Another drama with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors ended in a pathetic overtime display by official Bob Delaney and Lakers guard Derek Fisher.
In a playoff type environment at Oracle Arena and a night before at the Staples Center, the Lakers went on a hunt for revenge after a Warrior win with a three-point showdown by Stephen Jackson 24 hours earlier.
The Lakers, of course, looked sharp at the beginning of the game, but the Warriors looked sharper feeding off Monta Ellis' acrobatic shot after shot.
Al Harrington started to get hot from the perimeter and helped the Warriors extend to a 9-0 run in the second quarter.
Baron Davis had 20 points in the first half and the Warriors had an 11-point lead going into the break.
A repeat of last night's game, the Lakers came out in the third quarter and outscored Golden State 35-23.
In spite of playing back-to-back games against each other, both teams stuck to an eight-player rotation with the Warriors "Big Three" (Monta Ellis, Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson) never resting during the game.
Lamar Odom did not take a breather either.
As the fourth quarter arrived in the Bay Area, so did Kobe Bryant’s offensive realm. Bryant made the highlights when he shot over Kelenna Azubuike's tremendous defense for a three and put the Lakers up by eight.
Fans started cheering, the crowd got up on its feet, and the Warriors made their final push in regulation, tying the game at 111.
Overtime in Oakland.
Lakers up by two with four seconds to go in OT, Stephen Jackson looking for Baron Davis to finish off the game on an inbounds play.
However, on the dirtiest play the Warriors experienced this season, Fisher pulled down Ellis, which official Bob Delaney called an offensive foul.
Ellis fell right on Fisher, and it seemed that Fisher was faking an injury to hide an embarrassing play performed by a world class NBA player.
The quirky aspect about the call was that none of the other officials had anything to discuss about the play and just let it go.
It's one thing seeing the players decide a game and seeing a 56-year-old official deciding a critical game in a packed Western Conference.
A very big factor that cost the Warriors the game was Don Nelson's stubbornness as well.
Sticking with center Andres Biedrins the whole game, who missed five open wide dunks and simply stood as a statue the whole game mesmerized by Lamar Odom and Kobe Bryant, demonstrates Nelson's distrust in his bench.
Nelson has no trust in Brandon Wright, who has a wingspan of a 7’2 player and can pick up rebounds for a weak rebounding team like the Warriors, or back-up point guard CJ Watson.
How can you judge players without playing them in a regular season game?
This has not only been evident during the Lakers game, but in every single game this season. The starters end up with an average of 42 minutes a game.
Derek Fisher and Bob Delaney have interfered to cause a big Golden State loss, but the Warriors organization must reconsider investing in players who can actually play in Don Nelson's basketball world.
Lakers' Derek Fisher's Dirty Play Costs Golden State the Game
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26 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
Anonymous about 1 year ago
Please learn spelling and grammar before you publish bull crap like this. Thanks.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
not only that, derek fisher pretend to got hurt after he pull al harington down when he was down. What a dirty player.
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Mark Gilliland about 1 year ago
monta actually did rest...
and fisher is not a dirty player...
but I agree the refs are stupid.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Who wrote this claptrap? the officials didn't get the calls right all night when one finally went against the warriors it's a bad call? Please although I agree it should have been a no call. but a dirty play by a dirty player please. Keep your hatred for the lakers to yourself and stick to reporting the box scores.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
I remember a similar play in the 2000 Finals. An Indiana player (I think it was Jalen Rose) took down Rick Fox in a similar manner in the final seconds of a tight game.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
dude, first get your facts straight. even if it was a bad call, it didn't cost the game. it cost an opportunity. not the game. there's no guarantee golden state would have won even if there was no foul called. fisher isn't a dirty player, but it was a bad call. ellis did run into fisher, and fisher also held on to ellis as he was falling. both guys were at fault but the game should have been decided by the players.
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Montell Scott about 1 year ago
the refs have been stupid for years then, how come there's so much buzz over this derrick fisher montae ellis issue, what about when reggie miller shoved michael jordan in game 5 of the eastern conference finals to hit a 3 and win the game... no call there, even tho DA BULLS still won the series, but its just a heat of the moment kind of deal, u go with it, who wants to see a game be won on free throws anyway, i know i dont
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Stew Winkel about 1 year ago
last night's play was standard derek fisher. he is a joke - he flops all game, every game, and refs continue to fall for his garbage. last night's play was a joke - he pulls down mota ellis then faked an injury. players like fisher, ginobli and the other flop artists in the nba will continue to do it as long as refs continue to fall for it.
