From Deseret News archives:
Great escape: Jazz take 2-0 series lead with dramatic victory over Warriors
What happened Wednesday night at EnergySolutions was theater of the highest order, with enough twists, turns and oozing emotion that all 19,911 watching developments unfold had to feel a part.
That the Jazz escaped with a 127-117 overtime playoff victory over Golden State was almost lost in the tale of how they got there, replete with one point guard going to the hospital with a neck injury and another flying cross-country to lift a terrifically drained team but only after seeing his infant daughter through a combination of surgery and chemotherapy in her bout with a form of childhood cancer.
"There are so many storylines," said power forward Carlos Boozer, who helped champion those on the court as Utah took a 2-0 lead in its best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series with the Warriors.
Where, oh where, to start?
If the beginning is best in this instance, that would be when usual No. 3 point Dee Brown crashed hard into teammate Mehmet Okur.
Brown was playing because starter Deron Williams got into early foul trouble with two quick first-quarter calls, and usual backup and Jazz starting shooting guard Derek Fisher spent most of Monday with his young daughter in a New York hospital.
When Fisher finally arrived late in the third quarter, the Jazz were up 83-80 but seemingly wondering how much longer they could hold on against a Golden State club that got a game-high 36 points from point guard Baron Davis and another 27 from swingman Jason Richardson.
"I was surprised to see Fish," said forward Andrei Kirilenko, another of those who got things done on the court while others dealt with matters off. "I really get a little spark when he stepped on the floor."
Kirilenko was not alone as the Jazz won their fifth of five playoff games at home and their sixth of their last seven outings in the postseason.
Though the Jazz would squander their third-quarter lead and allow the Warriors to go up by as many as five points at 112-107 when Matt Barnes hit a 19-foot jumper with 52.9 seconds to go, Fisher was instrumental in helping Utah forcing a five-minute extra period.
Comments
- Dungy can see Vick playing for Bills 9:27 p.m.
- Lambert surprisingly tops news 9:24 p.m.
- MLS: Dynamo, Galaxy advance 9:21 p.m.
- Utahns split over war in Afghanistan 9:21 p.m.
- Probe heating up in the rampage 9:16 p.m.
- Health-care bill could sink in Senate 9:15 p.m.
- Hope for single moms 9:14 p.m.
- Utah Jazz Extra: Starting Five 9:12 p.m.
- Photos: Fall fun in the sun 9:12 p.m.
- Utah Jazz Extra: Whose hot/not 9:11 p.m.
- Gay advocates trek to LDS office
216 - House passes health care bill
195 - Lobo suspended
173 - Cougars crush hapless Cowboys
150 - Speed has never been BYU's game
136 - Utah Jazz fall apart against Kings
125 - RSL rallies to advance
103 - Thousands protest health bill
102 - Provo company innovating engines
99 - BYU cuts Women's Research Institute
88
Here are a few leftovers from Beckerman from the "5 questions" interview.
It's almost tip time at the Spectrum as Utah State prepares to take on...
TCU 45 Utah 6
But, if you think TCU will score 49, you are completely underestimating the...
Banks should tighten underwriting guidelines, to be sure, but they have gone...
Utah Alum cheering on home town TCU. The earlier poster Metroplex poster is...
Hey High Noon, you have a great team. Hope you and the other 25,000 fans...
Keeps telling opponents that there are safegaurds in place to protect the...
I thought they had fixed all their defense problems this season? Actually,...
Doesn't if make you feel the least bit guilty to force your neighbors to pay...
The latest affirmative action election is a painful lesson. Next time let's...
Fool me once - Shame on you Fool me twice - Shame on me Fool me three times...




You can be the first to comment on this story.