Midway through the fourth quarter of Tuesday's victory at Minnesota, Deron Williams decided he'd had enough of life as Kevin Ollie's coat rack, with the Timberwolves guard hanging and leaning on him at every opportunity.
Williams also clearly had exhausted his patience at not playing to his full ability since returning from a sprained left ankle. For the first time since his return, Williams showed a flash of frustration, leaving Ollie on the Target Center floor. As Ollie was called for a foul on the perimeter, Williams kept driving after the whistle and plowed over Ollie, incurring a technical foul. Randy Foye converted the subsequent free throw, with Minnesota on its way to building a nine-point lead.
Two weeks into his return, Williams can't say when he'll be back to playing like last season's second-team All-NBA point guard. He finished with 12 points and 11 assists Tuesday, but made only 2 of 11 shots and committed five turnovers.
"It was definitely frustrating for me," Williams said. "That's why I got the technical. I'm just not playing like myself. It's tough to get going. I've just got to figure out a way to get it going."
Williams missed all seven shots he took in the first half, with two jumpers and a layup blocked by Al Jefferson. He was the picture of exasperation in the third quarter after throwing away a pass and fouling Craig Smith at the other end on a three-point play.
"It's just mental," said Williams, who is shooting 39 percent. "I'm just thinking about different things when I'm shooting instead of thinking about the shot. Layups, same thing."
Williams also had consecutive turnovers midway through the third quarter. Talking to his teammates after the game, Williams said he was so focused on his ankle driving for layups that he was forgetting to finish the shot in the first place.
While stressing that the Jazz haven't forced Williams to play, coach Jerry Sloan said Williams still was learning how to play his way back from the most significant injury of his young career.
"The biggest thing is you've just got to keep working," Sloan said. "I don't think he's experienced anything like this, where he's been out and things kind of get tough. But the only way that you can overcome it that I know is to work as hard as you can."
Williams had missed only four games due to injury in his first three seasons with the Jazz. But he was forced to sit out 13 games over 5 1/2 weeks after suffering the second-degree sprain in an Oct. 18 preseason game.
"I've never been injured this long, so I have no clue," said Williams, adding that he has no plans to sit out again in an attempt to get his ankle closer to 100 percent.
rsiler@sltrib.com
Portland at Jazz
Where: EnergySolutions Arena
Tipoff: Today, 8:30 p.m.
TV: TNT Radio: 1320 AM, 98.7 FM
Records: Jazz 14-9; Portland 15-8
Last meeting: Jazz, 103-96 (Nov. 5)
Line: Jazz by 3 1/2
