Knicks embarrassed by Thunder in boo-filled loss as concerns keep growing
If the Knicks’ first Thunder test spiraled into a collapse, then this was a flop.A shellacking.
And a drastic one, too. The Knicks never possessed a 14-point lead — or anything larger than four — to hand back to the Thunder.They trailed by as many as 30.
They were booed back to the locker room after an opening 24 minutes in which they managed just 43 points, their second-fewest in a first half this season.They were booed back down the tunnel after the 126-101 loss ended.
Fans who packed the Garden started filling out midway through the fourth quarter. With another chance to make a statement against the top team in the Western Conference, the Knicks didn’t even come close.Mikal Bridges missed all nine of his shots.
The Knicks tied their season low for the second time in a week with just four 3-pointers.The Thunder, which entered the night with the NBA’s best defensive rating, suffocated offensive possessions and forced the Knicks to shoot just 38.5 percent from the field.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (39 points) looked like an MVP hopeful.But the Knicks made Isaiah Joe — averaging 8.1 points entering Friday — look like he belonged in the conversation, too, after a 31-point eruption. The embarrassment continued a concerning stretch for the Knicks after their nine-game winning streak, with four losses in the last five games starting to unwind that progress.
It all started Jan.10 at Paycom Center, though before the Knicks faltered late in that first Thunder showdown, they built a 14-point lead.
They were positioned, on the road, against a legitimate contender and an opponent they’d like to collide with in the middle of June, to escape with a win. One week later, though, the opposite materialized.It took more than four minutes before the Knicks managed their first field goal against a stout Thunder defense.
They collected just 17 points in the first quarter and shot 31.8 percent from the field — while making just one 3-pointer — across the open...