Thunder's Offense Struggles in Loss to Knicks

Oklahoma City had one of its worst shooting performances of the season.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:06 pm

By: News On 6

Thunder's Offense Struggles in Loss to Knicks

Originally Published: Dec 22, 2010 10:18 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

NEW YORK CITY – The Oklahoma City Thunder started strong but fizzled as the night went on Wednesday in a 112-98 loss to the New York Knicks.

The Thunder (20-10) played a road game for the second consecutive night, and it showed. Oklahoma City went on a 15-4 run that bridged the first and second quarters to take the lead, but from that point forward it was all New York (17-12).

The Knicks went on a 10-2 to retake the advantage and took a 63-55 lead into halftime. They slowly pulled away after that and did not trail again for the rest of the night.

As the game progressed, the Thunder showed more signs of fatigue. Shooters settled for long pull-up jumpers and the team went through several spurts of inaccuracy. The team finished shooting 39 percent from the field, one of its worst performances of the season.

Kevin Durant led all scorers with 26 points and Russell Westbrook added 23, but the rest of the team struggled. Jeff Green was the only other starter to score in double figures, but he went 6-of-19 from the field and 1-of-6 from beyond the arc.

With Nenad Krstic out due to injury, Serge Ibaka started but failed to score in 19 minutes on the floor. Thabo Sefolosha was the only Thunder player to shoot better than 50 percent.

The Knicks had much more even offensive production. Six players scored in double figures – including all five starters – led by Amar’e Stoudemire’s 23 points.

Wilson Chandler added 21 points, while Landry Fields and Raymond Felton each recorded double-doubles. Fields had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Felton had 12 points and 10 assists.

The Knicks snapped a three-game losing streak with the win, while the Thunder lost just its fourth game in the month of December. OKC’s loss, coupled with Utah’s 112-107 victory, drops the Thunder to a game behind the Jazz in the division.

The Thunder will return to Oklahoma City for a four-game home stand, starting with at 7 p.m. on Christmas Day against the Denver Nuggets.