LOS ANGELES — Through five games of this Lakers-Utah Jazz Western Conference semifinals, the frontcourt has become the dangerous intersection where the arms flail, bodies knock, legs tangle, tempers often flare, whistles sometimes blare, passes get lost and one team gets the basket. Or the call. Or both.

Eventually the mop crew has gotten called in to sop the streaks of sweat and drips of Ronnie Price's blood, and the visiting players have turned to giving the officials those suspicious eyes, alleging some home-court cooking.

So far in this series, which resumes with Lakers ahead, 3-2, and the potentially decisive Game 6 tonight at Utah, the versatile big men on both teams have had up-and-down performances, trading baskets and blows in a physical battle too close to call.

"Sometimes it gets to be a real mess down low against the Jazz," said Lakers forward Lamar Odom, who has averaged 19.2 points and 12.2 rebounds through the five series games. "When we're all in there, it's hard to really match up. Everybody's so versatile and can change styles and change the game in so many ways."

Indeed, these frontcourt men are versatile, which is one way of saying they possess odd bodies, awkward moves and the unique skills sets that make them challenging to defend. Watching them go one-on-one is like watching unmatched socks duke it out in a tumble dryer. No perfect pairs.

The Lakers have the bald, 6-foot-10, 230-pound Odom, who is the speedy slasher with slithery moves, and the bearded 7-0, 250-pound center Pau Gasol, who has the swift step, sharp footwork and the limbs to make a dunk look like spaghetti throwing down a meatball.

They clash against the Jazz's beefy, 6-9, 266-pound Carlos Boozer; the thick-trunked, 6-11, 263-pound Mehmet Okur, who can step out for the three, and the wispy 6-9, 227-pound Andrei Kirilenko, who's a blocking machine — if he maintains a work visa to continue playing in the NBA.

In Game 5 on Wednesday night at Staples Center, the Lakers duo combined for 43 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists in their 111-104 victory. They were also went 9 for 10 from the line, while the Jazz looked under siege inside.

Odom said he and Gasol were eager to establish an aggressive inside presence, knowing that leading scorer Kobe Bryant (back) was on the mend and the whistles hadn't been a problem on home court.

"I wanted to take it to the basket," said Odom, whose reluctance to penetrate in the Lakers' Game 3 defeat limited him to a series lows of three shots and 13 points. "With every game I play right now, I'm thinking that I need three or four dunks. It seems like when we dunk the ball we get those foul calls."

True. At least at Staples Center, where the Lakers have gone to the foul line an average of 17 more times than the Jazz. That disparity had Jazz center Mehmet Okur shaking his head after the Jazz's Game 5 defeat.

Twenty minutes after the game, Okur still was fuming over officials who missed calling a push-off foul on Gasol with 20 seconds left in the game and the Lakers clinging to a 105-102 lead. Replays show Okur taking the shove — and apparently exaggerating the force — from Gasol, who continued toward the basket for a pivotal dunk and the Lakers' 107-102 edge.

Had Okur gotten the call and sank both free throws, the Jazz would have been down a single point and within striking distance of a comeback. (But one whistle probably wouldn't have mattered if Boozer didn't shoot 6 for 16 and spend minutes-long stretches locked in his own footsteps.)

"He (Gasol) pushed me. They (the referees) didn't blow the whistle," said Okur, who finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds. "Can't wait to get back home. We can be more aggressive there."

In Games 3 and 4 at EnergySolutions Arena, the Jazz ran to early leads and won. Its frontmen outplayed the Lakers in Game 3, with All-NBA third-team forward Boozer pouring in a slump-busting 27 points and collecting 20 rebounds, and Okur adding 22 points. Gasol managed only 12 points and six rebounds.

"We always talk about them (Odom and Gasol) and figure out how to help each other without making each other work so much," said the long-limbed Jazz forward Kirilenko, who has fouled out of four games in this series. "What has been happening is that we're sometimes spending too much energy trying to recover between offense and defense. It's hard to keep up."

Boozer and Kirilenko said that being home makes them more willing to attack the basket. Facing elimination, they will have their arms full of Gasol and Odom, who plan to take their inside offensive on the road.