Deron Williams

WHEN ASKED to name his favorite point guards of all time, one of the first names that rolls off the tongue of 76ers guard Jrue Holiday is Deron Williams. Williams cemented his legendary status in Holiday's mind last night as he torched the 76ers for 34 points and 11 assists to lead the New Jersey Nets to a 97-90 overtime win, handing the Sixers just their second loss at home in 11 games. Though it took Williams 28 shots to post his point total, it was the clutch timing of his makes that did in the Sixers, who fell to 12-6 overall.

Last night wasn't quite what the 76ers had in mind. They were hoping for something they rarely have done this season: play well. The NBA schedule provided a natural break, four days between games, four days to breathe before the start of this trip. In that time, the Sixers were hoping they had crossed a bridge away from the disaster that was the first third of the season and toward something better. It didn't happen last night. Last night, the losing continued. At a sold-out EnergySolutions Arena, the Utah Jazz defeated the Sixers, 97-76.

    Al Jefferson scored 18 points, Paul Millsap had 16, and Earl Watson keyed a game-clinching 14-0 fourth-quarter run to help the Utah Jazz beat the visiting Los Angeles Lakers, 96-87, Saturday night. Watson scored eight points and had six assists in the fourth quarter as the Jazz beat the Lakers for the first time in three tries this season. Lakers coach Mike Brown received two quick technicals and was ejected with 8 minutes, 34 seconds to play after he went ballistic and charged after official Zach Zarba following a Laker turnover.

The next time the 76ers play at the Wachovia Center, their season will be 33 games old. Yesterday, the Sixers flew to Utah. Tonight against the Jazz they will begin a trip that spans four states, covers 10 days, and includes five games. The Sixers are 7-21. The Jazz are 16-13. The Sixers should be rested. They have played only one game - a loss at the Washington Wizards - in the last six days. On Wednesday night, the Jazz lost to the Miami Heat, 80-70. Earlier this season at the Wachovia Center, the Jazz, then without starting point guard Deron Williams, defeated the Sixers, 112-90.

    Nene had 22 points and 10 rebounds in his Washington debut, and the Wizards defeated New Jersey, 108-89, in Newark on Wednesday, in a game marred by ejections of the Nets' all-star point guard Deron Williams and head coach Avery Johnson. Williams and Johnson were tossed by referee Josh Tiven with 5 minutes, 18 seconds left in the third quarter for arguing a non-call on a Williams drive to the basket. Tiven appeared to call all four technical fouls, getting Williams first and then the coach after his best player was ejected.

THEIR CAPTAIN, All-Star point guard Deron Williams, had left the team earlier in the day for what was described as personal reasons. In his place was point guard Eric Maynor, the 10th overall pick in this year's draft. It was Maynor's first start, necessitated by the sprained left big toe of backup point guard Ronnie Price. Maynor's running mate in the backcourt last night was fellow rookie Wesley Matthews, who went undrafted out of Marquette. The Utah Jazz was hurt, shorthanded and in disarray as it limped into Philadelphia following a blowout loss in Boston on Wednesday night.

It was a tough day for the Milwaukee Bucks. First the Bucks found out that guard Michael Redd would be sidelined for the remainder of the season with a knee injury. Then, right before the start of last night's game in Phoenix, Bucks coach Scott Skiles was hospitalized with an irregular heartbeat. Without its coach and star guard, Milwaukee seemed lost in the first half as the Bucks found themselves down by 24 points to Phoenix before battling back and falling just short in a 105-101 loss to the Suns last night.

The Utah Jazz had seen enough of the Golden State Warriors' dominance at home. Carlos Boozer and the Jazz shoved and scraped to slow down the Warriors - and then Derek Fisher put a sweet finish on a victory that put Utah on the brink of the Western Conference finals. Boozer had 34 points and 12 rebounds last night as the Jazz handed the eighth-seeded Warriors their first home loss of the postseason, 115-101, to put Utah up 3-1 in their second-round playoff series. Fisher scored 14 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for the surprising Jazz, who can clinch their first trip to the conference finals since 1998 with a victory at home in Game 5 tomorrow night.

The Minnesota Timberwolves snapped a 13-game losing streak and won for the first time this season under Kevin McHale, getting a season-best 23 points from Rashad McCants in a 120-107 victory over host New York Knicks last night. Al Jefferson added 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who rode the combination of Jefferson's inside play and some sizzling three-point shooting to win for the first time since beating Oklahoma City on Nov. 28. Minnesota had dropped its first eight games under McHale, who took over when Randy Wittman was fired Dec. 8. Sebastian Telfair finished with a season-high 20 points and Randy Foye had 19 for the Wolves.

When it was over - after they lost by 93-80 - the 76ers said the Utah Jazz outhustled them to each loose ball. "They got to everything," said Sixers swingman Andre Iguodala, who finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds last night. "They beat us to a lot of hustle plays: tipped balls, loose rebounds," said Sixers guard Willie Green. "That's unacceptable. " Added head coach Maurice Cheeks: "And they ended up getting scores out of it. " Perhaps that's part of why Utah is 6-1 and the Sixers are 2-5. A loose ball late in the fourth quarter that no Jazz player pursued typified the night for the 12,839 in attendance at the Wachovia Center.

