Utah Jazz: D-Will is king in Sacramento

SACRAMENTO — Kevin Martin wanted to take over the stretch.

But Jazz point guard Deron Williams wanted the same, and was willing to take on Martin as well, which helped propel the Jazz past Sacramento 111-107 on Friday night at sold-out Arco Arena.

"He made some great plays," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said of Williams, who finished with a team-high 34 points one night after scoring 34 and dishing 12 assists in a victory over Dallas.

"Obviously they don't want to foul you, and he was able to get on top of the basket," added Sloan, whose 29-22 Jazz have now won three straight and four of their last five games. "He was terrific. That's winning the ballgame. It's just what he does - he took the ballgame in his hands.

Kings shooting guard Martin hit a 3-pointer, 3-of-4 free throws and a reverse layup in the final 4:01 to put Sacramento from five down to three up at 105-102 with 55.4 seconds to go.

But Jazz center Mehmet Okur's trey with 48.7 seconds left tied the game at 105, and an offensive foul call against Martin on one end allowed Williams to drive the lane on the other for a game-winning layup that made it 107-105 Jazz with 20.1 seconds remaining.

Two free throws from Kyle Korver with seven seconds left and two more from Williams with 2.7 remaining helped seal the deal for the Jazz, who won for just the second time in 13 tries on the back half of back-to-back sets.

Williams took the critical charge from Martin, who led Sacramento with a game-high 37.

"He said he'd take Martin," Sloan said. "That was fine. Just get over and play him. That's all you have to do."

"I hadn't really guarded him the whole game, but ... I just wanted the assignment," Williams said. "I wanted to see if I could get a shot with him."

He did, finishing what he started for a Jazz team that still holds the eighth and final playoff position in the NBA's Western Conference.

The Jazz got off to a rare strong road start with Williams scoring 11 of Utah's points in a 28-25 opening quarter.

But with the Jazz committing seven miscues and Sacramento scoring 30 in the second period alone, the Kings took a 55-45 advantage into the break.

Only a solid quarter from Okur, who scored 11 straight Jazz points in the second and wound up with 28, saved Utah from a worse halftime deficit.