Derek Clutch in Lakers’ Win

Derek Fisher returned to playoff form in stunning fashion Tuesday night, hitting one timely bomb after another on the way to a hard-fought 105-103 victory in the opener of the Western Conference Finals.

Los Angeles now leads the Denver Nuggets 1-0 in the best-of-seven series.

Fish, who finished with 13 points and six assists, was just glad to get back into the fold, as quoted by Dave McMenamin of NBA.com:

“It feels good to be involved in the action,” Fisher said. “As an athlete if you’re involved in the action and you’re mixing it up, even if you make a great pass to give somebody else a great shot, there’s just a feeling involved with that that nothing else really gives you. That’s what gets my blood going.”

BUZZER BEATER
Things didn’t start off so smoothly for D-Fish. He was 0-6 in the first half until the ball came his way with the final seconds ticking away before halftime.

Kobe Bryant faked a dribble-drive, drawing a double team from Chauncey Billups and JR Smith, then hit Fish in corner. In one fluid motion, Derek loaded up and unleashed a long-range three-pointer with a single second left in the half.

It hit, giving LA a 55-54 halftime lead.

“That one (at the buzzer) felt good, but I’m pretty hard on myself and I was still upset with some of those earlier shots that I had missed,” said Fish, as quoted in the OC Register.

“It was good, but I didn’t think it was like opening the garage door and things were suddenly going pick up. I just continued to take shots.”

No. 2 goes skyward as Denver’s Chauncey Billups looks on (Getty Images).

 WHITE HOT IN THE THIRD
After returning from the locker room, for the third, the Lakers and the Nuggets traded baskets for much of the third, with neither team trailing by more than five.

Midway through the quarter, the Lakers cut a five-point lead to three on a Pau Gasol dunk and on Denver’s next possession, Trevor Ariza picked off a Carmello Anthony pass and took off on a one-on-one fast break. While the whole game remained on the other side, only Fish hustled behind to follow his streaking teammate. Ariza picked up the dribble and backed in, then dished to Derek driving the lane for a running layup to cut the Denver lead to one.

On LA’s next possession, Fish decided to take matters into his own hands and give the Lakers the lead back. With the shot clock winding down under 10 seconds, and Billups defending him tightly on the perimeter, D-Fish took to dribbling along the base line, made his way into the paint and zagged past Carmello Anthony, knocking himself off balance in the process.

With his momentum carrying him away from the basket and the shot clock at three seconds, Derek heaved an erratic shot up from underneath the basket. But the ball bounced his way, glancing high off the glass, off the rim and to the bottom of the net.

Feeling the flow, the ball found Fish on the very next possession as after a handoff to Lamar Odom, D-Fish took the screen to the wide-open top corner. Odom wasted no time dishing him the rock and Derek’s fluid three-point jumper rattled in to give LA a 70-66 lead.

After the game, Luke Walton was full of compliments for his veteran teammate, as quoted in the OC Register:

“He was just doing what he normally does,” Luke Walton said. “We know that if he gets a good look, we all expect him to take the shot. You saw the bench, we all wait for that.

“That’s why he’s a champion, that’s why he has won rings and that’s why he’s one of our leaders on our team…He’s in there working hard every day. He never gets down on himself and most of the time he hits big shots.”

ONE MORE BIG SHOT
Fish exited late in the third and returned midway through the fourth with the Lakers having fallen back behind, but pressing to get back in it.

With 2:30 left, the Lakers gained possession, trailing by two. After losing the dribble, Kobe recovered with nine on the shot clock, dribbling around the perimeter. Kobe drove inside with seven on the clock, drawing three defenders.

This left Fish wide open on the right wing. Kobe dished a perfect pass that D-Fish received at his left hip, popped up and unloaded the three. As the ball soared through the air, drawing the Staples Center crowd into a frenzied hush, Fish leaned into it, Carlton Fisk style, hanging his hand in the air and giving it a little body English to guide it as the ball swished the net to give LA a 97-96 lead.

After dishing the pass, Kobe also dished the props to Fish, as quoted on NBA.com:

“He’s an ultimate professional,” Bryant said. “It’s hard for guys when they don’t get a lot of touches … and all of sudden they get that ball in the corner and they knock it down like they’ve been in rhythm all game, that’s very, very tough.”

NEXT UP
Fish and the Lakers will look to keep the hot shooting, good vibes going when they host game two of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday night at Staples Center. Tip-off is once again scheduled for 6 p.m. PST and all the action can be seen live on ESPN.

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