The atmosphere was electric, the crowd’s reaction to him humbling, but at the end of Thursday night, all that mattered to Derek Fisher was that he helped his new team get another win.
Derek’s return to LA ended with a win for his new team (Getty Images).
D-Fish chipped in seven points, all in the pivotal second quarter, as the Thunder defeated Derek’s former team, the Los Angeles Lakers, 102-93 at Staples Center.
It was Derek’s first trip back to Staples Center since he was traded from the Lakers just over two weeks ago. Prior to the game, D-Fish met with the media and foreshadowed what he expected to be an interesting night.
"The fans here and the people here in the city and this community, regardless of where I play, will always have a very special place in my heart regardless to whether they applaud me or boo me because I’m on the other team," he told Yahoo! Sports.
There was not a boo to be heard, as Lakers fans welcomed Derek back with open arms, giving him two separate standing ovations, among other tributes. The first came just before tip-off when the arena played a video tribute dedicated to Fisher. Watch that video below:
But once the game started, it was all business for D-Fish, who said his focus on the game helped him to keep his emotions in check.
"Overall my emotions were in a pretty good space the entire time," he told the LA Times.
It was the Lakers who channeled the energy in the first quarter, jumping out in front early. By the time Derek entered, with 2:04 left in the first quarter, LA had built a 10-point lead. His entrance into the game drew another ovation from the crowd, which No. 37 greeted with a smile.
After LA’s quick start, D-Fish played a big role in getting the Thunder back into the game. He scored his first points of the evening on a driving layup two minutes into the second quarter, cutting the lead down to eight points. A Matt Barnes layup pushed the LA lead back to 10, but Derek answered with a floating jumper, assisted by James Harden to trim it back to eight.
The Lakers failed to extend the lead on their next trip and Fish took advantage. He missed his first try on the subsequent trip, but Nazr Mohammed grabbed the rebound and gave it back to No. 37, who sank a running bank shot while drawing a foul on Barnes. His free throw completed a three-point play and pulled OKC to within five.
"It was very important," Thunder coach Scott Brooks told the Oklahoman of the spark Derek provided. "We were struggling at the time, but he kept it within reach. That’s what he brings. He brings toughness. He brings smart play and he makes good plays, and it’s not just about him scoring."
The 2:19 stretch accounted for all of Derek’s points on the evening. It also pushed his teammates to finish strong. Thunder stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook followed with an offensive tear to end the first half and keep the deficit at five going into halftime.
"Derek did a tremendous job here with the Lakers," Westbrook said. "We just wanted to come out here and get this win for him."
OKC stepped up the defense in the second half, outscoring LA by 15 in the third (Getty Images).
The Thunder kept their momentum rolling in the second half, scoring six unanswered points to start the half and take the lead. They did not trail the rest of the way and, after outscoring the Lakers 50-38 in the second and third quarters, built a 10-point lead by the end of the third.
Fish played eight more minutes in the fourth as OKC put the game out of reach, helping out with an assist for a Westbrook layup and a rebound that led to a tip-in for Nick Collison. The Thunder led by as much as 19 in the fourth, before the Lakers whittled the lead down to seven in the closing minutes. But Durant and Westbrook combined for 10 points in the final four minutes to close out the win.
"Derek wanted this win," Westbrook told the Oklahoman. "We came out and played hard for him. I know it’s an emotional time for him, but we came out with the win."
No. 37 finished three-for-six shooting for his seven points adding one assist and two rebounds to the Thunder victory.
Fish shares a laugh with Jack Nicholson and Lou Adler (Getty Images).
NEXT UP
It doesn’t get any easier for Derek and the Thunder, as they head back home to host the NBA best Chicago Bulls on Sunday afternoon.
The Thunder sit just two games behind the Bulls for the best record in the NBA. The team with the best record in the NBA guarantees itself home court advantage through the Finals, should it reach them, so Sunday’s battles has playoff implications.
Tip-off is scheduled for Noon CDT on ABC.
