Another duel with one of the league’s best point guards. Another win for Derek Fisher and the Los Angeles Lakers.
No. 2 saw his Lakers win the only battle that mattered, the final score, with Los Angeles taking down Phoenix by a ridiculous margin, 128-107 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
The Lakers now lead the best-of-seven series 1-0.
Though the outcome was a lopsided victory, the game began with the Suns on a run of their own, taking a 7-0 lead in the opening two minutes. But the ever calm and poised Fish hit a jump shot to slow the high-octane Suns, cutting the lead to five. Two minutes later, he hit two free throws, to bring Los Angeles within three.
Within four minutes, the game would be tied, and Los Angeles didn’t look back from there. D-Fish finished with five points, two rebounds, a pair of steals and an assist.
Fish’s scoring helped the Lakers maintain pace with the speedy Suns in the game’s opening outburst, but it was his defense that signified the kind of game it was for Los Angeles.
Billy Witz of the New York Times wrote of Derek’s success against an opponent in Nash of an equal age.
"…Fisher could finally pick on someone his own age. He did a reasonable job staying with Nash, and his teammates did a reasonable job hedging on pick-and-rolls long enough for Fisher to recover his position in front of Nash. When Fisher knocked Nash down, stripped the ball and fed Bryant for a breakaway dunk, the Lakers had an 89-72 lead in the third quarter and the rout was on."
NEXT UP
Fish and Nash go at it again in Game 2 on Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. PST and the game can be seen on TNT.
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Suns Have No Answer for Bryant or Odom (New York Times, May 18, 2010)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/sports/basketball/18lakers.html?hpw