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Kirilenko scored 23 points and Mehmet Okur added 16 and eight rebounds as the Jazz extended their season-high winning streak to four games with a 98-94 triumph over the shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers, who played their first game without suspended All-Star guard Kobe Bryant.
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"There are lots of examples when a team plays without their leader," said Kirilenko, who shot 5-of-10 from the field. "They tried to play better because they are trying to pick each other up. I think the Lakers did a pretty good job without Kobe."
Okur's turnaround jumper over Kwame Brown with 8:17 remaining in the fourth quarter gave the Jazz an 84-77 lead, but the Lakers used a 7-2 spurt to cut the deficit to 86-84 less than three minutes later.
"We played a tough game (Saturday) night," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "At first, we lacked energy and got ourselves into a little bit of trouble, but we continued to execute and take the ball to the basket."
Moments later, Los Angeles forced a quick turnover and on the ensuing possession, Devean George pulled up and drained a huge jumper to tie the game at 88-88 with 3:46 left.
Okur found Keith McLeod wide-open for easy layup with 1:17 remaining, giving the Jazz a 94-92 lead. After the Lakers called timeout, Luke Walton turned the ball over in an attempt to feed Brian Cook in the post.
"I made a bad decision," said Walton, who scored 10 points. "I saw Brian open but I'll have to see it again. My first instinct is that he was open but someone got their hand in there and got it on the ball."
"This is definitely a tough loss but all losses are tough," said Smush Parker, who added eight points. "McLeod's basket was just a miscommunication on our part."
McLeod nailed two free throws with 22 seconds left to seal the victory.
"We did a good job offensively and executed well," Kirilenko said. "It's hard to play against a team that is shooting 50 percent from the field. But we just kept playing and at the end, we stole the ball and won the game."
The Lakers shot 60 percent (15-of-25) from the free-throw line, making just 3-of-8 in the final period.
Laker coach Phil Jackson blamed poor decisions and mediocre free throw shooting down the stretch.
"They (Utah) made their foul shots and we didn't" Jackson said. "I felt like some guys tried to do more than they were capable doing, but not much. They pretty much stayed within the format of the game without Kobe."
McLeod scored 15 points and Gordan Giricek added 11 for Utah, which drained 6-of-12 (50 percent) from the arc and connected on 24-of-26 from the foul line.
Cook scored 19 points and Lamar Odom collected 18, 12 rebounds and eight assists for the Lakers, who dropped their fourth straight. George provided some scoring off the bench, contributing 15 points and eight rebounds.
"I thought the basket looked pretty big tonight and my teammates kept feeding me in my spots," said Cook, who made 8-of-10 shots. "We can all play at this level. We let one slip away by not executing down the stretch."
NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad
