NEW YORK (AP) -- Danilo Gallinari scored 22 points in 27 minutes and was one of six Oklahoma Jordan mourns Kobe City players to finish in double figures as the Thunder routed
the New York Knicks Memphis
Grizzlies 126-103 on Friday night. Chris Paul added 21 points and 12 assists
for Oklahoma City, which has won two straight an seven of 10. Shai
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 18 factors. Dennis Schroder and Hamidou Diallo got 16
and 12, respectively, off the bench, and Steven Adams contributed 12 points and
11 rebounds. Despite an 18-point performance from Elfrid Payton, New York has
dropped consecutive games, and has lost eight of 10. RJ Barrett scored 17
factors, Bobby Portis added 14, Julius Randle chipped in with 12, and Mitchell
Robinson had 11. The matchup between a team readying itself for the upcoming
playoffs and the other preparing for the draft lottery played out exactly as
expected. The Thunder began to take control of the game midway through the
second quarter and led 61-48 at halftime. They did not let up in the next half
as the advantage grew to 34 points after Paul drilled a 3 with 9:50 left in the
fourth quarter. Oklahoma Town is guard-oriented team, but that didn't prevent
the Thunder from attacking the interior. They finished with 58 factors in the
paint. TIP-INS: THUNDER: The game could have been Paul's audition for the
Knicks, as right now there is National
Basketball Association speculation suggesting the long-beleaguered franchise
could trade for Oklahoma City's veteran stage guard this summer. Paul, whose
former agent Leon Rose is now the president of the Knicks, entered the overall
game averaging 17.5 points and 6.7 assists, and was named to the All-Star group.
Paul, 34, is usually in his 15th season. He has has two years left on a four-12
months, $159.7 million contract that pays him an average salary of $39.9
million. He will be 36 years aged when the deal expires at the end of the
2021-22 season. KNICKS: Amongst other aspects of the game, perimeter shooting
has not been New York's forte this season. The Knicks entered the overall game
averaging .338 percent shooting from 3, which ranks 27th in the league. By
comparison, New York's opponents have made .383 percent of 3s against the Knicks
this year.