SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AFP) - The Los Angeles Lakers have emerged victorious despite a late rally by the Utah Jazz, posting a 108-105 victory to advance to the Western Conference finals of the National Basketball Association playoffs.

Kobe Bryant, the league's Most Valuable Player, scored 34 points on Friday, leading six Lakers players in double figures as Los Angeles completed a four-games-to-two triumph in the best-of-seven second-round series.

The Lakers now await the winner of the other Western Conference series between the defending champion San Antonio Spurs and the New Orleans Hornets.

Pau Gasol added 17 points and 13 rebounds for Los Angeles, which survived a late flurry of 3-pointers by Utah.

Deron Williams scored 21 points for the Jazz, who buried five 3-pointers in the final two and a half minutes to get within 105-103, but they missed two attempts to tie it up from 3-point range in the waning seconds.