"Everybody else has (gotten) used to playing with him and (gotten) used to what he does and how he plays," Sloan said. "We have to be patient with that as well."

Williams still finished with eight points, seven assists and six rebounds against the Wizards. But his ankle grew stiff as he rested on the bench to start the fourth quarter and he wished afterward he had spoken up and had Brevin Knight finish the game for him.

The Wizards had been giving up a league-high 108.8 points coming in, but with Williams struggling, the Jazz scored only 87 points.

Knight, meanwhile, will be making his return to Charlotte, where he resurrected his career with the expansion Bobcats in the 2004-05 season. Knight came to Charlotte without a guaranteed contract and averaged 10.8 points and 8.3 assists in three seasons.

The Jazz suffered one of their most disappointing losses last season in Charlotte, blowing a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter of a 1-3 pre-Christmas trip. But the Bobcats will be missing one of their key cogs for Friday's game.

Jason Richardson already has been ruled out of the game after undergoing exploratory surgery Wednesday on his right knee. Richardson, the Bobcats' leading scorer at 17.6 points, experienced pain and swelling in the knee after Tuesday's loss to Denver.

WIZARDS 95, JAZZ 87: The Jazz were on the wrong end of a decisive turn with two minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Wizards scored 12 unanswered points and closed the game with a 14-5 run to win for the first time this season. Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler hit three-pointers and Nick Young drove past Kyle Korver and flipped in a lay-up before Carlos Boozer could help on defense as part of the run.