SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 2 (Ticker) -- Deron Williams didn't start his first NBA game, but he finished it with a bang.

After turning the momentum with a buzzer-beater from beyond halfcourt at the end of the third quarter, the rookie point guard led a strong offensive attack in the fourth, guiding the Utah Jazz to a season-opening 93-82 comeback victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

NBA TV highlights from Mavericks-Jazz: Play

The third overall pick watched from the bench early on as Keith McLeod got the start, but it was Williams who was the catalyst, particularly in the pivotal fourth quarter.

His third 3-pointer of the game, one with the shot clock winding down and 7:23 remaining, gave the Jazz the lead for good, 76-75.

"I just feel comfortable in those types of situations. I've been in them a lot in college (at Illinois), and I don't see why it should be different now," Williams said. "I just try to go out there and assert myself. I'm just happy to get a win."

Known throughout his college career as a big-game player, Williams came through with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting and added three assists, all in the fourth quarter.

"For his first game, I think he was under control. He knew what he was doing," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "A couple of times he got a little confused, but you expect that. But I thought he played pretty well."

The Mavs got within 81-80 with 4:20 to play when newcomer Doug Christie split a pair of free throws, but Mehmet Okur put them away for good.

The 6-10 forward hit a 3-pointer with just over two minutes to play, giving Utah a four-point edge. But it was his next possession that really sealed it.

Trapped by Christie with the shot clock winding down, Okur launched an off-balance turnaround from about 25 feet that rattled off the backboard and through as the Delta Center crowd erupted. Dallas never recovered.

"That was a lucky one, I'll be honest," Okur said. "I saw the shot clock, there were two seconds left, I just threw the ball up and scored."

"You have to have a little bit of luck, and luck fell our way tonight. But the harder you work, the luckier you get," Sloan said. "You give yourself luck when you work hard and play hard."

Williams may have found himself a go-to guy in Okur, who scored 15 of his 27 points in the final period. He made 10-of-17 shots and added eight rebounds and a pair of blocks.

"Mehmet can shoot the ball out there - there was never any doubt about that, but Deron was able to find him," Sloan said. "That's the big key, and it makes the game a little bit easier for Deron, when we came down the stretch, for him to get on top of the basket."

Wednesday's performance was a bit unfamiliar for the Jazz, who last season routinely broke down late in games. It was a different story altogether in the season opener, and the Jazz hope that means this year's group is significantly different.

"Last year, if we would have been in that situation, we would have just caved in," Sloan said. "This year, we got in a tough situation and we fought back. .. I thought we made them play defense a little more."

"The second half, you've got to take your hat off to Utah," Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. "They were more physical, they rebounded stronger and they had a presence about themselves, and we didn't."

By the last few minutes of the third period, the Mavericks looked like they had the game relatively in hand, but Williams' heroics changed all that.

With less than two seconds left, Williams rebounded a miss by Marquis Daniels, took a couple of steps and heaved a 65-footer that banked in off the glass, bringing the Jazz within 67-65 going into the final 12 minutes.

"It's something I have in my repertoire, I try to bring it out every now and then," Williams said. "We'll take them any way we can get them. Everyone needs a little luck."

While Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard struggled all night offensively, combining to shoot just 8-for-30 from the field, Jason Terry picked up the slack, putting up 19 points in the first half alone.

The second half was a different story as the Jazz held Terry to just two points on 1-of-5 shooting.

"I don't know if I made any adjustments. He slowed himself down, probably," Sloan said. "He played a tough game last night, but he can make shots. We gave him shots in the first half - our big people never got close enough to give our guards help."

Andrei Kirilenko couldn't find his shot, either, but made up for it on the other end, collecting 10 rebounds and six blocked shots - four in the fourth - to pace the defense, which held the high-powered Mavericks to just 38 percent shooting (29-of-77).

"It's a great win," said Kirilenko, who scored just seven points on 2-of-10 shooting. "I think we showed a great example of the team game, and how we're supposed to play for the whole season. I think we did a pretty good job tonight."

With the victory, Sloan moved into a tie with Bill Fitch for fifth place on the NBA's all-time coaching victories list, giving him a career record of 944-617.

"We have that attitude of wanting to win, instead of just doing something for myself and trying to get it over with," Sloan said.