The Jazz were jolted Friday morning when they went to board the bus to their morning shootaround in Philadelphia only to learn that Deron Williams had left the team and returned to Utah. Williams revealed in a statement 12 hours later that he did so out of concern after one of his daughters underwent a procedure in a hospital Thursday and had received continued in-depth testing throughout Friday. There was no indication of when Williams, the Jazz's franchise point guard, would rejoin the team, though general manager Kevin O'Connor said it was doubtful Williams would do so for Saturday's game in Cleveland. It is familiar territory, however, for the Jazz, who have seen several players endure medical scares involving their young children in recent years. One of Carlos Boozer's sons underwent a stem cell transplant as part of a battle with sickle cell disease in 2007, while Derek Fisher left the team during the playoffs that same year after his infant daughter was stricken with a rare form of eye cancer.
The Jazz were able to beat the struggling 76ers -- rolled to victory, in fact -- without Williams, but will have a tougher time Saturday against the Cavaliers, who have won six of their last seven games.
They have had few answers for LeBron James in his career; James has averaged 31.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 6.6 assists in 12 games against the Jazz. The only opponent James has a higher scoring average for his career is Phoenix.
JAZZ 112, SIXERS 90: Down to just nine players and one point guard in Deron Williams' absence, the Jazz responded with one of their most spirited efforts of the season. They used a 34-18 second quarter to take a 64-50 lead into halftime, even with Ronnie Brewer filling in at point guard all 12 minutes. It was their highest scoring half of the entire season. The Jazz led by 23 at the end of the third quarter and had seven players score in double figures.
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