Derek Fisher’s deadly three-point shooting continued Saturday, but the Los Angeles Lakers were defeated handily by an energetic, high-flying Oklahoma City Thunder team.
No. 2 went 3-6 from three-point range, bringing his playoff numbers to 11-22 from deep. With his treys falling, Fish scored 11 points on the evening, but a first quarter onslaught by the Thunder, outscoring the Lakers by twelve, set the tone, and Los Angeles never mustered a charge in the 110-89 defeat.
After the loss, which tied the best-of-seven series at 2-2, Derek said that the onus in the series lies on the Lakers, not their opponent.
"We have to get better ourselves," Fish told Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register.
The veteran leader even singled out himself after the game, telling his head coach to treat his play no different than that of any other Laker.
"Fisher admitted to it Saturday night after the Game 4 blowout, telling Phil Jackson to bench him the instant Fisher fails to box Westbrook out in Game 5 Tuesday night. Fisher said he’s used to his man only coming as far as the elbow to rebound, not exploding to the rim to rebound the way Westbrook is."
Fish though, was optimistic that the Lakers can fix things before Game 5.
"It’s not about our opponent. A lot of the things that are happening are controllable."
NEXT UP
With the series knotted at two, the venue switches back to the Staples Center on Tuesday night as the Lakers look to take back their edge and push the Thunder to the brink of elimination. Game 5 tips at 7:30 and will be shown on TNT.
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