Kobe drops 40 in win over Jazz

Trailing by two late in the fourth quarter, Los Angeles closed the game with nine unanswered points to escape with the victory.

"The difference in the game was the last five minutes. We really beat them up," said Lakers coach Frank Hamblen.

The Lakers had not led since early in the opening quarter, but went in front 89-88, with 3:05 remaining when Bryant tipped-in his own miss. The game would remain close and the Jazz went back in front, 95-93, after two free throws by Howard Eisley with 1:37 left.

Bryant then drove the lane before passing to Atkins, who was open in the left corner and buried a three-pointer to give Los Angeles a 96-95 lead with 53 seconds left.

"Chucky is a big time shooter," said Bryant. "He’s made a lot of big baskets for us this season."

Chris Mihm blocked a shot and Atkins raced upcourt with the loose ball. Atkins was fouled and made a pair of free throws to stretch the lead to three with 31 seconds left. Bryant and Butler each made a pair of free throws to close out the win.

"We needed that," said Hamblen. "Utah had two guys out (Andrei Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer), but they still came after us."

The Jazz shot 49 percent (17-of-35) from the field in the first half and made 12-of-13 from the foul line to take a 48-44 lead into the break. Utah led the entire third quarter and took a 74-71 edge into the final stanza.

Mehmet Okur scored 20 points to lead Utah, which has lost 12 of its last 13 road games.