Jazz

The Lakers ran out of gas Monday night in their second of two back-to-back games, falling to the Suns, 99-76, in Phoenix. Good news for the Lakers: The Utah Jazz fell at home to a depleted New York Knicks team (90-83).  Even in defeat, the Lakers maintain a one-game advantage over the Jazz. With the Lakers off until Friday, they're guaranteed to gain a half game on either the seventh-place Houston Rockets or ninth-place Jazz. The two meet in Houston on Wednesday. The Lakers are now three games behind the sixth-place Golden State Warriors and one behind the Rockets.

The Utah Jazz got the last laugh on veteran guard Raja Bell, 36, whom they have been feuding with all season. The Jazz released Bell, who hadn't played for the team all season, on Sunday. But it's the timing of the release that makes it interesting: It came after the March 1 deadline for him to be picked up by another team and still be eligible for the playoffs. Any team that picks him up now can use him until the regular season ends, but won't be able to add him to their postseason roster.

The Lakers muscled through two must-win games in a row against a pair of sub-.500 teams (New Orleans and Toronto) but at this stretch of the season, style points are meaningless. What's important is the Lakers (32-31) gained a full game Friday on both the Utah Jazz (32-30) and Golden State Warriors (35-28).  The Houston Rockets (34-29) won in Oakland to stay two games ahead of the Lakers. The eighth-place Jazz are vulnerable, but only if the Lakers keep winning. Utah owns the tie-breaker, meaning their half-game lead over the Lakers is functionally 1 1/2. Utah still has to play games in New York, Oklahoma City, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Portland, Golden State, Minnesota and Memphis.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra: Trumpeter and roving ambassador for jazz Wynton Marsalis brings his nimble big band to town with a wealth of talent and tradition in tow. Expect sharp suits and even sharper tunes delivered by a band dedicated to bridging the gap between the music's history and its present. Walt Disney Concert Hall, April 20 www.laphil.com Ambrose Akinmusire: As if the weather weren't enough for Angelenos to gloat about, jazz fans got yet another reason when this trumpeter returned to his West Coast roots as an instructor at USC's Thornton School of Music.

When it comes to finding narrative inspiration, saxophonist Chris Potter could hardly have tapped a source that runs closer to the human DNA than Homer's "The Odyssey. " Maybe best known for his work backing bassist-bandleader Dave Holland and even Steely Dan on the band's 2000 album "Two Against Nature," Potter has reached a new high with "The Sirens," which was released on ECM earlier this year. A sprawling, evocative record, the album was the centerpiece of Potter's Thursday night concert at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood as part of the Jazz Bakery's Moveable Feast series.

The lineup for the 35th annual Playboy Jazz Festival has been announced, and in addition to the weekend-long concert's signature mix of jazz, funk and R&B, the festival also revealed that comic and former late-night host George Lopez will take over for longtime host Bill Cosby this year. Cosby had served as master of ceremonies at the festival since 1979, and last year the comedy legend stepped down after becoming as much a part of the show's fabric as the Hollywood Bowl, parasols and picnic baskets.

Metta World Peace took a break to meditate before he conducted a baffling conversation with reporters in which he said he knew nothing about getting a retroactive flagrant foul from the NBA for a play in Denver on Monday and that he had forgotten he even played basketball. All that meditation - or is that Metta-tation? - apparently freed him to reach a new state of clarity Thursday on the key issue: what the Lakers must do in order to make the playoffs. "We have to call up other teams and ask them, 'Can you please lose so we can go to the playoffs?

The Lakers had one of their best nights of the season on Wednesday -- while taking the day off. In ninth place in the Western Conference standings, the Lakers (28-30) need some help if they are to catch at least one of three teams ahead of them: the Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets. The Rockets (31-28) fell in Houston on Wednesday after Monta Ellis of the Milwaukee Bucks nailed a wild buzzer-beating three-pointer for a 110-107 win. The Jazz (31-27) were beaten soundly by the Atlanta Hawks, 102-91, losing their eighth game at home.

It wasn't necessarily a surprise that the Lakers lost on the second night of a back-to-back in Denver on Monday night. They were fortunate that the Jazz also fell at home, in overtime (110-107) to the Boston Celtics. The seventh-place Jazz are 3 1/2 games ahead of the Lakers in the Western Conference. Because Utah has the tie-breaker, the Lakers need to finish with a better overall record -- a difficult task given the remaining schedule. The Lakers and Jazz have a long history going beyond a simple conference rivalry.

The Lakers have been linked to Raja Bell since before he signed with the Utah Jazz in 2010.  Kobe Bryant tried to recruit Bell for the Lakers but the Jazz offered him a lucrative contract. Bell's relationship with Utah soured after two seasons. Now, in the final year of his deal, Bell has spent the entire season away from the team after both sides agreed to part ways. He's still under contract with the Jazz but has been inactive. Jazz Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Kevin O'Connor spoke on 1280-AM "The Zone" about Bell on Monday.