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Derek Fisher scored 13 points for the Lakers exactly one year after he had one of the most memorable moments in Jazz history.
Friday was the anniversary of Fisher’s dramatic third-quarter entrance for the Jazz in an overtime win over Golden State. Fisher had flown from New York, where his daughter was receiving treatment for a cancerous eye tumor. He got a standing ovation in that game, but on Friday was booed with the rest of the Lakers.
Mehmet Okur scored 22 points for the Jazz, making 4-of-7 3-pointers, while Andrei Kirilenko and Matt Harpring both added 12 points.
In the end, the Jazz left it up to Boozer, who scored almost half of Utah’s 25 fourth-quarter points.
“I think he finally got over that hump. That’s big,” Williams said. “That’s what we’re going to need. It just takes so much pressure off everybody else when he’s playing like that.”
Los Angeles went on a 6-0 run to get within 95-92, then Boozer went to work. He hit a hook shot over Luke Walton in the lane to put Utah up 97-92, then Bryant lost the ball while falling and didn’t get the foul call he wanted. The Jazz used 23 of the 24 seconds they had on the shot clock and Boozer made a shot over Odom.
After Bryant missed a 3-point attempt, the Jazz got the rebound and went to Boozer again for a 101-92 lead with 1:57 left.
Walton hit a 3-pointer with 1:08 left to get Los Angeles within 103-97, then Bryant made two from the line to get the Lakers within four.
The Jazz missed again at the other end, but the Lakers bobbled the ball, too, and Williams crashed to the floor for a loose ball and forced a jump ball. The guard didn’t stand a chance against Lakers center Pau Gasol, but it ate up time and the Lakers turned it over again.
“I told the guys they made a good comeback but they just couldn’t make the plays at the end,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.
Notes: The Jazz outscored Lakers in the paint 24-14 in first half. ... Utah made eight of its first 10 shots in the second quarter. ... Bryant was 14-for-17 from the line. ... Walton finished with 11 points.
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