'Falls on Me': Knicks' RJ Barrett Benched as Thunder Rolls at MSG

RJ Barrett was given the worst kind of Sunday rest in the New York Knicks' latest loss.

It's said that Sunday is meant to be a day of rest. If that's the case, RJ Barrett was granted the worst kind of reprieve on Sunday. 

Barrett's day off was one of the few the New York Knicks (6-7) actually mandated on Sunday afternoon, as the team's defense was a general no-show during a 145-135 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. But the Knicks' homegrown franchise face was forced to take a seat during a second half that saw them trail wire-to-wire, limited to a mere two minutes over the final 24 as Oklahoma City's lead expanded. 

Barrett ended with as many fouls as points (4) and shot 2-of-10 from the floor. His exile will likely be used as ammunition for the growing number of Knicks supporters calling for head coach Tom Thibodeau's ousting. The shooter, however, took responsibility for his enforced departure in the dreary aftermath.

"It’s a lot on me," Barrett said. "I took a lot of bad shots."

Entering Sunday's game, Barrett appeared to be finding a scoring touch of sorts, having hit at least 50 percent of his attempts from the field in three of his prior five. His most recent outing had been particularly impressive, scoring 30 on 10-of-17 in an otherwise sloppy win over woebegone Detroit. 

It was Barrett's defense, however, that might've sealed his fate. 

A True North reunion between Barrett and Team Canada teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander spelled the former's doom, as the NBA's seventh-leading scorer put on a Manhattan showcase on Sunday. Gilgeous-Alexander not only had 37 points (joining his fellow starters in double-figures) but visited the foul line a Thunder-best 10 times. Barrett's afternoon in fact ended on a foul, his fourth infraction affording Gilgeou-Alexander the freebies that gave Oklahoma City (6-7) its first double-figure lead of the afternoon. 

Barrett was replaced by Quentin Grimes and did not return. 

“It falls on me for sure because I was guarding Shai and he got me into some foul trouble,” Barrett said. “That’s not good. I got to do a better job of not fouling. Especially the silly one in the third. So I got to do better with that, too.”

Barrett was not the only backcourt franchise face exiled from Sunday's game: Jalen Brunson fared better offensively (17 points, 5-of-9 from the field) but couldn't stop Josh Giddey's 24-point, 12-assist, 10-rebound triple-double. He was removed with just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter and did not return.

Had Brunson been in Thibodeau's spot, he would've done the same.

"I wouldn’t have played myself either, the way I was playing defensively," the $104 million man said. 

The defensive showing was historically bad on several levels: the Knicks allowed at least 145 points in a regulation game for the first time since 1979 and became the first team since the 1990 Denver Nuggets to lose a game after scoring at least 48 in the opening frame. 

Further lost in the dreary defensive effort was a strong performance from Barrett's understudy Immanuel Quickley, who had 24 points and five assists to go with the season-best 26 tallies from starter Cam Reddish. 

Reddish and Julius Randle were the only starters that got to stay for the final stages. Joined by Evan Fournier and Jericho Sims, the Knicks put forth a respectable result in the last frame, winning the period 29-23.

“We were looking for life, and that group that was in there gave us a little bit of a spark," he said. "So that’s what we went with.” 

The road ahead gets no easier for the Knicks, who begin a five-game road trip on Tuesday night in Utah (9 p.m. ET, MSG). 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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