Furious Fisher

In this all-important Game 3, it was veteran guard Derek Fisher who emerged as the star of stars, outshining four Hall of Famers, one upstart superstar, and a dominant All-star with a scintillating fourth quarter that keyed the Lakers' 91-84 victory over the Celtics

Derek Fisher is supposed to be the Lakers’ weakest link in the NBA Finals. He’ll either get eviscerated by Rajon Rondo, the Celtics’ precocious point guard who has been all-world these playoffs, or he’ll flameout chasing six-foot-five shooting guard Ray Allen.

Apparently, old man Fish didn’t get that memo.

Through three games in the NBA Finals, Fisher has been anything but a weak link. Through three games, the savvy veteran has been a rock for these Lakers, giving them his usual dose of quiet leadership, hard-nosed defense, and steady play. And on Game 3, he staked the Lakers ever so closer to another championship with a memorable fourth quarter that was as clutch as it was gutsy.

With the game up for grabs in the fourth and the Celtics threatening to take control of the game, of the series, Fisher turned to Kobe Lite, hitting jumper after jumper after jumper, each a fireball that quelled every Boston uprising. And with barely a minute left in the game and the Lakers up four, the wily lefty staked the final dagger to the heart of Boston with a three-point play fresh out of the Rajon Rondo playbook: a 94-foot dash to the paint and a fearless finish at the rim.

Fisher’s clutch fourth quarter was mildly surprising but it wasn’t totally unexpected either. The 35-year-old guard has done this before. In fact, he has done this so many times before that it boggles the mind to see teams, either by design or by mistake, forget about Fisher. And apparently, the Celtics themselves—and a lot of other very good teams actually—never got the “Don’t leave Derek Fisher open in the fourth quarter” memo.

For Game 4, the Celtics might have to consider the following if the game is tight in the fourth quarter:

• Fisher nailed three fourth quarter jumpers in the Lakers’ series-clinching win in Game 6 at Phoenix.
• He hit a big three and a jumper in LA’s Game 3 win at Utah.
• He made several crucial jumpers in the Lakers’ Game 2 win over the Orlando Magic in last year’s Finals.
• He hit the triple that sent Game 4 of last year’s Finals to overtime. In the extra period, he made a huge straightaway triple that gave the Lakers the lead, which they never relinquished.
• Playing for the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference semifinals in 2006, Fisher nailed a clock-winding-down triple that sealed the Jazz’s Game 2 overtime win over the Golden State Warriors. He did that fresh from the airport and seeing action for the first time.
• Fisher’s 0.4 in San Antonio in 2004.

In a word, Derek Fisher is clutch, and he has proven time and again throughout his career that he can take and make the biggest of shots in the grandest of stages. The Celtics ought to know that. Rajon Rondo, all-world and all, will have to respect that. Otherwise, these Celtics will find themselves in a heap of trouble. And this series just might not return to Los Angeles.