After losing in a dogfight last week, the New York Knicks came out completely flat in their rematch with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, losing by a score of 126-101. The Knicks have now last four of their last five games and fall to 25-14, while the Thunder have won 16 of their last 17 games and are now 31-6.
The Knicks’ three-point woes returned against the Thunder
On Wednesday against the Raptors, the Knicks looked to have snapped their streak of poor shooting performances. However, the Thunder’s tenacious defense shut down New York offensively.
The Knicks shot 4-for-31 from three, including 2-for-15 in the first half. They couldn’t get any clean looks whatsoever, as Oklahoma City’s zone defense slowed down their ball movement, which in turn led to bad shots.
The Thunder, meanwhile, couldn’t miss from all over the court. Isaiah Joe, who entered the game averaging 8.1 points per game, exploded for 23 first-half points, en route to a 31-point night, which is his season-high.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also gave the Thunder a team-high 39 points on 15-for-21 shooting from the floor, and dominated New York all night long. As a team, Oklahoma City shot 53.9% from the floor and 51.9% from three, which is alarming given that they are not particularly known for their shooting.
Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby had horrible performances against the Thunder
The Knicks’ wing pairing of Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby provided nothing on either end of the floor against the Thunder.
Bridges had his worst game of the season, scoring zero points on 0-for-9 shooting from the floor and 0-for-7 from three in 32 minutes. He had his first scoreless game of the season and just couldn’t get his shot to fall at all. He was a team-worst -23.
Anunoby struggled mightily as well, as he went scoreless in the first half and provided just four points on the night overall. He shot 2-for-8 from the floor and 0-for-5 from three.
Both players couldn’t give New York anything on either end of the floor, and their struggles were catalysts behind the Knicks’ disastrous performance.
The Knicks’ defense was horrendous
The Knicks played some of their worst defense of the season against the Thunder. Oklahoma City scored 58 points in the paint, and the Knicks had no answer for them inside the arc.
New York’s perimeter defense was stagnant, and the Thunder were just penetrating inside the arc repeatedly. The Knicks failed to adjust to their scoring game plan, which in turn led to very easy buckets for Oklahoma City.
The Knicks’ lack of depth continues to hurt them on both ends. They are badly missing Mitchell Robinson, as they have no size off the bench without him. This team may need to have some tough decisions to make in the next month as the trade deadline approaches if they want to improve the bench.
Overview
The Knicks have entered a cold spell, and this performance against the Thunder should be a wake-up call for a team with big aspirations. They will have a chance to end the drought on Sunday against the Milwaukee Bucks.