Knicks have winning streak ended at nine games as Thunder capture 14th straight

OKLAHOMA CITY — It was a matchup made for prime time, the NBA’s best defensive team in the Oklahoma City Thunder hosting the second-best offense, the Knicks, with both teams having gone weeks without a loss. Immovable object versus unstoppable force.

And for much of the night, the Knicks appeared to be up to the challenge, picking apart the Thunder defense and building leads of as many as 14 points. But the Thunder just continued to come at them in waves on both ends of the floor and took a 117-107 decision that proved little, other than the two teams deservedly are looked at as among the best in the NBA.

Both teams entered Friday red-hot, marking only the fourth time in NBA history and the first time since Feb. 29, 2000, that two teams brought winning streaks of at least nine games into a matchup.

The Thunder (29-5) now have won 14 straight (not including a loss in the NBA Cup final, which doesn’t count in the standings). The Knicks (24-11) had their winning streak ended at nine.

And when it was over, the Knicks still had come up empty against the three best teams in the league — Cleveland, OKC and Boston.

“I don’t think this was a measuring-stick game for us,” Josh Hart said. “We know we’re a good team. We know we have to keep going. But certain circumstances, it just wasn’t a good game for us.

“No positives. Just got to be better. We’ve got to execute a little better, especially in that fourth quarter. We know it. We’ve got to find it. You can’t rely on anything else. We’ve got to make sure we go out there and execute and play our game.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earned “MVP!’’ chants at paycom center, the same cries that Jalen Brunson hears in New York, with 33 points and seven assists. But the Thunder got contributions from Jalen Williams (20 points) and reserve Aaron Wiggins (19) to turn an eight-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter into the victory. The Thunder outscored the Knicks 37-19 in the final period.

Mikal Bridges led the Knicks with 24 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 17 points and 22 rebounds. Brunson contributed 22 points and nine assists, OG Anunoby added 20 points and Hart had 19. All five Knicks starters played at least 40 minutes and OKC’s reserves outscored the Knicks’ reserves 44-5.

But it was less star power than it was Oklahoma City doing the things that the Knicks cherish — hustling, getting second opportunities and hitting huge shots with the game in the balance.

“They just picked up their energy, made some shots, made some hustle plays,” Brunson said. “We turned the ball over and they got momentum in the fourth. It was a dogfight from there. They are who they are for a reason. We respect them. We’ve just got to be better in the fourth.”

Brunson was listed as questionable nearly up to game time with right calf tightness before getting cleared to start. At times he appeared to be favoring the leg, shaking it out and stretching it. But he played and orchestrated the offense, not with the 55-point night that he put up last week but by methodically picking apart the hard-to-find weaknesses in the Oklahoma City defense.

The Thunder have been by far the best defensive team in the NBA this season, but the Knicks attacked the holes in the OKC defensive game plan in the first half. With the defense focused on Brunson and Towns, the Knicks posted up Bridges early and he attacked Gilgeous-Alexander, working him over on that end of the floor. Anunoby also took smaller defenders to the rim and then Brunson began to get in the lane, drawing defenders and finding Bridges and Anunoby on the three-point line. The Knicks outscored OKC 36-21 in the second quarter to take a 66-54 halftime lead.

The Knicks still led 88-80 after three, answering every time the Thunder made a run at them. But when Williams hit a layup and soared through the lane for a dunk to begin the fourth quarter, the roof seemed ready to lift off the arena as the Knicks called time.

Isaiah Joe’s three-pointer gave the Thunder a 92-91 lead, OKC’s first of the second half. Towns’ hook put the Knicks ahead 101-100 with 3:46 left, but Wiggins scored six points in an 8-0 run that gave OKC the lead for good. The Thunder finished with a 17-6 run.

The game marked the Knicks’ first meeting with Isaiah Hartenstein — who had four points, 14 rebounds and seven assists Friday night — since he left the Knicks for Oklahoma City in the summer as a free agent, triggering changes in both teams as the Knicks, in need of a center, pulled off the deal for Towns.

Both teams have adjusted well to the departure, which certainly made the reunion easier to take with an absence of malice. Towns earned the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award for December. Hartenstein entered Friday averaging 12.6 points, 12.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists, all career highs.

“It was smart,” Hartenstein said of the Knicks’ move to obtain Towns. “I think for both parties it was perfect. I’m in a situation here where it’s going really good. They got a great center, one of the best centers in the league. So I think for both parties it was perfect. Knowing Leon [Rose], he’ll always find something. He’s been doing a great job, so he made the right adjustment.”

Notes & quotes: Chris Bernard, who served in the Knicks’ organization for 16 years, most of them as director of player relations, passed away suddenly at 47 years old this week. “Just sad,” said Tom Thibodeau, whose first turn in New York overlapped with Bernard’s. “And obviously condolences go to his family. Thoughts and prayers are with them. I was with the Knicks when he was hired. And just an unbelievable person. A bright light every day. Great energy. Positive. Just sad. Really sad.”

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.