Jazz outrun relentless Warriors, take Game 1 in series

Carlos Boozer put back an offensive rebound with 17 seconds left to break a tie and Matt Harpring added two free throws 10 seconds later, giving the Utah Jazz a 116-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Monday night in the opener of the Western Conference semifinals.

Boozer scored 17 points and pulled down 20 rebounds, getting his last after Mehmet Okur's 3-pointer bounced off the rim to Boozer in the lane for the go-ahead basket and a 114-112 advantage.

Stephen Jackson tried to put the Warriors back ahead with a 3-pointer, but it was short and Harpring ended up with the rebound after a scrum in the lane. Harpring made both shots and the Warriors didn't have time to make up the deficit.

Deron Williams finished with 31 points and eight assists and Okur had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Utah, which outrebounded the Warriors 54-36. Andrei Kirilenko had seven blocked shots for the Jazz, who host Game 2 on Wednesday.

"We fought a lot over the last series, showed we can fight and stay with anyone in this league," Williams said. "We showed a lot of composure, down 2-0 last series and got over that."

Baron Davis led Golden State with 24 points and seven assists. Jason Richardson scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, but no other Warrior had more than five points over the final period.

Al Harrington also scored 21 — 15 more points than the rest of the Warriors' reserves.

Golden State led at halftime and the end of the third quarter, but was 8-for-20 in the fourth quarter and couldn't hold off the Jazz, who had enough stamina to rally just two nights after beating Houston in Game 7 of the opening round.

Utah played without guard Derek Fisher, who was excused from the game because of a health problem with one of his children. The Jazz won without their most experienced player, who was traded to Utah from the Warriors last summer.

Williams and rookie Dee Brown handled the backcourt and Williams carried the Jazz despite getting his fifth foul with about 6 minutes left. Williams sat for a few minutes, then converted a three-point play that put Utah up 112-110.

Richardson tied it again — for the 20th time in the game — on two free throws after grabbing a turnover and getting fouled by Kirilenko under the basket with 33 seconds left.

Okur, who struggled from 3-point range in the first round of the playoffs, went for it from beyond the arc. Boozer grabbed the rebound in the lane and put it back in to give Utah the lead for good.

It was the 20th offensive rebound of the game for the Jazz.