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NEW YORK (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made the go-ahead jumper from the nook with 2.6 seconds left, sending the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder to the playoffs for the primary time since 2020 with a 113-112 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday night time.
Josh Giddey had 16 factors, 13 rebounds and 12 assists for Oklahoma Metropolis, which moved again into sole possession of first place within the Western Convention at 52-22 with its second straight win.
“Nice accomplishment for the group,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault mentioned. “I could not be happier for the group and for the group. And now we have got to proceed to sharpen our blade down the stretch right here (to) put together ourselves.”
It was Giddey’s third profession triple-double — all towards the Knicks. He scored 12 factors within the fourth quarter, when the Thunder outscored the Knicks 38-27.
“It’s essentially the most well-known enviornment on this planet,” Giddey mentioned. “It’s a particular place to play. (Whether or not) triple-doubles occur or not, I simply attempt to go on the market, play the fitting approach, play the sport the way it must be performed and people issues form of simply occur. It’s a enjoyable place to play.”
Jalen Williams led all scorers with 33 factors and Gilgeous-Alexander completed with 19.
Jalen Brunson scored 30 factors however missed the potential successful jumper in one other robust loss for the Knicks, who fell in extra time Friday in San Antonio. Deuce McBride added 19 and Donte DiVincenzo scored 15.
With the Knicks trailing 111-110 with 18 seconds left, Brunson transformed a layup to offer the Knicks the lead. After a timeout, Gilgeous-Alexander knocked down a turnaround mid-range jumper over McBride earlier than Brunson missed a 16-footer on the buzzer.
Isaiah Hartenstein had 17 factors and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, whereas Josh Hart added 13 factors and 15 rebounds.
“It hurts,” Hartenstein mentioned of New York’s back-to-back losses. “We have (had) two video games the place we had nice photographs. That is form of the extra disappointing factor.”
Trailing 50-46, New York opened the third quarter with a 14-5 run. Brunson scored eight factors within the spurt, and McBride and DiVincenzo every drilled a 3.
New York prolonged its result in 75-65 after DiVincenzo’s 3 with 5:24 remaining within the quarter. McBride’s layup with 2:54 left capped a fairly passing sequence to increase the benefit to 12.
In all, New York outscored Oklahoma Metropolis 39-25 within the interval to take an 85-75 lead.
The Thunder responded with a 15-5 spurt within the first 2:41 of the fourth quarter to tie the sport at 90-all. The run was capped by Giddey’s floater.
The groups traded baskets for the rest of the sport. Brunson tied it 104 with a 3, however Williams’ 3 allowed the Thunder to regain the lead.
Gilgeous-Alexander returned to the lineup after sitting out Oklahoma Metropolis’s earlier two video games with a left quadriceps contusion. New York remained with out Julius Randle (dislocated proper shoulder), OG Anunoby (proper elbow damage administration), and Mitchell Robinson (sprained left ankle).
“I felt like I used to be prepared,” Gilgeous-Alexander mentioned. “If I did not really feel so I would not be on the market. Did not have my finest recreation, clearly. However yeah, I felt fairly good.”
UP NEXT:
Thunder: Visits Philadelphia on Tuesday night time.
Knicks: Go to Miami on Tuesday night time.
MORE AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
