A Big Shot Tune Up

//A Big Shot Tune Up

A Big Shot Tune Up

By | 2016-10-22T05:57:48-08:00 April 14th, 2011|News|Comments Off on A Big Shot Tune Up

The Los Angeles Lakers needed every ounce of energy they had in reserve to bring home a victory in their season finale.

As could be expected, Derek Fisher was there to help bring it out of them.

Derek doesn’t need to practice big shots. But if there were any doubts of his ability to hit clutch late threes with the playoffs approaching, he quieted them on Wednesday night.

Fish buried the opening salvo of overtime, a 25-foot triple to give the Lakers the lead back after they had squandered what looked to be a surefire win in regulation.

Kicked off by No. 2’s trey, LA outscored the Sacramento Kings 17-9 in overtime on the way to a 116-108 season closing victory. The win locked up the No. 2 seed in the West for Los Angeles, who will face the New Orleans Hornets in the first round of the playoffs, beginning Sunday in LA.

D-Fish finished with 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting, marking the 18th time that the Lakers have won when their captain scored 10 points or more. Los Angeles is 18-1 in games where Derek has passed the double-digit threshold.

Fish played sparingly for most of the game and appeared primed to get a nice bit of rest heading into the postseason. He had logged just 27 minutes through the first three quarters, as the Lakers charged out to a big lead.

No. 2 scored four points in the first, knocking down a jumper off the glass to tie the game at 13 and driving the lane for a layup to put LA up 22-17. Fish also grabbed a pair of rebounds and dished the first of three assists in the first. After one, the Lakers were in front 31-26.

LA pushed its lead in the second and just a minute after Derek reentered the game, Lamar Odom hit him with a pass that D-Fish converted into another jumper. The bucket put the Lakers up by 12 and at halftime they led by eight.

No. 2 scored his final bucket of regulation less than three minutes into the second half, driving in for a layup to put LA in front 63-50. He tacked on a pair of assists in the third, finding Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant for baskets, then grabbed his third of five rebounds with just 32.5 seconds left in the third.

Derek also drew a key charge in the third quarter, as Mike Trudell of Lakers.com documented:

Sometimes one wonders if teams watch tape on Fisher … apparently Tyreke Evans does not, as he ran the obviously-looking-to-set-up-for-a-charge Fisher over on a 3-on-1 break. How many times have we seen Fisher quell an odd-man break with a drawn charge this season alone? Alas, it was an important play at that juncture, the KIngs having crept within seven points once again.

The Lakers led by 18 after three when Fish checked out, presumably, for the night. They increased that lead to more than 20, but a 10-0 Sacramento run midway through the fourth forced coach Phil Jackson to go back to his starters. Sacramento piled onto the momentum they had already built and actually took the lead late in the game. But with less than five seconds to go in regulation, Kobe Bryant forced overtime with a three-ball.

Fish made it back-to-back threes just 20 seconds into the OT and the Lakers held on for an overtime win.

SACTOWN SOLIDARITY
The epic game with the overtime finish may have been the last for the NBA in Sacramento, as the owners of the Kings seek to move the team to Anaheim for next season.

Emotions ran high in the building and Fish, a student of the game and its history, understood why, as he told FOX Sports before the game:

"Obviously, for the city of Sacramento it means a lot if it’s the last game, the last time they get a chance to see their team play, to support the Kings at their arena," Derek said. "It’s been a good market for so long, in terms of supporting the team, that it would be a shame if they had to leave. Hopefully, the team and the city will figure out a way for them to stay there. It’s been a long ride and the fans have supported them greatly, and hopefully, the game won’t be their last opportunity."

After the game, the entire Kings team remained on their court, eventually making their way to the center for a prayer. Huddled right along with them was Derek, the NBA Players’ Association President. For that moment, they were all teammates.


Photo courtesy @jose3030 on Twitter.

NEXT UP
The Lakers begin their playoff journey on Sunday afternoon when they host the New Orleans Hornets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

Tip-off of Game 1 is scheduled for 12:30 PDT and the game can be seen on ABC.

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