After a determined response from the Houston Rockets in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals, Derek and the Los Angeles Lakers find themselves playing in a winner-take-all contest that will effectively continue or end their season.
The Rockets emerged victorious on Thursday night, pulling away at the end of a contest they led all night for a 95-80 win.
Fish had just two points and an assists in 21:24, and the same three guard rotation that stalled Houston point guard Aaron Brooks in Game 5was not nearly as effective as slowing the speedster down in Game 6.
The winner on Sunday afternoon goes on to the Western Conference Finals, where the Denver Nuggets await.
CLUTCH IN GAME 7s
Fish’s Game 7 resume is untarnished.
Derek has three Game 7 experiences under his belt in his 13-year career: two of those experiences have come in LA, a win over Portland in the first round in 2000 and a win over Sacramento in the Western Conference Finals in 2002.
He also helped the Jazz to a game seven victory over these same Houston Rockets in the first round in 2007.
He and the Lakers can make that a 4-0 mark this coming weekend.
NEXT UP
The Game 7 matinee tips off at 12:30 p.m. PST and all the action can be seen live on ABC.
RELATED STORIES
Lakers at Rockets Box Score (NBA.com, May 14, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20090514/LALHOU/boxscore.html
Lakers players still can’t explain the lack of fire (LA Times, May 15, 2009)
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-spw-lakersweb16-2009may16,0,4090831.story
It’s another Lakers failure of epic proportions (LA Times, May 15, 2009)
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-heisler-lakers15-2009may15,0,4312816.story
Heartless Lakers lose in Houston (The OC Register, May 15, 2009)
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/game-houston-lakers-2412961-points-rockets