Lakers’ Bynum will be a factor tonight, Jackson says

The Lakers hemmed and hawed their way through another playoff game against the Utah Jazz, leaving Phil Jackson plenty of possible options for the locker-room whiteboard.

He could have written, “Not even close, guys.”

Or, “C’mon now. Utah’s missing its second-leading scorer!”

Or simply, “What was that?!”

In reality, it said simply “14 mo’ ” meaning the number of victories for an NBA title, because there wasn’t a lot to wax poetic about after Game 2 of the first round Tuesday at Staples Center.

The Jazz never led, and yet, the Lakers almost squandered a 20-point advantage, needing some last-minute heroics from a variety of players to pull off a tense 119-109 victory and take a 2-0 series lead over the Jazz.

“That was a trial for us out there tonight,” Jackson said.

Games 3 and 4 of the best-of-seven series are Thursday and Saturday in Salt Lake City.

Just like Game 1, it looked like another easy victory was on the way for the Lakers, who scored a blistering 41 points in the first quarter but never quite tucked away the Jazz.

In fact, after a long, thorough comeback, the Jazz climbed within 109-106 on Carlos Boozer’s driving layup with 3:17 to play. Only after Trevor Ariza’s three-pointer could the Lakers finally exhale, taking a 116-108 lead with 33.9 seconds left.

Ariza was again a difference-maker, scoring 13 points and handing out nine assists. Kobe Bryant had 26 points and nine assists. Pau Gasol had 22 points and six rebounds as the Lakers shot 60%.

The Lakers, who had 21 turnovers, were picked apart by Utah point guard Deron Williams, who had 35 points and nine assists. Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Jazz center Mehmet Okur, who averaged 17 points and 7.7 rebounds a game in the regular season, was sidelined again because of a strained hamstring.

If these games were tough for the Lakers, they aren’t expected to be any easier in Salt Lake City.

The Lakers lost there in February, 113-109, and went 1-2 there in last season’s Western Conference semifinals, winning the sixth and final game of the series by three points after the Jazz missed two three-point attempts in the final five seconds.

The Lakers were almost flawless in the first quarter Tuesday, making 18 of 21 shots (85.7%) and taking a 41-29 lead. Gasol and Andrew Bynum made all nine of their combined shots and totaled 19 points in the quarter.

There was even time for the crowd to acknowledge Jack Nicholson’s birthday with a scoreboard announcement during a timeout with 2:25 left in the first quarter.

The Lakers built the lead to 66-46 with 1:50 left in the second quarter before the Jazz scored the next 14 points in a stretch that carried over into the third quarter.

Jackson took the blame for the Lakers losing the lead, saying he tried to wedge too many players into the lineup.

“I think it was my fault,” he said. “Substitution probably hurt us a little bit in the course of the game.”

Jackson said he might shorten the bench in Game 3.

Of the reserve guards, Shannon Brown had 12 points in 16 minutes, Sasha Vujacic was scoreless in 15 minutes and Jordan Farmar had two points in almost four minutes.

After his crisp first quarter, Bynum had another sluggish outing, finishing with 10 points on five-for-11 shooting in 31 minutes. He did not score after the first quarter, missing his last six shots.

In the end, almost all the Lakers’ key players contributed when it mattered.

After the Jazz cut the lead to three, Lamar Odom scored on a fastbreak layup, Gasol blocked Ronnie Brewer’s shot as the 24-second clock expired and Bryant drilled a 21-footer from the right side.

Then came Ariza’s three-pointer, giving the Lakers a two-game edge but plenty to ponder until Game 3.

“Thursday’s a very, very big game for us,” Bynum said. “The calls are going to go a lot more their way because it’s their house. Their fans are going to get into it, and we can’t turn the ball over so many times.”

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