Stay on top of breaking news!
Sign up for NewsChannel 8 e-mail alerts.
(Sports Network) - The sizzling Los Angeles Lakers aim for their 10th consecutive win Wednesday when they welcome the Utah Jazz to Staples Center.
The Lakers' latest triumph came on Sunday when Kobe Bryant poured in 26 points and pulled down seven rebounds, and Los Angeles blitzed Phoenix, 108-88, in a matchup of the top two teams in the Pacific Division.
It was a more conventional victory for the Lakers, who were coming off an incredible 108-107 win over the Heat Friday night when Bryant hit an acrobatic three-pointer at the buzzer. Their latest victory moved the Lakers to an NBA- best 16-3.
Ron Artest contributed 15 points, five assists and five steals for the Lakers, who haven't lost since November 15 at home against Houston, Artest's former team. Pau Gasol tallied 14 points, Andrew Bynum 13, Shannon Brown 12 and Jordan Farmar 11 for Los Angeles, which beat the Suns for the eighth time in 10 meetings.
"They played last night and they didn't shoot well from the three-point line. We were able to control everybody, but (Amare) Stoudemire," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson.
The Jazz, meanwhile, are also coming off a win. Carlos Boozer scored 27 points on Monday and played some excellent defense on the Spurs' last possession to deny them the go-ahead bucket, as Utah used a third-quarter surge to beat San Antonio for the third time this season, 104-101.
Boozer added seven boards and five assists for the Jazz, who have won five of six. Boozer also denied San Antonio's Matt Bonner a clean look at the basket with 1.5 seconds left. Deron Williams added 17 points and 11 assists, while Ronnie Brewer had 17 points and 10 boards in the win.
Mehmet Okur contributed 14 points and nine boards for Utah, which outscored the Spurs, 37-19, in the third quarter.
"We started getting up, started guarding them a little bit more, and (we) went and did exactly what (we) wanted to do the whole time in the first half, it appeared to me," said Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan. "I thought we got up and challenged them just a little bit more in the way we (made) steals, and (we) kind of got our momentum going and made some shots. It's amazing how you build on it."
Los Angeles has won four of five and seven of the last nine meetings with the Jazz, who are winless in their last six as the guest in this series.
Copyright 2009 The Sports Network
All rights reserved
Email To Friend
NewsChannel 8 to leave comments on news stories.