The effort was pitiful. The protection was egregious. The rating was embarrassing.
James Dolan couldn’t have been blissful from his baseline seat witnessing Sunday’s atrocity, a 145-135 defeat to the Thunder that represented probably the most factors allowed within the Tom Thibodeau period.
The Knicks (6-7) couldn’t excuse the efficiency to a top-flight opponent because the Thunder (6-7), the youngest crew within the NBA with a median age only a hair over 23, remains to be rebuilding and projected for the draft lottery.
OKC got here to the Garden and shot 63%, together with 55% from past the arc. The Knicks left the court docket to a spherical of boos.
The first fallout was an prolonged benching of RJ Barrett, who struggled Sunday and logged solely two minutes of the second half. Barrett completed with simply 19 minutes and 4 factors on 2-of-10 taking pictures.
He was burned by OKC’s Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, the budding celebrity who the Knicks handed over in 2018 to draft Kevin Knox. Alexander completed with 37 factors and eight assists, changing into the most recent reminder of what the Knicks’ are missing — a real star.
Thibodeau had the Knicks arrive early for the midday recreation — their earliest tipoff up to now — to carry a walkthrough on the MSG court docket. The afternoon weekend contests in Manhattan are well-known for flat performances, generally labeled the hangover have an effect on.
At first, Thibodeau’s maneuver appeared to assist. The Knicks set a franchise file for factors within the opening quarter with 48, which gave them a 12-point edge heading into the second.
Then issues fell aside.
The Knicks had been shredded from lengthy distance by OKC, which dropped 43 factors within the second quarter and led on the break, 79-73. The bleeding by no means stopped.
Allowing 79 factors within the first half would possibly’ve prompted Thibodeau an aneurysm at another second in his teaching profession, however these Knicks have adopted a fast-paced offensive-minded philosophy that usually interprets to greater scores.
Still, irrespective of the technique, the defensive efficiency was inexcusable.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com