Lakers beat Jazz to edge closer to conference finals

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom picked up the slack with MVP Kobe Bryant slowed by a sore back to lift the Lakers to a 111-104 over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, putting the home team one win from the Western Conference finals.

Gasol scored a pair of buckets after the Jazz closed to 103-102 to give the Lakers to a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series that shifts to Salt Lake City on Friday.

The series now goes back to Utah for a possible Laker close-out in Game Six. Should the Jazz win on their home court, the series finale will be played back at the Staples Center.

Bryant established himself early and showed flashes of his top form in the third quarter, faking out Jazz guard Deron Williams to waltz in for a layup.

As Utah defenders closed in, Bryant gave the ball up to his team mates and they responded to produce a true team win for the Western Conference top seeds.

All five Laker starters finished with double-figures in scoring.

Kobe led the winners with 26 points and seven assists to go along with two steals.

Odom hauled in 11 rebounds to go with his 22 points, and Gasol tallied 21.

Deron Williams paced the Jazz with 27 points.

Kobe deferred to his team mates when it mattered most, explaining to reporters that "they were open" and "Lamar and Pau took it from there".

With their lead down to one point in the game's climactic finish, Gasol used a finger roll to restore a three-point advantage and then jammed home a rebound to allow the Lakers faithful to breathe easier at 107-102.

When asked about his strong fourth-quarter performance, Gasol said he had to "dig down deep inside to pull the win out".

So far in the playoffs, the home teams have won 19 of 20 games.

Pau's explanation was that the playoff teams are "pretty equal as far as talent and quality".

Bryant said he did not expect Utah to give up.

"They're a Jerry Sloan team," he said, referring to their head coach. "Being as tough a competitor as a coach, Jerry Sloan will be firing up his team to win two more."

(Reporting by David Zemanek, Editing by John O'Brien)