Williams cries 'foul' on game's final shot News Utah Jazz

Deron Williams was in a surly mood following the Jazz's jaw-dropping and almost inexplicable 103-102 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. Blowing a chance to make a game-winning shot in a must-win contest will do that to a person. Williams had the ball in his hands on Utah's final possession.

The Jazz got their last chance to avoid Friday's embarrassing result with 2.3 seconds remaining in the game. Williams caught the inbounds pass, made a couple of moves, and then missed a wild 18-foot jump shot as time expired. Williams argued with the officials that he was fouled on the play. When asked after the game if he was fouled by guard Kevin Ollie on the shot or by forward Mike Miller from the side, Williams said "both." "They didn't call it," Williams said. "It's a tough position for a ref to be in. You don't want to have to decide a game. But at the same time, it's a foul." Williams was then asked if the final sequence went as it was drawn up. "It didn't go in, did it?" he asked. "No, not at all." Timberwolves coach Kevin McHale disagreed with Williams' argument that he was fouled. "Kevin Ollie just played good, solid defense," McHale said. "He (Williams) got a look at it and it didn't go in." It was one of the rare times in the game that Williams missed a shot the Jazz needed. He was 12-of-20 from the field and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. He finished with a game-high 34 points and 11 assists. With numbers like those, all of the blame for losing to Minnesota doesn't fall on Williams' shoulders. But with the Jazz trying to improve their playoff positioning, Friday's loss ? and the missed jumper as time expired ? will likely come back to haunt them. The Jazz never expected to be in position to need a last-second shot to defeat the Timberwolves, who improved to 22-54 on the season. Minnesota, already without Al Jefferson and Corey Brewer ? players who suffered season-ending knee injuries ? was missing guard Randy Foye for the third straight game. Rookie of the year candidate Kevin Love was at less than 100 percent, as McHale said he had been throwing up all day The Timberwolves had lost nine consecutive road games before Friday. Their win over the Jazz was just their second victory in their last 10 games. Minnesota shot 53 percent from the field. That's a nice percentage for any team, but especially good for a team that had nothing to play for. "It was a fun game to win," McHale said. "Guys would rather fly back to Minnesota with a win than a loss." E-mail: aaragon@desnews.com