Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sparks Oklahoma City Thunder in NBA rout of New York Knicks

NEW YORK – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Isaiah Joe combined for 70 points, as the Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back to winning ways with a 126-101 drubbing of the Knicks in New York on Jan 10.

Oklahoma City were left licking their wounds after their much-anticipated tussle against the top-ranked Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan 8 ended in a chastening defeat.

But the Western Conference leaders showed no signs of a hangover with a blowout victory over the Knicks, in what had been billed as a potential National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals preview.

The Knicks were effectively forced into damage-limitation mode, after a blistering start from Oklahoma City saw the visitors surge into a 31-17 lead after the first quarter.

The Thunder kept their foot on the pedal in the second, pouring in 39 points to take a mammoth 70-43 half-time lead that the Knicks never looked like catching as boos echoed around Madison Square Garden.

Knicks guard Mikal Bridges was quoted by The New York Post as saying: “Defensively, a lot of miscues, lack of communication, which is very boo-worthy.”

Coach Tom Thibodeau added: “If you have a lull where there’s three or four bad possessions, well, they can go on a run during that, and that’s what they did.” 

Gilgeous-Alexander spearheaded another dazzling offensive performance from the Thunder, finishing with 39 points from 15-of-21 shooting, while Joe caught fire with eight three-pointers off the bench to deliver a 31-point display.

Said Bridges of Most Valuable Player candidate Gilgeous-Alexander: “He’s crafty. Real crafty. Just real slithery, that’s all we say about him. Like, he just gets around you and it’s tough.”

Oklahoma City’s win saw them stretch their lead to 31-6 at the top of the Western Conference standings, six games ahead of the second-placed Houston Rockets.

Said Knicks forward Josh Hart: “We didn’t get stops. We didn’t get out in transition. We didn’t play fast. We didn’t make shots. We didn’t do really anything we were supposed to do.”

In other games on Jan 10, there was an upset in Boston as the reigning champions Celtics stumbled to a 114-97 loss to the Sacramento Kings.

DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points to lead the scoring but the plaudits went to centre Domantas Sabonis, who finished with 23 points and a whopping 28 rebounds.

Malik Monk scored 22 points with Keegan Murray adding 19.

Boston’s problems stemmed from a below-par offensive performance which saw them shoot at 40.5 per cent, making only 11 of 41 three-point attempts.

“When you’re having inefficient offence, it puts pressure on your defence,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.

“And if you’re only going to shoot 26.8 per cent from three, it means you’re going to have to do a lot of other things really, really, really well. We’ve got to do better.”

In Orlando, Giannis Antetokounmpo spoilt Paolo Banchero’s return from injury after a 34-game absence with a 41-point masterpiece to give the Milwaukee Bucks a 109-106 win over the Magic.

Greek star Antetokounmpo also weighed in with 14 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks while Damian Lillard provided offensive support with 29 points.

Magic star Banchero – who had been out due to a torn oblique muscle – finished with 34 points but it was not enough to deny the Bucks victory.

In Philadelphia, the New Orleans Pelicans shrugged off the absence through suspension of Zion Williamson to defeat the 76ers 123-115.

Pelicans star Williamson was reportedly handed a one-game suspension for the game after arriving late for the team’s flight to Philadelphia on Jan 9.

Yet the Pelicans were still too powerful for a Sixers line-up missing star Joel Embiid, with C.J. McCollum leading the scoring with a game-high 38 points.

Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers scoring with 30 points, while Paul George finished on 25 points with 11 rebounds.

In Indianapolis, the Indiana Pacers added to the Golden State Warriors’ problems with a 108-96 victory.

In Denver, Nikola Jokic returned for the Nuggets after a two-game absence due to illness and bagged a triple-double in a 124-105 defeat of the Brooklyn Nets.

Jokic finished with 35 points, 12 rebounds and 15 assists, while teammate Russell Westbrook also grabbed a triple with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

They became the first pair of teammates to record a triple-double in the same game twice in an NBA season.

“I think it’s the style both of us play,” Jokic was quoted by ESPN as saying. “I’m just glad we’re winning the games because that’s more important than the stats.”

Denver improved to 22-15 with the win to move into fourth place in the Western Conference, nine games back from leaders Oklahoma City. AFP