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.