OKC Thunder defeats the New York Knicks behind hot 3-point shooting from George, Westbrook, Ferguson, Grant, Nader, and Schröder.
“We need shooters!” Has been the rallying cry from Thunder fans since before the season even began. Prior to today’s game against the New York Knicks, the Thunder ranked a league low in 3 point shooting percentage at 33.2%. With a General Manager with the prestige of Sam Presti, it’s a reasonable if not doable request.
However tonight the OKC Thunder hit 15-29 perimeter shots, good enough for 51.7 percent. Paul George led the team with four of his own on his way to a team high 31 points. Dennis Schröder despite a mediocre shooting performance (5-12) was able to convert 4-7 of his 3-point attempts, good for 17 of his own.
Jerami Grant (16) hit 1, as did Russell Westbrook on his way to an efficient 17 points on eight shots. Terrance Ferguson finished 3-5 from deep for 9 points, and in the past 6 games is shooting 55 percent from behind the arc.
It was after the game was practically decided, however, that the real boost came from the most unlikely of sources. As Paul George and Russell Westbrook took a seat on the bench to start the 4th Quarter, it was Abdel Nader who helped to maintain the Thunders 20 point third quarter lead. Nader had 15 of his 16 points in the fourth Quarter, including hitting 2-3 of his 3-point shots.
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Of course it is the New York Knicks, and of course, you can’t expect to shoot that great every night. Still, n terms of signs of encouragement this could certainly give Presti pause when planning for the February 7th trade deadline.
Not to mention, Alex Abrines (who has missed the last 12 games) was listed as active even though he didn’t check into the game.
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The Thunder look to extend their winning streak to 3 as they face the Portland Trailblazers tomorrow night! Keep it tuned in here for more, and don’t forget to Thunder Up!