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Fisher, Okur lead Jazz to overtime victory vs. Knicks

Feb 11, 2007 - 7:25 AM SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- When the Utah Jazz called upon Derek Fisher late in the game and overtime, he was ready.

Mehmet Okur scored 29 points on an upset stomach and Fisher scored 14, including the key bucket in overtime, as the Jazz posted a 104-102 victory over the New York Knicks.

Rookie Paul Millsap had 18 points and nine rebounds off the bench and Deron Williams added 16 points and 10 assists for Utah, which snapped a five-game losing streak to New York and won its fourth straight game overall.

Williams' final assist found a cutting Fisher, whose layup gave the Jazz a two-point lead with 3.6 seconds remaining in OT. Just moments earlier, New York's Quentin Richardson tied the game at 102 with a 3-point bucket.

When Williams brought the Jazz back up the court, everybody expected him to once again look for Okur, who has played the hero night in and night out for the Jazz. But with all the attention on Okur, Fisher was left wide open on the baseline.

"I tried to find Mehmet but, they're gonna cover him after he just hit about seven shots," Williams said. "So I went at Fisher, and I told him earlier to look for that backdoor cause it was open."

Following a timeout, Jamal Crawford drove to the basket from the left side but, facing tight defense from Matt Harpring, his runner did not beat the buzzer.

"We kind of knew that Crawford was gonna take it, he was the hot man tonight," Harpring said. We didn't want to give up the three, so we switched off. ... I let him drive. I knew there was only three seconds left, so if you put it on the floor, you've got to get it up quick."

Okur was key for Utah in the fourth quarter, scoring 13 points after the Jazz entered the period down, 76-66.

Utah erased its 10-point deficit late in the fourth quarter, as Okur capped an 11-0 run with a 25-foot 3-pointer from the left wing to give the Jazz a 90-89 advantage - their first since early in the third quarter.

And after the Knicks regained the upper hand, Okur tied the game, 93-93, on a driving layup with 12 seconds remaining. The sharpshooting 6-foot-11 center did all this while battling a stomach flu, which nearly held him out of the game altogether. Okur even vomitted at halftime, but fortunately for the Jazz, he was well enough to get back on the court in the second half.

"I was gonna throw up in the middle of the floor at one point. It was tough," Okur said, saying the moment occurred at the free-throw line. "I'm so glad it didn't happen."

Crawford attempted a 20-foot shot just inside the arc with Fisher closely guarding him that bounced off the rim as time expired, sending the contest into the extra period.

Three crucial overtime turnovers came back to haunt the Knicks, as did a controversial late technical foul called on David Lee after the Knicks forward scored on a dunk with 1:51 left in overtime.

"I believe I got fouled on the dunk, and it was kind of a heat-of-the-moment thing," Lee said. "I just wanted to tell the ref I got hit on the arm and he called a quick tech, and it's over."

New York head coach Isiah Thomas was visibly incensed once the call was made, and apparently still felt that way after the game. He said virtually nothing to reporters after the game, saying only,

"This is going to be real quick, fellas. ... I have absolutely no comment on tonight's game." Crawford finished with 29 points and Eddy Curry added 27 and eight rebounds for the Knicks, who were trying to match their win total (23) from last season.

Curry said his team came "unglued" on the defensive end down the stretch, and was frustrated by the offensive sloppiness as well. Curry turned over the ball eight times, as the Utah defense repeatedly collapsed on him in the low post and effectively took the ball away from him.

"Sometimes we just put the blinders on, and we just try to get me the ball no matter what," Curry said. "We've just got to find a balance and find a way to play." Lee had 15 points and 11 rebounds for his ninth double-double in 13 games for New York.