While all of Utah was wondering about the state of Carlos Boozer entering Friday's Game 3 of the Jazz's playoff series with the Los Angeles Lakers at EnergySolutions Arena, Kobe knew this was coming.

"Oh, yeah, no question," Bryant said. "We expected him to come out and have a monster performance."

Kobe sure could have saved everybody a lot of agonizing about Boozer, whose 27 points and 20 rebounds powered the Jazz to a 104-99 victory - although that score is unofficial until all those fourth-quarter free throws are tallied.

Boozer credited his resurgence to "trying to stop thinking so much out there," which is probably not the standard dilemma for NBA players.

Whatever the strategy was, it worked. Boozer delivered in the fourth quarter, when the Jazz really needed him. He made a variety of shots on three possessions in a row after the Jazz had lost three straight turnovers, while the Lakers cut their lead to three points. Boozer saved the Jazz and found himself.

This is where the Jazz were, coming into Game 3: They were one loss from having absolutely no chance of winning the series, and one more disappointing Boozer effort from having teammate Deron Williams suggest the All-Star forward was already on vacation.

OK, that was never going to happen, in the tradition of Williams' accusing unnamed teammates of basically not caring about the series-ending game at San Antonio in the Western Conference finals last May. But most of Jazzland certainly was questioning Boozer, judging by the murmurs in the crowd anytime he held the ball in isolation with the shot clock running down Friday.

He discovered enough solutions to make 12 of 21 shots from the field, a huge improvement over his 41-percent average for the playoffs. Even in the first-round series with Houston, Boozer was not himself. Things only became worse in the first two games against the Lakers, including Wednesday's Game 2 when fouls limited him to 24 minutes and he finished with 10 points, while generally looking lost and frustrated.

"He's always fought back," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "Everybody goes through stages when things are tough on them."

This stage of the postseason, while playing the Lakers, with every game in the NBA television partners' prime slots, was clearly not the time to be slumping.

Finally, Boozer responded.

"Y'all have been waiting for a big game out of me," Boozer said afterward, addressing a news conference.

And then he added himself to the list of those who were waiting and wondering about him, while "putting a little too much pressure on myself," he said. "So I tried to go back to the basics and just have fun out there, enjoy the game, play with more passion, and try to stay out of foul trouble."

Yeah, that helps.

Boozer still was active defensively, spurring the Jazz's modest turnaround of this series. While he was the catalyst, help came from varied sources. There was Mehmet Okur, drilling four three-pointers on his way to 22 points. There was Williams, with his right wrist so tender after a hard fall that he used his left hand to accept and deliver congratulations among his teammates, shaking off the pain enough to produce 18 points and 12 assists.

There was Matt Harpring, surfacing with 12 points and using his jaw to absorb an offensive foul from Bryant. There was reserve guard Ronnie Price, diving on the floor to make a steal and pass to Harpring for a breakaway layup.

It all added up to a Jazz victory and the Lakers' first postseason loss. If Boozer really is back, the Jazz could be primed to keep playing through next weekend, anyway. They probably rely way too much on him, but he was up to carrying them in the fourth quarter Friday, when he posted 11 points and seven rebounds.

He may not have matched Bryant's trick of throwing the ball off the backboard and rebounding it for a dunk, but he did chase down his own free-throw miss and score inside.

Boozer spoke of not being able to sleep after the Jazz arrived home from Game 2 in the wee hours Thursday, and he expected better results after Game 3 - but only after watching the videotape. That should have been fun, offering more proof of what Kobe knew all along.

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.