On the verge of attaining real stardom in the NBA, Deron Williams was once asked whether he thought of himself as any kind of big shot. His answer came without hesitation: "No, no. I've walked through a hotel lobby with LeBron James."

He knows, then, what invisibility feels like.

He knows what it's like to walk next to Sinatra.

He knows what it's like to accompany Elvis.

Deron, LEBRON.

LEBRON, Deron.

Imagine, then, what that walk is like for Sundiata Gaines.

James and the Cavaliers rolled into the lobby of EnergySolutions Arena on Thursday night, with Williams and the Jazz eager, outwardly, to edge away from a large shadow in the bright view of national TV cameras and, inwardly, to measure themselves against the 30-10 Cavs.

So, that's what an authentic title contender looks like?

Jazz, CAVS.

CAVS, Jazz.

Not quite.

LeBron and his teammates played a sloppy game, tossing the ball around like a stink bomb, and botching a fourth-quarter lead.

On this night, the chorus line eclipsed the star, 97-96, despite great late play -- including two huge three-pointers -- by ... LeBron.

No matter, the game was won on a last nanosecond three by ... Gaines.

Teams always want to go out of their way to beat Cleveland, James said.

Without their recent short streak of success, two lopsided victories over Dallas and Miami, the Jazz might not have found the courage to compete at all. Before that, they had no business comparing themselves with the Cavs, consistently struggling as they had against far-less-worthy opponents, losing far too often for any serious consideration.

Where would the Jazz have gotten off, sitting in the 10th spot in the West, sizing themselves up against the top team in the East?

The measurement, still a stretch, required a little less elasticity now, the Jazz seemingly improving, and looking for momentum that had eluded them thus far.

It did not come early in this game. The Jazz struggled at the offensive end throughout the first half, hitting just 35 percent of their shots. Meanwhile, the Cavs shot 51 percent over that span, 55 from behind the three-point arc, despite the fact that James was one of their least-efficient scorers. He made only three of Cleveland's 18 field goals through the first two periods, the Cavs scoring 47 points, all while the Jazz got 40.

"We've got guys who can really shoot the ball," James said. "This is the most consistent we've shot the ball from the outside."

Before the game, LeBron had said he expected the Jazz to bring everything they had at the Cavs: "We're happy that we get the best of teams."

This wasn't the Jazz's best ... not until the very end, when Gaines launched his remarkable game-winner.

It wasn't Cleveland's best, either. At times, the whole affair looked like something out of the B Division of the Italian League. Two teams trying real hard, making the game look real hard.

Amid the mess, Jerry Sloan said: "We need to try to execute our offense a little better."

Regardless, the game was tight heading into the fourth quarter, the Cavs up, 60-55. And it got tighter as it went, the Jazz tying the game at 64.

What happened next was ridiculous, C.J. Miles hitting a three, Wesley Matthews dusting a three, followed by a three-point play, finished off the old-fashioned way, by Gaines.

That gave the Jazz an eight-point lead and capped a 15-zip run, as they made eight of 10 shots. That lead expanded to 13.

LeBron who?

At the end, after the gap closed, it was all Sundiata.

A troop of no-names, as it turned out, killed the king.

All along, the Jazz knew if they could beat the team with the best record in the league, with the biggest star in the league, just maybe, style points or not, they weren't the sorry bunch of sad sacks they had seemed for too long.

That's why the game was such an opportunity for them.

Beat the Cavs. Beat LeBron. Beat your demons. Boost your self-esteem. The Jazz did all of the above.

LeBron said he knew it was on him to lead his team to wins, and he is fine with that: "I have God-given abilities. I try to take advantage of them. ... I try to will us to victories."

Not here, not now, not this time.

LeBron, SUNDIATA.

SUNDIATA, LeBron.

For one night, at least, the Jazz basked in some unexpected light, and reveled in some deserved glory.

GORDON MONSON hosts the "Monson and Graham Show" weekdays from 2-6 p.m. on 1280 AM The Zone. He can be reached at gmonson@sltrib.com .