The Thunder will try to bounce back from a loss at the lowly Brooklyn Nets when they visit the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
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NEW YORK (AP) – Brook Lopez scored a season-high 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and the Brooklyn Nets snapped the Oklahoma City Thunder’s seven-game winning streak with a 116-106 victory Sunday night.
The New York Knicks look for consistency after splitting their last 10 games. “You can tell when you walk into the arena, just being at Barclays [Center] and being at Madison Square [Garden], it’s just that pure basketball feel that you get when you walk in those areas”. But there are two very unfortunate things they have to deal with: There’s no one in this team who can be rightfully called a franchise player and they don’t have any pick in the draft up until 2019.
Lopez, who was held to eight points in Friday’s ugly loss to Utah, reached double figures for the 43rd time in 45 games. He will probably miss the final two games of the road trip and there is no timetable for his return, though Donovan said they don’t believe surgery will be necessary. The Nets defeated the Thunder 116-106.
“But basketball is simple, when you got a guy that can get into the paint, that’s what San Antonio wants to do, but they’ve got guys, multiple guys that’ll pass, pass, dribble, get to the paint”, Durant added.
Arron Afflalo scored 17 points for the Knicks but shot 6 for 21, with the potential victor going in and out before the regulation buzzer. It was his 10th game with at least 30 points and only the second time the Thunder lost one of Durant’s 30-point showings. Before the game, the soon-to-be free agent Durant acknowledged the talent of (fellow shimmier) Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and cited how New York City is the mecca of basketball.
– The Knicks kept Westbrook in check back in November (34 points on 29 shots, 7 boards and 7 dimes) and with elite rim protection in KP and RoLo and Russ in the midst of a cold streak from deep (3-18 from 3 his last five games), maybe we’ll be able to tame the beast once again.
“We battled and fought, but the level of consistency wasn’t where it needed to be”, Thunder coach Billy Donavan said.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder wouldn’t blame a blizzard that delayed their game and kept Kevin Durant stuck in his hotel for about 36 hours. Starting guard Anthony Roberson missed the second half because of a sprained right knee. “That’s the kind of showing I’d like to see from going forward – be a threat in the post and dominate”. Steven Adams is questionable with an elbow injury. Durant said he hasn’t yet analyzed his options with any zeal, purposely so.
