Knicks 119, Thunder 97: “Yo! I’m a Knick!”
The Knicks got back to their winning ways in a big way, behind a career-high scoring effort from RJ Barrett, a triple-double from Julius Randle, and a strong case to start by Immanuel Quickley. There were a lot of storylines in this one: what’s your pleasure?
The New York Knicks topped the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-97 Saturday afternoon in Oklahoma City. The win puts New York back over. 500 and back into a tie with Boston for fifth in the East. Any number of storylines could be the lead in the lede from this one. What’s your pleasure?
Maybe you prefer the RJ Barrett angle. Barrett scored a career-high 32, including 22 in the second half, many during the game’s denouement. On a day the Thunder started two teenagers, Aleksej Pokuševski and Théo Maledon, the Knicks’ 20-year-old illustrated what a chasm in class a single year can signify. Maybe you prefer the Julius Randle storyline. The All-Star rebounded from his season’s low point Thursday in Milwaukee with his second triple-double this season. When it came time to put the game away, Randle pull-ups rained down like nails into a coffin.
Maybe you prefer the Immanuel Quickley approach. In a game that saw the Knicks absent both Elfrid Payton and Derrick Rose, Frank Ntilikina got the starting nod — but it was Quickley who spent most of the night on the court, including opening the second half with the starters. Five floaters, three 3-pointers and 21 points later, it’s fair to wonder if today marked the beginning of a new role for IQ — and if Frank’s latest last chance has finally passed him by.
Maybe you prefer to focus on the defensive end, where New York surrendered just 43 second-half points and fewer than 100 for just the third time in their last 13 road games. The Knicks entered the game with the league’s best 3-point defense, and OKC going 8-32 from deep will only strengthen that ranking. The Knicks also held the Thunder without a single offensive rebound in the first half and forced 18 turnovers while only committing 10, and honestly a LOT of those “forced” turnovers were anything but.
Maybe you prefer to note the Knicks have been .500 or better for two weeks now. Consistency may be the hobgoblin of little minds, but it’s also the subatomica of winning teams, and while we keep hearing reasons for why this Knicks team won’t hang on to that identity, we’re more than halfway through the season and here they are, still hanging on. Maybe this Road Trip of Death won’t be the pothole that blows out their season. Joel Embiid is out for the next couple of weeks with a bone bruise in his knee. The 76ers are 24-7 when he plays, but just 2-5 when he sits. Maybe the Knicks finish this road trip 2-2 before kicking off a four-game home stand featuring Orlando, a second game with the shorthanded Sixers, and consecutive games hosting Washington.
Maybe you’re the pessimistic sort, more interested in the half of the glass that’s empty. In that case, this one had you covered: the Knicks were missing Rose, Payton and Mitchell Robinson, while the Thunder were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, George Hill, Darius Bazley, and the recently-traded Hamidou Diallo, who torched New York when the teams met in January. Maybe your glass is always half-full, in which case you couldn’t have missed Randle’s immediate uptick in play; he had eight in the first after scoring only seven in his last game. Ntilikina’s second foul, with the first not even at its midpoint, paved the way for Quickley’s extended run.
Maybe it’s drama you crave. You long for the lows to bottom out so the highs will take that much more of your breath away. In which case, this game had you covered early: OKC was up double-digits quickly, thanks in part to making 10 of their first 12 shots. It took almost eight minutes for any Knick besides Randle to score in the half court. Fortunately, while the Knicks are usually too polite to force turnovers (second-to-last in the NBA), the Thunder were gracious and insistent in doing so. That helped, as did RJ, JR, and IQ all finding success in the paint
Quickley was particularly prolific in the early going.
Still, he, like Frank, had to leave the action with two fouls. For a stretch, Alec Burks was the nominal point guard — though in truth, as long as Randle is upright, the offense runs through him. Burks got off to a slow start. Then he started heating up.
A 6-point RJ flurry pulled the Knicks within reach of the lead, and a pair of Randle free throws put the Knicks up. Barrett drove and found Randle for a corner three. Randle drew contact pushing up the floor and got back to the line. Bullock nailed a 3-pointer. Just like that, the Knicks were setting the pace and not looking back. The Knicks had three players with 10-plus points at the half and Burks on the cusp with nine. OKC had one, Luguentz Dort, on the strength of his going 8-of-8 at the line. Spoiler: he would not get to the line eight times in the second half.
Quickley opened the second half with the starters, but after the Thunder briefly reclaimed the lead it was RJ who was the difference. He hit from deep, had a tough off-hand finish, hit a pair of free throws, then scored a layup after IQ stole the inbounds. Barrett’s one-man 9-0 run was the driving force behind a 14-2 burst that gave New York the lead for good. By the time Barrett found Quickley in transition, the lead was double-digits
The Knicks won the second half by 20 points and the game by 22. Whatever facet of this jewel’s face you fixate on, it’s a nice face.
Notes
RJ’s scored 20-plus in five of his last six games. I wonder how many GMs today would rather have Eric Paschall or Brandon Clarke over him.
Mike Breen announced this was Randle’s 13th game this season with 7-plus assists. Last year he had but one. Randle is the first Knick since Mark Jackson in 1989 with multiple triple-doubles in the same season.
Another test, another A for IQ. And if floaters are your thing, this was a good night to be him. And you.
Frank was benched five minutes in and didn’t return until the last two minutes. As the world turns...
Burks’ scoring punch off the bench valuable today. He scored 15 and only shot 6-of-18, but it’s his willingness to launch that keeps the defense on its toes even when his marksmanship is off.
Al Horford started at center for the Thunder. He entered the day having played 878 games in his career. OKC’s other four starters combined had 156.
OKC is the only team in the league that won’t have fans at all this year. I say this for perhaps the first time in my life: much respect, Thunder.
MSG trivia: OKC head coach Mark Daigneault is youngest in the NBA at 35. Who’s the youngest head coach in NBA history?
Every game at some point Breen or Clyde Frazier point out how the other team only has X fouls, with X always a strikingly low number.
Both Knicks centers, Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson, formerly played for OKC. Once a should-be Sonic, always a should-be Sonic.
Trivia answer: Dave DeBusschere, who at 24 was the player-coach of the Detroit Pistons.
Quoth Barrett the night he was drafted: “Yo! I’m a Knick!” It’s easier to believe that’s a chest-puffing statement more and more these days, especially with RJ’s contributions to the cause. Next game is Monday at Philadelphia, another test in a season where they just keep coming. So far the Knicks are passing with flying colors. We’ll see if they can keep it up.
