Parker Is Their Good Hands Man

This is definitely a long way from “the cage,” the New York City playground where Smush Parker honed his skills, getting hacked, held and shoved within the oft-unfriendly confines on the corner of 6th Avenue and West 4th Street.

A living legend on asphalt, Parker on Sunday added “playoff hero” to his folio, plucking the ball from Phoenix guard Steve Nash with 4.9 seconds left in regulation and turning around a series, if not a franchise.

“After the game, everybody’s emotions were going every which way,” Parker said. “I believe I shed a tear or two. It was just an overwhelming experience.”

On his fourth team in three NBA seasons, Parker finally has found a home after also bouncing around the Development League and Europe.

He led the Lakers in scoring with 18 points in Game 3 against the Suns and, despite his two-for-12 shooting in Game 4, came up with the difference-maker.

Asked to choose which was more improbable Sunday, the plays at the end of regulation or those that guaranteed the victory in overtime, Laker Coach Phil Jackson picked the former.

“Regulation,” he said. “We had to get a steal. Smush came up with the steal, he turned Nash, knocked the ball loose, got a recovery and Devean [George] got the ball to Kobe [Bryant], and he made kind of a difficult shot.”

That it happened against his former team, the Suns, was not entirely lost on Parker. He played five games with them last season before they allowed a second 10-day contract to expire without signing him for good.

During that brief time, Parker guarded Nash in practice, studying him all the while.

“I definitely watched his game carefully,” he said. “I’m a fan of Steve Nash’s. He’s a great point guard just to learn from. I picked up a little of his tendencies on what he likes to do.”

Nash, who has been bothered by back pain recently and experienced a flare-up during Sunday’s game, knew of Parker earlier this season. On Nov. 3, Parker had four steals in a game the Lakers lost to the Suns, 122-112.

“He’s got terrific hands,” Nash said then. “Yeah, he got me a few times. He’s dangerous.”

Never more so than Sunday.

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There weren’t any skirmishes Sunday, but Jackson noted beforehand the not-so-subtle difference in the Lakers.

“I think we have a bunch of nice guys,” Jackson said. “I’ve always told them that they’re a bunch of nice guys. They treat their opponents nicer than they treat their own teammates when they practice on their own floor.

“We’ve kind of talked about the fact that there’s the certain sense of physical nature in this game. It’s not dirty, it’s not mean, it’s just basketball. It’s just taking care of your own territory.”