Los Angeles » As close as they came to tripping up Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Jazz still can envision celebrating a 10-game winning streak from Mexico to McLeansboro, Ill., when they go their separate ways for the All-Star break.

All that stands in their way after beating the Clippers 109-99 at Staples Center is tonight's showdown with the defending champion Lakers. The Jazz have won nine in a row, as well as 13 of their last 14 games, and haven't lost since Jan. 17 in Denver.

They walked the tightrope in Tuesday's game, though, after falling behind by 11 in the third quarter. Carlos Boozer made his All-Star statement with 34 points and 14 rebounds while Ronnie Price had 11 points and sparked the Jazz at the start of the fourth quarter.

Price drove for a layup and connected on two three-pointers as the Jazz went on to win the final period 29-15. The Jazz had been 0-10 this season trailing on the road entering the fourth quarter before breaking through Tuesday.

"I'll tell you one thing: Ronnie Price got us that lead all by himself, man, and then we took off from there," Boozer said, adding, "We stuck together as a group of guys, believed in what we were doing and we came back and won a big game."

Although it wasn't quite Karl Malone's 61-point game in January 1990 against Milwaukee after he wasn't voted an All-Star starter, Boozer posted impressive numbers after the day after he was snubbed as an injury replacement in favor of Clippers center Chris Kaman.

"Booz was just a monster tonight," Deron Williams said. "He proved that he's an All-Star, should have been on the All-Star team. I think that's basically what he was doing and what he said tonight."

Boozer hit 13 of 17 shots and finished just a point shy of his season high while Kaman had 19 points, seven rebounds and six turnovers on 5-for-14 shooting. Twice in the last 2:28 with the Jazz clinging to the lead, Boozer slapped the ball out of Kaman's hands.

"Obviously, he made some great plays going to the basket," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said, "but I thought he did a good job of trying to keep guys in front of him and got his hands on the ball a couple times."

Boozer called Kaman "very deserving" and a "stud player," but acknowledged, "I just tried to come out and play aggressive and I have an extra chip on my shoulder."

Boozer and Wesley Matthews had consecutive three-point plays off passes from C.J. Miles as the Jazz took a 98-89 lead with an 18-5 run to open the fourth. Williams sat for the first 6:04 of the quarter with the Jazz rolling behind Price.

"I didn't think I was going to go back in the fourth quarter because they were playing so well and I would have loved that," said Williams, who finished with 13 points and 11 assists. "Those guys just ignited us."

No matter what happens tonight against the Lakers, the Jazz (32-18) will take a better record into the All-Star break than last season's 30-23 mark. They still trail No. 2 Denver by two games after the Nuggets thrashed Dallas by 36 points Tuesday.

The Lakers, meanwhile, would like nothing more than avenge a Dec. 12 loss to the Jazz that ended an 11-game winning streak of their own. The Lakers have eliminated the Jazz from the playoffs the past two seasons, though they might not have Kobe Bryant tonight.

Bryant has missed two games with a sprained ankle and is uncertain to play. As a former Olympic teammate, however, Boozer is on the record predicting that Bryant won't miss the clash between the conference's top team and its hottest team.

"Everybody's talking about Kobe's not going to play," Boozer said. "Man, Kobe's a warrior. I was telling D-Will on the bus, this guy has a broken finger, he's averaging 30 [points] and he's got a hurt ankle or whatever it might be.

"He'll play [tonight]. He's a warrior. And you've got to be prepared for him to have a big game."

rsiler@sltrib.com