The Los Angeles Lakers took on the Utah Jazz at Staples Center Friday night and proved to them why they were the Western Conference champs last year and currently the #1 seed in the conference this year. The Lakers started the game off ridiculously hot scoring 37 points in the 1st quarter while Utah only had 20 points. They later led by 20 points in the 2nd quarter at 50-30.

As the game went on however, the Lakers cooled off and the Utah Jazz began to heat up. The 20 point lead eventually turned into only a four point lead until Trevor Ariza finally took over and did what was necessary for the team to come out with a win. Two key steals in the final minutes by Ariza helped the Lakers pull out the much needed win as the Celtics and Cavs both defeated their opponents.

Kobe Bryant had a good game scoring 40 points with 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Pau Gasol also had a huge game scoring 21 points to go with 11 rebounds and 6 assists. The play of the game however came from Gasol late in the fourth quarter as he dribbled down the court on a break away, dribbled between his legs at midcourt, and shot off a nice pass to Ariza to his left for a big dunk. The crowd went crazy and Pau easily had one of his nicest plays as a Laker.

The Lakers continue a very tough stretch of their schedule on Sunday night against the Portland Trailblazers and then the New Orleans Hornets on Tuesday night. The nice part is that both games are Staples Center as they attempt to extend their current five game winning streak.