Pau Gasol made two clutch baskets down the stretch as the Lakers survived with a 111-104 victory as 8 ½-point home favorites. The combined 215 points jumped ‘over’ the 212 ½-point closing total. The ‘over’ is now 3-1 in the last four games of this series.

Kobe Bryant had 26 points, seven assists and six rebounds to lead the Lakers, while Lamar Odom added 22 points and 11 rebounds. All five Lakers’ starters scored in double-digits.

Utah was in a similar situation a season ago. The Houston Rockets had the Jazz on the brink of elimination with a 3-2 lead in their first-round series before they bounced back to capture the remaining two games and advance.

Pau Gasol came through with the game's two biggest baskets in the last minute. His scoop shot gave the Lakers a 105-102 lead before his offensive rebound of Sasha Vujacic's missed 3-pointer and subsequent jam with 20 seconds remaining put Los Angeles ahead by five.

The Lakers' big man recorded 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds, and frequently found the open man for easy looks.

"Gasol really opened the game up with his passing tonight," Lakers forward Lamar Odom said. "That's why he's so valuable to this team and so valuable to our execution."

With the Lakers holding a narrow one-point lead early in the fourth, they were able to get some separation on Odom's three-point play with 6:19 left that made it 97-91.

The Jazz would storm back to within one point on a 3-pointer by Williams as the shot clock expired with 2:18 remaining.

On the next possession, Bryant spun through the lane and found Odom open for an uncontested dunk. Mehmet Okur came back with a layup to again get the Jazz within one, before Gasol finished them off.

Bryant, who injured his back early in Sunday's contest, was bothered throughout the contest. He attempted just 10 shots, but happily played the role of distributor for Gasol and Odom.

The Lakers were able to overcome a pestering Jazz squad, which was led by Deron Williams, who collected 27 points and 10 assists. Thanks to the star point guard, Utah stayed close throughout. However, the Jazz could not get over the hump and never had the lead.

Utah’s Carlos Boozer added 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Ronnie Brewer scored a career playoff-high 16 points. Mehmet Okur had 13 points and 13 rebounds.

After trailing by as many as 12 in the first half, the Jazz roared back to tie the score early in the third en route to an 81-81 tie heading into the fourth.

Free throws again went in favor of the home club. The Lakers were 34-of-42 from the charity stripe, compared to 24-of-28 for the visiting Jazz. Utah also out-rebounded the Lakers, 51-44.

The Lakers are 29-16 SU and 29-14-2 ATS on the road, with the ‘under’ going 25-19-1. Phil Jackson’s squad is outscoring the opposition on the road by an average of 107-102.

Utah is 41-5 SU and 29-13-4 through 46 home dates, with the over/under split evenly. The Jazz are outscoring the opposition at home by an average of 13 points per game (108-95).

May 16, 2008