Pressed into duty, Brown delivers

Before Monday's Round 2 playoff game against Golden State, Dee Brown's playoff experience consisted of two short stints in the Houston series, one lasting six seconds and the other a little more than two minutes.

Brown's playoff numbers? All zeroes.

Going into Monday night's game at the EnergySolutions Arena, Brown knew he was going to see some meaningful minutes with Derek Fisher missing the game for personal reasons.

Brown made the most of his opportunity, coming through with three assists and six points, including two big baskets to pull the team into a tie with 4:35 left when Deron Williams was on the bench with five fouls.

"I'm always prepared to play because you never know what can happen in this business," Brown said. "I do the same routine before every game. I knew coming in I was going to have to play with Derek being out. You've got to be ready when they call your number, because you never know."

Brown played some minutes alongside Williams, just like when the pair played together at Illinois a couple of years ago. Brown called Williams' 31-point game "unbelievable" and Williams had nice things to say about his buddy.

"Dee Brown came in and did a great job — no dropoff," said Williams "It's definitely fun to play with Dee. He stepped up big in Derek's absence."

Brown came in for the final 2:42 of the first quarter and played a couple of more minutes in the second quarter when he made his first playoff basket on a drive to the basket. He played a few minutes in the third quarter and early in the fourth, but he probably didn't expect to play at crunch time.

However with 6:00 left, Williams picked up his fifth foul, and Brown replaced him. With the Warriors leading 102-98, it didn't look good for the Jazz.

After a Warrior miss, Andrei Kirilenko hit Brown, who raced down and made a left-handed layup in traffic to cut the lead to 102-100.

On Utah's next possession, Brown made a nice fake and drew a foul on Baron Davis, his fifth. Then after a Golden State miss, Carlos Boozer got the ball out to Brown, who turned on the burners for a lay-in that tied the score at 102.

"If I get the ball, I'm coming," said Brown, considered one of the fastest players in the NBA. "I just caught the ball and saw daylight. When I see daylight, that's my game, getting out in transition. I just wanted to make a play."

After successfully holding the fort and actually improving his team's position, Brown came out to loud applause from the Jazz faithful and Williams took over for the final 3:40.

"I've been patient," Brown said. "I just try to be productive when I get the opportunity."

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