Utah Jazz hold off Lakers in OT to even series

Kobe Bryant has a bad back but says it should be fine for Game 5.

Larry H. Miller has another payday and at least one more chance to do what he did not on Sunday: watch the team he owns play at home.

And the Jazz have a mother lode of momentum, the result of regrouping in fine-enough fashion Sunday to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-115 in overtime of Game 4 and even their best-of-seven NBA Western Conference semifinal series at 2-2.

"We're definitely confident now," said point guard Deron Williams, who had a 29-point, 14-assist double-double and was largely responsible for helping the Jazz keep their poise down a rather adventurous stretch. "But we still have to prove we can win one on the road."

They do, but first they can savor winning a second straight in the series at home.

The hard way.

With Miller not in his usual courtside seat for religious reasons — the Jazz were playing their first Sunday home game since 2001, and first in the playoffs since 2000 — Utah gave a more-raucous-than-usual crowd of 19,911 at EnergySolutions Arena five bonus minutes.

Center Mehmet Okur recovered from a potentially costly mistake late in regulation to hit two long jumpers early in the extra session, and — after Bryant drove to make it 112-110 — small forward Andrei Kirilenko scored three the old-fashioned way to give the Jazz a five-point cushion they protected for the final 35.5 seconds of OT.

After finding Okur from the same set for his two overtime baskets — "They were worried about the pick-and-roll — with (Carlos) Boozer," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said — Williams fed Kirilenko for a reverse dunk.

Kirilenko was fouled by Lamar Odom and hit the ensuing free throw, allowing Williams and Kyle Korver to seal the victory with 4-of-4 free throws apiece.

"They came up and helped on me a little bit," Williams said, "and I saw A.K. (Kirilenko) going backdoor, so I just dumped it off to him, and he did a great job of going up strong."

Williams also was the glue when the Jazz blew a 12-point lead in the final four minutes of the fourth.

Bryant was clearly struggling, having twisted his back on his second shot of the game.

Though he finished with 10 assists and a game-high 33 points, the NBA's recently crowned MVP shot just 2-of-13 in the fourth quarter and OT combined.

Still, the Jazz were concerned by his mere presence.

"He's the MVP," Williams said. "Hurt or not, you've got to respect him, you've got to guard him with everything you have."