The Utah Jazz attempt to knot their playoff series with the Los Angeles Lakers at two games apiece, as the clubs meet this afternoon at EnergySolutions Arena.
After losing Games 1 and 2 at the Staples Center, Utah bounced back for a huge win on Friday at home. Carlos Boozer finished with 27 points and 20 rebounds as the fourth-seeded Jazz defeated the top-seeded Lakers, 104-99, in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series.
Deron Williams overcame a wrist injury to score 18 points and dish out 12 assists for the Jazz, who also got 22 points from Mehmet Okur. Andrei Kirilenko and Matt Harpring both netted 12 in the victory.
Boozer, who was 12-of-21 from the floor, scored nine consecutive Utah points during a crucial fourth-quarter stretch.
MVP Kobe Bryant had 34 points and seven assists for the Lakers, who suffered their first loss in the postseason. Bryant, who made 14-of-17 free throws and is 46-of-52 from the charity stripe in the series, missed all six of his three-point attempts in Game 3. The Lakers were just 5-of-23 from beyond the arc.
Lamar Odom had 13 points and 12 rebounds for Los Angeles, which had 18 turnovers in the loss. Pau Gasol was limited to 12 points and six rebounds.
Game 5 of this best-of-seven series is scheduled for Wednesday at the Staples Center.
The Lakers have won two of their last three Game 4s in the playoffs, and are 2-1 on the road in this year's postseason.
Utah has captured three of its last four Game 4s in the postseason. The Jazz are 3-1 at home in this year's playoffs.
This is the fourth time the Lakers and Jazz have met in the playoffs. Los Angeles defeated the Jazz in seven games in the 1988 West semis. Utah knocked out the Lakers in five, 4-1, in the 1997 semifinals and swept LA in the 1998 conference finals.
The Lakers, who swept the eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets, 4-0, in round one, have been victorious in four of their last five trips to the semifinals. They fell in six games, 4-2, to the Spurs in the 2003 Western Conference semis.
In the regular season, Los Angeles won its first Pacific Division crown since the 2003-04 campaign, when Shaquille O'Neal was trying to lead the Lakers to their fourth title in five years.
Utah, which won its second straight Northwest Division crown during the regular season, has made it to the West semis for the second straight year. Last year, the Jazz knocked off the Golden State Warriors, 4-1, in this round and fell to the San Antonio Spurs, 4-1, in the conference finals. The Jazz are 6-6 all-time in the semifinals.
The Jazz defeated Tracy McGrady and the fifth-seeded Houston Rockets, 4-2, for the second straight year in the opening round of the playoffs.
