Utah Jazz let Lakers make statement

By Tim Buckley, Deseret News

Published: Saturday, April 3 2010 12:13 a.m. MDT

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Utah Jazz guard Deron Williams, left, draws a foul from Los Angeles Lakers' Ron Artest during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles on Friday. The Lakers defeated the Jazz 106-92.

Danny Moloshok, Associated Press

Summary

So much for making a statement and gaining some much-needed confidence in Los Angeles before the playoffs.

LOS ANGELES — So much for making a statement and gaining some much-needed confidence in Los Angeles before the playoffs.

The Jazz fell 106-92 to the Lakers in a late-starting ESPN-televised game Friday night at the Staples Center, doing little to squash the notion that Kobe Bryant and crew remain a major impediment to whatever NBA title hopes they may harbor.

The night started out as a matchup between the No. 1 and No. 2 seeded teams in the league's Western Conference.

By the time it was done, though, it was nothing but a sinking feeling for coach Jerry Sloan's club.

"If you don't come with a great effort, you don't give yourself and your team a chance to win," Sloan said. "And I don't think we got a great effort out of a lot of people.

"We aren't good to enough to play this team without having that," he added, emphasis on 'this.' "They're too talented."

The still Northwest Division-leading Jazz are down to fourth place in the West behind L.A., Dallas and Phoenix with five games to go in their regular season, and the defending NBA-champion Lakers had only solidified their stranglehold on the conference standings.

Bryant, who started the day by signing a three-year contract extension with the Lakers reportedly worth about $90 million, had 25 points and big man Lamar Odom finished with a game-high and season-high 26.

It was the 14th straight win at the Staples Center - including playoff games the past two years, and regular season games dating to 2006 - for the 55-21 Lakers, who avoided a third straight loss.

The Jazz, who had won three straight and eight of their previous 10, dropped to 50-27 despite Deron Williams' 20 points and 10 assists and Carlos Boozer's 20 points and 18 rebounds.

"Obviously they're a great team," said Boozer, who had been held to fewer than 13 points in Utah's first three games against the Lakers this season. "They jumped on us early."

Did they ever.

Sloan couldn't stress enough beforehand the importance of his players comprehending the gravity of such a big game.

"That's something you have to realize as a player in this league," he said.