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Jazz aim to even series with Spurs

May 28, 2007 - 1:32 PM San Antonio at Utah 9:00 pm EDT Western Conference finals Spurs lead series, 2-1

SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) - The Utah Jazz have not been beaten at home in the playoffs. If they can continue their dominance at EnergySolutions Arena, they will be right back in the Western Conference finals.

After an easy victory in Game Three, the Jazz will host the San Antonio Spurs once again and attempt to even their best-of-seven series at two games apiece in Game Four on Monday night.

On Saturday, Deron Williams scored 31 points and Carlos Boozer added 27, including 10 in a decisive third quarter, as Utah throttled San Antonio, 109-83, to pick up their first win in a series. The Jazz improved to 7-0 at home in the playoffs. After getting completely destroyed in the two opening games in San Antonio, Utah proved that it comes out with a different mind-set on its home floor.

"I think we have a lot of confidence at home. We have that crowd behind us," Williams said. "We went out and executed well for a full 48 minutes. Not 28 minutes, not 32 minutes, for the full 48, and that's why we won."

But Jazz guard Derek Fisher pointed to the play of second-year point guard Williams, who was the lone bright spot Games One and Two. Despite his inexperience, he continued to control the pace of the game on Saturday.

"In my career I haven't seen many guys in their second year have the kind of impact that (Williams is) having and that's not to take away from what other great players have done in this game," Fisher said. "You think about Deron's development from year one to year two, not just statistically what he's doing, but his composure, his poise and his decision-making. He's leading our team."

His counterpart, Spurs point guard Tony Parker, had a team-high 25 points for San Antonio, which is seeking its third NBA Finals appearance in the last five years.

However, the Spurs know they will not make it back to the championship series without stellar performance from superstar Tim Duncan, who was in foul trouble for most of Saturday's game.

"We did a pretty good job in the first quarter and outside of that, I don't think we had a very good quarter from there on," Duncan said. "They just had things happening for them, and I give them a lot of credit."

Game Five will shift back to San Antonio on Wednesday.