Emotional Fisher leads Jazz to overtime win
Thu May 10, 2:37 AM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) -
Derek Fisher capped an emotional day on which his daughter underwent cancer surgery by scoring five points in overtime to lead the Jazz to a 127-117 win over the
Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.
Carlos Boozer contributed 30 points to help the Jazz into a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference semi-final series.
Fisher arrived at the game in Salt Lake City in the third quarter after flying from New York, where his 10-month-old daughter Tatum underwent surgery for a tumor between her eye and brain.
"It has been unbelievable," Fisher told reporters.
"My daughter is doing very well. We had a successful operation this morning and I flew back.
"I got off the plane and came to the game. I'm speechless."
The veteran guard hit a crucial three-pointer to give Utah a 123-117 lead with 1:06 left in overtime, and finished off the scoring with two free throws with 47 seconds to go.
"For him to be here, the fans appreciated it," Boozer told reporters. "We appreciated it. We got a huge emotional lift from him."
Several Warriors players walked over to Fisher and embraced him after the game.
Utah trailed Golden State 112-107 with 52 seconds left in regulation. But the Jazz rallied to send the game into overtime on
Deron Williams's field goal with two seconds left that tied the scores at 113-113.
"The free throw betrayed us," Golden State coach Don Nelson said. "It was right there. All we had to do was make free throws, but we didn't do it."
Utah controlled overtime, outscoring Golden State 14-4.
Boozer grabbed 13 rebounds to go with his 30 points.
Mehmet Okur added 23 points and 18 rebounds with
Andrei Kirilenko contributing 20 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots.
Baron Davis topped Golden State with 36 points.
Jason Richardson added 27 and
Stephen Jackson 18.
Game Three is at Golden State on Friday.
Fisher was asked about his future in the series and whether he would travel to California.
"My loyalty is always with family and my faith first, that is the only way I got through this game tonight," he said.
"I had to get permission from my wife to come here. My team mates and coach welcomed me with open arms. "I told them if I could get here, I wanted to play," he added. "(Utah coach Jerry Sloan) kept me on the active list. He didn't have to do that."
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