Kevin Durant drained a clutch three pointer at the end of regulation and notched a pull up jumper in overtime to give Oklahoma City a 121-118 victory over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Nothing rattles Durant. The Thunder won for the eighth consecutive time, a season best streak for Oklahoma City. The overtime defeat came in Tracy McGrady’s dazzling New York debut. T-Mac collected 26 points in 32 minutes, his highest total in over a year. The All-star’s effort wasn’t enough to prevent durable Durant from hanging 36 points. Upstart Oklahoma City improved to 32-21, while the Knicks dropped their record to 19-35.
David Lee scored 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Knicks’ sixth straight loss. Newly acquired Eddie House, added a season-high 24 points for the home team. McGrady banked 10 shots in a strong first quarter to match a season high for the former Houston Rocket. T-Mac made a long jumper and a three-pointer at the end of the half for a 57-52 New York advantage. He finished with 19 first half points to match his output with Houston through six games. The electrifying McGrady ran out of steam at the end of the fourth quarter for Mike D’Antoni’s club. He missed some vital free throws as he took his fatigued body to the hardwood. New York blew a six point lead late in regulation. The Thunder outscored the Knicks 8-2 in the game’s final sixty seconds. A Jeff Green three-pointer was followed by a Russell Westbrook’s layup to cut the Thunder deficit to one point with less than thirty seconds remaining. Westbrook finished with 31 points and 10 assists. The second year guard out of UCLA got the Thunder going in the second half. He helped stage an early lead for the visitors with 10 second half points. Green made 16 points and 11 boards. House bucketed a pair of free throws to give the Knicks a three point lead in the final seconds before Durant knotted the game at 105 by netting a trey.
McGrady, sporting a number 3 jersey, didn’t start the overtime session and the Knicks earned a four point edge on Lee’s tap-in with 1:35 left. Rugged backup forward, Nick Collison, tapped in Durant’s misfire with 32 seconds left and Green fired from downtown to pull the Thunder back within one. T-Mac was summoned from the bench and set up the go-ahead jumper to House with the clock reading 30.7 seconds. Durant answered the Knicks’ challenge by drilling a 3-point shot. The All-star forward curled hard and received an inbounds pass from Westbrook to tie the game. The Thunder secured the victory and completed the rally. Durant nicked his 27th consecutive game with at least 25 points. Collison took charge by setting several screens and finished with double digit points. Former Arizona State rookie, James Harden, had 14 points for Oklahoma City. The Thunder sit third in the Northwest division but own the league’s current longest winning streak. Durant has proven he belongs in the upper echelon of the NBA elite.
Parting Points: Two Tiger notes-
(1)Johnny Damon is reportedly set to sign a $8 million deal with Detroit.
(2)Tiger Woods-could you have given a better effort? What does steroids have to do with cheating on your wife?
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2 comments:
McGrady played very well despite the loss. I think he will help the Knicks win many of their remaining games, but New York will still miss the playoffs.
Thank you for the feedback. I agree the Knicks will miss the playoffs. It will be interesting to see if Tmac's sticks around next season in NY.
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