Jazz beat the Kobe Show

Ever since Shaq left L.A., there has been one constant truth.

When Kobe tries to make the Lakers the Kobe Show, the Lakers lose more often than not.

The Kobe Show doesn't scare me.

What scares me is when Kobe is getting his team involved, teammates are cutting and making the extra pass, and guys like Odom go off for 25 points. When this happens, the Jazz are no match for L.A.

But the Jazz can beat the Kobe Show, and they did tonight.

Sure, Boozer is back in form, recording a supremely impressive 27 and 20, shooting 12-21 from the field and recording two blocks. Sure, Deron attacked the basket all night, racking up 18 and 12 with only two assists. Sure, Okur was on fire for most of the first half, hitting four of five 3-pointers on his way to 22 points.

But in my opinion, the biggest stat of the game was Kobe taking 20 shots and getting 17 free throw attempts, while the next highest scorers for L.A. took 10, seven and six shots from the field, respectively. No other Laker scored more than 13.

In other words, Kobe had the ball for most of the game.

Just what the Jazz need.

Again, this can backfire if Kobe is absolutely on fire, but outside of a few minutes early in the third quarter, The Black Mamba was average. His 50% field goal percentage is somewhat offset by his 0-6 3-point shooting.

As good as I feel about tonight's victory, it shows how slim the Jazz's chances are at winning this series. First, Utah played about as well as I can expect on offense. Second, Kobe tried to take over and couldn't.

And yet the Jazz only won by five. At home.

Bottom line, the Jazz could win this series, but they could easily lose in five.

Oh, and Fisher scored 13 points tonight. 3-6 from the field, 1-3 from the three with two assists.

That's the Fish I know. I don't want to see any more of the sharpshooter Fish who impersonates Peja Stojakovich.