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Jordan Alexander about 1 year ago
fisher is a joke? tell that to his 3 rings. he's one of the most solid point guards in the nba in the past 10 years, and every team he goes to immediately becomes better
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Erick Blasco about 1 year ago
I absolutely love how biased fans completely disregard the rules of basketball when pretending to be referees. As Ellis was moving from the far side of the court to the near side of the court, Fisher was right in front of him.
Yet Ellis never stopped running into Fisher. Did anyone not notice how Ellis' hands were pushing through Fisher's chest?
Of course when you start to fall down, your first instinct is to reach for something to grab onto so you don't fall. That's when Fisher's left arm pulled Ellis down from the front.
But keep bitching and moaning Warriors fans. Fisher played textbook defense and Ellis took him down. Refs make bad calls all the time; this wasn't one of them.
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Chad Ridgeway about 1 year ago
^^ What Erick said
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Trevor McGuire about 1 year ago
Just wait until the Warriors defeat the Lakers in the playoffs. Warriors in 4 games.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Slow your roll there amateur writer. I don't know why Bleacher Reports show up as "news" in Google searches.
Consider this sentence in the article: "Lakers up by two with four seconds to go in OT, Stephen Jackson looking for Baron Davis to finish off the game on an inbounds play. "
The Lakers were not up by TWO. The Lakers were up by FOUR with four seconds to go in OT. The score was 123-119. Please get the facts straight. Golden State was in a desperate situation, not a game tying or winning situation.
This shouldn't change your feeling about the call, but know that the Warriors still had to get a bucket and foul before time ran off, then hope the foul shots were missed, then hope to have enough time left to get a shot off again, then hope to make that shot!
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Khalid Shakran about 1 year ago
Uhh no! you should get your facts right.
They were down by TWO on that inbounds play. When the offensive foul was called, the lakers got two free throws and Kobe hit them. Seems like you didnt watch the game.
And you're right actually, " Cost Golden State the game" should have been changed, I agree.
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Ozzie Siedman about 1 year ago
WOW slow your role loser before you try and clown on somebody why don't you watch the game and not the final score AMATEUR
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Alex Kennedy about 1 year ago
How does this make it on the front page? Seriously... It's embarrassing.
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Chad Ridgeway about 1 year ago
I always wonder how some stories get there and stay up there. But this has 700 hits already so it's only the morning after, so it's a hot topic.
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Aron Glatzer about 1 year ago
Erick, you mentioned the pull down in the front...did you pay attention to what Fisher was doing with his other arm? Oh, he was shoving it into Monta's back to bring him to the floor. It was a cheap veteran move to use the arm the official can't see to Fisher's advantage, and he got away with it. I don't know if dirty is the right word, but certainly sneaky and dishonest.
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Aron Glatzer about 1 year ago
Erick, you mentioned the pull down in the front...did you pay attention to what Fisher was doing with his other arm? Oh, he was shoving it into Monta's back to bring him to the floor. It was a cheap veteran move to use the arm the official can't see to Fisher's advantage, and he got away with it. I don't know if dirty is the right word, but certainly sneaky and dishonest.
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Aron Glatzer about 1 year ago
Erick, you mentioned the pull down in the front...did you pay attention to what Fisher was doing with his other arm? Oh, he was shoving it into Monta's back to bring him to the floor. It was a cheap veteran move to use the arm the official can't see to Fisher's advantage, and he got away with it. I don't know if dirty is the right word, but certainly sneaky and dishonest.
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Aron Glatzer about 1 year ago
Erick, you mentioned the pull down in the front...did you pay attention to what Fisher was doing with his other arm? Oh, he was shoving it into Monta's back to bring him to the floor. It was a cheap veteran move to use the arm the official can't see to Fisher's advantage, and he got away with it. I don't know if dirty is the right word, but certainly sneaky and dishonest.
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nbirn2103 nick about 1 year ago
I was there row 9 with a clear view. Derek Fisher grabbed Monta and pulled him down and then pretended his knee was hurt. Derek Fisher is a dirty player! Get over it. Fisher and Delaney ruined a great finish to this awesome game. You guys need to stop getting so defensive.
