As Fisher makes his second trip back to Utah, the Lakers are prepared to take on the NBA team with the best home record that is currently riding a 19 game home winning streak. LA is tied up with New Orleans for first place in the Western Conference. With a win tonight, they will take a half game lead for first place. So allow me to begin my note taking of the game!1st Quarter:

The Lakers have started off with a bunch of intensity. They have come out strong and are clearly looking to break the Jazz’s win streak. Lamar has come out like a beast. He has been moving well without the ball, he has moved well with the ball, he has shot well, he has been absolutely amazing thus far. The team has jumped out to a quick 18-7 lead.

After having to attend to a few issues, I have returned right as the 2nd quarter is starting. The stats from the first quarter appear on the screen and apparently the Lakers have been on fire. They scored on 16 out of their 22 possessions. With a lead of 38-18 I am ready to enjoy the rest of the game.

2nd Quarter:

The player movement is amazing, on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court. Lamar Odom is continuing to dominate and control the game while Ronny’s energy and Sasha’s shooting are moving the game along. The defense however is clearly what is keeping this game in favor of the Lakers so far. They kept Utah to under 20 points in the first which I feel is very impressive, especially while missing the majority of their big men. Utah has a pretty big lineup but Phil Jackson has obviously found a way to pick the defense apart.

The crowd has been pretty loud throughout the game; it’s got to be difficult to play in this hostile environment. When Utah scores, everyone jumps out of their seats, even when they only cut the lead to 17. i now clearly understand why it is so difficult to win in Utah.

About half way through the quarter, I have been given the opportunity to see Sasha hit a few wide open shots. I’ve often wondered, how does a coach feel when the guy known as “The Machine” is left wide open to drill yet another three point basket. Vujacic is a small no name kind of guy in the NBA, but surely enough coaches are beginning to warn their teams about him. “Leave him open, and we might as well give them the game now,” is probably close to what it sounds like.

Halftime:

The Lakers lead 60-45 and have a great opportunity to make the best of a road trip that started off on the wrong foot. The first two game were lost in New Orleans and Houston but the biggest loss was that of Pau Gasol. The team has rebounded with a strong performance in Dallas (for the first half) and so far a strong performance in Utah (hopefully lasting longer than the one in Dallas). Derron Williams has been held down pretty well by the Lakers point guards, but he is getting his assists and it’s only a matter of time until he begins to put the ball through the hoop.

Vujacic has 8, Farmar has 6, Radmanovic has 8 (3 for 3), and Lamar has truly shown his strengths with 15 points (6 of 8 from the field), 8 rebound, and 5 assists. Kobe is shooting 50% with 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. The team is struggling at the line making only 6 of 11 in the first half, but thankfully, Utah hasn’t had the chance to catch up at the line only shooting 5 free throws in the first half (making 3).

Look for the Lakers to come out extremely energized in the second half because they know how easily a big lead can slip away (refer back to Dallas on Tuesday night). Hopefully, the Lakers starters can come out strong, spread the lead to about 28-35 by the end of the 3rd, and give guys like Radmanovic, Vujacic, Mbenga, Coby Karl, and DJ Mbenga a chance to play some ball together in the 4th.

3rd Quarter:

1st play of the quarter, Brewer has a wide open reverse layup on a bad defensive rotation. On the offensive end, Ronny misses a shot contested by all five Jazz players. I must admit, I was a bit startled by this rough start but the Lakers were bailed out when Utah missed a wide open 18 foot shot, and then Derek Fisher hitting a 2 point shot a few seconds later. Utah’s defensive rotations have been even worse than that of the Lakers.

Quick Note: I CAN’T TAKE THESE ANNOUNCERS ANYMORE ON TNT. This is ridiculous! A Lakers game with all this intensity has never been this boring to watch.

Ronny Turiaf is doing a spectacular job holding Boozer down and not allowing him to go off for a big night. Boozer is clearly the better player between the two, but Ronny’s energy and enthusiasm has really gotten to him. It appears that the only guy wearing a Utah jersey who is still hustling and ready to take on the challenge of beating the Lakers is Okur. He is yelling to his teammates trying to get them more involved, lets see if they respond at all.

