Lakers Blow Early Lead, Lose To Jazz

Salt Lake City, UT (Sports Network) - Deron Williams scored 29 points and hit a key three-pointer down the stretch to lead the Utah Jazz to a 102-96 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Utah ended the game on an 11-0 run highlighted by Williams' game-tying shot with 1:16 left. Raja Bell scored four straight after that to give the Jazz the lead and Andrei Kirilenko iced the game with a pair of free throws. Al Jefferson had 20 points for Utah, which has won four in a row. Kirilenko added 11 points, Bell scored nine and Williams had 12 assists in the victory.

Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 31 points for LA, including 14 in the fourth quarter, but he was kept without a shot on two key possessions down the stretch. The two-time defending champion Lakers had a five-game winning streak snapped. The shot clock malfunctioned for the last 94 seconds of the game after Kirilenko missed a three-pointer -- but the Jazz executed perfectly.

Williams drilled his three from the top of the key to make it 96-96 and Bryant's pass was picked off on the other end. Utah converted the turnover to take the lead, with Bell scoring on a fast-break layup. "We let it get away on that turnover steal," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. All eyes were on Bryant to tie the game for LA, but it was Artest who missed a bad shot from the elbow. Bryant yielded to Artest again on the next Lakers possession, finding his teammate behind the three-point arc on the left side.

Artest missed the shot and Bell grabbed the rebound, hitting both free throws after he was fouled to make it 100-96 with 11.6 seconds left. Pau Gasol and Matt Barnes missed shots at the other end and Kirilenko made his free throws for the final margin. Bryant scored his 14 points in just over 7 1/2 minutes of court time in the fourth quarter. But he was just 10-of-21 from the field for the game and didn't attempt a shot in the last 2:32.

"Coach (Jerry Sloan) made the adjustment. He doubled him, made him give up the ball," said Williams. "Anytime a guy like that gets into a rhythm you have to get the ball out of his hands. I think it helped us a lot." Gasol had 21 points and 11 rebounds in the loss, Lamar Odom scored 16 points with 10 boards and Artest added 11 points.

Paul Millsap, who started the final 11-0 run for Utah with a layup, scored 13 points in the win. Almost nothing went Utah's way in the early going as LA sprinted out to a 33-17 lead after the first quarter. The first highlight for Utah was guard Ronnie Price's soaring dunk over Odom early in the second quarter. The 6-foot-2 guard threw down the one-handed jam over the Lakers forward, who is eight inches taller.

The Jazz finished the first half on a 25-11 run to pull within 50-46 at halftime. They outscored LA 29-22 in the third quarter for a 75-72 lead heading into the final 12 minutes. The Lakers have knocked Utah out of the playoffs three straight years...The Jazz earned only their fourth win in the last 12 regular-season meetings between the teams...Utah shot 49 percent from the field and the Lakers 42 percent.

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