Utah Jazz: Boozer's layup boosts Jazz over Blazers

Carlos Boozer made a tough left-handed layup and then sank two clutch free throws in the final seconds to lift the Utah Jazz to a thrilling 103-96 win tonight over the Portland Trail Blazers at EnergySolutions Arena.

Mehmet Okur led the Jazz in scoring with 22 points and nine rebounds, and Boozer finished with 20. Andrei Kirilenko added 17, and Ronnie Brewer chipped in with 16. Brandon Roy topped Portland — which was without Greg Oden — with 18 points.

The Jazz play again at home Friday night, when coach Jerry Sloan can pick up his 1,000th win with Utah against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Ronnie Brewer got hot in the third quarter, helping the Jazz dig out of a double-digit hole with a 3-pointer, a pair of free throws and a big dunk in a 7-0 run.

He then dished to Andrei Kirilenko on a give-and-go fast break that pulled Utah within one. Rookie Rudy Fernandez stopped the huge momentum swing by drilling a 3-pointer to end the third with Portland up 78-74.

Brevin Knight then gave Utah its first lead in a while with a mid-range jumper with 8 1/2 minutes remaining.

The teams then battled back and forth, with Utah taking a five-point edge off a three and two free throws by Okur and a pair of foul shots by Kirilenko.

Brewer helped Utah maintain the five-point lead by posting up Steve Blake, and then finishing off an old-fashioned three-point play. Paul Millsap did the same a couple of minutes later by hitting two from the charity stripe.

Blake sent the Blazers into the locker room with a seven-point lead as he scored nine of his 14 first-half points in the final 2:08 of the half. His spurt included a couple of 3-pointers and three free throws after he was fouled by Kyle Korver.

Okur had a strong opening half for Utah, scoring 13 points with five rebounds. Carlos Boozer, Andrei Kirilenko and Korver each added six points apiece in the first two quarters.