The Knicks wrapped up their road trip with a resounding win over the Thunder highlighted by 34 points from Jalen Brunson.
The New York Knicks (9-9) looked to get some revenge and finish their five-game road trip with victory after winning the first two games and dropping the last two. In the final game of the West Coast swing, they faced off against the Oklahoma City Thunder (7-10) who they defeated 129-119. New York finished the trip with a 3-2 record, getting their record on the season back up to .500 with some terrific all-around performances from several players.
After struggling the last few games, RJ Barrett seemed to have busted his prolonged slump versus Thunder. Playing through some sort of illness the last couple of games Barrett looked slow and lethargic but was able to get his legs under him tonight. In the first quarter though he got off to a quick scoring nine points on perfect 4-4 shooting from the field.
Immanuel Quickley — after a tough couple of games versus the Suns and the Warriors where he scored a total of 12 points on 1-11 shooting — started the game against OKC with 11 points on 4-4 shooting. The Knicks had some newfound energy on the defensive side of the court stealing the ball eight times in the first half. After a miserable game in Phoenix, Julius Randle scored 16 first-half points versus the Thunder. OKC offered little to no resistance in the paint as New York scored 38 of their 69 first-half points down low to take an 11-point lead into the half.
In the third quarter, the Knicks were able to balloon their lead to 17 points but the Thunder would not go away as they cut it to just six as the offense staggered for a bit. In what has become a common occurrence, Jalen Brunson bailed his team out as he scored 11 points in the period and put on a scoring clinic from the midrange to stave off an OKC comeback.
In the fourth quarter, Brunson continued his masterful offensive performance leading the Knicks to victory, ending his night with an exclamation point with back-to-back alley-oops to Jehrico Sims and Barrett.
One of the most beautiful clips of the year. pic.twitter.com/gWdMkPIU7D
— The Knicks Wall (@TheKnicksWall) November 22, 2022
In what was a much-needed victory, the Knicks’ big three showed up big time as they once again eclipsed 20 points each. Brunson tied his career-high with 34 points on a very efficient 14-20 shooting from the field to go with nine assists. Barrett found his stride after his recent struggles and ended the night with 25 points and eight rebounds. Randle tallied a double-double with 25 points to go with 11 rebounds. Quickley scored 18 points including shooting connecting on 4 of 5 attempts from long distance.
The Knicks will finally head back home and will have some much-needed rest after five games in seven nights. Next up, they will face off against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday at Madison Square Garden.
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