OKLAHOMA CITY — It was one of the few clean looks Danilo Gallinari of the New York Knicks had in what turned out to be a scoreless night in a 106-88 loss here to the Oklahoma City Thunder at Ford Center. Gallinari lined up a corner three-pointer and rose to the apex of his jump in his perfect form.
And out of nowhere came a hand that spanked the ball right over the head of a stunned Gallinari, who, at 6-11, couldn’t remember the last time he had a jumper blocked so cleanly.
“Kevin Durant is so long, so long,” Gallinari said of the Thunder’s budding superstar, who dominated with a 30-point performance that almost seemed effortless. “He actually was helping on the other side, on the other man. I was completely free.”
The play came early in the third quarter with the Knicks looking to get to within 15 points of a team that for most of the game played 20 points better. It was hardly a turning point, but the block was one of seven missed field goals — and three missed three-pointers — for Gallinari, who admittedly didn’t have the game he has shown in recent weeks.
“I don’t know, I just didn’t play,” said Gallinari, who did grab 11 rebounds in 31:35. “I played bad.”
He wasn’t the only one. Chris Duhon, who was also an 0-fer in the game (0-for-8, 0-for-6 from downtown) in 27:48. David Lee had 11 points and 13 rebounds but hit just 5-for-18 from the floor as the target of a very aggressive double-team defensive strategy by Scott Brooks’ team.
“I think we were a little shocked at first and we couldn’t get a footing,” Mike D’Antoni said of his team, which fell behind 34-24 in the first quarter and for many stretches of the game looked too much like the Knicks team from November, which started 1-9. The Knicks shot 38.2 percent and made just 6-for-28 from three-point range.
Durant’s 30 points came on just 14 field-goal attempts and he hit 13-for-16 from the foul line in 32:51. D’Antoni opened the game with a curious strategy of a box-and-one defense — almost never seen in the NBA — that had Duhon play Durant tight and Jared Jeffries attacking with a double-team. The plan didn’t quite work, mainly because with all of the concern on Durant, the Thunder (21-16) took advantage with four offensive rebounds in the first quarter and 10 points by Russell Westbrook, who finished with 17 points and five assists.
Nate Robinson led the Knicks (15-22) with 19 points off the bench and Jonathan Bender had 16. After he sat out two games with a left calf strain, Al Harrington returned to the lineup and had nine points in 16:57.
And though Wilson Chandler had an extremely quiet night (12 points) and had four turnovers (now nine in his last two games), Gallinari’s night was the most concerning because of how passive he was early on. With the Thunder effectively taking the ball out of Lee’s hands, the Knicks needed another scoring option and, with Durant playing him tough defensively, Gallinari did little to assert himself in that role.
“That’s what’s going to take him to the next level,” Duhon said. “He has to understand that teams are going to play him tougher and won’t let him get the ball. But if he wants to be a superstar in this league, he has to find a way to still get balls, still get his shots and contribute every night.”
Added D’Antoni, “We need that from him.”
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