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Chris about 1 year ago
Quick note: Was the grammar and spelling really that bad that you’d actually make a post specifically saying that? Maybe this author is usually terrible regarding that but I couldn’t tell by this one piece. It wasn’t perfect… but a specific post for it? I have never been to this website until now so I don't know if it's supposed to be the #1 best, official, etc. sports news resource or not (probably not but it looks okay). What I do know, though, is this topic is worth discussing whether you're a Laker fan, a Warrior fan, or just a sports fan. If you're a Laker fan, consider if the situation was flipped. If you're a Warrior fan, you already know. If you're a sports fan, good luck.
On to the topic: To the person above that said The Warriors were down 4 (123-119) during the inbounds play, you must have been watching another game because The Warriors were indeed down only 2 points with 4.4 seconds to go in OT (and was inbounding The Warriors side of the half court line). After Delaney’s call, The Warriors had to foul Bryant which put him on the line to shoot 2 free throws. Hence, the final score. So which game were you watching? No, this one play did not decide the entire game, but given what The Warriors have done the past 2 seasons if you think they couldn’t have either tied the game with a 2, won the game with a 3 or possibly drawn a foul to go to the line to tie, you are kidding me.
The Warriors were not the main beneficiaries of the officiating throughout the game. They probably did get some calls go their way (as does every team at least some time including the Lakers and the star treatment that Bryant gets) but by no means was it a majority of the time. I was at the game (lower bowl) and I also watched the game in HD on a 60” television with a DVR. So to say I was able to view and review the game would be an understatement. And I sat near Laker fans that did not disagree with any more than any other opposing teams fans. Maybe less.
The Warriors broadcasters are far from the cheerleaders that other teams have. Of course they show some bias as every broadcaster does for their team but they are not afraid to attack The Warriors weaknesses and point out when there is a bad or good call.
Fisher is a good player… Minus his “flopping”. Albeit he never won an NBA ring without Shaq and, as a point guard, has never averaged more than 13 or so points a game for a season (which he did with The Warriors). Some call it a “veteran” move and some people call it him being “crafty”. Whatever you want to call it you’d have to be lying to yourself, Laker fan or not, if you think that what he does are “clean”, “respectable” plays regarding these type of decisions.
It’s called clearing out. Kobe does the same thing as does Fisher as does Odom as does nearly everybody when you’re an offensive player on an inbounds play. The difference here is Ellis, although he was pushing his way toward/in to Fisher, did not exert any extra effort to push away Fisher than anyone else ever does… but Fisher does what he does and (1) he “flopped”… and then (2) he dragged Ellis to the ground… and then (3) he faked an injury to further the theatrics. And, yes, if you’re falling down the first thing you want to do is prevent yourself from falling so grabbing something is usually your first reaction. But if he never “flopped” he wouldn’t have been falling in the first place. By the way, Delaney had no angle on the play. That was a no-call or possibly even a defensive foul which would've put The Warriors on the line with a chance to tie because it was before the ball was even inbounded. Not an offensive foul. Let ‘em play ref… or call it right. If I was a Laker fan I might've felt cheated if they called a foul against Fisher and put The Warriors on the line. And as a Warrior fan I feel cheated because Delaney essentially put the Lakers on the line. The players should be the ones deciding the game, not the refs. This game was otherwise an excellent basketball game, by both sides.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
You need to get your facts straight..it was a two point game at that point.
Did you write this Bob "Anonymous" Delaney?
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
"It was a cheap veteran move to use the arm the official can't see to Fisher's advantage, and he got away with it."
do u think that delaney was the only ref on the court, and that fish successfully hid his arm from delaney? probably, but there were other refs who could see his arm, so i doubt he was trying to "hide" what he was doing. what you're saying is that fisher somehow knew delaney couldn't see his arm and HE would be the one to call the foul. hogwash.
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HENRY HO-CHING 11 months ago
THEY SHOULD GET A MAGNIFYING GLASS THAT THE MONTE ELLIS PUSHED FISHER DOWN AND MAKING FISHER REACT SO WHOEVER FROM THE BAY AREA AND YOU COMPLAINIG PLAEASE WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE
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