KOBE BRYANT SCORES 34 POINTS IN GAME 2 WIN AGAINST JAZZ May 8, 2008 - Kobe Bryant couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate his first MVP award. He had 34 points, eight rebounds and six assists Wednesday night, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 120-110 to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals and remain the NBA's only unbeaten team in the postseason. Bryant received his Most Valuable Player trophy from NBA commissioner David Stern in a brief ceremony before the game. "I'm at a loss for words, I don't know what to say," Bryant said as the Staples Center crowd of 18,997 roared its approval and chanted M-V-P. "I love you guys so much. We're going to play until June. Let's get this party started." The 29-year-old Bryant was a runaway winner, receiving 82 first-place votes and 1,100 points to far outdistance New Orleans' Chris Paul in the voting of 126 media members. The results were announced Tuesday. LOS ANGELES LAKERS VS. UTAH JAZZ PLAYOFFS: GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS Following the presentation, Bryant's wife and two young daughters gave him with a bouquet of flowers at center court. "It was an emotional night for all of us," Bryant said after the game. "We haven't seen Staples Center this electric. It gave me goose bumps. You want to ride the momentum, and we were able to do that." The Lakers made their first six shots, and after falling behind 13-12, Bryant scored six points during a 13-0 run that put them ahead for good. "We were never able to gather momentum in the second half, but we never really had that point where we felt threatened in this ballgame," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We felt that the offense was going well, we were doing things we wanted to do." The series shifts to Utah for Games 3 and 4 on Friday night and Sunday. The Jazz had an NBA-best 37-4 home record this season, but one of the losses was by 11 points to the Lakers on March 20. 2008 PLAYOFFS LOS ANGELES LAKERS ROUND TWO PHOTO GALLERY "No expectations, no disappointments," Jackson said regarding the games in Utah. "We've got to control the tempo, we've got to control the pace. That's big in Utah," Bryant said. "We're a pretty good road team. We're really looking forward to it." Derek Fisher, who played for Utah last season, added 22 points, Pau Gasol scored 20, and Lamar Odom had 19 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who shot 57.4 percent from the field and made 35 free throws -- 22 more than the Jazz. "We can't foul them," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "We've put them at the line 89 times [in two games]. That's way too many. That was the difference in the game, free throws." Seven Utah players scored in double figures led by Deron Williams, who had 25 points, including three 3-pointers in the last 33 seconds, and 10 assists. Paul Millsap added a career playoff-high 17 points and 10 rebounds, Mehmet Okur had 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and five blocked shots, and Andrei Kirilenko scored 14 points. Okur and Kirilenko both fouled out in the final minute. Carlos Boozer was held to 10 points -- all in the second half. He played less than seven minutes in the first half because of foul trouble. LOS ANGELES LAKERS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE Game 1 : Lakers 109 Jazz 98 : Lakers Lead The Series 1-0 Game 2 : Lakers 120 Jazz 110 : Lakers Lead The Series 2-0 Game 3 : Friday, May 9 : at Utah, 9:00 P.M. (ESPN) Game 4 : Sunday, May 11 : at Utah, 3:30 P.M. (ABC) Game 5* : Wednesday, May 14 : at Los Angeles, TBD (TNT) Game 6* : Friday, May 16 : at Utah, TBD (ESPN) Game 7* : Monday, May 19 : at Los Angeles, TBD (TNT) * If necessary 2ND ROUND - UTAH JAZZ "We feel like we've been in both games, we just haven't been able to get over the hump," Utah's Kyle Korver said. The Jazz outrebounded the Lakers 58-41 in Game 1, but lost 109-98. They won the battle of the backboards again 41-37, but shot 44.6 percent while attempting a season-high 101 shots -- 33 more than Los Angeles. "There's no need to panic, but they're definitely in control right now," said Williams, who scored three points in the first half. "We've got to protect our homecourt. These next two games are must-wins. If we're down 3-1, it's going to be tough to come back from." The Jazz outscored the Lakers 11-4 to get within five points with just under six minutes to play. But a jumper by Sasha Vujacic, a 3-pointer by Fisher and a free throw by Gasol extended the Lakers' lead to 105-94 with 4:26 left. - NBA.com   KOBE BRYANT 2008 MVP SCORES 38 IN OPENER AGAINST UTAH May 5, 2008 - Kobe Bryant made most of the shots that mattered, which he didn't view as any great accomplishment. That's because there was nary a hand in his face when he took them. Bryant, celebrating what's expected to be his first NBA MVP award, converted six of his franchise playoff-record 21 foul shots in the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Lakers held off the Utah Jazz 109-98 Sunday to begin the second round of the playoffs. Bryant finished with 38 points, six rebounds and seven assists, and the Lakers made it five straight victories to begin the postseason after winning eight of their last nine regular-season games to earn the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. "You've