Julius Randle spins away from Thunder defender
Despite scoring their most points of the season, the Knicks lost 145-135 to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday afternoon.
Here are the takeaways…
– Defense was optional from the beginning in this one as both teams found ways to score in the early minutes of the game.
– The Knicks scored in a variety of ways, hitting four three-point shots in the first quarter to go along with a plethora of easy buckets and four dunks. With 4:25 left in the quarter, Jericho Sims flew through the air on a monster slam that put New York up 25-20 and sent Knicks fans at MSG into a frenzy.
After that dunk, the Knicks made 11 of their next 12 shots and scored a franchise-record 48 points in the first quarter and led by 12 points.
– But it was a complete reversal in the second quarter as the Thunder put up 43 points. For the Knicks, the shooting — especially from deep — dried up in the quarter as they only made one shot from behind the arc.
– Meanwhile, the Thunder couldn’t miss from three, sinking eight triples and finished the half 31-of-46 from the field and 12-of-20 from deep. The Knicks, on the other hand, shot 26-of-51 from the field and just 5-of-14 from three.
What was once a 13-point lead for New York quickly changed to a six-point Oklahoma City lead at halftime.
– In the third quarter, it was all Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who scored 23 points in the quarter.
– The Knicks did what they could on offense, scoring 33 points in the third, but it was no match for the Thunder’s 43 points and after three, New York’s deficit grew to 16 points as they were down 122-106.
– Head coach Tom Thibodeau benched Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett for the entire fourth quarter with the Thunder’s lead seemingly out of reach. Brunson scored 17 points in three quarters while Barrett had just four points on an off day shooting the ball.
– Cam Reddish and Immanuel Quickley were two of the few players on the Knicks that kept them around in the fourth quarter. Reddish scored a team-high 26 points and Quickley had 24 points of his own. Julius Randle also scored 25 points and secured 10 rebounds.
Story continues
– The Knicks outscored the Thunder 29-23 in the fourth quarter but by that point, the game was over. Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 37 points while Josh Giddey and Luguentz Dort each added 24 points.
– Overall, Oklahoma City shot 62.5 percent from the field and 54.8 percent from three. The team also made 90 percent of its free throws.
Highlights
What’s next
The Knicks hit the road to Utah to face off against the Jazz on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 9 p.m.
