One morning in April, Kurt Kragthorpe and I were sitting in the bleachers at the Jazz facility waiting for the players to come out for practice. I told him that I had no idea what it was like to cover a championship team but couldn't imagine it would feel like this.

    I have to believe there's a karma around a team that wins a title and, for one reason or another, the Jazz never quite had it.

    For starters, a championship team doesn't open the season with its highest-paid player voicing a trade demand and criticizing the coach in a series of Russian interviews. To their credit, the Jazz moved past the Andrei Kirilenko controversy, but it was not a good omen.

    A championship team also doesn't struggle on the road as much as the Jazz did this season, especially against teams they should have beaten. The Jazz lost on the road to every Eastern Conference team that didn't make the playoffs except Milwaukee.

    Had they won only four more road games, the Jazz could have gone into the playoffs as the Western Conference's top seed, playing that Game 5 against the Lakers at EnergySolutions Arena instead of Staples Center.

    As Gordon Monson pointed out regularly in his column, no team has won an NBA championship with a losing road record in 30 years. The Lakers were 27-14 on the road this season, best in the conference, while the Jazz were 17-24.

    A championship team also does not lay down and lose by 29 points to San Antonio in the last game of the regular season (giving up 11 layups in the first quarter) with the chance to secure home-court advantage in the first round.

    The matchup against Houston proved more favorable, obviously, for the Jazz but the New Orleans series is showing that San Antonio could have been beaten. In hindsight, the Jazz might have gone three rounds if they could have taken out the Spurs early.

    A championship team also does not have one of its stars struggle the way Carlos Boozer did in the playoffs. Only once in 12 games against the Rockets and Lakers did Boozer top his regular-season scoring average of 21.1 points.

    Boozer fouled out with 4:34 left in Friday's game, after missing a shot and clocking Pau Gasol fighting for the rebound. Paul Millsap actually outscored Boozer 15-12 for the game and 12-2 in the fourth quarter.

    "I'm disappointed in my play," Boozer said. "I feel like I let my teammates down. I could have played a lot better."

    Finally, a championship team does not have Kirilenko missing practice - - misunderstanding or not - - the day before an elimination game. You couldn't watch the Jazz fall behind big Friday and not think the episode set a tone for things.

    Talking to Kirilenko, I think he feels unfairly criticized, that he tried to tell Jerry Sloan what was going on and thought he had the coach's permission. At a minimum, though, Kirilenko has to have common sense and he and Sloan have to communicate better.

    Those are five things right off the bat. I think the Jazz will come to regard this season as a missed opportunity in the future, especially if New Orleans gets past San Antonio in Game 7 on Monday.

    They might never get another season when Boozer and Williams miss one game combined because of injury. Boozer, Williams and Kirilenko are all looking at a busy summer playing in the Beijing Olympics.

    In addition, the Lakers will have Andrew Bynum back from a knee injury next season. The Spurs, Suns and Mavericks figure to all take a step back, but the Lakers with Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol and Bynum probably will be stronger.

    * * *

    A sampling of quotes from Deron Williams - - whose contract extension will be the top story of summer - - after Friday's loss:

    "It was tough because we realize how we played the second half, energy-wise, defensively, and it was just night and day. We started getting up, pressuring, they got a little frantic, and that's what we should have been doing the whole game and not just in the second half."

    "I felt we played our hearts out, we just got beat by a better team, similar to last year. We have pretty much everybody coming back. Hopefully, we keep the team intact. We feel like we have a great nucleus and great coaching staff that can win a championship."

    "Everybody says we're so young, but at the same time, in a couple years, people are probably going to say we're getting old. So you've got to make the most of opportunities. You can't let things like this slip away. Guys go their whole careers without winning a championship."

    "I think we've got to be committed to the defensive end. We can't outscore teams. That's not going to work. Defense wins championships. You look at the teams that have won in the past couple years, they've been all great defensive teams. I think we have the makings to be a good defensive team, we just haven't had that mind-set yet."

    "I think we struggled at times, especially defensively. That's just the biggest thing in this series was too many layups, too many easy baskets, too many guys flying in for uncontested layups. That can't happen, especially in the playoffs, when you need to get stops."

    * * *

    I'm not sure how many people picked Lakers in 6, but this blog was one of them. I thought the Lakers were the only team that could beat the Jazz in Utah in the playoffs, although Houston obviously did as well. It turns out, Game 5 was the difference in the series.

