LAL Lakers at UTH Jazz (May 09, 2008)
2008-05-09 06:12:00
PA SPORTSTICKER NBA PLAYOFF PREVIEW
(LA LAKERS-UTAH)
*Jazz try to regroup at home vs. Lakers*
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LA 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.
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