The Jazz let the Lakers storm to an early lead one too many times.

Even Utah's vaunted home dominance couldn't overcome a poor start Friday night as the Lakers eliminated the Jazz, four games to two, with a 108-105 victory.

That continued the trend throughout much of the series. When the Jazz finally started applying the pressure, the Lakers showed signs of cracking. It just didn't happen soon enough.

"The same thing that hurt us in L.A., hurt us again. We had to play from behind and we could never get over the hump," guard Deron Williams said. "We gave them a little pressure in the second half and they got a little bit frantic. We should have been doing that the whole game."

The Jazz went into the series knowing that their big front line would face an even bigger one, and that -- plus Kobe Bryant -- proved to be the difference. The Jazz can overpower many teams with their superior size, but the Lakers can answer back with Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom.

LAKERS 108, JAZZ 105: The Jazz had two chances to tie in the closing seconds, but 3-point attempts by Deron Williams and Mehmet Okur were off target and the Lakers escaped with a series-clinching victory. Williams finished with 21 points and Okur had 16, but the Jazz continually had trouble making their pick-and-rolls work and couldn't pound the ball inside the way they usually do.

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