    It's always amazing to me the feeling when the season ends. You spend seven months trying to get to the next city, the next flight, the next practice and then there's just nothing. It's a shock to the system at first going back to regular life.

    The Jazz will clean out their lockers and go through exit interviews Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday will be my second day off since April 1. But I'm going to end this by saying thanks to everyone who read during the season, especially those who posted a comment or sent an e-mail.

    We'll keep posting during the summer, although not quite as regularly (and definitely not any more for me after 2 a.m.). I'm going to throw this open and ask if you were Kevin O'Connor what you would do to the team this summer.

    --Ross Siler

At Friday morning's shootaround, L.A. center Pau Gasol was asked if he thought Game 6 would be the most physical of the Laker-Jazz series.
"I don't know if it can get any more physical," he said. "But I guess it could."
Or not.
"I expect their energy level and intensity will be real high," Gasol continued. "Their aggressiveness will be real high."
Or not.
The Jazz saved their worst first-half of the postseason for the most important game. They began without life, failed to execute on offense, didn't play any noticeable defense and fell hopelessly behind Gasol and his teammates.
In the first half, the Jazz shot 33 percent. Memo Okur was 1-for-7. Utah's non-starters were a combined 3-for-13.
The Jazz's lack of purpose was staggering, considering they should have proven to themselves in the first five games of the series that they had the right stuff to beat the Lakers.
Or not.

-- Steve Luhm

I have watched the Jazz and Lakers closely -- obviously -- and I would be surprised if Utah does not win tonight at home and extend the series to Game 7.

The Jazz have gotten better and more confident as the series has progressed. They have proven to themselves that, not only can they compete with the Lakers, but they are equipped to beat them.

The Jazz should be confident, not hopeful, heading into Game 6.

The key to extending the series?

On defense, the Lakers seem willing to give up some open jump shots in exchange for congregating around Carlos Boozer and quickly collapsing to keep Deron Williams out of the lane.

If the Jazz hit those open jump shots, they will loosen things up for Boozer and Williams and force the Lakers to play the Jazz's top two scorers with fewer defenders. One-on-one, I'll take Boozer over Pau Gasol and Williams over Derek Fisher almost every time.

Another key: The Jazz have to rebound, not only to get second chances on the offense end and make the Lakers expend more energy on defense than they prefer, but to also trigger Utah's open-court offense, which hurt L.A. in Games 3 and 4.

Finally, the Jazz have keep Kobe Bryant from having a monster game. Sore back or no sore back, that might be the biggest challenge of them all if Utah wants to play again on Monday night in Los Angeles.

******

It appears Phoenix GM Steve Kerr is serious about hiring an NBA assistant coach to replace Mike D'Antoni.

Along with Utah's Phil Johnson, who we reported on Thursday will talk to the Suns after the playoffs, Kerr will interview Detroit assistant Terry Porter and Houston assistant Elston Turner. Boston assistant Tom Thibodeau is also expected to become a candidate when the Celtics' playoff run ends.

Former NBA player and TV analyst Mark Jackson, whose credentials pale in comparison to all the dues-paying assistants who have been contacted by the Suns, is also a candidate.

In my opinion, Kerr couldn't go wrong by hiring Johnson, who has been Jerry Sloan's top assistant for the last 20 years. Phil has forgotten more about basketball than most people ever know.

The most amazing statistic in his 45-year coaching career?

During Johnson's three years as the head coach at Weber State in the late 1960s, the Wildcats went 39-5 in Big Sky Conference play. Phil remains the winningest coach in the history of a league that has also produced Mike Montgomery, Ben Howland, Dick Motta, Jud Heathcoate, Stew Morrill and others.

******

Speaking of Mark Jackson, he offered an interesting theory on why road teams have having such a difficult time winning in this year's NBA playoffs prior to Game 6 in the Spurs-Hornets series on Thursday night.

"Weak-minded players and weak-minded coaches," he declared.

Wow.

I wonder if Jackson will want to be reminded of his keen analysis when he eventually becomes a head coach and his team loses 10 straight road games?

*******

Former Jazz center Mark Eaton is writing a blog on the official Web site of the NBA Retired Players Association, legendsofbasketball.com.

