Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey Help Thunder Blaze by Knicks, 145-135

A well-rounded, high-scoring effort led the Thunder past the Knicks.

As the Oklahoma City Thunder took on the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden, the Thunder defeated the Knicks 145-135 in a high-scoring affair. They continued to tally points, and despite a slower fourth quarter, they were able to hold on and advance to 6-7 on the season.

The Thunder had fallen down double-digits after letting up a Knicks 48-point first quarter, despite scoring 36 points of their own. The tone was set then and this matchup was screaming with shootout potential. By the half, the score was 79-73 in favor of the Thunder. 

The high-scoring trend continued as the Thunder led the Knicks 122-106 at the end of the third quarter, led by a 21-point quarter from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They let off the gas during the fourth quarter, but they were able to hang on and grind out the win. The win was the Thunder's second in a row. 

It was a well-rounded effort for the Thunder, as it would have been for any team to put up this amount of points, but Gilgeous-Alexander was the driver of the offense. He finished with a total statline of 37 points on 13-of-22 shooting, along with 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. He continues to expand on his All-Star campaign for the season.

Josh Giddey was a big piece of the win, too. He finished with 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting and added 12 assists and 10 rebounds. He had a big first half, and even secured his double-double early in the third quarter. The triple-double game in the fourth quarter.

In his second game in the Madison Square Garden, Giddey was the first player since Wilt Chamberlain to record a triple-double in his first two games in the arena.

Lu Dort was also a big help to the Thunder, as he added 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Aleksej Pokusevski also added consistent help to the Thunder. Robinson-Earl had 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting and Pokusevski finished with 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting.

The bench scoring was well-rounded as the bench added 31 points, which seemed to have come all at the right time.

Tre Mann left the game early with lower back soreness and did not return.

As a team, the Thunder shot 62.5% from the field and 54.8% on 3-pointers. They made a total of 17 3-pointers, which is a positive sign as the team was not shooting well early this season.

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