OKC Thunder Scrap and Claw Their Way to Historic Road Win Over Knicks

The Oklahoma City Thunder were able to knock off the New York Knicks to kick off their road trip in historic fashion.

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

The Oklahoma City Thunder (51-22) traveled to take on the New York Knicks (44-29) on Sunday to open up a five-game eight-day road Eastern Conference road trip. After initially being tabbed as doubtful for this contest, Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was upgraded to available with no minutes restrictions ahead of this Madison Square Garden affair.

The Knicks came out swinging laying a solid haymaker in the first quarter. New York held the Thunder to just 17 points in the opening frame with some physical defense and ability to score inside on second-chance looks.

The Thunder rallied in the second quarter to lead by one at intermission thanks to some dazzling buckets from Jalne Williams who brought the energy all night to help the Thunder hang around with their Eastern Conference counter parts.

However, a disastrous third quarter left things feeling bleak as the Knicks rattled off six triples in the frame in the blink of an eye to rip off 39 points in the period, including a 14-5 run that had New York in control of a 10 point lead entering the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Thunder laid a counterpunch with Williams Pioneering a 7-0 scoring run on both ends with hustle defense, high-level passing, and his scoring prowess. This eventually led Oklahoma City to tie the game at 88 all after once finding themselves down a dozen.

The Oklahoma City Thunder grabbed the lead when Aaron Wiggins wrestled away a missed free throw to find Williams who sank a floater. The lead would go on to exchange hands multiple times down the stretch as the Thunder's fast pace style of play threw a wrench into the Knicks gameplan.

Though an 8-0 scoring run by the Thunder capped by a Jalen Brunson triple after a missed free throw retied the game. Williams came back down the floor to splash in a trey ball of his own before Gilgeous-Alexander made it a two-possession game the next time down.

The Knicks used their offensive rebounding advantage to go up by a pair with just four ticks left when Gilgeous-Alexander rose up and sank a baseline jumper to give OKC a one-point lead with just under two seconds left in the contest. The Knicks clanked their last-second shot letting Oklahoma City walk away with a big road win.

Williams kept drilling shots, operating in the mid-range, letting the Thunder come away with a massive win. He finished with 33 points, eight assists and four rebounds to go with two blocks and as many steals,

Josh Giddey logged his third triple-double at Madison Square Garden in as many trips, making him the first player in NBA history to accomplish such feats. His finishing at the rim in the final quarter kept Oklahoma City stride for stride with the Knicks. Giddey poured in 12 points in the final period to total 16 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists, one steal, two blocks and just two turnovers.

Free throw woes nearly cost each team, but the Oklahoma City Thunder were able to outlast the Knicks to start their road trip off with a big win. With the Timberwolves falling to the Bulls, the Thunder move to first place in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City clinched a spot in the NBA Playoffs with this win.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Thunder on Facebookand follow us on Twitterto stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can alsomeet the teambehind the coverage.