Thunder Take It in 4th. Oklahoma City 117 NY 107

January 4, 2025 LouV 2024-25 0
Karl-Anthony Towns was played physically inside all night by converging Thunder players. Photo courtesy NY Knicks.

The Thunder came on with aggression in the 4th quarter, playing a physical brand of ball with a little bit of ref ‘home cooking’, getting to loose balls, and knocking down 3’s — especially Aaron Wiggins who scored 15 of his 19 points off the bench in the quarter — to come from behind and beat the Knicks, 117-107 in a LOUD Paycom Arena in Oklahoma City on a Friday night.

The two teams threw haymakers at each other all night — NY going up by 14 in the 2nd quarter, then Oklahoma coming on strong in the 3rd to pull within 4 pts, then NY pushing back to go up by 12 and by 8 entering the 4th quarter.

“There were 2 or 3 scramble plays where they got to the loose ball and it converted into 3’s,” said coach Tom Thibodeau afterwards. “The last part of the defense has to be the strongest. That was probably the biggest thing. It was a hard fought game. In the end its getting to loose balls and making effort plays. You gotta scramble. Wiggins came in and hurt us with some 3’s. We have to have awareness to be there. There were a lot of good things; we just didn’t finish it out. To beat a team like that you have to play for 48 minutes.”

NY was without Miles McBride, and could have used him to guard Wiggins. McBride is out day-to-day with a sore hamstring, and of course Mitchell Robinson who is still out after off-season ankle surgery.

NY has their 9-game winning streak stopped; they fall to 24-11. Oklahoma wins their 13th in a row and improve to 29-5.

1. Tight Game in 1st Quarter

Oklahoma came in as the hottest team in the West, and the Knicks came in as the hottest team in the East — and the game did not disappoint. The game was tight in the 1st quarter, Oklahoma coming out of it with a 33-30 lead. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s scoring for Oklahoma was countered by Mikal Bridges — a great matchup all evening.

Jaylin Williams scoring was countered by OG Anunoby. Jalen Brunson was guarded by the tough defender Luguentz Dort.

Oklahoma did not have former-Knick Isaiah Hartenstein on Karl-Anthony Towns — instead they put the 6’5 forward Jaylin Williams on him, and had swarming defenses attack Towns when he got the ball inside. The refs let them play.

2. Knicks Blow Thunder Away in 2nd Quarter

Oklahoma was up 39-33 when OG Anunoby hit a 3 that began a 33-13 run that gave NY a 66-52 lead. The Knick defense intensified and the ball was humming around on offense.

  • Mikal Bridges was hitting 3’s or slicing in for buckets;
  • Karl-Anthony Towns was scoring inside and out;
  • Jalen Brunson was driving for buckets or assists;
  • OG was scoring inside and out; and
  • Josh Hart was driving for buckets or hitting open 3’s.

NY took a 66-44 lead into the half.

3. Thunder Come Back to Start 3rd

But the Thunder came out of the half and scored the first 7 points to cut into the Knick lead. Point guard Cason Wallace started the quarter with a drive, and then Jalen Williams hit a drive and a 3 to start the quarter.

4. NY Enters 4th Up 8

The Knicks pushed back — Karl-Anthony Towns taking it to the hole on consecutive possessions, and then Hart and Anunoby joining the action with drives. NY built their lead back to 12 points late in the quarter on an Anunoby dunk-and-1 off a Brunson pass, 80-68 with 3:59 left.

5. Thunder Come on with Aggression, 3’s & ‘Home Cooking’ in 4th

NY entered the 4th quarter up 88-80, but Isaiah Hartenstein blocked an OG Anunoby drive to start the quarter, although Aaron Wiggins got credit for it — which led to a Jalen Williams bucket and the Oklahoma area started to get loud.

A dunk by Jalen Williams on the next time down and the arena started to get really LOUD.

The Thunder started to play a very physical brand of ball and the refs let them play, although NY got called on regular drives to the hoop by Shai Gilgeous Alexander and others.

NY was up 91-86 with 8:54 left when Isaiah Joe missed a 3 and on the scramble for the rebound, Isaiah Hartenstein saved it out of bounds, the ball went to Aaron Wiggins for an open 3 which he nailed — and Oklahoma took the lead 92-91.

“I thought it was great playing here, because the crowd is great,” said Josh Hart afterwards. “Except for the refs, that’s something for you all to look at. I don’t know how I got a technical foul for saying ‘wake up’.”

“There were some big plays that didn’t go our way,” continued Hart. “Isaiah Joe hit a big 3 off a Isaiah’s offensive rebound when his foot was out of bounds in front of the ref. Plays like that didn’t go our way.”

But NY came right back — a Bridges drive and consecutive buckets inside by Jalen Brunson gave NY a 97-92 lead.

Aggression, Wiggins 3’s, and Some ‘Home Cooking’

But then the game turned on Physical Oklahoma Defense with no calls by refs, and Alan Wiggins 3’s:

  • Aaron Wiggins walked into an open 3 with 5:22 left to tie the game 97-97, but Brunson drove for a Knick lead, getting banged by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with no call,
  • Dort went inside then fed Wiggins outside for a 3 with 4:13 left to give Oklahoma a 100-99 lead, but Towns answered with a bucket inside, giving NY a 101-100 lead with 3:41 left,
  • Wiggins then hit a drive-and-1 with 3:30 left to give Oklahoma a 102-101 lead, and down the other end Brunson got BANGED by Hartenstein at midcourt but no foul — then Brunson, again physically hounded by Dort inside, passed the ball to Hart but the ball went out of bounds,
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a floater inside, and then Brunson was BASHED by Hartenstein at midcourt — no foul called — which caused Brunson to errantly pass the ball, stolen by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for a Wiggins 3 with 2:22 left to give Oklahoma a 108-101 lead. The video below cuts off the front piece where Hartenstein bashes into Brunson.

“Credit to Aaron Wiggins with big time minutes and big time production for the Thunder,” advised NBA Analyst Ross Kreines. “He stays ready, comes in shot ready, confident, knows how to move without the ball but also moves with a purpose, competes and plays his role. Also, Mark Daigneault puts you in position to succeed.”

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401705039

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