LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant, celebrating what is expected to be his first NBA MVP award, did just enough to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to another postseason victory.
Bryant had 38 points, six rebounds and seven assists Sunday, and the Lakers made it five straight playoff wins by beating the Utah Jazz 109-98 to begin the second round.
Game 2 will be played Wednesday night before the best-of-seven series shifts to Utah for Games 3 and 4. Word leaked late Friday that Bryant had won his first Most Valuable Player award and he expressed his joy on Saturday. The NBA has declined comment, but Bryant is expected to receive the MVP trophy from commissioner David Stern before Game 2.
The “MVP! MVP!” chants from the capacity crowd of 18,997 at Staples Center began before the opening tip, with the volume increasing significantly when Bryant was introduced with the other Los Angeles starters.
Bryant scored 24 points to help the Lakers take a 54-41 halftime lead, and although they were on top the rest of the way, there were some anxious moments down the stretch.
Pau Gasol added 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, Lamar Odom had 16 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 45 seconds to play, and Sasha Vujacic scored 15 for the Lakers.
Forward Luke Walton, who shot 22-for-31 and averaged 14 points in the Lakers’ sweep of Denver in the first round, played despite an upper respiratory infection and wasn’t at his best, getting five points and three rebounds in 13 minutes.
Mehmet Okur had 21 points and a career playoff-high 19 rebounds for the Jazz, who lost despite outrebounding the Lakers 58-41. Carlos Boozer had 15 points, 14 rebounds and four assists before fouling out with 3:28 left, and Deron Williams added 14 points, nine assists and nine rebounds.
The Lakers picked up five fouls in the first 3:14 of the fourth quarter and the Jazz took advantage. Four free throws by Kyle Korver and two more by Okur in a span of 70 seconds helped the Jazz move within five points with 7:36 left.
The Lakers extended the lead back to nine before a 3-pointer by Korver and a jumper by Ronnie Brewer made it 91-87 with 4:44 remaining.
That’s as close as the Jazz would get.
A basket by Odom and a foul shot by Bryant made it 94-87 with 3:28 to go. The Jazz drew within five points on two free throws by Williams, but three baskets by Gasol in a span of 68 seconds put the game out of reach.
Bryant was 8-of-16 from the field and made 21 of 23 free throws. Derek Fisher had a career playoff-high six steals.
The Lakers were playing for the first time since last Monday night, when they completed their sweep of the Nuggets. But rust didn’t seem to be a problem since they led by as many as 17 points in the second quarter before settling for a 13-point halftime lead.
The Jazz, meanwhile, didn’t advance to the second round until eliminating Houston on Friday night. After playing reasonably well in the first quarter, fatigue appeared to be an issue in the second period, when they shot just 7-for-25 and committed seven turnovers while being outscored by 12.
But the Jazz seemed to get a second wind in the third quarter. After falling behind by 19 points early in the period, they outscored the Lakers 15-3 to draw within seven. It was 79-72 entering the fourth quarter following a period in which Utah had only one turnover after having committed 11 in the first half.
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