During a remarkable playoff journey - highlighted by a Game 7 win at Houston in the first round and Derek Fisher's personal battle with family heartbreak - BYU and University of Utah fans put their differences aside and became Jazz fans. Again.

They were united in their exhilaration after victories.

They consoled each other after defeats.

They cried when Fisher told of his infant daughter's eye cancer.

They rejoiced when doctors seem encouraged after experimental treatment.

While the Jazz were beating Houston and Golden State - and while they were losing to San Antonio in the Western Conference finals - their fans turned EnergySolutions Arena into the loudest venue in professional basketball.

"Our fans have been terrific," coach Jerry Sloan said. "They have been terrific when we lost 56 games [in 2004-05] and to me that was a major sign of what your fans are all about. They all show up when you're winning. But when you lose, where are they? Our fans were there when we lost 56 games."

The fans' intensity during home games "show everything," said Gordan Giricek. "We returned a little but to them this year - with this season - and we gave them just a little pleasure to replace the last few years. . . . We thank them for that. We appreciate them."

Said Mehmet Okur: "They're all excited, that's the bottom line, and we like to show them our appreciation [for] what they've done for us all year and in the playoffs. We just [tried to] play hard and win ballgames. I think they deserve it."

The community's excitement over the Jazz went hand-in-hand with the sensation created by rising stars Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, who in the playoffs started drawing favorable comparison to the John Stockton-Karl Malone tandem that carried the Jazz into perennial title contention in the 1990s.

Williams averaged 16.2 points and 9.3 assists during his second season. In the postseason, he caught the attention of the national media, which anointed him as one of the top point guards in the NBA.

"The kid is incredible," said San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich

Boozer also enjoyed hero-like status during the Jazz's trip to the conference finals.

After missing 71 games because of injury during his first two seasons with the Jazz, Boozer became an All-Star, and fans saw him develop into Utah's most ferocious offensive force since Malone.

"He is a major, major star," said Golden State coach Don Nelson.

The playoffs also were punctuated by the shocking story surrounding Fisher and his 11-month-old daughter Tatum. She was diagnosed with a rare form of eye cancer and underwent a surgical procedure in New York on the morning of Game 2 in a second-round series against Golden State.

Fisher's emotional return for the second half became a national story after he scored five points in overtime to spark the Jazz to a 126-116 victory.

"What people don't understand is that players are human beings," said Kevin O'Connor, the Jazz's vice president of basketball operations. "They have families and they have feelings. . . . What's amazing is how he was able to change focus, get back on court and play so well."

After three straight non-playoff seasons, which broke a streak of 20 in a row, the Jazz won 51 games, finished with their third-best home record (31-10) and got Sloan his 1,000th win as their head coach with a 101-79 victory at Dallas on Dec. 11.

In his 19th season as coach of the Jazz, Sloan's "ability to put people in places where they can succeed and where team can succeed is something he's always been very good at," said O'Connor.

Looking ahead, the Jazz's future seems bright.

Every major contributor except Giricek is under contract for at least two more seasons.

The team's only free agents this summer are third-year guard C.J. Miles, seldom-used center Rafael Araujo and No. 3 point guard Dee Brown, a rookie.

The next major move likely will come next summer, when Williams can be signed to a long-term extension.

Given his play this season, the Jazz will likely get that done as quickly as possible.