The New York Knicks don’t have to worry about facing the Oklahoma City Thunder again anytime soon but two double-digit defeats to the best team in the Western Conference have raised some questions.
The Knicks will look to get back on track Sunday afternoon, when they host the Milwaukee Bucks in a battle of Eastern Conference contenders.
Both teams were off Saturday after playing Friday night, when the Knicks were routed 126-101 by the visiting Thunder and the Bucks edged the host Orlando Magic 109-106.
The Knicks’ loss was their fourth in five games following a nine-game winning streak. The skid began Jan. 3 with a 117-107 loss at Oklahoma City.
The losses to the Thunder may be indicative of a bigger problem for the Knicks, who are in third place in the Eastern Conference with a 25-14 record but have yet to fare well against the NBA’s elite.
The Knicks are winless in five games against the Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets, who have the four best records in the NBA. New York’s average margin of defeat in the five losses is 15.2 points.
An early defensive battle devolved into a rout Friday, when the Knicks and Thunder were tied 11-11 more than seven minutes into the first before Oklahoma City took control by scoring 14 unanswered points bridging the quarters. The Thunder led by as many as 28 points in the second quarter and by as many as 30 points in the fourth.
“I felt like we didn’t do what we were supposed to do,” said Knicks forward Josh Hart, who had 16 points and 13 rebounds in the loss. “Whether that was energy, attention to detail, focus, whatever it was, we didn’t do it. We’ve got to build from it, we’ve got to learn from it.”
The recovery process appears to be nearing completion for the Bucks, who moved into a virtual tie for fourth place in the East with Friday’s win over the Magic. Milwaukee has gone 18-8 since a 2-8 start to move percentage points ahead of Orlando, with both 12 1/2 games off the Cavaliers’ pace.
The Bucks are 2-0 this season against the Magic, who they host again Wednesday night.
“Great win — we definitely needed this win,” said Bucks star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 41 points and 14 rebounds Friday. “It’s a win that counts for two, obviously.”
A last-minute defensive stand provided the finishing kick for the Bucks who are 1-6 in official games against the Thunder, Cavaliers, Celtics and Rockets. Milwaukee’s 97-81 win over Oklahoma City in the NBA Cup championship game Dec. 17 is not counted as a regular-season contest.
The Bucks led by eight points Friday with a little more than four minutes left before the Magic inched within 104-102 with 1:20 remaining.
Orlando’s Tristan Da Silva missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer 30 seconds later and Milwaukee was 5-of-6 from the free throw line before Brook Lopez grabbed the rebound of Cole Anthony’s purposeful free-throw miss with five seconds left.
“We hung in there defensively to win the game, and we’ll take that,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “All day.”
–Field Level Media
