Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Cracks New York Knicks' Easter, Oklahoma City Thunder Escapes

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander returned to the Oklahoma City Thunder in style, capping off a visit to the New York Knicks with a game-winner with two seconds left.

Mar 31, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) warms / John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

Despite Jalen Brunson's best efforts, no victory awaited the New York Knicks at the end of the bunny trail on Easter Sunday.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's game-winning double with two seconds left in the Oklahoma City Thunder's Sunday night visit to Madison Square Garden, giving the guests a 113-112 victory over the Knicks. Gilgeous-Alexander returned to action after missing the past two games with a quad issue and his victorious two points capped off a 19-tally evening.

A holiday showdown with the co-leaders of the Western Conference yielded the Knicks' first pair of consecutive losses since the end of the last month. New York (44-30) thus failed to take advantage of the Cleveland Cavaliers' one-sided to Denver, as a win would've put them back in the East's third seed. Oklahoma City (52-22) continued its magical run by clinching its first playoff berth since 2020.

Mar 31, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) / John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

Lost in the loss was another memorable moment from Jalen Brunson: though falling well-short of the 61 he put up on Friday in San Antonio, Brunson had 27 in defeat, the last two being the would-be winner with just over four seconds remaining.

Brunson's propensity for drawing apparent hard fouls without a charge apparently rose upon the making the shot. As the point guard put up the defiant driving double, he was besieged by both Lugeuntz Dort and Chet Holmgren and he fell to the floor as the ball sank. No foul was called and the potentially lost and-one wound up biting the Knicks.

But the Knicks' fate was perhaps partly sealed long before referees pocketed their whistles: New York let a 10-point lead entering the fourth quarter go by the wayside, as Oklahoma City embarked on a comeback effort spearheaded by Josh Giddey, who earned a 16-point triple-double (pairing the point with 13 rebounds and 12 assists) with a dominant final period.

Between 12 points of his own and four assists in the last dozen, Giddey played a direct role in 21 of the Thunder's final 38 points. Giddey now had three triple-doubles in his career, all of which came against the Knicks.

Further wasted in the Knicks' latest loss were a pair of double-doubles from Isaiah Hartenstenin (17 points, 12 rebounds) and Josh Hart (15 rebounds, 13 points). Donte DiVincenzo had 15 points but shot 4-of-16 from three-point range. In addition to the continued absences of OG Anunoby and Julius Randle, New York played Sunday's game without Mitchell Robinson's, whose return was paused out of concern for the ankle that kept him out for the prior three months.

The Knicks' daunting gauntlet continues on Tuesday when they face the Miami Heat (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).