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Jazz avoid 3-0 hole vs. Lakers on Williams’ late shot

Utah guard Deron Williams takes the game-winning shot as Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom defends during the final seconds of Thursday's first-round playoff game in Salt Lake City.

Utah guard Deron Williams takes the game-winning shot as Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom defends during the final seconds of Thursday's first-round playoff game in Salt Lake City.

SALT LAKE CITY – Guard Deron Williams hit a fadeaway jumper with 2.2 seconds left to give Utah an 88-86 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night, getting the Jazz back into the first-round playoff series.

Carlos Boozer tied a Utah franchise playoff record with 22 rebounds and scored 23 points as the Jazz pulled within 2-1 in the series. Game 4 is Saturday night in Utah.

Williams finished with 13 points and nine assists, winning it with only his third field goal of the night.

The Lakers had a chance to win for a 3-0 series lead, but Kobe Bryant’s 3-pointer at the buzzer was way off and the Jazz celebrated their first win of the postseason.

Lamar Odom led the Lakers with 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Bryant scored 18 despite going just 5-for-24 from the floor. Pau Gasol added 20 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers.

The Jazz avoided falling behind 3-0 in the series by winning a wild one. Both teams were sporadic, excelling in one quarter and stalling the next. Utah regrouped after scoring just 17 in both the second and third quarters with an inspired fourth, outscoring the Lakers 28-18 and retaking the lead every time Los Angeles tied it down the stretch.

The Jazz took a two-point lead four times in the final two minutes and the Lakers finally ran out of time.

Odom tied it at 82 on a layup with 1:07 left, then Boozer put Utah back up with a layup 20 seconds later. Bryant tied it again with 28 seconds to go, then Boozer spun around Gasol for a dunk to give Utah the lead again with 16.9 seconds to go.

Gasol matched Boozer’s dunk with his own to tie it again at 86 with 11.7 seconds remaining. After a timeout, Williams came through with a jumper; he had struggled with his shot most of the night.

Williams finished 3-for-7 and was just 7-for-12 from the foul line, but had more support Thursday than he had in the first two games of the series.

The Lakers shot 58 percent while taking a 2-0 series lead, but the shots weren’t falling most of Game 3 as Los Angeles finished 32-for-87.

Mavericks rout Spurs

DALLAS – Instead of delivering his guaranteed hard foul, Erick Dampier and the Dallas Mavericks slapped around the San Antonio Spurs 88-67 thanks to tight defense, the return of Dirk Nowitzki’s shooting touch and the energy of their home crowd.

Dallas now leads 2-1 in the first-round series.

Dampier drew the scrutiny of the league office for saying he would pop Tony Parker on his first drive of this game. Dampier ended up going the whole game without colliding with Parker – although he did swat away a shot during a frenzied first-half defensive performance by the Mavericks.

San Antonio finished with its fewest points in a playoff game, while it was the fewest Dallas ever allowed in the postseason. The Mavericks improved to 16-1 at home since the All-Star break, and to 7-1 in games following 20-point losses.

Nowitzki had 20 points and seven rebounds, hitting the bench for good once Dallas’ lead reached 30. Parker was San Antonio’s leading scorer with just 12 points – down from 38 the previous game.

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