Kobe’s 40, Bynum’s D Silence the Jazz

That elusive first road win is finally tucked under their belts as the Los Angeles Lakers held off the hard-charging Utah Jazz in overtime, 90-87 at EnergySolutions Arena. It was also the Lakers first win in a back-to-back scenario in the truncated 2012 NBA season. The Jazz, winners of their last 5 games, suffered their first loss of the new year while the Lakers improved to 8-4 overall. Kobe Bryant (40 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal) remained red-hot as the Black Mamba once again stuck his fangs deep into the jugular of Jazz fans.

Center Andrew Bynum recorded 5-blocked shots and saved his best for last, preserving the first road win for the Los Angeles Lakers. Copyrights may apply. All rights reserved.

Paul Milsap (29 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals) carried the Utah offense as the Jazz got another subpar performance from Al Jefferson (11 points on 5-17, 11 rebounds, 3 blocked shots). Meanwhile, the Lakers got a balanced, albeit non-spectacular effort from the starters and another supportive outing from their short-handed bench. Pau Gasol (14 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist), Andrew Bynum (12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 5 blocked shots) and Matt Barnes (11 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal) kept the Utah defenders honest, while Derek Fisher dished off 7-assists in 36-minutes, by far, the most time out on the floor for the veteran this season. Fisher was forced into extended minutes after Steve Blake suffered a rib contusion midway through the 3rd period. Mike Brown experimented briefly with rookie point guard Darius Morris (4 points, 2 assists, 2 turnovers in 13-minutes), but went exclusively with D-Fish down the stretch.

Utah’s swarming defense allowed them to grab a 67-66 lead in this low-scoring affair with just under 9:00 to go in the 4th quarter. The Lakers finally responded but Utah played them even the rest of the way as the two teams exchanged leads almost every trip down the court. With just under 3-minutes to play, Los Angeles clung to a meager 74-71 lead. Kobe’s turnaround fadeaway along the baseline over long-time nemesis Raja Bell gave the Lakers a seemingly insurmountable 76-71 advantage. But a pair of Josh Howard (18 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal) free throws gave Utah hope while the Lakers came up empty on their end. Howard then drained a 3-pointer to knot the score at 76-76 with under a minute to go. Kobe splashed an 18-footer but Milsap responded with an offensive rebound and put-back tying the score 78-78 with 21.4 seconds left in regulation. Kobe’s long jumper went wide left as time ran out and Jazz fans exhaled in renewed relief.

Utah struck first off a Gasol fumble for an uncontested Milsap layup. After the Lakers sputtered on offense unable to get a good look, Milsap drained another jumper, then snatched the ball away from Gasol again. Fortunately, the Jazz misfired and Kobe restored order with a 3-pointer. That was immediately nullified by a J-How trey and the 85-81 lead. Pau’s pair of free throws got the Lakers back to within a deuce, then they got a much needed stop at the other end. The Spaniard proceeded to nail his first 3-pointer of the season from deep in the corner for the 86-85 lead. Another defensive stop led to a Bynum tap-in, but Milsap answered with another jumper. Bynum saved the day when he rejected Jefferson’s shot underneath the basket right into the hands of Kobe, who was immediately fouled for the automatic two and a 90-87 lead with just 00.7 on the clock. Any hope for a Fisher-esque finish by the Jazz was silenced when Kobe blocked Devin Harris’ shot at the buzzer.

The Lakers travel back home for a Friday the 13th match-up against the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers followed by another back-to-back set against the new, improved Clippers as the visiting team.