Williams’ big play leads Jazz to victory
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AFP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 13, 2009 00:00
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Kobe Bryant nearly brought the Los Angles Lakers all the way back on Wednesday, but his US Oympic teammate Deron Williams and the Utah Jazz had other ideas.
Williams scored 31 points with 11 assists and set up two game-changing scoring plays in the last 90 seconds to lead the Jazz to a 113-109 win over the Lakers, the top team in the National Basketball Association's Western Conference. Turkish center Mehmet Okur added 22 points and eight rebounds.
The Jazz led for much of the fourth quarter, but missed 6-of-8 free throws in a span of 3:35. That set the stage for the Lakers to rally, with Bryant sinking a three-pointer over CJ Miles with 1:36 left to put Los Angeles ahead 105-104. But even with all the Lakers focused on him, point guard Williams was able to make things happen at the other end. He found Paul Millsap cutting to the basket for a dunk that the third-year forward converted into a three-point play.
After Bryant tied things up with a lay-up, Williams found Okur on the perimeter for a go-ahead three-pointer that further inflamed the raucous Salt Lake City crowd. With less than 10 seconds to play, the Lakers had two chances to knot the score, but Derek Fisher missed two attempts from long range as the Jazz escaped.
The Lakers saw a seven-game winning streak end, but it was touch and go for either team throughout the match. Much of the night was a battle between Bryant and Williams, who were teammates on the gold medal-winning US Olympic team in Beijing and spent some time guarding each other in this one. "He's better than I thought he was, which is saying a lot," Bryant said of Williams. "He's one of the best in the world," said Bryant.
The Jazz led for much of the fourth quarter, but missed 6-of-8 free throws in a span of 3:35. That set the stage for the Lakers to rally, with Bryant sinking a three-pointer over CJ Miles with 1:36 left to put Los Angeles ahead 105-104. But even with all the Lakers focused on him, point guard Williams was able to make things happen at the other end. He found Paul Millsap cutting to the basket for a dunk that the third-year forward converted into a three-point play.
After Bryant tied things up with a lay-up, Williams found Okur on the perimeter for a go-ahead three-pointer that further inflamed the raucous Salt Lake City crowd. With less than 10 seconds to play, the Lakers had two chances to knot the score, but Derek Fisher missed two attempts from long range as the Jazz escaped.
The Lakers saw a seven-game winning streak end, but it was touch and go for either team throughout the match. Much of the night was a battle between Bryant and Williams, who were teammates on the gold medal-winning US Olympic team in Beijing and spent some time guarding each other in this one. "He's better than I thought he was, which is saying a lot," Bryant said of Williams. "He's one of the best in the world," said Bryant.