"Deron Williams and Al Jefferson had the best seats in the house for the ending of one of the greatest Utah Jazz comebacks in franchise history.
But the two standouts are not complaining about it at all.
Not after watching their teammates pull out an unbelievable-but-true 116-114 overtime victory over the Miami Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena after trailing by as many as 22 points.
Williams fouled out with four seconds remaining in regulation, leaving the point guard duties in crunch time to Ronnie Price. The All-Star point guard left for his spot next to the other subs with 21 points on 9-for-15 shooting, 14 assists and four rebounds.
The win, Williams said, "was great."
He might have gnawed off a few fingernails, though.
"It was nervous for me," Williams said, "especially because I was over there (on the bench) where I'm not used to being at the end of games. I had to watch."
Williams loved what he saw, though.
Paul Millsap, who had a monstrous career night with 46 points, sent the game to overtime, and Price and company did just enough to cool the much-hyped Heat and fire up the 4-3 Jazz to an unlikely win.
"This team fought," Williams said. "It says a lot about us, that we're resilient, that we're going to fight. We're not going to lay down for anybody."
It also showed the Jazz aren't going to let egos get in the way of success — even on off nights."