|
He
is Utah's savior, the reason the Jazz are still alive in their quest
for an NBA title.
No
one on this star-laden team has been more clutch than Anderson, who
almost single-handedly brought Utah back from the brink of
elimination -- not once, but twice, in the first round against the
Sacramento Kings.
Anderson averaged 8.5 points a game off the bench this season for
Utah, making him the biggest bench scorer behind a group of veteran
starters. All season long, he was the one coach Jerry Sloan called
on when the Jazz needed a spark.
 In
Game 4 against the Kings, with the Jazz already down 2 games to 1 in
the best-of-5 series, Anderson scored eight points in the fourth
quarter, helping set up John Stockton's game-winner with .7 seconds
left. Then, in Game 5, he scored six points in overtime as the Jazz
finally beat back the Kings.
He
scored 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and added six rebounds in the
deciding game.
Anderson shot 59.5 percent from the field for the Kings' series, and
had a solid start to Utah's second-round series against the Portland
Trail Blazers, too, scoring eight points, grabbing four rebounds and
handing out three assists.
"He's put together three great games in a row now," veteran forward
Karl Malone said of Anderson after the Game 5 heroics. "He came
through when we needed him most." |
