Kirilenko to face Kobe again

Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko frustrated Kobe Bryant in the late going of Utah's win over the Los Angeles Lakers last Friday.

Bryant finished with a team-high 27 points, but — guarded mostly by Kirilenko at crunchtime — missed all three of his fourth-quarter shots from the field as the Jazz overcame a nine-point deficit in the second half to win 114-108.

Kirilenko, however, isn't taking anything from granted when the two teams meet again tonight in a TNT-televised showdown at the Staples Center.

"I think I was a little bit lucky in the first game," he said, "because I don't think Kobe was so active like usually is. So he make my job a little easy."

Bryant, who underwent offseason knee surgery, is averaging 24.1 points per game this season — a pinch above his 23.9-point career average, but well off his career-high 35.4 average from a season ago.

COSTLY COMMENTS: Lakers coach Phil Jackson was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Wednesday for ripping referees one day after the Jazz beat L.A. last week.

Jackson suggested the crew of Derrick Stafford, Derek Richardson and Leroy Richardson allowed the game against Utah to get too physical — he called it "roughhouse" — and that the refs were unfair with specific calls involving young Lakers center Andrew Bynum.

"The league throws out some referee corps that you're dubious about to start with," Jackson told the Los Angeles Times, "and, you know, the game ends up to be like that."

BAND TOGETHER: Asked for his take on Ben Wallace's highly publicized headband battle with Chicago Bulls coach Scott Skiles, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan — a stickler for team rules, and a noted anti-individualist — hinted the only way his players would ever wear one is ... over his retired body.

"I guess we'd wear headbands ... but I doubt it," Sloan said.

"If they were that much against what I'm trying to do," he added, "then I don't belong here."

DARN COMPUTER: A Jazz official said a computer glitch cheated forward Carlos Boozer out of a rebound in Monday's game against Orlando, and the NBA approved adding the extra board to Boozer's total — just enough for a 10-rebound, 21-point double-double.

Boozer now has double-doubles in 13 of 16 games this season.