UTH Jazz at LAL Lakers (May 04, 2008)
2008-05-04 04:24:00
PA SPORTSTICKER NBA PLAYOFF PREVIEW
(UTAH-LA LAKERS)
*Jazz meet well-rested Lakers in Game One*
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Utah at La Lakers 3:30 pm EDT
Western Conference semifinals Game One
LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- The Utah Jazz don't have much time to
enjoy their opening-round victory.
The fourth-seeded Jazz visit the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers
on Sunday in Game One of their Western Conference semifinals
series.
Utah needed six games to get past the fifth-seeded Houston
Rockets during the first round, closing out the best-of-seven
series with a decisive 113-91 victory on Friday.
Deron Williams scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half,
burying a slew of 3-pointers in the third quarter to put the
Rockets on ice.
Williams averaged 20.0 points and 8.5 assists in the opening
round and teammate Carlos Boozer praised his point guard for his
role in the series.
"He put us on his back - the whole series, really, especially
offensively," said Boozer, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds in
Game Six. "He did a great job of knocking down shots in the
third quarter (on Friday) to get us going."
Meanwhile, the Lakers had no trouble against the eighth-seeded
Denver Nuggets in the first round, cruising to a four-game
sweep.
Kobe Bryant, who is expected to earn his first career MVP award
next week, was unstoppable against the Nuggets, averaging 33.5
points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists and exploding for 49 points
in Game Three.
Trade deadline acquisition Pau Gasol also had a strong series
against defensively-challenged Denver, posting a pair of
double-doubles in Games One and Two - finishing the series with
averages of 22.0 points and 9.0 rebounds.
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