LOS ANGELES — All the Lakers could do to best impact their postseason fate was to win.
Games in Portland, Phoenix and Minneapolis would determine what would be ahead for them as they moved to the next stage of the season. In Los Angeles, a loss could make things worse.
But for the second time in a week, the Lakers didn't get an easy tally. Instead, playing a Utah Jazz team down to its third string at some positions, the Lakers needed every stop and every score in the final minutes of their 82nd game to assure that they would do their part.