When the Oklahoma City Thunder needs clutch defense and energy, they have a plan: Turn to Derek Fisher.
D-Fish contributed five points and two rebounds over 18 minutes of play in the Thunder’s 115-113 win Monday over the Denver Nuggets.
Before the fourth quarter, Derek played a total of six minutes, scoring three points. Heading into the final quarter, Thunder head coach Scott Brooks called upon his veteran point guard to spark a comeback as the team trailed 92-83.
The Thunder trailed 97-85 with 11:06 remaining in the fourth quarter; however, over the ensuing four minutes the Thunder used a 12-2 burst to cut the Nuggets lead to just 99-97.
“Last game, he played inspiring basketball,” said Kevin Durant on the play of D-Fish during the fourth quarter. “He inspired our whole team to come out [play hard], and last game he didn’t score, but made a huge impact on the defensive end, and making the right play on offense. And tonight, he came out and did the same. All you can do is tip your hat to a guy like that.”
D-Fish was best on the Thunder roster with a +13.
He defended Nate Robinson, Ty Lawson and Andre Miller all over the floor. He destroyed the Nugget’s passing lanes and hustled through pick-and-rolls.
“I’m proud of our guys in that fourth quarter for playing inspired basketball,” Brooks said. “We have a lot of guys who play with whatever they have.”
NEXT UP
The Thunder (7-3) are back in action on Thursday night as they host the Los Angeles Clipper (7-4).
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and the game can be seen on TNT.
