Ahead of tipoff against the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the second leg of a road-home back-to-back on Wednesday, Knicks head coach Mike Brown laid out his team’s keys to victory.
The Thunder are well-coached under Mark Daigneault. They are led by reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They have a complementary blend of three-and-D wings, play-makers, floor-spacers and co-stars. Their offense, even though run largely through the league MVP, hits the open man, and in turn, every player on the Thunder roster is motivated to compete on the defensive end and on hustle plays.
The Thunder pose a tall task many teams haven’t handled well this season, even without their second All-Star Jalen Williams, who’s been limited to 26 games this season due to injury. They are the league’s best team by record and, despite their struggles against the San Antonio Spurs, are heavily favored to win the NBA title again this season.
They are the team the Knicks, in all likelihood, should they advance three rounds in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, will have to go through to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy at the end of the season.
The Knicks came up short against the reigning champs in a 103-100 loss at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, but they made it close — especially down the stretch.
“But their defense is a high-level defense,” Brown said ahead of tipoff. “They generate a lot of points or opportunities off of the defense that they play. They all seem willing to sacrifice defensively — every one of those dudes will come over and take a charge, get ran over. So their interior defense is at a pretty high level. They all seem like they’re connected on a string, five guys on a string.
“When you get down into the paint, you’ve gotta play off of two feet. You gotta take care of the basketball. You can’t over-penetrate. You’ve gotta hit the offensive glass while being willing to spray it. And then the reality of it is, you gotta throw the kitchen sink at Shai. You can’t give him the same look the whole game. You gotta hope he misses some.”
The Knicks did a lot right in their first matchup of the year against the defending champs, from their defense on Gilgeous-Alexander to a trademark second half rally ushering in ferocious third- and fourth-quarter runs to bring the victory within arm’s distance.
But they struggled defending OKC’s stretch-five Chet Holmgren. They struggled to get Jalen Brunson going against a physical Thunder defense. And they scored just 17 points in the second quarter, totaling 40 points in the first half before exploding for a 40-point third quarter.
Yet there a sellout Madison Square Garden crowd was, risen to its collective feet with six seconds left in regulation and the Knicks, after trailing 13 in the second quarter and 15 in the third, down just three points.
Brown drew up a play resulting in Brunson getting a clean look to tie the game at a corner three. It missed. Mikal Bridges tapped the offensive rebound to OG Anunoby, who took a step beyond the three-point line for a wide-open attempt to send the game to overtime.
The ball bounced off the front of the rim. The buzzer sounded shortly after.
The Knicks entered Wednesday’s matchup with a second half net rating of plus-10 over the 15 games leading into Wednesday’ matchup against the Thunder. They ranked fifth in second-half plus minus behind only the San Antonio Spurs, Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Clipper and Cleveland Cavaliers during that stretch.
On Wednesday, the Knicks outscored the Thunder by 13 points in the third quarter alone. They lost the fourth quarter by six.
“I haven’t watched many Knicks games, but starting with their personnel, they’ve got great defensive personnel on the wings,” OKC’s Daigneault said ahead of tipoff. “They’ve got excellent defenders who are disruptive in the passing lanes. They’re versatile and switchable. They’re playing hard right now. They’re on a roll right now. It’s an exciting game for us. Another one to see where we’re at.”
Brunson finished with 16 points on 5-of-18 shooting from the field and 15 assists, two shy of the career-high 17 he posted against the Denver Nuggets in Nov. 2024. Karl-Anthony Towns added 17 points and 17 rebounds on 7-of-8 shooting from the field, and all five Knicks starters scored in double figures.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 26 points and 8 assists, and Holmgren torched the Knicks for 28 points on 6-of-11 shooting from three-point range.
Former Knicks big man Isaiah Hartenstein did not score and finished with five rebounds in 17 minutes against his old team.
The Knicks now prepare to hit the road for a five-game swing featuring stops in Denver, Los Angeles, Utah and Indiana.
