Australia's Josh Guidi continued his late-season form on Monday, becoming the first player in NBA history to record a triple-double in each of the first three games in the hallowed halls of Madison Square Garden.
Guidi had 16 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists in 31 minutes for the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 113-112 victory over the New York Knicks at the famous venue.
The lead was 10 points at the end of the third quarter, but the momentum at the start of the final quarter allowed the Thunder to overtake the Knicks and increase their lead to eight points.
The game was a close one, with both teams trading for the lead multiple times, but Guidi ended the game with an inbounds assist and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored with 2.1 seconds left.
New York's Jalen Brunson, who was leading the Knicks with 4.1 left, was controversially denied a foul on that shot, but he took what could have been the game-winning shot as time ticked down. , the shot just bounced off the rim.
You can watch an average of 9 NBA regular season games live on ESPN every week via Kayo. Is this your first time in Kayo? Start your free trial now >
With this victory, the Thunder become the sole leader in the Western Conference with a record of 52 wins and 22 losses, securing a playoff spot and returning to the NBA postseason for the first time in three years.
Guidi's 10th career triple-double makes him the second player in OKC to reach that mark, joining Russell Westbrook's 138.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander returned to the Thunder after missing the last two games with a quadriceps strain and scored 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting, followed by Jaylen Williams on 14-of-18 shooting. With this success, he scored 33 points and took the lead. The shot was successful with 8 assists.
Gilgeous-Alexander said of his teammates: Obviously I didn't have the best night, but that's what the team is about. They supported me all season and they supported me again tonight.
We just came out here and did our job and everyone stuck to the script and we got the W. ”
For the Knicks, Jalen Brunson had 30 points and seven assists, Miles McBride had 19 points and Isaiah Hartenson had 17 points and 15 rebounds.
However, the Knicks shot just 41.3% from the floor and 30.2% from deep.
Guidi has stepped up in a big way with the Thunder since the NBA All-Star break.
'how? ! How did he do that? ! | 00:35
In 53 games before the hiatus, Guidi averaged 11.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 44.7 percent from the floor and 32.5 percent from beyond the arc, which was higher than his first two seasons. It was well below average.
This was largely due to him having trouble adjusting to his new role as an offensive contributor rather than the chief playmaker.
But since then, he has improved overall and provided the Thunder with a late-season spark.
And especially in his last five games, he's averaging 22.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 7.2 rebounds per game, shooting 63.9% from the floor and 52.2% from 3-point range.
