Three takeaways from another hard-fought, short-handed loss

On Sunday, the New York Knicks took one of the best teams in the NBA down to the wire. They had the Oklahoma City Thunder beat throughout the better part of three quarters before losing ground—and the game—in the fourth. Final score: 113-112. Much could be said about missed foul calls, while more could be said about missed free throws, but, in the end, it goes down as a missed opportunity.

There’s no reason to hang their heads, though. The Knicks essentially played a six-man rotation and still nearly wrestled a fully healthy Thunder team to the ground. Here are three takeaways from the game that stuck in my head this morning.

Isaiah > Chester

Isaiah Hartenstein (7’0”, 250 lb.) exploited his physical advantage over OKC’s rookie Chet Holmgren (7’1”, 195 lb.) many times last night. Holmgren has averaged 16.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks in 74 games this season; last night he finished with five points, five boards, three turnovers, and one block. With added muscle and seasoning, Chet might catch up. As of right now, he’s not in Isaiah’s class.

In the first clip of the following video, Hartenstein skies in over the rook to flush the offensive rebound. In the second, Josh Hart makes the dish, and Isaiah gives a little bump for separation before sinking the hook shot. This is another reason Hartenstein will retain the starting center job over Mitchell Robinson. For all of Robinson’s natural gifts, he has yet to work these kinds of shots into his repertoire.

Finally, in the third clip, iHart is too strong for the OKC frontcourt and gobbles up the offensive rebound for a nifty And1. The big Knick would finish the night with a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds.

OKC went Giddey in the fourth

In the fourth quarter, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault decided to take advantage of his own mismatch and leveraged OKC’s size by attacking with the 6’8” Josh Giddey. Hoo boy, the Knicks sorely missed the physical dimensions of Julius Randle. Seven-footer Hartenstein was the tallest player on the floor for New York, followed by Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo who both top out at 6’4”. In the following combined clips, Giddey faces Donte thrice for back-to-back drives and a three-pointer. Single-handedly, the Aussie turned a 95-95 tie into a spirit-breaking seven-point deficit midway through the fourth.

The Knicks adapted, though. In the following clip, Josh Hart picks up Giddey and Jalen lends support, which forces a long bad pass that Donte intercepts. With New York down by three points and just over two minutes remaining, the game was theirs to take if not for three missed free throws, four missed shots, and a non-call or two that followed. The Knicks would lose by a single point, and when Donte snagged this, they had momentum.

Deuce had SGA on a leash

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 30.3 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.5 rebounds this season. Last night, he finished with 19 points, three assists, and two rebounds on 7-of-16 shooting. Off night? Still bothered by a nagging quad? Nahhh. All credit for his performance dip belongs to Miles McBride.

Also finishing with 19 points, Deuce made six of 15 shots, including four from downtown, and hit his three free throws. Perhaps of greater importance, however, was his defense. Glued to SGA for most of the night, Deuce was a nuisance disruptor, committing three steals and just three fouls while hounding, hustling, swatting, and stealing. Oh, yeah—all while playing 46 minutes. SGA slayed the Knicks with a last-second dagger, but Deuce’s play throughout the night helped put New York in a position to win at the end.

Here are some highlights from McBride’s defensive work last night.

That loss stung, but there’s no time to mope with a tough Miami waiting to rumble on Tuesday. Let’s hope our heroes have something left in the tank. Go Knicks!