OKLAHOMA CITY (Eagle News) – The New York Knicks started the 2017-2018 season on the road with an 105-84 loss against the much-hyped Oklahoma City Thunder.
The new big three of former Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, the newly acquired All-Star forward Paul George, and reigning MVP Russell Westbrook were too dominant for the Knicks, Thursday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
The Thunder jumped ahead early, opening the first quarter with a 5-0 run highlighted by Anthony’s opening three point shot. The Knicks kept battling throughout with Kristaps Porzingis contributing to eight points with the team down 27-24 at the end of the first quarter.
Turnovers started early with the Knicks in the second quarter and the Thunder gained control led by the explosiveness of Westbrook and the overall scoring power the team possess, ballooning to a nine point lead heading into halftime.
The Knicks offense sputtered in the second half, only scoring 17 points in the third quarter and the Thunder continued to take control behind Westbrook’s first triple-double performance of the season, finishing with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 16 assists.
Anthony, who finished with 22 points on 8-of-20 shooting from the field, still played better than a “bag of chips” and was impressed by Porzingis’ performance and his new leading role.
“I was happy, just to see that he’s ready to take on that role. He looked aggressive tonight, looked comfortable, felt comfortable. So I was happy to see that,” said Anthony.
Porzingis led the Knicks in scoring with 31 points and 12 rebounds and Enes Kanter added 10 points and seven rebounds as the rest of the team’s offense was simply non-existent.
(Norman Castro, EBC New York Bureau)