Fisher Plays and Plays Well

A night earlier in San Antonio, so dejected about being ejected, Derek Fisher made the long walk from the court, entered the visitor’s locker room in the Alamodome, and cried.

He was that upset about how the fracas with Will Perdue might look to family and friends and fans, how such a moment being played over and over on “SportsCenter” and CNN could alter what has been a well-deserved good-guy image. He was even more upset about the possibility of being suspended, as teammate Nick Van Exel eventually was, and costing the Lakers both their point guards for Tuesday’s game at Dallas. So the tears flowed.

A new night brought a new emotion. Fisher not only played against the Mavericks, but played very well after leaving 49 tickets for relatives and friends who had driven about five hours from Arkansas and Louisiana. And, of course, he played a lot because Van Exel was unable to even sit on the bench, going 47 minutes and planning to do the same when Dallas comes to the Great Western Forum on Friday.

A few weeks ago, Fisher would have been used to such marathons. But the return of Van Exel from the knee injury had meant a return to limited action, so he had averaged 20 minutes in the previous six outings. And then: 17 points, nine assists, eight rebounds.

“It’s been a long season,” Fisher said. “Hopefully just the adrenaline and the excitement of getting to play that kind of role again will carry me through.”

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Five days before playing Utah at the Forum, where a win by the Jazz would even the season series at 2-2, the Lakers have clinched the tiebreaker based on the second criteria, best conference record.

That becomes huge should the teams finish even in the standings and meet in the second round, both of which are possibilities as Sunday’s game continues to loom large. The Lakers would then have home-court advantage, even if they finish as the No. 3 team in the West and the Jazz is officially No. 2 as a division champion.