Odom finished with 13 points and made both his foul shots in the fourth quarter, after struggling from the line earlier in the series. The Lakers took 13 more free throws than the Jazz, getting sent to the line repeatedly as the Jazz tried to make up the deficit. They finished 31-for-38.

“They made it difficult for us from the start in stopping us from trying to do what we wanted to do,” Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. “That’s what experience can do. They got in our face a little bit and gave us trouble right from the start.”

Reserve Paul Millsap added 15 points for Utah and led the Jazz on a 14-5 run early in the fourth quarter that set up the thrilling finish.

Williams made a reverse layup to cut it to 91-80, then the Lakers turned it over again when Boozer stepped in front of Gasol to deflect a pass and start another break for Utah, which Millsap finished with another dunk to make it 91-82. It was the first time the lead was single digits since the Lakers led 20-12.

“I was excited all night and I felt if we could get a little run going I thought we’d get back into the game but we just couldn’t get settled down until the end,” Sloan said.

After a timeout by the Lakers, Bryant was called for an offensive foul for an elbow to Matt Harpring. Harpring drew another foul on Bryant at the other end and made both free throws to get Utah within 93-86, but Bryant answered with a 3-pointer to put the Lakers back up by 10 and slow Utah’s run.

The Lakers led 101-91 with about two minutes left when the Jazz made their last-gasp push. Okur hit two 3-pointers, then Andrei Kirilenko hit another to cut the lead to 103-100 after Millsap blocked a layup by Bryant. Odom hit two free throws, followed by another 3 by Kirilenko, then Bryant hit two more from the line to make it 107-103 with 15.5 seconds left.

The Jazz went for a quick two points and scored on a dunk by Williams, then got a break when Derek Fisher went 1-for-2 from the line. Utah just needed a 3-pointer and got two off, but missed both and the buzzer sounded.

The Utah fans, who were loud all night and alternated between booing the Lakers and the officials, cheered the Jazz loudly as they left the floor for the final time.

“You know we had a valiant effort,” Boozer said. “We just fell a little short.”

Notes: The Lakers improved to 36-1 when winning first two games of best-of-seven series. ... Utah was 37-4 at home this season and 4-2 in the playoffs. ... Boozer fouled out with 4:34 left in the game. ... Fisher, who played in Utah last season, and Williams hugged after the final horn.

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