Fisher Returns as a Warrior

There were “0.4” T-shirts and Fishheads in the crowd, telltale signs that part of the Lakers’ past was back for a night.

Derek Fisher played for the first time against his former teammates, scoring 13 points for the Golden State Warriors in an exhibition game won by the Lakers, 94-80, here Sunday at Centennial Garden.

His jersey number had changed from No. 2 to No. 4 and his salary had nearly doubled since he last suited up for the Lakers, but Fisher looked about the same as he did during eight seasons and three championship runs with the Lakers, scoring on three-pointers and tear-drop shots in the lane.

As if to show it was more than an exhibition to him, Fisher left the game after getting kneed in the head by Brian Cook while diving for a loose ball with 2:55 remaining. He sustained a cut, remained down for a few minutes and afterward said he felt woozy.

When the game started, he simply felt weird.

“In all my years, I don’t know if I’ve ever been through anything that ironic,” said Fisher, who carved out a place in Laker lore when he scored with 0.4 seconds left against San Antonio in May in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals. “Emotionally, I think I drained myself trying not to be emotional. That first half, it was kind of like I was sleepwalking on defense. I had to get used to playing against purple jerseys.”

Fisher wasn’t alone in his description of Fisher vs. the Lakers.

“It was weird to see him as the captain of the Warriors,” Kobe Bryant said. “It was weird seeing ‘Warriors’ on his chest.”

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Gary Payton doesn’t have a book coming out later this week. His thoughts and words are available now, free of charge.

Payton, traded from the Lakers to the Boston Celtics in August, said he felt as if he had been “let out of a shell” since reporting to training camp two weeks ago, telling the Boston Globe his only season with the Lakers became “miserable” amid dwindling playing time and unfulfilled championship hopes.

“In L.A., you couldn’t be who you wanted to be because you had [Phil Jackson] with his ego,” Payton said. “I wasn’t the type of player for him. We weren’t made for each other. It’s just like a marriage sometimes; when you ain’t made for each other, you’ve got to experience it first, then you get out of it.

“At the end of the year last year, I was really miserable. I don’t understand what went wrong. That was Jackson’s decision. I guess he’s never been around a true point guard, so he wasn’t really used to that.

“I wouldn’t change the decision,” Payton said of playing for the Lakers, “but I wasn’t feeling I was getting used in the right way. I’m not the type of basketball player to pass the ball and go stand in the corner and watch other people play.”