NEWARK, N.J. - Like the famous stamp, Jrue Holiday embodied the Spirit of the 76ers. As Holiday dribbled upcourt, all he needed was a fifer and a drummer. The bridge of Holiday's nose had been lacerated by an elbow at the end of the first half, a cut now covered by a butterfly bandage. Rolled gauze stuffed up his nostrils slowed the torrent of blood to a steady seep. He was a wounded warrior . . . but he wouldn't have missed this for the world. He would not have missed the final moments of the Sixers' clinching win over the Nets.

    Nene had 22 points and 10 rebounds in his Washington debut, and the Wizards defeated New Jersey, 108-89, in Newark on Wednesday, in a game marred by ejections of the Nets' all-star point guard Deron Williams and head coach Avery Johnson. Williams and Johnson were tossed by referee Josh Tiven with 5 minutes, 18 seconds left in the third quarter for arguing a non-call on a Williams drive to the basket. Tiven appeared to call all four technical fouls, getting Williams first and then the coach after his best player was ejected.

DIRK NOWITZKI had 26 points and moved into the top 20 on the NBA career scoring list and the Mavericks beat the shorthanded and struggling Boston Celtics, 89-73, last night in Dallas. The defending champion Mavericks reached the midpoint of their regular-season schedule after never trailing against Boston. Nowitzki, who also had a season-high 16 rebounds, scored all of Dallas' points in a 10-2 run midway through the second quarter that pushed the Mavericks ahead by 14. Nowitzki has 23,354 career points.

Something about Wednesdays and point guards doesn't work out well for the 76ers. Two weeks after Deron Williams torched the Sixers - and three after Andre Miller did the same thing - Tony Parker sliced through the Sixers for 37 points and eight assists to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 100-90 victory in front of 18,070 at the Wells Fargo Center. Lou Williams led the Sixers (18-8) with 22 points. Jrue Holiday added 15 points and seven assists, and Andre Iguodala finished with 17 points and seven rebounds.

    Al Jefferson scored 18 points, Paul Millsap had 16, and Earl Watson keyed a game-clinching 14-0 fourth-quarter run to help the Utah Jazz beat the visiting Los Angeles Lakers, 96-87, Saturday night. Watson scored eight points and had six assists in the fourth quarter as the Jazz beat the Lakers for the first time in three tries this season. Lakers coach Mike Brown received two quick technicals and was ejected with 8 minutes, 34 seconds to play after he went ballistic and charged after official Zach Zarba following a Laker turnover.

WHEN ASKED to name his favorite point guards of all time, one of the first names that rolls off the tongue of 76ers guard Jrue Holiday is Deron Williams. Williams cemented his legendary status in Holiday's mind last night as he torched the 76ers for 34 points and 11 assists to lead the New Jersey Nets to a 97-90 overtime win, handing the Sixers just their second loss at home in 11 games. Though it took Williams 28 shots to post his point total, it was the clutch timing of his makes that did in the Sixers, who fell to 12-6 overall.

Turkish team Besiktas says it is close to reaching a deal with locked out New Jersey Nets All-Star guard Deron Williams . Besiktas manager Murat Murtezaoglu told the Associated Press yesterday that talks are under way with Williams. Coach Ergin Ataman told the state-run Anatolia news agency that a deal was close. He also told the New York Times that a deal had been reached. Williams' agent did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

Life on the road in the NBA can be a true downer, as the 76ers found out earlier this week and the Utah Jazz continued to realize this weekend. The Sixers exceeded last year's home win total with Saturday's 96-85 win over the Jazz at the Wells Fargo Center. While it's not raising the bar very high by comparing the Sixers to last season's inconsistent and frequently lifeless unit, the Sixers improved to 18-25 overall and 13-7 at the Wells Fargo Center. Last year they were 12-29 at home.

While the Los Angeles Lakers' reserves haplessly gave away the lead early in the fourth quarter, the Utah Jazz celebrated every basket with increasing glee, spilling off their bench in anticipation of an upset. "It was tough," Kobe Bryant said. "But when it got really tough for me, I just checked myself in. " A few minutes after Bryant checked in, the Jazz were checkmated in these familiar rivals' second-round opener. Bryant scored 11 of his 31 points in the final 4 minutes, and the Lakers rallied for a 104-99 victory yesterday.

It was a tough day for the Milwaukee Bucks. First the Bucks found out that guard Michael Redd would be sidelined for the remainder of the season with a knee injury. Then, right before the start of last night's game in Phoenix, Bucks coach Scott Skiles was hospitalized with an irregular heartbeat. Without its coach and star guard, Milwaukee seemed lost in the first half as the Bucks found themselves down by 24 points to Phoenix before battling back and falling just short in a 105-101 loss to the Suns last night.