Blunder vs. the Thunder: Knicks' Historic 1st Quarter Struck Down
It's not about how you start, it's how you finish. The New York Knicks were reminded of that axiom the hard way on Sunday afternoon.
The Knicks scored 48 points over the first dozen minutes on their matinee against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a franchise record for an opening frame. But failure to keep pace with the Thunder's offensive efforts, ones that saw all five starters reach double-figures, doomed New York to a 145-135 defeat at Madison Square Garden.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 37 points, part of a sterling 63 percent showing from the field for Oklahoma City (6-7) as a team. The Thunder, which also enjoyed a 24-point, 12-assist double-double from Josh Giddey, has now prevailed in each of their last five visits to Madison Square Garden.
It didn't take long for the Knicks (6-7) to blow their 48-36 at the end of the first quarter, as Oklahoma City was up 79-73 by the end of the second. It was part of an 86-58 onslaught in the middle frames, ones that saw the Thunder score 43 in each stretch.
Wasted in the losing effort was strong showing off the bench from Immanuel Quickley, who hit 24 on 8-of-17 shooting. The Knicks had several offensive standouts, with Cam Reddish earning a team-best and season-high 26 points (10-of-17) and four takeaways (another personal best for 2022-23). Julius Randle had 25 points and 10 boards with Isaiah Hartenstein providing five second chances.
But countering with a 49 percent effort from the field spelled doom for the Knicks, who once again struggled from three-point range (10-of-31). RJ Barrett followed up his best performance of the season against Detroit on Friday with a 2-of-10 outing while struggling with foul trouble to the tune of four infractions. Barrett was limited to two minutes in a second half where the Knicks never led at any point.
Another opportunity to form a winning streak thus slipped by for the Knicks, who have not won consecutive contests since a three-game streak between the second and fourth games of the season (Oct. 21-26)
New York won't have to wait long for revenge against the Thunder, as they'll travel to Oklahoma City next Monday night, the final leg of a five-game road trip.
That trip out west gets underway on Tuesday night in Salt Lake City when the Knicks take on the Utah Jazz (9 p.m. ET, MSG).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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