New York (AFP) – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Isaiah Joe combined for 70 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back to winning ways with a 126-101 drubbing of the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Friday. Oklahoma City were left licking their wounds after their much-anticipated tussle against the No.1 ranked Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday ended in a chastening defeat. But the Western Conference leaders showed no signs of a hangover with a blowout victory over the Knicks, in what had been billed as a potential NBA Finals preview.
The Knicks were effectively forced into damage limitation mode after a blistering start from Oklahoma City saw the visitors surge into a 31-17 lead after the first quarter. The Thunder kept their foot on the pedal in the second, pouring in 39 points to take a mammoth 70-43 halftime lead that the Knicks never looked like catching. Gilgeous-Alexander spearheaded another dazzling offensive performance from the Thunder, finishing with 39 points from 15-of-21 shooting while Joe caught fire with eight three-pointers off the bench to deliver a 31-point display. Oklahoma City’s win saw them stretch their lead to 31-6 at the top of the Western Conference standings, six games ahead of the second-placed Houston Rockets.
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In other games Friday, there was an upset in Boston as the reigning champion Celtics stumbled to a 114-97 loss to the Sacramento Kings. DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points to lead the scoring but the plaudits went to center Domantas Sabonis, who finished with 23 points and a whopping 28 rebounds. Malik Monk added 22 points with Keegan Murray adding 19. Boston’s problems stemmed from a below-par offensive performance which saw them shoot at 40.5%, making only 11 of 41 three-point attempts. “When you’re having inefficient offense, it puts pressure on your defense,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “And if you’re only going to shoot 28% from three, it means you’re going to have to do a lot of other things really, really, really well. We’ve got to do better.”
In Orlando, Giannis Antetokounmpo spoiled Paolo Banchero’s return from injury after a 34-game absence with a 41-point masterpiece to give the Milwaukee Bucks a 109-106 win over the Magic. Greek star Antetokounmpo also weighed in with 14 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks while Damian Lillard provided offensive support with 29 points. Magic star Banchero — who has missed the last 34 games due to a torn oblique muscle — finished with 34 points but it was not enough to deny the Bucks victory.
In Philadelphia, the New Orleans Pelicans shrugged off the absence through suspension of Zion Williamson to defeat the 76ers 123-115. Pelicans star Williamson was reportedly handed a one-game suspension for the game after arriving late for the team’s flight to Philadelphia on Thursday. Yet the Pelicans were still too powerful for a Sixers lineup missing star Joel Embiid, with C.J. McCollum leading the scoring with a game-high 38 points. Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers’ scoring with 30 points while Paul George finished on 25 points with 11 rebounds.
In Indianapolis, the Indiana Pacers added to the Golden State Warriors’ problems with a 108-96 victory. In Denver, Nikola Jokic returned for the Nuggets after a two-game absence due to illness and bagged a triple-double in a 124-105 defeat of the Brooklyn Nets. Jokic finished with 35 points, 12 rebounds, and 15 assists, while teammate Russell Westbrook also grabbed a triple with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. Denver improved to 22-15 with the win to move into fourth place in the Western Conference, nine games back from leaders Oklahoma.
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