got to be able to knock those free throws down. They're open looks," said Bryant, who made his first 18 foul shots before missing two of his last five to finish 21-of-23. "It's my responsibility to knock them down." LOS ANGELES LAKERS VS. UTAH JAZZ PLAYOFFS: GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS The Lakers shot 38-of-46 from the foul line, while the Jazz went 22-of-30. The teams spent most of the final period going from one foul line to the other, with Los Angeles going 14-of-19 from the line and Utah 10-of-12. Twenty-four of the 60 personal fouls were called in the last 12 minutes. "It's an incredible night to have 23 foul shots," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "I know that Utah's not going to be happy about it. We'll probably see about half that in the next game, if not less. So for him to do that, it was our biggest scoring threat of the night right there." Utah coach Jerry Sloan said he didn't have a problem with Bryant's many trips to the foul line. "They called them, he shot them, that's fine," Sloan said. "I can't do anything about that." Regarding his team's defense, Sloan said: "It was very, very poor at best. (Fouls) are what you do when you try and bail out. I'd say that's very poor defense." 2008 PLAYOFFS LOS ANGELES LAKERS ROUND TWO PHOTO GALLERY There were some other unexpected numbers. For one, the Jazz outrebounded the Lakers 58-41, with 25 of their rebounds at the offensive end. For another, Utah attempted 95 shots to match its regular-season high, but converted only 36 (37.9 percent). "We had open shots, we couldn't make them," Sloan said. "A lot of it was just their defense," said Deron Williams, who shot 5-for-18. "They pushed us outside farther than we wanted to go with our offense." Derek Fisher, who played with the Jazz last season, guarded Williams for the most part and had a career playoff-high six steals to go with five points and six assists. "I think probably what confused him was how old I am," the 33-year-old Fisher said, laughing. "When he fakes, I don't go for it because I can't react that fast so I end up stealing it from him." Game 2 will be played Wednesday night before the best-of-seven series shifts to Utah for Games 3 and 4. LOS ANGELES LAKERS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE Game 1 : Lakers 109 Nuggets 98 : Lakers Lead The Series 1-0 Game 2 : Wednesday, May 7 : at Los Angeles, 10:30 P.M. (TNT) Game 3 : Friday, May 9 : at Utah, 9:00 P.M. (ESPN) Game 4 : Sunday, May 11 : at Utah, 3:30 P.M. (ABC) Game 5* : Wednesday, May 14 : at Los Angeles, TBD (TNT) Game 6* : Friday, May 16 : at Utah, TBD (ESPN) Game 7* : Monday, May 19 : at Los Angeles, TBD (TNT) * If necessary 2ND ROUND - UTAH JAZZ Word leaked late Friday that Bryant had won his first Most Valuable Player award and he expressed his joy on Saturday. The NBA has declined comment, but Bryant is expected to receive the MVP trophy from commissioner David Stern before Game 2. The "MVP! MVP!" chants from the capacity crowd of 18,997 at Staples Center began before the opening tip, with the volume increasing significantly when Bryant was introduced with the other Los Angeles starters. Bryant, who shot 8-for-16 from the field, scored 24 points to help the Lakers take a 54-41 halftime lead, and although they were on top the rest of the way, there were some anxious moments down the stretch. Pau Gasol added 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, Lamar Odom had 16 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 45 seconds to play, and Sasha Vujacic scored a career playoff-high 15 for the Lakers. - NBA.com   KOBE BRYANT SWEEPS FIRST ROUND AGAINST DENVER NUGGETS April 28, 2008 - Kobe Bryant scored 14 of his 31 points over the final 5 1/2 minutes Monday night, leading the Lakers to a 107-101 victory and a sweep of their first-round series. "He is unbelievable," Luke Walton said of Bryant, his teammates and one of the MVP favorites. "It's always so comforting knowing you have the best closer in basketball. They were making huge plays down the stretch, but Kobe came right back to do whatever it took: huge plays, steals or an incredible shots like that fadeaway over Kenyon Martin from the top of the key. He wanted it badly tonight and we followed his lead." Pau Gasol added 21 points in the Lakers' first sweep of a playoff series since whitewashing New Jersey in the 2002 NBA finals, the last time they won it all. LOS ANGELES LAKERS VS. DENVER NUGGETS PLAYOFFS: GAME 4 HIGHLIGHTS The Lakers will meet the winner of the Utah-Houston series, which the Jazz lead 3-1, in the Western Conference semifinals. The Nuggets won 50 games this season for the first time in two decades, and they did it in the power-packed Western Conference. But they were no match for the top-seeded Lakers, who are 25-5 with Gasol in the lineup. Gasol led the way early, scoring 18 first-half points, and Bryant took over in the waning minutes, scoring nine straight points in every way -- a turnaround jumper, a 3-pointer, a driving layup and a 15-foot floater -- to give the Lakers a 97-96 lead. "It feels good to win the way that we won today," Bryant said. 2008 PLAYOFFS LOS ANGELES LAKERS ROUND ONE PHOTO GALLERY When Walton made a wide-open 3 from the right corner, the Lakers went ahead 100-96 with 2:37 left, and Martin and Carmelo