Eaton's blog entries will be updated every Wednesday and will cover topics including the NBA, his experiences as a player and his life away from the game, including his motivational speaking business and his efforts in the community.

Eaton also operates his own Web site, 7ft4.com.

-- Steve Luhm

   I couldn't figure it out on deadline, but the Jazz had five chances to take the lead in the second half of Game 5 and couldn't come through once. It would have made a huge difference for the Jazz just to take the lead once and put some pressure on the Lakers.

    They were tied 69-69 in the third quarter after a Deron Williams' three-pointer with 7:38 left. Ronnie Brewer (1) traveled with the chance to put the Jazz in front and Mehmet Okur (2) missed a three-pointer after Vladimir Radmanovic clanked a jumper for the Lakers.

    They were tied 73-73 after Carlos Boozer scored on the fast break off a nifty pass from Brewer. Kobe Bryant missed two free throws for the Lakers but Andrei Kirilenko (3) was blocked by Lamar Odom.

    Paul Millsap grabbed the rebound but Brewer (3) missed a jumper - - it was incredible the amount Bryant free-lanced off Brewer on the defensive end, by the way - - and once again, the Jazz couldn't take the lead. I'm counting the block on Kirilenko and Brewer miss as one chance on the same possession.

    It was more of the same in the fourth quarter. The Jazz trailed 84-83 but Okur (4) split two free throws when he could have given the Jazz the lead by making both. Luke Walton made 1 of 2 free throws for the Lakers but Williams (5) missed a layup.

    Those are the five chances the Jazz had to take the lead in the second half. They missed all four shots they took, split two free throws and committed a turnover when it mattered most. If I forgot another chance - - it is almost 1:30 a.m. here in L.A. - - please let me know.

    * * *

    A sequence that killed the Jazz came in the middle of the fourth quarter, with the Lakers leading 92-88. They missed four consecutive shots - - a Kirilenko three-pointer, a Boozer shot in the lane, a Williams layup and another Boozer shot that was blocked.

    The Lakers were able to build their lead out to six points after two Sasha Vujacic free throws. The Jazz fell into the penalty with 6:53 left and watched the Lakers shoot 16 free throws in the fourth quarter to seven for them.

    The three-point plays by Jordan Farmar and Lamar Odom in the fourth quarter also were killers for the Jazz.

    "I was a little upset that I got beat on the other end and [Williams] got straight to the basket," Farmar said, "so I just wanted to be aggressive. I was going to make a play, try to make something good happen, and it just worked out for me."

    * * *

    Some quotes from after the game that I couldn't get in the paper (tonight was a miserable deadline with the 8:47 p.m. MDT start and 2-hour, 42-minute long game.

    "We liked Lamar [Odom], what he did out there," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "He gave us some big game and Pau [Gasol] had a couple of things happening for him. We got to the foul line in the fourth quarter, which helped us keep that lead of some sort.

    "Our bench came in and gave us some productivity in the start of the fourth quarter that was a difference giving us a little separation."

    Deron Williams said: "We haven't won here yet. That's the hump. We've took care of business at home. Now we've got to do it again and hopefully come back here for a Game 7 and get over that hump.

    "I thought we had a better half than we had in the first two games and I think that gave us confidence to carry it over to the second half. We were in the ballgame all the way to the end, we just missed some shots. They made some better plays down the stretch and that's why they won the ball game."

    Carlos Boozer on trying to defend Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom: "It's tough because sometimes you're helping so much on Kobe. Kobe did a great job, he only took 10 shots, and was very aggressive and getting the other guys involved. Sometimes you have to help on him and Lamar got an easy basket. Pau is a very good passer and Lamar definitely got busy tonight and so did Pau. We've got to do a better job on those guys, we've got to do a better job on keeping Kobe in front so we don't have to help as much but that's a tall task."

    Lamar Odom: "I want to take it to the basket. Every game right now, I'm thinking I need three or four dunks. And it seems like when you dunk the ball, you get those foul calls. That's something we focused on as a team at shootaround. We want to take it to the hole as much as possible. Especially Pau and myself."

    Kobe Bryant on his back: "I just wanted to pick my spots. I knew I wasn't 100 percent healthy, so I wanted to get us off to a good start, give us an emotional boost. In the third quarter, I had a moment where I was able to pick it up a little bit. In the fourth quarter, Lamar and Pau took it from there."

