After falling into a 2-0 hole in their Western Conference semifinals series against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Utah Jazz returned home where they posted a league-best mark during the regular season and got one back with a 104-99 victory in game three.
Carlos Boozer turned in his best performance of the series with 27 points and 20 rebounds and Deron Williams added 18 and 12 assists as the Jazz took control in the second quarter and fended off a late rally by Los Angeles to cut their series deficit in half.
Over the first two games of the series, the Jazz fell behind early and had to play from behind for the length of the game. Even when they inevitably answered with a second-half run, it wasn't enough.
After getting in major foul trouble and giving up a combined 239 points in the first two games, the Jazz's defense contained league MVP Kobe Bryant in the first half, and the suddenly hot shooting of Williams and Mehmet Okur staked Utah out to a double-digit lead. From then on, the Jazz kept the Lakers at a close but consistent distance.
While Bryant heated up in the third quarter after a 1-of-5 first-half showing, the Jazz always had an answer. Even when it looked like Los Angeles had finally weathered the Utah storm and were poised to steal a road game, the Jazz namely Boozer were too much.
After failing to establish any semblance of an offensive presence for Utah earlier in the series, Boozer was Utah's finisher in Game Three. After LA cut to the deficit to three - the closest it had been since the first period - with more than three minutes to play, Boozer went strong to the hoop on the other end and buried a baby hook to put the lead back at five.
And he was just getting started. The three-time All-Star forward knocked down mid-range jumpers on the next two possessions to give Utah a nine-point edge. Still, the Lakers weren't quite done.
Luke Walton sank a three-pointer, Pau Gasol hit a hook shot and Bryant hit a pair of foul shots to get back to within four. But despite the Jazz missing 3-of-4 free throws in the last 15 seconds of the game, the Lakers' last-gasp rally wasn't enough.
Okur scored 22 for the Jazz, who were 37-4 at home during the regular campaign and improved to 3-1 here this postseason. They will host Game Four on Monday. Bryant led all scorers with 34 points for the Lakers.