Daily Deron: Williams, Jazz Fall to Blazers in Wesley Mathews’ Return

Former teammates Wesley Matthews (#2) and Deron Williams (#8) battle during Monday night's game between the Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz.

While the Utah Jazz are as good as any NBA organization gets at replacing players, I really wish the team could have kept Wesley Matthews last summer.

Signing with the Portland Trail Blazers after one season in Utah when he went from an undrafted rookie to a clutch starter/solid defensive stopper in the playoffs, Matthews returned to Salt Lake City for the first time on Monday night and came away with a close victory.

As Matthews continued to fill the void for the injured Brandon Roy, Deron Williams had a big game as well.

While Williams and Matthews could have been a great backcourt for years to come, at least we got to see them together for one season.

And now onto the box score.

● Utah Jazz Point Guard Deron Williams (2002-2005)

The Jazz fell to 21-10 with the 96-91 home loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, which improved to 16-15.

Williams: (+5)

31 points (11-16 shooting, 6-8 from three, 3-4 from the foul line), 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 turnovers, 1 steal and 5 fouls in 37:50.

As for Matthews (+11), he finished with 14 points (4-14 from the field, 1-5 from three, 5-6 from the line), grabbed 6 rebounds, dished 3 assists (to 5 turnovers) and added a steal in 39:08.

In other news, the teams of former Illini Brian Cook (Los Angeles Clippers) and Luther Head (Sacramento Kings) also played tonight.

While the Clippers (10-22) got the 100-99 victory against the Kings (5-23), Cook and Head did not play as they were both inactive.

Alright.

Until next time.