Hobbled D-Will has no excuses after ugly loss

The groin he initially strained back in mid-February probably is hurting more than anyone will ever know.

That's because even if it is, Deron Williams — unless he simply can't go — will never acknowledge as much.

"I'm not one to make excuses," the Jazz's starting point guard said Utah's 126-98 loss to Phoenix on Saturday night, "so I'm not going to blame nothing on my groin."

Instead, Williams — who missed two shortly after it happened and has aggravated the strain at least once since initially getting hurt while playing in the NBA's annual Rookie-Sophomore challenge game — trudges on, playing each night with the groin heavily wrapped.

And when asked about his difficulties shooting lately — he hit just 1-of-9 from the field Saturday, and made only 1-of-8 in a loss to Golden State last Monday — he shrugs off the woes as something other than injury-related.

"Just not feeling it," he said.

BY THE NUMBERS: Suns point guard Steve Nash had 18 assists and no turnovers Saturday.

That's the most assists without any miscues by an NBA player since former University of Utah star Andre Miller, with Cleveland at the time, had 19 against Milwaukee back on Feb. 13, 2002.

Williams, incidentally, had a game with 15 assists and no turnovers earlier this season.

LOW-PROFILE MALONE: Retired Jazz star Karl Malone attended a Friday news conference to introduce longtime Utah high school coach and former University of Utah assistant Kerry Rupp as Louisiana Tech's head coach, but according to the Monroe (La.) News Star the ex-Tech standout "kept a low profile out of respect to his longtime friend."

Malone was rumored to be under consideration as a possible assistant to Rupp, who was recommended by the former Jazz power forward to the powers-that-be at his old school.

The NBA's No. 2 all-time scorer, however, was not among the assistants named Friday to Rupp's staff.

KIRILENKO'S CLOTHES: Masha Kirilenko, wife of Jazz starting small forward Andrei Kirilenko, plans to open her high-end fashion boutique at The Gateway shopping center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday.

Fleur de Lis (French lily) will carry lines of clothing ranging in cost from $40-$2,500, filling a vacant niche in the local market.