Thunder recover, pummel Knicks

NEW YORK – The Oklahoma City Thunder vented their ire on the hapless New York Knicks after their 15-game winning streak was snapped two nights ago in Cleveland. 

Isaiah Joe fired a career-high 31 points off the bench while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander outdueled Jalen Brunson as the Thunder rolled to a 126-101 rout of the Knicks Friday night (Saturday Manila time) at the Madison Square Garden to get back on the winning track. 

The sold-out crowd at the Garden booed the home team multiple times as the Knicks lost to the Western Conference’s top team for the second time in a week. 

Unlike in their first meeting in Oklahoma City where it was close until the fourth quarter, the Thunder pulled away early this time. 

Alexander played like an MVP, dropping 39 points in just 29 minutes. He had 13 points in the first quarter, which set the tone for the rout. 

A 3-pointer by Joe capped a 12-0 run by the Thunder to end the first quarter with a 14-point lead. Joe did not stop from there. He continued to catch fire in the second quarter with 17 points. 

Boos started to rain on the Knicks toward the end of the first half after they could only cough up 43 points, their second-lowest scoring first half this season, against the Thunder’s suffocating defense. 

The Knicks stared at a 70-43 deficit at the half. 

Oklahoma City extended it to as many as 30 in the second half to cruise to a West-best 31st victory in 37 games. 

The Knicks, who lost for the fourth time in their last five games, were booed again at the end of the jarring loss. 

“We got into a big hole right away,” New York coach Tom Thibodeau said after the beatdown. We started flat. Our defense wasn’t very good.”

It was an understatement. The Knicks defense was atrocious. 

They allowed the Thunder to shoot 53.9% from the field and 14-of-27 3-pointers, eight of them came from Joe. 

Thibodeau owned the Knicks’ lackluster performance. 

“We have to be a lot better defensively, and it requires a lot more than what we did today,” Thibodeau said. “That's my responsibility. I gotta make sure we're ready to go.”

Brunson led the Knicks with 27 points, but even he could not keep up with Alexander and the Thunder. 

Alexander blocked