"He can't even open his mouth to speak about that," Jackson said, "the way [Carlos] Boozer pushes and shoves out there. He got away with all his pushes [Friday] night, which he was getting called on in L.A.

"That regard, you just let it go and say, 'Well, the stars get to play their game and the other guys have to keep their hands to themselves.' "

After picking up three fouls in seven minutes in the first half of Game 2, Boozer stayed out of foul trouble Friday and finished with 27 points and 20 rebounds. Bryant, meanwhile, has shot 17.3 free throws a game on average in this series.

Talking about Bryant, Sloan said Friday: "He's had pretty much a free rein because it's a non-contact sport when you guard him."

Most valuable play

The Jazz were still in disbelief about the play Bryant made with 4:56 left in the fourth quarter of Friday's game. Caught in the air with nowhere to go, Bryant fired the ball at the backboard and raced after it for a dunk.

"I do it a couple times a summer in pick-up," Boozer said. "But, I mean, this is an NBA playoff game. You know, Game 3. It's not like a charity event or All-Star. That was a marvelous play. Even though I hated it was against us, as a fan, that was a great basketball play."

Lakers forward Lamar Odom said: "It's kind of sick for me to say this, but I guess I'm used to that a little bit. He's an entertainer as well as the best basketball player."

For his part, Bryant said the play was all improvisation, though he has done it a time or two before.

"From that angle, it would have been tough to bank it," Bryant said. "If I shot it, going forward like that, the ball probably would have bounced long. That's a fast break starting for them, so I didn't want to take the risk, so I went for the high percentage."

That's the high-percentage play? "Nobody's going to get to that ball before I am," Bryant said.

Miller time

Lakers guard Derek Fisher exchanged greetings before Friday's game with Jazz owner Larry Miller. It was Miller who agreed to release Fisher from his contract last July, with Fisher citing the medical needs of his daughter, who is battling a rare form of eye cancer.

"It was generally just wishing him well," Fisher said, "and him wishing me well and that was about the extent of it."

Injury update

After bruising his right wrist in a second-quarter fall, Deron Williams was back on the practice court Saturday without a brace and said he was all right. He added that he hurt the pad of his hand more than his wrist on the play. Rookie center Kyrylo Fesenko was sent home from the arena Friday with a stomach virus and did not practice Saturday.

rsiler@sltrib.com