LeBron's triple-double bested by Williams' layup


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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Deron Williams made a layup with 1.3 seconds remaining, and the Utah Jazz overcame LeBron James' triple-double and tying 3-pointer in a 103-101 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.

Carlos Boozer had 23 points and 12 rebounds and Paul Millsap scored a career-high 24 points for the Jazz, who needed Williams to save them by driving the length of the court after James tied the score at 101 with 6 seconds left with his seventh straight point for the Cavs.

James finished with 32 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists -- his 11th career triple-double.

Williams had 12 assists and 15 points, leaving most of the scoring to Boozer and Millsap before taking control at the end.

Cleveland trailed by as much as nine but never let the Jazz pull away down the stretch. With Utah leading 99-94, James drove for a layup that also got Millsap out of the game with his sixth foul. James missed the free throw that would have converted the three-point play, but the Cavs got a break when the rebound bounced straight to Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Cleveland called timeout with 17 seconds left.

Rather than go for the tying 3-pointer, James drove for a layup that cut the lead to 99-98.

Cleveland had to foul and Utah's Ronnie Brewer made it a three-point game with two free throws with 9 seconds to play. But that was plenty of time for James, who hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to tie it three seconds later.

Before the Cavs had time to get back on defense, Williams took off for the basket and scooped the ball underneath the rim and laid it in to put the Jazz right back ahead. Cleveland's desperation shot at the end was way off and the Jazz had survived a game they nearly blew.

The Jazz left themselves vulnerable for a comeback by struggling at the line in the fourth quarter. After making 26 of their first 27, the Jazz cooled off and missed five of their final 13, giving James just enough room for a comeback.

The Cavs were playing without three regulars, but got 18 points and 14 rebounds from Ilgauskas, 17 points from Sasha Pavlovic and 12 points from Daniel Gibson. The Cleveland reserves were no help, scoring a combined 14 points.

Mehmet Okur had 10 rebounds and Matt Harpring scored 10 points for the Jazz.

Game notes First-round draft pick Morris Almond made his NBA debut late in the first quarter when he entered the game as a sub for Gordan Giricek. Almond had been inactive for the first four games. ... Damon Jones made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut Utah's lead to 29-26 at the end of the first quarter. ... Millsap's previous high for points was 20 against the Raptors last November. ... The Cavs were without G Larry Hughes (knee), F Donyell Marshall (wrist) and G Eric Snow (knee).knee

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