Timberwolves Leave Fisher All Alone, and They Pay for It

By TIM KAWAKAMI

Jan. 16, 2000 12 AM PT

MINNEAPOLIS —

Guard Derek Fisher came off the bench to help stop Terrell Brandon’s one-man offensive attack Saturday, and as a bonus added 14 pivotal points--12 in the fourth quarter.

“I think he took it personal that his guy wasn’t even checking him,” said Shaquille O’Neal, who found Fisher for several wide-open three-point shots in the final period.

“So he threw it in, I baited, and I kicked it back out. He hit a couple threes.”

Fisher, asked if he did indeed take it personally, laughed and shook his head.

“Naw, it happens,” Fisher said. “I love it. If teams decide to play it that way, which I think you have to--you can’t just allow Shaquille to score from four or five feet from the basket--if you can force anybody to take a longer shot, the percentages are better. . . .

“I don’t take it personally. It allows me to play my game.”

Coach Phil Jackson wore a Bill Bradley campaign button before the game, but not during it--although he did don a Bradley button during the Lakers’ NBC-televised Christmas Day game against San Antonio.

He purposely wanted to stir up a reaction from the league or the national media about free speech and equal-time rules, Jackson said.

“Everybody stuck their head in the sand and didn’t want to mention it,” Jackson said. “I was hoping to get some kind of declaration on it so I could at least make a statement and then everybody [would] pick up on it.”

Looking back on the Lakers’ loss at Indiana on Friday, Jackson said there were a series of savvy plays made by the Pacers that proved the difference, which can be easily addressed.

“You play a team with a little experience, they pulled some rinky-dink stuff they like to do, and you learn that stuff,” Jackson said. “And when you’re prepared for them, you know what they’re going to do, and these things don’t come up.

“We cost ourselves maybe 12 points during the course of that game, three-point fouls, we allowed Reggie [Miller] to kick his leg out and that gets the referee’s attention and he falls down. . . . Those are the things you go back and look at and say, ‘You know, you eliminate this kind of thing, this changes up the game.’ That’s learning how to play together.”

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TRIPLE PLAYS

The Big 3

Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Glen Rice have been the driving force behind the Lakers’ success. How they fared:

O’NEAL

*--*

Sat. Season 26 Points 27.6 19 Rebounds 14.6 7 Assists 3.5

*--*

BRYANT

*--*

Sat. Season 22 Points 22.9 3 Rebounds 5.9 6 Assists 4.2

*--*