By Chris Bellamy
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer
SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- Deron Williams and the Utah Jazz
can run with the Los Angeles Lakers - and their MVP - after
all. This time, it just took them an extra period to do it.
Williams had 29 points and 14 assists, including the biggest one
of the night, as the Jazz withstood a furious Lakers' rally to
even up their Western Conference semifinals series with a
123-115 overtime victory in Game Four.
With 36 seconds left in the overtime period and Utah nursing a
two-point edge, Williams found Andrei Kirilenko underneath the
basket for a turnaround dunk. The 6-9 forward drew the foul and
completed a three-point play to give the Jazz a five-point
lead.
"We ran the same play a couple times - I think three or four
times in a row," Williams said. "They came out and helped on me
a little bit, and I saw (Kirilenko) going back door, so I just
dumped it off to him and he did a great job of going up strong
and finishing with a dunk."
Kobe Bryant misfired on a wild drive to the hoop on Los Angeles'
next possession, and Carlos Boozer grabbed the board and
quickly got the ball to Utah's best foul shooter, Kyle Korver,
who buried both attempts to help seal the victory.
The Jazz went 8-of-8 from the line in the final 30 seconds to
preserve the victory and secure one more home game this series.
After falling behind early and failing to catch up in their two
losses at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the Jazz turned the
tables in Salt Lake City.
"We're definitely confident now," Williams said. "Our first two
games didn't go exactly how we wanted them to go. We made some
adjustments in these past two games and we feel like we are
playing better basketball. We're more equipped to go over there
and get a win."
With Williams taking the reigns as the offensive aggressor -
scoring 19 first-half points on 7-of-9 shooting - the Jazz took
the lead two minutes into the game and never gave it up.
That's not to say the Lakers didn't have the opportunities to
take it away from them. But like Game Three on Friday night,
Utah didn't self-destruct and had just enough to hold off the
top-seeded Lakers.
"They continued to hit shots in the fourth quarter. We were a
little tentative and they tied the game, but we felt that, going
into overtime, we still had the energy to compete and to bring
it," Williams said. "That's what we did. We made stops when we
had to, we made free throws and made shots. That's a big win
for us."
Derek Fisher, who was neutralized in the first half due to foul
trouble, came back to bite his former team in the fourth
quarter, draining three 3-pointers to pull the Lakers to within
four after Utah had opened up a 12-point advantage.
"You've got to give it up to D-Fish," Jazz guard Ronnie Brewer
said. "He's got a lot of heart, knocking down big shot after
big shot. He kept on competing and kept his team in the game."
Two minutes later, newly minted league MVP Bryant drove to the
basket and completed a three-point play to bring his team to
within one.
With Boozer and Mehmet Okur both struggling from the field,
Williams took it upon himself to answer, burying a 16-footer to
put Utah up by three.
But the Lakers had an answer for that as well. This time it was
Lamar Odom connecting from downtown to tie the game as the Utah
crowd, which remained on its feet for the length of the second
half, looked on in stunned disbelief.
After a pair of free throws by Boozer put the Jazz back up by
two, the Lakers saved themselves with a pair of offensive boards
and finally pulled even once again with five seconds remaining,
as Odom followed Bryant's miss with the tying layup.
Bryant led all scorers with 33 points but tweaked his back on
the second possession of the game, suffering back spasms that he
said limited his movement throughout.
"You've got to make some adjustments," Bryant said of his
injury. "You can't run like you want to, cut like you want to."
Still, he had a big second quarter to pull the Lakers even at
55-55 and was a major key in the Lakers' fourth-quarter
comeback. However, he was just 1-of-7 in the overtime period.
"No excuses for me," Bryant said. "AK did a great job, (he's a)
great defensive player. They just did a terrific job. They
made the plays when they needed to."
The Jazz had the Lakers on their heels early.
For the second straight game, Fisher was taken out of the
equation quickly. The Lakers veteran point guard picked up two
fouls in the first three minutes of the game, just as he had in
Game Three. And Williams made the Lakers pay right away.
On reserve guard Jordan Farmar's first possession, Williams
drove the baseline for an easy layup, then muscled his way past
Farmar through the middle a minute later for another bucket.
Kirilenko stuffed Bryant in the paint on the other end, and
Brewer found a streaking Williams for a dunk, capping an 8-0 run
that gave Utah a 14-6 cushion.
"I thought we started out great pushing the ball and getting out
in transition to build a little lead. That's what got us
going," Williams said. "When I see guys struggling offensively,
that's when I try to get everyone involved. If we are
struggling a little to score, I try to assert myself."
The Lakers' bench got even more shorthanded a few minutes later.
Reserve forward Ronny Turiaf, one of coach Phil Jackson's top
energy guys and a valuable rebounder and inside presence, was
ejected two minutes into the second period after knocking Jazz
guard Ronnie Price hard to the floor.
"It's the playoffs, that's all I can say. It happens," Price
said. "It just so happens that me and Ronny are good friends.
We came up the same year. He probably didn't mean to foul me
like that, but your emotions run and things happen."
Price was cutting to the basket, when a foul was called on Sasha
Vujacic. After the whistle, Turiaf hammered Price, who
suffered a cut above his right eye which required four stitches.
"I thought the kid (Price) was out of control and he went in,"
Jackson said. "Ronny did go up to block the shot, but I think
he entirely played the ball. I haven't seen a call like that.
... I was very surprised he was put out of the ballgame."
The play looked like a near-repeat of a Game Three incident,
when Turiaf knocked Williams to the floor. The third-year point
guard was on the floor for a few minutes before getting up with
a sprained right wrist.
But while key members of the Lakers' second team were out of
commission, the Jazz's reserves were pulling their weight.
Korver hit a couple of key second-half 3-pointers, Matt Harpring
scored 12 points and Paul Millsap was the team's toughest
inside force in the fourth quarter.
"I was really impressed, and the thing that kind of seemed to
give us a little bit of life was our second group gave us a
lift," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said.
"A lot of guys stepped in," Brewer said. "There wasn't really a
drop-off from the starting five to our bench crew."
Even Price, who plays sparingly behind Williams, had a pivotal
three-point play to put the Jazz up nine, then later delivered a
stunning block on Luke Walton's fast-break layup attempt before
exiting to a lengthy ovation.
Kirilenko had 15 points and five blocks and Okur added 18 and 11
rebounds for Utah, which will hit the road for Game Five on
Wednesday night. Bryant, for his part, said he should be ready
to go.
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