Jazz beat Lakers 117-110 for 3rd straight victory

[December 10, 2012]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Paul Millsap scored 24 points, Mo Williams added 22 and the Utah Jazz defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 117-110 on Sunday night for their third straight victory.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 34 points, making 12 of 14 free throws, as they fell to 4-7 in their last 11 games.

Al Jefferson and reserves Gordon Hayward and Enes Kanter added 14 points each for the Jazz, which improved to 4-9 on the road in ending a two-game skid away from home.

The Lakers never led in the second half while losing their second in a row. They trailed by three to start the fourth quarter only to get outscored 20-8 and fall behind by 15. Hayward had seven points and Kanter six in Utah's spurt.

Bryant, who shot 9 of 24 while playing 43 minutes, engineered one last charge. He had seven points in a 17-7 run that got the Lakers to 115-110 with 1:10 to play. But he missed two 3-pointers in the final 33 seconds.

Jordan Hill added 17 points and Jodie Meeks 16 off the Lakers' bench.

The Jazz owned a 54-34 edge in the paint and outscored the Lakers 19-4 on fast breaks.

Bryant took over in the third with 14 points as the Lakers outscored the Jazz 34-28. He made four straight free throws to leave the Lakers trailing 88-85 going into the fourth.

Dwight Howard's dunk had the Lakers down by one, but the Jazz responded again with another scoring burst to extend their lead. Williams had four of their nine points before Bryant's free throw binge. Howard finished with 11 points and 16 rebounds.

Los Angeles closed within one midway through the second quarter. The Jazz responded with a 14-3 run, including 11 in a row, to go up 55-43. DeMarre Carroll scored six points, including a fastbreak reverse layup and a dunk made possible when Hayward found the streaking Carroll on the break.

The Lakers made a little run of their own, led by seven straight points from Hill and a free throw by Bryant to end the half trailing 60-51 despite shooting 36 percent.

The Jazz scored the game's first eight points while the Lakers were missing their first four shots and turning the ball over three times. Bryant got them on the board with a 3-pointer and another basket and it was left to him to score the Lakers' last basket that put them ahead 27-25.

NOTES: The Jazz improved to 2-0 over LA this season. ... Bryant's milestone of scoring his 30,000th point on Wednesday in New Orleans was announced before tipoff. ... Jazz C Al Jefferson started in place of Kanter. ... The Lakers open a four-game trip on Tuesday in Cleveland.

[Associated Press; By BETH HARRIS]

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