LOS ANGELES — Just another night at Staples Center, where the Los Angeles Lakers ran over another playoff opponent, continued to march further into May, and celebrated the eighth MVP award in team history.
The Lakers won for the sixth time in as many playoff games with a 120-110 victory Wednesday over the Utah Jazz, a night in which Lakers fans were exuberant from beginning to end as the newest most valuable player played like one.
Indeed, the season-long chants for Kobe Bryant had an added legitimacy after he was handed the MVP trophy by NBA commissioner David Stern in a pregame ceremony at Staples Center.
Stern said a few quick words, ending with, “As it is said, there can only be one (MVP), and that one is Kobe Bryant.”
Bryant followed it up with 34 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Lakers took a 2-0 lead over the Jazz in the Western Conference semifinals.
Lamar Odom was active from the start — 19 points, 16 rebounds — and Derek Fisher continued to pester his old teammates, scoring 22 points on seven-for-10 shooting.
Historically, teams that fall behind 2-0 have only a 6.2 percent chance of winning a best-of-seven NBA series.
In the final seconds, there were even a few chants of “sweep, sweep,” although the Jazz might have something to say about that as the series shifts to Utah. Game 3 is Friday.
The Lakers improved their rebounding, losing the category by a more respectable 41-37 margin after getting overwhelmed in the category by the Jazz in Game 1.
The same home crowd that booed Bryant on opening night last October cheered him again and again, wearing free T-shirts that said “Our Team, Our Time, Our MVP.”
Bryant spoke briefly during the pre-game ceremony, saying his 12 seasons with the Lakers had been memorable.
“We’ve still got many more years to go,” he said, before speaking about the near future. “We’re going to play until June. Let’s get this party started.”
It started pretty quickly, the Lakers taking a 33-18 lead after the first quarter.
The Jazz lingered from there, never threatening but never quite going away, and closed to within 99-94 on two free throws by Carlos Boozer with 5:58.
Sasha Vujacic hit a 21-footer, Fisher hit a three-pointer, the lead swelled to 10, and that was pretty much that.
The Lakers now head to Utah, owners of the league’s best home record during the regular season (37-4).
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