"You can't change in terms of playing aggressive and being physical out on the floor," said Fisher. "But I definitely don't want to continue to put myself in the position where I'm impacting the team early in the game by having to go to the bench with nine-plus minutes to go in the first quarter."

The Jazz shot 45 free throws on Sunday, compared to only 25 for the Lakers. Fisher wasn't about to blame the officials for the loss, however, even pointing out that the Lakers enjoyed similarly lopsided free throw totals in the first two games of the series at the Staples Center.

"Sometimes that happens on the road," said Fisher of the free-throw disparity. "You get a step behind. The home team is playing a step faster with more energy and you start playing defense with your hands as opposed to your feet. That's an adjustment we're going to have to make going back home (for Game 5 on Wednesday)."

After once holding a 2-0 lead, the Lakers now know they are in for a dogfight in what is now, essentially, a best-of-3 series.

"We need to continue to focus on the things we can control," said Fisher. "We can control missing 11 free throws. We can control our half-court execution down the stretch when we need baskets. We have to be able to get the ball into the hands of the player we want to have the ball (Kobe Bryant), and then also provide the spacing and the movement around him so that he has a great opportunity or someone else on the team can have a great opportunity."

If the Lakers do that, Fisher likes his team's chances.

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E-mail: lojo@desnews.com