Jazz Edge Warriors In Series Opener

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) _ The Utah Jazz are in for a quicker pace in the Western Conference semifinals than they had in the opening round. <br/><br/>After Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors, the Jazz

Tuesday, May 8th 2007, 7:48 am

By: News On 6

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) _ The Utah Jazz are in for a quicker pace in the Western Conference semifinals than they had in the opening round.

After Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors, the Jazz were exhausted but leading the series 1-0.

The Jazz won 116-112 on Monday night, getting the go-ahead basket when Carlos Boozer converted an offensive rebound with 17 seconds left to play and keeping Utah unbeaten at home in the postseason.

``We got caught up in the run game a little bit too much. We've got to slow it down,'' said Deron Williams, who had 31 points and eight assists for the Jazz.

Utah struggled to keep up with Golden State until the final minute, when the Jazz were able to break the 20th tie of the game and take the lead for good. Boozer finished with 17 points and 20 rebounds, pulling down the last one in the lane and lofting it back in after Mehmet Okur missed on a 3-pointer.

It was only fitting that the Jazz won on a rebound. Utah finished with a 54-36 advantage on the boards and pulled down 20 at the offensive end. Okur had 21 points and 11 rebounds and Andrei Kirilenko had seven more boards and blocked seven shots for the Jazz, who host Game 2 Wednesday night.

In the other playoff game Monday, Detroit beat Chicago 108-87 to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Jazz were playing just two nights after beating Houston in Game 7 of the first round and had enough stamina to outlast the Warriors despite turning the ball over 20 times. Utah coach Jerry Sloan is hoping for a slightly slower pace for the rest of the series.

``They are quicker than we are,'' he said. ``They showed that the way they ran around the court and got layups.''

The game was tied at 112 when Okur tried a 3-pointer from the corner for Utah. It bounced off the rim and right to Boozer, who lofted the ball in and broke the 20th tie.

Stephen Jackson tried to put the Warriors back ahead with a 3-pointer, but it was short and Matt Harpring ended up with the rebound after a scrum in the lane. Harpring made both foul shots and the Warriors didn't have time to make up the deficit.

``We can play better than we played tonight, but we didn't play poorly, that's for sure,'' Golden State coach Don Nelson said.

Baron Davis led Golden State with 24 points and seven assists. Jason Richardson scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, but no other Warrior had more than five points over the final period.

Al Harrington also scored 21 _ 15 more points than the rest of the Warriors' reserves.

``If you watch Utah, they run the lanes well. They cross well. Utah plays fast,'' said Jackson, who finished with 16 points. ``We took them out of a lot of their stuff, but they made adjustments.''

Golden State led at halftime and the end of the third quarter, but was 8-for-20 in the fourth quarter and couldn't hold off the Jazz.

``We just bore down and got some stops,'' Williams said.

Utah played without guard Derek Fisher, who was excused from the game because of a health problem with one of his children. The Jazz won without their most experienced player, who was traded to Utah from the Warriors last summer.

Williams and rookie Dee Brown handled the backcourt, and Williams carried the Jazz even after getting his fifth foul with about 6 minutes left.

Williams finished with nine points in the fourth quarter and converted a three-point play that put Utah up 112-110, then Richardson tied it again for the Warriors on two free throws after grabbing a turnover and getting fouled by Kirilenko under the basket with 33 seconds left.

Kirilenko finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists and flustered the Warriors with his gangly arms blocking shot after shot.

After Williams had put Utah up 108-107 with a 21-foot jumper, Jackson tried to get the lead back for Golden State with a layup but couldn't get it over Kirilenko.

Andris Biedrins couldn't put back the rebound as Jackson furiously picked himself off the floor, pumping his fist toward the official who didn't call a foul on the play.

It unraveled Jackson, but not his teammates. Matt Barnes made a free throw to get Golden State within 109-108, then scored on a layup that put the Warriors ahead for the last time with 1:24 left.

``We fought a lot over the last series, showed we can fight and stay with anyone in this league,'' Williams said. ``We showed a lot of composure, down 2-0 last series and got over that.''

Pistons 108, Bulls 87

At Auburn Hills, Mich., the Detroit Pistons punished the Chicago Bulls inside and out _ again.

Tayshaun Prince scored 25 points on an array of mid-range shots, a dunk in traffic and 3-pointers to lead Detroit. Game 3 is Thursday in Chicago, giving the Bulls time to figure something out after being dominated in consecutive games.

Richard Hamilton had 24 points, Chris Webber scored 22, and Chauncey Billups had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Chicago's Tyrus Thomas scored 12 of his 18 points in the final quarter. Luol Deng scored 16 on 4-of-12 shooting, Ben Gordon and Ben Wallace each scored 13 and Kirk Hinrich was held to two points on 0-for-7 shooting.