She stood on the doorstep, batting her eyes, turning a heel, grinning and primping and knocking for a good two hours and 42 minutes - until the Jazz finally swung open the door, picked her up, and carried her across an important threshold, straight into the Western Conference finals.
Come to Daddy.
Well, it wasn't quite like that. Daddy almost tripped over the transom en route, nearly face-planting opportunity directly into the floorboards.
Somehow, and it is a bit inexplicable, the Jazz held on to beat the Warriors, winning, 100-87, and capturing the series, 4-1.
Basically, it took the Jazz weathering the same rough play that has plagued other matchups in the playoffs - requiring judgment and delineation from officials between hard fouls and cheap shots - and also one of the ugliest stretches of playoff basketball in recent history. Over a fourth quarter that included uncoordinated passes, stone-handed shooting, bricked free throws, three-second violations, the Jazz had to conquer themselves first, then the Warriors.
But they found just enough in their hearts, if not in their bag of offensive skills, to lift themselves to a lead and, then, hold on for dear life.
That lifting and holding was a mother of a load late Tuesday night.
For instance, Deron Williams made one shot for just two points in 11 attempts. He had five turnovers, and wasn't alone. Mehmet Okur had five. So did Carlos Boozer. Derek Fisher had four. All told, the Jazz coughed up the ball 25 times in a disarray of offense.
But Andrei Kirilenko, who scored 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting, and Fisher, 7 of 10 for 20 points, including 4 of 5 from beyond the arc, saved their hides.
That, and enough team hustle to gather up the slop and try and try again.
As for the Warriors, they draped themselves all over Boozer at their defensive end. Still, he went for 21 points. But the overall effect and result necessitated the Jazz finding a way to hit midrange jumpers and bombs to short-circuit that strategy.
They did just enough, taking an extended period to smooth their ride. The aforementioned turnovers hampered the fact that the Jazz outrebounded Golden State, as they did throughout this series, this time, 59-35.
Ultimately, the game was nothing short of a battle. In part, the Warriors shot themselves out of a good chance, making just 36 percent of their attempts, and only 6 of 30 from three. But, even though the Jazz defense looked vulnerable at times, it also clamped down often enough to make do.
Bottom line is this: At the end, and mostly in all five games, the Jazz were smarter and tougher than Golden State. Their diligence paid off.
It's become a hallmark of the Jazz in these playoffs to dig deep within themselves to haul out whatever wherewithal was necessary to win when that winning was mandatory.
Numerically, Game 5 did not fit that characterization. Psychologically, though, it did. At least in the Jazz's minds.
They had convinced themselves that, despite being up, 3-1, they were the desperados facing elimination, not the Warriors. They were the ones who couldn't shrink or flinch or relent. They said they knew the Warriors could have taken either of the second-round series' first two games at EnergySolutions Arena, and reeling in the third would be as difficult as anything heretofore.
That's what they said.
And they were right.
They won because they had to.
All told, it was a remarkable accomplishment for such a young, inexperienced group, despite the truth that, in more than a few key moments, the brainless Warriors made it easier for them.
On that last one, the Jazz cared so much, they didn't care.
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* GORDON MONSON can be reached at gmonson@sltrib.com. To write a letter about this or any sports topic, send an e-mail to sportseditor@sltrib.com.