    --Ross Siler

Derek Fisher showed why he is so valuable to the Lakers on Wednesday night.
In the first two home games of the playoff series against the Jazz, Fisher was called for exactly four fouls in 75 minutes while doing a good job of bothering Deron Williams with his defense.
In Utah, Fisher had two fouls in the first three minutes of Games 3 and 4, and Williams had an easier time getting the Jazz's offense into a rhythm.
Game 5?
Fisher played aggressively on defense, effectively using his hands and his body on Williams. Utah never got into the flow it enjoyed at home and committed 14 first-half turnovers.
Fisher played 19:12 in the first half and was not called for one foul.
I'm not questioning the non-calls. I am explaining how a veteran role player like Fisher knows to adjust his defense, knows what he can do at home that he might not be able to do on the road and knows what he must do against an opposing point guard like Williams to give his team its best chance to win.

-- Steve Luhm

The Lakers' Ronny Turiaf will not be suspended for his flagrant foul on Utah's Ronnie Price, which occurred early in the second quarter of Game 4 on Sunday afternoon.
Turiaf was ejected from the game by the officials for hammering Price, but NBA disciplinarian Stu Jackson apparently decided running through a player who has already left his feet, leading with a left forearm to the chest, making a feeble wave at the basketball as the two collided and knocking an off-balance opponent awkwardly to the floor is not a big deal.
It should also be noted that the whistle blew because Price was fouled on his initial move to the basket, making Turiaf's motives and actions even more suspect.
Price's face-plant at the end of this nasty play resulted in a four-stitch cut over his right eye. He downplayed the incident after the game and, unlike many other teams in such a situation, the Jazz didn't campaign for further punishment for Turiaf. That surely helped him in the eyes of Jackson (and anyone else involved in the non-suspension decision).
Personally, I think Turiaf and the Lakers got a huge break.
If you compare Turiaf's foul with a couple of others that have resulted in suspensions during the playoffs, you will see just how arbitrary Jackson's decision appears.
Washington's Darius Songaila was suspended for a looks-bad-in-slow-motion blow to LeBron James' face in the first-round series between the Wizards and Cavaliers. Meanwhile, Atlanta's Marvin Williams was suspended for the first game next season after pulling down the Celtics' Rajon Rondo from behind in Game 7 of the Boston-Atlanta series.
If you look at all three incidents, I think it's easy to see that Price was put in far greater jeopardy than James or Rondo. Yet, Turiaf skates.
Of course, some Jazz fans will claim Turiaf's non-suspension is evidence that the NBA and the TV networks would love to see teacher's pet -- the Lakers -- back into the NBA Finals.
I don't agree with that theory.
I just think Jackson blew the call.
A final thought: Laker coach Phil Jackson disagreed over Turiaf's ejection and was incredulous when it was suggested that Turiaf might be suspended.
Asked after the game if Turiaf should have been ejected, Jackson replied, "Absolutely not."
Why?
"I thought the kid was out of control when he went in, and Ronny did go up to block the shot, but I thought he entirely played the ball," Jackson said. "I haven't seen a call like that. I was very surprised that he was put out of the game."
Out of control? Played the ball? Very surprised?
Jackson's damage-control spin on the Turiaf Affair is laughable.
Of course, I understand Phil still believes Bryon Russell should have been called for a foul for throwing his right hip in the way of Michael Jordan's left hand and allowing himself to be pushed out of the way in the final seconds of Game 6 in the 1998 NBA Finals.
-- Steve Luhm

   The schedule has done the Jazz no favors in this series against the Lakers, forcing them to play Game 1 only 38 hours after closing out Houston. They had to play a Sunday home game for the first time in seven years and now have a two-day break before Game 5.

    That's plenty of time for Kobe Bryant to rest and treat his bad back. Assuming he sits out practice Tuesday, Bryant will have had close to 72 hours rest by the time he takes the court Wednesday night at Staples Center.

    ``I'm glad we don't play tomorrow," Bryant told reporters Monday in Los Angeles. "I need another day to really recuperate and get ready. I'll be ready to go."

    As someone pointed out, the schedule for this series still isn't as ridiculous as it is for the New Orleans/San Antonio series. Those teams would play Game 6 on Thursday and Game 7 - - get this - - Monday, giving the Spurs three days to rest.

