The New York Knicks will look to defend their home turf when they host the visiting red hot Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET.
Watch Oklahoma City Thunder vs. New York Knicks live stream, click here.
The Thunder and Knicks each go for a sixth victory in seven games on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, where New York could again be without Carmelo Anthony in this matchup of division leaders.
Coach Scott Brooks knew his team had to "regroup and figure out it out defensively" after giving up 113.7 points per game during an three-game skid from Feb. 12-20, and the Northwest-leading Thunder (44-16) have not disappointed. They've held their last six opponents to an average of 95.2 points on 40.8 percent shooting.
The Thunder, second in the Western Conference, rank among the NBA leaders with 17.1 fast-break points per game, which comes as no surprise considering Russell Westbrook andKevin Durant are finishing many of those.
Westbrook and Durant, though, are also committing more turnovers per game (6.7) than any NBA duo. Taking care of the ball hasn't been the Thunder's forte -- they're committing 15.5 turnovers per game -- but they equaled a league mark for fewest (two) giveaways in a game on Tuesday.
New York, now second in the East after pulling a half-game ahead of Indiana on Wednesday, improved to 4-4 this season without Anthony, who left Monday's 102-97 win at Cleveland with a right knee injury.
"That is the sign of a true team, a team that is willing to step up and make plays and win regardless of who is in uniform," coach Mike Woodson said.
It's uncertain if Anthony, the league's second-leading scorer with 28.2 points per game -- Durant is averaging 28.6 -- will miss a second straight game on Thursday.
