Oklahoma City's Centerpieces Click in Thunder's Loss to the Knicks
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After dropping a road game in Memphis, the Thunder made it two in a row with a deflating 129-119 loss to the New York Knicks in Oklahoma City on Monday. The Thunder simply had no answer for Jalen Brunson and New York’s rebounding advantage.
Oklahoma City hasn’t held an opponent under 30 first quarter points in five games now, allowing 38 points to the Knicks on Monday. The last time the two teams met, just ten days ago in the Big Apple, the Thunder allowed 48 points in the opening frame. It’s becoming very problematic for a young Thunder team that has to be nearly perfect down the stretch to mount a comeback some nights.
After the back-to-back road wins against Toronto and New York, it looks like Oklahoma City is coming back down to earth. Either that, or Aleksej Pokusevski’s presence in the lineup is desperately missed in OKC’s scarce front court depth.
Despite the loss, Oklahoma City had a solid offensive outing. Here’s who led the Thunder on Monday night:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
SGA was effective tonight, dropping 30 points, seven assists and five rebounds. His ability to hover around 30 points on every night, even if it’s an off night, is becoming incredible to watch.
Gilgeous-Alexander was just 9-of-22 from the floor and 0-of-2 from 3-point range, but his aggressiveness on the offensive end is what every Thunder fan wants to see, no matter if he takes an extra shot or two. The OKC star was 12-of-13 at the free throw line, too.
Lu Dort
Monday was arguably Dort’s best game of the season. Oklahoma City’s defensive stopper totaled 24 points and eight rebounds on an efficient 9-of-14 shooting and 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
After a slow start, Dort is finally finding a groove on the offensive end. Monday, he took open shots and found confidence early that led to a big game.
Josh Giddey
Even though Giddey missed both of his triples, he still had an efficient 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting. He found a nice rhythm both in the lane and with his floater Monday.
In addition to the scoring, Giddey added nine rebounds and seven assists, playing a complete game. It was one of his better offensive showings this season.
Jalen Williams
Outside of severely struggling from long range, Williams has been an incredible addition as a first-year player. Monday night was more of the same, as JDub added 13 points off the bench on 5-of-11 shooting. Outside shooting remains the one hold up in his current game, as the rookie was just 0-for-3 from long range. The versatility he brings to lineup is huge for a team like the Thunder, though, and he’s only going to improve.
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