With 4:50 remaining in the 3rd quarter and the Utah Jazz cutting the lead to 13, the crowd decided that this was the appropriate time to get the team going. The crowd stands up and starts yelling at the top of their lungs, Fisher misses another three pointer, Utah hits a layup, and the Lakers call a timeout. Crowd goes wild and now it’s time for the Lakers to go back to work. Let me note as well that Utah made up 6 points taking their deficit from 17 to 11 by making 2 free throws, and 2 layups after Lakers missed three point attempts. I think if the Lakers start penetrating a bit more and focus on taking the ball hard to the hoop, they will come out of this game with a “W” and head back home 2-2 on their road trip.

I’m proud to be a Lakers fan, for once not only because of their history and their passion to win, but because of the way they are playing in today’s game. They went into Dallas and played a very strong first half with lots of intensity. They have come into Utah and played with a bunch of energy so far showing that they refuse to roll over. Utah has missed a bunch of layups already only because the Lakers are pounding bodies inside and contesting absolutely every shot. NO EASY BASKETS! Just as I say this, with 0:40 left in the 3rd Lamar contests two layups in a row as the Jazz had a 2 on 1 fast break. Bravo Lamar!

Utah finishes the third quarter down only 12 points cutting the Lakers lead by 3 since halftime. The energy is still there from the Lakers and it’s obvious that they are determined to win this game, and I have all the confidence that they will. LA is giving Utah too many chances to cut the lead due to to many 3-point shot attempts. The Lakers shot 2-7 from beyond the arc and those five misses have led to 8 points. Obviously, the Lakers are having difficulty recovering on defense after missed 3 pointers.

4th Quarter:

Surely enough, the Lakers first possession of the quarter ends with a wild three pointer to beat the shot clock; it was a miss in case you were wondering. The second possession, after a Utah turnover, was another shot clock beating release from beyond the arc, this time however, Jordan made a contested jumper and bailed his guys out. The third possession is another three pointer deep into the shot clock, this time Vujacic, and somehow, again they hit.

9:02 – Ronny Turiaf hits a wide open 18 foot jumper as Jordan never even stepped within the three point line. He stood about 10 feet behind the arc near the Jazz logo at center court during the entire offensive sequence. This was the sign to me of Utah giving up and conceding the game to LA, but then again, we never know.

Utah has made a few strong pushes but just can’t seem to break into the single digit deficit. The Lakers seem to have given up a few easy baskets at times, but they have scored at all the right times.

4:20 – Utah crowd rises to their feet again as Boozer makes a turn around jumper cutting the lead down to 10. Kobe comes back and quiets the crowd with a quick 20 foot jumper extending the lead to 12.

3:44 – The Utah Jazz have cut the Lakers lead to only 8 points on a Derron Williams 4 point play (negotiable call). Kobe realizes that his team might be in trouble, he takes a few dribbles, goes around a screen, and slams the ball home for two. Next play down the Lakers come up with a big defensive stop, Luke goes around his guy with a behind the back dribble, Kobe steals the ball from Luke, Kobe leads the 3 on 1 break from the middle of the pack, and passes the ball to Luke Walton for the layup. This play doesn’t really sound all that exciting but let me point out one detail. Kobe’s pass was AMAZING! He jumped in the air making it look as though the ball was going to go to his left, suddenly the ball ends up on the right, and all you see is the ball go through the hoop off the backboard for two. I didn’t see the pass so I waited for the replay (no DVR). In the replay you can see Andre Kirilenko, the lone defender, facing the opposite direction of Luke Walton waiting to go up for the ball, until he finally realized the ball wasn’t on that side of the court, turned around, and saw Luke already up on his back with the shot! Must see replay (I will search for the video soon).

GAME SUMMARY:

As much as I would’ve loved to continue writing about every part of the game, my fingers simply can’t handle anymore typing. The Lakers have put an end to Utah’s 19 game winning streak at home, they have finished the four game road trip 2-2, they now head back home to a play quite an easy schedule, and the Lakers now TAKE OVER THE #1 SPOT IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS!!!

PS. Kobe looked quite pissed off as he walked off the court. He chucked the ball really hard at center court and showed his pride as he walked away from the. In the post game interview on TNT he explained the reason he was upset was because “last time the Lakers came into Utah, the crowd booed Derek Fisher for no reason, so this time, it was personal.”

Does Kobe make his teammates better? Does Kobe care about this team? I think the one question post game interview answered every possible question that still stands regarding this team’s character and that of it’s leader.