Takin' it on the chin

Kobe Bryant scored 32 points, Pau Gasol added 33 points and 14 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers completed a four-game sweep of the Utah Jazz with a 111-96 victory on Monday night, advancing to the Western Conference finals for the third straight year.

The Lakers quickly ended the Jazz's hopes of extending the series by pulling ahead by 22 in the second quarter. Utah got within five in the third, but couldn't sustain the comeback against the defending NBA champions, who made very few mistakes and didn't give the Jazz many chances to rally.

Los Angeles had just six turnovers and made 29-of-36 foul shots while knocking Utah out of the playoffs for the third straight year. The Lakers are off until hosting the Phoenix Suns next Monday in Game 1 of the West finals.

Deron Williams led Utah with 21 points and nine assists.

Carlos Boozer had 10 points and 14 rebounds, and Kyrylo Fesenko added 12 rebounds for Utah, which was swept for the first time in 21 years.

The Jazz lost the first three games by single digits but never found a way to slow down Bryant, who scored 30 or more in all four games. The Lakers finally got a blowout in the final game and by doing so earned a week of rest.

Shannon Brown scored 12 and Lamar Odom added 10 points for the Lakers.

C.J. Miles scored 15, Wesley Matthews had 12 and Paul Millsap scored 21 off the bench.

Utah fans started leaving early and the small contingent wearing gold Lakers' jerseys chanted "Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!" The Jazz hadn't been swept since Golden State knocked them out 3-0 in the first round of the 1989 playoffs.

Magic 98, Hawks 84: Vince Carter scored 22 points to lead another dominating performance by visiting Orlando, which finished off its second straight playoff sweep with a victory over Atlanta.

Orlando won the four games by an average of 25 points - a total blowout that no one could have expected in a matchup between the teams that finished second and third in the Eastern Conference.

But the Magic, who lost to the Lakers in last year's NBA Finals, are playing better than anyone at the most important time of the season. They have won 14 in a row - the last eight in the playoffs - and 28 of 31 games.

The Magic are off to the Eastern Conference finals for the second year in a row. They will face either Boston or a rematch with Cleveland, the team they upset for last year's conference title before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.