NEW YORK – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 39 points in 29 minutes and the Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back with vigor to beat the New York Knicks 126-101 on Friday night in the first game since their 15-game winning streak ended.

Isaiah Joe scored 23 of his 31 points in the first half for the Thunder, who suffered a 129-122 loss at NBA leader Cleveland on Wednesday in the biggest game of the season so far. There was no hangover at Madison Square Garden, where Oklahoma City went on a 36-12 run in the first half en route to a 70-43 lead.

Jalen Brunson scored 27 points and Karl-Anthony Towns 23 in the Knicks’ fourth loss in five games, a stretch that began when the Thunder used a strong fourth quarter to win 117-107 last Friday, snapping New York’s winning streak by nine games to finish.

No big finish was needed this time. At halftime the Thunder had the game under control.

Takeaways

Thunder: Oklahoma City quickly made it clear it wasn’t going to let Wednesday’s loss wait, making it easy for coach Mark Daigneault on a night when he wasn’t feeling well and wore a mask at times.

Knicks: The Knicks were booed multiple times in the first half of perhaps their lowest point of the season, in which Mikal Bridges was 0-for-9 on the night.

Key moment

Oklahoma City ended the first quarter with a 12-0 lead and led 31-17. The Thunder then went on a 19-5 run for more than six minutes of the second and extended their 12-point lead to 55-29. Joe scored 11 points during this stretch.

Key statistics

The Thunder added Oklahoma City’s 37-19 lead in the decisive fourth quarter last Friday to their 31-17 lead after the first period of that game and outscored the Knicks 68-36 in consecutive quarters.

Next

The Knicks host Milwaukee on Sunday. The Thunder visit Washington that night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba