LA Lakers 111, Utah 110 (Lakers lead 3-0)

What an ending. It was a solid game before the last 3:00, but seriously, what a #@$!-ing ending.

It’s amazing. ABC illustrated had badly Kobe was playing in the 4th quarter, and history tells us, when this occurs, the opposing team wins. Kobe must have seen the demographic because he did what Kobe does best shortly thereafter.

For a period of 2 1/2 minutes, nobody could make a basket. It was brick city. Even the Jazz fans were getting restless. Action was needed. A Bango the Buck appearance would have been magnanimous. That would have been the best case scenario.

Instead Lamar Odom sufficed. Odom, who is having a great postseason after his slow start, made a huge three to put LA up 101-100. In the next possession, Paul Millsap made a tough layup, and then Kobe responded with a filthy fadeaway. After I saw that, I said to myself, how dare anybody question the Black Mamba’s abilities. How dare they! Have they not seen him continually rise up to the occasion when his team needs him the most? Obviously not, because I didn’t care what the Jazz did after that, the Lakers were not going to lose this game. Simple as that. I didn’t care that Kyle Korver, representing dorky white guys like myself everywhere, nailed a huge three to go up 2 with just over a minute left to play, I knew Mr Bryant was going to respond accordingly. He is a gentlemen of leisure. it never fails. The man kindly dribbled around a screen, set by Pau Gasol, and drained a dirty three with Deron Williams desperately trying to put a hand up.

Williams did respond with authority though. The BEST point guard in the game dribbled around the Lakers D, looking for an opening, patiently waiting to attack, and after he couldn’t find anybody after 18 ticks of the shot clock ran off, he pulled back for a fadeaway over Gasol and embarrassed the Reign from Spain. I thoroughly enjoyed it because I can’t stand Gasol, mostly because he is so good and it bothers the crap out of me how he got on this team. Still, after 2 1/2 years, it bothers the ever living s*** out of me. Anyway, it was short lived, because Kobe came down, and I thought he was going to drop another bucket into the hearts of the Jazz faithful, but no, he dishes it out Mr. Fisher, the ex-Jazz himself, and like anytime the Lakers need a basket from someone other than Kobe, Big D Fish nails a three to empty all of the air out of Energy Solutions Arena. It was incredible. I was watching this game with my boys (who I am kidding, I was watching the game by myself hoping my mother would call just to give me company) and after I witnessed the shot go through the net. I immediately went to the closet to get the broom, because this series is not going back to LA.

The Lakers are too good, but the silliness in it all, the Jazz are right behind them. If Utah got one or two breaks in Games 1 & 2, this series would totally be different, maybe we would be talking about a Jazz sweep. A little far fetched, I know, but reasonable.

Back to the final moments of the game. After D Will nailed 2 free throws to bring the game within 1, the Jazz forced a turnover (by a terrible no call) and got the ball back with 4.4 seconds left to go. Now during this timeout, I was thinking to myself, “Jerry Sloan is a terrific coach, he will come up with something to trick the Laker D.”

I was wrong. Sloan ran the same play after the previous timeout, Deron Williams got the ball, forced an ill-advised shot. He naturally missed, Wesley Mathews couldn’t convert on the easy tip in, Jazz lose. The broom business is about to boom again and the Jazz have to play golf early again. Utah can’t beat the Lakers. As Chicago stood in Malone and Stockton’s way, the Lakers stand in Williams and Boozer’s. Sloan can’t out coach the Zen Master and Lamar Odum is better than Kyle Korver.

The next game will be good but Jazz will not come out on the victorious end.

This is The Ref signaling I’m out until next time and remember: We miss calls, you miss lay ups.