(Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Lakers always seem to have the answer for the Utah Jazz.
Game 4: Lakers One Win Away From Eliminating Jazz (That Sounds Familiar)
If Phil Jackson's club solves the Jazz once more tonight, it will lock up its third straight trip to the Western Conference finals and send Utah packing from the playoffs for a third straight season.
Derek Fisher hit the go-ahead three- pointer down the stretch on Saturday, as the Lakers escaped EnergySolutions Arena with a thrilling 111-110 Game 3 victory over the Jazz, gaining a 3-0 stranglehold in their semifinal series.
The final 2 1/2 minutes of that contest were played at a breakneck pace, and it was Fisher that came up with the big basket, countering Deron Williams' go- ahead baseline jumper with a deep three from the right wing with 28.6 seconds remaining.
Wesley Matthews found himself open for a three at the other end but missed the attempt. Carlos Boozer wound up with a loose ball under the basket, but Fisher knocked the ball away in a sea of players in the paint.
Kobe Bryant was sent to the foul line with 7.8 seconds left and made both free throws for a 111-108 edge. Los Angeles quickly fouled Williams, who made both freebies 1.7 seconds later.
After a timeout, Ron Artest threw away his halfcourt inbounds pass to Kyle Korver, who called time with 4.4 ticks showing.
With the game on the line, Williams shook off Artest at the top of the key and had a great look but came up empty with his 22-foot attempt. Matthews had a chance at the tip-in just before the buzzer sounded, but the putback rimmed out, putting the Jazz at a 3-0 series disadvantage that has never been overcome in NBA history.
“I wanted to get (the shot) a little deeper, but I saw Ron (Artest) stumble a bit, so I felt if I took another dribble or two he might have recovered. I had a wide open look and just missed it,” recalled Williams.
Bryant finished with 35 points and seven assists, while Fisher and Artest each scored 20 for the Lakers, who will attempt to complete the sweep tonight. Pau Gasol recorded 14 points and 17 rebounds in the win.
“That was quite a game,” Jackson said. “It was fun for fans to watch, it wasn’t great for coaches to watch. Unexpected guys stepped up tonight, guys we know can deliver. Artest and Fisher, both of them played very big.”
Williams led the Jazz with 28 points, while Korver was a spark off the bench with 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting, including a 5-for-5 effort from behind the arc. Boozer had 14 points and 14 boards in the heartbreaking setback.
The Jazz welcomed back Andrei Kirilenko, who had missed the entire postseason and a big chunk at the end of the regular season with a calf injury. The addition energized the home crowd and Kirilenko played well, scoring eight points and grabbing six rebounds in just over 17 minutes of action but Utah still finds itself trying to avoid becoming the 14th team in NBA history to be eliminated by the same team in three consecutive playoffs.
"Our guys played as hard as we could play, we just came up short," Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan said.
The Lakers, who are an imposing 40-1 all-time in series when they take a 2-0 lead, also beat the Jazz in three of the four meetings during this regular season. In recent postseasons, LA beat Utah in five games in the first round last year and in 2008, the Lakers prevailed in six games in the conference semifinals.
Game 5 of this series, if necessary, will be Wednesday in Los Angeles.
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