OKC Thunder Close Out Homestand with 129-120 Win Over the New York Knicks
The Thunder claimed a 129-120 win over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night in the team's second night of a back-to-back, concluding its five-game homestand inside Paycom Center.
Over the course of the next six weeks, the Thunder will have six back-to-backs in a vigorous January.
Both the Thunder and the Knicks came into Wednesday night's game off notably impressive performances.
For Oklahoma City, it was an offensive masterclass against the No. 1 team in the West, the Minnesota Timberwolves, beating them by a wide, 23-point margin at home on Tuesday.
For New York, it was a 129-122 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Christmas Day.
This was the two teams' first meeting of the season, leaving one more game for the matchup in late march.
Jalen Williams had one of, if not his best, performance on the season, leading all scorers and surpassing his career high in points with 36 on 13-of-17 from the field, and hitting five-for-five from three.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued his season-long high quality play, also adding 36 points on 13-of-23 shooting. His distribution was also key in the win, racking up eight assists.
Chet Holmgren played to his pace for the Thunder and notched 22 points, five rebounds and four blocks
Missing an integral piece in Mitchell Robinson due to injury, the Knicks heavily relied on a number of players.
Jalen Brunson took a dip from his 35-plus point performances in his last two games against the Thunder, but still scored 24 points on 9-of-19 shooting.
Julius Randle led New York in scoring with 25 points and nine boards on the night.
And off the bench, Immanuel Quickley provided a great boost with 22 points with four 3-pointers
Oklahoma City picked up where it left off from Tuesday night in the first quarter, spreading the wealth and shooting 64% from the field as a team, while adding six threes on just eight tries.
15 combined points between Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams, as well as 16 extra bench points between five second unit players anchored Oklahoma City in the first.
Aaron Wiggins in particular was impactful as soon as he entered the lineup, adding a 3-point threat to the floor, defensive pressure and facilitation to provide a spark for a quick run late in the quarter.
Another large part of the early success was derived from Gilgeous-Alexander's playmaking, as he used his dribble penetration created several scores for himself and others from each level — giving the Thunder a 13-point advantage by the end of the opening frame.
By the start of the second quarter, head coach Mark Daigneault had already let 12 players see the floor, handing an opportunity to players like Tre Mann and Davis Bertans.
Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams continued to sustain their production, anchoring the Thunder in a number of facets throughout the second.
Though, efforts from Brunson, Barrett and Quickley led to New York cutting Oklahoma City's lead down to as little as four.
But Gilgeous-Alexander would conduct a quick 7-0 run along with a three from Isaiah Joe within the span of a minute — helping maintain a 69-60 lead heading into half time.
The Knicks saw themselves improved on both sides of the floor out of the break, tying it at 81 apiece just over halfway into the quarter.
A handful of free throws and scores from Randle and Brunson primed their overcoming of a 12-point deficit, but New York could never quite take over as Oklahoma City kept a 93-89 lead heading into the final frame.
The Thunder were able to bear the last few waves of the contest, as Holmgren's defensive presence, a very strong fourth quarter from Williams and a plethora of 3-pointers late ultimately secured them the victory.
Next, Oklahoma City will take on the Denver Nuggets at 8 p.m. CT on Friday inside Ball Arena before returning back home on Sunday.
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