LAKERS ROLE PLAYERS: ROLE REDEMPTION FISHER, FOX, GEORGE, HORRY ALL STEP UP.

Byline: Michael A. Anastasi Sports Editor 

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - It is a story of redemption.

The ball spun out of Kobe Bryant's hands, and was loose along the floor for a moment. The crowd at Continental Airlines Arena was the loudest it had been all night, for it recognized this was the Nets' final chance. Derek Fisher darted to the ball and swished a 15-footer.

The crowd sat silently, and it was over.

The Lakers' perimeter role players, who struggled so mightily against Sacramento, who weren't needed in the first three games of this series as New Jersey chose to defend Shaquille O'Neal with a single man, battered the Nets Wednesday night.

The Lakers scored 77 of their 113 points from outside the paint and shot 57.9 percent (11 of 19) from 3-point range. At one point Wednesday, they had made 9 of 13 3-pointers.

``When those guys are hitting 3's,'' Nets coach Byron Scott said, ``their perimeter guys are shooting the ball well, then it makes it doubly hard to even continue with them.''

Fisher finished with 13 points, Robert Horry 12, Devean George 11 and Rick Fox 8. Fisher, Fox, George and Horry made a combined 9 of 14 3-pointers (64 percent) and repeatedly stopped Nets' runs.

``You're going to watch Shaq dunk the ball all night, or you're going to hope that their outside shooters don't make them,'' the Nets' Jason Kidd said. ``They're 11 of 19 from behind the arc. So pick your poison.

``We had to give up something, and it was behind the arc, and they were knocking them down.''

Particularly noteworthy was Fisher's performance. He was a big part of last season's championship run and averaged nearly 10 points a game against Philadelphia, including 18 points in the clinching fifth game. But he more than anyone epitomized the difficulty the Lakers' role players had against Sacramento in the Western Conference finals and giddily spoke of a fourth championship.

``We have a lot of respect for the history of this game,'' Fisher said. ``But winning three championships in a row puts us closer to the top of the list. If we stay healthy and set some goals for ourselves next year, then you're talking about getting into the upper echelon that nobody else can touch.''

Selected by the Lakers in the first round of the 1998 draft, George has three rings now but is widely regarded as having underachieved in his first three seasons, despite a career-high 7.1 scoring average this year, and the Lakers declined to exercise a $1.3 million option for next season.

However, he played well in Game 3, scoring six points a grabbing eight rebounds in 24 minutes. Wednesday, he scored eight of his points, including two 3-pointers, in the first half while Bryant struggled to find his rhythm and made just 2 of 7.

Now, as an impending free agent, George is seen as the team's key offseason signing.

``Just to be able to step up and contribute is a great feeling,'' George said. ``The first two felt good, but this is a different feeling. I'm just going to enjoy this now and when the summer comes around, I'll weigh my options. I just want to let this one sink in.'' And Mitch Richmond, also a free agent but one who probably won't return, finally saw his first action of the Finals. The team's third-string shooting guard following what many consider to be a Hall of Fame career mostly in Sacramento, he came onto the court with one minute to play and swished a difficult 16-foot fadeaway.

In his 14th NBA season, the six-time all-star is second only to Jerome Kersey in the length of time it took him to win a title. Fittingly, for all of the Lakers' role players, he held the ball as the final buzzer sounded.

``I'm very excited,'' Richmond said. ``It's still one of the best seasons for me. This is what it's all about.''

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Derek Fisher (left) and Brian Shaw celebrate on the sidelines.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer