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NEW YORK – Sometimes your team just gets overwhelmed. Wednesday was such a night for the Thunder. The suddenly slumping New York Knicks needed a get-well game, and they got healthy with a 112-98 victory over the Thunder before an appreciative crowd of 19,763 inside Madison Square Garden.
Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) drives against New York Knicks guard Toney Douglas (23). AP photo
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Knicks wear down Thunder 112-98
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Essentially, the Thunder was done in by three spurts that totaled 30-0 in a span of just 5 minutes, 15 seconds — an 11-0 run in the second quarter that took 1:49; a 10-0 run in the second quarter that took 1:29; and a 9-0 run in the fourth that took 1:57.
OKC slowly clawed its way back each time but didn't have near the juice to get the job done, which is why Thunder coach Scott Brooks yanked his remaining starters with 5:27 left in the game.
“Enough is enough,” Brooks explained of his final substitution. “I thought with 7½-8 minutes left we had one last run, but it didn't materialize.”
The Knicks (17-12) came in riding a three-game losing streak but also were coming off three days rest. Before their recent slide, the Knicks had won eight straight and 13 of 14.
Meanwhile, the Thunder (20-10) was playing the second half of a back-to-back on the road after Tuesday's victory against Charlotte. Oklahoma City also was missing starting center Nenad Krstic for the seventh straight game with a lower back strain.
Though fatigue and not being at full strength are convenient excuses, the fact of the matter is the Knicks are a matchup nightmare for the Thunder.
The primary case-in-point was 21-year-old Serge Ibaka, the youngest player on the Thunder roster. While Ibaka battled gallantly underneath for eight rebounds (six offensive), he went scoreless and shot 0 for 6 from the field.
Half of Ibaka's shots were blocked by the Knicks, who held a block party with nine rejections.
While detailing the Knicks, Brooks repeated, ‘They're good” five times during his 4½-minute postgame interview session.
All five New York starters scored in double-digits, and the Knicks handed out 30 assists.
“They have a lot of good players,” Brooks said. “Their starting five, they're good. They're well-coached. They play hard. They move the ball. That was as well of a first half of passing that I've seen all year against us. Just go down the line. Everyone on that team, they know what they're supposed to do, and they do it well.”
With the sellout crowd frequently chanting “M-V-P,” free-agent acquisition Amar'e Stoudemire had 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Rookie Landry Fields had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Newly acquired point guard Raymond Felton had 12 points and 10 assists.
“We knew we were going to be in for a battle,” Brooks said. “We didn't come in with the right mindset. They're a physical team. They really had their hands on us and really pushed us around a little too much, and we didn't take the challenge.”
The Thunder shot just 39.2 percent from the field and had only one more assist (15) than turnovers (14).
“We had too much isolation basketball tonight,” Brooks said. “We're a good team. We're a talented team, but when we try to play too much one-on-one, it's hard to score in this league when you do that. You need your teammates. Sometimes we did it, and sometimes we didn't, and that's not how we play.”
Scoring champion Kevin Durant had 13 points in the first quarter, yet finished with 26.
“They did a good job of switching and putting bodies on him and making him see bodies,” Brooks said. “That's what great scorers have to deal with every night in this league. Kevin usually figures it out, but he didn't have it going in the second half. Combination of we didn't give him better looks, he didn't work for better looks. I have to do a better job of getting him in position to get better looks.
“He's going to learn from this game.”
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