Los Angeles - After receiving the NBAs Most Valuable Player trophy, Kobe Bryant played the part superbly. Bryant collected 34 points, eight rebounds and six assists, as the Los Angeles Lakers tuned out the visiting Utah Jazz 120-110 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 advantage in their Western Conference best of seven semifinal series. Bryant admitted being nervous when league commissioner David Stern presented him the coveted award prior to tip-off in front of a wildly cheering sellout crowd of 18,997 fans at Staples Centre. "It was special," the Lakers superstar said. "I had goose bumps, because of all the appreciation from the crowd and how they jumped into it. "It was an emotional night for all of us and we tried to ride that momentum. We tried to feed off the energy and we were able to do that."Derek Fisher scored 22 points for the Lakers, who made 57 per cent of their field goals and 35 free throws - 22 more than their guests. Spains Pau Gasol had 20 points while Lamar Odom chipped in with 19 and 16 rebounds. Deron Williams led seven Utah players in double figures with 25 points - 22 in the second half and handed out 10 assists. Paul Millshap added 17 points with 10 rebounds. The Jazz will host games three and four on Friday and Saturday, where they own an NBA-best 37-4 regular season mark. "We have been in situations like this, theres no need to panic, but they are in control right now," Williams said. "I think these next two games are must wins, because if we go down 3-1, its going to be tough to come back. "A lot of people dont think we can play with this team but we do. Hopefully, we are due for one."Energized by the crowd, the Lakers led virtually from start to finish. After racing to a 15-point lead after one, they held a 63-49 halftime advantage, with Bryant tallying just 12 points. However, the two-time scoring champ heated up, scoring 15 points in the third and Fisher added seven, giving the Lakers a 93-83 cushion. The Jazz opened on an 11-4 burst to pull within 99-94 with 5:58 remaining. However, thats as close as they would come. Sasha Vujacic buried a 20-foot jumper and Fisher fired in his fourth three-pointer of the night. A free throw by Gasol with 4:26 left made it 105-94, and the Lakers stayed in front to go 6-0 in post-season play. "We always said we wanted to play our best basketball going into the playoffs, which we have done," Bryant said. "Now we have a lot of momentum and we just have to keep it rolling."Elsewhere: Orlando Magic 111, Detroit Pistons 86 Rashard Lewis scored a playoff career high 33 points with five three-pointers, and the Magic took advantage of an injury to Chauncey Billups to bounce the visiting Pistons in game three of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. Orlando trails 2-1 and hosts game four on Saturday night. "The two biggest factors were our start and Chaunceys injury," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said after the wire-to-wire win. "Hes not only a great player, hes their leader, he runs everything. "Chaunceys loss had a huge impact on this game. Theres no question it would have been a lot different without him. Id be a liar or an idiot to say otherwise."Billups strained his right hamstring less than four minutes gone in the game, when the All-Star guard drove the baseline. He bumped into Jameer Nelson, slipped and stretched his leg awkwardly. He limped into the locker room for treatment and will be re-evaluated. "Im concerned because Chaunceys our quarterback; he runs our team," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "You saw our first two games. Hes been a huge part of why we have been successful."Orlando received 20 points with 12 rebounds and six blocks from Dwight Howard. Hedo Turkoglu and Nelson chipped in with 18 points apiece for the Magic, which snapped a streak of nine consecutive post-season losses to the Pistons since 2003. Richard Hamilton topped the Pistons with 24 points, Tayshaun Prince had 22 while rookie Rodney Stuckey added 19 points after replacing Billups. The Magic raced to a 24-6 lead and 30-16 after one behind 12 points from Nelson. Lewis had 18 at the break and the cushion was 54-41 at halftime. The Pistons continued to chip away and a 19-8 run to close the third quarter pulled them within 73-69. However, Lewis and Keyon Dooling buried three-pointers in an 11-0 run to open the final frame. When Turkoglu nailed consecutive triples , the gap grew to 90-73 with 8:17 remaining, and the Magic coasted the rest of the way. "We made a lot of runs after we fell behind and we gave ourselves chances," Saunders said. "We kept coming back, but I didnt think we had any juice left when that fourth quarter came." |
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