Two late fourth-quarter steals by Ariza possibly saved the game Friday night for the Lakers as they withstood a bevy of second-half flurries by the Utah Jazz and got 40 points from Kobe Bryant in a 113-100 victory at Staples Center.

"Everybody comes on the court looking to make an impact," Ariza said. "Fortunately, it was me today."

The Lakers improved to 17-1 at Staples Center. Their fifth consecutive victory overall boosts their Western Conference-best record to 26-5.

"Focus and pride, that's the reason," Odom said, when asked to explain the Lakers' dominance at home.

Although the Lakers led from start to finish and by 20 points in the first half, Utah trailed only by four points with three minutes remaining when Odom turned the ball over and Andrei Kirilenko sped down court and dunked.

"Utah is one of those teams that's going to keep coming at you and keep executing," Lakers forward Luke Walton said.

So how significant were Ariza's steals?

"Big. Really big," Odom said.

The Jazz, playing without injured All-Star forward Carlos Boozer, was roughed up in the first quarter as the Lakers poured in a season-high 37 points.

Pau Gasol had 11 of his 21 points in the period, and Kobe Bryant scored 10.

Gasol also had a team-high six assists and received praise from Ariza for his playmaking.

"Pau is like a 7-foot point guard," Ariza said. "He has all the skills of a point guard."

It was a tale of two halves for the Lakers, in Coach Phil Jackson's eyes.

"We had a great run in the first half, lost energy a little bit in the second quarter, but the team was ready to play," Jackson said.

Utah coach Jerry Sloan was not pleased with his team's start.

"Well, it didn't look like we wanted to play at all in the first quarter," he said. "It was a tough time we had just showing any energy or emotion about playing. It looked like we were bored to be here, and they just wore us out."

Jazz guard Deron Williams and center Mehmet Okur helped lead a second-half charge. With Boozer's stand-in, Paul Millsap, dominating on the boards, the Jazz got ample second-chance opportunities.

"They played really hard in the second half, and the offensive rebounds really hurt us," Bryant said.

Ariza, who has been a star member of the Lakers' second unit, has been a catalyst in a number of games with his game-altering defensive plays.

"Trevor takes risks at times," Jackson said, "But he's very limited in the risks he takes. Obviously, steals are not a perfect analysis of good defense but in his case, he anticipates well."

Ariza said that precisely was the reason he was able to come up with his two late-game defensive thefts.

"I just got in the lane, saw the dude was looking at the man I was closest to," he said.

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The Lakers' Trevor Ariza swipes the ball from the Jazz's Brevin Knight during the first half Friday at Staples Center.