Thursday, June 7 Lue leaves deep bench, comes to Lakers' defense By Wayne Drehs ESPN.com LOS ANGELES -- For the good part of Monday's and Tuesday's Laker practices, Tyronn Lue darted around the court wearing an elbow sock in hopes of mimicking Allen Iverson. Lue He shot wildly, ducked around screens, imitated the crossover dribble and took the physical punishment that comes with being Allen Iverson. So at the 5:23 mark of the third quarter Wednesday, when Phil Jackson looked down the bench and asked the seldom-used reserve to spell a struggling Derek Fisher, Lue knew what to expect. "It takes every ounce of energy you've got to stop the MVP," Lue said. "I know." Lue and the rest of his Lakers teammates were up to the challenge. Iverson, who had scored 38 points in the game's first 29 minutes, would be held to just 10 points in the game's final 23 minutes. And the bulk of the reason was the pesky Lue. Though Iverson and the Sixers won Wednesday's game, the Lakers may have won the war in finding an answer to The Answer. The speedy Lue was not only able to deny Iverson the ball on numerous critical possessions in the third and fourth quarters, but he also got a hand in the guard's face anytime he tried to take a shot. The tenacious defense was largely to credit for Iverson missing his final three shots in regulation and his first shot in overtime. "I was just jabbing at him, keeping off his kilt as much as possible," Lue said. "And he was getting mad. He kept complaining to (referee) Joey (Crawford) that I was holding him." At no point was Iverson more upset than in the final seconds of regulation, with the game tied at 94. Lue's hounding ways kept Iverson from freeing himself for a potential game-winner. "I was telling the referee, 'This is my first Finals, a dream come true. And there's 18 seconds left and I can't get the ball for the last shot?' Something's wrong," Iverson said. "I get the ball all through the game and can't get it on the last play for the money? "I felt like, you know, he did a lot of holding me. Just trying to stop me from getting the ball." Whether or not the defense was legal, it was certainly enough to get under Iverson's skin. After torching Los Angeles for 30 first-half points on 11-of-24 shooting, he scored just 18 in the second half and overtime, making seven of 17 attempts. "At times it frustrated me," Iverson admitted. "But he's a tough player. A lot of guys go against a player that's named MVP in the regular season and they won't give it their all. They act scared. But Tyronn came out and gave his team a great lift." Lue only entered Wednesday's game because the usually reliable Fisher was struggling to not only slow Iverson, but put the ball in the basket as well. Within minutes of checking into the game, Lue energized the Staples Center crowd by harassing Iverson, forcing a trio of third-quarter steals that all led to transition baskets. On one of the plays, Lue stripped the ball from a cutting Iverson, and then saved it behind his back to Horace Grant, who lobbed the ball ahead to Shaquille O'Neal for a dunk. Within seven minutes of checking into the game, Lue had helped cut a 12-point Sixers lead down to two. "He added some speed and energy into the game and was able to stay with Allen," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "Those steals helped us get back in the ball game." Entering Wednesday's game, Lue was averaging just 5.8 minutes per game in the playoffs, mostly in garbage time. Against the Sixers, he was on the floor for the most critical 22 minutes of the game, logging five points to go with his five steals. "Ty doesn?t get tired. He can run all day long," Lakers forward Kobe Bryant said. "And he played a real big role for us tonight." Lue's disruption of the Sixers' offensive flow was troubling to coach Larry Brown, who watched his team try and force the ball to their go-to performer. "We threw the ball back to Allen about six or seven times and got it stolen," Brown said. "I was trying to tell Allen, 'If Ty's overplaying you, then go backdoor. Get our guys in a position where they aren't so desperate.'" Lue's defensive presence was contagious to his lethargic Laker teammates, who seemed to feed off the energy provided by the third-year guard out of Nebraska. Rick Fox, Robert Horry and Grant all added steals after Lue entered the game. "It started with Tyronn, but I think that the team defense picked up and they started pressuring and making it tough on everyone," Jackson said. "And in a sense, it made it easier for Tyronn to deny Allen Iverson." What remains to be seen is just how Lue's roll will change in the remainder of the series. Jackson declined to comment on the issue after Wednesday's loss, while Lue politically said he didn't know if anything would change. What he did expect was to return to his original role in Thursday's practice -- Allen Iverson imitator. "Phil told me the whole time this is why I'm on the roster," Lue said. "To stop the speedy guards on the other team and help us in practice. I thought I'd get an opportunity tonight, I just didn't think it would be this big." Wayne Drehs is a staff writer at ESPN.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

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