On a banner opening night in Cleveland for the NBA and the Cavaliers, marking the return of LeBron James to his hometown team, Derek Fisher and his underdog New York Knicks went in and spoiled the party.

It was one of the most anticipated nights of the season for the league, not for the matchup, which many felt would go to the revamped Cavs in blowout fashion, but for the atmosphere surrounding James, Cleveland’s prodigal son. The superstar was returning to the house he built to try and lead his team to a championship after four years and two rings in Miami.

But for Coach Fisher and his Knicks, it was just another game on the second half of a back-to-back after an ugly loss. They treated is as such and pulled off a thrilling 95-90 win, Derek’s first official victory as a NBA coach.

Afterward, MSG’s Tina Cervasio kicked off Derek’s postgame press conference by asking him what stood out in his first NBA victory. Coach Fisher could’ve easily pointed out a number of things, from Carmelo Anthony’s stout performance to the contributions of young players like Shane Larkin and Quincy Acy, even the job his defense did on LeBron and the rest of the Cavs’ big three merited praise. But Derek’s answer to the question spoke to the culture he is trying to cultivate within the Knicks as a team and an organization.

“Tim Hardaway Jr. played four minutes and the level of support and commitment and to his teammates and how involved he was in the game although he wasn’t in, says a lot about him and a lot about who we’re trying to become,” D-Fish said. “It was a great team win tonight.”

The night began with a myriad of pre-game introductions for the Cavaliers. Along with James, the Cavs entered action on Thursday night, boasting a star-studded cast, which featured blockbuster trade acquisition Kevin Love, and blooming young star in Kyrie Irving.

New York’s lineup was decidedly less bombastic. Fish made a small change by starting Acy, an aggressive second-year forward, in favor of seasoned veteran Amar’e Stoudemire. The change meant that the Knicks would start two players, Acy and Larkin, who were just beginning their sophomore seasons in the league.

The Cavaliers felt they could use this to their advantage and after watching what the Bulls had done to them a night earlier, the Cleveland trio sought to overwhelm the mostly inexperienced Knicks early.

But it was New York’s star Carmelo Anthony who shined brightest. Anthony totaled a game-high 25 points, alongside six assists and two rebounds. Those six assists were second on the team as the veteran continued to show rapid progress in Derek’s triangle offense. 

Though his performance is what took the game over for the Knickerbockers, afterward Anthony deflected credit and lauded his team for the effort they put forth in the upset.

“Our mental strength, that’s what it came down to,” Melo said of his teammates. “We could have easily let that loss last night sit on us, (but) we put that behind us. Total team effort tonight on both ends of the court.” 

Coach Fish credited his players for blocking out the noise and showing trust both in each other and in the things they’ve learned in practice over the last several weeks.

“(They) showed a high level of confidence and trust in each other in that if they just execute the basic things we’ve been teaching and working on, that things will work out,” D-Fish said. “They showed a lot of patience and composure, and those are the things we need as we move forward through this season.” 

Led by Love — who tallied 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the first quarter —the Cavs got off to a fast start Thursday night and established a lead as high as nine points in the first frame.

They did so by attacking the rim with offensive balance around good outside shooting from Love and defensive intensity that created cherry-pick fastbreaks. Lebron’s first bucket of the season came in that fashion midway through the first quarter, when Love flung the ball down court after grabbing a defensive board, to a wide open James. Melo was in hot pursuit of the famed Ohio superstar, but fouled him after James managed to curl the ball into the hoop.

James’ inaugural basket sent the max capacity stadium into a frenzy, but Derek’s defense managed to keep pandoras box closed for the rest of the half. D-Fish had a Knickerbocker in Lebron’s face at all times, which hindered his ability to both shoot and pass the ball. Thanks to that defensive pressure, New York limited James to a measly 1-of-9 from the field through two quarters and forced him to turn the ball over eight times throughout the game. 

Though the Knicks appeared to be a step ahead of Cleveland’s offense for most of the night, D-Fish was complimentary of the talented group after the game. 

“Great players like LeBron, you don’t necessarily stop or take out of the game,” Derek said. “I think the Cavaliers are still trying to figure out who they are and how they’re going to play the game. I think LeBron is giving Kyrie and Kevin Love some room to operate and they’ll find that balance as they go forward.” 

One of New York’s best defensive plays came in the first quarter, when point guard Shane Larkin hijacked a Lebron pass attempt on a fastbreak, and took the ball in the other direction. The Knicks were down 21-12 at the time, and the steal helped catapult a first half comeback, which kept the team in striking distance. 

New York trailed by just seven points after one quarter and saw that deficit expand to 11 early in the second, but as the game closed in on halftime, the Knicks started to move the ball more crisply on offense and their play on defense, which was strong through the evening started to pay off. By the mid-way point of the quarter, New York had Cleveland’s lead down to three.

After a pair of free throws by James pushed the Cavs’ lead back to six with 4:52 left in the half, Larkin and J.R. Smith canned back-to-back threes to tie the game. Larkin then answered a bucket by Love with one of his own to tie it again and Stoudemire followed with a jumper to give the Knicks their first lead since the opening minutes of the game.

Although Cleveland scored the final four points of the half to claim a two-point halftime advantage, the Knicks went into the locker room with some confidence and momentum.

New York kept the ball moving in the third quarter and was able to establish a sustained lead for the first time in the contest. After a Irving layup gave the Cavs a two-point lead at about the halfway mark of the quarter, the Knicks exploded on an 8-0 run.

Anthony started it with a triple off a feed from Stoudemire to grab the lead back, then, after a stop by the defense, Melo paid it forward to Pablo Prigioni, who knocked down a trey of his own off the feed to push the lead to four. Following another stop, it was Anthony again, this time from mid-range off a feed from Shumpert giving NY a 61-55 lead.

