Lakers Celebrate New Year with Win

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Utah Jazz 113-100, improving to 26-5. The Lakers and Jazz went back and forth, with LA's lead going from 20 to 3 points at one time. LA had a .459 shooting percentage and 10 steals, and both teams combined to go 5-31 for 3-pointers. Kobe Bryant led the game with 40 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Pau Gasol became just the fourth European to have 10,000 career points after scoring 21 in addition to 11 rebounds. Lamar Odom came off the bench with 14 points and 7 rebounds, and Trevor Ariza had 12 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals. Carlos Boozer was out for Utah, and Ronnie Brewer scored 20 points for the Jazz.