Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
By DOUG ALDEN AP Sports Writer
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- After looking dead serious for most of the night, Utah's Andrei Kirilenko couldn't stop from grinning slightly as he walked to the bench during a time out.
Kirilenko had just clinched his third triple-double in Utah's unlikely 120-96 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night. He was swarmed by his teammates with hugs and high-fives.
Kirilenko and the Jazz had a lot of reasons to grin.
"We tried to outplay -- not outscore -- but outplay (the) Lakers," said Kirilenko, who finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
The Jazz certainly did that -- even without starting forward Carlos Boozer and center Mehmet Okur. Boozer was out because of a sprained right ankle and Okur with back spasms, taking about a 37-point chunk out of the Utah's scoring average before the game even started.
Yet the Lakers were still overmatched, falling behind by 19 at halftime and not making much of an effort one night after scoring 127 at home against Denver.
"One of my coaches said we were as soft as Dairy Queen ice cream tonight," coach Phil Jackson said.
Kobe Bryant led the soft-serve Lakers with 28 points and Jordan Farmer scored 19 of his 21 in the second half. Ronny Turiaf was the only other Laker to score in double figures with 12 and Los Angeles was outrebounded 48-34.
"It's frustrating because they just outworked us tonight," Bryant said. "They beat us to every ball and every rebound."
Kirilenko, who asked for a trade two months ago, was everywhere on offense and defense, leading the Jazz with six steals and four blocks. Deron Williams had a career-high 35 points and Paul Millsap, starting for Boozer, added 20 points and nine rebounds.
Kyrylo Fesenko added six points and seven rebounds in his NBA debut just hours after being called up from Utah's D-League affiliate in Orem. He also finished with five stitches, thanks to an elbow to the right eye from Chris Mihm that only kept him out for a few minutes.
"Those guys all played well. We had a lot of people put in a tremendous effort and help us win the ballgame," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said.
Williams had more turnovers than assists, but was 14-for-24 from the floor.
Kirilenko was one rebound short of the triple-double when he got his hands on an offensive board that led to Ronnie Brewer's dunk, putting Utah up 111-90 with 5:23 left. The only remaining suspense was whether he would reach double figures in any other category.
Brewer scored 14 for Utah, which had 52 points in the paint at halftime -- one more than the Lakers' total score.
"You need to concentrate and kind of cover for each other. I think that's what we did tonight," Kirilenko said. "Still we need Booz and Memo to get back -- as soon as possible."
Lakers guard Derek Fisher finished with three points and two assists in his return to Utah, where he played last season but asked over the summer to be released from his contract because of his 1-year-old daughter's cancer treatments in New York.
Jazz fans felt slighted when Fisher signed with the Lakers and he was booed often Friday, sometimes even louder than Bryant.
"I'm choosing not to really comment about the crowd reaction tonight," Fisher said.
The Lakers had no answer for the shorthanded Jazz in the first half. Utah was 29-for-50 from the floor in the first two periods and led 70-51 at halftime.
The Lakers used a 10-0 run in the third quarter to pull to 87-70, but Williams ended the drought for Utah with a three-point play, drawing Bryant's fourth foul and putting the Jazz back up by 20 with the free throw.
Fesenko, the 7-foot-1 Ukrainian picked up by the Jazz in a draft-day trade, was a fan favorite by the end of the night. He posted up Mihm, then made a turnaround bank shot for his first NBA points. He added a dunk at the end of the first quarter off a pass from Kirilenko and had to leave briefly in the second half after Mihm's elbow caught him in the eye and drew blood.
Fesenko got another loud ovation when he returned -- with a puffy right eye -- in the fourth quarter.
Notes:@ It was Kirilenko's first triple-double since March 2006 against Sacramento. ... Bryant scored 13 straight points for the Lakers in the second quarter, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers and then a three-point play that kept the Lakers in it for a while. ... Boozer injured the ankle Wednesday in a win in Philadelphia. ... Matt Harpring scored 12 for the Jazz.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV-12-01-07 0027MST
