The New York Knicks arrive in Oklahoma City tonight riding an emotional high after notching their biggest win of the season Sunday against the Celtics. The Knicks manhandled the defending champions in the third quarter and controlled the game and the lead all throughout the fourth.
The Thunder, on the other hand, are coming off of a disheartening last second loss to the Denver Nuggets. OKC has lost three games in the last second so far this season (Minnesota, Detroit, and now Denver) and that trend is starting to get old. But on some levels (most, actually), it's better than getting blown out like they were at the beginning of the season.
This will be the second meeting between the teams this season with the Knicks taking the first 116-106. The Knicks held a 24 point lead at half, but the Thunder came roaring back in the second half and closed the gap to 8 before finally losing by 10. That first half was pretty atrocious for Oklahoma City and preventing a reoccurrence of that tonight will be key to stealing this victory.
The key to not getting blown out will be keeping up with the Knicks more so than trying to stop them. New York has a high-powered offense that currently tied for fourth in the NBA for average points per game at 104.1 (OKC in comparison averages 94.4). However, they give up the second most points per game in the NBA at 107.2 (the Thunder are 6th at 102.8). This game is going to be a point-fest with both teams easily breaking into the triple digits and the winner will likely have over 110. The Thunder scored a season high 120 points in their last contest and have been scoring over 100 on a much more frequent basis than prior to the first game against the Knicks (the loss to New York was OKC's first game over 100).
The Knicks may be riding high now, but if they aren't on top of their game tonight, they may be about to hit rock bottom by following up their defeat of the reigning champions with a loss to the team with the worst record.
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