Fisher Steps Front, Center

It is the nature of the Lakers’ business, which peddles two of the most accomplished scorers in NBA history, that reserves who take shots make them or be publicly and privately condemned.

That led the Lakers on Friday night to Derek Fisher, currently at a career juncture that finds him reconciling his scoring, as a point guard, with his new role as a bench player, most recently while looking at a nine-point deficit.

Yes, they keep throwing new variables at Fisher, a determined player who pushes regularly through surgeries and scouting reports and a recent demotion.

It landed him finally on a locker-room folding chair, his feet floating in ice water, his teammates fairly pleased with a 100-85 victory against the Memphis Grizzlies at the Pyramid.

“I’m just getting back to going out and playing basketball,” Fisher said, “and not being concerned with the change or when the minutes are going to come.”

The Lakers had lost in Memphis on Dec. 21 as part of a humiliating run of failures against the league’s last-place teams, and again they trailed, 69-60, with a minute left in the third quarter.

Even without injured Michael Dickerson or Jason Williams, the Grizzlies were game. They played pesky defense on Kobe Bryant (13 shots, 13 points) and weren’t totally run over by Shaquille O’Neal (26 points, 10 rebounds), which meant the Lakers required another option or two. Now, that’s not exactly how they refer to Fisher, Rick Fox, Robert Horry and the others in team meetings, but close enough.

Fisher made five of seven three-point attempts and scored 21 points, 11 in the third quarter. His threes drove the Lakers to an 11-0 run spanning the end of the third and beginning of the fourth, and launched the 36-6 run that finished the Grizzlies and made Phil Jackson the fastest NBA coach ever to 700 victories. Horry scored all six of his points, on two three-point baskets, in the first 41/2 minutes of the fourth quarter, and Fox scored all of his 10 points--on four-of-four shooting--in the fourth.

As they did Wednesday in Orlando, the Lakers went from lethargic to dynamic in the final 15 or so minutes, and it’s beginning to save their trip. They’ve won three in a row, are 3-1 since they left Los Angeles a week ago, and have formidable Dallas, on Sunday, ahead.

Along with O’Neal, unexplainably forgotten at times by the other Lakers considering Bryant was swamped by defenders, this was a victory for the other guys. They don’t come often, not with O’Neal and Bryant around.

“That comes with the territory,” Fox said of the reserve’s existence. “But, five or six of us get to ride this ship with Shaq and Kobe. If that’s the worst that happens, I’ll take that.”

Fox laughed about the victories that most often are Shaq’s, or Kobe’s, or both.

“And when you lose,” he said, “it’s because those guys didn’t do anything.”

By the time the Lakers went from nine down (69-60) to 21 ahead (96-75), Fox had made his point for the reserves and for himself.

Early in the game, Fox believed he was fouled excessively by Memphis point guard Brevin Knight. No foul was called.

“I said, ‘OK,’” Fox recalled, “ ‘it’s a long game.’”

Late in the second quarter, Fox aggressively fouled Knight and was assessed a flagrant foul. Knight groused at Fox, who was as defiant. Then Fox jawed with Grizzly assistant Scott Roth, at one point shouting, “What, you want to fight me?”

“He got a little sensitive,” Fox said, smiling.

Knight and Pau Gasol led the Grizzlies with 13 points each, the same as Bryant, who had 13 in the first and fourth games against the Grizzlies this season, 36 and 56 in the middle games.

“They sent double-teams to Kobe all the time,” Jackson said. “They weren’t going to allow him to beat them tonight. He moved the ball ahead, particularly at the end of the third and the fourth quarter.”

That left Fisher for two three-point baskets in the final 36 seconds of the third quarter. The Lakers made 24 of 35 shots in the second half, including eight of 10 three-point tries. Fox, Fisher and Horry were 11 of 15 in the second half, seven of eight from behind the arc.

“Just come in and play basketball,” Jackson said of Fisher, in particular. “That’s what it’s about. Take your chances, your opportunities, and make the most of it.

“It’s just a basketball team, and everybody has to do their job; however they have to plug in, they do it.”