PASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- Cobi Jones scored with five minutes to play Saturday night and the Los Angeles Galaxy solidified their lead in the MLS Western Conference with a 1-0 victory over the second-place Chicago Fire.

Jones took Clint Mathis' pass, sprinted past Chicago's defense, eluded goalkeeper Zack Thornton's slide tackle and took a shot that deflected off Fire midfielder Jesse Marsch and into the net for his sixth goal of the season.

In a matchup of the league's two best defensive teams, Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman made four saves for his ninth shutout of the season. Thornton made five saves.

Los Angeles led 15-13 in shots and 6-4 in shots on goal.

The victory was Los Angeles' third straight, seventh in last eight matches, and improved its record to 18-9.

Chicago fell to 15-12 after its three-match winning streak ended.

The Galaxy has 48 points, while Chicago had 43, tied with Colorado for second place.