Fisher Finally Rises to Bait From Hudson

When fans were still standing from the national anthem, he sat them down with a three.

When fans were cheering the ejection of a Jack Nicholson look-alike, he shut them up with a three.

When fans were roaring for their full-court press, he roared back, the length of the court, dribbling through every last hope and finding Shaquille O’Neal for a dunk.

Whenever the Minnesota Timberwolves and their crowd demanded something of the champions sitting across the table Tuesday, the Lakers shrugged and pointed to that 6-foot-1 stack in the middle.

Go Fish.

And so he did, Derek Fisher providing every Laker answer while embodying every Timberwolf fear.

What was supposed to be a Game 5 showdown became just another Laker hoedown, a raucous 120-90 victory over the Timberwolves that gave the Lakers a three-games-to-two lead in this first-round series while providing redemption for the last guy out of the locker room.

“I don’t try to deflect the pressure or the heat,” Derek Fisher said. “I accept responsibility, sometimes maybe too much, but that’s the way it has to be on a team.”

And so the man charged with failing to stop ordinary Troy Hudson felled the Timberwolf guard with his own sword, outscoring Hudson, 24-14.

And the man accused of being the smallest of the bit players hit five of seven three-point shots while everyone’s attention was somewhere else.

And the man thought to be too slow and too creaky played 38 minutes and had seven combined steals and assists with just one turnover.

Fisher has had many bright moments during the Lakers’ four-year playoff run, but perhaps none that blinded the other guys quite like this.

“He was instrumental and inspirational,” said Phil Jackson, who has gone from punishment to alliteration in less than a week.

Earlier in the series, frustrated by Fisher’s inability to fight through the picks and guard Hudson, Jackson frequently inserted the quicker Jannero Pargo, and who could blame him?

During the Game 3 overtime loss, a frustrated Fisher fouled out in regulation and missed the overtime.

During the Game 4 comeback, Fisher scored just a handful of points and missed four of five three-point shots.

Spotted in the hallway before Tuesday’s Game 5, the normally pleasant Fisher was staring at the floor and scowling.

Yeah, he knew.

“He takes a lot of heat, he always does,” said Brian Shaw of Fisher. “But before the game I talked to him -- and other guys talked to him -- about how sometimes the best way to combat a guy is to go back at him. Make him work. Put him on edge.”

Thirty seconds into the game, Fisher shoved Hudson to that edge with a three-point basket, and never let up.

Left as alone as Mark Madsen, he made every big shot. Pummeled like Shaquille O’Neal, he kept climbing back up.

Even in the final minutes of the first half, when he was knocked flat by Kevin Garnett’s pick and lay writhing on the floor holding his right knee.

Play continued and Kendall Gill hit a jumper to pull the Timberwolves to within eight points.

Robert Horry screamed bloody foul and was hit with a technical.

Trainer Gary Vitti ran on to the floor as Fisher struggled to his feet.

And then ... nothing.

Fisher didn’t leave. The Lakers didn’t buckle. They outscored the Timberwolves 6-2 to end the half, and 11-3 to start the second half, a Laker team that perhaps is still as strong as Fisher’s will.

“I was not coming out, particularly since I was upset that they scored right after I got hurt,” Fisher said afterward, even though he limped on the bruised knee while dribbling downcourt immediately after the collision. “It was just a stinger. I was staying in the game.”

That’s who he is. That’s what he does.

Fisher will be criticized throughout these playoffs as quicker Tony Parker and Mike Bibby roll through town.

Analysts will say that the Lakers must get a new point guard next season. Fans will sigh as he is beaten to the basket. Jackson will wince when he misses his next shot.

But he will stay in the game.

Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant may be the face of the Lakers but, as Tuesday proved again, that thing pumping underneath their shirts is Derek Fisher.

“It’s very hard for him, especially since everyone focuses on Kobe and Shaq,” said Shaw. “That leads to all those pick-and-rolls, and Shaquille doesn’t want to come out from under the basket, so Derek has to guard his man, and the man setting the screen. It’s put him in a tough position.”

And then on offense, well, if he misses shots, everyone wonders why he’s shooting. But if he doesn’t take shots, the Lakers know they can’t win.

Fisher did just that on a night that was so amazing, the Lakers even set a pick for him.

That’s right, the Lakers actually ran a Fisher play. He came off the screen and hit another three-point shot.

“We need contributions from all of us,” said Fisher, once again reminding us how that saying is not only trite, but true.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com.