Sometimes, you lose because of the guy you forgot about.
On Friday night, that guy was Aaron Wiggins.
The Knicks cemented themselves in the NBA championship conversation with an impressive performance against the Western Conference’s No. 1-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, but they lost track of Wiggins, the next man up in the Thunder rotation with Alex Caruso out due to a hip injury.
The backup guard erupted for 19 points off the bench. He scored 15 points in the fourth quarter alone, shooting 4-of-4 from behind the arc in the period to bury the Knicks, 117-107, in Oklahoma City on Friday.
It was an unfortunate swing for the Knicks, who took a 12-point lead into the half and outscored the Thunder by 15 points in the second quarter, only to cough that advantage up, failing to reach 20 points in the fourth quarter.
Jalen Brunson finished with 22 points and nine assists but missed all five of his attempts from downtown and had three uncharacteristic turnovers, including two in the fourth quarter.
Mikal Bridges scored a team-high 24 points and guarded OKC’s Most Valuable Player of the Year candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with a game-high 33 points and seven assists.
Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 17 points and 22 rebounds.
OKC’s Jalen Williams added 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field, but it was Wiggins whose timely shooting from deep sunk the Knicks, handing them their 11th loss of the season.
And yet two things can be true: Yes, the Knicks lost to the best in the West, but it’s clear they belong among the league’s elite. Their record is not a mere reflection of a light schedule. It is indicative of a team that has improved across the board since the beginning of the season.
One common thread for the Knicks this season has been a lack of bench scoring. The Knicks entered Friday’s matchup dead-last in points per game off the bench before Precious Achiuwa and Landry Shamet combined for just five points against the Thunder.
Friday also gave the Knicks a blast from the past, playing against Isaiah Hartenstein, the former starting center who left New York for Oklahoma City in free agency over the summer.
Hartenstein showed the Knicks everything they lost, particularly when he made a $12.5 million play — the difference between the Knicks’ max offer and the three-year, $87.5 million deal the Thunder signed him to in July — boxing out Josh Hart and tipping an offensive rebound to a wide-open Wiggins, whose three brought the Thunder within two with just nine minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Both teams could look different, even as soon as their rematch on Jan. 10 at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks were without Miles McBride, who missed his second game with left hamstring tightness. Caruso, one of Oklahoma City’s big offseason acquisitions, sat with a hip strain. Then there are the bigs out for longer periods of time: Mitchell Robinson is recovering from offseason ankle surgery and is expected to resume practicing some time this month, while Chet Holmgren remains out recovering from a pelvic fracture.
The Knicks now prepare for the second leg of a back-to-back against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.
They then return to Madison Square Garden to embark on a tougher second leg of the regular season, hosting the Orlando Magic before a string of games against playoff opponents.
