00:00Jared Schwartz here at Madison Square Garden after the Knicks 103-100 loss to the defending champion Thunder.
00:07They were trailed by 15 in the third quarter, had a huge third quarter comeback, went up by 3 to
00:13enter the fourth quarter, and then came up short.
00:15They were 19-0 earlier this year in games that they led going into the fourth quarter.
00:21This marked their first loss in which they led going into the fourth quarter.
00:25Three takeaways from me. One is a little bit of the inconsistency.
00:30The Thunder are a measuring stick. They're the defending champion.
00:34They're the standard that the Knicks want to believe that they can be at.
00:37For three out of the four quarters, the Knicks weren't at that level.
00:41First quarter, second quarter, fourth quarter, they were outscored by 18 points.
00:46In that third quarter, they outscored the Thunder by 13.
00:49So for 75% of the game, it was more of a mismatch made to look better by a big
00:54third quarter.
00:54Notably, Shea Gilgis-Alexander, the reigning MVP, sat most of that third quarter.
01:02Two, a bit about the refs and physicality.
01:05It was pretty much thematic in the Knicks locker room after the game.
01:08Coach Mike Brown, Jalen Brunson, and Carl Anthony Towns all complained about the referees.
01:15What got Mike Brown most angry was a no-call on Jalen Brunson in the first quarter.
01:20He believed that Brunson took a clear charge on Gilgis-Alexander.
01:24Wasn't called.
01:25Mike Brown was angry and barking at the ref.
01:28One possession later, the Knicks were called for a foul, and he lost it.
01:32Was given his first technical foul of the year.
01:33This is a coach who is usually cordial with the refs, but lost it.
01:37Was given a technical foul.
01:38And that's something that the players kind of picked up on and started to complain throughout the game.
01:44Brown also said that Gilgis-Alexander is very good at convincing refs that he's hit.
01:51Obviously, that's something that the Thunder are known for.
01:54Whether it's justified or not, they're a team that teams believe get a friendly whistle on the offensive end
02:00and get away with some physicality on the defensive end.
02:04The Knicks were the latest culprit in that regard.
02:07Brunson joked, or not so much joked, that he had a little bit of a black eye that he got
02:13from the game.
02:14He said it was probably from a no-call.
02:16Carl Anthony Towns was angry about the fifth foul that he picked up in the fourth quarter,
02:20saying unfortunate it was called and asked why it was called today and not other times.
02:27Three, Brunson's defender, Kaysen Wallace, probably guarded Brunson as well as anybody has this season.
02:38Brunson struggled shooting the ball, went 5-for-18 from the field, 2-for-5 from three, finished with just
02:4416 points.
02:45At halftime, he only had two points and was 1-for-8 from the field.
02:48So, look, a lot of teams have different plans to stop Brunson, different defenders, different schemes.
02:55Most of them fail.
02:57If there's one thing that we've seen has helped, it's having athletic, bigger athletic guards try to guard him.
03:03Kaysen Wallace is certainly an example of that.
03:06And he certainly gave Brunson problems today.
03:10He was helped.
03:10They were double-teaming him a lot.
03:12They sent two defenders at him a lot.
03:14And he did finish with 15 assists, so he did get his teammates involved.
03:18But Kaysen Wallace and the Thunder scheme absolutely slowed him down.
03:22Other than that, they get ready for a West Coast trip that should provide a good test.
03:29The last three games have been a decent test.
03:32They beat the Spurs, who are second in the West.
03:34They dismantled the Raptors, who are a playoff team.
03:38And tonight was a close loss to the defending champion, Thunder.
03:41The next test is a few contenders on the West before they come home.
03:46So this is a stretch where it's a good measuring stick three-quarters of the way through the season.
03:53They failed tonight's test.
03:54But, you know, players always hate to talk about moral victories.
03:59Perhaps this was one of them.
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