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| Kobe Bryant throws temper tantrum vs Utah Jazz March 20 2008 |
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The Los Angeles Lakers quickly discouraged any
Utah fans who hoped to see the Jazz set a team
record for consecutive home wins.
Jazz fans had barely started booing Kobe Bryant
before he and the Lakers made nine of their first
10 shots and were up by 20 before the end of the
first quarter. Los Angeles held off every Utah
rally from there and won 106-95 on Thursday night,
ending the Jazz's 19-game home winning streak.
"The important thing for us is to get off to a
good start. We were able to do that and keep the
crowd out of it for the most part,'' said Bryant,
who scored 27 as the Lakers finished a four-game
road trip 2-2 and pulled slightly ahead of New
Orleans for the best record in the Western
Conference.
Lamar Odom had 21 points and 12 rebounds, Derek
Fisher added 11 points and Vladimir Radmanovic
scored 13 for the Lakers, who are the first team
to win in Utah in 2008. Utah's home winning streak
ended with a pretty big thud as the Jazz were
never able to get closer than 10 until the final
few minutes.
"They went out and buried us right away,'' Utah
coach Jerry Sloan said.
The Jazz got within eight points down the stretch,
but the Lakers didn't let them any closer. One
Utah fan marred the already ugly loss by throwing
a beer on the court after a dunk by Odom with 21
seconds left.
Carlos Boozer had 23 points and 15 rebounds and
Deron Williams had 26 points and 12 assists for
Utah. Andrei Kirilenko scored 15 points, Ronnie
Brewer had 12 and Mehmet Okur 10.
Utah hadn't lost at home since Boston won here
104-98 on Dec. 29. The winning streak tied the
longest in franchise history and the Jazz could
have set a new mark against the team Jazz fans
dislike the most. Bryant shouldered the usual boos
and by the end the remaining fans were mostly
wearing gold and purple and chanting "M-V-P!''
Bryant also had eight rebounds and seven assists.
"I think we knew how tough they are at home and
what kind of energy they would come out with,''
Bryant said.
Los Angeles is still without Pau Gasol (ankle) and
Andrew Bynum (knee), but didn't need much more
than the starting lineup. Jordan Farmar and Sasha
Vujacic scored 11 each for the Lakers, who
outscored the Jazz reserves 25-9.
Los Angeles had Utah scrambling from the
beginning, going 15-for-20 in the first quarter
and shutting down every mini-run the Jazz made
until it was too late. Every time Utah made a
small dent in the lead, the Lakers answered with a
3-pointer. Los Angeles finished 10-for-22 from
beyond-the-arc.
The Jazz made a few mini-runs to cut into the
lead, but the Lakers never let Utah put together
one big push.
"We got them in a situation where things weren't
working well for them on the offensive end,'' Los
Angeles coach Phil Jackson said. "They were a
little bit out of sync.''
The Jazz never got closer than 11 until Boozer's
turnaround jumper cut the lead to 94-84 with 4:32
remaining. Bryant followed that with a 22-foot
jumper, but fouled Williams on a 3-pointer at the
other end. Williams made the free throw to cut the
lead to 96-88, but Bryant quickly stopped the
momentum with a dunk.
"We were rolling at that point. We came back, made
a little bit of a run, and then Kobe started
hitting some tough shots,'' Boozer said.
Fisher spent last season with the Jazz before
asking out of his contract for family reasons. He
was booed loudly when the Lakers played here in
November, but got a warmer welcome Thursday night.
Bryant said the Lakers hadn't forgotten the way
Fisher was received last time.
"Derek's the type of guy that's not going to say
anything, but I'll say it for him. He took it
personally tonight and we wanted to send a
message,'' Bryant said.
Tags : Kobe Bryant throws temper tantrum vs Utah Jazz March 20 2008 |
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Affichage : 55407
Durée : 449 s |
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