Some will no doubt appreciate the way the New York Knicks played against the defending champions on Wednesday night. Alas for New York, playing okay against OKC will be far from okay.
A valiant hosting effort at Madison Square Garden fell just short, as the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder escaped from New York with a 103-100 win over the Knicks. Chet Holmgren (28) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (26) united for 54 points en route to OKC’s fourth consecutive victory.
The final was a scrappy effort for the Knicks (40-23), who had to play sizable stretches without both Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, both of whom returned to the locker room at separate points to address nagging ailments.
Karl-Anthony Towns, posting a serendipitous double-double at 17 points and rebounds each, helped keep the Knicks alive, as did depth stars Mohamad Diawara and Landry Shamet.
Gilgeous-Alexander created seemingly impenetrable leads in the final stanzas, notably sinking a step-back triple that put the visitors up seven with 1:18 to go.
Consecutive tallies from Hart and Brunson quickly created a one-possession game with time to spare. Hart then secured a Holmgren miss, which gave the Knicks an opportunity to plan for the equalizer.
Two good looks, however, fell just short: Brunson got open in the corner and fired away before the Thunder could foul, but a swish failed to materialize. Mikal Bridges secured the rebound and found an open OG Anunoby at the top of the key but his would-be matcher fell off the front of the rim, securing the latest metropolitan heartbreaker.
Fortunately for New York, another chance to prove its worth against the Thunder awaits on March 29. In the meantime, the Knicks seek a further Rocky Mountain high on Friday night, when they tip off a five-game road trip against the Denver Nuggets (9 p.m. ET, MSG).
