The Jazz were down 14-10 after the first, shooting just 15 percent (3-of-20) in that opening quarter despite getting a full 12 minutes apiece from veterans Milt Palacio and Mehmet Okur and about 10 each from Kirilenko and Devin Brown.

Individually, point-of-the-future Williams — who played for much of the fourth with second-round draft choice Robert Whaley and never-before-in-the-NBA free agents Spencer Nelson, Andre Owens, Cory Violette and James Lang — had just one turnover in nearly 23 minutes.

"I tried to make a conscious effort to cut down the turnovers this game, and I think I did that," Williams said. "You know, I had five turnovers in 16 minutes that first game (against Toronto). That's unacceptable."

Sloan, though, can live with mistakes that are corrected so soon.

But, after Thursday, there will be more for Williams to address.

"He made a couple plays there where he didn't get us in our offense," Sloan said. "That's part of it. He understands that. He understood what he did wrong. But at least he has an understanding."

Harder for Sloan to accept was some of the follies of youth he saw Thursday in a couple of big men fighting for what might be just one roster spot, Whaley and Lang.

"They weren't quite as lively as they were (Wednesday)," the Jazz coach said.

"Three or four times we came down the stretch, they didn't know where they were supposed to be defensively," Sloan added. "You get a rude awakening against teams that are smart."

Still, you learn too.

"It's only going to make you better," Williams said of facing Indiana's high-profile lineup. "Those are guys you are going to see night-in, night-out during the regular season. I liked how they put more of their star guys out there, their key guys out there.

"Once we get into a rhythm," the former University of Illinois point added, "we'll be fine."

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com