Lakers Complete Sweep Of Jazz, 111-96, Advance To Western Conference Finals

Kobe Bryant added 32 points for the top-seeded Lakers, who will play Phoenix in the conference finals, starting next Monday night at Staples Center. The Suns completed a second-round sweep of San Antonio Sunday night.

Shannon Brown tallied 12 points, while Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher each netted 10 for the Lakers, who are attempting to become the first repeat league champions since they won three in a row (2000-02) with the tandem that featured Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.

Bryant scored at least 30 points in every contest of the series, but Gasol was the catalyst in Game 4, going 12-of-18 from the field.

“We’re improving as every game goes by,” Gasol said. “That’s something that is really satisfying. I’m looking forward to the next series and forward to a couple days of rest.”

The sweep of the Jazz came after the Lakers were pushed to a tough six-game series win over Oklahoma City in the first round. This is the third straight trip to the conference finals for the Lakers.

Now it’s onto facing Phoenix, which sent the Lakers home in their last two playoff meetings, winning the 2006 and 2007 first-round series.

“We’re going to have to have a sustained effort from our bench to give us a little bit of support,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of the upcoming matchup. “The Suns are a run-and-gun team. They generate a lot of points and you have to run with them to stay in the game.”

Deron Williams and Paul Millsap each scored 21 for the Jazz, who were knocked out of the playoffs by the Lakers for a third straight year. LA won in the conference semifinals in 2008 and in the first round last year. This was the first time Utah was swept in a best-of-seven series.

“They came out tonight and they put it on us tough,” Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. “They got us out of sync because their defense was so good.”

Carlos Boozer, playing possibly his final game in a Jazz uniform, ended with 10 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out with 3 1/2 minutes remaining.

“It was tough to sit there,” Boozer said. “I thought we had a great series. I thought we’d battle back, get a win tonight, but we got beat by a better team.”

Three of the conference semifinals have already ended in sweeps, with Orlando completing its rout of Atlanta Monday night. The only series left is Cleveland facing Boston with that Eastern Conference set even after four games.

Down by 17 at the half, C.J. Miles led Utah’s third-quarter charge as the Jazz cut the deficit to 65-59 with 5 1/2 minutes left following a slam from Wesley Matthews. That finished an 11-2 run and Miles had nine points in the quarter.

Utah later pulled within five, the last time at 70-65 on Boozer’s layup with 3:19 left in the period. Bryant stemmed the tide with a driving layup, then added a jumper and Odom drained a three-ball for a 77-65 lead. Bryant’s free throw completed the 8-0 push and Gasol came through with a tip-in off a Bryant missed layup for an 80-67 lead going to the fourth.

The Jazz never got within single digits in the last quarter and LA’s lead reached 22, at 107-85 on Bryant’s jumper with three minutes left.

The Lakers finished the opening quarter on an 8-1 run, capped by Brown’s dunk, for a 29-24 lead.

Millsap’s short jumper had Utah within 33-27 nearly three minutes into the second, but the Lakers used an ensuing 12-2 burst to pull away. Jordan Farmar hit a three-pointer and Odom finished the rally with a free throw for a 45-29 cushion nearing the midway point.

LA pushed the lead to as high as 22, on a pair of Gasol foul shots for a 57-35 margin, and it was 58-41 at the half.

The Jazz were swept by Golden State in three games in the first round in 1989…Williams also had nine assists…Utah’s Kyrylo Fesenko had 12 rebounds, a playoff career-best…Matthews finished with 12 points.