The New York Knicks kept one long streak going Tuesday with their win at Toronto.
On Wednesday, the Knicks will be looking to end another long one when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder.
New York hasn’t defeated the Thunder at Madison Square Garden since Dec. 16, 2017, when Michael Beasley and Courtney Lee were the Knicks’ leading scorers.
For the Thunder, Wednesday’s game is a continuation of a trek through some of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
Since the All-Star break, the Thunder have faced Cleveland, Toronto, Detroit, Denver and now the Knicks.
Oklahoma City is 6-1 since the break, losing to only Detroit on Feb. 25.
The Thunder are coming off a 116-108 win in Chicago on Tuesday despite playing without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Isaiah Hartenstein, in addition to the long-term absences of Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell.
Gilgeous-Alexander and Hartenstein figure to return for Wednesday’s matchup.
Like the Thunder, the Knicks are on the second night of a back-to-back and come in on a three-game winning streak.
The Knicks knocked off Toronto 111-95 on the road Tuesday, thanks to 26 points from Jalen Brunson and 21 points, 12 rebounds and six assists from Karl-Anthony Towns. New York held the Raptors to just 37 second-half points en route to defeating the club for the 12th straight time.
“We’ve got to hang our hat on that end of the floor,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said of his team’s defense, “and our guys are doing it. They’re doing it with physicality first and then trying to get that ball off the glass second.”
The Wednesday game is the continuation of perhaps the toughest stretch of the season for New York.
The Knicks, who have knocked off the San Antonio Spurs and Raptors in consecutive games, will hit the road to play Denver on Friday and at the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
While Brown didn’t want to put too much weight on Wednesday’s matchup with the defending champions, he said it was another game to measure just where his team stands entering the closing stretch of the regular season.
“How are we going to be able to handle the stuff on both ends of the floor and if we get stuck here, we get stuck there. It’s an opportunity to continue to grow,” Brown said.
Jared McCain continues to make a significant impression for the Thunder since being acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers.
McCain scored 20 points in the win on Tuesday, marking the third time in the past seven games that he has reached the 20-point plateau. The second-year guard hit that mark just once in 37 games with the 76ers this season.
“He plays a consistent game,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said of McCain. “He doesn’t play outside of his game, ever. He’s always ready to play.
Gilgeous-Alexander continues to close in on Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA record for most consecutive games with 20 or more points.
The reigning Most Valuable Player has reached the mark in 123 consecutive games, just three away from tying the mark set by Chamberlain from 1961-63.
–Field Level Media
