Knicks Pound Portland while Nets Can’t Match OKC
The Knicks and Nets continue to swap places between the sixth and fifth seeds in the Eastern Conference. The Knick dismantled the Portland Trailblazers 123-107, while Brooklyn was no match for the Oklahoma City Thunder who came away with a 121-107 loss. The Knicks (41-30) are now a full game up on the Nets (39-30) in the Eastern Conference for the fifth seed.
And nothing against Cleveland, but squaring off against the Cavs would be a less daunting assignment than going up against the Sixers in the first round of the playoffs.
Six players scored in double-figures for the Knicks on Tuesday night, with Immanuel Quickley leading the way with 26 points on 4-of-8 shooting from downtown. Overall the Knicks had three players score into the 20’s in Portland with Julius Randle (24 points) and R.J. Barrett (22 points) joining the fray.
THAT'S A W.
— x - KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) March 15, 2023
KNICKS BEAT THE BLAZERS 🔥
BACK HOME VS DENVER ON SATURDAY pic.twitter.com/SbjTQZNxcu
New York’s bench was also on fire, especially from downtown. The combination of Obbi Toppin, Miles McBride, and Josh Hart went 9-of-15 from beyond the arc as the Knicks shot 42 percent from downtown for the night.
The efforts of the Knicks bench was paramount in a huge second half comeback that saw New York score 42 points in the third quarter, erasing an early 13-point deficit.
🍪🍪🍪 pic.twitter.com/gcVPoOeZHQ
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 15, 2023
Meanwhile down in Oklahoma City, the Nets couldn’t cash in on another brilliant performance from Mikal Bridges who put up 34 points in defeat. That’s because the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander answered with 35 points of his own, while Luguentz Dort added 24 points, and Jalen Williams added 23 points.
After a hot start to the game that saw Brooklyn jump out to a 33-24 lead in the first quarter, Brooklyn’s offense fizzled in the third quarter, and the Nets never truly recovered.
