Derek Fisher and the Oklahoma City Thunder did what they were supposed to do on Tuesday night, winning Game 1 of the NBA Finals on their home court at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
But that doesn’t detract from the accomplishment for the team or the city, their first Finals win together, putting them three more away from the title.
"These guys are fearless and just love competing, and tonight they showed that we’re capable of just playing through any set of circumstances and figuring out a way to win," Derek said with pride after the game.
Fish pumps his fist as OKC secures a Game 1 victory (Getty Images).
To seize that win, the Thunder had to come from behind. In the first half, they trailed Miami by as many as 13 points. Derek chalked up the slow start to some jitters entering the first Finals game for four of the five starters.
"I didn’t necessarily sense (nerves), but it made sense. As you watched the first half unfold — I wasn’t in each guy’s head or in their mind — but you could expect and anticipate that guys would just feel overwhelmed by the opportunity," Derek told The Oklahoman. Guys work their entire life to get an opportunity to play in the Finals and play for a championship, so nerves and anxiety are to be expected."
Derek pitched in all six of his points during the first half as he tried to help OKC get back in the game following the slow start. He entered with 2:44 remaining in the first quarter and the Thunder trailing by eight. A trey by Mario Chalmers moments later made it an 11-point game, but Fish followed a Nick Collison bucket with a perimeter jumper to cut the deficit to seven. It stood there going to the second.
Miami opened the second quarter hot, scoring eight of the first 10 points to push their lead to 13, its highest point of the night. But D-Fish helped OKC nip away at it. First he grabbed the rebound off a Shane Battier miss that would’ve extended the lead to 16. Instead, Derek took it the other way for a layup to cut the deficit to 11. Moments later he grabbed another board and turned it into points on a jumper, making it a nine-point game.
"That’s when we’re at our best," Derek said of the transition offense. "We can execute in the halfcourt if we have to, but we’re the best at getting out into the open floor and playing off our defense."
Derek finishes at the rim for the fastbreak layup (Getty Images).
The Heat led by just seven at the break and it took less than six minutes in the third for the Thunder to draw even.
"We tried to ease out of the gates a little bit at the start," he said. "In the second half we played more like ourselves, being physical, being active and that turned the game around."
When Fish re-entered with 3:44 left in the third, Miami was clinging to a two-point lead. Over the next six minutes and ten seconds, the Thunder outscored the Heat 16-8 to take a six-point lead. They never trailed again on the way to an 11-point win. After starting the early rally, Derek finished +6 in the point differential column and chipped in six points, three rebounds and an assist.
"Sometimes, you’re making shots," Fisher said. "Other times, you’re doing a lot of the little things, like what Nick Collison did tonight in terms of offensive rebounds and taking charges, hustling to loose balls. Those are the things that win games for us, so that’s what I try to focus on, and I think all of our guys have done a great job being game ready when they step out on the court and we’re going to need that in order to continue to accomplish our goals."
But the team was carried by Kevin Durant, who scored 17 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter on 6-of-10 from the field. It was a special performance by a guy who Fish believes has special potential.
"By the time he’s done, if he can stay healthy and have good fortune in that regard, he’ll be considered one of the all-time greats," D-Fish told ESPN.com. "His ability to play the game at an efficient level is impressive. He has all the facets."
Asked to project a ceiling for his teammate, Derek scoffed at the notion, saying instead that it will be Durant — now just 23-years-old — who sets his own ceiling.
"What makes him special is that he doesn’t even know what his ceiling is," Fisher said. "So he’s just playing. His instincts and his natural abilities just take over. He’s not playing with any baggage or any extra stuff or ‘I have to prove this.’ He’s still creating what his legacy will be. So it’s just: ‘Let me go out here and do what I do.’"
NEXT UP
Game 2 of the NBA Finals is Thursday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. The Thunder will be looking to defend their home court and head to Miami for Saturday’s Game 3 with a 2-0 lead.
D-Fish talks to Russell Westbrook at Wednesday’s practice ahead of Game 2 (The Oklahoman)
To do so, Derek believes they must play better in Game 2 and do some of the little things they failed to in Game 1.
"We’re going to have to do an even better job on Thursday night to get a win," he said. "Just continue to focus on the little things: the box outs, the defensive rotations. We missed a lot of free throws tonight, we’re a great free throw shooting team, so if we just do the little things, the big things will take care of themselves."
To watch more of Derek’s talk with the media at Wednesday’s practice, click here.
Tip-off for Game 2 is once again scheduled for 9 p.m. CDT and the game can be seen on ABC.
RELATED STORIES
- 1-on-1 with Fisher: Postgame (Thunder.NBA.com, June 12, 2012)
- Thunder notebook: James Harden looking for more offense (The Oklahoman, June 13, 2012)
- What’s Kevin Durant’s motivation? (ESPN.com, June 13, 2012)
- Thabo Sefolosha’s second-half defense made Thunder’s scoring flurry even more valuable (The Oklahoman, June 13, 2012)
- Finals Practice: Derek Fisher (NBA.com, June 13, 2012)