Jazz bully the Warriors

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Utah Jazz had seen enough of the Golden State Warriors’ beautiful game.

Carlos Boozer and the Jazz shoved and scraped to slow down the Warriors – and then Derek Fisher put a sweet finish on a 115-101 Utah victory Sunday that put the Jazz on the brink of the Western Conference finals.

Boozer had 34 points and 12 rebounds as the Jazz handed the eighth-seeded Warriors their first home loss of the postseason, to put Utah up 3-1 in their second-round playoff series.

Fisher scored 14 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for the surprising Jazz, who can clinch their first trip to the conference finals since 1998 with a victory at home in Game 5 Tuesday night.

Deron Williams had 20 points and 13 assists as the Jazz finally solved the riddle of Oracle Arena, where the underdog Warriors won their first four playoff home games with their dazzling uptempo offense and raucous fan support.

But with a Jerry Sloan game plan that hearkened back to those bruising days when Karl Malone and John Stockton ruled the West, Utah simply bullied past Golden State.

Al Harrington scored 24 points before fouling out, but Baron Davis had just 15 points and seven assists. The Warriors were a dissonant mess through most of their first home loss in 10 games dating to the regular season – yet they still held a lead in the final minutes before Utah’s superior poise won it again.

Fisher’s 3-pointer put Utah ahead to stay with 5:57 to play, and the veteran guard – traded by Golden State to the Jazz last summer – hit a long jumper and another 3-pointer in the final minutes to silence the Oakland din.

Fisher dropped to the floor in a heap after a scary collision with Davis with 1:37 left, but eventually got up to finish the game.

Jason Richardson was later ejected for clotheslining Mehmet Okur on a drive to the basket with 37 seconds left, prompting angry shouts by both players. Okur added one last dig at the Warriors, hitting a 3-pointer when Utah had a 13-point lead and 10 seconds to play.

Utah finished the game on a 22-10 run, including a 10-2 push in less than 2 minutes after Richardson’s 3-pointer with 3:47 left pulled Golden State to 93-91.

Stephen Jackson scored 24 points but committed six turnovers for the Warriors.

Richardson went nearly 42 minutes between baskets on the way to seven points.