SALT LAKE CITY — After struggling with his shot all night, Deron Williams found his touch just in time.

Williams' fadeaway jumper with 2.2 seconds left lifted Utah to an 88-86 win over the Los Angeles Lakers last night, getting the Jazz back in the first-round playoff series they opened with two losses.

Williams took the shot instead of passing to Carlos Boozer on the Jazz's staple pick-and-roll, hitting just his third field goal of the night and reviving Utah's postseason hopes.

"I just wanted to make up for it a little bit on that last shot," said Williams, who finished with 13 points and nine assists.

Boozer led the Jazz with 23 points and tied a franchise playoff record with 22 rebounds as Utah dominated the boards 55-40.

Instead of falling behind 3-0, the Jazz will have a chance to tie it at home again tomorrow in Game 4.

Los Angeles still had a chance to win at the buzzer, but Kobe Bryant missed a 3-pointer.

Bryant scored 18 points, but shot 5-for-24 from the floor.

"I just didn't shoot the ball well," Bryant said. "They mixed it up on defense and I didn't do a good job taking advantage of it. It was a combination of those two things."

L.A. LAKERS 17 22 29 18 — 86

UTAH 26 17 17 28 — 88

L.A. LAKERS—Ariza 3-9 1-2 9, Gasol 8-15 4-10 20, Bynum 1-2 2-2 4, Bryant 5-24 7-8 18, Fisher 3-8 0-0 7, Odom 10-17 0-0 21, Walton 0-2 1-2 1, Brown 1-4 1-2 3, Vujacic 1-5 0-0 3, Powell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-87 16-26 86.

UTAH—Kirilenko 4-6 0-0 8, Boozer 9-17 5-6 23, Collins 0-0 1-2 1, Brewer 4-12 4-6 12, Williams 3-7 7-12 13, Millsap 3-9 1-2 7, Korver 4-13 0-0 11, Knight 0-0 0-0 0, Miles 1-3 0-0 3, Harpring 5-8 0-0 10. Totals 33-75 18-28 88.

3-Point Goals—L.A. Lakers 6-17 (Ariza 2-4, Odom 1-2, Vujacic 1-3, Fisher 1-3, Bryant 1-4, Walton 0-1), Utah 4-13 (Korver 3-7, Miles 1-2, Harpring 0-1, Brewer 0-1, Williams 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—L.A. Lakers 51 (Odom 14), Utah 66 (Boozer 22). Assists—L.A. Lakers 15 (Bryant 6), Utah 23 (Williams 9). Total Fouls—L.A. Lakers 25, Utah 22. A—19,911 (19,911).

CELTICS 107, BULLS 86

Paul Pierce scored 24 points, Rajon Rondo added 20 and defending champion and visiting Boston romped Chicago to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series.

BOSTON 32 27 24 24 — 107

CHICAGO 21 16 21 28 — 86

BOSTON—Pierce 9-15 2-2 24, Davis 5-12 4-5 14, Perkins 2-5 2-4 6, Rondo 8-15 3-4 20, R.Allen 6-12 3-3 18, Marbury 4-10 4-4 13, Moore 0-0 1-2 1, House 3-8 0-0 8, Scalabrine 1-1 0-0 3, T.Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Walker 0-0 0-0 0, Pruitt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 38-79 19-24 107.

CHICAGO—Salmons 5-11 2-4 14, Ty.Thomas 2-8 2-2 6, Noah 2-5 4-6 8, Rose 4-14 1-3 9, Gordon 5-13 4-6 15, Miller 1-5 1-2 3, Hinrich 5-10 1-2 14, Ti.Thomas 2-5 0-0 4, Johnson 0-1 2-2 2, Gray 0-2 0-0 0, Hunter 1-2 0-0 3, Roberson 3-4 0-0 8. Totals 30-80 17-27 86.

3-Point Goals—Boston 12-21 (Pierce 4-8, R.Allen 3-4, House 2-5, Marbury 1-1, Scalabrine 1-1, Rondo 1-2), Chicago 9-22 (Hinrich 3-6, Roberson 2-2, Salmons 2-5, Hunter 1-2, Gordon 1-4, Rose 0-1, Ti.Thomas 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Boston 48 (Rondo 11), Chicago 58 (Noah 10). Assists—Boston 23 (Rondo, Davis 6), Chicago 14 (Noah, Hinrich, Hunter 3). Total Fouls—Boston 21, Chicago 18. Technicals—Boston defensive three second 2, Ty.Thomas. Flagrant Fouls—Rondo. A—23,072 (21,711).

MAVERICKS 88, SPURS 67

Erick Dampier and host Dallas slapped around San Antonio with tight defense, and Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points as the Mavs took a 2-1 lead in the series.

SAN ANTONIO 16 14 12 25 — 67

DALLAS 27 19 29 13 — 88

SAN ANTONIO—Finley 0-2 0-0 0, Duncan 2-9 0-0 4, Bonner 1-5 0-0 2, Parker 5-14 2-4 12, Mason 3-6 0-0 7, Bowen 1-3 0-0 3, Thomas 2-3 0-0 4, Gooden 2-12 2-2 6, Udoka 2-4 0-1 4, Hill 2-10 4-4 8, Vaughn 2-5 3-6 7, Oberto 3-5 4-4 10. Totals 25-78 15-21 67.

DALLAS—Howard 6-12 4-4 17, Nowitzki 8-12 4-4 20, Dampier 1-1 0-2 2, Kidd 1-6 0-0 3, Barea 5-8 2-2 13, Terry 4-9 0-0 10, Bass 4-7 2-2 10, Singleton 2-3 0-2 5, Wright 2-8 0-0 6, Hollins 0-1 0-0 0, Green 0-3 0-0 0, Carroll 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 34-72 12-16 88.

3-Point Goals—San Antonio 2-17 (Bowen 1-2, Mason 1-3, Finley 0-1, Udoka 0-1, Gooden 0-1, Parker 0-2, Hill 0-3, Bonner 0-4), Dallas 8-22 (Terry 2-4, Wright 2-4, Barea 1-2, Singleton 1-2, Kidd 1-3, Howard 1-4, Nowitzki 0-1, Green 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—San Antonio 47 (Thomas 10), Dallas 54 (Dampier 9). Assists—San Antonio 10 (Parker 3), Dallas 20 (Barea 7). Total Fouls—San Antonio 18, Dallas 20. A—20,491 (19,200).

NOTES

Kings: Sacramento fired interim coach Kenny Natt and his four assistants yesterday, a week after the club finished with the NBA's worst record. Natt went 11-47 in charge of the Kings, who finished 17-65. Also let go were assistant coaches Rex Kalamian, Jason Hamm, Randy Brown and Bubba Burrage.