Utah Jazz: Boozer vanishes in Game 5

LOS ANGELES — Earlier in the series against the Lakers, Carlos Boozer was called both a "beast" and a "monster."

He received no such compliments after Monday's 107-96 loss in what could be his last game in a Utah uniform.

That's because in this one, Boozer looked a lot more like the inconsistent player who struggled to find his All-Star caliber game for much of two months following the power forward's return from knee surgery in mid-February.

After four games of making his powerful presence felt on the court against the Lakers, Boozer vanished into being an invisible entity in Utah's season-ending blowout loss to L.A.

He finished with just 10 points on 3-for-8 shooting and nine rebounds in easily his worst outing of the postseason.

"They did a really good job defensively," said Boozer, pointing out that he only had eight attempts. "I felt like I could've had more of an impact with the game if I would have had more opportunity, but sometimes that's how the game flows."

Though he chipped in a bit more in the third quarter, Boozer was missing in action when the Lakers all but seized control of this elimination contest.

That was somewhat of a surprise considering how Boozer brought series averages of 23.3 points and 14.3 rebounds — highlighted by a 23-point, 22-board Game 3 — into Monday's do-or-die game.

To that point, Deron Williams, who'd previously said his Team USA teammate had played like "a beast," even called Boozer the most "consistent" Jazz player in these playoffs at shootaround Monday morning.

It turned out to be a didn't-and-died game, though, after Boozer scored just four points on 1-for-5 shooting while grabbing just three rebounds in the pivotal first half when L.A. seized a 56-43 lead.

Boozer led Utah in scoring in the third quarter with six points and hauled in six rebounds, but at the same time his guy went berserk on the other end. Pau Gasol, who finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, exploded for most of his production (nine points and six boards) in the game-clinching third when L.A.'s lead ballooned to 22.

Then, interestingly, Boozer sat and Utah began chipping away at the lead.

With Boozer on the bench for the entire fourth quarter, the Jazz rallied to within six points late in the fourth quarter with a group that included his mid-season replacement, Paul Millsap.