Utah Jazz: Superheroes turn out in L.A.

LOS ANGELES — Spider-Man (actor Tobey Maguire) and Iron Man (actor Robert Downey Jr.) were sitting courtside Sunday at Staples Center.

But, whenever the Los Angeles Lakers needed a little help in their series-opening playoff game against the Utah Jazz, they called on MVP Man.

Kobe Bryant, in his first game since unconfirmed reports surfaced that this week he'll be named as this season's NBA Most Valuable Player, played his part perfectly.

He scored a game-high 38 points on only 16 field-goal attempts to lead the Lakers to a 109-98 victory.

Game 2 is Wednesday night, and by then Bryant's first MVP award might be official.

During much of an unexpectedly brilliant Lakers season, L.A. fans have been chanting "MVP ... MVP" after Bryant's heroics.

Asked if the chanting felt different to him Sunday, considering he is expected to be presented with the award any day, he smiled and said, "Yeah, it did. It held a little more weight to it."

Bryant, continuing a season-long trend of looking more for his teammates and not forcing up as many difficult shots, had a team-high seven assists and frequently passed up open shots to get the ball to center Pau Gasol (18 points), forward Lamar Odom (16 points) and sharpshooting guard Sasha Vujacic (15 points).

But when Bryant put his head down and drove to the basket, the Jazz had no answer but to foul him.

Bryant went to the line early and often, finishing with 23 free-throw attempts and making 21 of them.

Utah coach Jerry Sloan said he had no problem with the calls that sent Bryant to the line all game.

"They called 'em, he shot 'em," Sloan said. "That's fine. I can't do anything about that."

Sloan also cut short any discussion about his team, which eliminated the Houston Rockets on Friday night, being at a disadvantage in Game 1 against the Lakers, who had six days off after sweeping the Denver Nuggets.

Sloan was asked if fatigue was a factor. His answer was short and definitive: "No."

Poor shooting was a factor, though.

The Jazz shot just 37.9 percent for the game. Point guard Deron Williams missed 13 of his 18 shots.

"It's probably my fault," Williams said. "I can play a lot better offensively and defensively."

Utah forward Carlos Boozer also had a tough game, finishing with 15 points, six fewer than his season average, and committing seven turnovers.