The Oklahoma City Thunder’s defense dismantled the New York Knicks, guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got hot in the third quarter and finished the game with 25 points, and guard Hamidou Diallo produced 23 off the bench for OKC in a 101-89 victory on Friday.
After a slow start offensively in which both teams scored only 42 points in the first half, the Thunder picked it up in the second. They outscored the Knicks 59-47 in the final two quarters to get the win.
The OKC defense was very strong throughout. Knicks wing RJ Barrett played 44 minutes but only made seven of 21 shots for a 19 points, primarily being guarded by Luguentz Dort. No Knicks player reached 20 points.
Here are three takeaways from the Thunder’s performance that evened their record at .500.
