Knicks takeaways from Wednesday's 129-120 loss to Thunder, including costly turnovers
The Knicks fought hard to come back after a slow first quarter, but turnovers proved to be the difference, losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 129-120.
Here are the takeaways….
- Riding high off a 38-point performance on Christmas against the Milwaukee Bucks, Jalen Brunson picked up where he left off. The point guard made a floater, grabbed his own miss and put it back in, and then found Donte DiVincenzo for three as the Knicks trailed OKC almost midway through the first quarter, 13-11. DiVincenzo scored again right out of a timeout, but then Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander started to get going with seven quick points to push the lead to 25-16 and force a Tom Thibodeau timeout.
New York got a boost off the bench from veteran Taj Gibson, but OKC charged ahead to close out the first quarter by forcing a Julius Randle turnover and then blocking his layup on the following possession, leading to five easy points. The Thunder led 38-25 after one, as SGA had eight points and Randle had seven to lead their teams. NY was just 2-for-8 from three, while the Thunder shot 6-for-8 from deep to begin the game (six different players made the shots).
- Quentin Grimes and Immanuel Quickley provided a spark for the Knicks to open the second, as Grimes made a three and Quickley scored five straight to make it 48-37. RJ Barrett cut the deficit to single digits with a floater and then hit 1-of-2 at the line to make it an eight-point game. Quickley hit another three and Brunson hit one of his own from deep few possessions later, as the Knicks trailed 52-48.
Barrett picked up his third foul with 3:10 left in the half, as the turnover led to an SGA three-pointer that put the Thunder up 59-48. DiVincenzo nailed back-to-back threes to keep NY in the game, but they struggled to find a way to stop Gilgeous-Alexander from creating and scoring for OKC.
- OKC led 69-60 at the half, as the Knicks outscored them 35-31 in the second quarter. Randle and DiVincenzo paced NY with 11 points apiece, while Quickley had 10 off the bench and Brunson added in nine points. SGA led the Thunder with 19 first-half points on 7-for-9 shooting plus five assists and Jalen Williams had 14 points. The main difference in the box score at the break was the turnover differential, as NY had 10 to OKC's one.
- DiVincenzo made another three early in the third and Brunson scored on a floater and hit the foul shot to complete the three-point play. Randle scored in transition and took a hard foul, but didn't get the call, as the Knicks still trailed, 79-72. The Thunder broke out some zone defense, but Randle still found his way to the line to cut into the deficit. Randle continued to attack and then Josh Hart went on a one-man fast break to tie the game at 81-81.
Hart tried to push the fast break but the ball got tipped and wound up in SGA's hands underneath the hoop for an easy basket to go up 87-83, forcing a Thibs' timeout. Brunson held onto the ball for a final shot, attacked, but was blocked by Chet Holmgren at the rim. New York outscored OKC, 29-24, in the third, yet they still trailed, 93-89.
- Grimes made his second three of the night to open the fourth, but Williams came right back with a three of his own to keep it a four-point OKC lead. Holmgren and Williams then pushed the Thunder lead to 106-96 with about eight minutes left in the game. Holmgren blocked an Isaiah Hartenstein dunk attempt and prevented the big man from putting it back in. Quickley gave the Knicks life with a three and a mid-range floater, cutting the OKC lead to six with five minutes remaining.
Williams' big night for the Thunder continued, as the second-year wing drained a mid-range jumper and buried a three after another Holmgren block to put OKC up 116-106. Williams then hit another three to give him 35 points on the night. Holmgren recorded his fourth block of the night, leading to an SGA three-pointer to ice the game.
- Randle and Brunson finished with 25 and 24 points, respectively, while Quickley added 22 off the bench. The Knicks shot 50 percent from the field but lost the turnover battle, 18-4. Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams led the way for OKC, both scoring 36 points.
Highlights
What’s next
The Knicks will stay on the road against the Orlando Magic on Friday at 7 p.m.
