Jazz 102, Lakers 96

26/11/2010 23:14:00

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -Deron Williams scored 29 points and Andrei Kirilenko grabbed two key rebounds late as the Utah Jazz rallied from a 19-point first-half deficit for a 102-96 win over a Los Angeles Lakers team that swept them out of the playoffs last season.Williams tied the score at 96 with 1:16 remaining on a 3-pointer, then stole the ball and passed to Raja Bell for what proved to be the game-winner.Ron Artest and Paul Gasol both missed shots late for the Lakers (13-3), which saw their five-game winning streak end.The Jazz won their fourth straight to improve to 12-5.Kobe Bryant scored 14 straight points for the Lakers in a 2:25 span late in the fourth quarter as the Lakers rallied from an 83-82 deficit to take a 96-91 lead with 2:12 remaining.But Williams, who Bryant called the best point guard in the league before the game, took over.He was just 5 of 15 at one point before finishing with a game-high 31 points on 10-of-21 shooting.Al Jefferson added 20 points and eight rebounds in holding his own against the Lakers´ Pau Gasol (21 points, 11 rebounds).Utah´s other guards got the Jazz back in the game when it looked like they were finished.The second quarter belonged to the two shortest players on the court. Utah´s Ronnie Price and Earl Watson, at 6-foot-2 and 6-1, respectively, ignited an 11-0 run to pull the Jazz to 39-22 after Los Angeles had taken a 19-point lead.Price started the run with a running one-handed slam on a pass from Watson. Watson and Price then hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Paul Millsap followed with a three-point-play off a nice pass underneath from Watson. Watson then took it the length of the court to pull Utah to 39-32 with 6:08 remaining.Then it was Williams´ turn. He hit a 3-pointer and a fastbreak layup over Lamar Odom to pull Utah to 44-42 with 3:09 left in the first half.Millsap, on an assist from Williams, gave Utah its first lead, 46-45, on a short jumper with 1:48 left in the first half.The Lakers took a 50-46 lead into halftime as Gasol and Bryant combined for the next five points.Los Angeles, after shooting 68.4 percent in the first quarter, made just 4 of 21 in the second quarter (19 percent) as Utah closed the gap.