Anthony soon fouled out. Bryant made three free throws and a jumper after that. Anthony accused his team of quitting in Game 3 and he insisted he wasn't going to let that happen Monday night. He was right. The Nuggets didn't lay down, even when they fell behind by 13 points in the first half. They stormed back to make it a seesaw game in the second half. But again, Los Angeles had the answers and sent the Nuggets to their first-ever sweep in a seven-game series. Anthony fouled out with 1:19 left and Bryant made one free throw for a 101-96 lead. After Nene's slam dunk, Bryant's running bank shot make it 103-98. LOS ANGELES LAKERS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE Game 1 : Lakers 128 Nuggets 114 : Lakers Lead The Series 1-0 Game 2 : Lakers 122 Nuggets 107 : Lakers Lead The Series 2-0 Game 3 : Lakers 102 Nuggets 84 : Lakers Lead The Series 3-0 Game 4 : Lakers 107 Nuggets 101 : Lakers Win Series 4-0 Game 5* : Wednesday, April 30 : at Los Angeles, TBD (TBD) Game 6* : Friday, May 2 : at Denver, TBD (TBD) Game 7* : Sunday, May 4 : at Los Angeles, TBD (TBD) * If necessary 1ST ROUND - DENVER NUGGETS Marcus Camby's first points since the series shifted to Denver came on a 3-pointer from the left corner with 33 seconds left, cutting the Lakers' lead to 103-101, but Gasol maneuvered underneath for a dunk, and Bryant added two free throws with 18 seconds left. Lamar Odom had 14 points and 12 rebounds for Los Angeles and Vladimir Radmanovic scored 12 points. J.R. Smith led the Nuggets with 26 points, while Allen Iverson had 22 and Anthony 21. The Nuggets were bounced in the first round for the fifth straight season -- only this time, they didn't even win their customary one game, suffering their first sweep since San Antonio beat them 3-0 in 1995, when the first round was best-of-five. - NBA.com   KOBE BRYANT AND LAKERS LOOK TO SWEEP SERIES IN DENVER April 26, 2008 - The Denver Nuggets just can't seem to keep their emotions or Kobe Bryant in check. Bryant led a balanced offense with 22 points and the Los Angeles Lakers took a 3-0 lead in their first-round series, routing the flustered Nuggets 102-84 on Saturday. Game 4 is Monday night, and the Nuggets are going to have to get more out of their All-Star duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson if they hope to take the series back to the Staples Center. For once, the Nuggets clamped down on defense, but their high-flying offense went AWOL as Anthony and Iverson had their worst performance together since the two superstars first teamed up 16 months ago. LOS ANGELES LAKERS VS. DENVER NUGGETS PLAYOFFS: GAME 3 HIGHLIGHTS "I was getting to the basket, I just wasn't finishing," Iverson said. "And the same thing happened to 'Melo." Anthony and A.I. shot a combined 10-for-38 and finished with 16 and 15 points, respectively. No thanks to the Lakers, either, suggested coach Phil Jackson. "I thought our defense packed it in on them, but they missed some easy shots," Jackson said. "I told the team at halftime, 'They're not going to shoot like this for the whole game. They missed some close shots, some shots they usually make. We'll have to play better defense in the second half.' "But they never showed up. They never got it going." 2008 PLAYOFFS LOS ANGELES LAKERS ROUND ONE PHOTO GALLERY Anthony said the Nuggets surrendered in the third quarter, although Karl didn't empty his bench until the fourth quarter. "You could just sense it," Anthony said. "I'm saying 'we,' because I'm part of this, too. I'm saying I quit. We all just gave up." At least one teammate concurred. "That's the way it seemed," Kenyon Martin said. "Everybody came out of the game. A.I. came out, and he leads the league in minutes. It's frustrating." "Well, I don't think I quit," Karl retorted. "... In the fourth quarter, I tried to find some answers. ... I don't think that's a fair, I think 'Melo's emotional right now, he's frustrated right now, as we all are." Bryant said he never sensed the Nuggets had given up until the very end. LOS ANGELES LAKERS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE Game 1 : Lakers 128 Nuggets 114 : Lakers Lead The Series 1-0 Game 2 : Lakers 122 Nuggets 107 : Lakers Lead The Series 2-0 Game 3 : Lakers 102 Nuggets 84 : Lakers Lead The Series 3-0 Game 4 : Monday, April 28 : at Denver, 10:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Game 5* : Wednesday, April 30 : at Los Angeles, TBD (TBD) Game 6* : Friday, May 2 : at Denver, TBD (TBD) Game 7* : Sunday, May 4 : at Los Angeles, TBD (TBD) * If necessary 1ST ROUND - DENVER NUGGETS "Well, they're down 20-something points with two minutes to go," Bryant said. "But not until that point." Bryant had a placid first half himself (8 points of 3-of-8 shooting) but scored nine quick points in the third quarter to put the Lakers ahead 64-51 and quiet the Pepsi Center crowd that loves to hate him. Bryant has always played well in Colorado, where fans have persistently heckled him ever since he was charged with sexual assault at a ski resort in the Rocky Mountains in 2003, even after the criminal case was dismissed and a civil suit settled. Anthony drew a technical foul -- Denver's seventh in the series -- after he was stripped on his way to the basket, leading to a breakaway by Bryant that stretched the Lakers' lead to 78-61 with 2:33 left in the third. - NBA.com