Soon, It’ll Be the Long Road Home

Between tonight’s game against the Phoenix Suns and a March 5 game against the Seattle SuperSonics, the Lakers will play five home games.

That’s five, in 45 days.

That’s why the last 45 days were so critical, and why injuries and mediocre play and all that lost floor time for the Big Four could be worse than it looks: The Lakers haven’t won a road game since Dec. 4.

Their last three games away from Staples Center yielded losses by 20 points (Sacramento), 22 points (Denver) and 16 points (Minnesota).

On average, the Lakers allow nearly 105 points a game on the road, and help is a ways off. They might leave Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone behind on the Memphis-Dallas-Utah trip that starts Wednesday, and as of Sunday no one was sure what Horace Grant’s plans were.

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Getting some playing time again and perhaps getting the feel of his jumper as a result, Derek Fisher made three three-point shots in the second half against the Clippers on Saturday night. Before that, Fisher had made three three-pointers since Dec. 28.

“When I can get good shots and get good balance and get a good look at the basket, I expect it to go in every time,” Fisher said. “I’ve done it before, so it’s not a relief in the sense of ‘Oh my gosh I found something new.’ But it definitely feels good, especially with our team short-handed right now. We need the guys like myself and Devean [George] and Slava [Medvedenko] and when we get him back, Horace. The guys with experience are the ones we need to lead us right now.”

If the absence of O’Neal, Malone and Bryant means nothing more than Fisher regaining his court sensibilities and stroke, then the Lakers will be satisfied they’ve taken something positive from those injuries. In three games since Bryant went on the injured list, meaning more minutes to be had in the backcourt, Fisher is 11 for 26 from the floor, three for six from the arc.

“We have to continue to stay together,” he said. “Those guys will be back. We know how much better we are with them. But if we continue to hang in, scratch and claw and get some wins when they’re out, we’ll benefit from it late in the year.”

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Rookie Jamal Sampson, after defending Elton Brand for 32 minutes Saturday night, on the last time he’d played so many minutes: “Never. Well, Mater Dei.”

Sampson attended Santa Ana Mater Dei before playing one season for California. He was drafted by Utah late in the second round of the 2002 draft, then had his rights traded to Milwaukee, for whom he played eight minutes last season.

On his way out of the locker room, a weary Sampson said, “We gotta survive until we get the whole unit back. We’ll do the best we can.”

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TONIGHT

vs. Phoenix, 7:30

Fox Sports Net

Site -- Staples Center

Radio -- KLAC (570), KWKW (1330).

Records -- Lakers 25-12, Suns 15-26.

Record vs. Suns -- 2-0.

Update -- The Lakers have averaged 105 points in two victories against the Suns, and have allowed 100. That probably won’t fly tonight, as the Lakers have scored as many as 100 points once since O’Neal shuffled off the floor in Seattle, and that was against the Atlanta Hawks. They have won five in a row against the Suns and, dating to March 1999, 10 in a row at Staples Center. Sun forward Antonio McDyess, acquired from the Knicks on Jan. 5, is having trouble with his left knee again and could be on the injured list by tonight. Amare Stoudemire has averaged 19.4 points since returning from an ankle injury five games ago.