    The Jazz were able to take confidence from getting back to even in this series. Things are obviously different in the playoffs, but the Lakers hadn't lost consecutive games since falling to Charlotte and Memphis on March 26 and 28.

    "I think everyone kind of counted us out," Kyle Korver said. "All the talk we were hearing was the Lakers are going to sweep this. I don't think we've necessarily proved anything to ourselves. I think we were confident enough the whole time, but we kind of showed some other people that we're here to play."

    * * *

    Jazz coach Jerry Sloan offered high praise for Ronnie Price's play these last two games. Price dove to the floor after two loose balls in Game 3 and made a spectacular block in Game 4, chasing down Luke Walton to block his breakaway layup bid.

    Sloan said what Price was doing was "over and above what you expect from players."

    "That's always rewarding to see," Sloan said, "because a lot of guys don't get the time they deserve.

    "He probably deserves a little more time. He's playing behind Deron Williams and that's a tough place to be for playing time. But he's handled it very professionally, works hard every day he comes to practice, and that'll make him a better player in the long run."

    Humorous moment when Williams was told Price called him the best point guard in the NBA. "Well, he's the best backup in the league," Williams said to laughs.

    Williams also was asked if Price ever makes plays like the Walton block in practice. "He's athletic, man," Williams said. "He does a lot of things that surprise a lot of people in practice."

    * * *

    What's it like for Kyle Korver, the Jazz's 90-plus percent free throw shooter, as his teammates try to force-feed him the ball with the opposing team looking to foul late?

    "We've got to get a play or something because I'm getting double-teamed," said Korver, who was hit in the nose by Derek Fisher. "To get open, it's kind of hard."

    What's it like to be Deron Williams and watch Mehmet Okur hit two jumpers with his foot on the three-point arc in overtime of Sunday's game?

    "It used to be Gira," Williams said, referring to the traded Gordan Giricek. "I guess since his buddy left, it's him now."

    * * *

    Williams was asked about how much Derek Fisher's early foul trouble in Games 3 and 4 benefited the Jazz.

    "We're definitely glad he got in foul trouble the last two games," Williams said. "We tried to attack him early and put him in that position because he's a guy that's been making shots for them. He's kept them in ballgames, especially the two here."

    --Ross Siler

If you think Kobe Bryant is shooting a lot of free throws, you're right.

Bryant is averaging about 33 percent more free throws in the ongoing Western Conference semifinals against the Jazz than Michael Jordan attempted against Utah during the 1997 of 1998 NBA Finals.

Here are the numbers:

Michael Jordan's Free Throws
1997 NBA Finals
Game 1 ..... 5-7
Game 2 .... 15-21
Game 3 ..... 4-5
Game 4 ..... 0-0
Game 5 .....10-12
Game 6 ..... 8-10
Total ......... 42-55 (.764)

1998 NBA Finals
Game 1 ....... 6-8
Game 2 ....... 9-10
Game 3 ...... 10-11
Game 4 ...... 10-15
Game 5 ...... 10-11
Game 6 ...... 12-15
Total ........... 57-70 (.814)

Kobe Bryant's Free Throws
2008 Western Conference semifinals
Game 1 .... 21-23
Game 2 .... 11-12
Game 3 .... 14-17
Game 4 .... 6-10
Totals ....... 52-62 (.839)

Now, before Jazz fans start nodding their heads knowingly and take this as a sure sign Bryant is being protected by the officials, understand that the rules have changed in the past decade, as far as what a defender can and can't do.

Today, it is much harder to guard a player like Jordan or Bryant without committing a foul, so I don't think it's overly surprising that Michael averaged 10.4 free throws in 12 games in the Finals against Utah and Bryant is averaging 15.5 in this series.

Another thing: I thought the Jazz were physically tired and emotionally flat in Game 1, which was played 38 hours after Utah closed out Houston in the first round.

In the opener of this series, Bryant shot a Laker-record 23 free throws against the Jazz who, in my opinion, did a lot of reaching and grabbing because they weren't sharp defensively.

That helps explain some of those 23 free throws -- two more than Jordan ever shot against Utah in the Finals.

A final word on Bryant: His performance in Game 4, when he played 46:32 with an obviously sore back, was admirable.

He reminded me of the many nights when I watched John Stockton and Karl Malone play through sprained wrists and ankles, hyperextended elbows, bruised shoulders and aching knees because they wanted one thing -- to help their team win a basketball game.

