Thunder 101, Knicks 89: It was indeed a trap
The New York Knicks walked into a game designed for them to win, and managed to throw it away in a repugnant fashion. Welcome back to planet Earth.
Hey, they’re still above .500.
That’s one of the few silver linings you can draw from the New York Knicks’ loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. After winning three straight games, and four of their last five, they put together just 89 points on offense and shot just 36% on the night.
For the first time since *checks notes, i.e. JB’s tweets* last March, the Knicks walked into this game as the favored party. They were playing in Madison Square Garden, and against a Thunder team that was on the fourth night of a five-game road trip — what could go wrong?
After all, we’ve been lead to believe these are a *new* New York Knicks, so our optimism and willingness to display such are entirely warranted. It was shaping up to be a fourth straight win for the Knicks, after a Julius Randle lob connected with Mitchell Robinson and gave them an 8-2 lead over the Thunder, forcing the first timeout from OKC head coach Mark Daigneault.
But neither offense was able to produce much in the first quarter, with RJ Barrett handing in a sloppy and slapdash nine-point performance at the end of the twelve minute period. Despite his recent All-NBA caliber play, even Randle fell victim to their offensive woes, and had to leave the floor before the end of the first quarter when he collected his second foul. His frustration would be visible all night long, but more on that later. Head coach Tom Thibodeau closed out the quarter with a lineup featuring Austin Rivers, Immanuel Quickley, Barrett, Kevin Knox, and Nerlens Noel. It was enough to maintain New York’s lead, but just barely, and that’s in a quarter where the Thunder shot an abysmal 21% from the field.
The second quarter opened up, and featured a lot of Hamidou Diallo. For those of you not familiar, he was the champion of the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest back in 2019. But it quickly became apparent that he was capable of more than that. His defensive efforts and a step-back jumper over Noel brought the Thunder back within three, just minutes into the second quarter. Within the next two minutes Thibodeau would call his first two timeouts, which whether you watched the game or not, should provide enough clues to make a conclusion on context.
New York and Oklahoma City finished the first half amidst a magnanimous game of chicken — with both parties waiting for the other to put together any form of an NBA offense. Within that, Knicks fans were treated to some positive moments, finally, in the form of Kevin Knox’s continued development. In the back half of the second quarter alone, the 21-year-old:
Caught a bounce pass from Rivers in the corner and drained a 3-pointer.
Put on a defensive effort within the post, all but limiting any shot attempts.
Connected on another 3-pointer to give the Knicks a five-point lead.
Caught a loose ball fumbled by a Thunder player and recovered it in bounds to Barrett, who went on to score a transition basket and restore New York’s lead.
I still believe. You should still believe.
It’s at this time that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander started hitting some shots, proving luck alone was to credit for the Knicks facing just a tie game going into halftime. The strangest statistic? Julius Randle went scoreless in the first half, but still made sure to make his mark on the game. He walked into halftime with six assists and five rebounds. His ability to affect the game without being able to rely on his jump shot is a huge development if it continues. It didn’t last long.
Randle opened up the third quarter with a pair of jumpers, finding a rhythm and flow, particularly in the form of flat-out abuse of Darius Bazley in those mismatch situations. He finished with 11 points in the third quarter, with not much else happening on the offensive side of the ball for New York. But his being “hot” didn’t just translate in his shot-making ability. There were multiple points near the end of the third where Randle was frustrated, and letting it known to his teammates. I suppose that’s where we’re at, within his All-Star campaign. And honestly? Good on him. He’s the best player on this team by a mile, and there’s no doubt Thibs approves.
New York meandered into the final period down 69-63, still instilling hope that they could turn things around as they did in recent games with the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz. But the game moved too quickly for them in the fourth quarter, and Thibodeau made some questionable rotation decisions. You might have an idea where I’m going with this. It didn’t take long for Immanuel Quickley to amass the love of a fiercely loyal New York Knicks fanbase. But his play on Friday night might just be enough to make a dent in that. Quickley finished the night with just three points on 1-9 shooting from the field and no free throw attempts. The last part of that sentence is the deadliest. As a rookie, Quickley has largely impressed, in composure especially. But on Friday night, he was scatter-brained: playing for fouls in his best James Harden impression, passing up open shots, and trying to do too much for the losing side.
Notes
Even though he didn’t play much (if any) of the fourth quarter, Mitchell Robinson continues to force regret into the mouths of the non-believers. He finished Friday night with six points, five rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. Three fouls, yeah, but it was another strong outing for a guy who the Knicks need to be even better.
For the few of you that remain on Kevin Knox Island, I respect you. But at this point in time, if not already, it should be clear that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the steal of the 2018 NBA Draft. He finished the Thunder’s victory over New York with 25 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and a block in 34 minutes.
Despite his shooting struggles, Reggie Bullock continues to be a productive defensive presence on the floor for the Knicks. He does the little things that both New York’s head coach and the fans should truly appreciate. At one point in the third quarter, he made a quick foul on Gilgeous-Alexander before he could get out in transition, one the Knicks had to give. That’s not something anyone on this team was doing last season, and it’s just one example.
One trend I’ll be keeping tabs on moving forward is the success of non-traditional centers against Robinson, especially as he continues developing. Al Horford finished the night with 15 points, eight rebounds, and a steal. While his scoring was entirely done in the first half, that may also support Robinson’s little playing time in the second half. Horford was a little too open from the perimeter in the first half.
In case you are panicking, which you shouldn’t be, the New York Knicks are still an above-.500 team. They walk out of Friday night with five wins and four losses, good for the sixth-best record in the Eastern Conference, right behind the Milwaukee Bucks.
Lastly, and I’m never the kind of fan to harp on these kinds of components to the game… The New York Knicks are missing: the eighth overall pick from the 2020 NBA Draft, their best scoring and shooting option in Alec Burks, and a guy whose defense may have very well won this game for them in the fourth quarter in Frank Ntilikina. Any and all questions about this team as they stand will be answered if/when they are healthy.
All things settled, the Thunder claimed their second straight victory and third win in four nights, scoring 101 points to the Knicks’ 89. Prior to the game, I thought all the fuss about this being a scheduled trap game was both fan- and media-influenced hogwash.
It was indeed a trap. The Thunder caught the Knicks riding high, which, as New York has learned tonight, is the easiest position from which to be knocked down. All the same, it’s very possible we can’t properly assess this game until Sunday night. If the Knicks can come out and play twice as hard, hit their shots, and at a minimum be competitive in their bout with the Denver Nuggets… Friday night’s loss will be all but forgotten. Even contending teams have to lose, right? New York’s only surprised us this season. Before we take the bait, and grab the low hanging fruit by rushing to judgement, let’s give them the opportunity to shock us again.
