Kobe, Farmar lead Lakers past Jazz



Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Kobe Bryant scored 33 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers over the Utah Jazz, 119-109, at Staples Center.

Kobe Bryant hit 13-of-19 shots from the floor for the Los Angeles Lakers, who have won two straight after losing their season opener against Houston.

Andrew Bynum added 15 points and nine rebounds and Derek Fisher had 19 points for Los Angeles, which broke open a close game in the fourth quarter. Jordan Farmar keyed an early fourth-quarter run and ended with 12 points, while Ronny Turiaf and Luke Walton contributed with 10 points.

Deron Williams scored 26 points to lead Utah, which has alternated wins and losses over the first four games this season. Carlos Boozer finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Jazz, whose bench was outscored 41-18.

"We came out (of halftime) and established ourselves," said Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson. "Our second guys came off the bench and gave us a real good lift."

Trailing 82-81 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers scored seven straight points to give Los Angeles the lead. Jordan Farmar scored the final five points for the surge, capping it with a three-point play with 10:44 on the clock for an 88-82 edge.

Later, with 5:41 left, Andrew Bynum hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 100-91. Kobe Bryant's jumper at the 4:28 mark extended the lead to 105-94 and Andrew Bynum's layup with 3:09 left iced the contest and gave LA a 109-96 lead.

Andrei Kirilenko had 14 points and Mehmet Okur added 13 points for the Jazz, who have dropped three straight to the Los Angeles Lakers.

"We looked tired out there," said Williams, whose team beat Golden State 133-110 at home on Saturday night. "I think we looked tired out there and you can't be. You have to play back-to-backs, it's part of the NBA season. I think this was a good test for us, but we didn't really prove ourselves."

The Los Angeles Lakers led 25-21 after one quarter, but went into halftime trailing 51-46.

Game Notes

Utah fell to 1-1 on the road...LA improved to 1-1 at home...The Los Angeles Lakers have won three straight at home in this series...Ronnie Brewer ended with 15 points for the Jazz...LA hit only 3-of-16 three-pointers, while Utah went just 3-of-14 from behind the arc.

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