Jazz vs. Lakers: Artest, Fisher find outside touch

SALT LAKE CITY — Ron Artest and Derek Fisher didn't shoot well in the fist two games of the Western Conference semifinals against Utah, so the Jazz clearly made the calculated risk to play off both of them on Saturday night while focusing on slowing down the Lakers inside.

That turned out to be problematic for the Jazz.

Artest and Fisher combined to go 7-for-14 from beyond the arc — and that doesn't include a couple of successful long-range jumpers by Fisher when he had a foot on the 3-point line.

"Unexpected guys stepped up," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "Artest and Fish, both of them played very big. . . . Three-point shooters run hot and cold and (Artest) was pretty hot."

He had been cold previously. Artest was only 1-for-10 from beyond the arc in the first two games of the series. Fisher was just 1-for-4 before finding his shooting stroke at EnergySolutions Arena.

Fisher knows he and some of his other teammates will find themselves open for outside jumpers — since teams have to concentrate on defending Bryant and All-Star big man Pau Gasol.

"When we run screen and roll with Kobe and Pau, it's tough to make a decision (for the defense)," said Fisher. "I mean, the best player in the game is coming off a screen. Pau, one of a handful of the best players in the world, is setting the screen. So for the rest of us, it's our job to be ready to take an opportunity when it is there."

WHERE'S ANDREW?: If there was one negative for the Lakers in their 111-110 victory over the Jazz on Saturday night it was the play of their young seven-footer, Andrew Bynum.

Bynum, who is still just 23 despite being a four-year NBA veteran, had a nondescript 20 minutes on the floor. He took just one shot — a miss — and finished with no points, four rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot.

"It just (wasn't) my night," Bynum said. "I got my share of touches. I just didn't do anything with it."

Bynum certainly is capable of much more — as the Jazz now all too well after his big Game 2. He scored 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the field and pulled down 14 boards in that game.

ALMOST HEALED: Bryant has been banged up most the season with a variety of ailments, but he's feeling better now — as evidenced by his 30 or more points in each of his past four playoff games.