Utah Jazz: D-Will shows Jazz still have life in 'statement game'

As far as Deron Williams was concerned, the Utah Jazz's 113-109 nail-biting victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night was "a statement game."

Those weren't just words after the playoff-like contest.

That's how the Jazz point guard played, too.

For the fifth straight game, Williams eclipsed the 30-point mark while leading the Jazz to their fourth win in that stretch. In this important thriller, Williams scored a team-high 31 points on 12-for-17 shooting and dished out 11 assists as Utah won its 30th game and L.A. suffered only its 10th loss.

Overlook that ugly loss at Golden State on Sunday and three missed free throws in the final 25.1 seconds, and it's quite the way for Williams and his 30-23 team to head into the All-Star break.

"I definitely wanted it bad," Williams said. "I thought it was a big game for us, a statement game."

And that statement, Williams pointed out, was as much for his own teammates as for anybody else.

"It was a game," he said, "where we can realize regardless of injuries, regardless of things we can't control, if we just go out there and compete night in and night out, we're going to have a chance to win basketball games."

Even against the best teams in the NBA, which is what the Jazz did Wednesday despite Kobe Bryant and the Lakers rallying to take a late lead after trailing by nine with less than six minutes remaining.

Despite his charity-stripe woes that kept things interesting, Williams assisted Mehmet Okur on a go-ahead 3-pointer with 42.8 seconds remaining and then hit three free throws down the stretch to give the Jazz just enough cushion to pull out their only home game vs. the Lakers this year.

"I'm happy we did," Williams said. "Hopefully, we can realize what a good team we can be. We can beat anybody if we just put our minds to it."

Williams' left hand left EnergySolutions Arena with a footprint souvenir, which happened after he fell and got tangled up with Derek Fisher. He said it hurt and affected his shot, including on those free throws, but X-rays on his bruised-up hand were negative.

Though many Jazz fans love to boo Bryant, the Lakers' superstar had the exact opposite reaction for Utah's star guard after the tough loss. Bryant was complimentary of Williams, who impressed the reigning NBA MVP last summer with Team USA.

"He's better than I thought he was (before last summer), which is saying a lot," Bryant said. "He's one of the best in the world. Playing with him you get a chance to see how great he really is."

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