May 9, 2008 - 9:12 AM
0 shoutsLA Lakers at Utah 9:00 pm EDT Western Conference semifinals Lakers lead, 2-0
SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) - Coach Jerry Sloan and the Utah Jazz hope some home cooking can swing the momentum in their favor.
The Jazz look to avoid a three-games-to-none hole in their Western Conference semifinals series against the Los Angeles Lakers when the clubs meet for Game Three on Friday.
Utah failed in its attempt to earn a split in the first two games of the best-of-seven series at the Staples Center, dropping a 120-110 decision to the Lakers in Game Two on Wednesday.
Deron Williams carried the load with 25 points and 10 assists for the Jazz, who posted the best home record in the league at 34-7 during the regular season.
"Again, we got down in the first half and really dug ourselves a hole against a good team, and you just can't do that," Williams said. "We're sitting there fighting back, using a lot of energy, and you just don't have enough to get over the hump."
The Jazz dealt with a similar situation in last season's playoffs, dropping the first two games of their first-round matchup with the Houston Rockets before battling back to capture the series in seven games.
"We've been through it," Jazz guard Ronnie Brewer said. "We've been down. We just got to find a way to win. We got to take care of business (at home) and then win on the road."
But if Utah plans to have any chance of getting back into this series it will need All-Star Carlos Boozer to break out of his funk. He is averaging just 12.5 points and 9.5 boards so far.
Kobe Bryant celebrated his first MVP award with 34 points and Lamar Odom registered 19 and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who are undefeated in six games this postseason.
"We believe in ourselves," Bryant said. "We have a high basketball IQ collectively. That's why I believe we can play into June because we all think the game extremely well and we play as a unit on both ends of the floor."
Los Angeles' quick starts have been the key to success in the series as the team has jumped out early double-digit leads in both games.
From the Bleachers
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LOS ANGELES: 99
UTAH: 104
Final
May 9 11:49 PM -
LOS ANGELES: 72
UTAH: 79
End of 3rd
May 9 10:59 PM -
LOS ANGELES: 43
UTAH: 52
Halftime
May 9 10:11 PM -
LOS ANGELES: 23
UTAH: 23
End of 1st
May 9 9:33 PM
