The Knicks faced the Western Conference-leading Thunder on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden in a matchup of two of the NBA's best.

Here are the takeaways...

- The Knicks went cold offensively to start the fourth quarter, mustering just six points in the first 5:27 while falling into a 92-86 hole as the Thunder went on a 15-6 run to open the frame.

New York also committed five fouls early in the fourth, putting them over the limit with over half of the frame remaining -- something that helped do them in.

OG Anunoby's drive and stuff brought New York within 94-91 with about 4:30 remaining, but they got no closer the rest of the way.

Trailing, 103-100, and with the shot clock turned off, the Knicks had a chance to tie things as time expired. But Jalen Brunson and Anunoby both missed three-pointers that would've sent the game to overtime.

The officiating that seemed to be one-sided in favor of the Thunder in the first half was also dubious in the fourth. On one questionable call, Karl-Anthony Towns -- who had 17 points and 17 rebounds -- fouled out with around three minutes remaining. Towns had recently been whistled for a foul that was only called upon review -- discovered by the officials on a challenge by OKC on an out-of-bounds call.

- Despite losing Josh Hart (back) for the third quarter and being without Brunson for a chunk of it as well after he went to the locker room, the Knicks remained in the thick of things. After falling behind a game-high 15, New York drew to within three points with under four minutes remaining in the frame -- due in part to strong play by Landry Shamet and Mikal Bridges.

The Knicks evened things up with about three minutes remaining in the third, when Brunson's three-pointer took a circuitous route off before dropping through to make it 72-72. He nailed another three soon after to knot things up at 75-all. Bridges punctuated the third quarter, draining a corner three as time expired to put the Knicks up, 80-77.

New York scored 40 points in the third after managing just 40 in the first two quarters combined.

After a slow start offensively, Brunson was a catalyst in the frame, with 11 points and three assists as the Knicks mounted their comeback.

- The Knicks trailed, 50-40, at halftime. New York shot just 36 percent from the field in the first half, with Oklahoma City shooting at a 46 percent clip. The Thunder shot 43 percent from three while the Knicks were ice cold, shooting just 25 percent.

None of the Knicks scored in double figures in the first half, as Towns and Mohamed Diawara led the way with nine each.

- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got into early foul trouble, being forced to the bench at the 7:36 mark of the first quarter after a blocking foul. But Chet Holmgren picked up the slack. He was a menace from behind the arc early on, pacing the Thunder early as he drilled four shots from long distance in the first eight minutes, putting the Knicks in a 20-10 hole. Holmgren led all players with 22 first-half points, including back-to-back threes in the final minute.

- Brunson got off to an extremely slow start scoring-wise, with his first bucket not coming until there were 30 seconds left in the first quarter. Brunson was held scoreless in the second quarter after sitting for the first five-plus minutes, though he did dish out seven assists in the first half.

- Head coach Mike Brown got hit with a technical foul (his first of the season) with a few minutes left in the first quarter. He was hot after the previous Thunder possession, where SGA appeared to get away with a charge (and avoided his third foul) while running over Brunson -- who was set and not in the restricted area.

In addition to the seemingly-blown call that benefited SGA and led Brown to blow his top, the Knicks were the recipients of several questionable whistles in the first half on either clear play-ons or ticky-tack calls, leaving the MSG crowd groaning.

- The Knicks shook up their five-man group early, turning to a lineup of Brunson, Hart, Shamet, Diawara, and Ariel Hukporti midway through the first quarter with New York down seven. Diawara gave the Knicks an immediate spark, nailing his first two shots -- both from downtown.

- New York was without center Mitchell Robinson, whose workload has been managed carefully this season -- he has yet to play both ends of a back-to-back. Robinson played 20 minutes during Tuesday night's win over the Raptors in Toronto, pulling down 10 rebounds and notching a pair of steals.

Here are the takeaways...

Highlights

Popular in the Community