Jazz riding high
SALT LAKE CITY – All Derek Fisher needed to do to inspire his teammates was make it to the game.
He did so much more, capping a dramatic night by scoring all five of his points in overtime in Utah’s 127-117 victory over Golden State on Wednesday night – a game Fisher nearly missed while returning from New York, where his baby daughter underwent cancer surgery.
“I don’t know how I got through this tonight. I really don’t,” said Fisher, who hit his only shot, a 3-pointer.
The win and Utah’s 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals were overshadowed by what Fisher did Wednesday. He had said Monday that one of his four children was ill, but did not go into detail on how serious it was other than to say he needed to be with his family instead of at the game Monday.
After the game Wednesday, he told how serious 10-month-old Tatum’s condition was. She has retinoblastoma, a form of eye cancer that required a three-hour combination of surgery and chemotherapy at New York’s Presbyterian Hospital.
“My daughter’s doing well,” Fisher said. “We had a successful operation in New York and I flew back and got off the plane and came to the game. I’m speechless.”
Fisher missed most of the first three quarters, then ran straight from the tunnel onto the court late in the third period to a standing ovation and a few high-fives and hugs from teammates, as well as Golden State’s Baron Davis.
“He got off the plane. He didn’t warm up. He didn’t stretch. He didn’t shoot a shot,” said Utah’s Deron Williams, who had 17 points and 14 assists. “As soon as he came into the arena, he went straight to the scorers’ table.”
It was an emotional night for the Jazz, who lost rookie point guard Dee Brown to a neck injury in the first quarter.
Utah had to rally to force the overtime after Golden State went on a 12-1 run late in the fourth quarter. The Warriors missed six free throws in the fourth quarter, three after taking the late lead.
Carlos Boozer had 30 points and 13 rebounds for Utah, while Okur added 23 points and 18 rebounds and Andrei Kirilenko had 20 points, nine rebounds and six blocks.
Davis had 36 points and seven assists for Golden State.