It’s been an extraordinary couple of days for Derek Fisher and the New York Knicks franchise.

On Sunday, star forward Carmelo Anthony announced he’ll re-sign with the Knicks, and Monday, Coach Fisher’s Summer League squad smashed the Charlotte Hornets 95-72 to finish Las Vegas Summer League pool play at a perfect 3-0.

Click the photo to watch Fish talk about his team’s dominant Summer League win over Charlotte.

While the biggest buzz in New York is surrounding the return of Melo, the boys out in Vegas did their best to steal some of the spotlight. Eight players tallied six or more points Monday afternoon in what Derek tabbed as tremendous all-around effort.

“Overall, a really solid performance,” Fish said of his team’s blowout win. “As I’ve said after the first two games, what these guys are doing in terms of sharing the ball with each other and playing as a team, those are messages we’ve been talking about our entire time in Vegas. I think it’s showing on both ends that they’re trusting each other out there.”

Coach has been stressing ball movement and unselfish play throughout the summer session, and it has worked to a charm. After marching to a 3-0 mark in pool play, the Knicks are in great position to claim the No. 1 seed when tournament play begins Wednesday.

The third win came about after a torrid start by N.Y. They opened up a 14-point lead after one quarter and added 17 more points to the cushion in the second quarter. The Knicks ultimately entered the fourth quarter ahead 81-44 and flipped on cruise control through the final frame.

Forward Jeremy Tyler led the way with his best performance thus far, a 19-point, eight-rebound outburst. Langston Galloway was tremendous off the bench as well, tallying 17 points after entering the game with zero so far in the summer session. Shane Larkin provided one of the most impressive highlights early, fighting through contact to sink a tough lay-in. He finished with 14 points and two dimes.

One of the favorites amongst fans and Knicks observers has been a new addition, Thanasis Antetokounmpo. The second-round draft pick scored just three points in the contest, but added three steals and a plus-19 scoring advantage while making his first start of the summer season.

As Coach Fish said afterward, his contributions are the type that are often not seen in the box score.

“What we love about Thanasis is his love and passion for playing basketball,” Derek said. “Those things are hard to teach. You can teach skills, you can teach x’s and o’s and strategy, but it’s hard to teach a guy how to play with love, play with fire, play with passion—he has all of that. Some of those dog days in practice where there’s no energy and everyone’s flat, you can put him out there and the energy’s going to be high. So we’re excited to have him with us.”

While Antetokounmpo provided that palpable energy, it was Tim Hardaway Jr. who served as the leader on the floor per usual. The second-year guard out of Michigan has led the team in scoring through three games and added another 17 points, along with three steals and three assists. He also provided perhaps the biggest display of the teamwork D-Fish has been preaching, when he passed up a wide-open transition dunk to set up Galloway for a two-handed stuff.

“We’ve played very well,” Hardway said of his team’s performance in Vegas. “We’re really emphasizing the detail. Coach Fisher is doing a great job of just breaking things down, not only on the offensive end, but on the defensive end. We feel very, very confident when we’re moving and sharing ball.

That confidence was apparent in Monday afternoon’s blowout. And as Derek commented afterward, the sound play and fantastic effort out of his squad has made it easy on a coach just three games into his career.

“I love basketball. I love the little nuances and details that go into the game. That’s the way my brain worked as a player,” Fish explained. “Now, having a front row seat to that action is exciting. I’m loving every minute of it. And when you have a group of guys that are committed to doing it the right way as we do here, it makes it an even more fun job.”

The tenacious team play—along with, of course, the return of Carmelo—also has Coach Fisher looking forward to training camp and the regular season ahead.

Speaking with the media after Monday’s win, Fish called his squad a playoff-caliber team in the East.

“In my opinion, based on our roster and the things we are going to do and who we’re going to become, we can compete for playing in the playoffs and playing for a championship in the Eastern Conference,” he said. “For me as a coach, I believe in the group of guys that we have. Even if nothing else changes, we’re good enough to be a playoff team in the Eastern Conference. But obviously, we’ll still have to go out on the floor and prove it.”

The NBA Las Vegas Summer League seeding will be revealed Tuesday night at the conclusion of the day’s action. Round 1 of the playoffs will begin Wednesday, and the session will conclude July 21st.

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