The reigning MVP made a statement when it mattered most.
As the NBA regular season continues to wind down, every game is important for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who hold only a marginal lead over the San Antonio Spurs for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. With a difficult schedule still ahead, the New York Knicks presented an immediate challenge on Sunday night.
But the Thunder pulled out a 111-100 victory in what was mostly an ugly game for both teams. The Knicks shot well from beyond the arc for most of the night, and that helped keep them competitive, as did their ability to control the boards early.
For the Thunder, who struggled from 3-point range, free throws were the difference. New York could not stay disciplined defensively and sent Oklahoma City to the line 38 times, which was 21 more free-throw attempts than the Knicks had. Conversely, New York attempted seven more field goals, but shot a worse percentage overall despite being much better from deep.
Interestingly, this was another game in which Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggled from the floor. Entering the fourth quarter, it was one of his rougher shooting performances of the season, only behind Friday night against the Chicago Bulls, when he was poor by his standards. But in the fourth quarter, when it mattered most, he completely took over.
Gilgeous-Alexander was the Thunder’s offense in the final frame. He provided the spark Oklahoma City needed to get over the hump and, at one point, scored nine straight points in the quarter. He ultimately finished with 30 points. It came on 8-of-18 shooting, which still is not great by his standards, but the way he closed the game was remarkable.
Outside of Gilgeous-Alexander, only three other Thunder players reached double figures. Jalen Williams had 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting, Chet Holmgren added 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting, and Lu Dort chipped in 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting, doing much of his damage from beyond the arc.
Beyond that, it was a balanced scoring effort, and Oklahoma City did enough to secure the win.
From here, it does not get any easier. The Thunder, now 59-16 on the season, have to turn around and face the Detroit Pistons on Monday on the second night of a back-to-back.
Even if Detroit is missing some key pieces, it is still another tough test against an Eastern Conference contender. Oklahoma City will look to take it one game at a time, get another win, and keep pushing forward.