Thunder strikes New York

OKC 103 - New York 100

It has been an intriguing season in New York. The season began with big expectations. They let their former coach, Tom Thibodeau, go because he couldn’t get them to the NBA Finals. From winning the NBA Cup to losing nine of eleven games shortly thereafter, the Knicks under Mike Brown have at times looked like a true title contender and at other times like a team that needs to be broken up and reconstituted in the offseason. The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, on the other hand, started the season in dominant fashion, going 12-1 in their first 13 games, and maintained an elite winning percentage all season long.

The low point of the Knicks’ season this year was their disappointing home loss to the lowly Dallas Mavericks on MLK Day. Since hitting bottom, they’ve bounced back to their former level. Since that loss, the Knicks have boasted the league's best defense, improving from 18th to first in defensive rating, and have held four of their last five opponents under 100 points.

So what changed? Some subtle shifts in philosophy have helped. During that late January resurgence, the coaching staff simplified the team’s pick-and-roll coverage, funneling ball-handlers to the sidelines instead of toward the middle of the floor. The team is also starting to defend further away from their basket to try to disrupt their opponents from getting into an early offensive rhythm and force the worst percentage shot in the NBA, a shot with the 24-second shot clock winding down.

Personnel also matters. OG Anunoby has come back from injury. Karl-Anthony Towns is playing noticeably better defense, and the Knicks traded a non-factor, Gershon Yabusele, and brought in defensive pest Jose Alvarado to shore up their defense at the point-of-attack.

The Knicks beat the Raptors in Toronto on Tuesday night, making the game against Oklahoma City their second back-to-back game. These games are tough because the team doesn’t get a day off between contests. The Knicks are 6-4 this season on short rest. Last season, under Tom Thibodeau, they were only 6-9 in such games. Thibodeau played his starters more minutes than Brown does, and their record on short rest reflects that.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were also on the second night of a back-to-back, having beaten the Bulls in Chicago on Tuesday night without their top player and MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder were 3-6 on back-to-backs. With both teams on short rest, this game would serve as a litmus test for the Knicks to gauge themselves against the best.

Game Night

The Knicks (40-22, third in the East), riding high after three straight wins (at Milwaukee, at home against San Antonio, and at Toronto), were back home for a matchup with the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder (48-15, first in the West, defending NBA champions).

Prior to this game:

• The Knicks had played the Seattle Sonics / Oklahoma City Thunder 143 times in the regular season, with the Thunder holding a 75-68 record.

• The Knicks had lost four in a row to the Thunder.

Seating Chart

I waited until I was walking down 33rd Street, about 30 minutes before tip-off, to find a ticket. The Bridge level wasn’t available, so I chose a center-court seat in the upper bowl, in Section 211, Row 9. There were surprisingly many Thunder fans in my section. Directly to my left sat two Oklahoma City fans, with the one next to me giving off unshaven Wyatt Russell vibes. For a moment, I thought they might be cool to talk to about the game, but their annoying and constant commentary praising Shai Gilgeous Alexander was too much for me to entertain.

Injury Report

Mitchell Robinson isn’t playing in back-to-back games this season. Since he was active against the Raptors, he was unavailable for this game. Miles McBride was out for New York, while Jalen Williams was out for OKC.

Game Notes

The first quarter started slowly for New York. OKC took a 20-10 lead. “We're gonna have so much fun tonight, man,” insufferable Russell Wyatt told his friend.¹ That's when Mohamed Diawara made a three-pointer to cut into the lead. Alex Caruso missed a pair of free throws, and Diawara hit another three, bringing the Knicks within four, 20-16, with three minutes to play. Later, with time running out in the quarter, Jalen Brunson passed the ball to OG Anunoby, who hit a corner three to cut the Thunder's lead to two, 25-23, and take some air out of Russell’s balloon.

Chet Holmgren (14 points on 5-7 from the field) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (9 points on 4-7 from the field) combined for 23 of the Thunder’s 25 first-quarter points. Jalen Brunson got off to a slow start, hitting only one of his five shots for two points.

The second quarter started, and Mohamed Diawara made his third three-pointer of the game, giving the Knicks the lead. “Who the fuck is Diawara?” said ugly Russell Wyatt. I felt a brief moment of schadenfreude when Russell uttered those words in awe and wonder. Brief only because the Knicks’ offense went cold, shooting 7-22 overall in the period and 1-10 from three in the quarter, while OKC went 6-9 from three in the second quarter and led at the half, 50-40. At the hald Brunson was still stuck on 2 points, having shot 1-8 from the field². The Knicks as a team shot just 36% from the field in the first half.

Whatever malaise had befallen the Knicks' shooting seemed to spread to their defense at the start of the third period. Within the first three minutes, OKC extended its lead to fifteen, 63-48. That’s when the Knicks flipped a switch and went on a 32-14 run the rest of the quarter. I was enjoying the soulful wailing of my neighbor who griped to his friend about how they were “getting beat by Landry F’n Shamet!” The Knicks outscored OKC 40-27 in the third quarter, which was tied at 77 before a Mikal Bridges three from the corner, assisted by Brunson, gave the Knicks their largest lead of the game, 80-77. By the end of the quarter, the Knicks had improved their shooting to a respectable 45%. Brunson was up to 13 points and 10 assists while Karl-Anthony Towns had 15 points and 12 rebounds.

The Knicks extended their early fourth-quarter lead to four, 83-79, before the Thunder stormed back and took an 86-83 lead behind a three from Kenrich Williams with 8:55 remaining. With OKC leading 98-92, Towns was called for a phantom foul on SGA, and Mike Brown didn’t challenge. Towns fouled out with 17 points and 17 rebounds. SGA made both free throws to put OKC up by eight, 100-92, with three minutes left. The Knicks, to their credit, kept fighting behind Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson, but with a chance to send the game into overtime, Brunson missed his three-point shot, and the Knicks lost 103-100.

Final Thoughts

I really wanted that win, if for nothing else than to send the OKC fans home with some humility. It was still a fun game and one that should give Knicks fans hope. There were stretches of outstanding individual defensive plays. In one sequence, Alex Caruso stole the ball, and moments later, OG Anunoby stole it back. The Knicks also had some beautiful moments on offense with 14 fast-break points.

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault used his coach’s challenge twice: once to overturn an OG Anunoby basket and foul that would have sent him to the line for a three-point play, and another time to tag a fifth foul on Karl-Anthony Towns, resulting in a possession change for the Thunder. Both were crucial moments in the game. Mike Brown didn’t challenge at all, even when Towns picked up his sixth foul for getting too close to Shai. In a game decided by three points, I think it’s fair to say that coaching was a key factor. The Thunder coaching staff strategically used challenges to manipulate the score, while the most Brown could do was get a technical foul called on him, giving the Thunder a point.

The Knicks play the Thunder again on Sunday, March 29th.

Up Next

The Knicks travel tomorrow to kick off a five-game road trip starting in Denver, with stops in Los Angeles, Utah, and Indiana. If everything goes as planned, I’ll join them again on the West Coast. My wife and I plan to catch the Lakers game on Sunday afternoon, followed by the Clippers game on Monday evening at Intuit Dome.

1. I have never wanted to hit anyone in the face at a Knicks game, but I was getting close.

2. He had 7 assists at that point, on his way to a Season-High 15 assists on the night.