Thunder End Year on High Note, Drop Knicks in New Year's Eve Bout
With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Kenrich Williams returning from injury, the Oklahoma City Thunder shined in their New Year’s Eve matchup versus the New York Knicks, taking the contest 95-80.
As a result of the game, Thunder will enter the new year sitting on a 13-22 record. As for the franchise’s New Year’s Eve record, they now rank 11-3, participating in their 14th consecutive NYE contest.
The Knicks started the New Year’s party early into play, tapping out a 12-3 stretch through three minutes. But, a 9-2 Thunder run struck the game to one-possession by the midway mark. A sloppy capper to the frame sunk both sides below 40% from the field; however, two closing Ty Jerome threes pushed Oklahoma City up 23-20 through one.
A second-unit surge for the Thunder cooked up an early double-digit lead in the frame, but
The second quarter mirrored the first as Mike Wilks’ “bench mob” prompted an early double-digit lead, only for a slew of New York floaters to put the game into striking distance. By the half, Oklahoma City claimed a 51-49 lead.
Of Oklahoma City’s 19 first-half field goals, 10 came from three.
The Thunder held grip on their lead to open the third, but a mid-quarter patch, highlighted by pick-and-pops swung a 17-3 Oklahoma City run, and a 14-point lead. Entering the fourth, the Thunder carried a 74-65 advantage.
New York made the final frame interesting with a 7-0 opener, but a responding effort from Oklahoma City put this game to bed with little resistance.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander logged a team-high 23 points, four rebounds, and four assists in 35 minutes. SGA’s shot chart marked a shaky 9-of-24 (37.5%) clip, but with 14 points in the paint – the 23-year-old found his safe haven for buckets.
After carrying a heavy on-ball role in the previous week of games, Aaron Wiggins found similar success in a backseat role Friday, ending the evening with 13 points and four rebounds. Wiggins’ consistency from the field has been a constant talking point, and New Year’s Eve was no different – this time shooting 5-of-8 from the floor.
Ty Jerome invigorated the roster in the late-first and early-second gunning out three triples in a span of two minutes. To bode with his early burst, the guard tapped inside to tally 11 points and five assists off the bench.
Isaiah Roby filled in at the five Friday, stacking the stat sheet with eight points, and nine rebounds across 18 minutes. Roby went scoreless through one half; however, the 23-year-old ramped up in the third period for all eight points, burying a pair of pick-and-pops in the process.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will open the new year at home Sunday versus the Dallas Mavericks.
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