AK-47’s triple-double, Williams’ 35 help Jazz destroy Lakers 120-96

Reportedly happy he has stayed in Utah, forward Andrei Kirilenko notched his third career triple-double Friday in the Los Angeles Lakers-Utah Jazz game. Utah routed Los Angeles 120-96.

Andrei Kirilenko, aka AK-47 to both Jazz fans and knowledgeable NBA fans, reverted to his previous self tonight against the Los Angeles Lakers. To be specific, he was one blocked shot shy of the rarest of NBA stats - the 5X5 (10 or more points, rebounds, assists, 5 or more steals, 5 or more blocked shots). But it took that Herculean effort plus some clutch shooting by point guard Deron Williams to enable the Utah Jazz to throttle the Lakers 120-96 at Salt Lake City.Utah’s hot shooting (58%) made it possible for the team to enjoy a 70-51 lead at halftime; Los Angeles created a 10-0 run to narrow the Jazz lead to 87-70, but Williams made a 3-point play, which would put Utah back up by 20. The Lakers could only attempt to match the Jazz basket-to-basket after that point. Utah had 5 players in double figures, led by the aforementioned Williams scoring a career-high 35 points; however, he committed 9 of Utah’s 13 turnovers. Kirilenko collected his third career triple-double; he notched 20 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, 6 steals and 4 blocks. Paul Millsap, subbing for the injured Carlos Boozer, acquitted himself well, adding 20 and 9 rebounds.

Los Angeles was led by Kobe Bryant with a nondescript 28 points, while reserve guard Jordan Farmar added 21 in a losing cause. Utah (12-5) gets the weekend off and remain home to host the Miami Heat Monday night, while Los Angeles (9-7) returns home to host the Orlando Magic on Sunday.