Derek Fisher continued his string of solid shooting and the result on Tuesday was a resounding Lakers win.
Los Angeles defeated the Thunder 111-87 in Game 5 at the Staples Center, a win that put the series back in the hands of the Lakers at 3-2.
For his part, D-Fish hit half his shots, No. 2’s third straight game in the playoffs of shooting 50 percent or better. He finished with six points, two steals, two rebounds, an assist and a gravity-defying first quarter block of Thabo Sefolosha that helped the Lakers keep the Thunder scoreless for more than four minutes at the outset.
Starting the game, the Lakers left no doubt about who the West’s number one seed is, opening the game on a 20-6 run, keyed by three baskets from Fish. He first hit a layup to put Los Angeles up 4-0 and four minutes later, No. 2 buried a long jumper that gave Los Angeles a 12-point lead.
Fish capped off the barrage with a 12-foot runner that increased the LA lead to 14. Derek didn’t score after that opening onslaught, but by the time his work was done, the game was all but over. Los Angeles outscored the Thunder by 15 in the first, six in the second and seven in the third, on their way to a 24-point win.
NO ELIMINATION CLAUSE
After the game, much ado was made about the defense Kobe Bryant played on Russell Westbrook, as No. 24 shut down the Thunder point guard.
Kobe told the Orange County Register that he wanted to do something to perk up the floundering Lakers.
"If we were going to be eliminated, then I want to go into the summer thinking that I could have done something about it."
As thankful as he was for Kobe’s play, Fish said even the thought of elimination needs to be banished from the Lakers’ lingo.
"We got to talk," said Fish. "I don’t think there is any unwillingness on his part to go down with the ship if it’s going to go down. But we do have to talk, because any ship that he and I are on is not going to go down. So, all that talk about ‘if we’re going to be eliminated’ – I don’t know if his age is getting to him, but we got to clean that all up."
Fish did however reiterate how great it really is to have Kobe as a teammate.
"He’s always willing to do whatever it takes for us to win."
NEXT UP
The Lakers won’t get a chance to close out the series until Friday night, when Game 6 is played in Oklahoma City. The layoff may seem extended but Derek said that’s fine with the Lakers, who need a chance to rest.
"Pau’s had to play 40-plus minutes every night. Ron’s had to play 40 minutes chasing Kevin Durant," No. 2 told the Press-Enterprise. "So hopefully a little bit of a break can give us an opportunity to kind of re-energize ourselves and get to some of the loose balls and things that definitely the last game weren’t going our way."
Tip-off on Friday night is scheduled for 6:30 PST and the game can be seen on ESPN.
RELATED STORIES
Fisher won’t let the Lakers ship sink (OC Register, April 27, 2010)
http://lakers.freedomblogging.com/2010/04/27/fisher-wont-let-the-laker-ship-sink/34463/
Spread out schedule may benefit Lakers (Press-Enterprise, April 27, 2010)
http://www.pe.com/sports/basketball/lakers/stories/PE_Sports_Local_W_lakers_notes_28.489d47f.html