SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah rookie Dee Brown injured his neck
when teammate Mehmet Okur landed on him in the first quarter of
Wednesday night's Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals
against Golden State. He was taken to a hospital as a precaution.
Brown had to be helped from the court and then was wheeled on a
stretcher to have X-rays taken. The team said neurological tests on
Brown were normal, but he was taken to a hospital with his neck in
a brace during the Jazz's 127-117 overtime victory.
During the postgame telecast, TNT reported that Brown remained hospitalized and was undergoing tests. Results weren't expected until Thursday morning.
Brown was hurt after trying to take a charge from Matt Barnes of
the Warriors with 5:09 left in the opening quarter. Brown fell to
the court and the 6-foot-11, 260-pound Okur then landed on him,
driving Brown's chin to his chest. The 6-foot Brown, who weighs 180
pounds, remained on the floor for several minutes before being
helped up and led to the locker room.
The injury left the Jazz short-handed in the backcourt because
Derek Fisher, who was away from the team for two days as his daughter underwent cancer surgery in New York, didn't arrive at the arena until midway through the third quarter.
Minutes later, he jogged out of the tunnel during a stoppage in
play and didn't even get a chance to sit on the bench before coach
Jerry Sloan put him in the game to a standing ovation with 3:18
left in the quarter.
The Jazz, who activated Fisher for Game 2, had only 10 available
players between the time Brown was hurt and Fisher arrived.
Utah starting point guard Deron Williams picked up two fouls in
a one-minute span early in the game.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.