Cleveland's LeBron James drives through the lane and around Utah's Gordon Giricek and Deron Williams to the basket.
Michael Brandy, Deseret Morning News
Eight personal turnovers weighed heavily. So did his 4-for-12 shooting from the field. But the last thing on starting point guard Deron Williams' mind was waiting to see if coach Jerry Sloan wanted a timeout.
Instead, Williams took matters into his own hands and wound up delivering the game-winning layup with 1.3 seconds remaining as the Jazz held on to beat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 103-101 late Wednesday night at soldout EnergySolutions Arena.
"I didn't even look at Coach," Williams said after the ESPN-televised game. "Booz (teammate Carlos Boozer) threw it to me, I'm going."
And go he did.
Williams raced past swingman Devin Brown, then went under and around 7-foot-3 Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas to stave off a second-half Jazz collapse.
He never noticed that Sloan not sure if Boozer would see Williams was indeed trying to call a timeout to set up one final possession with the game tied.
And last season's Eastern Conference-champion Cavaliers?
They seemed uncertain as to what the now 3-2 Jazz would do, too.
"I think he (Sloan) might have tried. ... Luckily they (game referees) didn't see him," said Williams, who finished with a 15-point, 12-assist double-double and did not sit for a second after halftime. "So, I don't know if he did because I was gone.
"I think they (the Cavs) thought we were gonna call a timeout," Williams added. "So, I mean they're looking back to see what we're doing and while they're doing that we're racing up the court. It was like a 1-on-2. I had just two people to beat, and I tried to cut inside and got a step on Ilgauskas and was able to make the shot."
Williams' heroics overshadowed not only a 32-point, 15-rebound, 13-assist triple-double by James, but also a 23-point, 12-rebound double-double (his fifth in as many games this season) by Boozer and a career-high 24 points from backup power forward Paul Millsap.
"I feel I had a horrible game," Williams said. "I was turning the ball over, couldn't hit any shots. But I didn't let it get to me. You know, I just kept trying to play, keep myself going, try to take it to basket ... and I think that gave me the confidence to make that last shot."
James, meanwhile, scored 16 of his points in the fourth quarter and drained a 24-foot 3-pointer with 6.8 seconds to go to tie the game at 101.
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