Sloan, for one, seemed pleased by how it all fell into place.

"We just have to play. I thought (Williams) did that," the Jazz coach said. "And I thought he kept himself going, kept himself motivated throughout the whole game to try to do what he had to do defensively.

"It is amazing," Sloan added, "what happens on the offensive end of the floor when you bust your can on defense."

 · · · · · 

Once Sloan's point was proven, and mere minutes remained, Bonner delivered the backscreen forearm that sent Williams to the floor in a heap.

Moments later, Williams' wife exited the stands, where she had been seated next to Parker's fiance, television star Eva Longoria, and made her way toward a room set aside for friends and family of Jazz players.

Along the way, she stopped for a whisper in the ear from a Jazz trainer who explained the extent of her husband's neck injury.

Williams' one-time high school sweetheart from Texas heard the words, scrunched her lips and nodded her head.

No big deal, her reaction seemed to suggest. He'll live to play another day, and sit straight in the throne so many had him in Sunday.

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com