Fisher Makes a Winning Return

In a series well served by moments like these, Derek Fisher pushed the Lakers through the Boston Celtics, and an ounce of passion stirred their expressionless title defense.

With Kobe Bryant home sick and the Lakers feeling his absence, Fisher came off the injured list, had 26 points and six steals--both career highs--and fended off the once powerful, now feisty Celtics.

Playing to avoid their first three-game losing streak at home in more than seven years, the Lakers defeated the Celtics, 112-107, Tuesday night at Staples Center, where the Lakers allowed themselves to be carried away by Fisher.

“I definitely could not have dreamt this,” Fisher said. “I’m just glad to be back out there. I wanted to come out and play hard and help out.”

Shaquille O’Neal scored 28 points, 19 in the second half, and made 10 of 14 free throws. Rick Fox scored 21. Paul Pierce scored 42 points for the Celtics, who lost a 13-point third-quarter lead, in large part because Fisher wouldn’t stop. The Lakers appeared inspired by Fisher and his trying comeback from summer foot surgery.

“It was an incredible game,” Laker Coach Phil Jackson said. “That’s a remarkable game. So much for training camp.”

Fisher had eight assists and made eight of 16 field-goal attempts in 37 minutes.

“We lacked leadership without him, to be honest,” Jackson said.

The Celtics geared to stop O’Neal, and did for a half. They couldn’t have seen Fisher coming.

“He’s the heart and soul of that team, besides Shaq,” Milt Palacio said. “He was good. He was really great.”

If there isn’t much left of the rivalry, it’s not the Lakers’ fault anymore. It’s the Celtics who fell into disrepair for longer than the required rebuilding period.

While it might have stirred some memories to have kelly green around again, the misty romanticism would only go so far. The crowd applauded Bill Russell, and booed when the Celtics were allowed great handfuls of open jumpers or free paths to the front of the rim. Pierce fouled out two Lakers as he match his career high for points.

It has been a long time since a game between the former NBA behemoths meant anything, because the Lakers are again titanic--by reputation, anyway--and the Celtics would appear to be a long way off.

The Celtics had lost eight of 11 games and arrived a game behind the Indiana Pacers for the final place in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Their coach simply walked away a while back, reminding the town on the way out that Larry Bird wouldn’t be coming through the door any time soon.

And while the Lakers might have their dysfunctional moments, they have the players.

Bryant sat out his second consecutive game because of a viral infection, and the Lakers missed his athletic play, particularly in the open floor against the frenetic Celtics, and then against Pierce, too quick and strong for the rest of the Lakers.

At halftime, O’Neal had taken six shots and made two. He scored nine points. So close to St. Patrick’s Day, the Celtics clad O’Neal in green, Vitaly Potapenko behind, Antoine Walker in front, Pierce, Bryant Stith and Eric Williams flying at him from the sides.

Just off his public scalding of the last officiating crew here, O’Neal mostly was left to fend off Celtics on his own.

The Lakers were timid with their entry passes, and O’Neal’s kick-out passes were not sharp. As a result of that and the occasional full-court press, the Lakers committed 13 first-half turnovers, trailed by as many as 10 points in the second quarter, then by 13 five minutes into the third.

The Lakers had a serious problem with the Pierce-Brian Shaw matchup. Pierce had 23 points in the first half, when he made seven of 10 shots.

Pierce, from Inglewood High, had 31 points by early in the fourth quarter, when Shaw fouled out. Shaw took his fifth and sixth fouls on the same possession, the first when Pierce swooped in from the left side for a loud dunk, the last when he fouled Eric Williams off Pierce’s missed free throw.

A few minutes later, Pierce fouled out Devean George.

Shaw fouled out with eight points, George with five.

Fisher received a kind wave of applause when he was announced as part of the starting lineup, and another when in the first several minutes he made two free throws, make a steal, took a rebound and make a layup, all as the Lakers built a 19-6 lead.

Jackson had promised to keep Fisher’s minutes reasonable for at least one game, the kind of restraint with which he has difficulty.

Fisher played the first 7:32, leaving the Lakers with a 21-10 lead. It didn’t go particularly well from there.

By the end of the first quarter the Celtics had scored on six of their next eight possessions and trailed only 23-22.

Fisher made a difference, as the Lakers knew he would. Tyronn Lue heard that Fisher had been activated as he walked into the arena, two hours before the game. He clenched both fists and shouted happily, even though the roster spot Fisher was going to take might have been Lue’s.

“He’s the one who talked me through knee surgery last year,” Lue said. “Fish is such a positive person.”

Though Fisher was to bring a defensive presence to the Lakers, it was the Celtics who were more active on the defensive end. Thirty games into Jim O’Brien’s term, the Celtics still had some of Rick Pitino’s defense in them. Their full-court pressure pestered the Lakers into a handful of turnovers, and otherwise held the Lakers out of their offense for too long.