Lakers Pound It Inside to Jazz in Game 2 Win
Kobe Bryant scored 30 points while Pau Gasol added 22 points and 15 rebounds and the Lakers methodically pounded the ball down low in a 111-103 victory over the Jazz on Tuesday night, taking a 2-0 series lead.
Andrew Bynum had 17 points and 14 rebounds for Los Angeles, who took advantage of their size inside with their two 7 footers along with Lamar Odom off the bench.
The Jazz had no answers for them defensively as the under-sized Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap were their only viable options inside.
With 64 points in the paint, a 58-40 rebounding advantage and 13 blocked shots, the Lakers maintained a steady lead throughout the second half of a grind-it-out game that lasted over 2 1/2 hours.
The Lakers are 40-1 in franchise history after winning the first two games of a seven-game series.
Paul Millsap single-handedly kept the Jazz in the game with his 26 points and 11 rebounds. C.J. Miles added 20 points for Utah, which will get three days off to figure out how to stop the Lakers from abusing them inside repeatedly as they did in Game 2 tonight.
Game 3 will be on Saturday in Utah.
In other NBA playoff action:
- Dwight Howard had 21 points and 12 rebounds in one of the most crushing playoff wins in Magic history, a 114-71 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal.
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