Derek Fisher and the Los Angeles Lakers have been put on notice: The greatest obstacle on the way to winning the title again may be the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Cleveland beat LA, 93-87, behind 37 points from LeBron James, sweeping the season series. D-Fish finished the night with six points, four assists and three rebounds.
The Lakers took the early lead in the game, going up 11 in the first quarter behind four assists from Derek. The assists were split equallywith two to Kobe Bryant, who went for 31 on the night, and two to Pau Gasol, who scored 13.
Fish chipped in two points in the frame, and it looked early like Los Angeles was going to roll.
But the Cavs began to chip away, outscoring the Lakers by seven in the second and four in the third to take a two-point lead going into the fourth.
Cleveland pulled ahead by seven in the final quarter, but L.A. came storming back to tie the game at 87 with less than two minutes to play. However, Cleveland closed on a 6-0 run to win going away.
ROAD READING
In a tradition that head coach Phil Jackson says dates back to his Chicago Bulls days, he’s given each player on the team a book for this road trip, Los Angeles’ longest of the season.
D-Fish has been assigned “Soul on Ice" by Eldridge Cleaver.
“Soul on Ice” is a collection of essays Cleaver wrote while spending time in prison on a rape conviction. After he was released he joined the Black Panthers, where he served as editor of their publication.
The Atlantic Monthly called Cleaver “a promising and powerful writer, an intelligent and turbulent and passionate and eloquent man.” The New York Times described Soul on Ice as “brilliant and revealing.”
While Derek reads "Soul on Ice" his fans can take the opportunity to pick up Derek’s book "Character Driven," on sale now at Amazon.com.
BACK IN PRIME TIME
The Lakers are back in prime time tonight, as their road trip continues in New York where they’re facing the New York Knicks tonight on ESPN. Tip off is at 5:00 p.m. PST.
The Lakers have won five straight against New York. The last time these two teams met earlier in the season, Fish scored 12 points, to go along with two assists and two rebounds in the victory.
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LeBron leads way as Cavs take season series for Cavs (ESPN.com, Jan. 21, 2010)
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=300121005