Lakers Squander Lead But Luckily Win Anyway

Last night at Staples Center the Lakers managed to squander most of their 22-point third-quarter lead against Utah Jazz but still walked away with a win, 107-96, closing out their first-round playoff series four games to one. Kobe Bryant had 31 points, Lamar Odom had 26 points and, after losing another big lead in the fourth quarter, the Lakers won the best-of-seven series and now get either Houston or Portland in the next quarter.

Houston has a 3-1 lead over the Portland Trail Blazers, with Game 5 tonight in Portland; the Lakers were 2-2 against Portland this season (including two lopsided losses at the Rose Garden) and they were 4-0 against Houston (winning by an average margin of 13 points). Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson cancelled practice today and the team may have another day off before the next round, to be determined by what happens in Portland tonight. With the Lakers downtime comes concern over Andrew Bynum, who only had two points and five rebounds in 12 minutes during Game 5, and Luke Walton, who is out for at least a week due to a partially torn ligament. “We don’t really have a preference,” said Jackson about who the Lakers will play next. “It’s interesting. That’s a much more physical series than our series is. Both teams play extremely hard.”

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