Ailing Kobe victimizes ailing Jazz

With their injured starting point guard out, their ailing All-Star center not his usual self and their biggest archrival since Michael Jordan inflicting much of the pain, the Jazz were in a world of hurt Monday night.

One outing removed from his 52-point performance against them back in late November, the Jazz this time watched Kobe Bryant — despite his battling a bout with strep throat — drop in 35 as the Los Angeles Lakers held on for a 102-94 victory at sold-out EnergySolutions Arena.

Bryant did most of his damage from the free-throw line, where he hit 21-of-24 — including 16-of-19 in the opening half alone — to help end 37-19 Utah's six-game home winning streak.

"It was weird to see somebody so many times on the line," said Jazz shooting guard Gordan Giricek, the early half of a tag-team defense — along with Andrei Kirilenko — that Utah used to try to slow Bryant. "But it doesn't affect us. I mean, you have to try to play through it. You know, he's a superstar; he gets calls. Unfortunately tonight, a lot of calls."

Bryant got so many he set a new Jazz opponent record for most freebies taken in a half, and matched Phoenix guard Kevin Johnson's 1990 opponent record of 24 attempts in a game — all of which offset what was otherwise a less-than-stellar shooting night.

"He was able to keep himself kind of lubed up and keep his stroke going a little bit from the free-throw line," Jazz guard and ex-Laker Derek Fisher said of Bryant, who made only 7-of-21 from the field.

When Bryant wasn't doing his thing, point guard Smush Parker was, making 9-of-13 field-goal attempts and finishing with 24 points.

"He (Bryant) forced us to help in a lot of situations," Fisher said, "and (as a result) Smush Parker was able to get a lot of open looks at the basket."

The Northwest Division-leading Jazz, meanwhile, sputtered here, there and everywhere.

Usual starting shooting guard Fisher started at the point in place of Deron Williams, who was out for the second time in four games due a strained left groin.

Both center Mehmet Okur (who missed the past two games with back spasms) and starting small forward Kirilenko (who sat out Saturday's win over Boston with a bruised knee) were back, allowing the Jazz to open with their front-line regulars together for the first time since power forward Carlos Boozer exited a Jan. 27 game at Oklahoma City with a hairline fracture in his left fibula bone.

But Okur was out of sorts, opening just 1-of-14 from the field and finishing 3-for-19.