Jazz thrash Spurs to grab Western lifeline
(Reuters)Updated: 2007-05-27 12:42
NEW YORK - The Utah Jazz delivered a 109-83 home-court win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday to claw their way back into the Western Conference finals.
 San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan (L) has the ball knocked away by Utah Jazz' Mehmet Okur during Game 3 of their NBA Western Conference Final playoff basketball series in Salt Lake City, Utah May 26, 2007. [Reuters] |
The Spurs lead the best-of-seven series 2-1 after winning the first two games in San Antonio. The Jazz, 7-0 at home in the playoffs, will attempt to even the series in Salt Lake City on Monday.
Deron Williams scored 31 points and added eight assists and Carlos Boozer delivered 27 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Jazz, who outscored San Antonio 66-36 in the second half.
Williams was a standout.
"We heard we weren't going to win another game. We heard a lot of things," he said.
"We're not going to lie down just because we were down 0-2."
Tony Parker led the Spurs, now 0-9 all-time in playoff games at Utah and 0-3 in Salt Lake City this season, with 25 points and seven assists -- but Tim Duncan encountered foul trouble and had 16 points and eight rebounds in just 26 minutes.
Duncan also turned the ball over eight times.
"He didn't have a great night," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said of Duncan, who had notched at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in 11 consecutive playoff games before Saturday.
The Jazz, who also rallied from 0-2 to win their first-round series against Houston, are trying to become only the third team to come back from an 0-2 start in an NBA conference final to win the series.
San Antonio coach Popovich said the Jazz improved as the game went on while the Spurs went in the opposite direction.
"We folded both mentally and physically (and) consequently we got our butts kicked," he lamented.
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