In his second stint as a Los Angeles Laker, Derek Fisher has seen his team endure only one four-game losing streak.
With LA staring down another one Wednesday night in New Orleans, Derek refused to let it happen, assisting his team in a big way as they rolled to an 103-88 victory over the Hornets.
No. 2 led all players with eight assists, out diming All-Star point guard Chris Paul of the Hornets on the evening.
With his teammates in need, Derek wasted no time getting started, finding Pau Gasol with a lead pass for the LA’s first points less than a minute into the game. Four minutes later, No. 2 hit Andrew Bynum with a dish, which the big man converted, tying the game at eight. The Lakers again fell down by two, but D-Fish hit a long jumper of his own to help Los Angeles keep pace with New Orleans.
His last assist of the first went to Lamar Odom for a bucket that put the Lakers up by four, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way.
No. 2 had another strong stretch in the second, getting involved in four straight Laker buckets.
The run started with an assist to Odom for a pair. The Laker forward also drew a foul on the play and his subsequent free throw put the visitors ahead 38-29. Fish’s next dime hit Matt Barnes for a trey to make it a double-digit game.
Derek followed with his own three and one possession later he dropped home a jumper to cap an 11-0 run, which put the Lakers up by 17 points midway through the second quarter.
Fish played the third quarter with the same panache, scoring four points and tossing out three assists. His big-time performance when the Lakers needed it most drew praise from Andy Kamenetzky of ESPN LA’s Land O’Lakers blog, where Kamenetzky said D-Fish was one of the stories of the night:
NBA fans typically love to celebrate beards. Baron Davis. Ronny Turiaf. James Harden. (Gasol often gets "second-tier" love of sorts for his hirsute face.) Well, Derek Fisher took the court today jarringly clean-shaven, which would normally be a cause for mourning in the Laker Nation. Well, if Wednesday’s performance was an indication of things to come, they’ll demand Fisher bust out the razor and Barbasol at halftime. The exposed cheeks weren’t the only reason I barely recognized Fisher.
This was El Presidente’s best all-around game in quite some time. December has been an erratic month shooting for Fisher, but he couldn’t miss during the first half. He was perfect on three tries, including a 3-pointer launched from roughly Baton Rouge. He was also dishing like the traditional point role he typically doesn’t take on. Five dimes in the first half alone (eight in all), including a bullet to Odom in transition for an easy layup. If you had asked me before the game who’d finish with more assists between the old man and Chris Paul, my (lost) money would have been on the Hornets All-Star.
In the meantime, Fisher’s defense was all about the little things, where he often makes the biggest difference. Three steals. Charges drawn. And as often as I’ve marveled at Fisher’s propensity for deflections and breaking up passes, he pulled a move I’ve never seen from him before: Blocking a sideline entry pass from Paul on the Hornets’ final possession of the first half. The feat was remarkable for someone of Fisher’s stature, and crushed any chances of the Hornets bringing some positive momentum into the locker room.
Derek finished the game 4-of-6 from the field for nine points to go along with his eight assists and a trio of steals. He also grabbed a pair of rebounds and his +21 point differential over the 30 minutes he played led the Lakers.
NEXT UP
LA rings in the New Year Friday night, but only after a Lakers date with the Philadelphia 76ers at the Staples Center.
The Friday night meeting is the second and final time the Lakers will play Philly this season. Los Angeles won the first one in the City of Brotherly Love behind eight points and three assists from Fish.
The New Year’s Eve tip off is scheduled for 7:30 PST and the game will be shown on KCAL-TV.
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