The Lakers defeated the Utah Jazz, 119-109, in Game 2 tonight to take a 2-0 series lead. They lost the second half for the second consecutive game, however. They built a 20-point lead in the first half for the second straight game and failed to hold it. They had moments of indecision, but didn’t collapse entirely. They never trailed in the game.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson faulted his players for almost letting a 22-point lead slip away in Game 1 on Sunday. He blamed himself for the Lakers’ inability to maintain a 20-point lead tonight in Game 2, however.

“I think it was my fault,” Jackson said. “Substitution probably hurt us a little bit in the course of the game and I think that I tried to play too many players at that time in the game to get us going, which created a little bit of hesitancy.”

Utah outscored the Lakers by 60-51 in the second half of Game 1.
The Jazz also outscored the Lakers, 54-53, in the second half of Game 2.