The Lakers’ offense under new coach Mike Brown has required Derek Fisher to be a facilitator.
That role suits D-Fish just fine.
No. 2 dished out a season-high 10 assists on Friday night as the Lakers picked up their fifth straight win with a 97-92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"Derek has been racking up the assists and played extremely well," Kobe Bryant said. "He played with a lot of energy, solid defense, and made some big plays."
Coach Mike Brown’s system has worked out well for the Lakers this season (Getty Images).
In their victory over Brown’s former team, the Lakers looked as strong at the point as they have all season. With his backup Steve Blake out with a rib injury, Derek played just over 30 minutes at the point. It was the second straight game that D-Fish has spent over 30 minutes on the floor.
In addition to his 10 dimes, Derek also grabbed three steals and a defensive rebound. But even more impressive, No. 2 went through the entire game without a turnover.
"The one guy who stands out in my mind is Derek Fisher," Lakers coach Mike Brown said. "The 10 assists is a very good basketball game but more importantly than that is the zero turnovers."
Fish was active early, assisting on back-to-back Andrew Bynum buckets — an alley-oop layup and a banker — in the first 65 seconds of the game. Moments later, the first of Derek’s three steals led directly to a Bynum slam dunk to put LA in front 6-0. D-Fish added one more dime in the successful first, lacing a pass to Kobe Bryant, who knocked down a jumper, ending a 10-2 Cleveland run and tying the game at 14.
Halfway through the second quarter, Fish was at it again. He assisted on a Pau Gasol dunk just 15 seconds after getting back into the game, increasing the Laker lead to six points. A minute later, Derek set up a Kobe Bryant jump shot to make it an eight-point game.
With less than five minutes remaining in the first half, the Lakers were clinging to a three-point lead. But it was Fish who got them rolling again. No. 2 hit Bryant at the 3-point line to double that advantage. Then, on the next LA possession, he moved the ball down the court and set up Matt Barnes for a layup, increasing the Lakers’ lead to eight.
In the final minute of the half, Derek tacked on two more dimes, doling out a Bryant three-pointer and a hook shot by Gasol. Thanks to nine first half assists from D-Fish, LA led 59-41 at halftime, a lead they would not relinquish.
At ESPN LA’s Land O’Lakers Blog, Andy Kamenetzky lauded Derek’s selfless first half.
Fisher had himself one heckuva night. His first half rounded out with nary a shot attempt or point, but his passing created nine Lakers buckets.
Fisher got off to a great start by creating the Lakers’ first two scores with dishes inside to Andrew Bynum, then later threw a gorgeous left-handed baseball pass to Pau Gasol after drawing a double-team on a pick-and-roll. He also was particularly in sync with Matt Barnes’ off-ball movement, setting him up with a couple of baskets while the small forward ran curls away from the action.
D-Fish and Andrew Bynum corral Cleveland rookie Kyrie Irving (Getty Images).
No. 2 got his tenth assist of the night halfway through the third quarter as Barnes made a driving layup, putting the Lakers ahead by 19.
The game marked the fifteenth time during his 16-year career that Fish dished 10 or more assists in a game. The last time No. 2 hit double-digits was more than three years ago, on January 11, 2009.
"For a guy playing 30 minutes and having the ball in his hands as much as he had it in his hands, to have those 10 assists with zero turnovers, it was good to see," Brown said.
No. 2 finished the game at the line, picking up his only two points on a pair of free throws to ice the Lakers’ victory.
BATTLE LA: PART 1
One night after Derek’s assist party, the Lakers were back at Staples Center to take on the Clippers in the first round of the Battle of LA on Saturday night.
Fish tallied four assists, scored seven points and shot 50 percent from deep in just over 24 minutes, but the Clippers outlasted the Lakers, 102-94.
Derek was strong early, dishing back-to-back assists to Matt Barnes and Andrew Bynum to bring the Lakers back in the first quarter after the Clips started the game on a 13-4 run. But the Clippers responded and after one they led by seven, 31-24. By halftime that lead was 13 points.
No. 2 started off the third quarter by assisting Kobe Bryant, as the Lakers closed the gap to 11. A minute later, the duo knocked the deficit down to nine, as Fish found Kobe for a driving reverse layup. And after a pair of Clippers’ free throws, Kobe returned the favor, dishing the ball to Derek, who knocked down his first 3-pointer of the night, bringing the Lakers within six.
D-Fish ended the game hitting by knocking down a foul shot and then a 3-pointer. Unfortunately the late surge was not enough, as the Clippers won round one..
NEXT UP
Derek and the Lakers will look for their ninth straight home win as they host former teammate Lamar Odom and the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks on Monday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 PST and the game will be televised on TNT.
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