NBA Picks 3/29 – Knicks @ Thunder

In what could be an NBA Finals preview, the New York Knicks (48-26, 3rd in the East) visit the NBA-leading and defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder (58-16) tonight at Paycorn Center on NBC’s Sunday Night Basketball. Tonight is the second and final regular season meeting between the teams. The Thunder held on for a 103-100 victory at New York on March 4. Chet Holmgren scored a game-high 28 points and tied a career-high with six three-pointers in the win.

Oklahoma City has dominated New York of late winning five in a row and nine of the last ten meetings.

Oklahoma City is an 8.5-point favorite and the total is 225.5.

Oklahoma City defeated the visiting Chicago Bulls 131-113 on Friday. Despite entering the game as 18.5-point favorites, Oklahoma City trailed Chicago 67-62 at the half. The Thunder throttled the Bulls after the intermission, outscoring them by 23 (69-46) in the second half. Included in Oklahoma City’s second-half surge was a 22-0 run that began towards the end of the third quarter which turned an 88-80 deficit into a 102-88 lead.

Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 25 points (8-24 FG, 9-12 FT) in 29 minutes for Oklahoma City, but missed all 10 of his three-point attempts. Cason Wallace contributed 21 points (8-11 FG, 5-7 3Pt), 5 rebounds and 3 steals across 31 minutes, while Jalen Williams added 18 points (8-16 FG, 2-4 FT), 8 assists and 6 rebounds over 27 minutes in the win.

The Knicks suffered a 113-104 setback at Charlotte on Thursday. The loss ended New York’s 7-game winning streak. The resurgent Charlotte Hornets raced out to a 24-14 lead and maintained a double-digit lead for the overwhelming majority of the game.

All-Star guard Jalen Brunson tallied team-highs of 26 points (10-23 FG, 6-6 FT) and 13 assists for New York in the loss, while Josh Hart accumulated 16 points (7-11 FG, 2-4 3Pt), 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals. All five Knicks starters scored in double-figures.

Since signing with the New York Knicks as a free agent in July 2022, Jalen Brunson has transformed himself into an elite player and turned the Knicks into a championship contender. Brunson went from averaging a then career-high of 16.3 ppg in his final season (2021-22) with Dallas to averaging 26.3 ppg in his nearly four years with New York. He’s been selected to the All-Star game three times (2024-2026) since joining the Knicks

The Knicks have also experienced a tremendous amount of success with Jalen Brunson. They’ve won a total of four playoff series and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. In contrast, New York won a total of 3 playoff series from 2000 to 2022 prior to Brunson’s arrival. They are on the cusp of winning 50 games for a third straight year, something the franchise has not done since they early-to-mid 1990’s (1992-1995) when Patrick Ewing anchored the team and Pat Riley patrolled the sidelines.

Jalen Brunson is amassing another magnificent season in year four with the Knicks. The 29-year-old, Villanova product is averaging 26.2 points, 6.7 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 2.7 threes per game on 46.4 percent shooting from the floor and 37 percent shooting from long distance in 68 games. Brunson’s propensity to hit late-game clutch shots has also elevated his status.

The foursome of All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns (20.1 ppg, 11.9 rebs, 1.6 threes, 49.5% from 2, 36.8% from 3 in 69 gms), athletic forward OJ Anunoby (16.8 ppg, 5.2 rebs, 1.6 stls, 2.3 threes, 48.9% from 2, 38.1% from 3 in 60 gms), sharpshooting forward Mikal Bridges (14.7 ppg, 4 rebs, 1.3 stls, 2 threes, 48.5% from 2, 37.5% from 3 in 74 gms) and jack-of-all-trades guard/forward Josh Hart (12.2 ppg, 7.6 rebs, 1.5 threes, 50.7% from 2, 40.6% from 2 in 59 gms) round out perhaps the most talented and versatile starting five in the NBA.

New York is also getting very good production off the bench from guard Miles McBride (career-high 12.9 ppg, 2.8 asts, 2.9 threes, 42% from 3 in 35 gms), center Mitchell Robinson (5.5 ppg, 8.8 rebs, 1.1 blks, 72.5% from 2 in 55 gms), swingman Landry Shamet (9.6 ppg, 2.1 threes in 46 gms) and newly-acquired point guard Jose Alvarado (5.5 ppg, 3.8 asts, 1 stl in 22 gms w/NY). McBride has been out since Jan. 27 with a pelvis injury. He’s very close to returning which will provide a huge boost for New York. The Knicks acquired New York native Alvarado from New Orleans at the trade deadline.

New York’s lack of bench usage was a huge issue under previous coach Tom Thibodeau, who had a reputation for running his starters into the ground during coaching stints in Chicago, Minnesota and New York. The Knicks fired Thibodeau prior to this season — despite his tremendous success — and replaced him with Mike Brown. Brown’s willingness to utilize his bench is a stark contrast to Thibodeau.

Much like tonight’s opponent, Oklahoma City’s acquisition of a young guard eventually led to the franchise turning the corner and becoming elite. In July 2019, the Thunder landed then-19-year-old guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from the Los Angeles Clippers as part of a trade package for Paul George. It was believed that the established star George was the centerpiece of the trade, but Gilgeous-Alexander is the one who improved every year and eventually became the better player.

The rapid ascension of Shai-Gilgeous Alexander into superstardom, along with exceptional drafting and shrewd trades/free agent signings led to a stunning turnaround for Oklahoma City. The Thunder went from 40-42 and losing to Minnesota in the play-in round of the postseason in 2023 to finishing 68-14 and winning the NBA title in 2025. Oklahoma City’s title win last year was the second in franchise history (1978-79 Seattle Supersonics) and first since relocating to Oklahoma City in 2008.

After winning the NBA title last season, the Oklahoma City Thunder got off to a historic 24-1 start this year. The Thunder’s 24-1 start matched the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who finished with the best regular season record in NBA history at 73-9. There was chatter that Oklahoma City could clear the 2016 Warriors by a few games due to their incredible talent and depth.

Unfortunately, the Thunder experienced a relatively uneven stretch of play for about two months — after the 24-1 start– where they went 20-13, and sat at 42-14 on Feb. 12. The 14 losses matched the total amount of losses they had all of last season. Oklahoma City has gone 16-2 since losing the 14th game of the season and own the best record in the NBA at 58-16.

The catalyst for Oklahoma City’s third straight season of pristine play — where they’ll likely finish with the best record in the Western Conference for a third straight year and the best record in the NBA for a second straight — has been the stellar play of reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The 27-year-old, Kentucky product is averaging 31.4 points, 6.6 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.7 threes per game, while shooting a career-high 55.3 percent from the floor and 37.9 percent from long distance across 62 games.

The reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will average at least 30 ppg for a fourth straight season. He’s the favorite (-250) to take home a second straight NBA MVP trophy. On March 12, Gilgeous-Alexander broke Wilt Chamberlain’s record for consecutive 20-point games (126) when he recorded his 127th consecutive game with at least 20. His streak is now at 134 games.

After injuries and possibly complacency led to a somewhat inconsistent 2-month stretch of play for Oklahoma City, where they went 19-13, they immediately went back to resembling last season’s dominant form. The Thunder look to be locked in as the playoff are fast approaching. I think they take care of business tonight and make a statement against one of the top teams in the East. Lay the Points and take the Thunder!