D-Fish complimented the play of his squad on both ends after the game and although he noted some mistakes they will need to correct, he said the effort put forth helped them to overcome those errors and succeed in spite of them. 

“We still mixed up some coverages and guys did some things wrong, but we didn’t give up on plays,” he said. “A lot of the way we play the game offensively will impact our defense at times. Tonight we had 37 made field goals and 30 assists. When you’re trusting your teammate by sharing the basketball, the defensive energy will always be up. That’s what happened tonight.” 

Carmelo ended up with seven points and three assists in the third, and the Knicks carried a three-point lead into the fourth.

In that final frame, each member of the Knicks rotation seemingly got a chance to shine. 

At times, Acy looked unstoppable after he continually snagged offensive boards from the hapless Cavalier defense. His six offensive boards played a huge part in the win, and no rebound was more important than one he made midway through the fourth quarter.

After a missed three pointer from J.R. Smith, Acy looped around James who attempted to box Acy out. Acy poked the ball off the glass, and jumped back up in the air to throw the ball down over Anderson Verejao, giving the Knicks a 73-70 lead. 

Acy’s in-your-face play style made him a standout in the preseason, and it translated well in New York’s first win after putting up a team-high ten rebounds, accompanied with eight points and two assists on the night. Jason Smith also chipped in from the frontcourt with 12 points on 5-of-6 from the field. Even undrafted rookie Travis Wear, the 15th man on the New York roster, made an impact in his second NBA game chipping in two points and solid defense. 

Coach Fisher complimented the play of all his reserves after the game and their commitment to being ready to play at any time after the game. 

“I thought the ability to put anybody in at anytime, to keep bodies fresh, was huge for us,” he said. “Travis Wear is a young player who we didn’t even know would be with us a month ago. And the minutes he had out on the floor were solid. That was the difference tonight. Everybody gave us something and that’s what we need every night.”

However, in the end, it was New York’s old guard, led by Anthony and J.R. Smith, who closed it out. Smith started the quarter for the Knicks and played the duration, and once Anthony checked in with six-and-a-half minutes remaining in the fourth they took over the game.

Just moments after Anthony had checked into the game, Smith found him for a trey to extend New York’s lead to nine. The Cavs fought back to pull within five under five minutes to play, but then Anthony returned the favor to Smith, who knocked down a step back to make it 84-77 with 4:17 to go. 

“I think he’s just gaining more confidence and understanding where his opportunities will be, and trusting that we trust him,” Coach Fisher said of Smith afterward. “He’s been so involved in trying to get everything perfectly down with the offense, being in the right places and doing the right things. You’re just starting to see him ease off of it a little bit and starting to trust his instincts. He was big for us tonight.” 

Anthony added two free throws to push the lead back to nine with 3:07 to play, but the Cavaliers put up eight of the next 10 points over a span of less than 90 seconds to pull back within three with 1:17 remaining. However, the Knicks’ veteran trio remained cool in the clutch. Smith hit a floater to make it a five-point game with 48 seconds left, and Melo answered a jumper by James with one of his own to make it 92-87 with 25.9 to go.

New York then got a key stop on defense as Irving misfired. Jason Smith corralled the rebound and knocked down two free throws to put the game on ice.

Afterward Coach Fisher beamed with pride about the effort put forth by every man on his roster to be ready to handle a tough challenge on a momentous night in Cleveland and walk out of Quicken Loans Arena with their first victory together.

“It’s just trusting the work that we put in and making sure that these guys understand that they’re not on this team by accident. If we didn’t believe that they could play at this level, they wouldn’t be here,” he said. ”Our management is showing a lot of trust in a lot of our guys and as coaches we’re trying to make sure that they understand that everybody has to be ready to play every night. Tonight should serve as a great example for the rest of the season that if everyone remains committed to the team and ready to play, we’re capable of some really good things.” 

NEXT UP

Following their win, the Knicks head back home and Coach Fisher promised that he won’t allow his crew to get caught up in their first win. There is still much work to be done ahead of their next challenge, as the Charlotte Hornets come to town on Sunday.

“To be able to win a close game on the road this early in the season is a good feeling.,” Derek said. “But we’ll get back to work and start looking ahead to Charlotte.”

Sunday’s tip off from Madison Square Garden is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on MSG.

RELATED LINKS

• Fisher: Everybody contributed to Knicks’ win (MSG, Oct. 30, 2014)
• Knicks, Undaunted by LeBron’s Return, Beat Cavaliers (NY Times, Oct. 30, 2014)
• LeBron James’ return to Cleveland ruined by Knicks (NY Daily News, Oct. 31, 2014)
• How Derek Fisher masterfully ripped up the Knicks’ rotation (NY Post, Oct. 31, 2014)
• Knicks ruin LeBron’s Cleveland homecoming (NY Post, Oct. 31, 2014)
• Lessons from the Knicks’ most stunning win in two years (NY Post, Oct. 31, 2014)
• Carmelo Anthony leads Knicks to 95-90 win over Cavaliers (Newsday, Oct. 31, 2014)
• Knicks spoil LeBron’s return to Cleveland (Wall Street Journal, Oct. 31, 2014)
• Knicks 95, Cavs 90: Spoiling LeBron’s Party (ESPN New York, Oct. 30, 2014)
• Knicks’ D up Cavs’ homecoming king (ESPN New York, Oct. 31, 2014)
• Knicks 95, Cavaliers 90: “I feel amazing.” (Posting and Toasting, Oct. 31, 2014)
• For Fisher, substitutions are made with purpose against Cavs (The Knicks Blog, Oct. 31, 2014)
• Knicks 95, Cavs 90: Redemption (Daily Knicks, Oct. 30, 2014)