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Dear Mr. Derek Fisher,
Hope you are doing well.
I am writing you on behalf of my 14-year old niece – Cassia Ioka – she is one of your hugest fans! She LOVES you, your athleticism, your style, your fashion, everything about you!
She watches you / your games when you were at LA Lakers (which since you left she is no longer a fan of) and she watches you now at Oklahoma City.
My niece has a very rare cancer. Just within the past 6 months, Cassia has been through 4 surgeries, all which were extremely dangerous and life threatening, and each time our little Cassia (whom we call affectionately refer to as “Squirt”) has beaten all the odds for every surgery and has made it thru each life threatening surgery. However, despite all of the doctor’s efforts thus far her tumors continue to grow and continue to threaten the amount of time we have with our Squirt.
Squirt has a cancer known as NF1 (Neurofibromatosis). Unfortunately, right now, there is no cure for this cancer. Her NF1 has been growing rapidly and aggressively.
– From April 2011 thru August of 2011 the tumor grew so large it was about the size of a football wrapped around the right side of her neck (which was surgically removed in CA in October – when removed the tumor alone was 10 pounds).
– Than the tumor grew back again this time it was the size of (4) softballs on the right side of her neck (which were surgically removed in Feb 2012).
– Than Squirt had a feeding tube put in her stomach in March 2012 (because she couldn’t eat because of how much damage the tumors and surgery caused to her neck).
– Than on Monday March 26 she needed to be revived because her tongue and throat swelled up so much from the radiation treatments she’s been getting (for the tumors that keep aggressively growing back) that her airway was completely blocked that she stopped breathing and heart stopped. Thank our Father in Heaven for he brought her back to us.
– Than just this past Thursday she had a tracheotomy put in her throat to help her breathe. Again with the tumors growing all around her neck this surgery (which often is simple) was life threatening for our Cassia).
Time and time again, literally in every sense of the words, Squirt has been beating ALL the odds … the most recent episode was just last week, when Squirt’s heart stopped beating and she was in ICU, ALL the doctors we spoke with (at least 10 different doctors) told us that we needed to ‘give her medicine and let her slowly slip away’ ultimately ending her life. As a family we decided against it, and fought the doctors every day (from Mon-Thurs) to let our Squirt live – because she was completely and fully responsive (even writing to us to tell us what she wanted), until finally they agreed to do the Tracheotomy on Squirt. The surgery, despite the Doctor’s odds, was successful and we thank our Father in Heaven every day that we still have our little Squirt with us.
Mr. Fisher, I (along with my family – The Togafau’s, Ioka’s, Iuta’s, Taylor’s, Tafai’s, Wong’s) are writing to you to ask you if it would be at all possible for you to visit / email / Skype / our Squirt! As I mentioned before she LOVES you, LOVES watching you play, she has your LA Lakers Jersey and has told us all that the one thing she wants us to look for and buy for her is your OKC jersey (which we unfortunately haven’t found yet, we know it’s probably not out yet) … and we know that any contact from your visit to our little Squirt would lift her spirits. She’s not able to talk yet but she can write, motion with her hands, feet, eyes, etc.
The Doctor’s still have not found a cure to our Baby’s NF1, and the tumor continues to grow at a rapid and an aggressive rate (one that all the Doctors have said they have never come across a tumor that grows so quickly), we don’t know how much time we have with our little Cass, and we pray everyday that God will give us many more days with her, but we do know that the time that Cassia (Cass / Squirt) has on this Earth we want to make it as memorable, pleasant and happy as possible for her … and we know that with a visit / Skype / email / etc from you that would be one thing that she would treasure forever!
Mr. Fisher, please if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call / email / facebook me at anytime. I can send you pictures of Cassia / her tumors / info if anything needs to be verified. Cassia is still in the ICU unit at Kapiolani Women’s and Children Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. We are HOPING and PRAYING that we will be able to bring her home soon so she can be around family and be able to do all / as many as the things she can and wants to do. But we think Cassia will be in the hospital for another week.
Mahalo (Thank You) for your time!