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By Wayne Drehs ESPN.com PHILADELPHIA -- Lakers forward Brian Shaw hit two shots on Wednesday. The first, a reverse layup in the second quarter, he dedicated to his wife. The second, a 25-foot, 3-point bomb that squelched a late Sixers rally, he dedicated to his baby daughter Bianca. A baby daughter that was born just 35 hours earlier. In Oakland. And Shaw was there to witness it. So when you tell him that his 3-pointer was one of the biggest shots of the game, that it ended a 22-7 Philadelphia rally and helped the Lakers again hold off the won't-go-away Sixers ... he just smiles. Not because of the in-game significance of that shot, but because of what it meant to his family back in Oakland. "My wife had a C-section, so she has to stay in the hospital for anywhere from three to five days and watch the games on TV," Shaw said. "But I told her, the first shot that I hit tonight was for her and the second shot was for the baby. And guess what? I made two shots tonight." Funny how those things work out. Shaw, completely drained after catching a red-eye flight back to Philadelphia late Tuesday, was very mediocre in the first half, committing two fouls and two turnovers in five minutes of play. Coach Phil Jackson said he expected the sluggishness, but in the fourth quarter, when the Sixers cut a 22-point deficit to 10, he turned to Shaw and Tyronn Lue for a boost. Both hit 3-pointers that within seconds had the team back up by 15. "They expended so much energy getting back in the game that finally, we were able to get the ball down into Shaq, they double-teamed him and he kicked it out and Ty and I hit the shots we needed. That's what this team has been about all year long," Shaw said. For Shaw, it marked the ideal ending to a frantic 36 hours. Shaw left Philadelphia on Tuesday morning and flew to San Francisco. At 10:30 a.m. PT on Tuesday, he took his wife to the hospital. At 2:30 p.m., Nikki Shaw gave birth to Bianca Nicole Shaw, the couple's second child. After sitting at his wife's side through numerous tests and treatments, Shaw left the hospital at 8:30 that night and headed for San Francisco International Airport. There, he got on a plane at 10:30 p.m. and headed back to Philadelphia. The flight arrived at 7 a.m. ET Wednesday. After two hours of sleep at the team hotel, he woke up and went to the morning shoot-around. He then returned to the hotel for two more hours of sleep before heading to the First Union Center for Wednesday night's game. Hence the sluggish first half. "Yeah, I was pretty tired," Shaw said. "I think it was more from the time change than anything. I was kind of just getting on this time, then I was headed back there. My body clock is pretty messed up right now." Shaw is typically one of the more energetic and outgoing Lakers, often teasing and talking with his teammates before games. But before Wednesday's tip-off, he was caught in a quiet corner of the locker room nodding off. Until Shaquille O'Neal came by, that is. O'Neal slapped Shaw's feet to get his attention. "He came over and said, 'I'm going to need you tonight, so wake up,' " Shaw said. "I was trying my hardest to stay awake, but I couldn't do it." Someday, it will all make one heck of a story for a special little girl. "I'll tell her what her dad had to go through, but that it was all worth it," said Shaw, who was also on hand when his son B.J., now 2, was born. "She'll know that I wasn't going to miss her birth for anything in the world." Shaw said the events of the two whirlwind days have helped him put the game of basketball in perspective. He added that Wednesday's postgame smile was hardly about the game. It was about what is waiting for him back home. "I told the guys that we need to get this over with on Friday so I can get back and see my girl," Shaw said. "I think they understand." Wayne Drehs is a staff writer at ESPN.com.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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