For Jazz, Presence Is Felt in Game 3

Jazz 109, Spurs 83

SALT LAKE CITY, May 26 -- They had been waiting nine years for a night like this in Utah, a springtime playoff performance that reminded them of the glory years, of Stockton-to-Malone, of championship tension. They don't care much about pro football minicamps here or Roger Clemens coming back to save the Yankees.

The Memorial Day weekend auto race news is deep inside the local sports sections. The only thing that really mattered around here was the Jazz bouncing back from two terribly embarrassing games in San Antonio, and it did that dramatically in Game 3.

In a complete reversal of fortune, Utah trampled San Antonio, 109-83, on Saturday, eliminating the possibility of being swept and giving the Spurs a whole lot to think about between now and Game 4 here on Monday.

Utah trailed by four at halftime, then outscored San Antonio by 30 the rest of the way to pull within 2-1 in this best-of-seven Western Conference finals. The Spurs got only 16 points from Tim Duncan in 26 foul-plagued minutes. Knocked out of any kind of offensive flow early with Duncan on the bench, they made just 44 percent of their shots. Tony Parker led San Antonio with 25 points, but none of the other Spurs had big-time performances.

For Utah, Deron Williams, the heir to John Stockton, scored 31 points, handed out eight assists and snatched five steals. Carlos Boozer, the heir to Karl Malone, scored 27 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dominated inside. Pro basketball is what keeps Utah feeling big league when it comes to sports, and the legacy of Stockton and Malone -- the arena is at the intersection of streets bearing their names -- is everywhere here.

"There will always be comparisons," Williams said, "because we're a point guard and a power forward coming in a few years after they left. But we're just starting our careers. We're 22 and 25 years old and they're legends -- two of the greatest to ever play the game."

In Game 3, they looked like worthy heirs nonetheless. But as Boozer said: "Deron and I are going to do our thing. The reason we won this game tonight was the guys coming off the bench."

Boozer certainly had a point. Jarron Collins, Gordan Giricek, Paul Millsap and Matt Harpring combined to make 14 of 24 shots, score 34 points, grab 10 rebounds and hand out 10 assists.

The Jazz, after trailing at halftime, played with the kind of force and purpose in the second half that got it through the Rockets and Warriors to the conference finals. Utah played so authoritatively in the fourth quarter it raised the possibility that the Jazz has quite a bit of momentum heading into Game 4. With four minutes remaining, Duncan left the court with five fouls and plenty of frustration on his face. In fact, the Spurs had conceded and put all reserves on the floor the final four minutes of the game.

The Jazz struggled early, even with Duncan picking up his third foul with 5 minutes 54 seconds left in the second quarter. Duncan was done for the half, but Parker went to the basket relentlessly and produced enough points, either scoring or passing, to keep the Spurs ahead at halftime, 47-43.

The Utah players were fighting their playoff inexperience while facing a Spurs team that has won three championships since 1999. At least one of their players, Andrei Kirilenko, wondered aloud whether the Jazz had hit its ceiling for this postseason. And too many Utah players weren't making the kind of contribution the team had become accustomed to getting.

Kirilenko, who seemed to have recovered from an early-season emotional meltdown, didn't score a single basket in Game 3. Mehmet Okur, a scoring machine for much of the second half of the season and the playoffs, was 3 for 15 in Game 1, 4 for 13 in Game 2, and went scoreless Saturday, though he did play tough defense on Duncan, forcing the Spurs' first-team all-NBA forward into eight turnovers.

Despite the lack of offensive contribution from two starters, Utah took its first lead of the game, and its first lead since Game 1, 57-56, on Boozer's baseline jumper over Robert Horry 7 1/2 minutes into the third quarter. That bucket, and finally seeing Utah ahead in a game, clearly ignited the building and the players. From there the Jazz was unstoppable.

For two games and half of a third, it looked like the die-hard basketball fans of Utah wouldn't get to experience anything remotely akin to the excitement of the 1990s when Stockton and Malone led the Jazz twice to the NBA Finals.

But Utah kept the pressure on the Spurs, who have plenty of time to stew over the result of Game 3 until Monday, when even the Jazz figures a different Spurs team will take the court.