Thunder Hosts Knicks On Wednesday Night

<p>Following two blowout losses to the Warriors and Wizards, the Thunder look to get back on track Wednesday night when it hosts the New York Knicks at 8:30 p.m. </p>

Wednesday, February 15th 2017, 5:30 pm

By: Brett Coppenbarger

Following two blowout losses to the Warriors and Wizards, the Thunder look to get back on track Wednesday night when it hosts the New York Knicks at 8:30 p.m.

Here are a few things to know about the matchup:

Knicks coming off big win

Even though New York has been one of the worst teams in the league since Christmas, the Knicks picked up their best win of the season on Sunday when they knocked off the Spurs, 94-90 inside of Madison Square Garden. After trailing by six points at halftime, the Knicks outscored the Spurs by 10 in the third quarter and held off a red-hot Kawhi Leonard to pick up the win.

Not only was it the Knicks’ best win, but it ended a four-game losing streak and served as a bright spot when New York fans needed it most. With all the trade speculation surrounding Carmelo Anthony along with the Charles Oakley-James Dolan drama, it was a much-needed victory for a team trying to find its way.

Thunder need to show some life

After Saturday night’s emotional home game against Kevin Durant in the Warriors, it wasn’t too surprising to see the Thunder look as flat as they did in its 22-point loss to the Wizards on Monday. OKC shot only 35.4 percent from the field while missing a whopping 24 consecutive shots at one point.

It was obvious the Thunder wanted to spoil Durant’s return and it didn’t help that OKC had to follow that up with a road matchup against the streaking Wizards. That being said, the Thunder definitely want to get back on track Wednesday night. When asked if it would be tough to get up for the Knicks game, Russell Westbrook quickly cleared the air.

“No, not if you got your ass kicked two times in a row,” he said at Wednesday’s shootaround.

Last game for awhile

The matchup with the Knicks will be the Thunder’s last before the all-star break and OKC won’t be back in action until next Friday when it hosts the Lakers. With Westbrook carrying a heavy load so far this season along with the injury to Enes Kanter, this break couldn’t have come at a better time for the Thunder.