The New York Knicks came into Chesapeake Energy Arena with a chip on their shoulder as they prepared to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in their second road game following the All-star break. They suffered a brutal loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday. They needed to walk out of this with a win because they knew they would be playing back-to-back games against two teams at the top of the Eastern Conference.
The Knicks were off to a slow start. The Thunder led by 5 early in the first quarter, forcing the Knicks to call a timeout. However, even after talking it over, they still looked hopeless. Their defense watched the Thunder shoot 71% from the field – a team that is 25th in the NBA in field goal percentage. The Knicks were down 10 at the halfway point of the quarter. It was not until they capitalized off 3 turnovers by the Thunder that they were able to cut their deficit to 4. That would be as close as they got. Eventually, the Knicks let the Thunder come back, and they would go into the second trailing by 9. The score at the end of the first was 31-22.
The Thunder did not waste any time starting the second quarter. A jumpshot by Kenrich Williams put the Thunder up 11. However, a stellar performance off the bench by Immanuel Quickley and Alec Burks put the Knicks back in it. Quickley was 5-for-7 from the field, and 2-for-4 from downtown. He also had 12 points in just 12 minutes, while Burks had 9 points. A pair of free-throws by Julius Randle at the 3:26 mark was the momentum changer as it gave his team their first lead of the game. From that point on, the Knicks held the lead. They went into halftime ahead of the Thunder 56-54.
Al Horford’s three-pointer in the opening minutes of the third quarter gave the Thunder the lead back. However, Barrett went on an 8-0 scoring run following a floater by Quickley, and the Knicks opened a double-figure lead. They led by as much as 12. Yet, they could not break away that fast. The Thunder were still hanging around for most of the quarter. Toward the end, both teams were going tit for tat. Every time the Knicks would score, the Thunder had a response and vice versa. Thus, it was an 88-78 game going into the fourth.
After playing just two minutes in the fourth quarter, the Knicks called another timeout as Tom Thibodeau knew his guys were still letting the Thunder have some breathing room. To no surprise, with the help of Barrett’s career-high 32 points and Randle’s triple-double, the team started to put their foot down. With 5:30 to play, the Knicks reached a 17 point lead. It was no turning back, and the Knicks hammered the Thunder 119-97.
Julius Randle achieved his second triple-double of the season. Scoring 26 points with 12 assists and 12 rebounds. He is the first Knick to have 2 triple-doubles in a season since Mark Jackson in 1988-89.
“The Knicks have so much history and tradition, so to be a part of that is a blessing for sure,” Randle said about being mentioned in the same conversation as Jackson.
Besides breaking a record, Randle has exemplified what it takes to be a leader and help Barret reach his milestone.
“He was encouraging me to get the 30 ball.” Barrett said. “He was telling me to look for it and he actually made the pass, and I was able to finish it.
Up Next
The Knicks will travel back to New York to take on the 2nd place Nets on Monday, March 15th at 8:00pm.
The Thunder will host the Mavericks for another matinee on Sunday, March 14th at 2:00pm.
