Utah guard Deron Williams gets past Kobe Bryant (24) during the second quarter. Williams had 18 points and 12 assists in Utah's 104-99 victory against Los Angeles on Friday in Salt Lake City.

Salt Lake City ? So much for Carlos Boozer’s slump and the Lakers’ unbeaten run through the playoffs.

Boozer scored 27 points and tied a career playoff-high with 20 rebounds to lead Utah to a 104-99 victory Friday night, cutting Los Angeles’ lead in the Western Conference semifinals to 2-1.

The Jazz handed the Lakers their first loss of this season’s playoffs and got back into the series by doing at home what they couldn’t do on the road. The Jazz hit exactly half their shots and forced the Lakers into 18 turnovers, looking very little like the team that stumbled through two straight losses in Los Angeles to open the series.

“We competed very hard, much better than we did over there. That’s what happens with a young team,” Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. “We made mistakes but we kept playing hard. Before, we made mistakes and we felt sorry for ourselves. Tonight we kept playing hard.”

The Jazz took the lead early in the second quarter and never gave it up. Utah held off a late push by the Lakers and league MVP Kobe Bryant, who had 34 points, seven assists and six rebounds but could not carry the team alone. Nobody else scored more than 13 points for Los Angeles.

Boozer started slowly, but finished 12-for-21 and had 11 points and seven rebounds in the fourth quarter.

Boozer’s 27 points were two more than he scored in the first two games combined.

“I tried to stop thinking so much out there. My teammates were waiting for a big game out of me and I was, too. … I had to play thought-free and just react and play,” he said.

Deron Williams added 18 points and 12 assists for the Jazz, who play host to Game 4 Sunday and like their chances to even the series. The Jazz had the best home record in the regular season (37-4) and are 4-1 in the playoffs.