Derek Fisher had his shooting stroke working overtime in both of LA’s games over the weekend. But the Lakers could only convert one of those two big nights into a win.
Against his former team, the Utah Jazz, on Friday, Fish had a strong night on the floor, hitting five of seven shots, including dropping two of the three triples he attempted. All together, No. 2 went for 14 points, the second time in four games he’s scored at least that many.
 Fish driving on Utah’s Deron Williams (Getty Images). |
Derek started off with a hot first quarter, scoring seven points on three of three shooting. He also dished an assist to Lamar Odom before taking a breather with two minutes to play in the first frame.
After a brief break, D-Fish returned to the game in the second and hit his first shot off the bench, his second three-pointer of the night. The long-range bomb pushed the Laker lead to double digits, 45-35.
In the third, Derek recorded his second assist of the night, to Pau Gasol, and then chipped in his last four points of the evening. His two free throws with 40 seconds left in the third gave him 14 points for the night, and again put Los Angeles up by 10, a lead they didn’t surrender.
SPURRED TO IMPROVE
While Fish was just as efficient on Sunday, the Lakers were not able to best the San Antonio Spurs at home.
No. 2 went 3-4 from the floor, scoring six points and dished out two assists, but the Spurs got 32 points from Manu Ginobli, and won 100-81.
While the Lakers could potentially meet the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, before the game, Fish told the Orange County Register that the Lakers aren’t focused on who they’ll meet in the NBA’s second season.
"It won’t be about any other team," Fisher said. "It’s about us. Where is our mentality? Where is our focus? Where is our direction?"
Though the loss on Sunday was a bit jarring, the Lakers are still far and away the West’s top team.
NEXT UP
With four days off until their next game, the Lakers hope to find answers to the questions Fish just asked. They don’t take the court again until Thursday when they face the Denver Nuggets.
RELATED ARTICLES
Lakers just not good enough…right now (OC Register, April 4, 2010)
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/angeles-242549-good-lakers.html