Jerry Sloan isn't buying it.

Boozer finished with 14 points on 5-for-15 shooting in the Jazz's 123-115 overtime win that tied the best-of-seven series.

Significantly, however, Boozer grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds and triggered Utah's running game. He also continued to be the primary focus of the Lakers' interior defense, which helped open the floor for his teammates, who made 35 of 61 shots. That's 57.4 percent in the Jazz's highest-scoring game of the playoffs.

"It's not a matter of how many points a guy scores," Sloan said. ". . . The bottom line is you've got to take what they give you and you've got to win."

In the first quarter, Boozer scored two points. But his rebounds led to fast-break points on four possessions and helped Utah take a 31-21 lead.

"We got off to a really quick start," Sloan said. "We got a lot of fast breaks - up and down the floor - and that took [Boozer] out of the things that he normally would use to get himself going. . . . But the idea is to win the game."

At halftime, the Lakers had rallied and tied the game, 55-55. Boozer had two points on 1-for-7 shooting as L.A. refocused on him after a 27-point, 20-rebound effort in Game 3.

"They definitely did," said Deron Williams. "They aren't helping off Booz much. On pick-and-rolls, they've got everybody inside the lane. They're trying to take that away from him and make us do something else."

Said Boozer: "What they do is, they always bring a weakside guy - sometimes two weakside men - to try and eliminate me and D-Will and make somebody else score the ball on that particular play."

Others did score in Game 4.

Besides Williams and Boozer, four Jazz players reached double figures: Memo Okur (18), Andrei Kirilenko (15), Kyle Korver (14) and Matt Harpring (12).

In the second half, the Jazz's plan "was to go inside more and keep being confident," Boozer said. ". . . It was a tough first half, but a great second half."

Boozer scored six points in the third quarter - four on layups - and six more in the fourth quarter, when he buried four straight free throws in the final 4:21, including two with 33.7 seconds left that gave Utah a 108-106 lead.

Because they survived in overtime, the Jazz hope to take a 3-2 lead when the series resumes in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.

How does Boozer plan to approach Game 5?

"Just keep being aggressive," he said. "Have fun. Enjoy it out there. Continue to play good - and rebound the ball. Continue to take my shots and go from there."

luhm@sltrib.com