LA Lakers defeat Utah Jazz 108-105. After leading by 19 points at halftime and 16 points at the end of the third quarter, I thought the Lakers would roll through easily to the Western Conference Finals. But with the Lakers playing sloppy on the offensive end turning the ball over seven times in the final frame and the Jazz shooting threes like they were going out style, the Jazz had the chance to send......

LA Lakers defeat Utah Jazz 111-104. Kobe Bryant, sore back and all, and the Lakers held off the Jazz to win game five of the series. The fourth quarter started with an 81-81 tie and something happened that didn't happen in overtime in game four: Kobe Bryant attempted no shots. Instead he relied on his other four teammates to make the open shots. The best one came 21 seconds left in the game with......

Utah Jazz over LA Lakers 123-115 (OT). With Kobe Bryant visibly affected by a strained back, the Lakers managed to tie the game at the end of regulation after being down by 12 with four minutes to go. But come overtime, the Lakers could not ride that momentum. The Jazz in a complete role reversal got to the line 45 times as opposed to 25 by the Lakers. The series is now tied 2-2......

Utah Jazz defeats LA Lakers 104-99. There was a Carlos Boozer sighting in Salt Lake City. After being ineffective in the first two games at the Staples Center, Boozer woke up scoring 27 points with 20 rebounds while leading the way after the Lakers made a 6-0 run to get within three points at the end of the game. While the Jazz out-rebounded the Lakers yet again, the problem for the Lakers was turnovers.......

LA Lakers over Utah Jazz 120-110. The same script from game one followed in game two. The Lakers pulled away from the Jazz in the second quarter, but the Jazz made it close with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Lakers woke up and snatched the win convincingly in the final minutes. The biggest difference was in this game Kobe Bryant received his MVP trophy before the game and played like he......

LA Lakers over Utah Jazz 109-98. MVP Kobe Bryant and the Lakers showed that a six-day layoff wouldn't decrease their intensity as they spanked the Jazz Sunday afternoon. Before the sold-out crowd at Staples, the Jazz looked gassed in the fourth quarter from having played six tough games against the Houston Rockets in the first round. The MVP scored 38 points and went to the free-throw line a playoff career high 23 times only......

Pittsburgh Pirates defeat LA Dodgers 6-4. The Dodgers were leading 4-3 in the top of the ninth, and I had just finished writing this blurb. Dodger closer Takashi Saito gave up two singles then the Earl Weaver to the Pirates Nate McClouth. This was a rough loss despite a good outing by Hiroki Kuroda who gave up three runs on six innings. Andruw Jones hit a triple and look to resemble the hitter we......

Lakers 103, Washington Wizards 91 - The game wasn’t as close as the final score indicates. The Lakers led by 22 at halftime, and led by as much as 25 points in the third quarter. Kobe Bryant, who outscored the Wizards in the first quarter 19-15, ended up with 30 points on 10-15 shooting with eight free throws. Vladamir Radmanovic, Lamar Odom and Ronny Turiaf rounded out the starters with double-figure scoring, and Sasha Vujacic......

B-Dizzle Up-Dizzle - LA's last hope is out of the NBA playoffs. The Utah Jazz beat the Golden State Warriors 100-87 and took the series in five games. It was a battle until the end, and we mean battle.  There were 50 personal fouls, 31 against the Warriors. Several were flagrants and technicals. Ducks 5, Red Wings 0 - After stealing home ice advantage with a split in Hockeytown, USA, the Ducks were cooked when they......

At some point during the third quarter of last night’s Laker game, I was asking myself the same question that Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan was asking himself: Is there anything Kobe Bryant can’t do? Not on a basketball court, apparently. He got his 52 points last night by shooting deep threes and driving for dunks, he can shoot inside with both hands, can drive equally well left or right, has a pull-up jumper, a......

Tonight the Lakers face the Utah Jazz on a Charles Barkley-approved national broadcast — a face off of two surprising first-place teams. So it begs the question: Can these teams stay on top for an entire season? In the case of talented and now healthy Utah, it’s pretty easy to answer yes. For the Lakers, well, they get a qualified yes — if they start playing some defense. Most Laker fans have been feeling......

Just what do we know about this season’s Lakers after nine games? We know they can win with Kobe dragging one leg behind him (although he looked better Friday night against Toronto, to the point that Phil Jackson benched him for “imposing his will” on the game and ignoring teammates). We know that young guys like Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmar and Ronny Turiaf can take on more than maybe we thought. We know Luke Walton......