewer.

6:51- Timeout on the floor, 76-64 Lakers as Kobe blows by Kirilenko with the left hand and draws the third foul on Okur.  The Lakers are doing everything they want offensively, and Utah has no answer for Kobe and LO in particular, though Gasol is certainly thriving on Okur. 

5:21- Kobe picks up his third, a charge on Williams that, at least from where I'm sitting, looked like the right call.  That's his second foul on that end tonight.  Not necessarily something to worry about right now, especially since Utah is down by 14 and Kobe doesn't have to body up anyone more dynamic than Brewer.  80-66 LAL. 

3:38- Millsap in for Utahs, for Okur.  The Jazz has gone smaller, leaving Boozer to guard Gasol.  Let's see if that makes them a little more mobile.  Gasol, on the second time down, gets a good look over Boozer.  They should keep attacking that matchup and see if they can't get Boozer's fourth.

2:15- And as I mention that, Fish drives the lane and draws it.  Boozer will likely have to go back to the bench, although Sloan may not have that luxury right now.  Lakers up by 10, 86-76.  Utah can't seem to make the big push they need, because they can't get any stops on the other end.  The Lakers continue to get good looks.  They're not making quite as many, but they're still getting them.  That, and Kobe's made some sickies in the third, my particular favorite being the off glass fadeaway against Brewer, who must have been muttering some unprintable stuff under his breath when that one was done.  What do you do against that?

Williams, for what it's worth, has been outstanding in the third, but it's going to be too little too late for the Jazz unless they can make a move relatively soon.

:54.5- Nice move to go to the press, as the Lakers had started to get sloppy with the ball offensively, and break down on the other end.  Good change of pace. 

:10- Fish hits a big three in the right corner off the Kobe drive and kick.  He's hit big shot after big shot tonight.  Huge game for Fish.

Williams counters with a three of his own, but it only brings the Jazz to back within 10, 93-83. 

END OF THE THIRD: Not the best 12 minutes they've played, but Utah made a push and the Lakers didn't give up much ground.  Williams was outstanding for the Jazz, but foul trouble for Boozer and Okur is a huge problem, especially on the defensive end.  Those guys haven't been able to make a stand or play with any sort of aggression.  As a result, the Lakers are still getting plenty of good looks, at least when they move.  Too much standing around offensively near the end of the third.

AK will take 'er home.

FOURTH QUARTER

11:15 - Farmar's in the open court with Ronny streaking ahead and Sasha on the wing.  He opts for the latter option, who cans a 22-footer to push the Laker lead to a dozen.  Credit Gasol and Walton for helping set up the basket due to their hard work in a loose ball scrum, with Pau eventually coming up with the rock.

9:27 - Hard to tell from where I'm at if Harpring got a piece of Walton's three ball or fouled him.  In any event, his attempt at back to back from distance falls short.

8:08 - Gasol's block on Collins redeems himself after coming up short on a chippie beautifully set up by Ronny, but the ball ends up in Millsap's hands and the backup PF doesn't fail with the put back.  That cuts the Laker lead down to 9 and an airballed 15-footer from Walton to just barely beat shot clock prompts PJ to call timeout.  Similar to the opening of the second quarter, he ain't liking what he's seeing and wants to put down the clamps before it starts spilling over too much.

4:46 - Sorry for the gap in coverage.  My computer froze up for a few solid minutes and I was left staring at that hourglass icon.  But at any rate, the Lakers did some serious damage during my helplessness, with big shots coming from Kobe, Fish and Sasha.  Utah, however, isn't going away and continually manages to chip the lead down to high single digits.  But every time they threaten to get deeper into their deficit, they toss up errant jumpers and the Lakers capitalize.  As much as the Lakers have needed to scramble throughout, they've never come close to losing their grip on the contest.

2:40 - Kobe dishes off to Pau after a sweet 360 move, setting up his running buddy for an uncontested dunk.  A writer next to me might have called "travel," but I'm willing to let it slide.  A) It was pretty.  B) It helps the Laker cause.  C) Kobe just got named MVP, so you gotta figure he's gonna grab a favor or two.  As they say, it's "his night."

37.4 - Gasol hits a pair at the line, pushing the Laker lead to 12.  The crowd is now chanting, "Sweep!"  At 6-0 (I'm willing to call it now), you can't blame folks for getting a little chesty.

6.4 - AK-47 fouls out after sending Sasha to the line. The Jazz is down 8 (10 after Vujacic hits his pair), and save Kobe deciding to play for them, I don't see how they're possibly gonna win this.  Neither does the crowd, who don't appreciate Jerry Sloan stretching this bad boy out and let their unhappiness be known in boooing fashion.

I may have been bogged down with frozen 'puter issues during this frame, but they thankfully didn't filter down to the Lakers.  The Purple and Gold managed to maintain their undefeated playoff stretch with a 120-110 win over the Jazz.  Utah, as expected, played hard and gave the Lakers occasional fits, although never to the point of ever threatening to put the Lakers in real trouble.  Even when the Laker execution got about as gummy as my PC's speed, they never fell apart in frightening fashion.  19/16 for LO.  22 for Fish. 20 for Pau.  Sasha pitched in a dozen off the bench.  And Kobe ended up celebrating his MVP trophy with 34/8/6.  Fun for all.  Thanks for dropping by.  More to come later.