By David Leon Moore, USA TODAY  LOS ANGELES  The broken finger has healed, the sore knee is feeling better and the familiar scowl is back.  The NBA's version of The Closer— that is, Kobe Bryant gritting his teeth and making big shots in a close fourth quarter in the playoffs — has returned from hiatus.  Bryant, who often deferred to teammates in a six-game, first-round victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder, threw down his second 30-point game in a row Sunday. He dominated a tense fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 104-99 to open the Western Conference semifinal series.  "Kobe obviously finished us off coming down the stretch," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said, echoing countless coaches from Bryant's playoff past.  Game 2 is here Tuesday.  With Bryant and Pau Gasol resting early in the fourth quarter, the Jazz seized momentum in a game they mostly trailed. A 10-0 run gave Utah an 85-82 lead.  Then Bryant went to work. He got to the foul line. He got to the baseline, hitting a jumper while being fouled.  He got to the bottom line — another Lakers playoff win.  He scored 13 points in the last five-plus minutes of the game. He finished with 31, on 12-for-19 shooting.  "I felt a lot better today," said Bryant, whose knee hampered him into just 10 and nine shots, respectively, in Games 4 and 5 against the Thunder before ending the series with 32 points Friday.  "With just one day between games, and playing an early game today, it was encouraging to me to be able to move around and do what I wanted to do," Bryant said.  Not so encouraging, though, to Utah, missing center Mehmet Okur (ruptured Achilles) and forward Andrei Kirilenko (strained calf).  You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference.
Kobe Bryant may be banged up, but he remains the Los Angeles Lakers' go-to-guy down the stretch. Bryant and the Lakers held on for a 104-99 win in Game 1 of their series against the Utah Jazz.