The Lakers went on the road Saturday night, looking for a win in one of the toughest places to play in the NBA.
With some help from two big plays from Derek Fisher late in the game, LA pulled it off and secured a 101-95 win over the Hornets in New Orleans. It was just the sixth loss at home for the Hornets this season.
The plays D-Fish made won’t jump off a stat sheet, but causing turnovers, which Derek did twice down the stretch, is often times the difference between a win and a loss.
No. 2 had two steals on Saturday, adding to his theft average, which ranks fourth in the NBA per 48 minutes at 2.67. But it’s the timing of Derek’s steals that has been even more important and the second one on Saturday came with under three minutes to go, when he pick-pocketed Hornets forward David West to preserve a tenuous five-point Laker lead.
Over a minute later, the score remained the same and New Orleans was threating to cut it once again. Hornets guard Chris Paul came barreling down the lane looking for his shot to make it a one-possession game, but Derek wouldn’t let that happen either.
D-Fish held his ground and picked up a huge charge on Paul, which turned the ball over to LA. The turnover was the 10th of the game for New Orleans and put a final nail in the Lakers’ victory
"He made some good rotations, the type of rotations we ask players to get after and it got the ball back for us," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of Derek’s late plays.
Fish told Dave McMenamin of ESPN LA that he had put a plan into action before taking the big charge:
The 15-year veteran said he was setting up Paul, the All-Star starter, for the offensive foul.
"It was a couple plays before where I was playing him and he got back to his right hand and from that point on I really wanted to lock in and try and make him go back to his left," Fisher said. "I felt that everything he was doing he was getting to his right and that’s when he was able to set situations up so I just kind of played him to go to that right hand again and I’m sitting right there on it."
Derek believes that even when the shots aren’t falling, he can help his team in ways that won’t show up in the box score.
"Just helping your team win is a clutch thing to do," he said. "I think you just have to be willing to stick your nose in there and compete and just make a difference. It may not always be on the offensive end but you have to make an impact when you’re out there on the floor. That’s what I try to do."
NEXT UP
Tonight, No. 2 and the Lakers head to Memphis, seeking revenge on a team they’ve lost two straight games to.
The Lakers won their very first matchup of the year with Memphis, which came just four games into the season.
In that victory, No. 2 was instrumental, scoring eight points, which included a 66-percent shooting evening from behind the three-point arc. Derek also chipped in four assists in that game, all of which came during a two-and-a-half minute stretch in the second quarter. Behind Derek’s dimes, the Lakers pulled away, and finished with a 124-105 win.
In their past two meetings, the Lakers haven’t have the same success against Memphis, but they can make up for all that with another big road win tonight at 5 p.m. PST on KCAL.
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