In Game 4, Bryant missed 20 of his 33 field-goal attempts, including six of seven in overtime. But he finished with 33 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists despite being unable to explode around his defender and get to the rim.

With Bryant, the Lakers pushed the Jazz to overtime. If Bryant had not kept trying, I doubt it would have taken Utah nearly that long to secure its victory.

-- Steve Luhm

   As part of his MVP season, Kobe Bryant played all 82 regular-season games, so I wouldn't be too concerned about him missing Game 5 Wednesday. That said, the No. 1 question leading up to the game has to be the condition of his back.

    Bryant said he twisted his back on a turnaround jumper on the game's second possession Sunday. He had his back wrapped and struggled to get up from the floor at times when he got caught wrong. In the fourth quarter and overtime, Bryant shot 2-for-13.

    It took at least 40 minutes after the game for Bryant, who was receiving treatment, to arrive in the interview room. When he did, they spared him from having to sit, so Bryant answered questions in his white jacket while standing with a microphone.

    I did a search on Kobe Bryant and back spasms after the game, just to see what the history was in the time I covered the Lakers. It turned up nothing, so I'm thinking this is relatively new ground. But Bryant has been a fast healer regardless of injury.

    What's most amazing is that a Lakers team that opened the playoffs 6-0, with Bryant talking about the Hollywood ending of a championship to his MVP season, all of a sudden finds itself in a best-of-three series with the Jazz.

    The Jazz have to find a way to win at Staples Center, where they're 3-16 all-time against the Lakers and 0-4 this year, but the biggest obstacle in Games 1 and 2 seemed to be their slow starts. If they can fix that, who knows?

    * * *

    The fourth quarter and overtime will dominate all stories from Sunday's game, but it's worth mentioning a little about the first and second quarters. First of all, three minutes into the game, the crowd at EnergySolutions Arena might have been the loudest I've heard.

    The Jazz nearly blew away the Lakers in the first quarter, with Deron Williams serving up alley-oop dunks to Ronnie Brewer. Williams was brilliant all game, especially late in the fourth quarter when he tightroped to avoid a backcourt violation and buried a 20-footer.

    Williams also buried three three-pointers in the second quarter, evoking memories of Game 6 against Houston. Yet somehow the Lakers were able to go into halftime tied 55-55 after trailing by as many as 11 points in the quarter.

    They closed the half on a 19-8 run, with Bryant scoring nine of those points. His back didn't seem to be bothering him when he caught Luke Walton's full-court inbounds pass and hit a fadeaway 18-footer over Ronnie Brewer at the buzzer.

    It was a terrible first half for the most part for the Lakers. Derek Fisher played 3:38 because of foul trouble, Ronny Turiaf was ejected, Vladimir Radmanovic and Jordan Farmar were ineffective, and the team missed free throws galore.

    * * *

    There was a lot of talk after the game about whether Mehmet Okur deserved the technical foul that Eddie F. Rush gave him with 2:54 left in the fourth quarter. It came after Okur was called for a foul reaching to strip Pau Gasol in the post.

    Okur punched the air in frustration and Rush whistled the technical. It's one of the NBA's points of emphasis this season that players are not allowed to do that in the direction of referees. There's also supposed to be discretion given in the heat of the moment.

    Rush was in Okur's vicinity when he made the gesture, but I'm not sure Okur was looking at him. I think it was probably the wrong call at the wrong time. But Okur redeemed himself in overtime with those two jumpers and said afterward that the technical was fair.

    "I deserved it, by the way," said Okur, who rivaled Jerry Sloan for technicals this season. "I shouldn't have done that, really. But things happen. I really [overreact] a little bit and I was able to bounce back after the call."

    * * *

    Williams said the Jazz ran the same play four straight times in overtime with the Lakers so committed to stopping Carlos Boozer. They took advantage in getting the two Okur jumpers plus Andrei Kirilenko's dunk as part of a three-point play.

    "They were worried about the pick-and-roll and stuff with Boozer," Sloan said, "and Memo got a couple shots out of it."

    "They came up and helped on me a little bit," Williams added, "and I saw A.K. going back door, so I just dumped it off to him. He did a great job of going up strong and finishing with a dunk."

