May 11, 2008 - 11:07 PM
0 shoutsBy PA SportsTicker
UTAH 123, LA LAKERS 115 (OT) ----------------------------
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 strong dunk. The 6-9 forward drew the foul and completed a three-point play to give the Jazz a five-point lead.
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 6-of-6 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.
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.
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.
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 after.
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.
The Jazz had the Lakers on their heels early.
For the second straight game, Fisher was taken out of the equation early. 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 Ronnie Brewer found a streaking Williams for a dunk, capping an 8-0 run that gave Utah a 14-6 cushion.
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.
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.
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.
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.
SAN ANTONIO 100, NEW ORLEANS 80 -------------------------------
SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- Tim Duncan's 22 points and 15 rebounds carried the San Antonio Spurs to a 100-80 rout of the New Orleans Hornets in Game Four of their Western Conference semifinals series.
An impressive 21-6 surge to start the second quarter opened things up for good for San Antonio, which evened the series at 2-2 heading into a pivotal Game Five in the "Big Easy" on Tuesday.
Tony Parker had 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Spurs, who will try to become just the second team this postseason to record a road win in the conference semifinals.
The Spurs outscored the Hornets, 61-39, in the second and third quarters. The defending champions led by as many as 25 points at one stage and were never challenged in the second half.
With his club trailing, 85-61, at the start the fourth quarter, Hornets coach Byron Scott decided to bench all five starters.
With the white flag officially raised, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich quickly pulled Duncan, who joined Parker on the bench for the rest of the game.
Chris Paul carried the load with 23 points for the Hornets, who had just two starters score in double figures.
New Orleans' best quarter was the first as Paul scored eight points en route to a 24-22 deficit heading into the second before the Spurs got hot.
Manu Ginobili and Ime Udoka hit back-to-back 3-pointers which ignited the Spurs to their pivotal burst in which they connected on 9-of-11 shots from the field.
After Parker sank an 18-footer with 5:27 left in the first half, San Antonio built a 45-28 lead, leaving the Hornets with no answers. The Spurs scored 16 of their 31 second-quarter points in the paint.
After the Spurs intentionally fouled Tyson Chandler, who hit both free throws, Duncan converted on a strong three-point play over David West, who struggled much of the night. But Paul raced down court for a layup to make it a 13-point deficit at the break.
