Bryant (40) Gives Lakers a Nice Break

There have been losses upon losses in a Laker season quickly filling up with them, but Tuesday night’s effort stopped such things from becoming more the expectation than the exception, at least for now.

The Utah Jazz went without its top two players and the Lakers almost went quietly before a late fourth-quarter rally led to a 102-95 victory and kept the Lakers from falling to .500 in front of 18,480 at Staples Center.

Coach Frank Hamblen demanded better defense after a 1-4 trip, and the Lakers complied, almost too late, but with time enough to salvage victory.

Center Chris Mihm blocked Matt Harpring’s layup attempt with 35 seconds left and, after the Lakers made two free throws, Kobe Bryant ripped the ball away from Howard Eisley with 27 seconds left to preserve a slim Laker lead that swelled from there because of free throws.

“We got back to playing some kind of defense, which was important,” Hamblen said.

Bryant, in his second game back from a severely sprained ankle, had 40 points, eight assists and made 12 of 19 shots. Chucky Atkins had 24 points, and Caron Butler had 23.

The Lakers, now 26-24, are a 1 1/2 games ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves for eighth place in the Western Conference.

The Lakers had given up an average of 105 points their previous six games, but giving up 95 against a depleted Utah team was viewed as a sign of progress.

“If we could find a way to bottle that and play like that for 48 minutes, we can win on any floor in any game,” Mihm said.

The Lakers had lost to the Jazz twice this season by a combined 34 points, and it appeared they would accept a third loss.

The Jazz played without injured starting forwards Andrei Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer, eliminating an average of more than 32 points and 15 rebounds and leaving the Jazz with a starting lineup of Harpring, Jarron Collins, Kris Humphries, Raja Bell and Raul Lopez. Bell almost didn’t play because of a hyperextended elbow.

The Lakers themselves weren’t at full strength -- Lamar Odom was out because of intestinal flu -- but the Laker starters had averaged 68.7 points to only 37.4 for the Jazz. Utah’s bench outscored the Lakers’, 50-2.

That the bounces weren’t going the Lakers’ direction became evident in the waning seconds of the second quarter.

Utah forward Mehmet Okur took the ball out under the Laker basket and heaved a length-of-the-court pass that glanced off Butler’s hands and bounced to Harpring for an easy layup with 0.2 seconds left before halftime. The Jazz led, 48-44.

The first five minutes of the third quarter could have marked the Lakers’ undoing. Bryant picked up a technical for arguing with Bell (Bell got one too), Brian Grant (no points in 13 minutes) picked up a technical for arguing a moving-screen call and Atkins missed a layup as the Jazz took a 62-49 lead.

But the Lakers came back, Bryant scoring on a transition basket by moving the ball to his left hand after being fouled hard by Eisley with 3:02 left in the third quarter. For added effect, Bryant stared at his left hand for several seconds after the foul. His free throw cut the Jazz lead to 68-64.

“It’s back, man. I hadn’t used it in a while,” Bryant said. “I had to make sure it was still working.”

Bryant kept the Lakers close in the fourth quarter, connecting on a three-point play and making a three-pointer under a minute later as the shot clock expired to bring the Lakers within 85-83 with 4:38 left to play.

Bryant then tipped in his own miss with 3:00 left to give the Lakers the lead, 89-88, their first edge since the first quarter.

The defense took it from there.

The Lakers do not play again until next Tuesday.

“They need a break,” Hamblen said. “It couldn’t have come at a better time for us.”