    * * *

    How in the world do four guys in Lakers jerseys wind up sitting courtside for Sunday's game? Just asking. The Jazz will put Game 6 tickets on sale Tuesday morning at 10, available through all the usual outlets plus the arena box office.

    --Ross Siler

Just before halftime of Game 4, I told colleague Lya Wodraska, "Deron Williams is going to have to score 40 for the Jazz to win."
I was wrong.
After a miserable first half, when they combined for five points on 2-for-12 shooting, Memo Okur (18) and Carlos Boozer (14) gave Williams enough help to lift the Jazz past the Lakers.
Williams finished with 29 points and 14 assists. He had four points and three assists in overtime, perhaps because he was relatively fresh after getting more rest than usual during the game.
In the second quarter, the Lakers' Ronny Turiaf was ejected for flagrantly fouling Ronnie Price. It took the officials about five minutes to rule on the situation, which happened just as Williams was ending his normal first-half time on the bench.
While he only missed 3 1/2 minutes of actual playing time, Williams rested for about 20 minutes of real time, thanks to Turiaf and the break between quarters.
Price also played well early in the fourth quarter and allowed Williams to sit a little longer than normal. He returned with 7:18 left in regulation and had four points and two assists down the stretch.

-- Steve Luhm

It seems to me that the Lakers are still calm and confident, despite losing Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal against the Jazz.

L.A. practiced at the Jazz's training facility on Saturday afternoon and, while the coaches and players credited Utah with an energized effort Friday night, they took most of the blame for their first defeat in the playoffs.

"It was an opportunity you feel like you let slip away," said Pau Gasol. "So we'll see if we can do a better job in the next game."

Asked if the Jazz did anything differently after losing Games 1 and 2 in Los Angeles, Gasol said, "They just played with a little more confidence. They were more aggressive and more active defensively."

Still, Gasol said, "If we take care of the a few things, we have a great chance to win. Even though we really didn't have a good game, we were right there with a a minute or two to go. Then [Carlos] Boozer came up with a couple of loose balls and made a couple of plays, or it might have been a little different. It tells me that if we do a few things a little better, we'll be all right."

Kobe Bryant pointed to 10 turnovers in the first half -- and seven in the fourth quarter -- as the difference in Game 3.

"I think they did good job getting their hands on the ball," he said. "They had active hands and they were able to turn us over, especially in the first half, when we had the bulk of our turnovers. And they converted them into easy opportunities."

Coach Phil Jackson thought the turnovers were a result of the Lakers "not being able to withstand that "chest-to-chest type of defense" the Jazz employed.

According to Jackson, the Lakers' total of 14 assists a telling statistic.

"... Really indicative of what that game was about," he said. "We didn't share the ball, didn't protect the ball and, as a result, we had to use Kobe as the main thrust of our offense in the fourth quarter. That is all well and fine but, at some point, he's going to run out of gas. And he did down the stretch, and he couldn't finish."

Bryant scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, but he missed four of his seven field-goal attempts and committed two turnovers.

*****

Derek Fisher did not think the Lakers matched the Jazz effort in Game 3.

"When you're the road team. you have to be really precise," he said. "You have to understand what your purpose is on every possession down the floor, offensively and defensively. [Friday] night, we had way too much slippage for a team that expects to win a Game 3 in the playoffs. It's almost like we didn't expect the Jazz to come out with their best effort."

The Lakers "didn't deserve to win the game because of some of the things we did and some of the mistakes we made," Fisher said. "If we expect to win [Game 4], we are going to have to be on-point, sharp, on-key with everything."

Asked if he expected the Jazz to again play with a sense of desperation, Fisher said, "I don't think desperation is something Jerry [Sloan] teaches of preaches. Obviously, they felt they had to win the game, but I don't think they played desperate. I think they just played hard -- they played their normal style of game and we didn't. That was the difference. If we played smarter and made fewer mistakes, we could have won the game."

With 3:22 left in the fourth quarter, Fisher was fouled and fell to the court. He hurt his wrist on the play and missed one of two free throws, leaving the Jazz with a 95-92 lead.
"I hit the floor really hard," Fisher said. "It was kind of numb for a few minutes there. I thought about asking Phil to call a time-out. But I didn't want us to use a time-out at that juncture ... so I tried to shake it up a little bit.

"That first free throw, it was still a little numb and I tried to use my legs a little more and it was long. I got a little bit of rhythm back and made the second one. I just wish I had I had made them both and we had cut their lead to two."

