Remember the teary-eyed interview? The seemingly needed "Where is AK's game?" graphics on the back of milk cartons? The flat-out Russian frustration?

Nyet?

Well, neither do the Utah Jazz.

Curious, how would they say "Andrei Kirilenko is officially back" in Moscow?

After his stellar performance in Tuesday night's Western Conference semifinals 100-87 victory at EnergySolutions Arena, this is how it translated into numerals on the boxscore: Kirilenko: 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting, 15 rebounds, three steals and one assist.

His babushka, no doubt, would be proud — and, heck, probably loud, too.

Kirilenko was all smiles after helping the Jazz make their first trip back to the Western Conference Finals since 1998.

"Very surprised," he replied when asked if he thought Utah would make it this far. "But I hope it's not the end. We're a young team. We're growing up together."

Kirilenko's biggest accomplishment in Game 5 might have been simply hitting a free throw with 2:35 remaining. The Jazz had missed seven straight shots from the charity stripe, blowing a golden opportunity to put the Warriors away after a couple of Golden State meltdowns.

"That was a little bit concerning," Kirilenko said. "At that point of the game, you think, 'We need to make it. We need to make it.'"

And, unlike his teammates, he did make it, twice, to give the Jazz a 90-87 lead to the near-deafening approval of the restless crowd. After that streak was snapped, the Jazz went on to completely dominate the rest of the game to clinch a spot in the Western Conference Finals.

For good measure, Kirilenko sank another free throw after he was body-checked to the ground by the frustrated Matt Barnes on a made foul shot by Carlos Boozer.

Kirilenko gave the Jazz a much-needed offensive boost in the third quarter when the Warriors threatened to take control of the game. With the Jazz down 61-54 three minutes after the break, Kirilenko scored seven straight points to tie the score in less than a minute.

On one of his scores, Kirilenko grabbed a defensive rebound, raced down court like the Russian Magic Johnson that he sometimes sorta kinda was this series, and drove in for a bucket while getting fouled. He made that free throw as well.

His next basket was a reverse layup, made possible by a slick pass from Boozer.

Though he didn't swat any shots with his long wing span — after making 16 blocks in the series' first three games — Kirilenko made some big plays with his trademark hustle defense.

After Paul Millsap missed two free throws — the last of the seven consecutive clanks — Kirilenko busted a major move to catch up with Barnes who had escaped from the pack for what appeared to be a breakaway dunk.

Nyet again. Kirilenko not only caught up to Barnes but he stole it away. After Golden State tied the game at 83, Kirilenko chipped in again on offense by tipping in a missed three by Deron Williams. That put the Jazz up 85-83 with six minutes left.

Kirilenko said a key to winning this game and series against the surprise Warriors was staying steady.

"I think we've been very concentrated tonight," he said. "For most of the night, we kept our focus. We forced them to be nervous. They couldn't make every crazy shot."

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E-mail: jody@desnews.com