The Oklahoma City Thunder win their 2nd straight game and move up to 6-7 after an incredible road win against the New York Knicks, who are now 6-7 as well. The final score was 145-135, and as you can tell, a lot of offense. The Thunder's 145 is the most points scored by any team this season, and their third straight game with 132+. Another wild fact if it is the most points the Thunder have scored since January 2018, when they had Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony.
(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
The moment this game tipped off, the Knicks came out hot. They built up a 13 point lead in the late 1st, and ended it up by 12, 48-36. Knicks just could not miss and were throwing down alley-oops, everything going their way. Then OKC heated up in the 2nd, scoring 43 points and holding New York to only 25. That was good enough for a 79-73 lead at halftime for the Thunder. The 3rd quarter though, is when the Thunder pulled away thanks to Shai catching absolute fire. He scored 14 straight for OKC and finished with 21 3rd quarter points. That helped OKC get ANOTHER 43 point quarter and have a 16 point lead entering the final frame. The Knicks were able to cut the deficit down to single digits, but Thunder were able to close it out thanks to a pair of and-1s from Lu Dort.
Thunder were mainly led by SGA, but he had a lot of help this afternoon. A great overall team win, similar to Friday's win over the Raptors. The knicks were able to stay in the game due to drawing fouls. They had 33 free throw attempts to just 20 for OKC. OKC countered though with their 3-point shooting, which was flaming hot tonight, 17-31 (54.8%). Not just beyond the arc, but the Thunder were incredibly effecient from everywhere shooting 62.5% FG, 54.8% 3PT, and 90% FT. Another thing that stood out was that they earned 31 assists, same as last game, and 12 of those being by Josh Giddey who had a triple-double. Tre Mann left the game in the 2nd quarter due to low back soreness, hopefully nothing serious.
Box Score:
OKC:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 37p, 5r, 8a, 3s, 2b
Josh Giddey: 24p, 10r, 12a
Luguentz Dort: 24p, 3r, 1b
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl: 17p, 7r
Aleksej Pokusevski: 12p, 3a, 1s, 1b
Isaiah Joe: 8p, 3r, 2s
Jalen Williams: 8p
NYK:
Cam Reddish: 26p, 3r, 4s
Julius Randle: 25p, 10r, 3a
Immanuel Quickley: 24p, 5a, 3s
Jalen Brunson: 17p, 7a, 3s
Isaiah Hartenstein: 14p, 7r
Obi Toppin: 10p, 2r
Jericho Sims: 8p, 8r
Derrick Rose: 7p, 2r, 4a
Awards:
Most Valuable:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Know Your Role:
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
Defensive Lockdown:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Make sure to follow @OKCDistrict_ for all the news, updates, and more on the Thunder! As always, Thunder up.
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