-- Steve Luhm

   I'm sure there are some Jazz fans out there who expected referees Steve Javie and Bob Delaney to show up for today's Game 4. They will be relieved to know the NBA has assigned Eddie Rush, Sean Corbin and Joe DeRosa to work the game instead.

    Delaney's been very, very tough on the Jazz the last two games he's worked, almost to the point I wondered whether he had something against Jerry Sloan, Deron Williams and Co. Javie was at the center of the controversy in last year's Game 4 against San Antonio.

    I've heard Javie referred to (I think by Jeff Van Gundy) as the most favorable ref for the visiting team in the NBA. He's also Kobe Bryant's favorite ref, because as Bryant once said, "You always know where you stand with him." Neither ref will be here, though.

    Not sure whether the Rush/Corbin/DeRosa trio is favorable one way or another. The Jazz are 2-3 in games Corbin has called this season, 4-3 with DeRosa and 4-4 with Rush, according to Covers.com.

    Actually, according to the site, Corbin and DeRosa are the two best "homer" refs in the NBA this season. Against the spread, home teams are 44-23-0 with Corbin and 47-26-2 with DeRosa. It's only 9:30 a.m., but the Jazz already have caught one break.

    --Ross Siler

   As he left the interview room after Friday night's game, Carlos Boozer crossed paths with Derek Fisher, who was set to follow Boozer in front of the microphones. They talked for a minute or so before exchanging hugs and heading their separate directors.

    It was a fitting scene. This was Fisher's night a year ago, when he flew in from New York following his infant daughter's cancer treatment, arrived in the third quarter of Game 2 of the conference semifinals and inspired the Jazz to an overtime victory over Golden State.

    A year later, the night belonged to Boozer, who broke out of his playoff slump with a 27-point, 20-rebound game in which he was the Jazz's go-to player in the last 3 1-2 minutes off the pick-and-roll with Deron Williams.

    "I feel like I have a big responsibility with my team and if I don't play well, sometimes I feel like I let them down," Boozer said. "To bounce back this way means a lot to me. I'm going to try to do the same thing Sunday."

    I didn't realize it until after deadline, but Boozer outscored Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom 27-25 by himself in the game. Gasol had 12 points and five turnovers while Odom had 13 points but took only three shots.

    Williams said afterward that he tried to give Boozer as much space as he could to work out his struggles these playoffs. "He's one of those guys you let it brew," Williams said, "let them do what they've got to do and they'll be ready for the next one."

    Boozer had no turnovers and no fouls at the end of the first quarter, which was key to getting in rhythm. He drove on Gasol for a three-point play in the quarter and spun back on Ronny Turiaf for a layup, early signs that he was in for a productive night.

    The Lakers now have to be saying to themselves what the Jazz did after Games 1 and 2. They lost the second quarter 29-20 and that was the game. Just like the Jazz did in Los Angeles, the Lakers got as close as three in the fourth but couldn't get over the hump.

    It's hard to imagine Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic having a worse time in Game 4 than they did in Game 3. Vujacic was 0-for-3 while Farmer missed all six shots he took and dribbled the ball off his foot out of bounds in the fourth quarter.

    It's also hard to imagine the Lakers cheating as much off Mehmet Okur as they did Friday, leaving Okur to hit four three-pointers on the way to scoring 22 points, one shy of his playoff career high.

    Kobe Bryant made a spectacular play in the fourth quarter with his self-pass dunk off the backboard and out of a trap. As the Jazz went to Boozer down the stretch, though, Bryant lost his footing on a drive and also missed a three-pointer.

    Bryant additionally let Luke Walton have it after Walton fumbled away a pass with the Lakers trailing by four and 14 seconds remaining. You have to wonder if maybe the Lakers were due for a poor showing after opening the playoffs 6-0 and winning 14 of 15.

    A year ago, the Jazz absolutely destroyed the Spurs in Game 3 of the conference finals 109-83 only to lose Game 4 at home and get wiped out in Game 5 on the road. It's worth noting that this series has followed the pattern of that one almost identically.

    Maybe Steve Javie will even show up for old time's sake Sunday. I have a feeling the Jazz's first Sunday home game in more than seven years is going to be wild.

    "We just needed that one game under our belt just to get our confidence back and I think we got that," Williams said.

    --Ross Siler