The Los Angeles Lakers played more like they were trying to avoid a sweep rather than complete one. The Lakers stormed out to a 22-point lead in the first half, then withstood a brief surge by Utah in the third quarter before regaining control in the fourth and winning 111-96 on Monday night, sweeping the second-round series and advancing to the Western Conference finals for the third straight year “With close-out games, you have a tendency to lose focus,” said Kobe Bryant, who scored 32 for the Lakers. “We kept our concentration and paid attention to detail.” Pau Gasol(notes) added 33 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who are off until hosting the Phoenix Suns next Monday in Game 1 of the West finals. The Lakers quickly ended Utah’s hopes of extending the series by dominating the second quarter both offensively and defensively, holding Utah to just 17 points in the period. Utah’s push in the third made it at least competitive and exciting for a little while, but the Jazz couldn’t sustain the comeback against the defending NBA champions. “We’re a playoff team and they’re a championship team. They’re just better than we are,” said Deron Williams(notes), who had 21 points and nine assists for the Jazz. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap;_ylt=AkuEqE26QIz_ViNA0ZUxF9Q5nYcB?gid=2010051026
