Nearly three hours later, several fans were still wandering around the EnergySolutions Arena plaza and others were calling radio shows, unwilling to let go of the season or anticipating next year - or both. The ending had gone from slow and agonizing during the first three-plus quarters when the Jazz could not sustain anything to sudden and stunning after they almost completed a fourth-quarter rally from 17 points down, only to miss two three-point tries in the final few seconds.

It left the guard who missed his last shot refusing to dwell on what went wrong, saying the feeling was "definitely disappointing, but not even close to overshadowing what we accomplished here. . . . I'm not going to allow myself to have it take away from the positives that have happened here on this floor."

That was the Lakers' Derek Fisher, talking about what nearly became an epic collapse for his team in the last nine minutes - with his rare free-throw miss with 12.7 seconds left giving the Jazz their last hope. It just as easily could have been the Jazz's Deron Williams. It also summarizes my view of the Jazz's postseason performance and their future.

As disappointing and surprising as it was to have one of only two losses by home teams in 23 second-round games of the NBA playoffs come at ESA, and as genuinely close as the Jazz came to winning this series yet not even forcing a Game 7, their 2008 postseason has to be labeled a success.

They lasted one fewer round than they played last year, but they also played one more game against a great team. That's an advancement. And for all of their unexplained struggles for most of Friday night and the near-misses that will be replayed all summer, this ending was much more satisfying.

A year after the Jazz - players, the coach and fans alike - melted down in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the Western Conference finals at home and, just as embarrassingly, mailed in Game 5 at San Antonio, they fought to the finish this time.

In a similar setting to when he accused teammates of already being on vacation last May, Williams took a contrasting view after Friday's game.

"Anytime you lose and your season's over, it's tough," he said. "But it's just a different feeling. I felt we played our hearts out. We just got beat by a better team."

Beginning with the second quarter of Game 2, the Jazz outscored the Lakers by eight points in the series. That happened to be the overtime differential in Game 4, and is there any doubt the Jazz would have done the same Friday, if only Kyle Korver had launched a three-point try from the left corner in the closing seconds . . . or Okur, after taking Korver's pass, had connected . . . or Williams, after somehow having the ball bounce all the way to him at the top of the key, had set himself slightly better, enough to keep his tying attempt from rimming out?

So what will you spend the summer remembering?

Korver's decision to pass - "I probably should have shot it," he said - to conclude a series in which he shot 37 percent from the field, or the way his shooting electrified the crowd and helped the Jazz win 31 of 34 home games after he arrived in late December?

Okur's miss, wrapping up a 6-for-18 game Friday, following his critical miss in Game 5 (also with a chance to tie), or his two clutch shots from virtually the same spot in overtime of Game 4, sending the Jazz ahead for good?

Williams' missing the season's last shot, or his third-quarter flurry of threes that buried Houston in the close-out Game 6 of the first round and the way he became the team's best and most consistent player?

Regardless, there are plenty of other good memories from this playoff run, including

Ronnie Price's hustling recovery to block Luke Walton's breakaway layup in Game 4, Andrei Kirilenko's 21-point Game 1 at Houston and his shot-blocking against the Lakers, Korver's clinching basket in Game 2 at Houston and Carlos Boozer's relief after a 27-point Game 3 against the Lakers.

Ah, Boozer. It will be a long, tough summer for him, Olympic gold medal or not, after a series in which he shot barely 40 percent - and subtracting his 12-for-21 Game 3 drops him to 35 percent. This, after an All-Star season when he shot nearly 55 percent. Clearly, he was spooked by the Lakers defenders and frustrated by the officiating, while simply missing shots he should make.

He felt "terrible" during the final 4 1/2 minutes, watching from the bench after fouling out Friday, but the Jazz were better off without him, because of Paul Millsap's play. Boozer will bounce back, though.

So will the rest of the Jazz, whose 29 playoff games over two seasons will only help them. Regardless, Games 5 and 6 got away from them, when they were positioned to do something special. They should go into the summer feeling reasonably proud, yet unfulfilled.

"You have to make the most of opprtunities," Williams said. "You can't let things like this slip away. . . . That's what we've got to do, what we've got to realize next year."

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* KURT KRAGTHORPE can be reached at kkragthorpe@sltrib.com. To write a letter about this or any sports topic, send an e-mail to sportseditor@sltrib.com.