The Knicks are facing one of the most discouraging programs in the NBA for the rest of the season, which has increased the importance of Saturday’s visit to Oklahoma City to maintain its position in the playoffs.
Tom Thibodeau’s team returned from an explosive loss Thursday in Milwaukee, with a redeeming 119-97 victory over the Thunder under the Chesapeake Energy Arena for the 20th victory of the season (20-19). Their total win is a few wins less than they had all last season, when they finished 21-45 under David Fizdale and then Mike Miller, now Thunder assistant coach.
RJ Barrett earned 32 career points in 12-of-21 shooting for the Knicks, whose next two games are with the two Eastern Conference leaders: Nets Monday and 76ers the following night.
With goalkeepers Elfrid Payton (hamstring) and Derrick Rose (health and safety protocols) both out, Frank Ntilikina got his second start to the season, but played just seven minutes (with zero points) after committing two early fouls. .
Immanuel Quickley played despite being in a difficult position. The rookie goalkeeper finished with 21 points in a career 33 minutes from the bench.
All-Star striker Julius Randle suffered the worst game of the season with just seven points in Thursday’s loss to the Bucks, but recorded his second triple-double of the season on Saturday with 26 points, 12 rebounds and the top 12 career assists. The last Knicks player to post several triple-doubles in a season was Mark Jackson in 1988-89.
Al Horford scored 16 to lead the Thunder (16-22), which lacked top scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (contusion with four) and veteran goalkeeper George Hill (thumb), among others.
The Knicks came out on Thursday night in a tough start on their return from the All-Star break, scoring the most points of the season (134) and suffering the biggest margin of defeat (33) against the Bucks. But Thibodeau’s team showed resistance after such poor starts in the first half of the season.
“It simply came to our notice then. The games continue to appear and you have to analyze why you won or lost and correct and prepare for the next game “, said Thibodeau before Saturday’s match. “Every game counts the same, so this is the most important thing to understand.
“We cannot look back, we cannot look forward. We need to be locked into this team. … You have to be prepared to play and that’s a big part of that. Having a good routine in place, where you build your right habits and how you prepare for each game, this is an important part of winning. ”
Randle needed just 3:12 in the first quarter to match the total number of points in the game against the Bucks, but Thunder shot 70.6 percent from the floor in the session for a 31-22 lead .
Ntilikina came up with two fouls just five minutes into the game, but Quickley dropped three of his first four shots for six points in the quarter.
Rookie added two early 3 points in the second quarter to double the total, Alec Burks contributed nine (out of his 15 points overall) in the half and Randle increased the total to 14, while the Knicks cleared a deficit of 11 points for a 56-54 break advantage.
Thibodeau blocked with Quickley over Ntilikina to open the second half, and the Knicks defense boosted a 16-8 run to open the third quarter to extend its cushion to 10 before leading 88-78 in the fourth.