Don’t chat if you catch me stealing their insights below.
Box score | Play for play
Nuggets and notes:
- Glass half empty: The Thunder took a big lead, something that has become a more regular trend this season.
- Glass half full: The Thunder blew a big lead on the road against a contender with a high-powered offense, then outlasted them for the win instead of crumbling.
- OKC did it with composure and just enough play on both ends to get the win.
- Mike Brown saw a no-call that would have been Shai’s third foul of the first quarter and lost it. How can you really blame him for that? New York’s entire plan was to stop Shai at all costs. Foul trouble would have done what the Knicks’ traps, doubles and prayers couldn’t: The MVP broke through to score 26 points on 16 shots, routinely serving up the Thunder’s second-best option when the defense sold out to get the ball out of his hands.
- Half of Shai’s eight assists came on three-pointers for Chet Holmgren (28 points, 8 rbs, 6-11 3PA), who made the Knicks pay for helping and giving him space.
- Shais dagger three with just over a minute left, OKC crossed the rest of the way.
- Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso and friends did better, bottling up Jalen Brunson (16 pts, 15 ast, 5-18 FGA).
- The Knicks couldn’t make a three-pointer all night and shot 28.6% from beyond the arc. Two of their 25 misses from deep came in the final six seconds, as Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby both missed dangerously clean looks to tie the game before the buzzer sounded.
- OKC held the Knicks to an offensive rating below 90 in the first, second and fourth quarters. Without that pesky third period, it would have been an easy win. The Knicks poured in 40 points and erased a 15-point OKC lead to start the final frame up 80-77. The Thunder took the uppercut, but stayed the course.
- Both Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein left early with injuries: a hip contusion and a tight calf (the other calf), respectively. Sigh.
- Mark Daigneault has his challenge mojo back. He went 2-for-2 with a run swing.
- Right after crossing the line on the Jokic trip that was heard around the world, Lu Dort played a very Lu Dort game. While Isaiah Joe, Jared McCain and Cason Wallace combined to go 1-12 from deep, Dort hit 3-8 treys, scored 16 points, played annoyingly physical defense and drew a foul.
One key takeaway: Playoff moments
When the MSG crowd exploded after OG Anunoby tied the score at 77-77 with a pick six late in the third, and when Brunson found KAT for a transition bucket to make it 83-79 New York in the fourth, it was felt as if New York would keep rolling to victory. That’s what should happen when you cross the threshold at home. But the Thunder don’t capture those feelings.
Shai brought home the score, but his teammates regained the lead before checking in in the fourth quarter. The role players played a big role in stopping Jalen Brunson and the Knicks less than a week after beating Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets in overtime without Shai.
This kind of poise and big moment hutzpah wasn’t as prevalent this past postseason. If the Thunder book all the play this time with Lu Dort’s confidence, other teams will have a hard time extending the series against OKC. And my glass will be full.
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