Lakers-Jazz: L.A. Survives a Late Scare, Now Prepares for Round Two

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In a close-out game, you never know what to expect.

Utah was 10-14 in elimination games going into Game Five.

The Lakers were 64-44 in close out games all-time.

Over the first four games, Kobe Bryant in the three wins:  29.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg on 56-percent shooting.

Kobe in the only loss:  18 points, six rebounds, on five-of-24 from the field.

The Lakers had 12 more points in the paint going into Game Five.

First Quarter

Mehmet Okur, who did nothing in his first game back, you could tell looked a lot better. He had a couple of drives inside and was able to knock down a three.

The Lakers began the game actually running the offense, moving the ball and got a number of good looks.

With Luke Walton being out indefinitely after spraining his ankle in Game Four, I was interested in seeing how Trevor Ariza’s ankle looked. He showed he was just fine after chasing down Deron Williams and rejecting his layup attempt. About a minute later, he followed up a missed shot with a ferocious tip-dunk.

I think he is fine.

Neither team looked nervous and showed good energy and even shot the ball well. Utah hit 55 percent of their shots in the first quarter.

Ariza ended the first with four points, three rebounds, and three assists.

The only thing that stuck out, other than Ariza, were the six Lakers turnovers that resulted in seven easy baskets for the Jazz.

Read the rest of the breakdown at Lakers101.com.