The AP reports: After struggling with his shot all night, Deron Williams found his touch just in time. Williams’ fadeaway jumper with 2.2 seconds left lifted Utah to an 88-86 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night, getting the Jazz back in the first-round playoff series they opened with two losses. Williams took the shot instead of passing to Carlos Boozer on the Jazz’s staple pick-and-roll, hitting just his third field goal of the night and reviving Utah’s postseason hopes. “I just wanted to make up for it a little bit on that last shot,” said Williams, who finished with 13 points and nine assists. Boozer led the Jazz with 23 points and tied a franchise playoff record with 22 rebounds as Utah dominated the boards 55-40… The Jazz played again without Mehmet Okur, who has been out with a strained right hamstring, but survived without their second-leading scorer and outlasted the Lakers in a wild one.
InsideHoops.com notes: The Jazz shot 44.0%, the Lakers just 36.8%. Both teams were unimpressive from three-point range and awful from the free throw line… Utah had 55 rebounds, Los Angeles 40… For the Jazz, Carlos Boozer shot 9-of-17 for 23 points and 22 rebounds. Deron Williams was just 3-of-7 for 13 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists. Ronnie Brewer scored 12 but on 12 shots, plus 7 rebounds. Off the bench, Kyle Korver scored 11 (but on 13 shots) and Matt Harpring had 10… For the Lakers, Lamar Odom (10-of-17) had 21 points, 14 rebounds off the bench. Pau Gasol had 20 with 9 rebounds. Kobe Bryant shot a miserable 5-of-24 for 18 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
